F1 Power Rankings: Who were the best drivers this season?

Welcome to the final edition of our Formula 1 driver rankings for the 2025 season. The rankings will be based on how well a driver performed relative to their car using both qualifying and race results.

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Verstappen didn't win a fifth straight world championship, but there was little doubt as to which driver was the most impressive this season. The Red Bull pilot ended the year with the most wins, poles, and laps led (454).

2. George Russell, Mercedes

Russell drove with the consistency of a future world champion. He won races when the opportunity was available while also qualifying inside the top six and scoring points in 23 of the 24 races.

3. Lando Norris, McLaren

The new world champion led all drivers in podiums and was one mechanical retirement and disqualification away from 20 top-three finishes. Norris ended the year on a high, recording six consecutive front-row starts - something no driver came close to matching.

4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

More often than not, Leclerc maximized a disappointing Ferrari car. Some weekends, his results appeared downright miraculous. He also dominated Lewis Hamilton in head-to-head metrics like none of the seven-time world champion's teammates have ever done before.

5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Piastri was in control of the championship for majority of the season before crumbling down the stretch, but there are still plenty of positives to take from his third year.

6. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin

Alonso put together an impressive season after Aston Martin brought its first major upgrade in Imola. Over the last 18 grand prix weekends, he had 13 Q3 appearances and scored points 11 times.

7. Carlos Sainz, Williams

Sainz took Williams to unfamiliar heights, becoming the team's first driver with multiple podiums since 2015 and the first Williams driver to start on the front row since 2021. No midfield driver's peaks rivaled the Spaniard's.

8. Alex Albon, Williams

Albon's year unraveled, with his last points finish (excluding sprints) coming in Monza. However, that shouldn't completely overshadow his superb form at the start of the season. His four top-five finishes led all midfield drivers.

9. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls

The highest-ranked rookie on the list, Hadjar earned a 2026 Red Bull seat after a brilliant rookie year. He recorded 16 Q3 appearances, and his top-three result in Zandvoort made Hadjar the youngest French driver ever to stand on the podium.

10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine

How did an Alpine driver crack the top 10? Well, Gasly somehow managed to put his Alpine in Q3 on 10 occasions despite the car's lack of pace and was responsible for all of the team's 22 points.

11. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Antonelli's rookie season got off to a great start and had an even better ending: He scored two podiums in the last four races. However, he went through a massive slump between those two periods. Antonelli ultimately showed enough flashes of why he was touted as the next big thing.

12. Ollie Bearman, Haas

Bearman increased his stock in the paddock and perhaps even within Ferrari after a terrific campaign. The British driver had more pace than Esteban Ocon in qualifying and became the first Haas driver to score points in five straight races.

13. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

After waiting a record 239 races, Hulkenberg finally got the first podium of his career in Silverstone. Does anything else really matter when it comes to his 2025 season?

14. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Hamilton put it perfectly when he said his first year at Ferrari had been a nightmare. It was all downhill after his sprint win in China. For the first time in his 19-year career, Hamilton failed to step on the podium.

15. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Lawson was left for dead after Red Bull dropped him, but he beat the odds, even outscoring teammate Hadjar 34-30 in points from Austria through the end of the schedule.

16. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber

The Brazilian had some bright spots, stringing together four points finishes in a six-race span from Austria to Monza. Bortoleto, who had just one other points finish the rest of the season, needs to find a way to produce more consistently.

17. Esteban Ocon, Haas

Ocon achieved a top-five finish in China but was largely an afterthought to teammate Bearman for the rest of the year. The French driver made only three Q3 appearances, his fewest among all his full-time seasons.

18. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Stroll started the year by outproducing his teammate Alonso in points, but this quickly proved to be a mirage as he tumbled down the standings and finished 16th.

19. Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Colapinto put up zeros in points and Q3 appearances, but he did have brief periods where he was on par with teammate Gasly. Hopefully, he'll reward Alpine for its belief in him with points next season.

20. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull

Tsunoda scored 30 points after his move to Red Bull, a whopping 391 points fewer than Verstappen.