The Canadian Grand Prix saw the fourth different winner of 2025 and a major error by one of the championship contenders.
Who stood out as the best and worst performers this weekend? Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the full field.
Lando Norris
Qualified: 7th (4 places behind team mate, +0.505s)
Grid: 7th (4 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)
Finished: 18th (14 places behind team mate)
▼ Admitted he made too many mistakes in Q3 and set his qualifying time on older tyres as a result
▶ Started on hard tyres and ran long opening stints, taking the lead twice
▲ Had better race pace than Piastri and attacked him for fourth place
▼ Ran into the back of his team mate in a badly misjudged move and crashed out
3/10: Decent race pace bookended by qualifying errors and woeful collision with team mate
Oscar Piastri
Qualified: 3rd (4 places ahead of team mate, -0.505s)
Grid: 3rd (4 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Three-stop (M-H-H-S)
Finished: 4th (14 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Fortunate to avoid worse damage when he hit the turn 14 wall in final practice
▶ Stuck to McLaren’s original suspension configuration and out-qualified Norris
▼ Lost a position to Antonelli at the start
▶ Closed on Antonelli late in the race but was unable to pass after coming under attack from Norris
6/10: Far from his best weekend yet still out-scored Norris
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Charles Leclerc
Qualified: 8th (3 places behind team mate, +0.156s)
Grid: 8th (3 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (H-H-M)
Finished: 5th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▼ Covered just nine laps on Friday after crashing early on in first practice
▼ Made a strong start to final run in Q3 but slipped up at turn six, blaming dirty air from Hadjar’s car
▶ Was running two-and-a-half seconds behind Norris when Ferrari pitted him
▶ Wanted to one-stop but his pace on the medium tyre compound was much worse than he expected
5/10: Paid a high price for crash which cost him valuable practice time
Lewis Hamilton
Qualified: 5th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.156s)
Grid: 5th (3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 6th (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Wasn’t as confident in his car as Leclerc but made fewer errors and qualified ahead
▶ Struck a groundhog or marmot early in the race, suffering damage
6/10: His lap times rose noticeably after incurring damage which spoiled his race
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Max Verstappen
Qualified: 2nd (9 places ahead of team mate, -0.464s)
Grid: 2nd (16 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 2nd (10 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Did his usual bulletproof job in qualifying to pip Piastri – but lost out to Russell
▶ Pitted aggressively early both times and only narrowly managed to keep Antonelli behind
7/10: Kept his nose clean and out-scored the McLarens, which is exactly what he needed
Yuki Tsunoda
Qualified: 11th (9 places behind team mate, +0.464s)
Grid: 18th (16 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 12th (10 places behind team mate)
▼ Collected 10-place grid penalty for unnecessarily overtaking Piastri’s damaged car during a red flag
▶ Got within half a second of Verstappen in qualifying but penalty left him last again
▶ Passed Bortoleto after the Sauber driver was delayed being passed by Sainz
▼ Ran behind Ocon and Sainz all race and couldn’t get close enough to overtake or ‘undercut’ for points
4/10: Points were possible if he’d stayed out of trouble in practice
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Qualified: 4th (3 places behind team mate, +0.492s)
Grid: 4th (3 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 3rd (2 places behind team mate)
▶ Used his last set of mediums early in qualifying than Russell
▶ Nonetheless took a strong fourth on the grid using his soft tyres
▲ Passed Piastri for third place at the start
▲ Got close enough to Verstappen to provoke a defensive pit stop from Red Bull
▲ Kept his cool under pressure from Piastri as they lapped cars to claim first podium
7/10: Earned his first podium finish, though wasn’t a match for Russell on pace
George Russell
Qualified: 1st (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.492s)
Grid: 1st (3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 1st (2 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Looked confident from the start of the weekend and produced a brilliant lap for pole position
▶ Kept his lead at the start and resisted Verstappen throughout
▶ Cleared by stewards after Verstappen accused him of braking excessively behind the Safety Car
8/10: Terrific pole position lap and quick whenever he needed to be in the race
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Lance Stroll
Qualified: 18th (12 places behind team mate, +0.444s)
Grid: 17th (11 places behind team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Three-stop (H-H-M-S)
Finished: 17th (10 places behind team mate)
▼ Crashed in second practice and lost running time as a result
▼ Eliminated in Q1, almost half a second slower than Alonso
▼ Penalised 10 seconds for forcing Gasly off approaching the chicane
3/10: Poor in qualifying and fully deserved his penalty
Fernando Alonso
Qualified: 6th (12 places ahead of team mate, -0.444s)
Grid: 6th (11 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 7th (10 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Continued his Q3 run after Stroll’s early elimination and led the midfielders
▶ Lap times dropped off badly towards end of first stint
▲ Passed one-stopping Tsunoda (twice), Sainz and Ocon to stay in contention for points
▶ Led the midfielders home for second points score in a row
8/10: The Aston Martin looked a much better car in Alonso’s hands
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Franco Colapinto
Qualified: 12th (8 places ahead of team mate, -0.433s)
Grid: 10th (10 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 13th (2 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Spun twice in practice as he explored unfamiliar track
▲ Delivered in qualifying, coming close to a spot in Q3
▼ Dropped back from Hulkenberg in first stint
▶ Made early first pit stop which was slightly slow, then had to battle through long-running drivers on hards
▶ Spent many laps behind Bortoleto, who let Hulkenberg through, which ended Colapinto’s points chances
▼ Lap times dropped off badly 40 laps into his second stint
6/10: Impressive in qualifying but pace wasn’t there in the race
Pierre Gasly
Qualified: 20th (8 places behind team mate, +0.433s)
Grid: 20th (10 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 15th (2 places behind team mate)
▼ Struggled to get his tyres in the right temperature window after Q1 red flag and missed the cut
▶ Started from the pit lane as his team made changes to his set-up
▶ Let Colapinto pass him when ordered to on lap 36
▶ Ran a long opening stint on hards but spent many laps stuck in a DRS train
5/10: Poor qualifying condemned him to unrewarding race
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Esteban Ocon
Qualified: 15th (1 place behind team mate, +0.294s)
Grid: 14th (1 place behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 9th (2 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Out-qualified by Bearman as both drivers ran out of new soft rubber in Q2
▲ Started on the hards, got ahead of Bearman early in the race then passed Hadjar
▲ Made the most of clean air in the middle of the race to move into contention for points
▶ Cleared of driving erratically under yellow flags during the Safety Car intervention
7/10: Both Haas drivers were compromised by qualifying tactics but Ocon made his strategy work
Oliver Bearman
Qualified: 14th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.294s)
Grid: 13th (1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-S)
Finished: 11th (2 places behind team mate)
▼ Hit the wall at turn 14 during final practice
▼ Made a mistake on his first lap in Q1 but got through
▶ Eliminated in Q2 as team had no fresh softs left
▶ Fell into a DRS train after switching from medium tyres to hards
▶ Received an official warning for not rejoining the track correctly when he went off at turn 13
6/10: One place away from scoring points after a largely frustrating race
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Isack Hadjar
Qualified: 9th (10 places ahead of team mate, -0.314s)
Grid: 12th (7 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-S)
Finished: 16th
▼ Felt less comfortable with his car in qualifying but still reached Q3
▶ Apologised to Sainz for holding him up after team failed to warn him about the Williams
▶ Suffered graining on the medium tyres early in the race and dropped back
6/10: Early first pit stop left him stuck in traffic
Liam Lawson
Qualified: 19th (10 places behind team mate, +0.314s)
Grid: 19th (7 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: Not classified
▼ Needed a ‘build’ lap to get the best from his tyres, couldn’t do one at end of Q1 and was eliminated
▶ Started from the pits in order to change power units before the race
▶ Retired due to a cooling problem on his new power unit
5/10: His race was a non-event but qualifying wasn’t up to scratch
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Alexander Albon
Qualified: 10th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.308s)
Grid: 9th (7 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -3 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Not classified
▶ Reached Q3 despite losing his engine cover during qualifying
▶ Felt he could have qualified higher than 10th before change in wind conditions
▶ Clearly forced off at turn eight by Colapinto on lap one but the stewards took no interest
▶ Ran long on his medium rubber and was passed by Ocon who started on hards
▶ Was struggling to make a one-stop strategy work when a power unit problem put him out
6/10: Endured multiple setbacks, the last of which ended his day
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Qualified: 17th (7 places behind team mate, +0.308s)
Grid: 16th (7 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 10th
▶ Was clearly on course to reach Q2 before Hadjar held him up
▲ Passed Bortoleto at the hairpin
▶ Kept Ocon in sight despite a power unit problem
▶ Pulled off a one-stop strategy to claim the final point
7/10: Given his qualifying misfortune and car problems, 10th was a good result
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Nico Hulkenberg
Qualified: 13th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.062s)
Grid: 11th (4 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 8th (6 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Tagged the wall at turn 14 in final practice with a dramatic spin
▲ Reached Q2, qualified a decent 13th and gained two places thanks to others’ penalties
▲ Pounced on Colapinto and Albon to pass them on lap one
▲ Made vital passes on Gasly on Lawson, then was waved past Bortoleto on his way to eighth
8/10: Maximised the potential of Sauber’s recent upgrade package again
Gabriel Bortoleto
Qualified: 16th (3 places behind team mate, +0.062s)
Grid: 15th (4 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 14th (6 places behind team mate)
▶ Missed the cut for Q2 by just seven milliseconds – he was only six hundredths off Hulkenberg
▶ Started the race on hard tyres and ran a single-stop strategy
▶ Let Hulkenberg by then contained his pursuers for several laps
6/10: Fractionally slower than Hulkenberg in qualifying which left him playing the team game on race day
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Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2025 Canadian Grand Prix
- 2025 Canadian Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
- Why Verstappen’s claim Russell dropped too far behind the Safety Car was wrong
- Antonelli was counting down final laps in “very stressful” run to first podium
- Would the one-stop strategy Leclerc wanted have paid off? Canadian GP data
- Russell keeps Canadian GP victory as Red Bull fail in bid to promote Verstappen