Formula One gradebook: United States Grand Prix
- Elaina Russell
- 2 hours ago
- 8 min read
Written by Elaina Russell, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The 2025 United States Grand Prix delivered a weekend of dominance, duels, and defiance deep in the heart of Texas. Max Verstappen reasserted his title ambitions with a near flawless performance, Lando Norris reignited the championship fight, and Ferrari’s dream of a double-podium slipped away in the heat of battle.
Here’s how all 20 drivers performed on race day:
McLaren
No. 81 - Oscar Piastri - B
A rare weekend off for the Australian. After crashing out of the sprint, Piastri never quite looked in sync with the car — fighting grip, balance, and degradation. He gained one place at the start but spent much of the race unable to match the leader’s pace.
“A bit of a tricky race,” he said. “We’ll review and bounce back next weekend.”
No. 4 - Lando Norris - A
For once, McLaren didn’t have the fastest car, but Norris still delivered. Losing out to Charles Leclerc at the start meant a tense, strategic battle through the opening stints. His double pass for second was clean, composed, and critical in keeping him within touching distance of Piastri in the title fight.
“It took long enough,” Norris laughed post-race, referencing his overtake on Leclerc late on in the race. “It was tough, but the strategy was good, and it worked out well in the end. Full focus now switches to Mexico and doing the best job I can there."
Norris heads to Mexico just 14 points behind his teammate, and in the kind of form that suggests he’s far from out of the running.
Ferrari
No. 44 - Lewis Hamilton - B+
Race day in Austin was Lewis Hamilton’s best Sunday in months. He found confidence early, pulled off tidy moves in the opening stint, and kept a charging Piastri behind in the final laps. The strategy didn’t fully play out in his favour, but the seven-time champion looked energised. The Briton finally seems at one with the SF-25.
“I’m finally feeling like I’m on top of the car,” he said.
After two tough rounds, Ferrari’s veteran is back in the mix.
No. 16 - Charles Leclerc - A
Ferrari rolled the dice, and Leclerc made it work. Starting as the only frontrunner on softs, he launched past Norris into Turn 1 and stayed there through relentless defensive driving. Though he eventually lost out to the McLaren, his podium was richly deserved after what had otherwise been a turbulent season.
“Arriving on the grid as the only car on the softs looked risky,” Leclerc admitted, “but it paid off.”
Ferrari’s pace is creeping back, and with Mercedes faltering, second in the Constructors is still on the table.
Mercedes
No. 63 - George Russell - B
Russell’s race was defined in the opening seconds. Boxed in at Turn 1, he lost ground to Hamilton and Piastri and never truly recovered. From there, it was a controlled but lonely drive — solid points, no fireworks.
Mercedes left Austin knowing they had potential, but fell short in execution.
No. 12 - Kimi Antonelli - C-
Contact with Carlos Sainz wrecked what could’ve been another points finish for the Italian. The spin dropped him to the bottom of the order, and while he clawed his way back, he lacked the car to recover fully.
“It’s a shame,” he said. “We move forward.”
Growing pains, yes. The raw speed remains.
Red Bull Racing
No. 1 - Max Verstappen - A+
It was a weekend that felt like a statement. Pole, sprint Win, Grand Prix win–Verstappen didn’t just dominate, he dismantled the field. His launch from the line was near perfect; Leclerc’s soft tyres barely a nuisance. Once clear of the pack, he controlled the race with ruthless precision, even as temperatures soared.
“The start was key today,” he said. “We really maximised everything with the points, and we need to continue having these perfect weekends until the end of the season. I am very happy to win again.”
It was his fifth victory of 2025 and the 68th of his career — one that slashes the championship deficit to just 40 points.
No. 22 - Yuki Tsunoda - A-
A strong weekend from Tsunoda, who’s found real rhythm in recent weeks since his promotion. A flying start from 13th on the grid brought him into the points, and despite a heated battle with Oliver Bearman, he held his ground to secure a well-earned top-ten finish.
“I have scored points in both races this weekend,” he said. “Overall, the weekend was positive. I need to improve on the short runs.”
Red Bull leaves Austin with both cars in the points and a renewed sense of purpose.
Williams
No. 23 - Alexander Albon - C+
A frustrating afternoon for Albon. A hard-tyre start backfired as grip evaporated early on, forcing an unplanned stop. Though his race pace improved later on, the car simply wasn’t balanced enough to climb into the points.
“We had good pace, but it was a bit scrappy,” he admitted.
With Mexico’s altitude suiting the Williams package, there’s a chance to reset next weekend.
No. 55 - Carlos Sainz - C
Another promising weekend undone by contact. A lunge on Antonelli ended in the gravel, with Sainz accepting partial blame after the collision ended his race. Up until then, his pace was strong–perhaps good enough for points–but it was another costly error in an otherwise encouraging spell.
“I was behind so I accept my part of fault,” he said.
A missed opportunity, and one that stings given Williams’ upward trajectory.
Sauber
No. 27 - Nico Hülkenberg - B+
Quietly effective, ruthlessly consistent–the hallmarks of Nico Hülkenberg’s season continued in Austin this past weekend. After missing out on sprint mileage due to contact on Saturday, the veteran maximised his Sunday.
A sharp start kept him out of much of the chaos, and from there it was about patience, rhythm, and execution. Sauber’s race plan was aggressive yet tidy, and Hülkenberg delivered it to perfection.
The German’s measured pace in the middle stint allowed him to hold off Bearman in the closing stages. It was a professional, points-scoring drive that underlined why Sauber continues to rely on his experience to anchor the team’s campaign.
“The race was clean, well-executed on multiple fronts,” he said. “We were determined to make the most of it.”
After several scrappy weekends for others, Hülkenberg’s reliability stands out. His eighth-place finish marked Sauber’s first points since Imola, and a timely boost ahead of Mexico.
No. 5 - Gabriel Bortoleto - C
A subdued showing from the Brazilian rookie. Starting from the rear after a compromised qualifying, Bortoleto kept his nose clean but never found the performance window needed to threaten the midfield. Sauber gambled on a different strategy for the rookie, though his challenge suffered in the later stages, and he crossed the line in 18th.
Despite lacking outright pace, Bortoleto avoided any serious mistakes and provided valuable feedback throughout the race, which is something that Sauber’s engineers will take comfort in as they refine their setup for high-altitude Mexico City. The Brazilian is still adapting to Formula One’s rhythm, but his calm under pressure suggests maturity beyond his years.
“It’s been a rather uneventful race,” he said. “We'll take the learnings from this weekend and move onto the next race.”
Racing Bulls
No. 6 - Isack Hadjar - C
A weekend that promised little and delivered the same. The French rookie’s first stint lacked bite, and by the time he switched tyres, the pack ahead had all but disappeared. Still, his racecraft shone in brief flashes.
Racing Bulls will be disappointed not to convert their one-lap speed into Sunday performance, but Hadjar’s consistency and composure continue to develop. His ability to keep focus during an anonymous race speaks to the discipline that’s quickly becoming his trademark.
“There are a few things we need to understand with the car,” he said. “We’ve been strong most weekends this year, but we had a ride issue that we need to figure out and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Not spectacular, but part of the groundwork that will pay dividends later.
No. 30 - Liam Lawson - B-
Once again, Lawson found himself on the fringes of the points. And once again, he left wondering what might have been. A boxed start at the outset cost him valuable ground, though he managed the race superbly from there.
The Kiwi has become the team’s tactical anchor, managing tyres better than most in the midfield and keeping pressure on those ahead. His eleventh-place finish was frustrating but underlined the Racing Bulls’ solid operational footing.
“There were points available throughout the weekend,” Lawson said. “It’s frustrating.”
Aston Martin
No. 18 - Lance Stroll - B-
A sharp Sunday for Stroll. After a muted sprint, Stroll bounced back with confidence, scything through traffic and pulling off several clean overtakes en route to 12th position. He managed his tyres well, keeping him in contention for lower points throughout much of the race.
The Canadian looked comfortable in the AMR25 for the first time in several rounds, adapting well to changing wind conditions that unsettled others. Though he fell just short of scoring, it was a well-rounded performance that hints at some chance of renewal for the Aston Martin team heading into Mexico.
“Today was a fun race,” he said. “We did the best we could.”
Positive signs and a reminder that when the car behaves, so does Stroll.
No. 14 - Fernando Alonso - B
The two-time world champion seemed to extract everything he could from his own Aston, converting a tenth-place start on the grid to a tenth-place finish and a single, hard-earned point.
It wasn’t a headline-grabbing drive, but it was quintessential Alonso — executing at a high level even with limited machinery.
Haas
No. 87 - Oliver Bearman - B+
Another strong showing for the young Briton on Haas’ home soil. Bearman delivered an aggressive drive to bring Haas points in Austin, a result that the team and their fans undoubtedly relished. His wheel-to-wheel battle with Tsunoda in particular was among the race’s highlights.
“It’s not how we should be racing,” he said. “But we avoided contact and scored.”
The stewards would go on to take no action regarding what Bearman deemed Tsunoda’s “very dangerous” move.
No. 31 - Esteban Ocon - C
A tricky weekend for Ocon, who struggled to match his teammate’s pace. He gained ground at the start but quickly slipped back as grip faded on the hard tyres.
Still, the Frenchman gathered useful data and kept things tidy, helping the team secure valuable feedback on aerodynamics and tyre performance. His 15th-place finish won’t grab headlines, but the collective result keeps Haas climbing the midfield.
Alpine
No. 10 - Pierre Gasly - D+
It was another rough outing for Gasly in a car that continues to disappoint. After a solid opening stint where he shadowed Lawson in a DRS train, his race unravelled after a sluggish pit stop dropped him into heavy traffic. From there, his pace collapsed and he limped back home in 19th, ahead of only Sainz’s non-existent entry.
“We were just too slow,” Gasly admitted.
No. 43 - Franco Colapinto - D
Drama defined Colapinto’s afternoon. After a quiet opening stint, the rookie ignored team orders in the closing laps, overtaking Gasly against direct instructions. Though the move was clean, it highlighted tensions within a team already under scrutiny.
His pace was marginally better than Gasly’s, but the call to defy management can and has dominated post-race discussions. Still, the aggression showed spark–the kind that could serve him well if channelled properly.
“He’s slow,” Colapinto said, unapologetic over the team radio.
Looking ahead
With just five rounds to go, the championship fight remains alive. Verstappen’s perfect weekend has reignited the hunt, Norris is still pushing, and Piastri’s once semi-comfortable lead is beginning to shrink. Ferrari and Mercedes continue to trade blows for second-best constructor, while the midfield chaos shows zero sign of calming.
Mexico City awaits, and if Austin proved anything, it’s the momentum that will matter.
