'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 2025 F1 Chinese GP saw Oscar Piastri clinch his first race win from pole position. The driver streaked away at the start of the race and from that point onwards held his lead by fending off Lando Norris for the entire race.
The McLaren duo was followed by George Russell, who had arguably the best possible race that he could have executed. The driver started the race from P2 but lost out to Norris in his McLaren. In the end, he came home in P3 and had reigning champion Max Verstappen right behind him in P4.
The F1 Chinese GP was a tricky one. The fact that we also had the first sprint weekend of the season was also an added twist in the weekend. So how did every driver fare this race weekend? Let's take a look.
Trending
Criteria
- Performance in both qualifying and races is judged.
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car.
- Mistakes made over the weekend.
- Relative performance against teammate.
2025 F1 Chinese GP: Rating the drivers
McLaren
Lando Norris
Rating: 6.5
Lando Norris should be disappointed. Is the car difficult to drive? It does appear to be the case for sure, but at the same time, his team and possibly his biggest title rival, Oscar Piastri, bagged a P2 and P1. There were too many mistakes from the driver, and it cost him ultimately.
Oscar Piastri
Rating: 8.5
That's a statement win for Oscar Piastri after the debacle of Australia. The driver needed it as well to get his confidence and a little bit of his aura back. We're looking at a championship contender in Piastri, and Norris should be worried.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Rating: 7
An underwhelming sprint was followed by a strong race for Leclerc. It all came to nothing in the end as the driver was disqualified, but on his part, he did show an impressive turn of pace on Sunday after struggling throughout Friday and Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton
Rating: 8
Saturday was brilliant for Lewis Hamilton as the driver picked up his first career sprint win. For the F1 Chinese GP race weekend, Hamilton was the lead driver on Friday and Saturday, but things turned on their head on Sunday.
Looking back, the disqualification would hurt, but what would hurt more is the fact that the team needs to do a lot of work before it can legitimately fight for the title.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Rating: 9.5
Max Verstappen continues to remind us every race weekend why he's the benchmark in F1, just like he reminds everyone how underwhelming Red Bull is right now. The F1 Chinese GP was another example of the long-term play that Verstappen has been involved in as he tries to bank as many points as he can every weekend with the hope that the car shows improvement a bit later in the year.
Did Verstappen leave anything on the table at the F1 Chinese GP? Probably not, and that's what makes him such an asset for Red Bull.
Liam Lawson
Rating: 3
If reports are to be believed, then Liam Lawson's appearance at the F1 Chinese GP could be his last as a Red Bull driver. Nothing seems to be working for the Kiwi at this stage, but you have to wonder whether it's the driver or just the car at this stage.
Mercedes
George Russell
Rating: 9.5
Just like Red Bull has Max Verstappen, Mercedes has George Russell. With Lewis Hamilton gone, the driver has taken up the role of a team leader, and he's been brilliant.
He extracted everything that was on the table for Mercedes at the F1 Chinese GP and picked up a second consecutive P3.
Kimi Antonelli
Rating: 6
Kimi was a step behind George Russell at the F1 Chinese GP. The Italian driver is getting up to pace slowly within Mercedes, but it's safe to say that the team might be looking at the gap between him and his teammate and expecting a better result.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Rating: 6
It's a poor start to the season for Fernando Alonso, and once again it was a result of something that was not in his control. The performance is there in the Aston Martin to get points, but the Spaniard has been awfully unlucky early in the year.
Lance Stroll
Rating: 7
That's two points-scoring finishes in two races for Lance Stroll as the driver ended up benefitting from the disqualifications to score points once again. The F1 Chinese GP saw the Canadian try an alternative strategy, and arguably it didn't work as well as it should have, as he was initially outside of the top 10.
Stroll has built a bit of momentum for himself this season, and he will be hoping to continue building on it.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Rating: 7
Not much separates Pierre Gasly and his teammate in terms of pace. The French driver had a decent overall weekend, but with Alpine having a few issues at the F1 Chinese GP, he couldn't really exploit it and score a few points.
Jack Doohan
Rating: 5
The pace is there for Jack, but so are errors. In the first two races, the Australian has shown that the potential is there. He needs to start nailing his starts, however, because once he does, he is more or less a match for Pierre.
At the F1 Chinese GP, however, while the performance in qualifying was a positive, it was what happened in the race that was a bit disappointing.
Haas
Esteban Ocon
Rating: 8
Esteban Ocon has already clocked a P5 for Haas in just his second appearance, and after the Australian GP, he would not have expected that. The French driver had issues in the sprint with the car, and as it turns out, he was hindered by a damaged floor.
The changed setup at the Chinese GP qualifying brought the car alive, and Ocon made the most of it. P5 is a brilliant result for the French driver and gives Haas a great platform to build on.
Ollie Bearman
Rating: 7
A strong bounce back from Ollie Bearman in the F1 Chinese GP. The driver is fast, and he's very sensible in the way he conducts himself on the track. A points finish was a pretty result for the driver.
Racing Bulls
Yuki Tsunoda
Rating: 8
Yuki Tsunoda should have scored points in both the races we've had this season. On the contrary, the Japanese driver has zero points to his name. The strategies are entirely down to the team, and that's not on Yuki. Across the F1 Chinese GP race weekend, the only place where Tsunoda probably messed up was on the final lap in Q3. Other than that, the driver has been very impressive.
Isack Hadjar
Rating: 7
A solid weekend for Isack. In his development cycle, the young driver is doing an impressive job and has shown pace for sure. There are still a few kinks which will take some ironing out, but the potential is there for a solid driver.
Williams
Alex Albon
Rating: 7.5
Alex Albon has been the flagbearer for Williams once again, and he continued to do so during the F1 Chinese GP. The driver has scored more points for the team now and surprisingly finds himself in P5 in the championship ahead of quite a few of the usual suspects.
Carlos Sainz
Rating: 5
Carlos Sainz looks a bit unsure with the car, and even at the F1 Chinese GP, the driver looked a bit uncertain. It's only two races, and one expects the Spaniard to get on top of the car soon enough, but for now, the performances have not been as good.
Sauber
Nico Hulkenberg
Rating: 5
A not-so-good sprint part followed by an impressive qualifying followed by a strange error from Hulkenberg that damaged his floor and effectively compromised him for the race. All in all, it was a bit underwhelming because Sauber showed decent pace during the F1 Chinese GP, and looking at the number of DSQs, points would have been on the table.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Rating: 5
Bortoleto is a bit rough on the edges just like the other rookies, but it does appear that he's slowly getting the hang of things. The F1 Chinese GP was maybe not the best showcase for it, but outqualifying Hulkenberg in the sprint was still a positive for the Brazilian.
