F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2025 Bahrain GP

Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber (Disqualified): 4/10

Hulkenberg suffered a dreadful start to the Grand Prix, falling from 16th to plum last after being pushed onto the kerb at Turn 2 and losing drive as a result. The veteran German managed to recover his race slightly, but ultimately the Kick Sauber he was driving lacked fundamental pace, as has been the case most weekends. Crossing the line in P13, Hulkenberg was subsequently disqualified for excessive wear on his underfloor plank. Oh well, he was never in with a chance for points anyway.

Carlos Sainz Jr., Williams (Retired, lap 45): 5/10

Encouraging signs were shown by Sainz on Saturday, as he muscled his FW47 into Q3 for the first time in 2025. Unfortunately the race didn’t go quite as well for the Spaniard. He had a decent start but Williams opted to keep him out longer than most on his opening soft tyre stint, which in hindsight wasn’t the best strategy. Sainz fell to as low as 16th after eventually pitting for fresh rubber and was forced to make up positions on track; contact with Red Bull’s Tsunoda for sixth resulted in damage which proved too detrimental to the performance of his car, eventually retiring from the race with a handful of laps remaining. A ten second penalty for a collision with Antonelli earlier confounded Sainz’ miserable afternoon.