Canadian GP driver ratings: George Russell isn’t the only perfect racer

Despite hotter temperatures threatening a running order shake-up at the Canadian Grand Prix, George Russell brought his Mercedes W16 home for the team’s first victory of the season.

Let’s dive into driver ratings for the competitors at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix.

Canadian Grand Prix driver ratings

George Russell – 10

George Russell didn’t put a wheel wrong all weekend long. His Mercedes W16 was ideally suited to the cooler temperatures and less-abrasive track surface at the Canadian Grand Prix, helping him snag a pole position that he held to the checkered flag.

Russell was calm, cool, and collected, whether he was cycling through the field during pit stops or holding off a hungry Max Verstappen behind him.

It’s Russell’s first victory of the year, as well as Mercedes’ — but more than anything, it’s vindication for this race in 2024, where the Briton’s shot at a win fell apart.

Max Verstappen – 10

Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen was under intense pressure heading into the Canadian Grand Prix. After racking up three penalty points last time out in Barcelona, the reigning champion needed a clean race in Montreal to avoid a one-race ban in Austria.

That he had. From second on the grid, he had a clean and cautious start that saw him retain his position. He struggled with degradation, calling his tyres “fragile” but nevertheless managed to keep his nose out of trouble during both of his pit stops.

His only minor moment came during the safety car period at the close of the race, where he was stuck so close to the rear of George Russell that he nearly collided with the Mercedes when Russell braked.

Kimi Antonelli – 9.5

By rounding out the podium at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli has become the third-youngest podium sitter in Formula 1 history, and the first Italian driver to do so in 16 years.

That alone should be a feather in Antonelli’s cap, but the manner in which he nabbed that podium was equally impressive. He was quick off the line at the start of the race, bypassing Oscar Piastri to snag third place and led a handful of laps during the midst of pit cycles.

He can also be proud of the way he held off Piastri at the end of the race. After an all-around demoralizing triple header, a podium in Canada will do much to bolster Antonelli’s spirits coming into the rest of the season.

Oscar Piastri – 8

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri had one of his weaker races of the F1 2025 season. McLaren was on the back foot in Canada compared to other races, but the Australian driver was able to maximise as much as possible despite that.

He did lose out on third at the start of the race when that position was snatched up by a strong-starting Kimi Antonelli, but Piastri kept a cool head during a strategically challenging race that involved plenty of tyre degradation and pressure from teammate Lando Norris in the closing stages of the race.

Oscar Piastri kept it together and defended well, and he came away unscathed after his teammate made contact with his rear tyre. It wasn’t his finest race, but it was strong enough to extend his championship lead even further.

Charles Leclerc – 7.5

After scrapping his final flying lap in Q3 after catching Isack Hadjar’s dirty air, Charles Leclerc lined up on the grid and was one of a few drivers to gamble on hard rubber at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Even though he was able to make up positions throughout the race, Leclerc’s event was messy, with plenty of back-and-forth with the pit wall demanding to know why they’d made several decisions. He was still able to overtake other drivers and mange himself decently well, but it wasn’t his finest moment of 2025.

Lewis Hamilton – 7.5

On Lap 13, Lewis Hamilton skewered a poor, unfortunate groundhog that thought the midst of a Formula 1 race was the ideal time to cross the racing surface. His Ferrari suffered front wing damage, and he had to manage that for the rest of the race.

Still, a sixth-place finish is decently strong for a driver dealing with damage, and it’s still one of his better points-scoring days of 2025.

Fernando Alonso – 9.5

Starting sixth, finishing seventh: It was another strong race for Fernando Alonso, who scored points for the second race in a row in Canada.

Alonso went points-less all the way up until his home race, but now, it seems the tables have turned. Whether or not he can carry that performance further in the year remains to be seen, but he seemed very comfortable behind the wheel in another strong Canadian Grand Prix.

More from the Canadian Grand Prix:

? Hamilton podium? Verstappen gets banned? Bold predictions for Canadian GP

?Eight iconic F1 moments from the Canadian Grand Prix

Nico Hulkenberg – 9.5

Let’s give Nico Hulkenberg a round of applause: For two weekends in a row, he’s brought his Kick Sauber machine home in the points!

The German driver started the race in 11th and had a strong start that launched him up into the top 10. Pit stops bounced him around the running order, but at the critical moment when the checkered flag flew, he brought that green machine home in eighth.

Those four points may not seem like much, but they can make a huge difference in the constructors’ championship at the back of the field. Sauber is sitting ninth, only two points behind Aston Martin and eight in arrears of the Haas and Racing Bulls teams.

Esteban Ocon – 9

What a monster first stint from Esteban Ocon! With his Haas machine shod in hard tyres at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix, the Frenchman preserved that rubber all the way up to Lap 59, when he finally came in for his first and only pit stop of the race.

In a race where the two-stop strategy was preferred, Ocon was able to launch himself up the standings to take home ninth by managing his tyres and staying in control.

Carlos Sainz Jr. – 8.5

And if Ocon’s performance was impressive, then we need to give Carlos Sainz Jr. his plaudits for an equally impressive drive.

Williams looked quick in practice, but poor Carlos Sainz saw his fast lap impeded by the Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar. He was knocked out in Q1, lining up on the grid 16th but knowing there was more in the tank.

The Spanish driver found that performance come race day, and he was able to take home a coveted point for finishing 10th at the checkered flag.

Oliver Bearman – 7

Oliver Bearman didn’t have the best race in Canada, spending much of it looking at the tail end of the cars in front and trapped in the midst of a DRS train. He could have used an audacious strategy like that of his Haas teammate Esteban Ocon, or could have better managed his tyres — but for a driver experiencing this track for the first time, Bearman did fine.

Yuki Tsunoda – 5

Yuki Tsunoda said he had a clean race after a messy qualifying session, but 12th was the best he could do. Behind the wheel of the tetchy RB21, it’s hard to imagine what else he could have done — but as with all of Max Verstappen’s teammates, it’s hard to justify Tsunoda’s consistent finishes outside of the points with Verstappen finishing on the podium.

Franco Colapinto – 6

Franco Colapinto wasn’t able to capitalize on his 10th-place start (a promotion he earned thanks to other drivers sustaining penalties) to carry on into a points-paying result. After the race, Colapinto noted that he’d been on the wrong strategy, and he was lacking power on the straights.

He was also involved in a lap-one scuffle with Alex Albon that saw the Williams driver take a skid through the grass. Neither driver was at fault for what was effectively two cars trying their best to secure track position, but it set a challenging tone for the remainder of the race that the Argentinian wasn’t able to overcome.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 7.5

Gabriel Bortoleto had a quiet, nondescript race in Canada, starting 15th and finishing one position higher. He was one of several drivers who was able to hold onto his hard tyres for a lengthy stint and kept himself out of trouble.

The Brazilian driver had a rough weekend, his passport being stolen from his car before he had to head off to Canada. He managed to recover well — but those coveted points still lie out of reach.

Pierre Gasly – 6

A rough race for Pierre Gasly saw him start from pit lane after the team made changes to his Alpine under parc fermé conditions, and for much of the rest of the race, he was left fighting for his life with an underpowered car and an inability to pass other drivers while stuck in a DRS train.

Making matters worse, he was pushed wide by Lance Stroll while the two drivers battled for 17th; not Gasly’s fault, but messy racing certainly didn’t help him make progress.

Isack Hadjar – 5

Isack Hadjar’s big takeaway from the Canadian Grand Prix? “I think everything was wrong today.” And it certainly seemed like that was the case.

All through practice, the Racing Bulls driver seemed uncomfortable, with low confidence, and that was reflected in a messy and difficult event. He brought the car home, but it wasn’t his finest moment.

Lance Stroll – 3

Oh, Lance Stroll! The power of a hometown race wasn’t enough to lend the Aston Martin driver a hand up into the top 10 — but he did earn himself a 10-second penalty.

As he battled with the Alpine of Pierre Gasly on Lap 45, Stroll pushed the other driver wide and forced him to run off the track. The coveted position in question? Seventeenth. It’s exactly where he’d finish.

Lando Norris – 2

Having completed 90% of the race distance, Lando Norris has earned a rating for the Canadian Grand Prix — and unfortunately, it’s not a good one.

This was an all-around challenging weekend for McLaren, which was nowhere near as dominant as expected considering their pace the rest of the year, but Norris seemed particularly ill at ease. He made multiple mistakes in Q3, prompting his race engineer Will Joseph to offer him the kind of coaching you wouldn’t expect an F1-level driver to need.

Those struggles continued on into the Grand Prix, culminating in his collision with Oscar Piastri. Norris did a great job maintaining pace and recovering from his qualifying position, but as he tried to dart around his teammate, he misjudged the distance and ran his front wing into Piastri’s rear tyre.

Norris branded the collision “very silly,” and there’s really no other way to put it. He ended a strong day with no points, all thanks to his own error.

Liam Lawson – N/A

Whatever advice he may have received from Daniel Ricciardo, Kiwi racer Liam Lawson didn’t exactly have a great first experience at the Canadian Grand Prix. In the final half of race, he was instructed to pull into the garage to retire, with the Racing Bulls team informing him that they were hoping to protect the power unit.

Alex Albon – N/A

Williams driver Alex Albon was having a challenging Canadian Grand Prix well before he pulled off the track at the hairpin to retire his car.

From ninth on the grid, Albon kicked off the race by skidding through the grass while battling Franco Colapinto, questioning on the radio why the team doesn’t listen to him, and informed that Williams had spotted a power unit issue similar to what had faced in Barcelona. Those issues came back to bite him on Lap 49, and the Williams driver ended another race outside of the points.

Read next: Canadian GP: George Russell wins as McLaren team-mates collide