Most drivers tried to get through the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a single pit stop but those who got onto fresh tyres near the end were able to make some progress.
This meant that, in the midfield at least, the Yas Marina race was not quite the procession it usually is. However all eyes were on the championship fight at the front where the contenders held their nerve over the final 58 laps – one of them under considerably more pressure than the others.
For the final time in 2025, here’s RaceFans’ verdict on how all 20 drivers performed.
Lando Norris
Qualified: 2nd (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.029s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 3rd (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Narrowly beat Piastri to second on the grid after improving on final run
▶ Let Piastri past him on first lap
▶ Looked vulnerable on medium rubber in the first stint but kept Leclerc at bay
▲ Bold passes on midfielders ensured he lost little time after early pit stop
▶ Risked a penalty by passing Tsunoda off-track
▶ Better pace on hard tyres than mediums over the final two stints secured title-clinching third place
8/10: Held his nerve brilliantly to secure title
Oscar Piastri
Qualified: 3rd (1 place behind team mate, +0.029s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 2nd (1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Missed first practice and was only 11th in second session
▶ Up to speed by qualifying and came close to securing a front-row start
▶ Passed Norris at start to keep pressure on Verstappen with long hard tyre stint
▶ McLaren didn’t look as competitive on the mediums and Piastri couldn’t close at end of race
8/10: Nothing to choose between him and Norris for pace
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Charles Leclerc
Qualified: 5th (11 places ahead of team mate, -0.231s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 4th (4 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Resorted to drastic set-up changes during practice
▲ Wrung everything out of ill-handling car for fifth on grid
▲ Got ahead of Russell at the start and stayed there until the end
▶ Kept Norris honest early in the race until McLaren’s pace on hard rubber told
9/10: Clearly extracted more from a tricky car than his team mate
Lewis Hamilton
Qualified: 16th (11 places behind team mate, +0.231s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)
Finished: 8th (4 places behind team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▼ Crashed in final practice
▼ Mistake in final sector ensured another Q1 elimination
▶ Started well on soft tyres, rising to 13th, then pitted early
▲ Good pace on hard tyres in clear air cemented those gains
▶ Picked off slower midfielders to secure eighth
6/10: Went some way towards redeeming another poor qualifying result
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Max Verstappen
Qualified: 1st (9 places ahead of team mate, -0.282s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 1st (13 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Set two lap times quick enough for pole position
▶ Decisive start ensured he kept McLarens behind
▶ Preferred not to risk victory by attempting to delay the McLarens
8/10: A straightforward weekend under the circumstances
Yuki Tsunoda
Qualified: 10th (9 places behind team mate, +0.282s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 14th (13 places behind team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▶ Received a formal warning for impeding Norris in final practice
▶ Had to switch to older floor after being hit by Antonelli in the pits
▲ Despite that, scraped through Q1 and Q2 by thousandths of a second
▶ Sacrificed his first run in Q3 to give Verstappen a tow
▶ Held his position at the start
▼ Failed to keep Norris behind for any useful amount of time and incurred a penalty
▶ Dropped behind Stroll and Hulkenberg to finish 14th
5/10: Great job on Saturday but move on Norris looked cynical
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Qualified: 14th (10 places behind team mate, +0.35s)
Start: -3 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 15th (10 places behind team mate)
▼ Became less happy with car’s balance as track cooled and dropped out in Q2
▶ Started on hards and immediately lost three places – one to Stroll on the same rubber
▼ Lost pace as stint went on and was passed by Hamilton, Alonso and Bortoleto
▶ Couldn’t get close enough to Tsunoda to take advantage of his penalty
▶ Passed Hadjar, but lost places to Stroll and Hulkenberg in final stint
4/10: Ended the season on a low note after strong recent run
George Russell
Qualified: 4th (10 places ahead of team mate, -0.35s)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 5th (10 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Quickest early in qualifying when rivals were on older tyres
▶ Slipped to fourth in Q3 after optimistic suggestion Verstappen give him a tow
▼ Poor start looked like it cost him fourth place
▶ Mercedes’ deteriorating pace as track cooled left him far behind at the finish
7/10: Looked on course for a more competitive showing earlier in the weekend
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Lance Stroll
Qualified: 15th (9 places behind team mate, +0.236s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 10th (4 places behind team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▶ Six-hundredths off reaching Q3, yet only 15th, in incredibly close qualifying session
▲ Usefully got ahead of Antonelli after starting on hards
▶ Ran longest opening stint of any driver
▲ Passed eight cars over final 15 laps to recover ninth
▼ Weaving in front of Sainz after passing the Williams earned penalty which left him 10th
7/10: Made up for tough qualifying result with battling race-day performance
Fernando Alonso
Qualified: 6th (9 places ahead of team mate, -0.236s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 6th (4 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▲ Excellent qualifying run put him on the third row
▶ Got ahead of Russell temporarily at the start
▶ Slow pit stop allowed Bortoleto to pass him but Alonso immediately retook the Sauber
▶ Managed pace over long second stint, delaying rivals behind to manage degradation
9/10: Clearly got the most of the car
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Franco Colapinto
Qualified: 20th (1 place behind team mate, +0.422s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 20th (1 place behind team mate)
▼ Never got a handle on the car and qualified well off Gasly’s pace
▶ Race pace was somewhat better but Alpine were never in contention
4/10: Too far off Gasly in qualifying and had little chance to do more in the race
Pierre Gasly
Qualified: 19th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.422s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 19th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▶ Pleased with the progress Alpine made with the car into Saturday but couldn’t avoid qualifying on the back of the grid
▶ Qualified on back row but just hundredths off his rivals
6/10: Couldn’t rise above car’s shortcomings
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Esteban Ocon
Qualified: 8th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.018s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 7th (5 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▶ Very unhappy with car after Friday
▲ Got to grips with his car on Saturday and beat team mate into Q3
▶ Stuck behind Hadjar in first stint but team exploited Tsunoda’s obvious strategy well
▶ Couldn’t find a way around Alonso in final stint but secured seventh
7/10: Impressive recovery from tough Friday
Oliver Bearman
Qualified: 11th (3 places behind team mate, +0.018s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 12th (5 places behind team mate)
▶ Failing to reach Q3 by 0.007s was a huge disappointment after strong Friday
▶ Fell behind Lawson (who was penalised for his defence) on lap one
▶ Fended off Hamilton’s early attack
▶ Aggressively early first pit stop left him with long final stint
▼ Eventually lost a place to Hamilton, then earned a penalty for weaving in front of Stroll on last lap
5/10: Fumbled a clear points-scoring opportunity
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Isack Hadjar
Qualified: 9th (4 places ahead of team mate, -0.08s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 17th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Squeaked into Q3 and put his car ninth on the grid
▲ Got ahead of Ocon at the start and ran eighth
▶ Had to manage his pace heavily in his second stint and fell to 17th
6/10: Both Racing Bulls clearly lacked pace in race trim
Liam Lawson
Qualified: 13th (4 places behind team mate, +0.08s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 18th (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▶ One of several drivers who came close to reaching Q3
▼ Gained two places at the start but was penalised for erratic defence on Bearman
▶ Like Hadjar, lacked pace after switching to hard tyres
4/10: Too aggressive with Bearman at the start but points were never realistic
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Alexander Albon
Qualified: 17th (5 places behind team mate, +0.229s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)
Finished: 16th (3 places behind team mate)
▶ Missed first practice
▼ Car was quick enough to make it beyond Q1
▶ Began the race on softs and gained two places at the start
▼ Couldn’t keep pace with his fellow soft-tyre starters after switching to hards
▶ Fell behind Haas drivers before making second pit stop and fell to 16th
5/10: A poor result by Williams’ recent standards but not far off Sainz
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Qualified: 12th (5 places ahead of team mate, -0.229s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 13th (3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Just eight-thousandths of a second off reaching Q3
▼ Lost a place to Lawson, on the same tyres, at the start
▶ Pitted after Bearman and Bortoleto which left him stuck behind them
▶ Passed by Hulkenberg and Stroll at end of race
6/10: Neither Williams driver was particularly competitive in finale
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Nico Hulkenberg
Qualified: 18th (11 places behind team mate, +0.076s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)
Finished: 9th (2 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Little between the Sauber drivers as Hulkenberg went out in Q1
▶ Started on softs but stayed 18th
▶ Was the first driver to pit, ‘undercutting’ Albon
▶ Gained on Hamilton but couldn’t make same progress past midfielders
▲ Made a late second pit stop and passed several cars
▲ Overtook Bortoleto on final lap without intervention from the team
▶ Promoted to 10th place by Bearman’s penalty
7/10: Great work in final stint bagged a surprise point
Gabriel Bortoleto
Qualified: 7th (11 places ahead of team mate, -0.076s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 11th (2 places behind team mate)
▲ Another first-rate qualifying effort put him 11 places ahead of Hulkenberg on grid
▶ Briefly got ahead of Alonso through pit stop
▼ Overtaken by Haas drivers as he followed Alonso, then Hamilton too
▶ Fell victim to late pitters which dropped him out of points
7/10: Excellent job in qualifying but should have kept Haas drivers behind him
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Over to you
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