An eventful Spanish Grand Prix saw McLaren take home a one-two but there was plenty of action behind them
From late lunges to reckless crashes, here’s how we ranked all 19 drivers in Barcelona.
Spanish Grand Prix driver ratings
Oscar Piastri – 10
Another perfect race to add to the Piastri CV. A lightning-quick start reduced any chance of his missing out on the win and he controlled the race beautifully, allowing Norris to close up before putting his foot down once again.
A late safety car threatened to disrupt his dominance but Piastri did what he always does, kept a cool head and got the job done.
Lando Norris – 8.5
A poor start proved crucial and put Norris on the back foot.
He recovered to pass Verstappen but did so at the cost of his race as a whole as McLaren had to change strategy to cover off the Dutchman.
Piastri has been quick all weekend, making his race win seem inevitable, but had Norris had a better start, he could have at least made his team-mate sweat.
Charles Leclerc – 8.5
The Spanish Grand Prix 2025 may go down as a historic moment in F1 in which Charles Leclerc actually had a bit of fortune go his way for once.
Some smart strategy by the driver in quali gave him a joker up his sleeve of an extra set of softs and it was always a case of when would Ferrari deploy them.
In the end, those softs came into fruition right at the end of the race as he was able to pass Verstappen, who himself only had hards, and earn an unlikely podium.
George Russell – 8
Not the first tangle he has had with Max Verstappen and not the last in all likelihood.
Russell and Mercedes appeared a step behind the frontrunners all weekend but they were given a lifeline with the late safety car and Verstappen’s tyre disadvantage.
But if Leclerc’s pass was relatively straightforward, Russell’s was more scrappy. Following an incident in which it seemed Russell was in the wrong, he then got a shunt from Verstappen as a thank you.
The stewards took a dim view, pushing Verstappen down to 10th, as Russell crossed the line in fourth.
Nico Hulkenberg – 9.5
When Nico Hulkenberg pulled into his P15 starting spot, he probably could not even see this far up the grid.
His remarkable race began with a five-car overtake into Turn 1, which was aided by him going off-track but he did exactly as the rulebook dictated.
From there, he made steady progress up the field until he was in a points-paying spot and as others around him fell away, Hulkenberg kept finding speed.
His P5 is Sauber ‘s first in three years and of course there was fortune with Antonelli’s DNF and Verstappen’s penalty but you have to be in it to win it and Hulkenberg most certainly was.
Lewis Hamilton – 6
P5 on the grid had Lewis Hamilton believing a podium was possible but, in a summary of his Ferrari career to date, come race day the performance was not there.
He started proceedings by having to surrender a spot to his team-mate but his day got worse with a slow stop, putting him on the back foot.
Hamilton looked at risk to cars behind him as the race went on and was even overtaken by Hulkenberg late on.
Isack Hadjar – 8.5
It is becoming difficult to find new things to say about Isack Hadjar and not because he is putting in poor performances.
Having spent Saturday night watching the Champions League final with Pierre Gasly, he then spent the majority of Sunday afternoon right beside him as the two jostled for position.
In the end, it was Hadjar who came out on top and Antonelli’s DNF and Verstappen’s penalty put the Frenchman into seventh, his second-best result of the season.
Pierre Gasly – 8
Gasly continues to be the only good thing about Alpine as he scored the team’s first points since April.
It was in quali where he did his best work, finishing eighth, and he held onto that spot in the race itself.
He may be disappointed to not have finished ahead of Hadjar but more progress nonetheless.
Fernando Alonso – 8
The drought is over! After nine races and two sprints, Fernando Alonso has finally scored a point.
Having qualified P10, Alonso was in with a chance but when he was passing Carlos Sainz for 16th at one point, it seemed his chances were all but gone.
But, on fresh tyres, Alonso cut his way up the field and had got himself into the top 10 even before Verstappen’s penalty.
Max Verstappen – 3
For 90% of this race, Max Verstappen was one of the best out there but for the final five laps, he was the worst.
A petulant, stupid moment of extreme headloss showed all the worst parts of Vetrsappen and the ones that his critics are so eager to jump on.
S**t happens in all sport but a four-time World Champion should have been able to deal with it better than crashing into his opponent.
He was given a 10-second penalty plus three penalty points and was lucky to escape with only that.
Liam Lawson – 7
It was a rough and ready drive from Lawson and one similar to what we have seen a number of times in his young career.
His first bout came against Alex Albon and while the Kiwi was not to blame for the race-ending damage suffered by the Williams driver, he was involved in another scrape with Oliver Bearmn later in the race.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 6.5
A great performance in quali was undone in the race as Bortoleto struggled to match the performances of his team-mate.
Having qualified P12, the Brazilian would have been hoping for a first-point score in his F1 career but ultimately he came up short.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6
The damage was done with his P20 quali start and a demotion to the pit lane made it even worse.
Yuki Tsunoda was rarely picked up by the TV broadcast cameras as he went from last to 13th, overtaking only the Haas cars, Colapinto and an underwhelming Sainz.
Carlos Sainz – 5
Carlos Sainz described his Q1 exit as one of fine margins but even the smallest details can have a big impact.
At a circuit where Williams were predicted to struggle, he could not make his way up the order and ultimately finished 14th, his joint-lowest result of the season.
Franco Colapinto – 5
Another painful week for Franco Colapinto who is already past the halfway mark of his five-race deal.
A mechanical problem stranded him in the pit lane in quali but he failed to recover much ground in the race itself, all while Gasly was up in the points.
Esteban Ocon – 4.5
Haas lacked any kind of pace this weekend and both drivers suffered as a result.
A split strategy benefited Ocon more than it did Bearman but he was still the second-to-last car over the line.
Oliver Bearman – 4.5
An impressive start to his F1 career has come undone for Oliver Bearman who has not scored a point since Bahrain in April.
In his race, he qualified well in 14th but could not make much progress up from that.
More reaction from the race in Barcelona
Charles Leclerc defends ‘full attack’ Max Verstappen move as stewards give verdict
Max Verstappen ‘will bring the tissues’ for George Russell in reaction to Barcelona crash
Did not finish
Kimi Antonelli – 7
A good, if not spectacular, race went up in smoke for Kimi Antonelli when a power unit issue saw him fail to make it round Turn 10 and into the gravel.
His safety car had big ramifications for the grid but for the driver himself, it is a second retirement in the last three races.
Alex Albon – 5
Albon knew the Williams car would be down on pace this weekend which meant he needed to be at his best for any hope of points but ultimately, he wasn’t.
A less-than-great quali lap, which he blamed on the Haas of Bearman, put him out in Q2 but the race was an unusually scruffy one from the driver.
Damage to his front wing early on was racing indecent but he could have been a little smarter when battling with Lawson.
Did not race
Lance Stroll – N/A
Lance Stroll sat out the race having aggravated a previous injury in his hand.
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