Abu Dhabi GP driver ratings: End of year feel as Norris pips Verstappen in season finale

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix played out without much incident as Max Verstappen won but was ultimately unable to haul in title winner Lando Norris.

Verstappen started from pole and ended there, but Norris’ P3 was enough to seal a first world title for the 26-year-old.

Driver ratings for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Max Verstappen – 9

Verstappen did everything he could have possibly done but ultimately, it was not enough.

A pole and P1 in Abu Dhabi saw him finish two points short of a fifth title but considering how far back he was at one stage, you will find more than one person labelling him their driver of the season.

Oscar Piastri – 8.5

There was only a very small chance Piastri would leave Abu Dhabi as a World Champion and after he qualified P3, that seemed even less likely.

In the race, he gave himself a shot at least with a smart overtake on Norris in the opening lap but an offset tyre strategy meant he was likely to finish second at best.

Not his worst drive, but his errors came in the weeks leading up to this moment.

Lando Norris – 8

An unremarkable drive from Norris which is exactly what he needed it to be. After losing P2 to Piastri, Norris’ stomach could have sunk but he kept his head and held off a quick Leclerc behind.

His biggest task came in getting around Tsunoda and he was perhaps a little fortunate to avoid a penalty but overall, it was job done for the reigning World Champion.

Charles Leclerc – 9

A season that promised much turned out to be a familiar story for Leclerc but his Abu Dhabi Grand Prix once again proved that he can get speed out of even an underwhelming car.

The pace of Leclerc surprised even McLaren as Norris had a constant eye over his shoulder, however, Leclerc really needed to get an overtake done early if he was to disrupt the title celebrations.

In the end, his tyres dropped off and Norris scampered into the distance.

George Russell – 7

A bit of an underwhelming race from Russell, who lost P4 early on and never found the speed to recover it.

Mercedes was bold, opting to pit Russell early but ultimately he could not catch the quicker Leclerc ahead.

Fernando Alonso – 8

The planning of Formula 1 teams means Adrian Newey showing up at Qatar and then the car suddenly being better is perhaps more of a coincidence, but in the last two races Aston have looked quicker.

Alonso made the most of it in Abu Dhabi, qualifying P6 to perhaps even his own surprise and after the front five disappeared, the Spaniard became the driver of a very long DRS train.

Esteban Ocon – 8

Not too shabby for Ocon to end his first season with Haas with a seventh-placed finish.

In qualifying, he reached Q3 for only the third time this season and even managed to move up, rather than down, come race day.

Lewis Hamilton – 7

One of his better races but that is not saying much in 2025.

He achieved an unremarkable Q1 exit and started on the softs in the hope of moving up the order.

He did so until he arrived at Ocon’s rear wing and was stuck there for the rest of the race, crossing the line in eighth place. Said he was spending the off-season by putting his phone in the bin.

Nico Hulkenberg – 8

A solid way to end a good year for Hulkenberg.

He qualified 18th but started on the soft and made the two-stop work to move a long way up the order to finish ninth.

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Lance Stroll – 7.5

Better from Stroll who scored his first point since Hungary.

He qualified 15th but was able to work his way up through the order and showed some decent speed late on to crack into the top 10.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 7

Bortoleto was disappointed with the feeling of the car on the Sunday compared to the Saturday and suggested they were struggling with cornering from the first lap.

That discomfort meant he lost P10 late on to Lance Stroll.

Oliver Bearman – 6.5

Couldn’t match the impressive feats of his team-mate and the difference came in qualifying with Bearman just missing out on Q3. Ends the year 13th in the standings and the third-best rookie.

Carlos Sainz – 6.5

The Williams was lacking pace this weekend, although Sainz did at least get more out of it than his team-mate.

He qualified 13th but was one of a number of cars stuck in a DRS train.

Yuki Tsunoda – 5

Sergio Perez he is not, as the second Red Bull driver failed to halt Norris’ progress too much.

Verstappen needed every help he could get if he was going to win the title but Tsunoda could only give himself a five-second penalty in his attempt to keep the McLaren behind.

That saw him drop down the order and his F1 career is potentially over with a whimper.

Kimi Antonelli – 6

Not a great weekend for Antonelli who qualified 14th and dropped one spot back to 15th come the chequered flag.

Toto Wolff said both drivers’ races could be summed up with one word – mediocre.

Alexander Albon – 6

Couple of underwhelming races back-to-back for Albon to end the 2026 campaign. He got stuck in a DRS train and could not move from 16th.

Isack Hadjar – 6

Hadjar said the car was lacking pace and admitted it was a “surprise” he qualified P9. Come Sunday though, he dropped down the order, eventually finishing 17th.

Liam Lawson – 5

If you had to pick one driver to watch onboard with in the hope of some action, you’d do a lot worse than Liam Lawson.

The stewards’ favourite son was back in their crosshairs after he made “several erratic moves between turns 8 and 9 as Car 87 (Bearman) was approaching.”

That gave him a five-second penalty and down to the bottom end of the grid he went.

Pierre Gasly – 5

Behind Norris, Pierre Gasly may well have been the happiest man in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night as finally, the 2026 season is over.

The finale was a perfect recapture of Gasly’s season as the Alpine was just slow. He qualified 19th and ended it there.

Franco Colapinto – 4.5

Same story as his team-mate. The car was too slow to do anything and Colapinto ended the race where he started it – last.

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