Wow... I mean what a start to the 2025 season!!
Round 1 of the 2025 Formula 1 season is officially a wrap, and my goodness did it deliver. From the formation lap to the finish, the Grand Prix was unpredictable and chaotic all the way through. Surprising results filled the grid, as well as major disappointments that shook up the race entirely. If this weekend showed us anything, it's that we are definitely in for an exciting year of racing.
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top 10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 25 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 2 points, giving the McLaren team 27 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Authors Note 2: The tiebreaker if multiple drivers have the same amount of points, comes down to the highest finish throughout the season.
Authors Note 3: Six drivers will be listed as "NC" in the Drivers' Standings. This means "Not Classified", indicating that they have not completed a race yet this season, thus they cannot be given a position among the standings.
With that said, here is a look at how each Championship looks after Round 1:
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Lando Norris 25 points
Max Verstappen 18 points
Geroge Russell 15 points
Andrea Kimi Antonellii 12 points
Alexander Albon 10 points
Lance Stroll 8 points
Nico Hulkenberg 6 points
Charles Leclerc 4 points
Oscar Piastri 2 points
Lewis Hamilton 1 points
Pierre Gasly 0 points
Yuki Tsunoda 0 points
Esteban Ocon 0 points
Oliver Bearman 0 points
N.C. Jack Doohan
N.C. Fernando Alonso
N.C. Gabriel Bortoletto
N.C. Isak Hadjar
N.C. Liam Lawson
N.C. Carlos Sainz
Constructors' Championship Standings:
McLaren 27 points
Mercedes 27 points
Red Bull 18 points
Williams 10 points
Aston Martin 8 points
Kick Sauber 6 points
Ferrari 5 points
Alpine 0 points
Racing Bulls 0 points
Haas 0 points
Standings were found at F1.com.
Alpine
Though it may not have ended exactly as they hoped, Alpine had about the weekend I was expecting in Australia in terms of pace. Pierre Gasly qualified 9th and finished 11th, while Jack Doohan qualified 14th and did not finish the race.
A crash for Doohan made him one of the many victims of the slippery and cold track conditions on Sunday, but overall Alpine has a lot of positives to take away. Gasly looked very good in qualifying making Q3 (third of three qualifying sessions), while Doohan impressively made Q2 (second of three qualifying sessions). This was a major struggle for Alpine last year, as they were never truly able to find the pace needed to succeed over a lap in qualifying.
There is not too much to report on Alpine this week. Gasly did his thing and made minimal mistakes, while Doohan did his best, with one mistake being his downfall. Alpine definitely seems far off the top teams (McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari) in terms of race pace, but keeping up with them consistently was not an expectation. The team looked among one of the best in the midfield, and I am excited to see what both drivers can do in dryer conditions.
Aston Martin
Though they were able to come away with some decent points, Aston Martin ended the weekend in disappointing fashion. Lance Stroll qualified 13th and finished 6th, while Fernando Alonso started 12th and did not finish the race.
At one point during the Grand Prix, both Aston Martin drivers were in a position to score points. That ended abruptly when Alonso made an uncharacteristically bad mistake that ended with his car in the wall. On the other hand, luck was on the side of Lance Stroll, who found himself finishing in the top 6.
Do I think Stroll's finish was representative of his performance? No, I don't. If it wasn't for Ferrari's strategic blunder and the multiple safety cars, stroll would've been lucky to sneak into the top 10. With that said, points are points, no matter how you get them. For Alonso, he looked solid all weekend long, until his mistake on turn 7 cost him the race. However, it is only race one, and as much as a double-points finish would have been nice, Aston Martin looked better than originally thought.
It is tough to tell whether or not their pace will translate as the season goes on. The weather conditions made it impossible to really differentiate the midfield teams in terms of race pace, so it will be interesting if Aston Martin can keep up the pace going into China this weekend.
Ferrari
Oh boy...
It is hard to envision Ferrari's weekend going any worse than it did. Charles Leclerc qualified 7th and finished 8th, and Lewis Hamilton qualified 8th and finished 10th.
After Ferrari disappointed in qualifying, my hope was that they set up their car in order to perform better in the wet conditions that the race would bring. I was wrong. Ferrari fell far below expectations and showed no real pace throughout the race. Not only that, but their decision to stay out on the dry tires on laps 44-46 cost them dearly. It was so confusing to me why the team thought that staying out would work, considering the fact that drivers have been slipping and spinning out all race long, but they tried it nonetheless.
Finishing behind the likes of an Aston Martin and a Kick Sauber (yes, both Ferraris finished behind a Kick Sauber driver) is quite frankly embarrassing. Leclerc could not gain ground on anyone ahead of him, while Hamilton battled his race engineer more than the cars ahead. Overall, a weekend to forget for Ferrari.
Haas
Calling this weekend a nightmare for Haas would be a severe understatement. Esteban Ocon qualified 19th and finished 13th. Oliver Bearman did not put in a qualifying lap, started from the pit lane after a change was made to his rear wing, and finished 14th.
I mean, it is tough to know where to start for Haas. With Bearman crashing in two of the three practice sessions, Ocon showing zero pace, and both drivers finishing last and second-to-last in the race among those who finished, I am extremely concerned for this team. They failed to even come close to any sort of expectation that was made for them going into 2025, looking like the slowest car on the grid by a country mile.
With that said, it is only race one. Haas still has a pair of talented drivers that are both getting used to their cars. They have plenty of time to turn things around, however, the red flags they raised in Australia cannot to ignored until proven otherwise.
Kick Sauber
Kick Sauber exceeded all expectations this weekend, with their performance resulting in more points than they had all of last year. Gabriel Bortoletto qualified 15th and did not finish the race, while Nico Hulkenberg qualified 17th and finished 7th.
I mean, what a weekend for Kick Sauber! Not only did both drivers show flashes of their talent, but coming away with 6 points!? Unbelievable. Though Bortolette crashed out of the race, the fact he out-qualified a very experienced and talented driver in Hulkenberg was extremely impressive in his debut weekend. In addition, Hulkenberg proved once again why he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid. He kept the car intact, which put him in a position to climb the leaderboard as more and more drivers crashed and more safety cars were called.
Did Kick Sauber get a little lucky? Sure, but so did many other teams. Kick Sauber showed this weekend that they have the potential to make waves within the midfield and not be the pushovers they were last year. They still have a lot more to prove before I am fully in on them, but this was as good a start as any for a team with zero expectations.
McLaren
In what was a mix of glory and heartbreak, McLaren set the tone for what could be a dominant 2025 season. Lando Norris qualified and finished in 1st, while Oscar Piastri qualified 2nd and finished 9th.
I feel pretty safe in saying that most F1 fans felt for Piastri after the race. In what was going to likely be a McLaren 1-2 finish, Piastri made one costly mistake that ruined his race. Had it not been for another safety car, Piastri would have finished last among finishers, but he was able to salvage at least a couple of points by the end of the Grand Prix. Having this be Oscar's home race made it all the more heartbreaking when he spun out.
Norris, however, dominated all weekend long. He was the fastest man on the track from qualifying to the race, showing that he is here and is here to win. Though the race was far from easy for Lando, he kept his composure and performed brilliantly under pressure. Overall, it is a fantastic start for McLaren, even if they did not get the amount of points they were hoping for.
Mercedes
There is lots to be happy about if you're Mercedes. Geroge Russell qualified 4th and finished 3rd, while Kimi Antonelli qualified 16th and finished 4th.
If you're Mercedes, you will take this result every day of the week. Rusell was consistent and mistake-free all weekend long, while Antonelli had a redemption drive for the ages. Neither driver showed pace that could compete with the McLarens and Max Verstappen, but I would say they are comfortably the third-fastest team right now. Plus, if McLaren keeps making mistakes, Ferrari takes longer to figure things out, and Verstappen has yet another underperforming teammate, they could be right there in terms of the Constructors Standings.
I do have to shout out Antonelli for a fantastic drive in the race. He got unlucky in qualifying, as his underfloor was damaged which ruined his pace, but he never let that faze him. Instead, the 18-year-old kept his composure when he made mistakes and had some nice overtakes on experienced drivers like Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon, all while driving in extremely difficult conditions. If this weekend proved anything, it is that Kimi Antonelli is legit, and could make major waves as the year goes on.
Racing Bulls
Racing Bulls' weekend got off to a blazing start, but unfortunately ended up with no points to show for it. Isak Hadjar qualified 11th and did not start the race, while Yuki Tsunoda started 5th and finished 12th.
You gotta feel for Hadjar after he crashed on the formation lap. For those unfamiliar, the formation lap is a lap that occurs before the start of the race so that the drivers can get some heat into their tires. Hadjar, unfortunately, spun out and crashed on the formation lap, ending his race before it even began. It was heartbreaking to see the emotion Hadjar felt afterward, especially after qualifying so well. I do want to shout out Anthony Hamilton (Lewis Hamilton's father), who went out and met Hadjar after the crash to console him. A class act from Hamilton.
In terms of what happened with Tsunoda, his race was ruined by the team's strategy. Yuki was one of the few drivers, along with the Ferrari drivers, who were told to stay on the dry tires during the safety car near the end of the race. Of course, in hindsight that was a huge mistake, and Tsunoda paid for it by losing his chance to finish in the top 5. Even with the disappointing result, Tsunoda has a lot to be proud of, as he was one of the best drivers on the grid all weekend long.
With that said, a P5 start is super impressive, and something nobody expected. If Racing Bulls can build off that rapid one-lap pace, they might be in for an exciting year.
Red Bull
Another race, another result in which Max Verstappen outperforms the car and his teammate. Liam Lawson qualified 18th and did not finish the race, while Verstappen qualified 3rd and finished 2nd.
Verstappen was brilliant once again, showing that he will always get the best out of the car he drives. This weekend marked the end of Verstappen's reign as leader of the Drivers' Championship (1,029 consecutive days), but it was the best result Red Bull could have hoped from him, considering how far ahead McLaren is then Red Bull in terms of pace.
Lawson left a lot to be desired, but in my opinion, the jury should still be out on him. This was a tough first race to debut in, especially in a Red Bull. Yes, he is the most experienced among the rookies, but driving a Red Bull is different than any other car on the grid. Since Verstappen joined the team, many talented drivers (Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Sergio Perez) have failed to match or come close to the pace Max sets. So, though Lawson did have a dreadful weekend, give him some time before making conclusions.
Williams
Williams had an up-and-down weekend, but ultimately a weekend to be happy about. Carlos Sainz started 10th and did not finish the race, while Alex Albon started 6th and finished 5th.
Looking back at this weekend, Williams might have impressed me the most. I did expect them to compete for points, but did not expect them to be among the fastest on the grid all weekend long. Albon had his best race in a long time, defending the likes of Lewis Hamilton for most of it and keeping position long enough to remain in the top 5. Sainz got unlucky, as he did spin out and crash during a safety car, but his qualifying pace was extremely promising.
Like Albon said after the race, all is to play for this season. Williams showed a raw pace that we haven't seen from them in a long time, but the important thing about it was how it translated from qualifying to the race. If Williams can keep that consistnecy, they will shock a lot of people.
Stay tuned for more F1 content, and be sure to check out fansonlysportz.com for more sports media content posted daily.
Until next time!
-Matt Hylen
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