Max Verstappen’s early qualifying exit ahead of the São Paulo Grand Prix cost him a 100% Q3 appearance record for 2025, while Lance Stroll suffered the most Q1 exits.
World champion Lando Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri were the only two drivers on the grid to reach the final part of qualifying at every grand prix, with Charles Leclerc and George Russell each suffering one Q2 exit.
The two McLarens, along with Leclerc and Russell, all avoided a single Q1 exit, although only Norris and Piastri achieved a perfect qualifying record for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Verstappen would have joined his title rivals had he not been eliminated in the first part of qualifying in Brazil — the first time he had suffered a Q1 exit since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.
Nevertheless, the Dutchman’s 2025 qualifying record was significantly better than Yuki Tsunoda’s, who suffered seven Q1 exits and eight Q2 exits.
For F1’s greatest qualifier, Lewis Hamilton failed to make the final part of qualifying on nine occasions.
Stroll had the worst qualifying record of the year, with the Aston Martin driver suffering 14 Q1 exits, while also enduring seven Q2 eliminations. On just three occasions did Stroll appear in Q3.
Joining Stroll at the bottom for the worst qualifying records in 2025 were Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon, who both experienced 13 Q1 exits.
Impressively, Isack Hadjar recorded a better qualifying record than the likes of Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, and Fernando Alonso, with the Frenchman eliminated in Q1 on only two occasions.
Check out how many Q1 and Q2 exits each driver suffered below!
2025 F1 most Q1 and Q2 eliminations
| Driver | Team | Q1 exits | Q2 exits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 14 | 7 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Stake F1 | 13 | 10 |
| Esteban Ocon | Haas | 13 | 8 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | Stake F1 | 12 | 7 |
| Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 12 | 6 |
| Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 10 | 4 |
| Oliver Bearman | Haas | 7 | 11 |
| Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 7 | 9 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 7 | 8 |
| Alex Albon | Williams | 6 | 10 |
| Carlos Sainz | Williams | 3 | 10 |
| Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 3 | 9 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 4 | 5 |
| Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 3 | 5 |
| Jack Doohan | Alpine | 3 | 3 |
| Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 2 | 6 |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 0 |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 0 | 1 |
| George Russell | Mercedes | 0 | 1 |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | 0 | 0 |
| Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 0 | 0 |
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop, and Nick Golding as they continue to review the 2025 Formula 1 season. The trio answer crucial questions such as who was the best driver this year, who was the most improved, the biggest disappointment, and much more!
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
Don't miss out on any of the Formula 1 action thanks to this handy 2026 F1 calendar that can be easily loaded into your smartphone or PC.
Download the calenderMost read
In this article
- F1 news
- Formula 1
- F1 2025
- Formula 1 news
- F1
- Lewis Hamilton
- Alexander Albon
- Charles Leclerc
- George Russell
- Max Verstappen
- Fernando Alonso
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Pierre Gasly
- Liam Lawson
- Isack Hadjar
- Kimi Antonelli
- Franco Colapinto
- Carlos Sainz
- Esteban Ocon
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Jack Doohan
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Lance Stroll
- Oliver Bearman
- Oscar Piastri
- Lando Norris
Join the conversation!