Formula 1 Drivers Who Gained the Most Places from the Grid 2025

What this chart shows. The ten Formula 1 drivers who gained the most places between their starting position on the grid and the flag in the 2025 Grands Prix. Nico Hülkenberg gained 73 places over 20 classified finishes, Alexander Albon 59 over 19 and Esteban Ocon 54 over 22. Lando Norris, the champion, gained 14.

How the data is collected. For every classified finisher the chart subtracts the finishing position from the grid position that Jolpica records for the race and adds the results up over the season. A driver who started 19th and finished third scores 16, and a driver who lost places scores below zero. Only drivers who finished or were lapped are counted, so retirements and disqualifications add and subtract nothing. Starts from the pit lane and drivers who did not start are left out, 26 driver-races in all.

Background. In Jolpica's results the grid field is the driver's starting position, and the finishing status is recorded as finished, lapped, retired, disqualified or did not start. From 2025 the source lists every retirement and accident simply as retired. A pit-lane start is stored as a slot at the back of the grid, between 17th and 20th in 2025, which would look like a large gain if counted, and that is why those twenty-three starts are excluded together with three drivers who did not take the start.

Limits. The chart does not separate a strong race from a weak qualifying: a driver who qualifies badly has more places to make up. The grid position of every driver in all twenty-four races was compared with the classification tables on Wikipedia's race pages, and every grid position agrees except for the pit-lane starts and non-starters, which Wikipedia marks differently and this chart drops. Finishing positions were not compared race by race, only through the championship totals. Places gained is a total, not an average, so drivers with fewer classified finishes, such as Jack Doohan with 4, are not comparable.