Antonelli Seals Historic Championship in Mexico City — Driver Ratings from the Dramatic Season Finale

Max Verstappen – 9.5/10

Starting from fifth on the grid following a penalty, Verstappen executed a masterful strategy. He capitalized on the intense Ferrari rivalry ahead to move up the order and then delivered outstanding defensive driving against Lewis Hamilton across two crucial restarts to secure his third victory in four races.

Lewis Hamilton – 9.5/10

Hamilton delivered a phenomenal performance in his first Ferrari pole position, showcasing his peak form. Although he contributed to both Ferraris running deep at Turn Four on the opening lap, he recovered brilliantly to put immense pressure on Verstappen and ultimately set the fastest lap of the race.

Kimi Antonelli – 9/10

Under immense pressure, Antonelli demonstrated exceptional maturity. He managed an outstanding first stint on soft tires, made a decisive overtaking move on Charles Leclerc following the red flag, and safely navigated to the podium to become the youngest Formula 1 world champion in history.

Charles Leclerc – 7/10

Leclerc showed strong pace by topping Friday practice and qualifying third, but costly errors on Sunday undermined his efforts. An unauthorized off-track pass resulted in a penalty, and a massive lock-up after the red flag dropped him out of the podium positions, despite Ferrari having the outright speed to challenge for the win.

Lando Norris – 7.5/10

Norris displayed strong pace throughout the weekend, including topping final practice and Q2. However, starting sixth limited his opportunities. His race pace was excellent, and he finished closely behind Leclerc, though losing positions on the opening lap significantly hampered his final standing.

George Russell – 6/10

Missing pole by a mere 0.009 seconds was an outstanding achievement, and the lack of deployment at the start was not his fault. However, spinning Isack Hadjar and incurring a 10-second penalty was a major error on a day where he had the potential to achieve much more.

Liam Lawson – 8.5/10

Lawson produced an excellent recovery drive from the pit lane after his qualifying disqualification due to a technical breach. Having already shown top-ten pace on Saturday, he fought his way through the field to secure seventh place once post-race penalties were applied.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 7/10

While Bortoleto lacked the outright qualifying pace of Nico Hulkenberg, he remained highly competitive during a chaotic race. Maintaining composure when several others made mistakes, he was ultimately rewarded with an eighth-place finish.

Isack Hadjar – 8/10

Hadjar enjoyed another strong weekend that unfortunately lacked the reward it deserved. After qualifying seventh, his race was severely compromised when spun by George Russell on lap one, but he showed great resilience to recover to ninth after post-race penalties.

Ryo Hirakawa – 8.5/10

Hirakawa made an incredibly impressive Formula 1 debut on extremely short notice. Starting from 18th, he kept his composure through numerous interruptions, passed both Williams drivers late in the race, and was promoted into the points following post-race penalties.

Alex Albon – 6/10

Albon led the Williams team’s challenge in a car that was again fighting towards the back. Finishing eleventh was his best result in 13 races, though much of that position was aided by penalties incurred by other drivers.

Carlos Sainz – 5.5/10

Sainz endured another frustrating weekend as part of a difficult run of form. He finished behind Albon and was unable to capitalize on the chaotic race conditions to secure a strong result for Williams.

Oscar Piastri – 5/10

Piastri showed good recovery pace after a surprising Q2 exit, fighting his way to seventh on the road. However, a collision with Arvid Lindblad was deemed avoidable, resulting in a 10-second penalty that capped a weekend marred by too many errors.

Nico Hulkenberg – 5.5/10

Reaching Q3 was a solid start to the weekend, and he was firmly in the hunt for points. However, colliding with the back of Oliver Bearman after the restart completely undid his progress and earned him a 10-second penalty.

Franco Colapinto – 6.5/10

Colapinto’s performance was much stronger than his 15th-place finish suggested. He ran in eighth place after a well-executed race, but failing to slow sufficiently under yellow flags cost him 10 seconds and the points he had earned.

Sergio Perez – 6.5/10

Perez enjoyed a spirited home race on his 300th Grand Prix start, gaining six places on the opening lap and running as high as 13th. However, a slow pit stop and other issues ultimately pushed him down the order.

Pierre Gasly – 5.5/10

Gasly qualified ninth and crossed the line in the points despite suffering from power issues during the race. However, failing to slow for double-waved yellow flags was a serious mistake, resulting in a 30-second penalty that dropped him to 17th.

Arvid Lindblad – 8/10

Lindblad enjoyed a very strong weekend despite his retirement. He qualified eighth, raced confidently in the points, and had just overtaken Piastri before the McLaren driver was judged responsible for the collision that sent him into the barriers.

Oliver Bearman – 7/10

Bearman put together a solid recovery after qualifying 14th and looked capable of fighting for points after passing Bortoleto. His retirement was entirely through no fault of his own, caused by Hulkenberg hitting him at the restart.

Valtteri Bottas – 5.5/10

Bottas started from the back due to power-unit penalties and had made progress before a frightening accident. The crash was caused by a car failure rather than driver error, so the DNF itself does not significantly impact his rating.

Lance Stroll – 4.5/10

Stroll qualified on the back row and barely had a race to be evaluated. A battery-related problem forced Aston Martin to retire the car after only five laps.

Fernando Alonso – 5.5/10

Alonso’s weekend was once again ruined by reliability issues. The MGU-K problem compromised his qualifying and then reappeared almost immediately during the race, forcing him out after just five laps.

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