With the dust having settled on the 2025 season, we’ve crunched the numbers to see which drivers were the best rated across the year.
As most of you will know, after every race we rank all 20 drivers with a score of 1 to 10. Now that the season is done and dusted, we have added up all those numbers and worked out the 10 best across the year.
The 10 best-rated drivers across the F1 2025 season
10. Alex Albon – 6.83
Albon described it as his strongest F1 campaign so far and, even if he did score more points in 2019 and 2020, his results across the year in a Williams make it easy to see why.
His best period came right at the start with points scored in all but one of the first eight races and, after a trio of retirements, Albon then scored points in four of the five final European races.
His form dipped towards the end with his Monza being the last time he scored points in a grand prix but P8 in the final standings is a big jump from 2024’s P16.
9. Nico Hulkenberg – 6.88
A career-first podium was the highlight for Hulkenberg in what was a year that took a while to get going.
Following a P7 in Australia, the German then went seven races without a point but enjoyed a good run from Spain to Silverstone, claiming a P3.
The end of the year was one of ups and downs with points in Austin, Brazil, Vegas and Abu Dhabi complemented with retirements in Mexico and Qatar, but Hulkenberg can now look forward to perhaps having a top-end car with Audi.
8. Fernando Alonso – 6.89
Alonso would still rather be competing much higher up the grid but of the two Aston drivers, he is the one making the most of whatever performance is on offer.
His most consistent run of races came in Spain to Silverstone with a P9 followed by back-to-back P7s and another P9 but there was also a P5 in Hungary and a good end to the year with P7 in Qatar and P6 in Abu Dhabi.
=6. Oliver Bearman – 7.04
It has somewhat slipped under the radar but Bearman not only had an impressive rookie year but also made light work of his far more experienced team-mate.
His best result was P4 in Mexico which was one of nine points scores across the season.
=6. Kimi Antonelli – 7.04
A solid rookie season for Antonelli but one with its fair share of ups and downs as well.
He started very strongly but once the European season hit, his form took a nosedive and he scored just three points at races on the continent.
That stretch of form will be something for him and his team to analyse over the winter but the young Italian did recover as F1 set off round the world again.
5. Oscar Piastri – 7.73
If this piece was made at the summer break, Piastri would have been first by a long way but a remarkable loss of form has seen him sink to fifth and more crucially, miss out on a world title that at one point seemed his to lose.
The Australian’s drop in form began in Monza when he agreed to let Norris past and it is no coincidence that in the very next race, he produced a couple of uncharacteristic errors to crash out of the grand prix.
From there, every race was another source of frustration as his Championship lead dwindled and even if he did recover in the final two races of the year, it was too little, too late.
4. Charles Leclerc – 7.83
Another year of great frustration for Leclerc but when blame is being handed out in Maranello this winter, not much of it can land at his feet.
Putting the fact he greatly outscored his team-mate to one side, Leclerc rarely had poor races back-to-back and his worst run came from Monza to Singapore. Aside from that, he got what was expected out of the car and was one of five drivers to secure a pole position this year.
Podium-wise, he had the highest away from the two McLarens, Verstappen and Russell.
3. George Russell – 7.88
A real coming of age year for Russell in which he was asked to be the senior figure for the first time and rose to the challenge.
Mercedes was surprisingly off the pace this year and of the four front-runners, it was the most temperamental. But when the car was good, he made the most of it with wins in Canada and Singapore.
When the car was not, Russell did his best and rarely dropped below a seven rating. His worst race rating was a five scored in Monaco after he finished outside of the points.
2. Lando Norris – 7.98
Second in this ranking but the shiny new World Driver’s Championship on his trophy shelf means Norris will not care.
For much of the season, Norris looked to be in the shadow of Piastri but the Australian’s collapse in form was met with a steady and consistent end to the year for the Briton.
Back-to-back 10s in Mexico and Brazil pushed him into the lead in the title race and even if the last three races were not his finest, he did what he had to do to get the job done.
1. Max Verstappen – 8.67
He may not have won the title but there will be few who would argue that Verstappen maximised his car more than his 19 rivals.
In the early season, when the RB21 was off the pace of the McLarens, he kept his nose in the title race – including an impressive win at Suzuka – which meant when Red Bull finally fettled the car into a consistent contender, the gap was feasible, even if unlikely.
Ultimately, he fell short by two points but he scored more perfect 10s than any other driver, with those coming at Imola, Canada, Monza, Baku, Austin and Brazil.
Read next: PlanetF1.com 2025 Awards: Biggest Disappointment of the Season