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Quiz Edd on his mid-season F1 driver rankings
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 08:48:54 +0000 UTCEdd has used his averages from all our grand prix weekend driver rankings scores so far in 2025 to create a worst-to-best order and given his mid-season judgement on each driver.
As it's an average of Edd's (and stand-in Ben's) scores so far, it's not quite the same as the usual rankings process - but Edd is still poised to take your questions and comments on the order and how he's rated the drivers in the first half of 2025. Just pop your question in the comments on this post and look out for his replies in his debrief video next week.
The ranking of all 20 drivers based on their performance on each grand prix weekend is a staple of The Race’s Formula 1 coverage.
With the F1 season now in its August break, we can review each driver’s performance based on their positions in the ranking across the season so far.
The rankings are based upon every relevant factor influenced by a driver’s performance – speed, execution, mistakes, performance relative to team-mate, the role of luck, errors and the many other factors that shape the grand prix weekend.
These rankings have been averaged out to create the order for the mid-season ranking, which we’re listing in worst-to-best order. Where the average is the same, the position is decided based on countback to best individual ranking position.
It should be noted that this ranking order would be slightly different to a ranking of the drivers this season so far that takes into account all factors, but it is still a useful guide to the performance of the 21 people who have raced over their appearances.
So here’s how the rankings put together by Edd Straw (and stand-in Ben Anderson in Austria) pan out when the average for their whole season is calculated.
Average position: 17.125
Best position: 12th (Canada)
Worst position: 20th (Britain)
During the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, Franco Colapinto admitted that he felt most comfortable in the Alpine on his first outing after taking over from Jack Doohan at Imola.
While his Hungaroring weekend was more encouraging, it’s telling that building confidence in the tricky Alpine has not been easy.
There have been moments when he’s shown flashes of promise, notably with a solid Montreal weekend where he ran in the points in the first stint, but the trickiness of the Alpine and the late start to the season have made it difficult for him to show anything like the form he did at times with Williams last year.
Average: 17.0
Best: 15th (Australia, Bahrain, Miami)
Worst: 20th (Japan)
Doohan’s average is calculated across just six weekends and doesn’t entirely reflect the fact that he on several occasions showed genuine Pierre Gasly-bothering pace. That’s because even on weekends when the underlying speed was strong, for example Melbourne and Miami, there were other factors and errors that counted against him.
His low point was Japan, where he crashed in FP1 after taking Turn 1 with the DRS open, but the high points of Australia, Bahrain and Miami were all weekends where he showed a good turn of speed before things went wrong.
Average: 14.643
Best: 5th (Australia)
Worst: 20th (Saudi Arabia, Austria)
Yuki Tsunoda’s rankings season started off strongly with fifth in Australia then seventh in China, but since switching from Racing Bulls to Red Bull for the third event of the season in Japan he’s never climbed higher than 13th.
While the challenge of wrangling a tricky Red Bull while being compared to Max Verstappen is a difficult one, especially in such a compressed field, the fact remains that for all the flashes of encouragement, for example lapping just a tenth-and-a-half of a second off Verstappen in qualifying at the Hungaroring, he hasn’t come close to extracting the potential from the car over a whole weekend.
Average: 14.214
Best: 3rd (Austria)
Worst: 20th (China, Bahrain, Miami)
Liam Lawson took a beating early in the season, failing dismally at Red Bull before being unceremoniously axed by the team after just two weekends.
While his early weekends at Racing Bulls were shaky - not so much in terms of underlying pace but certainly execution - things have picked up well recently.
Across the first seven events his average ranking position was a dire 18.5, but in the most recent seven his average ranking rises to a very respectable 10th. That’s indicative of a positive trend that means he’s at least given himself a chance of staying on the grid next year.
Average: 13.308
Best: 7th (Hungary
Worst: 19th (Japan, Canada)
Lance Stroll’s average ranking position, calculated across just 13 events as he was not classified in Spain despite participating in qualifying because of the hand and wrist pain that led to him skipping the race, is similar to the same point last season.
The pattern remains consistent for him: a mix of weekends where he struggles to get anything like the pace out of the Aston Martin that Fernando Alonso can, and a handful where he performs at a decent level relative to his team-mate.
While he is level on points with Alonso, his performance level has, on average, been clearly lower - making for a solid but unremarkable half-season.
Average: 12.786
Best: 2nd (Saudi Arabia, Emilia Romagna)
Worst: 19th (Miami, Bahrain, Australia)
Carlos Sainz’s rankings have been scattered all over the map, which reflects a curious season.
While some of his early troubles can be ascribed to the time taken to adapt to the demands of the Williams, it was less a case of him not being on top of the car and more just the problem of not delivering the speed he had shown when it really mattered.
When things came together, he has produced some strong weekends, but overall it’s been a disjointed season, with his average ranking not helped by tricky weekends such as the Hungaroring where he performed decently but the Williams was difficult.
Average: 12.0
Best: 4th (Monaco)
Worst: 20th (Emilia Romagna)
As is often the case with Esteban Ocon, his season has been a mixed bag as he’s flitted between good and bad weekends.
His best work has, as always, been excellent - with Monaco the high point in terms of all-round execution.
But he’s also had difficult weekends where he’s struggled with the car. Imola was the best example of that, as he alluded to non-specific car problems before his early retirement from the race with a power unit problem denying him the chance to recover to the points.
His best work this year has generally been on Sundays, with several outstanding runs to the top 10.
Average: 11.929
Best: 5th (Canada, Miami)
Worst: 20th (Belgium)
Amid high expectations, Kimi Antonelli’s campaign has subverted the archetype of a rookie season.
He started with consistent points accumulation, before struggling increasingly with the instability of the Mercedes that didn’t chime well with his attacking style. That made for a solid start, followed by some erratic and disappointing performances - with the outstanding drive to third in Canada the outlier in that later run.
But what’s most surprising is Antonelli’s rookie campaign so far has lacked the frequency of stellar peaks you’d expect, Miami sprint pole position aside. That’s reflected in his average ranking, which is solid rather than spectacular.
Average: 11.857
Best: 4th (Japan)
Worst: 18th (Hungary)
Were the rankings based purely on pace, Ollie Bearman would be flying far higher in the rankings. Unfortunately, his speed has been matched with good execution and a lack of errors only occasionally, which makes this a season of promise largely unfulfilled.
Silverstone perhaps encapsulates this best, where a needless crash in pit-entry under the red flag in practice ruined a weekend where he led the midfield pack in qualifying.
The positive is that if he can calm things down and keep hold of the pace, his rankings average can rise significantly after the August break.
Average: 11.857
Best: 1st (Hungary)
Worst: 19th (Britain)
Gabriel Bortoleto was the sleeper hit of the first part of the year, albeit without that being consistently shown in his rankings owing to the occasional error in a car that was particularly difficult to drive - for example in China where he spun into the gravel on the opening lap of the grand prix after crossing Bearman’s turbulent wake - on weekends where he impressed in qualifying.
However, the signs of class were there, and as Sauber has become more consistent it’s been easier for him to show his class.
Silverstone disaster aside, he had a strong run into the August break culminating in second in Belgium and first in Hungary in the rankings. Expect his average ranking to continue to climb on the current trajectory.
Average: 11.0
Best: 5th (Britain)
Worst: 20th (Hungary)
It might surprise some to see Lewis Hamilton ranked as high as 11th (equal 10th before countback), but that reflects more his tendency to avoid big errors and therefore terrible weekend rankings than his pace.
That he had a five-event run where he was ranked between ninth and 11th from Miami to Canada says a lot about his subdued season, rarely showing the speed expected of him.
What is remarkable, though, is how unremarkable his rankings numbers are. Even during his difficult 2024 campaign, he was ranked in the top two on three occasions, but 2025 has been a recurring nightmare.
Average: 11.0
Best: 1st (Silverstone)
Worst: 20th (Monaco)
When Alpine has been at its most hopeless, Gasly has been racing with one hand tied behind his back in a car that nobody would be able to make a good impression in - especially given the rotating cast of team-mates.
When it’s been at its best, the car has often been slower over a race stint, which has made Sundays hard work.
But through that, Gasly has shown his class. Britain, where he topped the rankings, stands out, but so do weekends like Bahrain, Spain and Belgium where he scored points.
It’s been a largely classy campaign but one where he’s not always been able to show his qualities given Alpine’s struggles.
Average: 10.857
Best: 2nd (Britain)
Worst: 19th (China)
The wily veteran battled gamely with a limited Sauber in the first part of the season, banking a series of solid weekends when it was difficult to make much of an impression thanks to car pace, the occasional risky strategy and a car that could be erratic.
But having banked a lucky seventh place on his return to Sauber colours in Australia, his experience paid dividends once the Spain floor was introduced - allowing him to become the highest midfield points scorer in the second quarter of the season.
Qualifying remains, uncharacteristically, a problem, and he’s facing an increasing challenge from his team-mate Bortoleto, but his dependable performances show exactly why Sauber chose to sign him.
Average: 10.643
Best: 3rd (Monaco, Japan)
Worst: 20th (Australia)
Aside from his catastrophic start in Australia, crashing on the formation lap, and the occasional blunder such as rear-ending Antonelli at Silverstone, Isack Hadjar has been an impressively dependable performer in his rookie season.
Ten times out of 14 he’s been in the top 11 of the rankings, with only occasional bad weekends denting his average. Even in Bahrain, where he was down in 17th, it was on a weekend where he underperformed mildly in qualifying then made life difficult for himself with a bad start.
He’s established himself as the leading rookie, although Bortoleto has closed the gap in recent races, as well as establishing himself among the lead pack in the midfield group.
Average: 9.286
Best: 2nd (Canada, Hungary)
Worst: 16th (Australia)
There have been occasions where mistakes have dented Alonso’s rankings, but by and large he’s operated at a high level in an Aston Martin that has not been up to much.
He’s been ranked in the top six five times so far this year, which might not sound like much by his high standards, but given the Aston Martin has often struggled to give him much opportunity to shine that’s a decent return.
He’s also been stronger than team-mate Stroll by his usual margin, which is something the rankings suggest but that isn’t reflected in the fact they are level on points.
Average: 7.857
Best: 1st (Australia)
Worst: 15th (Hungary)
Alex Albon leads the way outside of the top four teams in terms of average ranking. He’s only dropped out of the top 10 in event rankings three times out of 14, with the occasions he’s missed out usually a consequence of not getting the most out of the Williams in qualifying on weekends when it was tricky to drive.
As Albon himself has said, he’s been performing at a high level throughout his years at Williams - even though Sainz’s arrival has made that more obvious - but he’s also talked of being more comfortable in a car that’s “easier to drive on the limit”.
Average: 7.249
Best: 1st (Austria, Monaco)
Worst: 20th (Canada)
At his best, Lando Norris has been outstanding. But as his position in this ranking demonstrates, he hasn’t been at his best often enough.
As Norris has admitted, he’s made life difficult for himself at times and the events where he has excelled, with Austria and Monaco standing out, offset by weekends like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Canada where errors and crashes held him back.
You could argue he’s fortunate to make it into the August break only nine points behind Oscar Piastri in the world championship, especially given his Hungary win was only good enough for sixth in the rankings given the underachievement in qualifying and at the start of the race.
Average: 6.571
Best: 1st (Saudi Arabia, Belgium)
Worst: 18th (Miami)
Charles Leclerc has scaled the usual heights at his best this year, although a few difficulties in the wet - crashing on his way to the grid for the Miami sprint and a terrible race day at Silverstone - drag his average down.
For his part, Leclerc sees his wet driving as a strength and ascribes occasional difficulties in such conditions in his Ferrari time to the specific challenges of the car. He might have a point, given how exceptional he has been most of the time, making the most of an underwhelming Ferrari to put himself in the top five of the weekend rankings nine times.
Average: 5.857
Best: 1st (China, Japan, Emilia Romagna)
Worst: 19th (Spain)
Nobody has had more top spots in the rankings than Verstappen, but his slide to third in the averages reflects his Spanish Grand Prix head loss, Antonelli’s blunder in Austria that cost him the chance to make a bigger impression in the race and so-so race weekends in Britain and Hungary as Red Bull struggled.
At his best, he’s been as mighty as ever and few would have managed to take the victories he did at Suzuka and Imola. While his average has suffered, were this an all-things-considered ranking rather than based on averages, Verstappen would likely be in top spot.
Average: 5.357
Best: 1st (Bahrain, Canada)
Worst: 11th (Britain)
George Russell has been something of a sleeper hit in 2025, with the struggles of a Mercedes that has been quick at times but dropped out of contention when it's hot and during the spells when the unsuccessful Imola rear suspension ran sometimes shrouding his excellence.
But he’s been consistently good, only once being ranked outside the top 10 at the end of a weekend - and even then it was 11th - and leading the line for Mercedes.
It’s confirmation that he’s turned himself into one of the most consistently outstanding performers in F1, albeit with few chances to do what he did in Montreal and dominate.
Average: 4.0
Best: 1st (Miami, Spain)
Worst: 9th (Australia)
Piastri’s consistency has been a powerful weapon, with the lack of errors the key to his high average.
Other than in Australia, where he was unfortunate to spin when rejoining after skating through the gravel when the rain hit, he’s produced performances that are excellent at best and consistently good at worst. That’s yielded top-three rankings in half of the weekends so far, which reflects the step forward Piastri has taken from his impressive but more erratic form last year into being favourite for the world championship this year.
His season so far is proof of the old adage that you win titles with your performances on your bad days - because those have generally been good for Piastri this year.
Comments
Andrew Narduzzi
Thanks for putting this out! I find it interesting, although not surprising, that the teams with the most volatile driver situations (Alpine and Red Bull), are also the drivers with the lowest mid season rankings. Just goes to show that the instability really does have an effect on performance over the course of the season. Also, while I think Alonso has had a good season so far, in an ideal world I think I’d put Gasly and Hulk ahead of him.
Adam Barton
How does the process vary on a sprint weekend compared to the standard format? Does this impact timing, focus or weighting or just opportunity?
