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F1 Driver Ratings: 2025 Australian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Albert Park, 2025

After two days of sunshine, the Australian Grand Prix was held in treacherous conditions. How did the field cope? Here are RaceFans’ ratings.

Lando Norris

Qualified: 1st (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.084s)
Grid: 1st (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 1st (+8 places ahead of team mate)

Lost first flying lap in Q3 due to exceeding track limits
Clean and fully committed second lap in Q3 secured pole
Withstood pressure from Verstappen and Piastri throughout race and restarts
▶ Team told Piastri to hold position behind him

8/10: Classy performance in tricky conditions undermined by qualifying wobble and turn 12 excursion

Oscar Piastri

Qualified: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate, +0.084s)
Grid: 2nd (1 place behind team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 9th (-8 places behind team mate)

Mistake on first lap in Q3
Came very close to beating team mate to pole
▶ Team forbade him to attack Norris
▶ Went off when rain hit and became briefly stuck on wet grass
Passed Ocon, Tsunoda, Gasly and – brilliantly – Hamilton to recover ninth

7/10: Was a serious threat to Norris aside from one costly error

Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Albert Park, 2025
After a great Friday, things went downhill for Leclerc

Qualified: 7th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.218s)
Grid: 7th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 8th (+2 places ahead of team mate)

Abandoned final Q3 lap after pushing too hard and making several minor errors
Gained two places at the start from Tsunoda and Albon
Spun off and lost several places
Re-passed Hamilton and Gasly

6/10: Ferrari lost their way on Friday but Leclerc amplified their trouble with errors

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Lewis Hamilton

Qualified: 8th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.218s)
Grid: 8th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 10th (-2 places behind team mate)

Spun in Q2
▶ Decent start but boxed in behind team mate
▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances
Stayed out too long on slicks
Picked up a place from Gasly after final restart
Passed by Leclerc and Piastri, falling to 10th

5/10: Logged laps and improved his pace but unfamiliarity excuses will wear off quickly

Max Verstappen

Qualified: 3rd (+15 places ahead of team mate, -1.076s)
Grid: 3rd (16 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I)
Finished: 2nd

▶ Said he ‘ran out of tyres again in the final sector’ on his last lap in Q3.
Started strongly, passing Piastri
Ran wide at turn 11 when rain returned, then fell back
▶ Briefly led as he tried to avoid switching to intermediates when final shower hit
▶ Was within striking distance of Norris as race ended

8/10: Rapid and combative as ever, Safety Car helped him benefit from Piastri error

Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson, Red Bull, Albert Park, 2025
Lawson had a tough start to life at Red Bull

Qualified: 18th (-15 places behind team mate, +1.076s)
Grid: 19th (16 places behind team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: Two-stop (I-I-M)
Finished: Not classified

▶ Stopped in third practice due to a power unit problem
Far from Verstappen’s pace on Friday
▶ Missed final practice with a power unit problem
Error in Q1 led to elimination
Struggled with ‘tyre issues’ early in race and was well off Verstappen’s pace
Passed Ocon
Tried to avoid pitting for intermediates when rain returned in race but crashed out

2/10: Has been saying for months his lack of experience at Albert Park could hurt him, and it did. Needs this to be a one-off

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Qualified: 16th (-12 places behind team mate, +0.554s)
Grid: 16th (12 places behind team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)

Damaged floor on kerb at turn six during Q1 and was eliminated
Spun at turn four but didn’t hit anything
Recovered lost place and more with passes on Hulkenberg and Stroll
Race pace was often a match for Russell’s in clear air
Got the late call to switch back to intermediates spot-on
Passed Albon for fourth
▶ Stewards withdrew erroneous ‘unsafe release’ penalty which originally cost him fourth

7/10: Great raw speed and racecraft, turn four error could have been costlier than it was

George Russell

Qualified: 4th (+12 places ahead of team mate, -0.554s)
Grid: 4th (12 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)

Had the pace to beat Verstappen to third on the grid but came fourth
Intentionally conservative approach to the race paid off
Got back onto intermediates as soon as the rain returned late in the race, which secured a podium finish

8/10: Composed and mature performance in the race but there was more in the car on Saturday

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Lance Stroll

Qualified: 13th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.03s)
Grid: 13th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 6th

Out-qualified by Alonso despite his floor damage
Pace dipped badly in laps before switching to slicks
Pitted immediately when final shower hit which lifted him into the points
Stayed out of trouble to score valuable points

6/10: Strategy call looked like a case of ‘failing upwards’ but Stroll again showed his affinity for low-grip conditions

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, Albert Park, 2025
Alonso had strong pace but crashed

Qualified: 12th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.03s)
Grid: 12th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: +2 places
Finished: Not classified

Damaged floor during Q2 and was eliminated
Out-qualified team mate despite broken floor
▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances
Far faster than Stroll after lap 28
Crashed out at the exit of turn on lap 34

4/10: Clearly the quicker of the two Aston Martin drivers but appeared to leave too little margin in qualifying and the race

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Jack Doohan

Qualified: 14th (-5 places behind team mate, +0.751s)
Grid: 14th (5 places behind team mate)
Start: + places
Finished: Not classified

▶ Stopped in the grand prix due to an accident and was not classified
▶ Unable to use DRS at end of final lap in Q2 due to yellow flags for Hamilton’s spin
Crashed out on first lap

3/10: No rookie can afford this kind of error, least of all Doohan

Pierre Gasly

Qualified: 9th (+5 places ahead of team mate, -0.751s)
Grid: 9th (5 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (I-H-I)
Finished: 11th

Solid qualifying performance netted ninth on grid
Went off at turn one, then lost three places at the end as he struggled with his front-right brake

6/10: Generally solid but a points score slipped away from him at the end

Esteban Ocon

Qualified: 19th
Grid: 18th (2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: Three-stop (I-I-M-I)
Finished: 13th (+1 place ahead of team mate)

▶ Stunned by car’s lack of performance in practice
▶ Gathered vital data for team as the other car hardly ran in practice
▶ Said the car didn’t have the pace to score points, which certainly seemed to be the case

6/10: Kept his cool amid disappointment of discovering Haas’s pace was poor

Oliver Bearman

Grid: 20th (2 places behind team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: Three-stop (I-I-M-I)
Finished: 14th (-1 place behind team mate)

Crashed in first practice, damage meant he missed second session
Spun on second lap of final practice
▶ Stayed out of trouble in the race to reach finish
Race pace looked strong compared to Ocon’s

4/10: Composed race performance redeemed him after an awful start to his weekend

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Isack Hadjar

Qualified: 11th (-6 places behind team mate, +0.166s)
Grid: 11th (6 places behind team mate)
Finished: Not classified

▶ Strong Q2 lap not quite enough to reach Q3
Crashed on formation lap

3/10: Looked in good shape through practice but his formation lap error was mortifying

Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls, Albert Park, 2025
Tsunoda didn’t capitalise on his strong qualifying performance

Qualified: 5th (+6 places ahead of team mate, -0.166s)
Grid: 5th (6 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I)
Finished: 12th

Superb Q3 performance – only non-McLaren driver to combine his three best sectors in one lap
▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances
Spun when rain returned
Pitted too late and fell out of points

7/10: Seriously impressive in qualifying but failed to capitalise in the race

Alexander Albon

Qualified: 6th (+4 places ahead of team mate, -0.325s)
Grid: 6th (4 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I)
Finished: 5th

▶ Revelled in more drive-able and predictable Williams chassis
Q3 lap was almost as impressive as Tsunoda’s (and he didn’t get a tow)
▶ Cleared of driving more than 10 car lengths behind leading car in Safety Car period due to mitigating circumstances

8/10: Unfazed by pressure from Hamilton, secured great result for Williams

Carlos Sainz Jnr

Qualified: 10th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.325s)
Grid: 10th (4 places behind team mate)
Start: + places
Finished: Not classified

▶ Stopped in the grand prix due to an accident and was not classified
▶ A close match for Albon on pace until end of qualifying
Error in turn 13 on first lap in Q3
▶ Team said they didn’t maximise his track position in Q3
Crashed at last corner on first lap

4/10: Showed potential in practice but race error was exactly what Williams don’t need after last year

Nico Hulkenberg

Qualified: 17th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.063s)
Grid: 17th (2 places behind team mate)
Start: +5 places
Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I)
Finished: 7th

▶ Said he wasn’t fully comfortable in his car in Q1
▶ Blamed traffic for Q1 elimination
Passed Bortoleto and Antonelli at the start
▶ Made the most of excellent strategy to claim seventh

7/10: Underperformed on Saturday but made his experience count on Sunday

Gabriel Bortoleto

Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber, Albert Park, 2025
Newcomer Bortoleto was having a decent weekend until he crashed

Qualified: 15th (+2 places ahead of team mate, -0.063s)
Grid: 15th (2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (I-M-I)
Finished: Not classified

▶ Stopped in the grand prix due to an accident and was not classified
Only rookie to out-qualify his team mate
▶ Fell behind Hulkenberg at start
Decent race pace, only 4s behind Hulkenberg by lap 32 before Safety Car reappeared
▶ Safety Car timing compromised his race
Took blame for ‘pushing too hard’ and crashing out on first lap after switching back to intermediates in rain
▼ Received a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release in front of Lawson, which was the team’s fault

4/10: Demonstrated clear potential in practice and the race but crash undid that good work

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