Here are the mid-season driver rankings for the 2025 F1 season. As usual, the results are generated by the mathematical model. The model assesses how impressive a driver’s results are, given the strength of their teammate(s). This means that a ranking of drivers can take place regardless of how strong their car was.
- How Are The Rookies Performing?
- F1 2025 Driver Rankings
- E Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
- D Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
- C Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
- B Tier: 2024 Driver Rankings
- A- Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
- A Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
- S Tier: 2024 Driver Rankings
- Summary of Results
How Are The Rookies Performing?
The 2025 season featured 6 rookies starting an F1 season for the first time, and the subsequent switch to Colapinto at Alpine means there are 7 rookies to study. The learning curve in F1 is steep, and the model rarely rates rookies strongly. Indeed, all 7 rookies are ranked in the bottom half of the grid. However, this is very much to be expected. In reality, none have embarrassed themselves and all have shown some solid potential at at least one point this season. We can compare the average performance scores of rookies and non-rookies so far this season. The gap has been fairly consistent so far, with some notable weak races in the wet for the rookies as a whole. The gap is more likely than not to close a little in the remainder of the season.
F1 2025 Driver Rankings
Usually the criteria for a formal ranking is half a season, but for now I’ve included rankings for every driver. For most drivers their rating still has potential for significant fluctuations, depending on the rest of the season.
E Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
21) Yuki Tsunoda
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 33% | 21st | ↓13 (8th) | 21st (23%) |
Tsunoda started the season reasonably enough at Racing Bulls, but there’s little doubt that his transition to Red Bull has been somewhat disastrous so far. Bullish remarks of securing an early podium were quickly replaced bye familiar quotations about lacking confidence in the second Red Bull car.
But how bad have his performances been really? After all, Pérez was also ranked the worst performing driver in 2024. However, whilst Perez’s rankings were around the cutoff of acceptable for an F1 driver, Tsunoda’s are much lower. In fact he’s currently on course for the worst ranking this decade.
Despite this, there are a few redeeming qualities. Firstly, his strong performances for Racing Bulls in the opening rounds are not fully accounted for by the model due to some bad luck in the races. Secondly, his Red Bull performances are still ranked higher than Liam Lawson’s at the start of the season. Beyond this, we have obviously seen multiple drivers struggle in the second Red Bull car to varying degrees. Few would actually rank Tsunoda as the worst driver on the grid all things being equal. However, the model is designed to rank how impressive his results are given the potential of the car at his disposal, and by this metric his results are unfortunately a thumping failure given what we know the car can achieve in the right hands.
D Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
20) Gabriel Bortoleto
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 47% | 20th | N/A | 6th (98%) |
It’s always tough being a rookie in F1, and so far Bortoleto has been convincingly outpaced by Hulkenberg. However, his rating was steadily improving until Hülkenberg’s surprise Silverstone podium, and is likely to improve further as the season progresses.
The highlight of his season came with a solid points finish in Austria. However, the fact that Hülkenberg finished directly behind him despite starting at the back suggests an even stronger result was potentially possible. Curiously, the model rates his qualifying performances very strongly. He’s achieved the team’s only Q3 of the season and more Q2s than Hülkenberg too. This is somewhat by circumstance, and whilst his (race) rating is likely to rise as the season continues, this inflated qualifying rating is likely to fall.
19) Jack Doohan
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 56% | 19th | N/A | 16th (68%) |
Doohan was under immediate pressure before the season even started. Dropped after just six pointless races, the model actually considers his performances to be fairly reasonable for a rookie driver in an uncompetitive car.
18) Liam Lawson
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 56% | 18th | N/A | 20th (38%) |
Lawson’s Red Bull results were considered horrific by the model, but the struggles of Tsunoda have given him some leeway. Meanwhile, Laweson’s rating at Racing Bulls is rising over time. A strong sixth place finish in Austria has been his season highlight so far, but he’s still performed worse than rookie teammate Hadjar overall.
C Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
17) Franco Colapinto
Brought in as a replacement to Doohan, the difference in performance has been muted at best. Like Doohan, Colapinto has still yet to score a point in the Alpine. Whether he’ll make it to be the end of season is not certain either.
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 62% | 17th | N/A | 17th (65%) |
16) Kimi Antonelli
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 64% | 16th | N/A | 15th (71%) |
Antonelli has shown some incredible flashes of potential at times this season. He made a strong debut in Australia en route to 4th place (particularly in comparison to the struggles of other rookies). He has also become the youngest driver to lead a race and the youngest to achieve a fastest lap.
However, at other races he has been somewhat anonymous. His podium in Canada was his only points finish in the last 6 races, and he’s still yet to finish ahead of his teammate. Mistakes like his race ending crash into Verstappen in Austria are perhaps understandable given his age and experience, but more consistent results will be expected as the season progresses.
15) Carlos Sainz
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 65% | 15th | ↓11 (4th) | 9th (91%) |
The model predicted that Sainz was likely to get the better of Albon this year. So far, this has not happened. The start of the season saw some disastrous weekends as he acclimatised to his new team. Since then his form has improved, but he’s still yet to deliver a big result.
This is not all his own doing though, with several cases of bad luck across the year. The fact that his qualifying rating is significantly higher is further evidence that the gap is not as big as the 46-13 points gap (in Albon’s favour) would suggest. Given this, it’s likely his rating will improve as the season progresses.
14) Isaac Hadjar
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 68% | 14th | N/A | 19th (51%) |
Hadjar’s rating has been highly volatile across the season. After a disastrous opening race he quickly gained the upper hand on new teammate Lawson. Hadjar has been ranked the best rookie for the majority of the season so far, but saw a significant drop following Lawson’s strong results in Austria.
Both Tsunoda’s and Lawson’s career ratings have gradually fallen this year, which has also acted as a slow puncture on his rating (as his rating is directly compared to his performances compared to his 2 teammates). His qualifying form is also not as highly rated by the model. Nevertheless, Hadjar is still ranked above both of them for 2025 and has scored the majority of the team’s points, which is impressive for a rookie.
13) Oliver Bearman
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 69% | 13th | N/A | 13th (80%) |
In a tight midfield group, Bearman currently gets the nudge as the rated rookie of the season so far. Whilst he’s still lagging behind teammate Ocon, three points finishes and a further three 11th places is a respectable return, even if he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype of last year.
B Tier: 2024 Driver Rankings
12) Fernando Alonso
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 75% | 12th | ↓3 (9th) | 10th (87%) |
Alonso’s season started poorly, with uncharacteristic mistakes and being outpaced by teammate Stroll more often than in previous years. However, he maintained a domination in qualifying, and Alonso’s results have markably improved as the season has progressed. However, this year’s rating is still very low by his own lofty standards.
11) Lance Stroll
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 76% | 11th | ↑5 (16th) | 18th (62%) |
An extremely strong opening couple of races seems like something of a false dawn when taking the season as a whole. Despite this, a solid performance at Silverstone means he regains the honours of being Aston Martin’s lead driver, which is something few would have predicted at the beginning of the year. His stable rating is a result of most of the discrepancy between his performances and the model’s predictions being considered to be due to underperformances from Alonso.
10) Nico Hülkenberg
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 80% | 10th | ↑3 (13th) | 14th (71%) |
Hülkenberg’s first half of 2025 will forever be remembered for the Silverstone podium, which was fully earnt in tricky conditions. His rating has been mostly flat due to having a rookie teammate, but he has slotted into his new team new and continues to be a strong midfield driver. It’s almost baffling that just 3 years ago it looked like he might be out of F1 for good.
A- Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
9) Esteban Ocon
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 91% | 9th | ↑2 (11th) | 12th (83%) |
Ocon has generally had the edge on Bearman so far this year. Outstanding performances in China and Monaco were rewarded with points, but a similar performance in Miami (where he led Hamilton for half the race) went unrewarded.
8) Pierre Gasly
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 94% | 8th | — (8th) | 8th (96%) |
As with Ocon, Gasly has done a solid job outpacing his rookie teammates. However, with two teammates (both of whom raced in 2024), Gasly’s rating has much more possibilities for variation. The Alpine car has not been a regular points scorer this year, but Gasly’s three points scoring GP (Bahrain, Spain and Britain) have all been deeply impressive.
7) Alex Albon
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 97% | 7th | ↑5 (12th) | 11th (85%) |
Sainz served as Albon’s first real teammate test since Max Verstappen half a decade ago, and so far he’s passed with flying colours. Whilst the 45-13 edge in points highly exaggerates the difference between them, it is no doubt raising his stock further. Like Gasly before him, Albon is building up an impressive post Red Bull career, and the model is becoming increasingly forgiving of their Red Bull struggles given what it’s seen at the team subsequently.
6) Lewis Hamilton
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 98% | 6th | ↑4 (10th) | 5th (100%) |
A stunning pole and victory in the China sprint race was very much a false dawn. Hamilton is still yet to land a Grand Prix podium for Ferrari and has generally been outpaced by Leclerc. However Silverstone was possibly his strongest Ferrari weekend to date , and he stands just 16 points behind Leclerc at the midway point. His rating is also higher than in 2024 so far.
5) George Russell
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 100% | 5th | ↑2 (7th) | 3rd (116%) |
The inconsistencies of his earlier years feel a long way in the past now. Russell has generally maximised the opportunities in the car (a disastrous British Grand Prix not withstanding). Five podiums, including a stunning victory in Canada, is a strong return. Whilst an outside shot at the title now seems beyond the car, there’s no doubt that Russell has been a strong asset to the team so far.
A Tier: 2025 Driver Rankings
4) Lando Norris
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 105% | 4th | ↓1 (3rd) | 7th (97%) |
The struggles of Sainz this season have also lead to Norris’ career rating slowly falling this year. However, he’s still considered a top line driver performing at a high level. Several mistakes (most notably his disastrous late overtaking attempt on Piastri in Canada) have meant that he once again hasn’t quite maximised the potential of the car at his disposal. The gap between Norris and teammate Piastri is larger in qualifying, due to several scruffy Q3 laps at crucial moments.
Despite this, he has had several impressive races this season and has been at least as fast as Piastri across the season thus far.
3) Oscar Piastri
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 107% | 3rd | ↓3 (6th) | 4th (114%) |
There’s no doubt that Piastri has upped his game for 2025. He appears to have retained his strengths whilst minimising previous weaknesses such as tyre management. He’s also made fewer mistakes than his more experienced teammate, and has been extremely consistent across the season after a costly mistake in Autralia. Piastri has significantly improved year on year, and it’s not yet clear if this current run is his peak form.
2) Charles Leclerc
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2023 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 108% | 2nd | — (2nd) | 2nd (120%) |
Whilst the Ferrari car has largely been a disappointment, Leclerc has had a slight edge over Hamilton for the majority of the season. Whilst there have been several poor races along the way, four podiums is an impressive return given his champion teammate has yet to reach the rostrum in the Grand Prix.
S Tier: 2024 Driver Rankings
1) Max Verstappen
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2024 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 142% | 1st | — (1st) | 1st (140%) |
Here we go again. Given the model is comparing results versus teammates, it should be no surprise to find Verstappen at the top of the rankings in 2025. He’s utterly dominated the Red Bull team, to the extent that he may have had a hand in the shocking dismissal of long-time team boss Horner.
For most of the season Verstappen has been at his absolute best; stringing together qualifying laps whilst rivals faltered and getting the best out of a tricky car. Of course he hasn’t been spotless this, with a moment of madness in Spain and a couple of mediocre performances recently. Despite this, the model believes that no-one else would have performed so highly in the Red Bull.
Summary of Results
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F1 Analysis 
After 12 races Alonso was faster than Stroll in ~12 races and has performed better (given the circumstances) in 11 races and (statistically) in 10 races, according to data that I just made up.
I’m not sure how your model sees it any different. Perhaps it’s overly sensitive to outliers, given Stroll’s best result came in a race where Alonso spun out. You talk of Stroll’s extremely strong opening, but he was seemingly behind Alonso in both those races while Alonso was still in the race.
It seems then that the model would always reflect only the current circumstances, but we can already see those by looking at the championship standings.
If you and I played chess and you beat me 104-3, then we applied for a championship and I managed to turn the score to 104-4, officially I would be a higher ranked player, but unoficially our score would remain the same.
Same here. Points sometimes translate to performance rather faithfully, sometimes they do not at all, but this is why we measure performance, to see beyond the obvious.
This is also why models need to be robust and work in cases such as these and in much much wilder theoretical cases than this.
E.g. if Alonso finishes P11 19 times and his engine blows up once and Stroll finishes P20 19 times and then he wins a race where 19 drivers DNF with a blown engine, is Stroll an infinitely better driver? 😅
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The model uses points scored compared to your teammate as its main metric. If Stroll is ahead of Alonso on points (which he is) then he is quite likely to be ranked ahead. It doesn’t rate speed, it’s based on “how impressive are those results compared to those of the teammate(s)”. That’s an imperfect system, and half a season is around the minimum time for those results to stabilise. You can see that Alonso’s rating was very low early doors and has been steadily improving. He’s very likely to be ahead by the end of the year.
The difference between the model and the championship standings is that the model takes into account the strength of the teammate(s) and other factors like DNFs to create ratings.the I’m 100% convinced that the model is a better resource to find out who the best driver is than the standings.
If Stroll won a race whilst Alonso finished the season pointless then Stroll would indeed be rated higher for that year. However, there are a couple of caveats:
-Stroll would still not be ranked incredibly highly that year, because the model would recognise the situation was an anomaly.
-Alonso would still be rated by far the better driver overall (instead of just for that 1 season).
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