30/06/2025 13:40
Although Max Verstappen was eliminated from the Austrian Grand Prix
on the first lap, the race was still a cracker with plenty of
storylines to enjoy. Whether it be the McLarens battling for the
lead, Liam Lawson's heroics or Fernando Alonso teaching his protege
a lesson or two, the race was a high-scoring affair in our driver
ratings! There is one perfect 10 among the rankings - and there
are no prizes for guessing who for... The top five Lando Norris -
10 The perfect response to the utter disaster that was Canada. He
topped every single session he took part in after missing FP1 for
Alex Dunne, set the fastest lap and led all but eight laps. Utter
dominance, and the best performance of his F1 career to date. Loses
half a mark for the errors at the final corner, which allowed
Piastri to attack, but earns it back with the stunning defensive
driving masterclass whilst low on and unable to recharge the
battery. Liam Lawson - 9.5 Out-qualified Max Verstappen in a
Racing Bulls after aborting his first Q3 lap, finished five seconds
behind a Mercedes, whilst on a one-stop strategy in searingly hot
conditions. Dealt with Fernando Alonso behind him all race and
thumped his team-mate. A performance he needed. Charles Leclerc - 9
Earns a 9.5 for out-qualifying Piastri to split the McLarens on the
grid, but loses half a mark due to the slow-ish start which allowed
Piastri ahead at Turn 1 and all but ended the race for Ferrari.
Comfortably ahead of Hamilton with third podium in four races.
Gabriel Bortoleto - 9 A stunning performance from a driver who has
not got the plaudits despite some strong performances in the Stake.
First Brazilian driver to score points since Felipe Massa at the
2017 Abu Dhabi GP, but can't score higher as he did not pass the
one-stopping Alonso late on despite having 16 lap fresher tyres
than his manager, who taught his protege a thing or two. Fernando
Alonso - 8 Welcome to the Fernando Alonso School of Defending.
Bortoleto received a fine tuition late in the race as Alonso used
every trick in the book, most of which he wrote, to stay ahead. A
fine job on the one-stop strategy, having said that, after
qualifying, he would have "signed up" to be P11. The gap to Pierre
Gasly in P10 was a bit large, so he loses half a mark. The bottom
five Lance Stroll - 4 A rather anonymous race from Stroll, who was
16th in qualifying and 14th in the race, despite four drivers
retiring as Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon both passed him. Kimi
Antonelli - 3.5 Did well to get into Q3 and start ninth, but was
simply caught out at Turn 3 with a rookie mistake on the brakes and
clobbered Verstappen out. His own fault and a fully justified
three-place grid drop for Silverstone. Franco Colapinto - 3 Fairly
innocent in being spun around by Yuki Tsunoda, but nearly forcing
Piastri off and onto the grass whilst being lapped was
unforgivable. Did well in Canada, but here was a backwards step,
just when the pressure from Flavio Briatore is ramping up. Yuki
Tsunoda - 3 In fairness, Tsunoda was only 0.263s behind Verstappen
in qualifying, but given the short lap, that is a lifetime in
Austria, as he was dumped in 18th place. Careless to tip Colapinto
in a spin, but is it rock bottom? Probably close to it, but it is
not his fault the Red Bull car is so undrivable. Tsunoda is not a
bad driver but he is being made to look like one. Carlos Sainz -
N/A Given the fact that he had major car problems in qualifying,
and posted a DNS after the brakes caught fire before the race,
Sainz is not awarded a score. RacingNews365's 2025 F1 Spanish Grand
Prix driver ratings
