Azerbaijan GP driver ratings: One driver gets a perfect 10

Which F1 driver got the highest rating following the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

Max Verstappen - 9.5

Max Verstappen continues to show why he’s comfortably the best driver in F1. He kept his cool in qualifying to take pole and converted it into a dominant race victory.

George Russell - 9

George Russell battled illness to come away with second in Azerbaijan. An impressive race drive, but he’s marked down by the fact that he was out-qualified by his teammate for the first time this season.

Carlos Sainz - 10

The star of the weekend. Carlos Sainz was on provisional pole heading into the final minutes of Q3. Sainz didn’t look out of place, with Williams showing impressive race pace throughout to score the team’s first podium since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli - 8

A notable step forward for Kimi Antonelli. A smooth qualifying session, securing fourth on the grid ahead of teammate Russell. He followed that up with a tidy race. Still, he would have been disappointed not to have finished on the podium given his grid position.

Liam Lawson - 9.5

Like Sainz, Liam Lawson starred in qualifying with a spectacular lap to secure third on the grid. Unlike Sainz, Lawson didn’t quite have the pace to cling on to a podium. However, he was faultless and kept a number of quicker cars behind.

Yuki Tsunoda - 7

Yuki Tsunoda’s finest race as a Red Bull driver to date. His hard stint was more impressive, pulling away from the two Ferraris on merit. Tsunoda will be somewhat disappointed to lose out to Lawson after coming out of the pit lane.

Lando Norris - 6.5

A poor weekend overall for Lando Norris. Even if he had the worst of the track conditions, his final lap in Q3 was scrappy. Norris was lackadaisical on the Safety Car restart, losing a position to Charles Leclerc. He doesn’t think so – but it was a missed opportunity given what happened to Oscar Piastri.

Lewis Hamilton - 7

Things aren’t quite coming together for Lewis Hamilton at the moment. He was knocked out of Q2 after Ferrari rejected his request for fresh tyres. Hamilton deserved to beat his teammate in the race, even if he tried to give the place back on the final lap.

Charles Leclerc - 6.5

A messy weekend for Leclerc. Unlike in recent years, Leclerc didn’t look comfortable around the streets of Baku. His qualifying crash ultimately ruined his race as it put him out of position on the grid.

Isack Hadjar - 6.5

Given what his teammate achieved, Isack Hadjar will be very disappointed with his Azerbaijan GP weekend. He repeated the same mistake in qualifying that he did in the race, costing him track position to Leclerc and Norris.

Gabriel Bortoleto - 8

The most underrated performance of the weekend goes to Gabriel Bortoleto. He out-qualified teammate Nico Hulkenberg for the 10th time in 12 races. He missed out on a points finish, securing 11th in the end.

Oliver Bearman - 7.5

Like Bortoleto, Bearman enjoyed a very under-the-radar weekend. The gap to the top 10 was quite significant, suggesting Haas simply didn’t have the pace to contend for a points finish.

Alex Albon - 3

A very scrappy weekend for Alex Albon overall. He crashed in qualifying and spun Franco Colapinto around, picking up a 10-second time penalty as a result. One to forget.

Esteban Ocon - 6

Esteban Ocon looked to be a step behind teammate Bearman throughout. He was sent to the back of the grid after a rear wing irregularity in qualifying, but it didn’t really ruin his chance of points.

Fernando Alonso - 6.5

Fernando Alonso’s pursuit of points was ruined by a jump start on the opening lap of the race. However, like Haas and Sauber, Aston Martin lagged behind their midfield rivals – Williams and Racing Bulls.

Nico Hulkenberg - 5

Since scoring his maiden F1 podium at the British Grand Prix, Hulkenberg has seemingly taken the season off. Another weekend to forget as he was outclassed again by teammate Bortoleto.

Lance Stroll - 5.5

Lance Stroll spent most of his race stuck behind Colapinto’s Alpine. Regardless, points were never on the cards for the Canadian.

Pierre Gasly - 5.5

Another lacklustre weekend from Pierre Gasly. It looked like once again he was slightly less competitive than teammate Colapinto.

Franco Colapinto - 6

Colapinto did well to out-qualify teammate Gasly for the second race running. However, his needless crash at the end of Q1 would have irked Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore. His race was compromised by an incident with Albon.

Oscar Piastri - 2

Everything went wrong for Piastri at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He crashed in qualifying, he jumped the start and was out of the race on Lap 1. Piastri was fortunate to get away with it as Norris was only able to reduce his championship lead by six points.