Max Verstappen secured his first win of the F1 2025 season with a comfortable performance in Suzuka, but it was the rookies who really impressed.
Isack Hadjar, Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli finished in the points as other more established drivers struggled. Here are your driver ratings for the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix:
F1 2025 Japanese Grand Prix driver ratings
Max Verstappen – 9
Max Verstappen’s best work came in quali where he beat predictions to take what proved an all-important pole.
In the race itself, his hardest challenge came at the start, but he quickly moved over to block Norris and from there, he was in complete control of the race.
McLaren’s strategy calls made life easier for the Dutchman, but it was an impressive performance nonetheless.
Lando Norris – 7.5
Lost pole by the smallest of margins in quali but his race was a disappointment as he never looked capable of attacking Verstappen.
The McLaren car is the quickest on the grid but the difficulty in following other drivers acted as an equaliser, meaning it came down to driver performance and Norris was found left wanting.
A silly mistake saw him go over the grass at the pit exit in an act of desperation more than anything.
Oscar Piastri – 8
Qualifying is proving to be the most crucial battleground of the McLaren drivers and Piastri was shown why it is so key in Japan.
P3 put him on the back foot and having found more pace later on, he could have attacked Verstappen up ahead if Norris was not in the way.
Whether he would have caught the Red Bull driver is another matter but the birthday boy had a frustrating afternoon.
Charles Leclerc – 7.5
A rather unforgettable race for Charles Leclerc who started fourth and finished there.
Ferrari still lack pace compared to McLaren and Verstappen but Leclerc was able to finish ahead of both Mercedes.
George Russell – 7
A slight dip in form for Russell, who has started the season excellently.
He blamed tyre strategy for his low quali result but struggled to make any progress up the field in the race.
Had the grand prix been a few laps longer, he would have felt the pressure of team-mate Antonelli behind him.
Kimi Antonelli – 8.5
An impressive race from the 18-year-old who became the youngest driver ever to lead an F1 grand prix.
That, of course, comes with the caveat that the frontrunners had pitted but the Italian deserves praise for his ability to keep the medium tyres in the window, long after far more experienced drivers had pitted.
The extended stint allowed him to push in the final stages of the races and he was closing in on Russell before the chequered flag arrived.
Lewis Hamilton – 6
Another disappointing race from Hamilton who was well off the pace of his team-mate.
His trouble came in quali where he could only manage eighth and he at least moved up the order but his Mercedes replacement was able to easily keep him in the rear view mirror.
Isack Hadjar – 8
The one Red Bull driver that has not been talked about in the build-up to this race performed very well with Hadjar scoring his first points in Formula 1.
Having overcome seatbelt issues in Q1, the Frenchman made it to seventh on the grid and was able to hold onto eighth in the race, losing only one spot to Hamilton.
Alex Albon – 8
Despite an uncharacteristically angry radio exchange with his team, Albon did well to secure some more points for the Williams team.
His message suggested the team did not know what it was doing which would indicate he felt there was even more pace in the car.
Still, it’s points and another win for Albon over Carlos Sainz.
Oliver Bearman – 8
A good drive from Bearman who had the most experienced driver on the grid hunting him down in the latter stages.
The Haas driver held on and was even allowed to move past Ocon by the team, a sign of how much they believe in him.
Fernando Alonso – 7
Better from Alonso but his quest for points goes on.
He qualified 12th, his joint best of the season so far, but could not crack into the top 10 with the Aston again down on pace compared to some of its rivals.
Yuki Tsunoda – 5
Welcome to the hot seat Yuki.
Having been parachuted in to replace Liam Lawson, Tsunoda found many of the same problems that the New Zealander struggled with – mainly getting the car to perform in quali.
While Verstappen took pole, Tsunoda was down in 15th. He did at least move up the order but not enough to get into the points.
Pierre Gasly – 6.5
A fine if unspectacular race from Pierre Gasly.
The theme of this season suggests Alpine are one of a number of teams whose performance will fluctuate massively depending on the circuit and Japan was a weaker area for the Entente outfit.
Carlos Sainz – 4.5
Sainz’s season is going from a slow start to outright poor as he again underwhelmed in the Williams car.
He started 15th for the second time in as many races having dropped three places on the grid and found no joy trying to move up the field.
In the end, he was five spots behind Albon with the British-Thai driver now having a 3-0 lead over his new team-mate.
Jack Doohan – 5
Recovered well from his free practice crash but has still shown little that suggests Franco Colapinto would not be doing a better job.
He was two spots behind his team-mate but with a gap of almost 20 seconds.
Nico Hulkenberg – 5.5
Could not find the pace to produce his usual quali heroics which meant the race was always going to be a tough ask.
He managed to pass Lawson but that was his only highlight.
Liam Lawson – 5
Better from Lawson but it was a pretty low bar considering his first two races.
He qualified ahead of Tsunoda but while the Japanese driver moved up, Lawson slipped down,
The 23-year-old would end the race in 17th while team-mate Hadjar was in the points.
More reaction from the Japanese Grand Prix
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Esteban Ocon – 4.5
Ocon was just unable to find any pace this weekend, qualifying 18th and finishing there, a sharp contrast to his P5 in China.
To make matters worse, he was given the ultimate humiliation of being asked to move aside for his quicker rookie team-mate.
Gabriel Bortoleto – 5
Like Hulkenberg, Bortoleto struggled with pace this weekend and could only manage 19th in the running order.
Lance Stroll – 3.5
A gust of wind reportedly spoiled his quali lap but Stroll should have been able to at least make some places up.
Read next: Japanese GP conclusions: Verstappen’s Alonso-esque rampage, McLaren tactics, the real Doohan mistake
AloJapan.com