Formula 1 2025 Season

Super pumped for Williams.

Super bummed for HAAS.

Excited for Lewis in a Ferrari.

Go Yuki and Sainz! 

McLaren at the top is still cool to see.

Certainly going to be a wet race.  Looks like the inter vs the new full wet is a real decision now.

Well, that didn't turn out so well for Hadjar.

Two rookies down...

Starting to look like a cup race with all of these stops.

And Sainz is out!!  

This should be interesting- I don't think they are quite ready for the slicks, but they are going for it.  And a good mix types of slicks.    

At least if they keep this up Haas will be in the points by attrition...

Oh, Oscar!

That was a great drive from Norris and a decent recovery into the point by Oscar.   I'm disappointed that the rain got so many of the rookies and we didn't get a chance to see how they stack up over a full race.  Ditto with Sainz vs Albon.

Early evidence would suggest Totos confidence in Antonelli was correct.

That race was a mess, but fun.

Lance Stroll in front of both Ferraris. One of those races. lol 

I just read that Antonelli's penalty was revoked, putting him back in 4th and giving Mercedes enough points to be tied-for-points-but-second in the constructor's after the first round.

My takes...

McLaren is really fast.  Other than driving off the road, they dominated.  Seeing Oscar recover like that to 9th was pretty impressive, and at the end, I kind of figured that Max would have to have driven so hard that he, well.... Lando had that all the way.  Also, the car is really stable- Oscar did the same move that took out Alonso, but the car was in control somehow.

RBR is not changed- a quick car but hard to drive.

Mercedes is closer to RBR (but not close, closer than last season), but not McLaren.  And Kimi is for real- that was a heck of a drive.

Williams seem for real, but behind Mercedes.  Very much appears to be the best of the rest.  If not for McLaren's pace, I would give them a shot of winning a race or two.

Ferrari- they really missed the set up, as the car wasn't fast in the dry nor the wet.  At one point, they mentioned that Charles was way up the road from Hamilton, with Lewis being held up- but that gap was way down before the rain chaos.  And then they really messed up- they need much better weather forecasting- how could they get that so bad?  I get taking the chance, but that wasn't even close to a good chance to get in the end.  Everyone else besides RB saw that rain coming.

RB seems fast.

Alpine- meh,

Aston- meh

Sauber is faster than everyone thought, but still slow.

Haas is slower than most thought, and really slow.

Very exciting race, even if you're just watching the rookies. I was onboard with Lewis the entire race and he had no confidence in the car. He was lifting early and waiting to hit the gas pedal. You could see that the drivers around him were more aggressive on the brakes and the gas. IMO Lewis could have finished much higher up the order if he had tried.

I like mixed weather races alot,being 30 minutes into a race without a completed green flag race lap not so much lol.

 That was a stunning pass by Oscar around the outside of Lewis on the last lap....major kudos for that one.

Great race!  Much entertaining.  Would watch again!

This season is gonna be great!

I would have loved if sainz finished.  He had a chance to finish ahead of the Ferrari!  That would have been epic!

Anthony Hamilton, everyone's Dad.

It's just the first race, and since it was under such changing conditions it's hard to take too many lessons away from this weekend, but a few things were evident. The McLarens are clearly the class of the field, and will be pounding on each other all season! 

Max is still able to wrestle the Red Bull around the track and will be a tough challenger, whether Lawson will be there to back him up remains to be seen. 

Rookies gonna rookie, but Kimi really had a stellar weekend! Not to be too hard on Isack, but he needs to strap his big boy pants on - there's no crying in baseball.........erm, F1! 

Next week's race in Singapore should help bring the performance picture into sharper focus, but if it rains again all bets are off.

Ferrari let down by the pit wall decisions - again. 

I thought I heard mention of changes to the inters,street circuit and all but they sure seemed snappier then usual considering most spins were barely above walking speed.

 Alonso spun at speed on them as well and thats a rare occasion for sure.

In reply to MiniDave :

s/Singapore/China

Some thoughts on this race that are almost certainly premature:

1. Are we actually sure Checo was washed and/or driving badly last year? Lawson's adventures, Gasly, Albion, Checo's genuinely impressive stints in 21/22 RB and Force India, etc - it's starting to seem Max Verstappen has a superpower for driving evil cars that make everyone else look awful. 

2. Are those evil cars actually that much faster than more stable setups? Tire whipserers and late brake heroes seem like they are better able to exploit more stable platforms.

3. Is Hamilton regressing or is this just not his rule set? Russell beat him up pretty good these last couple years and it looks like LeClerc is doing similar.

4. Whatever combination of Max being Max and launch control strategy is going on at Red Bull is worth its weight in gold. How many times in a row has Max made up places on the start now?

5. Is there any driver on earth less afraid of multi champion competitors than Oscar Piastri? 

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

It’s shaping up to be an exciting season ahead! Lots of talent, and I agree—no one should dominate; more competition makes it thrilling!

I thought the race was pretty exciting all things considered. Kinda sad that the rain made it difficult to see how the good rookies really are.  While it's easy to say they should have done better, I assume the simulator can't really convey rain.  Makes me continue to think F1 should include more pre-season testing, especially for rookies.  Hamliton said after the race that he's still trying to figure out all the calls/setups/interaction with the team.  The rain didn't help that at all.  It'll be another race or two for him to figure it out.  Obviously, he knows how to drive, but learning what they mean when giving him direction and them learning when to give him direction will take some time.  Just hope it doesn't take too long.

I really hope McLaren can keep it together.  Their car is obviously fast and the changing rules for 2026 will be interesting to see who keeps developing the current car to get faster and who will focus more on the next gen car.  Hoping McLaren has the resources to continue to develop and not get passed. 

Is the RBR hard to drive or is Liam not as good as expected?  It's been said it's difficult and Max has been driving it through the whole development, so maybe Liam can improve as he drives it more.  Only time will tell.

It's sad to say, but my wife and I were wondering which rookie will get cut first.  Supposedly Doohan is on a race to race contract and this first one will be a big black mark on his ability. 

-Rob

Liam's first race was difficult, however people are so critical of him. Think about this, Hamilton was handily beat by Charles, and was pacified with the commentary that everything is new to him. I think Hamilton needs a car that is built specifically for him like his days with Bottas and they could be stepping back when they are trying to balance speed and Hamiltons wishes. Alonso crashes and nothing from the critics that he is washed. Hadjar spins before the race and the story line is Hamilton's dad giving him a peptalk. Doohan spins and probably internally they are talking about Calipinto.  When it was dry Liam had the second fastest lap, I think the pitch forks of replacing him are too soon. Hopefully he gets more time that RB drivers have in the past, hopefully he bounces back. Look foward to the next race but I don't think it will be as crazy.

I think HAAS looked miles behind everyone else and the lack of driver talent isn't the problem. So I am sure a call from HAAS was taken.

How many drivers that aren't named Max do we have to see struggle in the Red Bull car before we admit that the car is either very difficult to drive for everyone and Max is just good enough to wrangle it or Max has a weird driving style and the car has been bent to fit him?  Ricciardo, Gasly, Albon, Perez, and now Lawson all seem to be in the same place with the car.  And none of those drivers went into that seat as bad drivers.