Yesterday at 14:00
It was a contrasting Azerbaijan Grand Prix from Baku with displays
of utter dominance mixed in with catastrophic blunders. Below, are
our driver ratings from Baku, including two 10s and a season-worst
score for the world championship leader. The top five Max
Verstappen - 10 The rules are pretty simple. You score a grand
chelem, you get a 10. He's now 69 points behind Piastri. He
couldn't, could he? Carlos Sainz - 10 Perhaps got a little lucky
with the chaos of Q3, but put the time on the board when others
fumbled or crashed to start P2. In the end, second or third
probably doesn't matter, a podium is a podium and did well to
ensure Antonelli never got within striking distance. Now, he must
deliver this level of performance for the rest of the season.
George Russell - 9.5 Given he was on the verge of pulling out
after Friday due to illness, to come back and finish second was a
remarkable achievement. Doing the overcut worked wonders as the
track and conditions played to Mercedes' strengths. Can't score a
10 because he was out-qualified by Antonelli by over three-tenths.
Kimi Antonelli - 9 Just the weekend Antonelli needed. Did well to
out-qualify Russell for the first time since Miami, and was a
little anonymous and in no man's land in the race after passing
Lawson. But that's exactly the result and drive he needed to
rebuild his confidence. He's given himself a springboard. Liam
Lawson - 9 Despite all the plaudits Hadjar is receiving, Lawson is
now just nine points behind after a career-best finish. Was not
phased by battling with Tsunoda, Norris, and Hamilton late on, and
more than held his own against Antonelli, who only got ahead after
undercutting. The bottom five Franco Colapinto - 4.5 Officially
out-qualified Gasly once again, but then tanked himself by
destroying the car at Turn 4. In the race, unlucky to be rammed by
Albon, causing damage, but still came home last on a difficult
weekend for Alpine. Is showing flashes, but is it enough to keep
his seat? Alex Albon - 4 On a weekend, his team-mate was second on
the grid and third in the race; this was a massive missed
opportunity. His crash in Q1 was careless, and ramming Colapinto in
the race was uncalled for. Has been the better of the two Williams
drivers this season, but dropped the ball, which fell kindly for an
open goal for Sainz. Nico Hulkenberg - 4 Nothing overly wrong with
Hulkenberg's weekend, but was anonymous and out-qualified and
out-raced once again by Bortoleto. Lance Stroll - 4 Went from
14th on the grid to 17th in the classification, despite Piastri's
retirement. Largely anonymous. Oscar Piastri - 3 Quite possibly
the worst weekend of his F1 career. Had been off Norris throughout
practice, and then stacked it in an unusual qualifying crash to
leave him ninth on the grid. A jump start is unforgivable and
crashing on Lap 1 just about summed it up. But earns some credit
back for passing two cars on that first lap, and he at least made
Q3. But lost fewer points to Norris (six) than if he had finished
second to him in the race. RacingNews365's 2025 F1 Azerbaijan
Grand Prix driver ratings
