1 day Ago By Sam Cooper
Five races into the F1 2025 season and we are looking at who has started strongly and those who are wishing they could go back to race one. To compare this, we have taken the points tallies of each driver and compared them to the same stage last year. Handily, we have had the same amount of sprint races this year as we had at this time last year, meaning the drivers are being compared across the same six events they have competed in.
And to make it fair, we have ignored any driver who did not complete both seasons. Considering he swapped Ferrari for Williams, it is no surprise that Carlos Sainz has fewer points this year but the gap is bigger than he may have expected. 64 points separate his 2024 and 2025 tally after five races, making it the biggest deficit of any driver on the grid.
The Spaniard, who struggled early in the year, appears to have found some form following his P8 in Jeddah but he would need an unbelievable season now to match his final tally of 290. One of just four drivers yet to score a point – and crucially the only one not a rookie – Fernando Alonso’s 2025 has not really got going as of yet. This time last year, he had 31 points to his name but the team’s performance has fallen away, meaning Alonso often finds himself fighting in the lower midfield rather than in the points.
Ferrari started 2024 as one of the two strongest cars but the same cannot be said about their performance so far in 2025. Pre-Saudi, the team had failed to make the podium in the grand prix and it took an almighty drive from Charles Leclerc to change that. Leclerc is doing better than Lewis Hamilton at least but it is still a step down from where he was this time last year.
Considering he won four of the opening five 2024 races, Max Verstappen being in the negative column should not come as any real surprise despite his good performance this year. There is a general acceptance that the Dutchman is getting more out of the Red Bull car than it perhaps deserved – you need only look at his team-mates to work that out – but he is certainly on the back foot when it comes to the title race with Verstappen being 23 points worse off than this time last year. If Yuki Tsunoda had not swapped Racing Bulls for Red Bull, chances are he would have been on the positive side of this story but after two good races at the sister team, he has taken time to adapt to the main seat.
His only points score for Red Bull came in Bahrain but he has at least shown he is getting to grips with the car as the races go on. After five races, Nico Hulkenberg has scored two more points than this time last year but there will be some concern for the German when you delve into the numbers. While his points last year came over three races for Haas, this season Hulkenberg scored all six of his points in the opening race and it is has been pretty miserable going since then.
Pierre Gasly ended 2024 in great form and while it has taken a while for him to get going in 2025, he looked much more competitive in Bahrain before a lap one crash with former team-mate Tsunoda in Saudi. It may seem like it is all doom and gloom for Hamilton currently but he is actually 12 points better off than he was last year. However, the fact he trails team-mate Leclerc by 16 points will be of more concern as he still struggles to find his feet at Ferrari.
10 points in China was a great start to the year for Esteban Ocon who appears to be either really good or really bad. So far this year, he has scored points in two grands prix weekends but he will want to find more consistency if those points scores are to become more regular. Alex Albon may not be top of this list based on numbers but in terms of expectation, he has to be the biggest improvement.
His 20 points are more than he scored in the entirety of 2024 and the Thai driver looks on course for his best season since he left Red Bull. 31 more points for Lando Norris and yet it still somehow feels a little like a missed opportunity. With his team-mate higher up this list, Norris’ mistakes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia already look costly but time is on his side for him to turn it around.
Yet to stand on the top step this year but George Russell’s consistency has seen him earn 40 more points this season compared to 2024. Mercedes themselves are a step up but Russell has improved as a driver, giving him the valuable quality of being able to extract every drop of performance from a car. Before you even saw the numbers, chances are you would have guessed Oscar Piastri would top this list.
The Australian has been in excellent form and aside from a slide in his home race, he has been near faultless. The championship leader is the only driver to have won multiple races this year and has emerged as the title favourite. Read next: FIA president hints at overhaul of controversial swearing rules.
