F1 power rankings coming into the second half: Who’s worst, and who’s first?

F1 is finally back -- but whose got the upper hand coming into the final 10 rounds of 2025?

Over the past two weeks, we've gone in-depth with all 20 drivers and their efforts so far. We looked at their qualifying and race pace, along with the expectations of what they do in their car relative to where they ended up.

F1 is a sport so deeply based on the car you're in, a car that fans will never truly understand just how strong they really are. Is the Red Bull that bad and Max Verstappen is working wonder? Is the Kick Sauber better than we expected, or is their new duo just that impressive?

We can only take the information we know.

Each driver has a blurb for their power ranking place -- but click on their names for each driver's first half profile, where we look at their strengths and struggles in 2025.

F1 power rankings:

#20 - Franco Colapinto

Colapinto took Jack Doohan's spot under unfair pretenses, and then Colapinto has gone out and done juat as poorly. The Alpine is not good, but Colapinto hasn't done anything worth mentioning yet.

#19 - Yuki Tsunoda

It's been a horror show season for Tsunoda since he took Liam Lawson's place for the third weekend of the year. Red Bull truly feels like they're trying to hide just how bad he's been so that they don't have to make another driver change ... but just in case you didn't know, Tsunoda has the least points of all Red Bull/Racing Bulls drivers. Liam Lawson almost outscored him in one go.

#18 - Carlos Sainz

Sainz has an adjustment period, going from Ferrari to Williams, that needs to be considered. But even with that, Sainz is getting destroyed by his teammate. He's also done very little worthy of a highlight this season. We know he's talented, but the breakthrough has been waiting for a bit now.

#17 - Lance Stroll

Stroll has matched his teammate on points so far, but his drives that got those points have been largley based on survival (Australia, England), disqualifications (China), and the best car of the season (Hungary). Alonso took awhile to heat up, but he's here and will surely pull away from Stroll. Stroll also is getting shutout in head-to-head grid slots with his teammate.

#16 - Oliver Bearman

Bearman picked off his victims one-by-one in China ("Caio!") and really grew some hype for his rookie campaign, but we've seen very little since. Going up against an underrated talent like Esteban Ocon makes things even more difficult.

#15 - Kimi Antonelli

Antonelli went from a driver who was doing enough for a rookie in a high-level car to a driver who has completely come unraveled in the last few times out. Antonelli has clearly shown his promise (Miami), but it's how he can respond from an ice cold stretch.

#14 - Esteban Ocon

Ocon has outperformed the Haas a handful of times, and he should be commended for that. Can he manage more to prove that he deserves a shot at a bigger team, or will the car limit his shine?

#13 - Liam Lawson

Lawson started off at the lowest possible low, struggle after his humiliating demotion, and has finally adjusted back to being on Red Bull's B team. And with Isack Hadjar's absent pace lately, Lawson has been the top driver on his team over the summer.

#12 - Lewis Hamilton

The biggest move in F1 history hasn't lived up to the hype. He has perfectly average to start, and then came into the break calling himself "useless" and suggesting maybe he needs to get fired. Hamilton will get a pass in the final year of these regulations, but struggles in 2026 will started to raise some eyebrows.

#11 - Pierre Gasly

Alpine isn't good, but Gasly is. He's continued to pull some incredible efforts out of his bag of tricks, despite a car that really does not want to cooperate at times.

#10 - Gabriel Bortoleto

Bortoleto started ice cold while his veteran teammate soaked up the limelight. But going into the August break, Nico Hulkenberg cooled off and the rookie took the baton from him. His quali pace has been pretty good too.

#9 - Isack Hadjar

Hadjar has the highest ceiling of the rookies right now, but he went from a driver on fire early to one who just hasn't posted much of anything in July and August. He eeks out Bortoleto for now, but not for much longer if he can't score points.

#8 - Fernando Alonso

Alonso had a 0-for start to the season that really raised concerns if he would be good enough for the Adrian Newey car that's coming to Aston Martin next year. That question was answered swiftly in the latter portion of 2025, as Alonso has been fiery, conveniently timed with Aston Martin picking up the pace too.

#7 - Nico Hulkenberg

His long-awaited podium is the story of the year so far. He put a Sauber in the points four consecutive times. But he also hasn't gotten to Q3 once yet. It's impressive and shocking all in one.

#6 - Alex Albon

In a Williams. Albon has a bunch of results to be massively proud of. It really makes you think of how Albon could really make a champ charge in a title-worthy Williams car some day.

#5 - Charles Leclerc

Ferrari doesn't have it, but Leclerc still does. No win yet, but the opportunities haven't been there. But while his teammate languishes, Leclerc is finding the maximum where he can.

#4 - Lando Norris

Norris is just barely not the title leader, but the unforced errors remain. It's hard to fully trust him, despite him being the more experienced driver in the fastest car. He very much can pull of a title, but where that comes to fruition is a coin toss at times.