F1 Driver Report Card: 2025 Qatar Grand Prix

The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix at the floodlit Losail International Circuit once again delivered a captivating spectacle, though much of the drama unfolded before Sunday’s main event. Known for its high-speed corners and demanding conditions, Losail often transforms the Grand Prix into a strategic battle governed by pit stops and tire management. Consequently, the qualifying sessions for both the Sprint Race and the Grand Prix proved pivotal, offering drivers their best opportunity to genuinely differentiate themselves and set the stage for a strong weekend performance.

In this comprehensive review, we delve into the performances of each driver across the entire field, assessing their qualifying efforts, Sprint Race showings, and main Grand Prix execution to provide a detailed verdict.

Lando Norris

Lando Norris’s Qatar weekend was a blend of promise and frustration. His Sprint Race qualifying saw a critical misjudgment, as he let Alexander Albon through on his final lap, effectively ending his own run and costing him a potential pole position. Despite this, he held onto his third-place start and finish in the Sprint, showcasing solid race pace in a session where overtaking was challenging for most. However, a similar error struck again in Grand Prix qualifying, where a mistake on his final Q3 lap dashed his hopes of securing pole, leaving him starting second. At the Grand Prix start, being on the dirty side of the track saw him lose a crucial position to Max Verstappen, setting the tone for the race. Throughout the main event, he struggled to match the exceptional pace of his teammate, Oscar Piastri, further highlighting the car’s potential that he couldn’t fully unlock. A potential car damage incident at Turn 14 added to his woes, though he managed to benefit from Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s late mistake to secure fourth, narrowly missing out on a podium finish behind Carlos Sainz.

6/10: While the team’s strategy had its pitfalls, Norris made several costly errors that hampered his potential for a stronger finish.

Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri truly shone at the Losail circuit, leveraging its high-grip characteristics to maximum effect. His exceptional performance began in the Sprint Race, converting a pole position into a dominant victory, underscoring his natural talent on this demanding track. For the Grand Prix qualifying, Piastri delivered an excellent final lap in Q3, snatching pole position from his teammate Norris by a slim margin, demonstrating superb composure under pressure. He maintained his lead brilliantly at the start of the Grand Prix, resisting early challenges. Crucially, he pushed incredibly hard to build a significant gap over Max Verstappen after the Safety Car period, when McLaren opted not to pit him. This bold strategic call, however, ultimately backfired, as he fell to second place after his final pit stop, surrendering a potential victory. Despite the strategic miscalculation by the team, Piastri’s individual performance throughout the weekend was nothing short of brilliant, consistently showcasing top-tier pace and race craft.

9/10: Piastri delivered a consistently excellent performance, demonstrating blistering pace and control, only for his podium-topping efforts to be squandered by a questionable team strategy.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc endured a challenging start to the Qatar weekend, expressing frustration with Carlos Sainz’s Sprint Race qualifying tactics which contributed to him falling to ninth. His Sprint Race hopes were further diminished by a first-lap mistake that ended any slim chance of scoring points. However, Leclerc showcased his renowned ability to extract performance from a difficult car by dragging his “evil-handling” Ferrari into Q3 for the Grand Prix. Unfortunately, a high-speed double spin during this crucial session forced him to settle for 10th on the grid. The race start saw him immediately lose a place to Nico Hulkenberg as lap two began, indicating the car’s inherent struggles. Despite these setbacks, Leclerc demonstrated resilience, eventually being promoted to eighth place thanks to issues encountered by drivers ahead of him, salvaging valuable points for the Scuderia.

7/10: Leclerc battled valiantly and extracted significant performance from a highly problematic car, showcasing his characteristic fighting spirit under challenging circumstances.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton’s Qatar Grand Prix weekend was largely one to forget. He was eliminated in the first round of Sprint Qualifying, a rare occurrence that set a negative tone. In the Sprint Race itself, where overtaking proved exceptionally difficult for the entire field, he made almost no progress, finishing 17th. The Grand Prix qualifying session offered little respite, as he again missed the cut for Q2, underscoring the Mercedes’ lack of pace or his inability to unlock it this weekend. Despite these struggles, Hamilton showed glimpses of his race craft at the start of the Grand Prix, utilizing soft tyres effectively to gain three positions. However, a significant delay during his first pit stop proved costly, dropping him two places and effectively ending any realistic chance of scoring points. Post-pit stop, like many others, he found progress almost impossible on the demanding Losail circuit.

4/10: A disappointing weekend for Hamilton, where the Mercedes seemed particularly challenging, and he couldn’t replicate the limited pace his teammate found.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen’s Qatar weekend began with uncharacteristic struggles, particularly with the car’s handling during Sprint Race qualifying, leading to him being surprisingly out-qualified by Yuki Tsunoda. He started the Sprint Race from sixth and eased his way into fourth, where he ultimately finished, a respectable but not dominant performance. However, Red Bull made significant set-up improvements for the Grand Prix qualifying, which immediately paid dividends, allowing Verstappen to beat George Russell and secure third on the grid. The Grand Prix itself saw him make a decisive move at the start, passing Lando Norris. He then capitalized on McLaren’s strategic misstep with Piastri, taking the lead and never looking back. His exceptional pace on the hard tyres during the race was a crucial factor, effectively ending McLaren’s hopes of victory and re-establishing Red Bull’s dominance when it mattered most. This was a classic Verstappen comeback from a tricky start to the weekend.

8/10: A masterful recovery from a challenging Friday, Verstappen leveraged Red Bull’s strategic improvements and McLaren’s error to secure a dominant victory.

Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda delivered arguably his best qualifying performance of the season so far in the Sprint Race qualifying, securing an impressive fifth place. Despite this strong showing, he was fortunate not to lose a position in the Sprint Race after receiving a penalty for track limits breaches. Unfortunately, the momentum did not carry over to Grand Prix qualifying, where he resumed “normal service” by dropping out in the first round, a stark contrast to his earlier speed. In the Grand Prix, Tsunoda showed good race management, gaining four places through his first pit stop. He then patiently waited for opportunities, ultimately collecting the final championship point when Isack Hadjar was forced to retire due to mechanical issues. It was a solid points finish, but one that highlighted his inconsistent qualifying form.

5/10: A weekend of two halves for Tsunoda; a brilliant Sprint Qualifying performance was sadly not duplicated for the main Grand Prix.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Andrea Kimi Antonelli demonstrated flashes of raw speed throughout the Qatar Grand Prix weekend. He barely scraped into the final round of Sprint Race qualifying after benefiting from a penalty incurred by Isack Hadjar. Despite this, he qualified seventh and produced one of the Sprint Race’s only significant overtakes, a commendable pass on Fernando Alonso. However, he missed an opportunity to gain a position from Yuki Tsunoda by collecting his own track limits penalty, a recurring theme for many drivers at Losail. In the Grand Prix, he made a strong start, passing George Russell, but subsequently dropped behind Carlos Sainz during the pit stops. Under pressure from Lando Norris late in the race, Antonelli made a crucial mistake that ultimately cost him a well-deserved fourth place, highlighting areas for improvement in race management under duress. His raw speed is undeniable, but the small errors proved costly.

6/10: Antonelli showed impressive qualifying pace and skill, but race errors under pressure prevented him from achieving an even stronger result.

George Russell

George Russell’s weekend began with a superb run in Sprint Race qualifying, which allowed him to impressively split the dominant McLarens and secure a front-row start. He successfully converted this into a second-place finish in the Sprint Race, demonstrating strong initial pace. For the Grand Prix qualifying, however, his strategy of performing an extra preparation lap at the end of Q3 seemed to backfire, leaving him in fourth place, a decision that appeared costly in hindsight. The main race start proved particularly challenging, as he made a poor getaway from the dirty side of the grid, losing three crucial positions immediately. He lost another place during his pit stop phase. Despite these setbacks, Russell showed resilience, ultimately gaining places from Fernando Alonso’s spin and Isack Hadjar’s retirement to cross the finish line in sixth position. While the recovery was admirable, the early mistakes proved difficult to overcome.

7/10: A strong Sprint showing was undermined by questionable Q3 tactics and a poor start in the Grand Prix, leaving Russell with a sense of missed opportunity.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll had a particularly challenging Qatar Grand Prix weekend, struggling to find pace from the outset. He qualified a significant 13 places behind his teammate Fernando Alonso for the Sprint Race, indicating a substantial performance gap. Starting the Sprint Race from the pits after making changes, he finished a distant 19th following an early pit for soft tyres. The Grand Prix qualifying session offered no improvement, as he was almost half a second slower than Alonso when he was eliminated in Q1, highlighting a continued struggle for outright speed. In the race, Stroll attempted to break from the conventional two-stop strategy with a more aggressive three-stop approach. However, this gamble did not pay off, as he dropped back significantly in his final stint on soft tyres, ultimately finishing a disappointing 17th. On a circuit like Losail, where qualifying is paramount, his struggles on Saturday severely limited his potential on Sunday.

4/10: Stroll was never truly able to recover from his consistent qualifying losses, making progress in the race at Losail an almost impossible task.

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso showcased his enduring class at the Qatar Grand Prix, starting with an impressive performance in Sprint Race qualifying where he managed to beat both Red Bulls to secure fourth on the grid. However, the Sprint Race proved challenging, as he struggled with higher tyre degradation than anticipated and couldn’t stay close enough to Andrea Kimi Antonelli to capitalize on any potential penalties. For the Grand Prix qualifying, Alonso once again demonstrated excellent pace, reaching Q3. He ran out of new soft tyres for a final attack, which ultimately left him starting eighth on the grid. His race start was exemplary, picking up two places to run sixth, showcasing his usual sharp instincts. Unfortunately, a costly spin on lap 40, a rare mistake from the veteran, dropped him back to eighth, denying him what was shaping up to be a superb result for Aston Martin.

7/10: Alonso was on course for an outstanding finish before an uncharacteristic spin marred an otherwise strong and skillful performance.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Franco Colapinto

Franco Colapinto endured a difficult start to the Qatar weekend, damaging his car’s floor in practice which significantly compromised his Sprint Race qualifying, leaving him starting last. Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t make any meaningful gains from the back of the grid in the Sprint Race, finishing 20th. His struggles continued into Grand Prix qualifying, where he went off track twice in Q1 and again dropped out in the first round. For the Grand Prix, he started from the pit lane after suspension changes were made to his car, aiming for improved balance. Fortunately, he reported feeling much happier with the car’s balance during the race and managed to pick up a couple of positions from rivals who encountered delays or issues. Despite the setbacks, his race performance was cleaner, avoiding further excursions and demonstrating improved comfort in the car.

5/10: While he had a few too many off-track excursions in qualifying, Colapinto kept it clean and showed better pace in the main race.

Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly struggled significantly for grip on Friday, finding himself joining teammate Franco Colapinto on the very back row of the grid for the Sprint Race. He finished 18th in the Sprint Race, having started from the pits after car adjustments. However, Saturday saw a remarkable turnaround for Gasly, as he delivered an excellent qualifying effort for the Grand Prix, securing an impressive ninth place on the grid for Alpine. This promising starting position, however, was quickly undone in the race. He tangled with Nico Hulkenberg early on, an incident that forced him to drop to the rear of the field, effectively ruining his race. While his raw pace on Saturday was commendable, his race craft in that crucial early-race battle proved costly, preventing him from converting his qualifying success into points.

6/10: A fine Saturday qualifying performance was unfortunately overshadowed by a costly early-race incident with Hulkenberg, where Gasly should have exercised more caution.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon’s Qatar Grand Prix weekend was plagued by a lack of confidence in his car’s high-speed balance, leading to early exits in both Sprint Race and Grand Prix qualifying sessions, dropping out in the first round each time. He described the car as feeling “too loose on entry,” indicating persistent handling issues. He collected 15th place in an uneventful Sprint Race, unable to make significant progress. The main race brought further frustration when he received a baffling penalty for allowing his car to move before the start, costing him valuable time. A delayed first pit stop further compounded his problems, dropping him to last position. Despite attempts with a three-stop strategy, the underlying car issues and penalties meant he could only recover to 15th place, a performance overshadowed by his teammate’s slightly better pace.

5/10: A challenging weekend for Ocon, where the car’s balance issues and a perplexing penalty hampered his ability to contend for points.

Oliver Bearman

Oliver Bearman delivered a strong showing for Haas at the Qatar Grand Prix, demonstrating clear pace advantages over his teammate. He comfortably beat Ocon to progress into Q2 during Sprint Race qualifying, though he couldn’t quite get into contention for Sprint points, finishing 12th. His Grand Prix qualifying was also promising, securing seventh in Q1 before ultimately taking 13th on the grid in Q2, an impressive effort for the Haas. In the Grand Prix, Bearman was on course to collect a valuable final championship point, running a solid race and managing his tyres effectively. However, his strong effort was cruelly undone by a significant team error during his final pit stop, which unfortunately led to him not being classified in the final results. It was a disheartening end to what was otherwise a very promising individual performance from the young driver, showcasing his potential for consistent points finishes.

7/10: Bearman truly deserved to continue his points-scoring run, with his strong performance tragically undermined by a costly team error.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Isack Hadjar

Isack Hadjar showcased impressive raw pace throughout the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, though minor errors and cruel luck prevented him from capitalizing fully. A track limits penalty at Turn 8 in Sprint Race qualifying cost him a top-10 start. Despite this, he started the Sprint Race well but lost out in a fierce first-lap battle with Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz, settling for ninth. For the Grand Prix qualifying, a Turn 10 error spoiled his final Q3 lap, yet he was still quick enough to secure an excellent sixth place on the grid, highlighting his inherent speed. From the dirty side of the grid, he lost two positions at the start, a common issue at Losail. He then moved ahead of George Russell during the first round of pit stops and gained another place when Fernando Alonso spun ahead of him. Tragically, Hadjar cruelly lost a potential sixth place and valuable points when bodywork failure caused a puncture, forcing his retirement. His speed was undeniable, and a stronger result was well within reach.

7/10: Hadjar demonstrated great pace with only minor errors, but ultimately, cruel luck in the race denied him a well-deserved points finish.

Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson approached the Qatar Grand Prix weekend with significant setup changes between practice and Sprint Race qualifying, but was unfortunately eliminated in the first round. In the Sprint Race, he made an off-track pass on Charles Leclerc and sportsmanship required him to return the position, eventually finishing 14th. For Grand Prix qualifying, he reported feeling much more comfortable with his car’s setup, but despite the improvements, he couldn’t quite join his teammate Isack Hadjar in Q3. The Grand Prix start saw him passed by Oliver Bearman, though he regained the position when Bearman later retired. Lawson then benefited significantly from his teammate’s misfortune, as Hadjar’s late retirement promoted him to ninth place, securing valuable points for the team. While the points were welcome, Lawson never quite seemed as settled or as quick as Hadjar throughout the weekend.

6/10: A steady performance from Lawson, who ultimately benefited from others’ misfortune, but never quite looked as comfortable or quick as his teammate.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Alexander Albon

Alexander Albon had an unexpectedly strong start to the Qatar weekend for Williams, claiming a commendable 10th place on the Sprint Race grid. He was one of many drivers who finished the Sprint Race exactly where he started, highlighting the difficulty of overtaking on the Losail circuit. For Grand Prix qualifying, he managed to reproduce his Q1 time to within a thousandth of a second in Q2, but it wasn’t enough to progress, and he dropped out. Starting the Grand Prix on hard tyres proved detrimental at the start, as he lost three positions immediately. Furthermore, an early Safety Car period completely ruined his intended strategy, effectively eliminating any realistic chance of scoring points. Despite a generally solid effort, the race simply did not play out in his favour, and he struggled to match the exceptional pace demonstrated by his teammate this weekend.

6/10: A weekend where Albon couldn’t quite match his teammate’s pace, and an unlucky Safety Car period thwarted his Grand Prix strategy.

Carlos Sainz Jnr

Carlos Sainz had a standout weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix, delivering a truly remarkable performance for Williams. His tactics in Sprint Race qualifying reportedly aggravated teammate Charles Leclerc, but they secured him eighth on the grid. He then converted this into the final points-scoring position in the Sprint Race, demonstrating early consistency. For the Grand Prix qualifying, he went one better, securing seventh on the grid, showcasing the strong potential of the Williams car at Losail. His start to the Grand Prix was exceptional, gaining two places to run fifth and immediately putting himself in contention. He then strategically moved ahead of both Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell through well-executed pit stops. Despite a problem developing on his car late in the race, Sainz bravely held off Antonelli to secure a magnificent third-place finish. This podium was not only a testament to his superb driving but also Williams’s second podium of the year, highlighting significant progress for the team.

9/10: Sainz performed a terrific job throughout the weekend, culminating in a superb drive to secure Williams’s second podium of the 2025 season.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg experienced a mixed bag of results at the Qatar Grand Prix. His Sprint Race qualifying saw a touch of oversteer on his final lap, resulting in a 14th place start. He subsequently dropped back two places in the Sprint Race to finish 16th. However, he expressed greater satisfaction with his car’s balance in Grand Prix qualifying and narrowly missed a place in Q3, securing an impressive 11th on the grid. This promising starting position gave him a strong platform for the race. He made a good start, passing Charles Leclerc soon after the lights went out. Unfortunately, his race took a turn for the worse when he tangled with Pierre Gasly. Both drivers could have given each other more space, and the resulting contact proved costly for both, ultimately leading to Hulkenberg’s retirement and a missed opportunity for potential points. The incident was a bitter pill after a strong qualifying effort.

6/10: A solid qualifying performance presented a real opportunity in the Grand Prix, but an avoidable early collision turned it into a missed chance for points.

Gabriel Bortoleto

Gabriel Bortoleto delivered a solid and composed performance at the Qatar Grand Prix, demonstrating consistency throughout the weekend. He narrowly pipped Nico Hulkenberg to secure 13th on the grid for the Sprint Race. In the Sprint Race itself, he made a good start, gaining two places to finish 11th, showcasing his ability to manage the initial race chaos. For the Grand Prix, he qualified 14th, but a five-place grid penalty carried over from Las Vegas meant he started further back in 19th. Despite the disadvantaged starting position, Bortoleto drove a patient and disciplined race. In a Grand Prix that offered few genuine overtaking opportunities, he steadily worked his way through the field, making clean overtakes and benefiting from others’ misfortunes to climb to a respectable 13th place finish. It was precisely the kind of calm and robust weekend performance he needed.

7/10: Bortoleto delivered a solid, calm, and mistake-free weekend, capitalizing on opportunities and demonstrating steady progress.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter andgo ad-free

Over to you: Your Driver of the Weekend

The 2025 Qatar Grand Prix, while not always delivering wheel-to-wheel action in the main race, certainly offered plenty of talking points through its high-stakes qualifying sessions and strategic battles. From Oscar Piastri’s dazzling pace to Carlos Sainz’s incredible podium, and the raw talent shown by young drivers like Isack Hadjar and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, there were numerous performances worthy of recognition. Now it’s your turn to have your say! We invite you, the RaceFans community, to vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend. Head over to our poll to cast your vote and see if your choice aligns with the broader fan consensus. Your opinion matters in crowning the true standout performer of the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix!

• Vote for your 2025 Qatar Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend

More from the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix

• Norris wins 2025 F1 title and ends Verstappen’s four-year reign as champion
• McLaren “helping Stefano with TV ratings” with Qatar strategy error, jokes Brown
• Alpine are guaranteed to finish last in 2025 – but will set an obscure points record
• Norris take note: The F1 points leader usually loses three-way title fights
• Mercedes grateful for Red Bull’s statement on Antonelli after “disappointing” online abuse

Browse all 2025 Qatar Grand Prix articles