01/09/2025 15:30
The Dutch Grand Prix featured a remarkable split in fortunes for
the F1 rookies, with one scoring a maiden podium and the other
sinking further into the mire. Elsewhere, Oscar Piastri placed one
hand on the F1 championship trophy after a huge slice of luck after
team-mate Lando Norris's retirement as Lewis Hamilton committed a
cardinal sin on a relatively poor weekend. Read on below to find
out how we ranked each driver from the Zandvoort weekend! The top
five Oscar Piastri - 10 Probably the easiest rating of the season.
A grand chelem earns a straight perfect 10. Upstaged Norris at the
perfect moment in Q3, and got a bit of luck with Norris's DNF to
open up a 34-point lead in the standings. It is now his
championship to lose. Isack Hadjar - 10 This one of those
'bursting on the scene' weekends which will be remembered in years
to come. Hadjar has done well through the season, but nothing grabs
the headlines and attention like a podium finish. He did
fantastically to snatch fourth on the grid, and repelled Charles
Leclerc and George Russell to hold onto place. Got the luck his
performance deserved when Norris conked out to be promoted to P3.
Max Verstappen - 9 All told, it was a rather anonymous weekend for
Verstappen, but he still crowbarred himself into the race. Starting
on the softs was an inspired call, and he livened up the opening
stages by passing Norris. Was set for a distant third but was
firmly the best of the 'non-McLaren class' in no man's land. Ollie
Bearman - 8.5 Usually, if a driver is out-qualified by their
team-mate, they cannot rank higher, but so good was Bearman's
performance from the pit-lane, he is an exception. Haas elected to
run both drivers on a 'goal-hang for a late safety car after
starting on the hard tyres' strategy, and it paid off handsomely.
Bearman was seventh over the line but promoted to sixth after Kimi
Antonelli's penalty for a career-best finish, nearly five seconds,
and four places ahead of Ocon in 10th. It is the first time since
Bahrain Bearman has scored points in a grand prix. Alex Albon - 8
Albon was only 15th on the grid and was furious after qualifying,
but put in a sensational opening lap to climb into the top 10 and
unlock his race. In a messy, scrappy race for the top 10, he kept
his nose clean to avoid contact and made up four places through
others making contact and earned a fourth fifth place of the year
when Norris conked out. The bottom five Nico Hulkenberg - 4.5
Since his podium at Silverstone, Hulkenberg is yet to score another
point and his qualifying form should be a matter of concern.
Nothing was overly wrong with his performance, but others simply
performed better. Gabriel Bortoleto - 4.5 Docked marks for poor
getaway, and launch team boss Jonathan Wheatley hinted firmly not a
car problem. Qualified ahead, but finished behind Hulkenberg.
Pierre Gasly - 4.5 Gasly is something of a Zandvoort specialist,
but was firmly out of sorts this weekend in the type of race Alpine
needed to score big points, something Racing Bulls, Haas, and
Williams all did. Did well to get out of the way immediately when
asked to allow Franco Colapinto through late on, the Argentine
coming within half-a-second of a first point of the season. Lewis
Hamilton - 4 In a word, ouch. Felt confident that he had made
genuine steps forward through practice and qualifying, but threw it
all away with a careless error to crash out in the first time he's
crashed out of a race by himself since the 2009 Italian Grand Prix
- nearly 16 years ago. Crashing was one thing, but the incident
where he did not lift enough under double-waved yellows before the
race was inexcusable for a driver of his experience. He was lucky
to have only achieved a five-place drop and two penalty points for
Monza, with the onboard footage proving damning. Kimi Antonelli -
3.5 After beaching the car in FP1, Antonelli bounced back well and
was running as high as sixth and on for a good result until his
race fell apart. Even with his inexperience, he should have backed
out of the Leclerc move sooner, and to be caught speeding in the
pit-lane is never a good look. It's not as bad as it looks on
paper, but he just needs a quiet weekend. RacingNews365's 2025 F1
Dutch Grand Prix driver ratings
