Fernando Alonso shines again as he extends ridiculous streak – US GP driver ratings

Max Verstappen moved into 2025 F1 title contention with a commanding drive at the United States Grand Prix.

Which driver impressed? Who was the biggest disappointment? 

Here’s how we rated each drivers’ performance in Austin this weekend. 

Max Verstappen – 9.5

The four-time world champion executed another impressive weekend at the Circuit of the Americas. He didn’t really put a foot wrong, reducing his deficit to Oscar Piastri in the F1 drivers’ championship to 40 points with five rounds to go.

Lando Norris – 8.5

An impressive weekend pace-wise for Lando Norris. He was comfortably the fastest McLaren driver in Austin. Norris continues to show weakness in wheel-to-wheel combat, spending too long stuck behind Charles Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc – 8.5

After looking all out of sorts in sprint qualifying, Leclerc put together a fine weekend at the US GP. He converted his brilliant third in qualifying into his sixth podium finish of the year.

Lewis Hamilton – 8

Another weekend where Lewis Hamilton looked to have the edge on Leclerc initially, but when it mattered, his teammate came out on top. Hamilton’s wait for his first podium in Ferrari red goes on.

Oscar Piastri – 6.5

Aside from Azerbaijan, this was Piastri’s worst weekend of the season. His pace was nowhere, and it will be very concerning if there’s a repeat in Mexico this weekend. The gap to Norris is now just 14 points, and Piastri needs to respond.

George Russell – 8.5

George Russell delivered another professional weekend. He got the most out of the Mercedes when it seemed to be the fourth-fastest car this weekend.

Yuki Tsunoda – 6

Yuki Tsunoda made up for two disappointing qualifying displays with blistering starts that moved him into points contention. The deficit over a race distance to Verstappen remains too big, but Tsunoda should be satisfied to have beaten all of the midfield runners.

Nico Hulkenberg – 9

There’s no doubt that, aside from Verstappen, Nico Hulkenberg was the star of the weekend. After a dry spell since his Silverstone podium, Hulkenberg returned to form with a blistering sprint qualifying effort to secure fourth. More importantly, he backed it up in the main part of the weekend with a points finish.

Ollie Bearman – 8.5

Like Hulkenberg, Ollie Bearman was a standout driver in F1’s midfield. Unfortunately for him, he got caught out by Tsunoda’s aggressive defending, costing him a potential seventh place. Without that incident, Bearman’s rating would have been higher.

Fernando Alonso – 9

Fernando Alonso continued his remarkable streak of out-qualifying Lance Stroll – that’s 30 races in a row now. Alonso was unfortunate to get caught up in the sprint race mayhem at the first corner. Still, Q3 and a top-10 finish – you can’t ask for much more.

Liam Lawson – 7

Liam Lawson narrowly missed out on a points finish, 1.5 seconds behind Alonso at the chequered flag. He was ultimately caught in an Aston Martin sandwich.

Lance Stroll – 6

Like Leclerc, Lance Stroll opted for the soft-to-medium strategy. It looked to be paying off as Stroll made a number of aggressive moves into the first corner, but he was unable to get ahead of Lawson, leaving him 13th in the end.

Kimi Antonelli – 6

Kimi Antonelli’s race was ruined by contact with Carlos Sainz. The stewards rightly felt it was Sainz’s fault, awarding the Williams driver a five-place grid penalty for Mexico.

Alex Albon – 5.5

The sprint part of the weekend was encouraging for Albon, even if his pace relative to Sainz looked worse. However, he was knocked out in Q1 and endured a miserable grand prix. One to forget, as Sainz continues to have the upper hand lately.

Esteban Ocon – 5.5

Another anonymous weekend for Esteban Ocon. He was dismantled by teammate Ollie Bearman. Ocon will be scratching his head and wondering where the pace has gone in recent weeks.

Isack Hadjar – 5

Isack Hadjar’s high-speed shunt in Q1 left him at the back of the grid for Sunday’s grand prix. Ultimately, it looked like the Racing Bulls package wasn’t a top-10 contender on merit this weekend.

Franco Colapinto – 5.5

Franco Colapinto’s recent run of out-qualifying Pierre Gasly came to an end in Austin. Colapinto had the upper hand in the race, disobeying team orders to finish ahead.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 5

A poor weekend for Gabriel Bortoleto, who struggled for pace throughout relative to veteran teammate Hulkenberg. He’s a rookie, so these sorts of weekends are bound to happen.

Pierre Gasly – 6

Pierre Gasly had the upper hand on Colapinto at COTA. However, an early pit stop left him vulnerable at the end of the race, ultimately losing out to the Argentine. Again, Alpine probably had the slowest car out there.

Carlos Sainz – 6

Sainz produced a masterclass in the sprint segment of the US GP, securing third behind Verstappen and Russell. His pace was electric in the grand prix too, but he threw it away with an opportunistic lunge on Antonelli. A missed opportunity, but it’s clear that Sainz has finally got to grips with the Williams FW47.