Round 11 of the 2025 season is in the books, and Pit Debrief’s Driver Rankings for the F1 Austrian GP weekend have dropped.
Pit Debrief Driver Rankings for the 2025 F1 Austrian GP
1 | Liam Lawson
Qualifying: P6; Race: P6
Since his debut at the 2023 Dutch GP, the 2025 Austrian round is probably Liam Lawson’s best weekend in F1 to date.
He converted his practice pace into a brilliant P6 in qualifying, leading the midfield runners as Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli ended up out of position on the grid. He had a decisive edge on Isack Hadjar who has been making all the positive headlines for Racing Bulls through 2025.
The 23-year-old did not have the best launch as the Dutchman got him immediately. However, that may have actually saved his race.
On the run up to turn 3, Kimi Antonelli locked his brakes. As he narrowly avoided the Racing Bulls driver and moved to the inside to take evasive action, the Italian connected with Verstappen.
Lawson had to take to the run-off and dropped to 9th. Nonetheless, he used this close shave to put in a masterful performance.
On the one-stop strategy, the New Zealander was under relentless pressure from Fernando Alonso for P6 on the medium and hard tyres. He made no mistakes and eased away from the Spaniard in the closing laps. Strong tyre management was very key to this.
In fact, he finished just over 5s behind George Russell as P6 was a great reward for a fine drive.
This was an outstanding display from Liam Lawson and it will do his confidence the power of good. The challenge now is to consistently deliver at this level.
2 | Lando Norris
Qualifying: P1; Race: P1
Sitting out FP1 for the hugely impressive Alex Dunne, Lando Norris delivered a big performance at the F1 Austrian GP following his Canada blunder.
He was fastest in FP2, FP3, and all three qualifying segments to take a thoroughly dominant pole position by over half a second. The gap to P2 was slightly misleading as Oscar Piastri did not get a second lap in, meaning Charles Leclerc joined him on the front row. Ultimately, he chances of the Aussie beating him were extremely slim.
In the first stint, the pressure from Oscar Piastri was relentless. To Norris’ credit, he pulled off a nice switchback move out of turn 3 on his teammate after the Aussie had got a run on him out of turn 1 on lap 11 and made the pass before T3.
Nonetheless, dipping wheels into the gravel in turns 9 and 10 at the end of lap 14 should have been far more costly. They were bad unforced errors.
In the end, however, he held the lead into turns 3 and 4 on lap 15 as Piastri failed to seize the moment.
Terrific pace on older hard tyres in the second stint was a key factor in his victory.
He also did a very good at not panicking when the lapped traffic could have hampered him in the closing laps after the switch back to medium tyres.
This was a huge and badly needed win for Lando Norris at one of his best tracks. More of this and the championship will carry on very deep into the season.
Nonetheless, those mistakes on lap 14 costs him 1st in the rankings.
3 | Charles Leclerc
Qualifying: P2; Race: P3
For the third time in four rounds, Charles Leclerc finished on the podium as he secured P3 at the F1 Austrian GP.
Ferrari brought a floor update to the Red Bull Ring and it looks to have helped with performance a bit. Leclerc did a great first lap in Q3 to beat Oscar Piastri to 2nd.
At the start, he could have potentially tried to position the car towards the outside instead of looking at the inside when Norris always had that covered off. It meant Piastri immediately jumped him.
In any case, McLaren had far too much pace for the 8-time race winner and a pass was inevitable.
Leclerc did a good, solid job in the race to finish a comfortable P3, with no pressure from behind as Lewis Hamilton finished 9.2s away from his teammate.
Aside from Canada, Leclerc has been consistently maximising the results recently. He’s driving at a very high level.
It’s up to Ferrari to improve and give him the car to fight for wins before the season is out. He will be hoping for the lift and coast messages to stop, too.
4 | Gabriel Bortoleto
Qualifying: P8; Race: P8
Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto secured his first Q3 appearance and then points in F1 at the 2025 Austrian GP. It’s a weekend he will remember for the rest of his life.
The highest point was in Q2. Bortoleto put in a storming lap to be P5, 0.010s slower than Max Verstappen. In Q3, he was almost 0.3s slower than that despite getting a new tyre run in at the end, unlike Verstappen and Antonelli. It has to be said that he firmly put Hülkenberg in the shade over a single lap.
Much like Liam Lawson, Bortoleto was lucky to escape the turn 3 smash and carry on with his day as he took to the run-off. He did lose places to Albon and Gasly, however.
Unlike the New Zealander and Fernando Alonso, Bortoleto and Sauber committed to two stops. He came charging back at Alonso in the final few laps.
After making a move into turn 3 on the penultimate lap, the Brazilian was caught by his Spanish mentor on the switchback as Alonso also had DRS.
Unfortunately for Bortoleto, Lando Norris was coming and he had to get out of the way for him, meaning he let slip the one great chance he had to complete the pass.
The failure to maximise Q3 and pass Alonso in the closing laps hurts his ranking a small bit, but it was a hugely impressive weekend overall for the rookie.
The 2024 Formula 2 champion is firmly a star of the future.
5 | Fernando Alonso
Qualifying: P11; Race: P7
Unusually for Fernando Alonso, he was slower than Lance Stroll in all three practice sessions as he looked plain slower than his teammate.
Come qualifying, however, it all turned around. The two-time F1 World Champion put in a good effort to qualify P11 as Aston looked slightly less competitive than recently in qualifying trim.
In the race itself, Alonso used all his experience and quality to finish higher than he should have.
First of all he stayed behind Liam Lawson throughout the race to get the benefit of DRS on pretty much every lap throughout the race.
As his tyres faded towards the end, he dropped away from Lawson and Bortoleto came to play. However, a masterclass in racecraft took place.
First of all, the aforementioned switchback was excellent. The best bit was to follow. As Lando Norris came through to lap them, Alonso let him go just before the detection like at turn 3. He used the DRS to stay right behind Norris and gave his Brazilian rival no chance to pass.
He turns 44 at the end of July, but there is absolutely no sign of Fernando Alonso slowing down or losing his extraordinary racecraft.
6 | Oscar Piastri
Qualifying: P3; Race: P2
The F1 Austrian GP saw Oscar Piastri continue his consistent run as he holds a 15-point lead over Lando Norris, although he was defeated by the Brit at the Red Bull Ring.
While he was unfortunate not to get a second lap in thanks to yellow flags caused by Pierre Gasly, he should have been ahead of Charles Leclerc after the first Q3 runs considering the car pace McLaren had.
Gaining that spot at the start allowed Piastri to put intense pressure on Norris for the first 20 laps. After briefly taking the lead into turn 3 on lap 11, he lost it on exit. He probably should have waited until turn 4.
A big error from Lando Norris in turns 9 and 10 at the end of lap 14 put Piastri right on his gearbox, but he failed to take advantage of it.
The lock-up on lap 19 was a close shave as he was fortunate not to clip the back of his teammate at turn 4.
Overall the pace was extremely close with his teammate at what is one of Norris’ strongest venues.
However, lock-ups, a quick trip through the run-off at turn 1 after losing the rear, and the failure to get the move done on Norris in the first stint means Piastri left an opportunity behind him. Too many small but critical mistakes got made.
7 | Lewis Hamilton
Qualifying: P4; Race: P4
On what has been a historically weak track for Lewis Hamilton, the Brit had a very solid weekend at the Red Bull Ring. He was ultimately lacking a tiny bit compared to teammate Charles Leclerc.
In the race itself, it was a lonely afternoon’s drive to 4th after a great first lap tussle with former teammate George Russell. Like Leclerc, some management of the car was needed as Ferrari continue to manage issues in races.
Silverstone is coming this weekend, a track Lewis Hamilton has won at a staggering nine occasions in F1. He will be targeting his first Grand Prix podium of 2025 on Sunday.
8 | George Russell
Qualifying: P5; Race: P5
The high of the F1 Canadian GP has quickly worn off for Mercedes and George Russell. It was a brutal weekend for the team in Austria.
After narrowly making it into Q2, the British driver did a good job to put his car P5 on the grid, although Max Verstappen was on course to beat him until he encountered those yellow flags caused by Gasly.
After eventually having to cede to Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap, Mercedes struggled massively and had no pace compared to the top 4.
In fact, Russell had to clear Lawson and Alonso after his second stop to get P5. He was over a minute off the victory after 70 laps.
Mercedes will be desperate for cooler conditions at Silverstone as they look to be more competitive at Russell’s home round.
9 | Nico Hülkenberg
Qualifying: P20; Race: P9
On Friday Nico Hülkenberg really struggled with the car as he was a clear step behind teammate Gabriel Bortoleto on Friday.
While Saturday looked to be going better, a lock-up at turn 4 on his final Q1 lap left the German in last on the grid. It was a big underachievement considering the pace his Brazilian teammate displayed.
The race, however, was outstanding. After undercutting Colapinto, Tsunoda and Ocon, he passed Bearman and Gasly on track in the second stint.
A pass in the final 15 laps on Isack Hadjar sealed 9th, holding off Esteban Ocon in the closing stages.
In the end he was only 5.7s behind teammate Bortoleto, showing how good his race pace was.
10 | Esteban Ocon
Qualifying: P17; Race: P10
As was the case in Canada, Esteban Ocon produced a very strong race to get himself in the points once again.
In qualifying on Saturday, he was 0.146s slower than teammate Bearman as he departed in Q1.
On Sunday, however, he came good in race trim as the VF-25 is consistently a better car over longer stints. He was 14th before the soft runners started to come in.
Ocon overtook Colapinto, Bearman and Gasly during that second stint, and he benefitted from Albon’s retirement to take 10th.
Despite having 8-lap fresher tyres than Hülkenberg in the final stint, he fell 2.2s short of getting the German.
11 | Pierre Gasly
Qualifying: P10; Race P13
On a track where engine power is hugely important, Pierre Gasly did a superb job to make Q3 in his Alpine. He hurt himself and others by spinning in Q3. Still, to make the final segment was a huge achievement.
Avoiding the chaos at turn 3, he moved up to 6th place. From there, everything went wrong. High deg on the softs saw Albon and Bortoleto pass him before he boxed.
The 2020 Italian GP winner then complained of damage on the radio and in the print media pen afterwards after his first stop. He fell back to P13 as he was on the struggle bus.
12 | Ollie Bearman
Qualifying: P15; Race: P11
Once again Ollie Bearman was the lead Haas driver in qualifying as he put in a fine lap to make Q2 at the Red Bull Ring. The qualifying struggles continue for the team, nonetheless.
Starting on softs, Bearman took advantage of the lap 1 chaos to be running in 11th before he boxed.
Strategy did not quite go his way as teammate Esteban Ocon went longer on his mediums. It gave the Frenchman a tyre offset in the second stint and he would pass his teammate. Nico Hülkenberg was plain faster and overtook him before that as well.
When the chequered flag fell, Bearman was 15s adrift of his teammate.
It was another solid weekend that went unrewarded.
13 | Isack Hadjar
Qualifying: P13; Race: P12
For once in 2025, Isack Hadjar was overshadowed by Liam Lawson in the battle at Racing Bulls at the F1 Austrian GP.
In Q2 on Saturday, he was missing 0.185s compared to his teammate as Hadjar had to accept P13 on the grid.
After the turn 3 mess that led to a Safety Car, Racing Bulls boxed Hadjar for mediums. He had started on softs.
Two long stints on mediums and hards like his teammate saw him running in P8 at one stage. He was overhauled by the Saubers and the Haas cars in the closing stages, though.
Hadjar revealed post-race he picked up damage on the floor in the race, hurting his performance.
Ultimately, he was a shade behind Lawson all weekend.
14 | Max Verstappen
Qualifying: P7; Race: DNF
In front of the Orange Army, Max Verstappen had a nightmare weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
A spin by Pierre Gasly in the closing moments of Q3 forced the Dutch driver to abandon his lap because of yellow flags. It cost him a probable second row position. He had to start 7th. Nonetheless, he was completely lacking grip from the RB21.
Verstappen had a great start and was looking at trying to attack Russell and Hamilton on the exit of turn 3 by using the high line on exit. Unfortunately for him, he never got to apply power on exit as he was cleaned out by Kimi Antonelli.
His slim championship hopes are surely over now.
15 | Alex Albon
Qualifying: P12; Race: DNF
Much like his teammate Carlos Sainz, the Thai driver was incredibly unlucky as well.
Floor damage cost him a probable Q3 shot, but he managed to still qualify 12th.
It all looked good as the chaos at the start moved him into 7th, before passing Pierre Gasly for P6. A big result looked on — potentially even 5th as George Russell struggled so much — but a car issue ended his day way too early.
More points thrown away by Williams.
16 | Carlos Sainz
Qualifying: P19; Race: DNS
Carlos Sainz had a nightmare Saturday and Sunday at the F1 Austrian GP. It was very much out of his control.
In qualifying he was only 19th. Brake issues and floor damage left him out in Q1 when he should have been a Q3 contender.
His race never even started as more gremlins and his rear brakes catching fire meant it was game over for the Spaniard immediately.
He will be looking for a clean weekend at Silverstone after a tough run for Williams recently.
17 | Lance Stroll
Qualifying: P16; Race: P14
It was a strange weekend for Lance Stroll. After looking very fast through practice — where he was faster than Fernando Alonso in all three of them — he faded in qualifying.
He got knocked out in Q1, and the Canadian was almost 0.3s slower than he was in FP3.
In the race itself he was anonymous, never looking like he would finish close to the points.
18 | Franco Colapinto
Qualifying: P14; Race: P15
Following a good weekend in Canada, the F1 Austrian GP was more of a struggle for Franco Colapinto.
He was over 0.4s slower than his teammate in Q2 as Pierre Gasly managed to get into Q3. In the race, he did a solid job, even after getting spun around by Tsunoda.
Unfortunately for Franco Colapinto he blotted his copybook by putting Oscar Piastri on the grass as the Australian was trying to lap both he and Yuki Tsunoda. His engineer had warned him on the radio about solid blue flags with the McLaren driver coming.
While battling for position is always a priority, what he did was not very clever.
19 | Yuki Tsunoda
Qualifying: P18; Race: P16
Yuki Tsunoda’s struggles at Red Bull are continuing as the second seat continues to be a big problem with how the car behaves for anyone not named Max Verstappen.
Although he got knocked out in Q1, the gap between the Japanese driver and his Dutch teammate was 0.263s. A closer one compared to normal.
Unfortunately for Yuki Tsunoda, he had a shocking race. First up he made light contact with Stroll at turn 3, losing a small part on his front wing.
However, worse was to follow. A clumsy move on Franco Colapinto into turn 4 on lap 31 sent the Argentinian driver for a spin. The Red Bull driver properly damaged his front wing in the process.
He crossed the line last of those who completed the race. It was another tough and bruising weekend for the 25-year-old.
20 | Kimi Antonelli
Qualifying: P9; Race: DNF
Following an outstanding performance in Montreal that marked his first F1 podium, Kimi Antonelli had a big dose of reality hit him at the Austrian GP.
After not getting a run in at the end of Q3 for a couple of reasons to leave him 9th on the grid, the Italian got it all wrong on the opening lap.
Approaching turn 3, he locked the rears. While he avoided Lawson and Bortoleto, he was a passenger in his car as he took out Max Verstappen. Both cars sustained damage and their days were done. He apologised immediately.
It was a rookie error from the 18-year-old who picked up a grid penalty for the British GP. He will learn from it.
