Formula 1: Williams have signed outgoing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz for the 2025 Formula 1 season on a two-year deal.
Max Verstappen comfortably leads the drivers championship , but he’s no longer the sport’s form driver in the quickest car.
Some of his harder-fought victories have embellished his reputation after having won races easily in the last two seasons. His stranglehold over teammate Sergio Pérez — a thoroughly decent grand prix driver despite his lacklustre form — only further underlines that Verstappen remains the competition’s best performer.Lando Norris has been Verstappen’s closest qualifying challenger all season, their average time-attack results separating them by just 1.78 places in the Dutchman’s favour.
Then, later, there was the disaster at Silverstone where a bumbling team strategy cost him a short at the win. His devastating run of three DNFs in four grands prix between Canada and Great Britain had little to do with him and everything to do with mechanical and strategic fumbles. He only really lacks Leclerc’s single-lap pace in this head-to-head duel, putting him marginally behind his teammate in these rankings.Lewis Hamilton’s poor head-to-head record against teammate Russell might make his position on this leaderboard appear nonsensical, but the seven-time champion has risen to the occasion of Mercedes’s improving car.
He signed off with a second victory in Belgium, and though it took Russell’s disqualification to grab the trophy, he had the pace to beat his compatriot on the same strategy.George Russell’s head-to-head advantage over Hamilton came mostly from early in the year, when the W15 was at its worst. As the car found its groove, Russell fumbled his chances, most notably in Canada, when a rough performance had him turn pole into third on a weekend Mercedes really should have won.
Qualifying has been key, putting him in defensible positions on the cusp of points, from where he’s converted more often than not. The Thai driver has nailed all William’s genuine scoring chances, most important among them Monaco, where that weight disadvantage was at its smallest. He also surprisingly excelled at Silverstone to score points.
It’s had some highlights. He rated his race to sixth in Japan as one of the top five of his entire career, and disciplined performances in Great Britain and Belgium netted reasonable points. There’s no question Ricciardo wasn’t up to standard in the opening months of the year bar the occasional moment of brilliance, his sprint performance in Miami chief among them. After a scoreless race in Monte Carlo, the threat of the mid-season sack loomed as a real possibility.
It could be his only season highlight is the change of management at Audi that’s boosted his chances of extending his career.Lance Stroll started the season in the unenviable position of being the weakest link in what appeared to be a rock-solid top 10, leading to talk of the ‘Stroll Cup’, whereby the competition for the bottom five teams was to capitalise on the Canadian’s inevitable errors.
Eastern Europe Grand Prix Driver Single-Lap Powers Rear-Gunner Position Receiving End One-Stop Strategy Brilliant Final Fortnight Grid Penalty Unexpected Title Campaign Decisive Intrateam Points George Russell Team Leader Notable Exception Eastern Asia Weight Disadvantage Contract Extension Midfield Pack Kevin Magnussen Victoria Pit Stops Fernando Alonso Intrateam Points Lead Florida Grand Prix Winner Close-Run Thing Canada Average Qualifying Seven-Time Champion Belgium Points Deficit Midseason Driver Rankings Season Statistics Southern Europe Single-Lap Pace Real Possibility Agence France Presse Championship Lead Max Verstappen Thomas COEX Forming Reputation Weight Advantage Imola Mid-Season Sack Sprint Performance Victory Drought Inevitable Errors Drivers Championship Season Highlight Sprint Qualifying Spain Points Threat Logan Sargeant Championship Standings Standout Results Genuine Scoring Chances LANCE STROLL Australia Born-Again German Ace Multiple Grand Prix Challenging Perceptions Team Error Pit Lane Performance Gap Maiden Victories Slowest Car North America Melbourne Qualifying Beltings Austria Out-Of-Date Aero Kits Monaco Western Asia Jake Nowakowski Closest Qualifying Challenger Safety Car Hungary Grand Prix Elder Statesman Constructors Championship Europe Japan Known-Quantity Teammate Western Europe Yuki Tsunoda Qualifying Session Metronomic Consistency Northern America Sergio Pérez Italy Development Program Harder-Fought Victories Mark Thompson Driver Market Grands Prix Driver Contract Martin KEEP Foreboding Ease Mid-Season Break Title Table United States Of America Ryan Pierse Oceania Saudi Arabia Impressive Comeback Season Qualifying Time Deficit Monster First-Lap Crash China America Team Game Getty Images Inc. Carlos Sainz Charles Leclerc Lance Stroll Reputational Risk Australia And New Zealand Double-Points Finish Inevitable Flashpoints Miami Comfortable Lead Bumbling Team Strategy Asia Average Time-Attack Results Sprint Races Wildcard Season Natural Title Rivals
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