Finger pointed at F1 overachiever of the year – but experts are divided

Several F1 drivers outside of the top names have caught the eye for their red-hot performances so far in 2025.

Delve deeper than the battles for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships and you will find a host of future front-runners and veterans who can still mix it.

But there are also surprises at the very front of the F1 pecking order which could steal the show.

Crash.net experts have picked out their overachiever from the first half of the season…

Lewis Larkam: Gabriel Bortoleto is having a superb rookie F1 season.

Out of F1’s 2025 rookie crop, the Brazilian has arguably faced the hardest task in starting the season in the slowest car on the grid. But his performances were respectable, and as Sauber’s competitiveness has improved, Bortoleto’s talent has shone through.

Up against a strong yardstick in the shape of Nico Hulkenberg, Bortoleto has done a brilliant job and impressively outperformed his more experienced teammate in the qualifying head-to-heads.

The reigning Formula 2 champion now has three points finishes to his name and secured his best result to date with sixth place in Budapest to help move Sauber up to eighth in the constructors’ championship and just a point behind Aston Martin.

The 20-year-old has demonstrated a work ethic and maturity beyond his years and has been hailed as the “best rookie of his generation” by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Derry Munikartono: Nico Hülkenberg’s arrival at a new team was never going to be easy, especially when that team had been rooted to the bottom of the standings just a year earlier. But somehow, Nico made it work after moving from Haas to Kick Sauber for the 2025 season.

He opened the year with points in Australia, but had to wait until the Spanish Grand Prix —the ninth race of the season — for another score, taking an impressive fifth place. That result marked the start of a superb run, culminating in Hülkenberg’s long-awaited first Formula 1 podium with a third-place finish at the British Grand Prix.

There are other strong contenders for the “surprising overachiever” tag this year, such as Alex Albon, who has been a consistent point scorer for Williams, even outscoring the highly-rated Carlos Sainz as the team’s leading force. But given that British GP podium, the title of “most surprising overachiever” has to go to Hülkenberg.

Lewis Duncan: After what he achieved in a breakout sophomore campaign, Oscar Piastri was expected to carry that trajectory forward. But to be McLaren’s leading driver – let alone heading the championship – at the summer break was a prediction hard to make at the start of the season.

Given his experience of three more seasons of F1 than Piastri, the pace of the McLaren should have had Lando Norris easily the driver to beat.

But Piastri has stepped up in a big way. While the title battle remains close, with just nine points in it, Piastri for the most part has had the better of his team-mate. He has more race wins, has been more consistent and has had the one-lap speed to go toe-to-toe with a legitimately excellent qualifier in Norris.

Piastri has earned every right to be labelled a title challenger and so far he hasn’t looked like being fazed by the pressure.

Connor McDonagh: Oscar Piastri is undoubtedly the most surprising overachiever so far this season. Lando Norris dismantled the Australian across every possible metric last season. Piastri only managed to out-qualify Norris four times across 24 races. Any faith in Piastri heading into the new campaign was based on the premise that he would improve over the winter break – or Norris would take a step back.

Both things have happened. Piastri has upped his game in qualifying, leading his teammate in the head-to-head going into the summer break. Similarly, in races, the pair are evenly matched. It wouldn’t be unfair to say that Norris’ peak potential and ceiling as a racing driver are still higher, but Piastri’s execution and ability under pressure are why he’s leading the world championship.

The problem for Piastri is that if Norris starts to get more comfortable – and his confidence remains intact – then he will have a tough time winning the title in Abu Dhabi.

Rachit Thukral: My pick for the most surprising overachiever is Nico Hulkenberg. While Hulkenberg has always been known for extracting the maximum from a midfield car and banking the points that can decide whether a team finishes fifth or eighth, it was satisfying to finally see him seize the opportunity to score a podium.

Audi’s decision to sign Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto for its highly-anticipated F1 entry initially felt underwhelming, not because they lacked talent, but because neither had the front-running experience you might need at a factory team. Yet with the German playing a major role in lifting Sauber from last in the standings to sixth in just a handful of races – with fifth still within reach – the 2026 move now makes far more sense.

With Bortoleto adapting quickly and Hulkenberg proving he can lead a midfield outfit, Audi looks to have assembled a balanced line-up for its first few seasons in F1.