One team was vastly quicker than the competition during the Miami Grand Prix, but did their drivers make the most of their equipment over the whole weekend? Here’s our verdict on the full field.
Lando Norris
▶ Scruffy practice session included pitting due to tools in his cockpit, being impeded by Ocon and having to abort his soft tyre run due to a red flag
▶ Piastri narrowly beat him to second on the grid
▲ Clearly quicker than Piastri at end of first stint
▶ Inherited sprint race win when Safety Car was deployed during pit stop
▼ Had pace to beat Verstappen to pole for grand prix but took second
▶ Attacked Verstappen at turn two but was forced off and fell to sixth
▶ Quickly recovered to third but took several laps to pass Verstappen for second
▶ Closed on Piastri over remainder of race but never got close enough to attack
7/10: Slightly off in qualifying, excellent race pace, patient with Verstappen
Oscar Piastri
▲ Another solid start in the sprint race got him ahead of Antonelli
▶ Looked set to hold Norris off to win before Safety Car was deployed after he pitted
▼ Great pace in Q2 but couldn’t replicate it in Q3
▶ Gained a place from Norris at the start and quickly dispensed with Antonelli
▲ Pressured Verstappen into a vital error to take the lead
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.106s faster
8/10: A strong weekend, aside from Q3
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Charles Leclerc
▶ Appeared to wring everything out of the Ferrari in sprint race qualifying for sixth
▼ Crashed in heavy rain on his reconnaissance lap before the sprint race
▶ Only Ferrari representative in Q3 but out-qualified by both Williams drivers
▲ Passed Sainz after a VSC restart
▶ Played the team game with Hamilton but it didn’t help either driver
6/10: Pre-sprint race blunder was understandable, car lacked pace
Lewis Hamilton
▶ Closer to Leclerc than usual in sprint race qualifying
▼ Lacked pace in damp conditions in sprint race but well-timed switch to slicks secured third place
▲ Well-timed switch to slicks secured third place
▼ Narrowly failed to make cut for Q3
▶ Passed Hadjar and, eventually, Ocon
▶ Frustrated by the team’s delay in letting him past Leclerc
▼ Couldn’t catch Antonelli and had to let Leclerc by again
▶ Squeezed Sainz hard on the last lap to hold on to eighth
6/10: Closer to Leclerc’s pace than usual, justifiably frustrated by team’s slow decision-making
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Max Verstappen
▶ Running early in SQ3 didn’t pay off, leaving him fourth on the sprint race grid
▶ Went off during formation laps but was able to start fourth
▶ Ran third but race was ruined when his team released him from pit box into side of Antonelli
▲ Pulled his best sector times together for excellent pole position in grand prix
▼ Slight error at turn one at the start but held his lead
▼ Another mistake at turn one later cost him the lead to Piastri
▶ Eventually let Norris past and Russell jumped him thanks to a VSC period
7/10: Excellent pole lap for the grand prix but rode his luck at times and should have come away with third
Yuki Tsunoda
▼ Error at turn 17 left him vulnerable to elimination in SQ1
▼ Failed to begin his final lap early enough to make the cut for SQ2 after being told repeatedly to hurry up
▲ Early switch to slicks paid off and penalties promoted him to sixth
▶ Confused by team’s instruction for him to drop back at end of sprint race
▼ Collected a penalty for speeding in the pit lane
▶ Narrowly pipped Hadjar to final point after five-second time penalty
5/10: Made up for poor sprint race qualifying but collected needless penalty in grand prix
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
▲ Took sprint race pole with terrific lap on softs which he hadn’t been able to run in final practice
▼ Ran wide as Piastri passed him at start and fell to fourth
▼ Dropped back when track was damp, then hit by Verstappen in pits
▲ Another fine qualifying performance put him third
▶ Slow pit stop cost him chance to attack Verstappen with ‘undercut’
▼ Lost place to Albon at restart and couldn’t get ahead again
7/10: Showed great speed in qualifying but race pace wasn’t there – nor was much luck
George Russell
▼ Beaten by Antonelli for the first time in qualifying after running early in SQ3
▲ Had better pace than Antonelli in sprint race
▶ Did better in qualifying for the grand prix but beaten by Antonelli again
▲ Good pace on hard tyres and got quicker when Antonelli and Verstappen ahead pitted
▶ Capitalised on Virtual Safety Car to jump both of them and held position despite cramp at end of race
7/10: Never seemed to click with the track but came away with excellent results
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Lance Stroll
▶ Blamed Verstappen for impeding him on his final lap in SQ1 and failed to make the cut by a tenth of a second
▲ The big midfield winner among those who switched to slicks early, bagging fifth after penalties
▶ Pitted too early in race to benefit from VSCs and finished last
7/10: Consistently out-qualified by team mate but pulled off a coup in the sprint race
Fernando Alonso
▲ Grabbed his opportunity to reach SQ3
▼ Couldn’t improve his time after switching to soft tyres
▶ Aston Martin seemed reluctant to risk switching to slicks and a late change left him vulnerable and he was knocked into a barrier by Lawson
▼ Spun at turn 11 during the race after starting on hards
▶ Took advantage of VSC to jump back in front of Stroll
5/10: Paid a big price for Aston Martin’s hesitation to pit him in the sprint race, VSC pit stop flattered early error in grand prix
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Jack Doohan
▼ Fumed at his team after getting stuck by the pit exit wall which led to his SQ1 elimination
▶ Made little headway in sprint race, starting where he finished
▲ Beat Gasly in grand prix qualifying for the first time
▼ Dived down the inside of Lawson at the start, made contact and suffered damage which put him out
4/10: Too hard on team for sprint qualifying mess-up, decent in grand prix qualifying but threw it all away at the start
Pierre Gasly
▼ Clipped a wall in SQ2 and failed to progress further
▶ Not among the earliest to switch to slicks, but stayed out of trouble and 11th at the flag became the final points place
▶ Admitted his runs in Q1 weren’t fast enough after being eliminated
▶ Ran a long opening stint on hards and rode his luck waiting until the final VSC to pit but never looked in the hunt for points
5/10: Struggled to make headway with an uncompetitive car
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Esteban Ocon
▼ Received a warning for impeding in first practice
▲ Beat his team mate to reach SQ2
▼ Slight error at turn 17 may have cost him a place in SQ3
▶ Left it late to change to slicks in the sprint race and finished out of the points
▲ Did a superb job in qualifying to claim ninth on the grid with Bearman last
▶ Hamilton inevitably passed him in the race but pitting early meant others got ahead through the VSC, ending his hope of points
8/10: Great in qualifying, scrapped well with Hamilton in the race, unlucky with VSC. Deserved a point
Oliver Bearman
▼ Crashed in practice
▼ Very unhappy at failing to reach the line in time in SQ1 and dropping out
▲ Gained ground at the start and got onto slicks early enough to finish in the points, before a penalty for an unsafe release dropped him to 14th
▼ Called his grand prix qualifying effort messy after finishing last again
▶ Suddenly lost drive in the race and retired
6/10: Excellent sprint race drive deserved a reward but made life too hard for himself in qualifying
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Isack Hadjar
▲ Squeezed into SQ3 to claim ninth on the sprint race grid
▼ Lost places at the start and pitted late for slicks, leaving him out of the points
▲ Pulled all his best sector times together at the end of Q2 but couldn’t quite make it into Q3
▶ Ceded a place to Hamilton early on
▶ Came close to denying the penalised Tsunoda the final point – was a bit harsh on himself about last-lap mistakes
8/10: A generally strong weekend and frustratingly close to scoring in the grand prix
Liam Lawson
▼ Admitted his sprint qualifying session had been messy after failing to join Hadjar in SQ3
▲ Made a great start and pitted for slick tyres earlier than some key rivals to move into points places
▼ Believed he was entitled to be left space by Alonso at turn 11 but stewards disagreed and gave him a penalty which cost him his first points finish
▶ Eliminated in Q2 as he encountered a problem with his battery. Reverted to an old power unit for the race
▶ Knocked into a spin by Doohan at turn one at the start of the grand prix, suffering damage which ruined his day
5/10: More unlucky than anything else
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Alexander Albon
▲ The only Williams driver to get into SQ3, taking eighth on the grid
▶ Ran close to Hamilton but pitted later than him and dropped back
▼ Penalised for failing to respect the Safety Car delta time, having had Russell close behind him in a braking zone when it was deployed
▲ Got ahead of Norris and Sainz at the start, though the Williams pair made contact as they avoided the McLaren
▶ Was passed by both, then re-passed his team mate
▲ Attacked Antonelli after the last VSC restart to take fifth, then kept the Mercedes behind
9/10: Only marked down for his Safety Car error, otherwise this was giant-killing stuff
Carlos Sainz Jnr
▼ The decision to only do one lap in SQ2 backfired as he made a mistake and ended up 10th on the grid
▼ Early call to switch to slicks was spot-on, but hit the barrier at the chicane soon afterwards
▲ Excellent Q3 lap, stringing his best sector times together, put him sixth on the grid for the grand prix
▶ Had to start on used medium tyres as the team fitted his fresh set during the sprint race
▶ Said he had damage after his first lap contact with Albon and wasn’t happy at dropping behind him during the first stint
▼ Passed by both Ferraris at the restart
6/10: Grand prix qualifying showed he’s mastering the FW47 over a flying lap, errors elsewhere held him back
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Nico Hulkenberg
▲ Nearly succeeded in valiant effort to drag his Sauber into SQ3, missing the cut by less than a tenth of a second
▼ Dropped back at the start and was under-cut by rivals who switched to the soft sooner, finishing ninth
▼ Could have reached Q2 but for a snap of oversteer on his final lap
▶ Started on hard tyres but the team waited until after the VSC periods to pit him
▶ Good pace on mediums at the end of the race but was too far back to challenge Gasly
6/10: Points chance went begging in the sprint race
Gabriel Bortoleto
▼ Much further off Hulkenberg than usual in sprint qualifying after locking up at turn 17.
▶ Made little progress in the sprint race and finished 15th
▲ Had a much better qualifying session for the grand prix, claiming 13th on the grid
▶ Lost ground by pitting before the second VSC period, then caused the third one when he retired with a loss of power
5/10: Qualifying for the grand prix was weekend’s only highlight
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Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2025 Miami Grand Prix
- Nothing for Ferrari to learn from Miami team orders episode – Vasseur
- Hamilton proud of Ferrari as ‘we’re taking a beating from media and people’s comments’
- McLaren legality never in doubt says Piastri as FIA’s post-race check clears car
- Albon did not disobey team orders in Miami says Vowles after Sainz’s complaint
- McLaren score their most emphatic win since Hamilton’s 2008 Silverstone triumph
Jere (@jerejj)
5th May 2025, 18:09
Most impressed: PIA, ALB, & ANT
Most disappointing: HAM, BEA, & LAW
erikje (@erikje)
5th May 2025, 20:39
Hamilton being most disappointing is very harsh this weekend.
Ferrari were 5th fastest so P8-10 is where the car should be. His sprint qualifying was as expected but the race itself he did very well.
Main qualifying was a little poor but he was less than 0.1 off Leclerc so you could argue that’s all the car really had.
Again his race was solid enough and basically finished where the car should be and just behind Leclerc.
Personally I’d rate crashing on the way to the grid is a much worse than being 0.1 off your team mate and finishing where the
Everyone seems to be praising Albon, Sainz but being realistic they had a better car than the Ferrari this weekend.
slowmo (@slowmo)
6th May 2025, 0:28
The Hamilton rating is bonkers. He handled the conditions in the sprint to deliver third in the 4th fastest car then in the race finished ahead of 2 faster cars in Tsunoda and Sainz and right behind his teammate who start four places further up the grid. Giving Leclerc the same score after he threw away his sprint race start and limped home ahead due to team orders is silly. Same with Antonelli who qualified well but went backwards in both races and had Ferrari not bungled their strategy might have been lucky to not get caught and passed by Hamilton again. 7/10 was very generous for only 2 decent laps all weekend. A lot of drivers overrated including Max who should have had a 6 given he didn’t finish the sprint or the race where is car could and should of done. Leclerc should have been a 5.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
6th May 2025, 8:26
I’m not sure. Hamilton did well in the sprint because he gambled on dry tyres as he had no pace and was going backwards, 3 seconds behind Russell. It was a solid recovery drive but with significant caveats with Antonelli and Verstappen in the pits causing Max damage and Antonelli to pit again with Leclerc out too. If I was harsh, he qualified 7th in the 4th fastest car as Yuki was out in q1, gained when Leclerc didn’t start and then gained with the pit clash. Ie the pit gamble moved him from 4th to 3rd.
Leclerc was a second faster in practice, 2 tenths ahead in sprint quali, made Q3 rather than Q2 for Lewis and was only passed by Hamilton due to, admittedly clumsy, team orders. When Hamilton was in free air he did nothing with it. So Hamilton was the faster Ferrari when the mediums wore out and he was on hard tyres and was quick on warm dry tyres in the sprint for 3 laps. Add to that he’s had numerous lock ups which cost him Q3, I don’t think Hamilton can justify anything higher than a 6.
MichaelN
6th May 2025, 9:20
Hamilton at six is fair. It’s the fact that Leclerc also gets a six that’s probably causing the questions.
Hadjar got a three in Australia, and his prerace crash was labeled mortifying, here Leclerc gets a six and his clumsiness is called understandable. Sure, it was just in the sprint, but Ferrari could have scored points there. And it’s not like Leclerc was that amazing in the GP to average it out.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
6th May 2025, 10:31
Regarding Hadjar, I think a 3 was fairly harsh over the Australian weekend. He was on average about a tenth and a half off in practice and a tenth off in the 2 quali segments. For a rookie I think that is decent. However, it was a poor rookie error and over the rest of the weekend he was beaten in both competitive sessions by Yuki who put the car 6 places ahead in P5. So there weren’t many silver linings.
By contrast, Charles was ahead of Lewis in practice, Sq2,sq3,q2 and the race. So when it mattered Leclerc beat Hamilton across the weekend. Hadjar’s mistake was on throttle, Leclerc aquaplaned on a straight on tyres that were clearly a team instruction to gamble. So it’s fair to knock a couple of points off each driver for it. As I’ve outlined above Hamilton’s sprint race flattered to deceive also so I don’t think either Ferrari rating is particularly contentious. Leclerc was the better performance when he was there, but should lose rating for the mistake; it evens itself out for me – more performance on the table for both.
slowmo (@slowmo)
7th May 2025, 11:40
I put to you had the performance being reversed this week, Hamilton would have got a 5 at best, A 6 for Leclerc and the same score as Hamilton who outscored him this weekend and didn’t make mistakes at the same level as Leclerc proves the rating is ridiculous for at least one if not both drivers.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
8th May 2025, 10:28
I’m not sure that’s fair. What are you basing that on?
Hamilton made a mistake that cost him Q3 and qualified 12th in the 4th or 5th fastest car. Can a driver who is beaten in all sessions they compete against their teammate ever command and 8 or higher? Of course not. 7 is also too high for me – it was an average, albeit better than recent, weekend. Where did Hamilton excel? In a sprint where he changed tyres because he had no pace and it happened to fall at the right time. Would Hamilton have made the same choice if he was right behind Russell? I think to suggest the rating is bonkers or that there is a conspiracy against Hamilton is risible.
David BR (@david-br)
6th May 2025, 0:54
Alonso of course, spinning all by himself under no pressure in the race, passes unmentioned and gets a ‘5’ from KC.
Next time he does something amazing, like finish 6th in the race, he will of course be touted once again for being an eternal genius.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
6th May 2025, 8:08
It’s mentioned as the fourth bullet point.
Alonso’s rating is the second lowest this weekend, and 2 points lower than Stroll, despite making Q3 versus Q1 in sprint quali (6 tenths ahead) and running directly behind him (due to Stroll pit gamble) when taken out by Lawson in the sprint. He was then 2 tenths ahead in quali and finished ahead in the GP.
In other words, Alonso was ahead in 3 of the 4 competitive sessions and a second ahead in Practice and still dropped 2 points to Stroll. Objectively, for a half spin on hards tyres in a terrible car – 5 could be viewed as harsh.
Furthermore, Albon receiving the same veneration for performing strongly in a midfield car in this very article, so it’s not limited to Alonso.
David BR (@david-br)
6th May 2025, 10:29
@rbalonso I was referring to @jerejj’s omission from ‘most disappointing.’ You’re just exemplifying my point, though, that Alonso’s driving tends to get a pass while Hamilton in a new car/team/engine against one of the best younger drivers is given no slack ever. In some ways that’s a compliment for Lewis, I guess, but it also feeds a dubious narrative from some commenters that ‘he was never that good’ and ‘never an F1 immortal’ while you can bet Alonso is always placed in the latter category irrespective of the last decade+ of actual achievement. It’s not against Alonso per se, just noting the hypocrisy and the more covert agendas perhaps in play.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
6th May 2025, 10:45
I kind of think you’re having an argument with yourself here David.
Alonso was ahead of Stroll in 3 of the 4 sessions including a great SQ3, Hamilton was behind his teammate in all 3 sessions when Leclerc was there and was objectively fortunate with the tyre change in the sprint. I don’t dispute that Leclerc is a better driver than Stroll but it’s F1, the goal is to beat your teammate.
Jere thought Hamilton would win 10 races and the title this year, it’s not difficult to see the contrast between that prediction and the comparatively disappointing results. But I don’t see any commentator, professional or fan, stating Alonso is having a good season. For me, both are struggling, way off their prime years. History will judge Hamilton’s Ferrari years more harshly that Alonso’s time at Aston as 1 it’s Ferrari and 2 he’s the most successful driver of all time. Scrutiny is part of the business.
David BR (@david-br)
6th May 2025, 12:03
I suppose I’m scrutinizing the scrutinizers :) It’s just a few races in to Hamilton’s Ferrari career – if he does indeed have years and not just this year, it’s obviously far to soon to judge that career, yet alone harshly. Next year or even later this year we could still see a complete turn around. I don’t think Hamilton’s issues are age, at least directly, more bad habits and a lack of confidence from 2022 onwards and the ground effects not combining well with the racing style that once gave him an edge. And this year’s Ferrari is clearly a disappointment to booth drivers.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
6th May 2025, 19:36
@rbalonso
Although, it should be noted that Stroll did look to be impeded by Verstappen in SQ1. Then he was even ahead of Alonso before Alonso retired in the sprint (which I think sort of was deserved) Lawson had got more than enough of the car along side to have the right to the corner, but Alonso pushed him off. Lawson rejoined in an unreasonable manner, which deserved a penalty. However, Lawson did not have to go off track, and if he didn’t, Alonso will have been the one deemed at fault for a collision.
Alonso clearly did beat Stroll in Q1 for the race. But the main race it was extremelly clear that Stroll was better. He had a better launch and got his car to the inside of turn one while Alonso was right on the outside and lost out. He then later spun and gained 10 seconds due to a free stop. Stroll only finished 4 seconds behind and without the VSC, I reckon Stroll will have beaten Alonso by a good 10 seconds. To me it was quite clearly one sided this weekend, which makes me think the scores make sense. Although a 6 and a 4 would be more realistic.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
6th May 2025, 22:43
I think you raise some fair points Ben. As I say, I don’t think this has been a vintage Alonso season so far. But I wouldn’t rate it as a 4 either. Stroll may have been held up in sprint quali but Alonso put the car well above where it should have been at any other point that weekend. Lance’s results this weekend including practice are 20,16,5,19,16. Getting the Aston into a Q3 was more impressive that Lance gambling on tyres with nothing to lose for me.
With regard to the Lawson incident, Liam is at fault. He’s on the outside, clearly covered off and elects to go onto wet painted tarmac and hits a driver on the racing line from off the course. There can be mitigating circumstances, and no driver ‘deserves’ to be taken out but that is a really poor choice from Lawson in a section where it’s one car at the best of times. I sincerely don’t think Alonso should lose points over that incident, it’s clumsiness from a driver renowned for lack of track limit awareness and poor wheel to wheel skills.
I think both drivers were roughly even approaching turn 1. Given Lance came from a row back, I guess it’s fair to say he got a better get away. But it’s not a top quality start by any means. Lawson’s clumsiness again costs Alonso which is more of a factor. Alonso then spins which certainly should cost him a ranking point. From there on in the drivers are more or less even, Fernando lost 7s with the spin on lap 11, it was 3.1 behind on lap 28. On lap 31, Alonso is 1.3 ahead and finishes about 4 ahead. I wouldn’t suggest either had the upper hand in the Grand Prix.
Ultimately, I think Stroll did well in the sprint, in conditions he specialises in, to switch at the right time. Aston then seemed to keep Alonso out a lap later than required. In the quali sessions Alonso is ahead and has an average GP with a poor spin. So overall, I’d say Lance shades it with a 6 to Alonso’s 5. But I think to hold Lawson against Alonso to drop him to a 4 suggests a poorer weekend than he had. Not a good weekend but not a disaster either.
slowmo (@slowmo)
8th May 2025, 9:47
I think the season rating for Alonso is fair given he’s failed to score points when his much slower teammate has this year. It might be mainly the car and team that have let him down but that excuse doesn’t fly for other drivers so shouldn’t for Alonso.
Riccard
5th May 2025, 18:34
1. Albon
2=. Piastri and Verstappen gave us a great fight – only the car separated them
Honorable mention – Ocon
Stephen Taylor
5th May 2025, 18:51
The assessment of Lando’s battles with Verstappen is questionable and overgenerous here. Keith says he was patient I say he was intially overambitious on lap one and later too passive and indecisve and lacked the ingenuinity to pass Verstappen when he needed to in order to have any hope of clawing the gap back to Piastri. In fact had Norris not been overambitious on lap 1 then he probably doesn’t drop behind Piastri and probably wins the Grand Prix . Lando still hasn’t figured out how to race Max in wheel when all the other guys in top teams have figured it out . Even young Antonelli raced Max pretty well in Bahrain. Even Andrea Stella said after the race on Sunday that Lando got it wwrong with Max wheel to wheel. Norris shouldn’t be more than a 6 here.
BasCB (@bascb)
5th May 2025, 21:40
I guess you failed to notice that Piastri took as long to finally get past Verstappen as Norris did then?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th May 2025, 23:23
The gaps however speak clearly: while piastri was passing verstappen, norris closed the gap but was still slightly behind, and by the time norris got past verstappen piastri had 8 sec gap, that’s massive.
Edvaldo
6th May 2025, 0:41
Norris got to Max after he was out of shape due to trying to hold off Piastri, of course he would do it quicker. Still, he couldn’t get close enough while Piastri lost time battling Max. Piastri on the other hand, won the race for good in the laps it took for Norris to pass Max, building a cushion that would come in handy later.
osnola
6th May 2025, 15:49
Ah… no there are a lot of laps difference there. Did you really watched the race?
The Piastri defending for at least 11 laps was brilliant by max. Only when verstappen was catched out by his brakes Piastri could pass. Norris did it clumsy but at least faster.. mainly because Verstappen then knew the rain would not come and let him by.
Edvaldo
6th May 2025, 22:17
“Catched out by his brakes” is a good one. No, he attempted to crowd Piastri off the track just like he did many times in Jeddah and tried with Hamilton in Hungary last year where it also backfired.
Piastri caused that mistake, it was not luck or anything like that.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th May 2025, 22:05
While Albon was one of the best this weekend, I belive that car simply was one of the best. If it wasn’t for Verstappen driving that Red Bull, Albon if I’m honest should have been 4th. And the article didn’t mention in the stats that Albon was outqualified by his team mate as a down or even a neutral arrow. I think that car this wekend was basically at the level williams were in 2014 / 2015 (able to fight with Red Bull and better than them at certain tracks) and I think one getting tied for the best score drivers have ever got in the rankings on this site heavily flatters Albon, especially when he made a mistake with a penalty big enough to totally take him out of the points in the sprint… Honestly, a 9 seems way too generous. A 7 or 8 without the mistake in the sprint maximum I would say.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th May 2025, 22:14
I also will add that I think Sainz is too high. What he did behind Stroll (who he ought to have been ahead of) was rookie like stuff. Turning in too early was incredibly clumsy. I also think that while it wasn’t investigated any further, what he did to hamilton was so close to ending the race for him. If the rankings still had the description of a refeence of what the numbers mean, Sainz certainly doesn’t match a 6. Even a 5 was an average and acceptable performance. I would say that what happened in the sprint and finishing 9th in such a strong car was certainly below par and a 4 would be more appropriate. I guess it does depend on how heavily you base things on the sprint.
Jmlabareda
5th May 2025, 22:12
An 8 for Isack Hadjar?
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th May 2025, 22:16
Yea, that reads as a 7 at best and even a 6 matches the description more than an 8.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
6th May 2025, 0:45
Have to agree with some of these comments.
Hadjar “8” for a net loss of half a place over the two races?? This in a car that has showed some pace elsewhere this season. Lawson is a little too inconsistent to help provide any insight as to where the car really should have been. And I say this as someone who admittedly had little enthusiasm for Hadjar’s inclusion on the grid this year, but must admit has performed much much better than I expected.
And I am a big fan of Albon. Plus it was a great drive in the main race. but “9”?? As mentioned elsewhere a 7 was probably a appropriate, or a 8 with my pro-Albon bias.
David BR (@david-br)
6th May 2025, 0:57
Piastri, Albon and I think Verstappen. Putting the 3rd fastest car on pole and the resilient defending deserved an 8 I think.
An Sionnach
6th May 2025, 1:23
Max head and shoulders above everyone. If the several eights are justified then Max deserved a nine. Kept cars that were a second faster per lap behind for several laps each. Was excellent in both qualifying sessions while others were all over the place. What’s the problem this time? McLarens were way faster even in dirty air (the issue last time). What rule needs to change to make Max let others past this time? What precisely did he do to ride his luck? Are the stewards wrong? He’s being marked down for supposed mistakes keeping cars from a different category behind… but there’s no recognition of this.
Other than the Max mark, the most embarrassing moment of the weekend was when Ruth from F1TV blustered about Lewis setting a similar time to Leclerc at one point, but on used tyres. Not sure all this grasping for something is helping him. When he comes up with the goods no dissection will be required ro notice.
The Dolphins
6th May 2025, 3:23
Max did an incredible job slowing down the McLarens and was unfortunate with the timing of his pit with the VSC deployed shortly after. He loses points, in my opinion, for wasting his own tyres and race time battling cars which Red Bull knew were not their competition on that track. Had he stuck to his optimal strategy 3rd was his that day. No need to glorify an unnecessary battle which cost him WDC points.
baasbas
6th May 2025, 8:43
@The Dolphins
I honestly don’t know how after your first sentence you follow it up with that conclusion. Just to be clear, you’d deduct points from his performance because of unfortunate timing of the VSC (your words)
Riccard
6th May 2025, 13:48
That’s a hindsight comment. At the time there was rain coming (it just missed the circuit). Verstappen will have backed himself to win if the rain came and wanted to be ahead or as close as possible when they pitted for wets.
Once they knew the rain would miss the track, he reached the same conclusion as you and let Norris past.
An Sionnach
6th May 2025, 20:29
Yes. He wanted to win. The negativity and over-“engineering” of F1 is ruining it. Drivers like Max and Piastri are showing the way when it comes to taking races by the scruff of the neck and winning. It reminds me of Häkkinen saying that The Michael wasn’t just going to let him past. His attitude, and Piastri’s, is that he’s going to find a way, making or grabbing any opportunity. Hopefully we’ll have Antonelli, Hadjar and Colapinto joining them so that we have at least a handful of real racers in F1. This isn’t about having a hopeless go like Sainz. A lot of what Max does is hotly debated because it can be marginal. That means it was worth a go. Max still has a good five years of top-notch performance in him. It’s good to know the river won’t run dry after that.
Lando needs to compare his start with Oscar’s. You don’t need to look at a rulebook or talk about apexes (apices?) to see that Piastri had Max beaten. Max can learn from Oscar should he choose to. Before Piastri started to flex his muscles Max was making the rest of the grid look like fools. Let’s have more of this.
An Sionnach
6th May 2025, 20:35
This weekend from Max was astounding. Two qualifying sessions and races. No significant mistakes (unfortunately the team messed up the sprint). Oscar forcing the mistake to overtake was great to see, and it should be inevitable with the faster car, skill and patience. I’m not so sure about Lando here, though. There was so much arguing last year about why Max wouldn’t let Lando past… and now Piastri has shown the way. He doesn’t need new rules (that inevitably don’t work). He just gets on with it.
Dex
6th May 2025, 3:03
Antonelli same as Verstappen? Based on what exactly? Qualy pace? Race pace? Dueling? Number of mistakes?
baasbas
7th May 2025, 9:49
A 7 for Verstappen is harsh. You give him a minus point for keeping the lead? How?
I think he performed better than others with a 7.. like Norris for instance.
slowmo (@slowmo)
7th May 2025, 11:44
Maybe because if he hadn’t wasted all that time holding up Norris in what was clearly a doomed to fail venture, he would have taken third as Russell wouldn’t have got ahead of him at the Safety Car. Maybe 7 is generous for Norris but his only mistake was arguably being in a position that left Max drive him completely off the track which hence put him on the back foot for the race.
baasbas
7th May 2025, 14:07
@slowmo
That’s only doable with the power of hindsight. I think you can’t fault him for defending hard at the time. There was an upcoming rain shower so very much a chance for them to be in the mix when it should come. I think strategically they did the right thing. It wasn’t wasted effort, it had a chance of yielding results. Even when sure the rain would not come, he let Norris go when he still had a good margin on Russell. He needed the rain to not come and an ill timed VSC to lose third. To me that is the same as knocking Piastri for not winning the sprint while it was Norris being lucky there
I’m not judging Norris for the opening lap shoving, although you do have a point. He stuck his car in a high risk position. Watching his on-board it does look like a move that just isn’t going to stick. Even without the Red Bull wobble it would be a bad place to be.. unless clearly ahead, which he wasn’t. With hindsight you could argue it would be better for him to be slightly more conservative at that point securing P2 over Piastri and from lap 2 onward work on Verstappen, like Piastri ended up doing. But again, that’s too hard to judge him for.
I’m judging him for being clumsy fighting the Red Bull (and not for the first time). Especially with hindsight we now know how much pace they had over the rest of the field. And not getting quali right for example. To me he squandered his car advantage too much.
slowmo (@slowmo)
8th May 2025, 9:58
As you say it is with the benfit of hindsight but the simple point is, it was clear the Mclaren was much faster and they were barely half way and his aggressive defending destroyed his tyres further. The quickest way around the race track and to maximise his result on the day would have been to defend hard but not excessively as he did. He was never going to finish ahead of the Mclaren.
I think Norris had he been driving against any other driver would have no problems passing but Verstappen always pushes everything to the limit and as such he made some of the situations look more awkward than they should have. I don’t think Mclaren have a huge one lap pace advantage and that has been reflected in qualifying being so close this year, they clearly just have something about their tyre management that gives them a leg up in race pace. Quite similar to the 2023 Red Bull imo.
I think a 7 for Verstappen is fair enough on balance over the weekend. The issue is some of the other drivers getting higher than 7…..
baasbas
8th May 2025, 22:11
@slowmo
I think its fair to say we (slightly) disagree then, also because the ‘optimum lap’ article showed the McLaren drivers simply didn’t peak in quali where some drivers did (as in Japan). I think its fair to say that a large part of the McLaren performance advantage comes from being kind on the tires but still with optimum laps in quali they should have been 1-2.
I guess your end conclusion seems fair enough then.
Miane
7th May 2025, 19:14
Bortoleto was in route to beat the most experienced teammate in the main race and still got a 5 and Hulk a 6? Is sprint more important than the feature race? Bit confused over here.
Bearman had a good sprint, but was awful both in qualy and race pace in the feature race (worse than Bortoleto in an arguable best car).
And Max deserves at least an 8. He’s the only reason we have a fight in this grand prix…
slowmo (@slowmo)
8th May 2025, 9:59
Get used to it. For some reason pace in practice seems more important than the grand prix in these ratings sometimes.