3 F1 drivers who have been dead weights for their respective teams in 2025

Using the term 'dead weight' can be a bit harsh on the F1 drivers. No one would like to be called that at any point. Yet, when we talk about a team and a driver lineup, there's often a strong part of that lineup, and then there's the weak part.

Any team would often try to have two F1 drivers who are not too dissimilar in performance levels. This helps both cars be used to extract the maximum possible potential. However, there are times when the results of one driver tend to bring the team's overall standing down a notch or two. Their lack of results proves to be a detriment to the overall standing of the team.

On the current grid, there are a few drivers whose results have, in one way or another, compromised the team's standing. Let's take a look as we list 3 F1 drivers who have been dead weights to their respective teams.

#1 Franco Colapinto (Alpine F1)

Is it fair to say that Franco Colapinto's season has been a bit of a disappointment? Yes, it is. Is it also fair to say that the driver has probably not been put in the most conducive environment for performance? Yes, it is.

It doesn't, however, change the fact that in terms of performance, Alpine would want to see more from Colapinto. He came into this F1 season with a lot of hype behind him. The driver was fast, reliable, and surprisingly adaptable to a new car last season when he got the opportunity.

This year has been anything but that, and when we look at the points standings, it shows how big an issue this is.

On one side, we have Pierre Gasly with more than 20 points to his name, and on the other side of the garage, it's been zero. This much of a one-sided nature in points standings is never a good look, and the Argentinian has been a bit of a dead weight for Alpine.

#2 Carlos Sainz (Williams)

The Spaniard would not have thought that he would struggle this much at Williams, even in the wildest of his dreams. To be fair to Carlos Sainz, the driver has more or less adapted to the car he has under him. He's been fast recently, almost as good as Alex Albon at times, but for a driver who was brought by James Vowles to be the team leader, he has just not looked the part, and something is missing.

When we use the term 'dead weight' to describe a driver, more often than not it is an indication of how that one resource's performance has hurt the team and dragged it lower than what it could potentially achieve.

If we look at the point standings, we have Carlos Sainz at 14 points, while we have Alex Albon at a whopping 56 points after the first half of the F1 season. Williams should have a comfortable lead in the points standings, and it's hard to argue that the Spaniard's lack of results has hurt the team.

#3 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

The young Italian F1 rookie stepped into the sport this season, and the blue-eyed boy, who, according to Toto Wolff, has the potential to be the next Max Verstappen. The first 14 races have shown flashes of that brilliance, and what stood out more than other things is the absence of a crash-prone nature from the youngster.

Except for the brainfade in Austria, where he clattered into Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli has more or less kept his nose clean. With that being said, the performance metric is what is worrying.

George Russell is 4th in the championship, ahead of Charles Leclerc, but Mercedes is behind Ferrari in the championship. One of the reasons why that has happened is that Kimi Antonelli is too far behind Lewis Hamilton in the standings.

Yes, without a doubt, it's important to give the young rookie the benefit of the doubt, it's safe to say that he's dragged the team down with a lack of results.