One key strength of every F1 driver on the 2025 grid

The 2025 F1 season is going to be an interesting one with plenty of young talent making their way into the sport. We'll have multiple drivers in their first full-time season and unlike the 2024 grid where there were no rookies, there will be a few next season.

It's often hard to gauge a driver based on how good or bad he can be at certain things. With that being said, often drivers tend to have one distinctive strength that stands out amongst other traits. In this feature, we're looking at the 2025 F1 grid and the one thing that stands out for each driver.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen

When we talk about Max Verstappen, what stands out is the ruthlessness. There are very few drivers in F1 that have the tendency to just not give an inch even when it is a malleable teammate (Sergio Perez) or a friend turned title rival (Lando Norris).

This has to be the first thing that stands out as one of his key strengths.

Liam Lawson

It's still early to make any judgment on Liam Lawson, but if there's one thing that sticks more than anything else, it's the fact the driver is quite adaptable. In a sport like F1 where things are dynamic, it's an advantage.

McLaren

Lando Norris

Far too many people have discredited Lando Norris as a driver in the last 12 months. However, one area where he seems to be quite impressive is his ability to continue to make incremental improvements. In F1, you cannot be static as a driver and until you're making decent strides in the sport, that's a good thing.

It will be interesting to see if he can make that elusive next step and become an even bigger adversary for Max Verstappen in 2025.

Oscar Piastri

Something that stands out for Oscar Piastri in his two years in F1 is his ability to absorb pressure and keep calm when it comes to performing in crunch situations. There are very few drivers who have the ability to not let external factors bother them and how they perform.

For Piastri, this is something that appears to happen naturally.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc

For Charles Leclerc, it has to be the audacious speed that the driver possesses when it comes to driving an F1 car. There aren't many drivers in the sport who can make a flying lap look breathtaking. Leclerc is one of them and there's an uncanny similarity between him and former Ferrari heartthrob Gilles Villeneuve.

Lewis Hamilton

For Lewis Hamilton, it just has to be the fact that the driver is just pure talent when it comes to driving an F1 car. There aren't many in the history of the sport who have stayed consistently fast for this long and still be valued the way he is.

Lewis has shown that when he's in the right mindspace and everything is ticking, there aren't many who can compete with what he can deliver.

Mercedes

George Russell

George Russell is probably one of the best students in the game when it comes to F1. The Mercedes driver has closely studied Lewis Hamilton, a driver he considered his idol while growing up, and has used him as a benchmark throughout his formative years.

Looking at the last three years with Lewis, the driver learned quite a few interesting things during their partnership.

Kimi Antonelli

It's hard to truly judge how good Kimi Antonelli would be but there's one thing that's quite clear and that's the fact that there's an undeniable talent that the kid possesses and the potential for something very interesting.

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso

If there's one thing undeniable about Fernando Alonso then it is the chip on his shoulder when it comes to proving to the world what a legend he is. The driver hasn't had a fair shake at the title since the Ferrari days and you could see him still being motivated after a decade to be one of the best on the F1 grid.

Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll has just not been the best proponent of what it means to be an F1 driver recently but his talent is unquestionable.

A driver doesn't secure a podium in a rookie season in a Williams machine if that's not the case. While the Canadian tends to evoke not the best of reactions from the fans, he's still a talent that would have more or less found his way to the grid.

Alpine

Pierre Gasly

The mental strength of a driver, who was quite literally kicked to the kerb after half a season by Red Bull, to bounce back and become a race winner is something that doesn't get enough recognition.

Gasly might not be an elite talent in F1 right now but he's certainly very close to that level.

Jack Doohan

One driver that quite a few people have written off when he was signed is Jack Doohan. The Australian might not be your next Oscar Piastri but if he's given a fair shake, the talent is there and he could become a permanent fixture in F1.

Haas

Esteban Ocon

A quality that Esteban Ocon probably has to a fault is his attitude of being a fighter. The Frenchman is just ruthless when it comes to going up against anyone in any car and would not give an inch.

A trait that gets hammered into you when you know everything could fall apart in a minute, Ocon is a perfect proponent of a survivor's mindset that helps him be the fighter he tends to be on the track.

Ollie Bearman

Other than the ridiculous talent that Ollie Bearman has shown in an F1 car already, there's also this calm and laid-back kid who knows things will eventually come to him if he keeps doing right things. The young Brit is one of the two bright talents that step onto the grid next year and there's maybe a sense of maturity that Bearman has which Antonelli doesn't for now.

V-Ca-RB

Yuki Tsunoda

Another year after getting rejected for the top Red Bull seat, Yuki Tsunoda is arguably the epitome of what it means to have incremental growth. The young Japanese driver stepped into the sport in 2021 and we cannot even associate him anymore to that kid who was quite volatile in his rookie season.

While the future remains uncertain for the Japanese driver, if he continues to grow, there's nothing stopping him.

Isack Hadjar

It's hard to truly gauge where Hadjar stands in terms of racing but it's safe to say that the talent is there. If it is good enough to turn heads then we're looking at an interesting prodigy for the future.

Williams

Carlos Sainz

What works for Carlos Sainz is the ruthless ability to just be very close to the limit all the time and then there are days where everything just clicks and nobody could keep up with him. The Spaniard is a brilliant F1 driver and quite clearly an asset for any team.

Alex Albon

What makes Alex Albon brilliant is the mental fortitude that he's shown in his entire career. The Thai driver did not have the smoothest run to F1 but what stood out for him was the ability to constantly keep doing the work so that it eventually pays off.

Albon might not be your best driver on the current grid, but what he does well is the ability to extract strong results without making too many mistakes.

Nico Hulkenberg

For anyone who has seen Nico Hulkenberg's F1 career from the very beginning, there's one thing that stands out more than anything else and it is the ability to just extract laptime from whatever car he's had under him.

In a career that's spanned over a decade, the German has often shown a brilliant turn of speed from the car under him and has not really had too many complaints about 'car characteristics', something that's often a concern for many drivers.

Gabriel Bortoleto

On what might be the next big thing from Brazil, Gabriel Bortoleto is coming into F1 after winning F3 and F2 on the jump and has shown what is possible in a car that's strong enough to fight for the title.

The big leagues are obviously as challenging and the Brazilian would be tested, but if he is as good as his junior career has been then we're for a very interesting prospect.

From what we've seen until now in both F3 and F2, what stands out for Bortoleto is an interesting adaptation period where he has shown that he can quickly get on terms with the qualifying form and hence is able to drive at the limit of the car more often than not.