Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings: Lando Norris Makes Solid Recovery Drive But Who Scores The Highest Mark? 426j2z

Oscar Piastri got the better of Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to win his third race of the year, and here, SportsCasting provides our driver ratings for Sunday’s race.

2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Driver Ratings 1r4y70

Oscar Piastri – 9 6h195h

Qualified 2nd, Finished 1st (Season average rating 8.6)

Was slightly underwhelming in qualifying but made up for it with a blistering start which pressured Max Verstappen off the track and into a five-second penalty.

That effectively won him the race and he now leads the drivers’ standings.

Max Verstappen – 8 486o70

Qualified 1st, Finished 2nd (Season average rating 8.8)

Refused to hand the position back to Oscar Piastri when it was a slam dunk five-second penalty.

Should have conceded the position as his car was genuinely quick during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. However, the five-second penalty meant the gap was too much to Piastri after the pit-stops.

A slightly quicker getaway for Piastri put him side-by-side with Verstappen into the first corner 👀@awscloud allows us to see just how close things were off the line 😲#F1 #F1Insights pic.twitter.com/nicGR6aohU

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 21, 2025

Charles Leclerc – 9.5 68o4b

Qualified 4th, Finished 3rd (Season average rating 7.6)

Undoubtedly the driver of the day as he got the most out of his underperforming Ferrari. His first stint was incredible.

He kept his medium tyres alive for 29 laps and then showed better pace on the hard compound than those around him did.

Managed to overtake George Russell for third and fended off Lando Norris to take Ferrari’s first Grand Prix podium of the year.

Lando Norris – 7.5 715j57

Qualified 10th, Finished 4th (Season average rating 7.7)

A solid recovery drive during the race after a crash in qualifying ruined what looked like it was going to be a promising weekend.

Was a bit naive in his battle with Lewis Hamilton where he lost more time than he needed to.

Lando Norris had the better pace than Piastri up until his qualifying crash, so will view the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as one that got away from him.

George Russell – 7 522zt

Qualified 3rd, Finished 5th (Season average rating 8.1)

Disappointing race for George Russell who had no pace on the hard compound and slipped out of the podium positions.

Mercedes encountered severe tyre overheating and Russell could do nothing to stop a charging Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli – 6.5 2f71

Qualified 5th, Finished 6th (Season average rating 6.9)

Andrea Kimi Antonelli had another solid weekend but struggled to match the pace of teammate George Russell for large parts of the weekend.

Struggled to put any pressure on Charles Leclerc during the first stint and then fell back as he struggled to preserve his tyres.

Had a stronger finish to the race than Russell, finishing just over seconds behind his teammate.

Lewis Hamilton  – 6 5tk5o

Qualified 7th, Finished 7th (Season average rating 6.1)

Tough weekend for the seven-time world champion who was six-tenths off teammate Charles Leclerc in qualifying and then finished 31 seconds behind him in the race.

Showed some smart racecraft against Lando Norris but other than it was a very uneventful race.

Could be a long season for Lewis Hamilton if this sort of form continues.

Carlos Sainz – 8 6u4o40

Qualified 6th, Finished 8th (Season average rating 5)

More like it from Carlos Sainz who has scored no higher than a 4.5 in our driver ratings before the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Excellent qualifying result and played the perfect teammate role as he kept Alex Albon in his DRS, preventing the second Williams from being overtaken by Isack Hadjar.

🇸🇦 Solid day, P8! We’ve been strong all race. Towards the end the team identified that Hadjar was a threat to Alex so I was asked to give him DRS. Wasn’t easy, but we managed it perfectly and secured a double points finish! Can’t wait for Miami!

👉https://t.co/x8DIrpKQ pic.twitter.com/YCBx1dpmXn

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) April 20, 2025

Alex Albon – 7.5 4i4i2f

Qualified 11th, Finished 9th (Season average rating 7.7)

First weekend this season where he has been outperformed by Carlos Sainz, but it was another solid drive from Alex Albon.

With the help of his teammate scored his fourth points finish from the first five races.

Isack Hadjar – 8 5p6a4w

Qualified 14th, Finished 10th (Season average rating 6.5)

Underachieved in qualifying but made up for it with a strong performance during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Scored one point but could have been more had it not been for Williams’ DRS tactics to keep him behind.

Fernando Alonso – 7.5 4k4873

Qualifying 13th, Finished 11th (Season average rating 6.1)

Points are going to be hard to find for Fernando Alonso this season as Aston Martin continue to struggle for pace.

Nearly had a huge crash with Gabriel Bortoleto – the driver he manages – and couldn’t have any more than where he finished.

Liam Lawson – 5.5 435c68

Qualifying 12th, Finished 12th (Season average rating 3.6)

Finally got the better of a teammate in the 2025 Formula One season by outqualifying Isack Hadjar on Saturday.

Finished just behind his teammate on Sunday but was handed a 10-second penalty for cutting the track when ing Jack Doohan.

Oliver Bearman – 7 252hh

Qualifying 15th, Finished 13th (Season average rating 7)

Quicker than Esteban Ocon throughout the weekend but the Haas lacked pace to challenge for the points.

Drove a decent race but will be hoping the next race in Miami will better suit his Haas team.

Esteban Ocon – 6 2b406l

Qualified 19th, Finished 14th (Season average rating 6.8)

Weekend was ruined by qualifying 19th on Saturday and finished 20 seconds behind his teammate in the race.

Pitted after the first lap when the safety car was brought out, and while his pace was comparable to Bearman, he had too much work to do after his poor qualifying.

Nico Hulkenberg – 6 4h515u

Qualifying 18th, Finished 15th (Season average rating 6.2)

Seems incredible that Nico Hulkenberg got a P7 out of this Sauber at the Australian Grand Prix.

He is getting the most out of the slowest car in the Formula One field but it is going to be a long season for the German.

Lance Stroll – 5 d6a5d

Qualified 16th, Finished 16th (Season average rating 5.2)

Lance Stroll went extra long on the hard tyre in the hope of a safety car but it never paid off for the Canadian.

The Canadian lacked the pace of teammate Fernando Alonso all weekend and could no make improvement from his starting position.

Jack Doohan – 4 4dz1a

Qualified 17th, Finished 17th (Season average rating 3.8)

Pierre Gasly showed that Alpine had solid pace at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but Jack Doohan couldn’t get anywhere close to matching it.

He was one of the drivers who pitted after the first lap and did a mammoth stint on the hard compound.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 4 2c599

Qualified 20th, Finished 18th (Season average rating 4.7)

The 2024 Formula Two champion is struggling to get the most out of his Sauber and beat veteran teammate Nico Hulkenberg.

Pitted to take on the hard tyres after Lap One and struggled for grip at the end, losing 17th on the final lap to Jack Doohan.

Almost caused a massive collision with his mentor Fernando Alonso mid-race.

Fernando Alonso had jokes for Gabriel Bortoleto after their near-collision 😅

Alonso is Bortoleto's manager and will fly home together 🛩️ pic.twitter.com/JJ1nn37fkR

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) April 20, 2025

Yuki Tsunoda – 5.5 2z5j5

Qualified 8th, DNF – Collision with Pierre Gasly (Season average rating 5.9)

Showed improvement by getting his Red Bull into the final part of qualifying but was still a second down on Max Verstappen.

His race ended on the opening lap after he understeered into Pierre Gasly. Both went spinning into the wall and though Yuki Tsunoda made it back into the pits, his rear wing was damaged and he could not continue.

Pierre Gasly – 5.5 1e1p5d

Qualified 9th, DNF – Collision with Yuki Tsunoda (Season average rating 6.4)

Strong pace in qualifying but a disappointing race for the French Alpine driver.

Though Yuki Tsunoda was perhaps slightly more at fault for the collision, it could be argued that Pierre Gasly’s move was a bit too ambitious and was always likely going to result in a collision.