Belgium F1 driver ratings: Under the radar rookie star impresses at Spa

Oscar Piastri - 8

It wasn’t a perfect weekend for Oscar Piastri at Spa-Francorchamps. He lost the lead in the sprint race after taking pole. However, he made amends for it in the grand prix by taking extra “risks” as the race got underway to overtake McLaren F1 teammate Lando Norris.

Lando Norris - 7

Norris recovered well from his lacklustre sprint qualifying performance to take his first career pole in Belgium. However, he immediately lost the lead of the grand prix when the race got back underway on Lap 5. The race win was possible without three unforced errors.

Charles Leclerc - 9.5

Charles Leclerc was the star of the weekend, as he secured his fifth podium finish of the year. He extracted the maximum from the upgraded SF-25.

Max Verstappen - 9

Max Verstappen proved why he’s the king of the F1 sprint race by overtaking Piastri on the opening lap of the shortened Saturday race. Verstappen made a small mistake in qualifying on his final lap in Q3, putting him behind Leclerc on the grid. Red Bull’s gamble on a wet setup backfired as the track didn’t take long to try after the 80-minute delay.

George Russell - 8.5

While Mercedes was uncompetitive at Spa relative to Red Bull and Ferrari, George Russell did well to come away with a top-five finish.

Alex Albon - 9

Putting aside the sprint part of the weekend, Alex Albon was brilliant this weekend. He qualified fifth, ahead of Russell, and backed it up with a strong race drive.

Lewis Hamilton - 6

A horrible weekend for Lewis Hamilton. Two early exits in qualifying put him on the back foot. To his credit, he nailed the switch to the slick tyres, propelling him up the order to seventh. Still, it was a disappointing weekend for the seven-time world champion.

Liam Lawson - 7.5

Liam Lawson benefitted from a timely switch to the dry tyres, securing another points finish for Racing Bulls.

Gabriel Bortoleto - 9

Another star performer in F1’s midfield was Gabriel Bortoleto. He was comfortably quicker than Nico Hulkenberg throughout the weekend, coming away with a deserved points finish in the grand prix.

Pierre Gasly - 8.5

Pierre Gasly’s performances are going under the radar. Despite Alpine’s power unit struggles, the Frenchman continued to put his car into Q3. He came away with a point in the end.

Ollie Bearman - 7

Ollie Bearman is lightning fast but still struggles to execute consistently. Haas’ standout moment came in the sprint race, where both cars finished in the top eight.

Nico Hulkenberg - 6

Hulkenberg was the second-best Sauber driver across the weekend in Belgium.

Yuki Tsunoda - 5.5

The 2025 Belgian GP was probably one of Yuki Tsunoda’s better weekends as a Red Bull driver, particularly when he was given the upgraded floor ahead of grand prix qualifying. Laurent Mekies apologised to Tsunoda after calling him in too late for dry tyres.

Lance Stroll - 5

An anonymous weekend for Lance Stroll. He finished ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso. Admittedly, Aston Martin were the 10th-fastest team at Spa.

Esteban Ocon - 7.5

Esteban Ocon produced a masterclass in the sprint, qualifying and finishing inside the top five. The grand prix didn’t go to plan as Ocon stayed out too long on the intermediates.

Kimi Antonelli - 4

Another difficult weekend for Antonelli. He spun in sprint qualifying, leaving him at the back. Antonelli was also knocked out in Q1.

Fernando Alonso - 6

A tough weekend for Aston Martin, who had the slowest car this weekend. Alonso converted to a two-stop strategy, so he finished behind Stroll.

Carlos Sainz - 6.5

This weekend was a tale of two halves. Carlos Sainz was great in the sprint, bouncing back from a difficult FP1 session with a technical issue. He was one of four drivers to start from the pit lane, gambling on wet conditions.

Franco Colapinto - 5

Franco Colapinto continues to underwhelm at Alpine. He was knocked out in Q1 in both sessions and struggled for race pace.

Isack Hadjar - 7.5

Isack Hadjar was enjoying a strong weekend up until the grand prix. An untimely switch to dry tyres ruined his overall weekend. Hadjar had great pace throughout, though, and was unfortunate not to finish inside the top 10 like Lawson did.