2025 F1 driver ratings: New champion Lando Norris misses out on top three

After nine long months, the 2025 F1 season is done and dusted.

It’s now time for us to look back and reflect on another memorable campaign. Lando Norris clinched the title following a tense Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, beating Max Verstappen to the championship by two points.

While Norris is the 2025 F1 world champion, has he actually been the best driver this season? 

After every F1 grand prix, Crash.net rates each driver’s performance out of 10. We’ve calculated an average based on those ratings across the 24 races.

Here are our final average ratings for the 2025 F1 season…

21) Jack Doohan – 5.33

Jack Doohan lasted just seven races at Alpine (including one at the end of the 2024 season in Abu Dhabi) before he was replaced by Franco Colapinto. The writing was always on the wall for Doohan after Colapinto joined the team ahead of the new campaign. While Doohan struggled in the races he did get a chance in, his successor didn’t fare that much better — and who’s to say that he wouldn’t have improved in the middle part of the year like Gabriel Bortoleto did? Or the latter third like Kimi Antonelli?

20) Yuki Tsunoda – 5.44

After a long wait, Yuki Tsunoda was finally handed his chance to drive for Red Bull alongside Verstappen. Like Liam Lawson, Tsunoda found the challenge too tough. He was immediately on the back foot after a crash at Imola, leaving him short in terms of upgrades. Once given equal equipment at Spa, Tsunoda showed glimpses of promise. His Baku weekend was respectable, and had he continued to match that level, he’d have had a shot at keeping his drive for 2026. However, Tsunoda did little to help Red Bull or Verstappen’s title bid in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

19) Franco Colapinto – 5.76

Like Doohan, Colapinto failed to shine in the second Alpine seat. He failed to score during his time with the team — although for much of the season, it’s fair to say Alpine had the slowest car on the grid. Colapinto did manage to out-race teammate Gasly on several occasions, but it tended to be on weekends where Alpine were firmly at the back. The peaks never showed up for Colapinto.

18) Lance Stroll – 5.98

Lance Stroll’s place on the F1 grid is rightfully questioned after he failed to out-qualify Fernando Alonso at any of the 24 grands prix in 2025. However, Stroll saved his best work for race day, racking up big points early in the season which put him ahead of his world champion teammate in the standings early on. A poor run of flyaways saw Stroll score points just once — 10th in Abu Dhabi.

17) Liam Lawson – 6.07

Even without his torrid two races for Red Bull, Liam Lawson would only be one place higher in our end-of-season ratings. It took Lawson some time to find his mojo again after a rude awakening alongside Verstappen. By Monaco, Lawson was slowly back to his best, then scoring big at the Austrian GP. Overall, though, Lawson was consistently a step behind teammate Isack Hadjar and was involved in too many needless incidents.

16) Gabriel Bortoleto – 6.35

Gabriel Bortoleto showed promise throughout his rookie F1 season. Impressively, he edged out teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the qualifying head-to-head. Rough around the edges, there’s no doubting Bortoleto’s speed and that he’s deserving of his place on the F1 grid. 2026 will be interesting to see whether he can convert his qualifying pace into more consistent race results for the Audi works team.

15) Lewis Hamilton – 6.50

2025 was the worst season of Lewis Hamilton’s illustrious F1 career. Zero podium finishes and generally dominated by teammate Charles Leclerc. Is Hamilton the 15th-best driver in F1? Certainly not, but given the pre-season expectations and his incredible track record, his first campaign at Ferrari was a complete failure. Even though Hamilton did make some progress after the summer break and looked to be within a tenth or so of Leclerc consistently, his end to the season was shambolic.

14) Kimi Antonelli – 6.56

If you subscribe to the theory that Antonelli is a ‘generational talent’, then 2025 was disappointing. Up until the end of the European leg of the season, Antonelli looked out of his depth and quite simply not ready for F1. To his credit he turned it around with more consistent performances — Brazil being a standout weekend. In his defence, he’s racing for a top team against a world-champion-calibre teammate in George Russell.

13) Esteban Ocon – 6.79

Esteban Ocon’s final points tally probably over-exaggerated how good he was in 2025. A solid, proven, experienced pair of hands, but compared to teammate Ollie Bearman he was nowhere in pure pace terms. Ocon will be needing a strong 2026 to cement his spot on the grid moving forward.

12) Pierre Gasly – 6.81

Gasly’s position in our end-of-season rankings is probably a tad harsh, given he made it into Q3 on 10 occasions — and scored 100 per cent of Alpine’s points. Gasly’s form and performances were underwhelming between Hungary and Mexico, with Colapinto out-racing him on several occasions. However, the Frenchman showed his class whenever the car was capable of scoring points, delivering a fine weekend at Interlagos.

11) Alex Albon – 6.98

2025 was a tale of two halves for Alex Albon and the two Williams drivers. Albon was among the top five performers up until the summer break. The Thai driver was a consistent points scorer and out-performed new teammate Carlos Sainz. Unlike his teammate, Albon struggled for much of the second half of the year, with a combination of bad luck and a lack of pace. Albon’s good form didn’t net him a podium, with Sainz ending the year with two top-three finishes.

10) Carlos Sainz – 7.04

Making his way into the top 10 after a mighty end to his first year at Williams is Sainz. His podium finishes in Azerbaijan and Qatar were incredible, helping Williams secure their highest finish in the constructors’ standings since 2017. A couple of avoidable incidents — and a poor first half of the year by his standards — cost Sainz a higher finish in our rankings.

9) Nico Hulkenberg – 7.11

Hulkenberg’s long wait for an F1 podium finally came to an end at the British Grand Prix, earning the German a perfect 10 rating. Unlike for much of his career, Hulkenberg’s strength at Sauber has been on race day rather than over one lap. His form after his maiden podium did tail off as Bortoleto enjoyed the upper hand. However, a strong end to the year ensured Hulkenberg finished inside the top 10 of our ratings once again.

8) Ollie Bearman – 7.21

One of the two standout rookies this year was Haas’ Bearman. There’s no doubt the British driver is destined to drive for Ferrari in the future. Bearman’s speed was always there throughout his full rookie season, even though he struggled with executing when it mattered most. He just needs to tidy up the number of incidents he’s been involved in, as he dances around a possible race ban in the early races of 2026.

7) Isack Hadjar – 7.27

Widely regarded as F1’s rookie of the year, Isack Hadjar’s first season in F1 was impressive. He was a consistent Q3 contender, scoring regularly for Racing Bulls. The mental strength shown to bounce back from his formation-lap crash in Australia also deserves credit. A well-deserved promotion to Red Bull alongside Verstappen for next year.

6) Fernando Alonso – 7.50

Even at 44, Alonso remains one of F1’s best and most consistent performers. He whitewashed teammate Stroll 24-0 in qualifying — the third time Alonso has achieved this feat versus a teammate in his F1 career. Despite this, Alonso was behind his teammate in the standings for nearly half of the season mainly due to bad luck. Overall, another strong season for Alonso, who will be hoping Aston Martin’s Adrian Newey-designed challenger comes good in 2026.

5) Oscar Piastri – 7.60

Oscar Piastri was the heavy favourite to take the title following the Dutch Grand Prix. The Australian had a 34-point lead over teammate Lando Norris after Zandvoort. Saying Piastri ‘bottled it’ is probably a bit harsh, but there’s no doubt he imploded in the final part of the year. While his Azerbaijan weekend was particularly bad, his lack of pace in Texas and Mexico relative to Norris was the more concerning part. Still, taking the whole season into account, it was another step forward for Piastri after a fairly lacklustre 2024 campaign.

4) Lando Norris – 7.77

Norris bounced back from an underwhelming first half of the year to take the title in Abu Dhabi. The 2025 F1 world champion was only sixth in our mid-season ratings after an error-filled first part of the year. Norris’ improvement post-Zandvoort was astonishing, delivering world-class drives in Texas, Mexico and Brazil. He kept his cool in the final leg of the season despite McLaren’s operational errors. Was it one of Norris’ best seasons? Probably not — but his ability to dig deep and rectify his errors was key for his ultimate title triumph.

3) George Russell – 8.21

Russell built on his impressive 2024 campaign with another fine season. Incredibly consistent, he led Mercedes to two grand prix victories. Russell being second in our ratings would have been entirely justified. Although, his form post-Singapore was less impressive, particularly as Antonelli upped his game in the final third. Regardless, Russell is ready to win a title if Mercedes give him the tools to do so.

2) Charles Leclerc – 8.31

There cannot be any doubts about Leclerc. Even when the SF-25 looked like it was the worst-handling car on the grid, Leclerc often found himself still in Q3. His wet-weather weakness remains — but in every other aspect of being a racing driver, he has everything. He dominated new teammate Hamilton across every metric, including the races. It was only the British GP where Leclerc fell short of his high standards after an awful strategy call. Ferrari have to give Leclerc a car capable of winning a title, or they risk losing him.

1) Max Verstappen – 8.73

For the fifth straight season, Verstappen tops our end-of-season driver ratings. Verstappen is a generational talent and among the best five drivers ever to race in F1. The only thing potentially missing for Verstappen in the ‘GOAT’ debate against Hamilton and Michael Schumacher is winning a title with another team. Verstappen continues to set the benchmark in F1 with no major flaws. Deep down, he will know his antics at the Spanish GP might have cost him the title. However, his aggressive temperament makes him the driver he is. His pole lap in Suzuka was ridiculous, while his race-winning pass at Imola was outstanding. The best driver of 2025 without any doubt.