Chinese GP driver ratings: George Russell shows he's the driver to lead Mercedes

Wဣho impressed the most during the 2025 F1 Chinese Grand Prix weekend?

George Russell
George Russell

Here are our driver ratings after the F1 Chinese Grand Prix at the♕ Shanghai International Circuit.

Oscar Piastri - 9

Oscar Piastri produced a tidy weekend to get his F1 title challengeꦐ back on track. He controlled the grand prix from pole position to take his third career victory.

George Russell - 9.5

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:George Russell continues to imp♋ress as Mercedes’ team leader. His lap in qualifying was breathtaking to s▨plit the McLarens before converting into a solid podium finish.

Lando Norris - 7

Ultimately, it was a scrappy weekend for 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lando Norris. He didn’t get the most out of the McLaren in the sprint part of the weekend, makཧing mistakes on his two qualifying l♏aps. He then ran wide in the sprint. Russell then beat Norris in qualifying. Norris did look more comfortable in the race, but his brake issue curtailed his late-race charge.

Max Verstappen - 9.5

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Max Verstappen can’t do much more in the RB2🥃1. He continued to maximise it, even though it looked like the fourth-fastest car in China. Verstappen didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend.

Esteban Ocon - 9

A spectacular recovery from 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Esteban Ocon and Haas after a dismal weekend in the sea🍒son-opening Australian Grand Prix. Ocon narrowly missed out on Q3 and then converted into a top five finish after the two Ferraris wer﷽e disqualified.

Kimi Antonelli - 6.5

While Antonelli came away with sixth place a🐬nd driver of the day, it was an overall poor weekend for the Italian. He struggled to get the laps together in qualifying and was beaten by a Haas in the grand prix. It is worth acknowledging that Antonelli was nursing floor damage for most of the race.

Alex Albon - 8.5

A𝔉lex Albon’s strong start to the year isn’t stopping yet. He picked up another four points for Williams in Shanghai. Overall, he was the quicker of the two Williams drivers.

Oliver Bearman - 8

After making it into SQ2, Oliver Bearman would have been frustrated 🐻by his poor q🌠ualifying display on Saturday. Starting on the hard tyre, Bearman’s impressive first stint put him into points contention. He was brilliant on the mediums, pulling off some tasty overtakes.

Lance Stroll - 7.5

Lance Stroll’s performances have gone under the radar this year. He’s been a closer match for Fernando Alonso and has picked up points in the two races. While there was 💎some good fortune due to the various disqualifications, Stroll is performing better than last year.

Carlos Sainz - 6.5

Carlos Sainz will be satisfied to leave China with his first F1 world championship point. However, his🐬 performance has been incredibly underwhelming relative to Albon.

Isack Hadjar - 7.5

Isack Hadjar was arguably the star of qualifying in Shanghai, putting his Racing Bull seventh on th♋e grid. Unfortunately, the story of his and Yuki Tsunoda’s poor race in China was their unusual decision to opt for a two-stop strategy. It meant that Hadjar lost out on an easy points finish.

Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson - 3

Another horrible weekend for168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史: Liam Lawson. He qualified 20th in both sessions, highlightingꦏ h♓ow much he’s struggling to drive the RB21. Rumours are already emerging about a potential swap with Tsunoda for Japan.

Jack Doohan - 5.5

Jack Doohan has proven to be a relatively close maജtch to Gasly over one lap to his c🔥redit. But it was a scrappy race from the Australian, who got involved in a needless incident with Tsunoda and picked up a 10-second time penalty as a result.

Gabriel Bortoleto - 5.5

A messy race for Gabriel Bortoleto, who spun off on the opening lap in Shanghai. The main positive for him is that he’s kept teammate༒ Nico Hulkenberg on his toes, who is no slouch.

Nico Hulkenberg - 5.5

After a solid qualifying showing, Hulkenberg’🥀s race was ruined after he sustained floor damage on the opening lap after running wide at Turn 1. Like Bortoleto, a tough race overall.

Yuki Tsunoda - 8

Another big missed opportunity for Tsunoda and Racing Bulls. The Japanese driver starred in the sprint, beating Antonelli to come away with a couple of points. He underperformed in qualifying as Hadjar out-performed him. Still, big points were on the table for Tsunoda if it had been for𓆉 better calls on the pit wall - a familiar story at Racing Bulls.

Fernando Alonso - 5.5

Alonso💧 was out-classed by Stroll in the sprin🍒t part of the weekend. He was able to narrowly beat his teammate in qualifying before an early retirement due to a brake issue.

Charles Leclerc - 7.5

Up until the grand prix, 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Charles Leclerc looked o✱ff it by his usual high standards. He struggled relative to Hamilton, who dominated the sprint racꦉe. Front wing damage sustained on Lap 1 didn’t curtail his race as he could get ahead of Hamilton and hunt down Russell. His solid race drive to fifth - later losing out to Verstappen - was all in vain, as he was disqualified due to being underweight after the race.

Pierre Gasly - 7.5

Like Leclerc, Gasly was excluded from the race results for being underweight. While he was the stronger of the two Alpine drivers, points we♍re never on the cards in China.

Lewis Hamilton - 8

168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Lewis Hamilton proved he’s still got what it takes after dominating the sprint element of the weekend. He took a brilliant pole in sprint qualifying and dominated the sprint race. Hamilton out-qualified Leclerc again in  qualifying, so he would have been disappointed by a lack of pace in the race. However, his sixth-place finish would not stand after he was disqualified due to excessive plank wear, capping off a night📖mare Sunday for the Scuderia. 

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