The first race of the 2025 season may not have been the most exciting or dramatic race but it’s the day all us MotoGP fans have been waiting 4 months for.
He’s the rider everyone has been talking about during the pre-season. He, without a doubt, has the most pressure on him for 2025 as he is many people’s favourite for the championship. Marc Marquez has used that pressure to his advantage to take a dominant Sprint race win in Thailand.
Image Credit: MotoGP
He started the race on pole, led every lap and faced no real competition from any riders behind him. A dream start to his season and first blood in his battle with new team mate Pecco Bagnaia!
Just behind him was his brother, Alex Marquez, as they enjoy their first ever 1-2 race result. After a brilliant pre-season showing and strong qualifying result, Alex was able to bring his Gresini machine home in 2nd place.
The final podium spot was taken by Pecco Bagnaia, who was visibly quiet during the celebrations. He enjoyed a short battle with Alex Marquez in the opening corners of the race but was unable to improve on 3rd.
Image Credit: MotoGP
Missing out on a podium spot by just less than 1 second was Ai Ogura. The rookie had a phenomenal race, staying with Bagnaia and, at some points, even close in on him and looking hungry for a podium.
It was a difficult day for Jack Miller, who crashed out of 6th midway through the race, after a brilliant qualifying performance. The KTM Tech3 riders, Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini, who won this race 12 months ago, also struggled and ended the day in 14th and 18th respectively.
As It Happened
As the lights went out and the race started, both factory Ducati bikes flew off the line. Bagnaia looked ready to take 2nd place but Alex Marquez gave him a good battle and was able to retain 2nd place. Both settled in behind Marc Marqeuz who quickly put clean air between himself and the rest of the grid.
It was a good start for Ogura who took 4th place away from Jack Miller, who was shuffled down to 6th.
It was a terrible start for Marco Bezzecchi, who’s bike bounced off the line and left him swallowed by the grid and stuck down in 18th.
On lap 2, both KTM riders were catching up to Fabio Quartararo, in 7th. Pedro Acosta went wide and had to bail off the racing line. The following lap, Acosta got past his team mate Brad Binder at the inside of turn 4.
He was then chasing down Quartararo for another few laps until, on lap 7, Acosta was finally able to get ahead. Acosta put the Yamaha rider under so much pressure that he forced him to make mistakes, which he then took full advantage of.
One lap earlier, Jack Miller crashed out from 6th place, meaning Acosta was now up to 6th.
By now, Marc Marquez has a comfortable 1.2 second lead ahead of Alex Marquez who, in turn, was 1.3 seconds ahead of Bagnaia.
As things quietened down for the front half of the grid, there was a huge battle from 10th onwards. Johann Zarco, Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Fermin Aldeguer and Marco Bezzecchi were battling hard.
At turn 5, lap 11, Di Giannantonio went wide and was looking down at his bike. He bailed off the racing line and eventually retired the bike with a mechanical issue, taking him out of the battle.
MotoGP is back and the grid are in Buriram, Thailand, for the first race of the season. The three riders who appeared to be the “ones to beat” during pre-season testing have claimed the front row after qualifying today.
Marc Marquez has started his factory Ducati career in the best way possible, taking pole position today. He kept his coll despite the rising temperatures, topping the timing sheets at the start of the session and remaining there throughout.
It was an odd Q2 session with two crashes in the final few minutes – the result yellow flags ruined all three fo Marc Marquez’s final runs but that didn’t matter. With others unable to improve on their times, he stayed safely at the top of the timings.
He lines up alongside his brother, Alex, giving us a Marquez 1-2 on the starting grid for the first time! Alex Marquez is clearly enjoying riding his new Gresini, setting a time just 0.146s behind Marc.
Just 0.027s behind Alex is Pecco Bagnaia, who had to come through Qualifying 1 to take 3rd place today. Bagnaia is forced to run in Q1 after a series of bad luck in free practice. He was impeded by Franco Morbidelli who was cruising at half speed on the racing line and then hit with a yellow flag that was shown by the stewards by mistake. They apologised to Bagnaia but weren’t able to reinstate his flying lap time.
Impressively, Jack Miller and Ai Ogura will line up 4th and 5th. Miller has told media in the lead up to this weekend that he is really enjoying his new Prima Pramac machine and is jelling well with the Yamaha engine. Ogura, the 2024 Moto2 champion, is already showing his speed for his first ever MotoGP race weekend.
Image Credit: MotoGP
Qualifying 1:
As the first flying laps were completed, Baganaia went straight to the top, where he stayed for the rest of the session. DiGiannantonio was the first to take the second progression spot, but was bested by Jack Miller.
As riders came out for their second run, Bagnaia made the bold decision to stay in the garage, presumably to save tires for the Sprint race later today.
With two minutes of the session left, it started to look like Baganaia had made a mistake as everyone began setting flying first sector times. As Bagnaia took his helmet off, Miguel Oliveira popped up into 2nd place and the Ducati team began looking very nervous.
The checkered flag fell and Jack Miller set a stonking lap, just 0.006s behind Bagnaia. He crossed the line and celebrated by slapping the tank of his bike and treating the fans to a a wheelie down the straight.
Other riders were unable to improve and this left Bagnaia and Miller as the advancing pair.
Qualifying 2:
In this second session, with track temperatures now up to a blistering 50°C, Pecco Bagnaia was the first to hit the top of the timing sheets, with a 1:29.259. However, given times we saw in free practice, he would need to improve if he wanted a front row spot. As if to prove this point, he was quickly bestest by both Marquez brothers. Alex was the first to take provisional pole, only to be shuffled down by his older brother, Marc, who set a 1:28.782.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, rookie Ai Ogura set a very impressive 1:29.134 to take provisional 3rd. His Trackhouse Aprilia is sporting a new, very classic, Gulf livery this weekend.
As the riders start their second runs, Miller was following Bagnaia and using him as a marker. He set an identical sector 1 time to Marc Marquez and eventually ended up leaping from 12th to 4th – a phenomenal result for the improving Yamaha.
Marc Marquez made a mistake on his next run, going wide at turn 8. This leaves him need to start over but, as he does so, Marco Bezzecchi goes down at turn 3 and the resulting yellow flag sees Marquez bail out of another fast run. The front of Bezzecchi’s Aprilia folds under him as he enters turn 3, forcing him to settle for 9th.
With just 1 and a half minutes left of the session, exactly the same thing happens again. This time, Joan Mir goes down on the exit of turn 3, while trying to force his HRC Honda back on to the racing line. Another yellow flag catches Marc Marquez and, this time, also his brother Alex.
With tyres now losing performance, neither Marquez brother can improve their times on their last flying lap. In fact, the only riders to improve at Fabio Quartararo, going up to 10th, and Pedro Acosta, going up to 7th.
Our reigning champion, Jorge Martin, has seen his pre-season preparations go from bad to worse this week. He completed just 13 laps on his new Aprilia machine during testing and is now set to miss the first race weekend of his title defence season.
Now, while training a home in Spain, he has suffered another accident which has left him with “complex” injuries, Aprilia have confirmed.
This statement said “Jorge Martin suffered a complex fracture of the radius, some carpal bones on the left side and an ipsilateral calcaneal fracture of the left hand during a training session.”
For the non-medical professionals out there, this loosely translates as a broken left wrist, hand and heel.
His surgery today (25th February) was successful and completed via keyhole surgery, which should help to reduce his recovery time. However, it has not yet been confirmed how long it will be until he is back on the bike.
Lorenzo Savadori, Aprilia’s test rider, will replace Martin in Thailand and likely in any future races he has to miss.
When Formula One announced F1-75 as an event to officially start the 2025 season and celebrate 75 years of a pinnacle of Motorsport, the overlying reaction entering the event was….less than positive to say the least. This would be a major shake up in the traditional annual event with teams launching their cars and liveries at their own discretion throughout January and February of that year. However, I went into it with somewhat optimism and an open mind to see what Formula One and the teams could pull off.
The Headline Event
To officially launch the season, it achieved their target. 10 liveries were officially launched by all 10 teams, the final year of 10 teams being on the grid before Cadillac joins this collective of teams for the 2026 season.
Going in reverse world constructors championship order from the final results of 2024, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber started off with a video and illuminated drumsticks which resulted in the overall build up to the reveal being longer than the conversation with drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto who were accompanied by team principal Mattia Binotto. Longer conversations should have been a priority in order to satisfy the die hard formula one fans appeal for the event.
Revealing next was Atlassian Williams Racing, showcasing their new title sponsor of the Australian software company which gets added onto the front of their team. A very less dragged on presentation from the British team as the team principal James Vowels appeared, revealed the livery and brought the drivers out. Quick, simple, to the point. Lovely.
VCARB… Oops Visa Cash App Racing Bulls was next with a cheesy video of the team playing on their constant rebrands as they have gone from Toro Rosso to Alpha Tauri to Visa Cash App RB to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls within 7 years.
Their livery, however, made up for this as the white version of the Red Bull livery from Turkey in 2021 came back from the dead to last for a full season on the sister team. Whenever I look at it, I think it makes the colours pop but it also reminds me of the Formula 2 cars of Hadjar and Marti in 2024 for some reason. I won’t complain.
— Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team (@visacashapprb) February 18, 2025
The American Team of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team were next with a slightly revised livery in comparison to the 2024 version. My view is that the team are trying to refine and tune this livery to perfection and this one is a step forward.
The enstone team of BWT Alpine F1 Team(rumoured to become HiTech after former HiTech boss Oliver Oakes took over) is one of the most striking liveries on the grid. The DJ used at the beginning has many people, myself included, confused towards the context, however, they are the same person who wrote the beloved F1 theme tune which is…..a fact. The livery really pops, however, with the bright pink and blue.
The James Bond team of Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team easily had the best introduction. With musicians, Alonso and Stroll walking out to the James Bond theme, it fits the tone perfectly. Granted, even though the overall livery has not changed, the livery is still great, albeit a downgrade from previous years.
Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team was next with not the start they wanted with a slow pitstop bringing the headlines compared to it’s unchanged 2024 livery design. The livery is not awful, however, I was expecting many changes, such as a move back to the all silver design.
Oracle Red Bull Racing followed the Brackley team with a completely unchanged livery. *Shock face* I know it’s for brand purposes but I think many people….well me anyway, would have loved to see the white red bull return for Hona’s final year with the energy drinks team.
The prancing horse of Scudaria Ferrari HP was up next with a basic but classic reveal. Hamilton and Leclerc revealing it with the livery being, in my opinion, probably my least favourite due to the HP logo.
The reigning world champions of McLaren were the last to reveal their livery with a completely unchanged one from 2024. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
The musicians performing on the night were…good. Now, I am a BIG Take That fans so it won’t come as a surprise that I thought they were the best with renditions of Rule The World and Greatest Day. I think a song like Shine, however, would have been more appropriate.
As for Machine Gun Kelly, Martin Brundles best friend, it surprised me how quickly they started with him. He immediately started blasting his guitar which….was expected but unexpected.
The “half time show” (well, after VCARB) was an interesting performance. One Kane Brown, one microphone, many cameras. Nothing more to say really. Song was good too.
In general, I think it is fair to say that the performances were fillers and a way to attract different audiences which certainly worked.
The Future Of Formula One
I am a big fan of the ladder to Formula One, startng from F4, making the steps up to the top step so seeing Formula 2, Formula 3 and F1 Academy get its own specific section was great to see as this is ultimately where the future of F1 lies. Every single driver has come up the ranks, whether that being winning the championships like Gabriel Bortoleto and Oscar Piastri have done or showing talent and potential such as Alex Albon, Lando Norris and Liam Lawson. The mention of the FIA was met with….a mixed reaction which was expected but I was not surprised at the amount of negativity surrounding the FIA, especially after the increase of fines due to certain behavior.
Presenters and jokes:
Jack Whitehall is a well known presenter in the UK and Ireland (I am unsure how well he is known across other countries) but I think he handled the situation very well tackling some topics such as the FIA Swearing ban, George Vs Max and their beef as well as daydreaming over Charles Leclerc.
While some jokes made me cringe such as the one over the rear of a Formula One car and Lando’s comment which Guenther Steiner would have made, the jokes were quite good and not as bad as people set them out to be.
Final Verdict
The event did what it said on the tin. We got to see cars and liveries and mark the official launch of F1 2025. I can’t help, however, but feel like there was a missed opportunity to make more announcements such as the upcoming season for Drive To Survive, upcoming collaborations and a chance for teams to make announcements. Of course, I understand that this was a one off and the main target was achieved which was the primary goal of this event to start an eagerly anticipated season.
It is safe to say that rounds 3 & 4 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was one of a kind with records broken and the debut of attack mode.
Round 3
Round 3 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship got underwear at the track of Jeddah with Maximilian Guenther leading the pack away from pole with a chaotic lap 1 esculating ehind the German. Nico Mueller and Antonio Felix Da Costa collided with the German being shot up and ultimately having to DNF. Mitch Evans also collided with champion Pascal Wehrlein and ended up causing a puncture for Wehrlein and his own front wing getting stuck on his tyre and having to pit to fix it.
The piece of Da Costa’s rear wing which came off emerged near the activation zone of attack mode and, with the addition to other carbon fibre scattered across the track, brought out a very brief safety car.
We went racing again on lap 9 which saw Guenther lead from Rowland and De Vries. As laps counted down, overtakes went up including Da Costa on Ticktum nd De Vries passing Barnard for P3.
Pit Boost then opened up for many drivers with Hughes, Barnard and Da Costa all being the first drivers to take pit boost. Ticktum and Mortara followed in their wheel marks, however Ticktum suffered an issue which ultimately compromised his race. Guenther dropped 2 places due to the pit boost and staying out longer while Barnard stayed ahead and actually jumped up by 2 places.
After everyone took their pit boost, Rowland had a big lead over Hughes and Barnard with De Vries managing to make his way up to P2. In the background, however, Guenther was flying his way through the field with the DS Penske German driver managing to pass De Vries for P2 and setting his sights on the race win.
As the race drew to a close, there were 2 major battle going on: De Vries vs Barnard for P3 and Rowland vs Guenther for P1. The latter of those 2 battles emerging victorious with Guenther making a 3rd last corner overtake on Rowland for the win.
Maximilian Guenther led Oliver Rowland from Taylor Barnard for the top 3. Season 7 Champion Nyck De Vries finished P4 with Maserati MSG Racing driver Jake Hughes in P5, Two Time champion Jean-Eric Vergne in P6, Edoardo Mortara in P8, Barnard’s teammate Sam Bird in P8, Antonio Felix Da Costa in P9 with Season 8 champion Stoffell Vandoorne in P10.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – FEBRUARY 14: Race winner Maximilian Gunther of Germany and DS Penske Second placed Oliver Rowland of Great Britain and Nissan Formula E Team Third placed Taylor Barnard of Great Britain and NEOM McLaren Formula E Team on the podium during the Jeddah E-Prix, Round 3 of the 2025 FIA Formula E World Championship at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on February 14, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Joe Portlock/LAT Images) Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
Round 4
Round 4 begun with a record sitter: the younger ever Formula E pole sitter of Taylor Barnard. He set the record as 20 years and 259 days old. Before we went racing, we had a delayed start due to the Lola Yamaha Abt of Zane Maloney being out of position. After that was dealt with, we went racing with Barnard managing to stay P1 with Hughes moving up to P2 ahead of Rowland. Da Costa got a HUGE hit from the previous round’s winner of Maximilian Guenther and resulted in both of them retiring from the race.
Battles commenced up and down the grid with Hughes very near the rear wing of Barnard and Ticktum going against De Vries while Di Grassi went for an EXTREMELY early attack mode which saw him overtaking driver after driver and ending up leading the race after Rowland took over the lead from the McLaren of Barnard. Buemi ended up pitting which ultimately ruined his race too. Maloney ended up having 5% more energy than everyone but was over 50 seconds behind the leader. Soon, the leader was Frijns due to his attack mode and Bird later received a 5 time penalty for not following the race director’s instructions. A few brief yellow flags appeared during the race due to pieces of debris. The Jaguar of Mitch Evans had to pit during the race which was a disaster for the debut winner of Season 11.
Barnard managed to go for an overtake for P2 on Hughes and make it stick, however, Hughes was putting a battle on Barnard who had a slide. Hughes then goes for an overtake on Barnard for P2 but gets pushed wide and has to go over the turn 1 run off. Positions remained as they were as Rowland won the E-Prix after being denied win the previous day.
Oliver Rowland led Taylor Barnard with Jake Hughes making a jump up to the podium, his first with the Monaco based team. Season 9 champion Jake Dennis finished P4 to make it al all brit 1-2-3-4. Nick Cassidy scored his first points of the season in P5, Stoffel Vandoorne finished P6, Jean-Eric Vergne in P7, reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein in P8, Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum finished in P9 with Edoardo Mortara finishing the points positions of this double header.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – FEBRUARY 15: Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland driving the (16) Envision Racing Jaguar I-TYPE 7 leads Pascal Wehrlein of Germany driving the (1) TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 during the Jeddah E-Prix, Round 4 of the 2025 FIA Formula E World Championship at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on February 15, 2025 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Sutton/LAT Images) Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
Writer’s Predictions
Before the weekend began, I (Kieran) attempted to predict the weekend’s results and….they didn’t exactly go to plan. My pole position predictions were Wehrlein and Evans which…wasn’t ideal. I was close for Wehrlein but I wasn’t so for Evans.
My winner predictions, however, turned out to be a jinx. I predicted an Andretti driver to win round 3 and they both retired from that race. For round 4, I went with Antonio Felix Da Costa and he retired too.
For the podium in round 3, I went with a Cupra Kiro and a Nissan powered car. There were 2 nissan powered cars on the podium but not a singular one. As for Cupra Kiro….I’m sorry Cupra Kiro fans. Round 4 then went worse as there was only stellantis and nissan powered cars on the podium all weekend.
What did you think of the 2 rounds? Formula E’s World Championship resumes in April with the Miami E-Prix. Let us know on our social media or on the writer’s social media which is linked below!
Onto the final day then and ahead of the crews were two close to 30km stages and the shorter 8.6km powerstage. Adrien and Alex returned to the action and would open the road throughout the three stages. Elfyn held a small three second lead over his teammate Takamoto with Thierry a further three seconds away.
First up was SS16 Västervik 1 – 29.35 km and Takamoto was really fast winning the stage from Ott and Kalle. Elfyn was 7.5 seconds slower and dropped to second overall, now 4.5 seconds behind his teammate. Thierry remained third overall. Further down the standings Greg passed Oliver for eighth position.
After a short break and service, the crews returned to SS17 Västervik 2 – 29.35 km for a second run. The top three fastest were Elfyn, Thierry and Ott. Takamoto could only manage the same time as Ott which was 8.2 seconds slower than his teammate and fell back to second place, now 3.7 behind Elfyn. Elfyn was really quick on this one, beating Thierry by almost seven seconds. It was a fantastic drive for the Welshman to regain the lead.
The time had come to run the final stage, SS18 Umeå[Power Stage] – 8.62 km. Adrien set the early pace and Ott was unable to beat his teammates time. However, each driver that came through after Ott beat the previous best time and we ended up with the top five looking this way. Adrien secured a single point with fifth. Fourth was Kalle, Thierry third, Takamoto second and Elfyn taking not only top spot in the powerstage also setting the pace throughout Sunday as well and he’d also secured victory. It was a brilliant drive for him, and Scott and they’d secured victory in the most remarkable way, from opening the road throughout Friday’s stages yet still taking stage wins.
Let’s take a look at the final standings and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification – Rally Sweden
1
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:33:39.2
2
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+3.8
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+11.9
4
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+16.8
5
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+32.8
6
M. Sesks
R. Francis
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:09.4
7
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:27.0
8
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+4:08.6
9
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris
+8:23.1
10
R. Korhonen
A. Viinikka
Toyota GR Yaris
+9:05.6
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been an amazing weekend. We led for a lot of the rally, but the margins were always tight and it was never really comfortable. This morning I got caught napping a bit in the first stage by Taka, who really made me fight for it, and thankfully we managed to turn it around and unlock good pace on the next stage. I’m very happy with the end result and to have won the Power Stage as well. It’s been a very good start to the season for us and we couldn’t really have dreamed of much better. Usually after a good Rallye Monte-Carlo it’s hard to score well in Sweden but the good conditions gave us a chance and I feel we made the most of it.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Overall, it’s been a difficult weekend for me. We were trying to push hard but we could not have the pace or the performance that we wanted, even on this final day. It’s a big disappointment but this is the only snow rally in the season and now we need to focus on the next rally on gravel with a completely different tyre and work to be stronger there. I’ve been closely following the battle at the front and I’m really glad that both drivers could bring home the one-two and the maximum points for the team: well, done to Elfyn who’s done a really good job, and I’m proud of my friend Taka also.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It’s been a really nice fight with Elfyn and with the Hyundai drivers not far behind us as well. It’s been a really intense battle for the whole rally and there was some pressure throughout, but I enjoyed it a lot. At the end, I’m happy to have done a good job for the team, to bring the car to the finish and score some good points. Well done to the team for this result and hats off to Elfyn, who did an amazing drive on the penultimate stage. Next time I will be ready to push more to try and take that victory. I was able to manage the speed through the whole weekend and this is giving me more confidence for the future and a good feeling for Kenya.”
Sami Pajari
“Overall, it has been a really enjoyable rally and it’s good to reach the finish without any big mistakes. It’s still quite disappointing what happened on Friday morning when the tyre came off the rim and we lost quite a lot of time, which then maybe gave us not such a good starting position for the next days. Still, I think we had some nice pace and some good moments, including some top-three stage times, and the feeling has been good. It’s been valuable learning and I’m grateful to the team for the support.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“We are happy to be on the podium, but nevertheless we are disappointed that we weren’t able to score the big points. We were still struggling today with the balance and tyre degradation. The feeling wasn’t there 100% even though we were improving, and it seems it has been better for our competitors than for us. Our first event in the upgraded car felt good, overall, the performance was there. It’s hard to really analyse everything as we saw the variation based on road position was crazy this weekend. You could be in the middle of the group and have the best conditions at some points or have the worst. We were in the game this weekend and that’s what counts.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 02, Rally Sweden 13-16 February 2025 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Ott Tänak
“Friday was not the greatest day, but we were still very much fighting for the victory. On Saturday, we lost some time driving in a safer mode through the stages. This morning we tried to catch the leaders, but on the second loop the road conditions were still cleaning so much. I’m not sure we got the best out of the new car this weekend, but I would say when the car is working it’s nice to drive and we just have to put the package together now. Toyota has been very strong; they are doing a good job and it’s something we need to catch up with.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“We have been competitive all weekend so I would say the positive thing is we have the pace, but we need to avoid the mistakes and go from there. I am happy we could score at least one point in the Power Stage; it’s the bare minimum but it’s something so we didn’t come back with nothing. We are focused on the future – there are still 12 events and a lot to be done, so I will keep my head on my shoulders. Yesterday’s mistake will not happen again. Kenya is next and anything can happen, so I will be working a lot with the team to make it successful.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Mārtiņš Sesks
“That’s Rally Sweden done and dusted! I’m quite happy actually about our performance and our consistency. With our ‘safe speed’, we managed to get through the rally and collected some decent times as well. Especially on the second passes, where we were a bit more used to the road conditions, we were able to get some top-three times which was the big positive of the weekend.
“On some other stages we posted some competitive split times, so I think the good thing is that we can see we have the speed here and we can drive really fast in some circumstances. I think the big thing this weekend was the experience and to build some consistency for the future, and for the rest of the season to come this is a good start. I think it was quite a decent result.”
Grégoire Munster
“For sure, not the result we wanted here on Rally Sweden, but lots of positives to take home. We reached the finish without making any big mistakes; but we have some regrets from the first stages on Friday morning and the big-time loss there, which caused us to open the road on the following days.
“Still, we learned a lot and we’ve worked with the engineers on the set-up and have done some analysis and on-board comparisons to be able to keep improving. Although it doesn’t reflect in the stage times, we made some good improvements despite opening the road.”
Josh McErlean
“It’s been a really positive and strong weekend, the team’s done a fantastic job preparing the car and Eoin’s done a brilliant job on the notes. It’s been a real step forward since Monte-Carlo, we’ve shown some strong pace in terms of stage times and it’s something we can take forward with us. It’s given me huge confidence to say that I can actually fight with the top guys, and delivering top-five times has been really good to see.
“Honestly, it’s been really fun and so enjoyable to drive one of these cars on this surface and through these forests, it’s been simply incredible. I’m very humbled and appreciative of the opportunity. It was a shame with what happened today considering the pace we’ve been showing all weekend, we just ran a bit wide on a fast right-hander, got into the soft snow and it sucked us into the snowbank which stopped us in our tracks. The spectators did a fantastic job getting us out of there, so a big thanks to them and thanks to everyone supporting us this weekend. I’m really looking forward to Kenya next, it’s going to be a great adventure.”
Jourdan Serderidis
“Well, with so little experience on snow, it was a hard start on Friday, and we made some mistakes on setup. Then, we improved stage after stage, giving a better performance and having some fun! We took a lot of confidence in Umeå, and I am sure it will help us for the next events, Kenya and our national rally in Greece.”
Romet Jürgenson
“For our first ever WRC2 round, we’ve had a very good trouble-free event with a solid result on the board. We actually hit one of our targets already on Friday, when we were constantly in a good place pace wise compared to the fastest crews. There were definitely some difficult moments during the weekend, for example on Saturday, but now on Sunday in similar conditions we once again improved quite a lot. So, all in all, a very good start to the season. Big thanks to all the people at M-Sport for a good effort! Let’s go again soon!”
Oliver Solberg (WRC2 winner)
“It’s a fantastic feeling to win my third Rally Sweden in three years. It’s incredible. I love this event, these people and these roads, so to come home and win again is something very special.
“I have to say, this one was quite tough at times. The conditions were proper for the winter rally, we could see that with the beautiful blue sky and the incredible ice, but at the same time the road was changing a little bit. We were getting some ruts coming and you had to pick your line carefully at times. In the second stage this morning, I was steady. I felt it would have been easy to make a mistake there, so we took our times and brought the car home – and then went fastest on the last one. I love that Umeå stage, it’s so much fun!”
“This is what we wanted,” said Oliver. “We wanted to come here, to come to my home rally and put down a good result which would make a good start to the year. For me, this has been such a happy place to rally for the last few years and now it’s the same this season.
“The focus now is on moving forwards with the WRC2 title race. We want that championship this year.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 2
1
E. Evans
61
2
S. Ogier
33
3
K. Rovanperä
31
4
T. Neuville
29
5
O. Tänak
26
6
T. Katsuta
25
7
A. Fourmaux
21
8
M. Sesks
8
9
J. McErlean
6
10
S. Pajari
6
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 2
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
120
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
72
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
25
4
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2
11
Summary
What an amazing rally! Elfyn and Scott put a fantastic drive together this weekend to take a second Rally Sweden victory. Seven stage wins showed the pace they had, even though they’d opened the road throughout Friday’s stages. This win has taken them firmly into the lead of the championship.
Takamoto and Aaron were incredibly quick as well all weekend with two stage wins. They’d also been quick all weekend. It was a fantastic performance which they should be very proud of. That first win is certainly coming.
The reigning world champions had a mixed bag of performance. They were not on the pace to run at the front of the field, but eventually dialled some performance into the car. This led to four stage wins and some pace that took him to the podium.
Looking ahead, the teams have a few weeks before Safari Rally Kenya next month.
Pre-season testing is over and we are just 14 days away from our first race of 2025. Things have felt a little different already this year for MotoGP – we have enjoyed our first ever season launch event alongside a very condensed testing schedule, with 6 days of testing across just 8 days. Now we have seen all the bikes on track in both Sepang and Buriram, what have we learnt and what can we expect this season?
Despite Testing Headaches, Ducati Are Still The Bike To Beat
Ducati are clearly still the fastest bikes on the grid again in 2025. We left Barcelona and Sepang with Gresini on top, thanks to Alex Marquez. Yes; topping two tests! Buriram was led by his brother, Marc Marquez, on the factory Ducati.
Looking at sector times and listening to the rider’s comments, the factory team are evidently the ones to beat and many have argued that they have the strongest rider line up of the year as well. What has been interesting to see is how collaboratively new teammates Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia appear to be working together. There have been some expecting their partnership to blow up and end in tears, but both riders have been sharing data and regularly seen in each other’s half of the garage to share feedback and thoughts.
However, the test wasn’t plain sailing for them. After listening to feedback from Marquez and Bagnaia, the team have decided to go back to the GP24* machine. And yes, we purposefully used an asterisk there. That’s because it isn’t exactly the same as the machine that crossed the line in Valencia, back in November. It will ultimately be the 2024 spec machine with a number of the 2025 developments that worked well. As Baganai put it, it is seen as the “GP24.9” machine.
Don’t be mistaken – this is not a step back for Ducati and shouldn’t be seen as a weakness ahead of the new season. It’s a sign of how strong and near-perfect their 2024 machine was. Marquez commented that the GP25 had “very weak points” so, having won 16 of 20 races last year, you can understand why Marquez and Bagnaia want to revert back to the “old” machine.
“Today basically we concentrated most of the day to 2024 engine, because looks like if tomorrow doesn’t change a lot, it looks like it is the way.
Why? Because Ducati is very realistic and they know, and they are very smart, that we cannot take the risk to homologate an engine that if we are not 100% sure is better than 2024.”
– Marc Marquez during the Buriram test.
Jorge Martin Has The Toughest Job This Year
Our 2024 champion has a lot of pressure on his shoulders this year – after being snubbed by the factory Ducati team, he made the bold move to join Aprilia, taking his #1 plate there for 2025. Jumping manufacturers makes his pre-season testing even more crucial, but it could have been worse for the Spanish rider.
Martin was part of a day one disaster in Sepang, with 6 broken bones across 3 riders who were all declared unfit for the rest of the Sepang test. The champion had a huge highside that left him with a fracture in his right hand and left foot. He returned to Spain for surgery and his recovery left him out of the rest of the test.
This means that he now has, arguably, the hardest job of anyone on the grid when the first race weekend starts in Thailand. He has to get up to speed with a new manufacturer “on the job”, with no space to find his feet.
“During the launch, we said that the first phase would be about learning, but clearly with what has happened today that phase has been significantly delayed. All we can do now is wish Jorge the best of luck.”
– Massimo Rivola (Sports Director for Aprilia) after the Sepang test.
KTM Are Still In Hot Water
Over the winter break, many were concerned about KTM’s future. The MotoGP team entered self administration, made mass redundancies and stopped production of their race bikes after facing financial difficulties at the end of the 2024 season. After securing the needed monetary boost in January, they launched their bike and focused all messaging on their determination to race and fight.
During pre-season testing, both Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales, on the KTM Tech3 machines, were vocal about their struggles with their new machines. However, the factory riders were notably absent from all media scrums and instructed not to speak to any journalists. No reason has been given for this but it does raise questions over the team’s future, and the bike’s potential success, in 2025 and beyond.
We all know Pedro Acosta is a future star of MotoGP (more about his testing performance below!) so he will be looking for clear signs of the team’s viability as he aims to showcase his championship winning potential to front-running teams.
Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta And Marco Bezzecchi Are Best Of The Rest
As we mentioned above Alex Marquez topped two of the three pre-season tests, and came 2nd for the last test in Buriram. He was fast from the moment he threw his leg over the GP24 machine for the first time in Barcelona and is clearly loving his new Gresini for 2025.
Many are excited to see what last year’s rookie and fan-favourite Pedro Acosta can achieve on his new KTM factory bike. He was just behind Bezzecchi in 4th at the end of Buriram’s test and, importantly, head and shoulders above his team mate Brad Binder.
Excitingly, we’re anticipating that the field will be much closer this year, with testing showing only marginal differences between a number of riders.
“It was a positive test; we were fast and consistent with our lap times. Overall, the entire pre-season has been like this, and without a doubt, we can call it the best pre-season since I started racing in MotoGP.”
– Alex Marqeuz after the Buriram test.
Yamaha Take The Crown For Most Improved
Many were surprised when Fabio Quartararo chose to stay with Yamaha for 2025 and beyond. However, they promised him team personnel changes and big steps forward in 2025. It seems that the Frenchman’s wishes have come true as his bike appears to have made a whopping 0.8 second gain.
His biggest gains came in Sepang, with Buriram not fully going Yamaha’s way. However, they had predicted this and still ended testing feeling pleased with their progress.
It wasn’t just the factory team making gains. Jack Miller on the Prima Pramac, who now run Yamaha engines, enjoyed a top 10 finish in Buriram and said that his new machine “is already my bike” after just the first test in Sepang.
“It was a different test than Sepang. In these two days, we mainly worked on fine-tuning the bikes for the GP, and we spent a lot of time on electronics set-ups. During Day 1, we had some difficulties, because the track was very green, and for all riders it was difficult to find a good feeling with the front. This got better today as the track conditions improved. We did a decent sprint race simulation, and at the end of the day we did a couple of time attacks which showed that again we were able to narrow the gap to the fastest time also in Buriram.”
– Massion Meregalli (Yamaha Team Director), after the Buriram test.
As ever, pre-season testing is not a definitive insight into the season ahead and there is a lot still unknown. But what is certain is that the 2025 season is going to be an exciting one with a large number of riders who have a good chance to win races and enjoy success. But the most important question is who will add their name to the championship trophy after Valencia?
Day two dawned with stunning snow-covered stages just like Friday and a beautiful blue sky. There had been some snow fall overnight and this left the stages with some loose snow for the early crews to sweep. Jourdan would open the road throughout the day.
First up then was SS9 Vännäs 1 – 15.65 km and it was a 1-2-3 for Toyota as Kalle, Takamoto and Elfyn took the top positions respectively. Takamoto closed the gap to his teammate Elfyn to just one tenth of a second whilst Ott remained third overall. Further back Sami was on the move and passed Josh for eighth overall.
Into SS10 Sarjöliden 1 – 14.23 km and Elfyn set the pace in this one setting the fastest time from Kalle and Adrien. Takamoto set the same time as Adrien, seeing Elfyn increase his lead over him to two seconds. There was an overshoot at a junction for Josh and the gap to Sami who was ahead of him grew to almost six seconds.
The final stage of the morning loop, SS11 Kolksele 1 – 16.06 km saw Thierry take a stage win at last. Kalle and Sami were second and third fastest behind the Belgian whose pace had brought him into third overall. Kalle was also on the move passing Adrien for fifth overall. The Frenchman had to stop after he’d started the stage when he realised that he’d not done up his helmet strap and he dropped from fourth to sixth.
After the service break came SS12 Vännäs 2 – 15.65 km and Adrien came back from the set back on the previous stage to set the fastest time from Ott and Elfyn. The Welshman increased his lead over his teammate to six seconds as well after Takamoto set the sixth best time after a brief off road moment. Sami also had a small moment after an overshoot.
Next up was SS13 Sarjöliden 2 – 14.23 km and Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Kalle in this one increasing his lead over Takamoto to 8.6. Thierry also moved back into third overall pushing Ott down to fourth. Unfortunately, we lost Adrien in this one as he clipped a snowbank which took his i20 and pulled the car into it which ended up facing the opposite direction and completely beached. He and Alex tried to dig the car out, but this didn’t work, and they were forced to retire for the rest of the day.
Onto the penultimate stage then, SS14 Kolksele 2 – 16.06 km and Thierry was fastest from Takamoto and Ott. Elfyn was fourth and maintained a six second lead over his Japanese teammate. The Welshman had a moment but managed to survive it and complete the stage. It was close though. There were also moments for Josh and Martins as they suffered a stall and spin in the stage.
The final stage then, SS15 Umeå Sprint 3 – 5.16 km and whilst it was a god one for the top three of Thierry, Takamoto and Ott, Elfyn had a moment under braking and a brief stall. He lost a few seconds and now Takamoto was only three seconds and Thierry a little over six seconds from him.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Saturday
1
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:00:04.2
2
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+3.0
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+6.3
4
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+12.8
5
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+22.9
6
M. Sesks
R. Francis
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:31.4
7
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:43.6
8
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:05.8
9
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:45.9
10
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris
+6:09.6
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“Overall, today has been pretty good. It’s a close fight and I think there have been ups and downs for almost everybody at some point. There were just a couple of small mistakes in the last two stages which were quite costly: when the times are so tight there’s not much margin for error. On the penultimate stage I just lost the line ever so slightly, and in the last one the rear stepped out under braking, I locked the wheels and stalled. We need to try and avoid such mistakes tomorrow. Everything is to play for, and it should be an exciting day.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Today was definitely much better than yesterday. We did a lot of work with the setup last night, and it felt pretty good on the first stage this morning which was narrow and technical. There we could feel comfortable and have some pace. When the stages are wider with long and fast corners, I’m still looking for some more precision. For tomorrow we’ll try to put everything we have learned this weekend together and aim to score some good points.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It has been a challenging day but quite a strong day I think. This morning I was not completely happy with the feeling in the car and this afternoon I was struggling a bit with the conditions. I had an overshoot and had to reverse, but I think we managed to gain some time back afterwards. The gap is not big in front or behind, but it feels good for me to be in this position. Tomorrow will be interesting, but I will just try to continue what I’ve been doing the whole weekend and see what happens.”
Sami Pajari
“It has been quite a solid day today. The morning especially was really nice and enjoyable for us. There were some stages where I felt I left some margin and some room to improve but still the times were OK. This afternoon there were some trickier conditions on the second pass, and I felt I was struggling a bit more there. But overall, it has been a good clean day full of learning in different conditions, so there are a lot of good things to take into tomorrow.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“The target of the day was to get closer to the lead and finally we achieved that. I’ve been satisfied with our performance; step by step we’ve been able to increase the speed. We’re still fighting a bit with mid-stage sections, but overall, I think we went in the right direction, and we know now what to do. There are extra points to take tomorrow, so in such a close battle everyone will be flat out. Let’s cross our fingers that everything will go our way tomorrow, and we will see.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 02, Rally Sweden 13-16 February 2025 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Ott Tänak
“This morning I had a better feeling chassis-wise, and it only improved from there. The first stage was positive, but then after this we lost some speed. The rest of the day we had to maximise everything we could. Some stages were bad, some were good, but that’s just the way it’s been. I think with the pace we’ve had this afternoon, a fight for the win tomorrow doesn’t look too promising. When it’s icy, the new tyres are consistent and tyre wear is not too bad, but we will see what the conditions are like tomorrow.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“Today was not my day definitely, on SS11 I had to stop to tighten my helmet and lost more than 20 seconds, and then this afternoon I get trapped in a really soft snowbank. The car was in the snowbank on the outside and it pushed the front into it after that, so for 60 metres we were forced along it. At some point it caught the front and then we got stuck in the really fresh snow; it was really deep and there were no spectators. A difficult day, but I just want to refocus on tomorrow and try to get some points for the championship where we can.”
Oliver Solberg
“It’s been a good day today, the conditions were a little bit different from yesterday, but the focus for me and Elliott has been to stay on the road, stay sensible and stay out of trouble.
“Like yesterday, there were plenty of fans out there and, once again, I’ll say thank you for waving the flags – it’s an incredible feeling to drive at home like this.
“So far, so good. We need to stay like this for one more day and tomorrow is not going to be easy – it’s a proper day with the two long stages.”
Sunday
The final day will see the crews tackle 67km’s over three stages, with two runs of a 29km stage before the final stage to decide the winner, podium positions and points for the championship.
The first full day of action on Sweden’s snow- and ice-covered road would see some fantastic action and very interesting stage results. Coming into the seven stages Elfyn led from Ott and Kalle. It was a very good start for the Toyota pair.
First up then was SS2 Bygdsiljum 1 – 28.27 km and it was Elfyn who was fastest from Takamoto and Ott. A nice surprise for the number 33 crew as they increased their lead over the Estonian’s to 2.7 seconds. Takamoto’s pace brought him and Aaron into third overall, 6.5 from the leaders and past Adrien, Thierry and Kalle. The Finns were really struggling out there. There was drama for Sami and Marko. Earlier in the stage they were setting a really great pace before hitting a snowbank and pushing a rear tyre off the wheel rim. They dropped a couple of positions to ninth place after looking likely to move up the leaderboard.
Onto SS3 Andersvattnet 1 – 20.51 km and Adrien showed great pace winning the stage from Elfyn and Ott. Takamoto was also right on the pace setting an identical time to Ott. Adrien’s pace brought him ahead of Takamoto and into third overall. Meanwhile Elfyn continued to lead the rally now with a 3.9 second lead over Ott.
The final morning stage then, SS4 Bäck 1 – 10.80 km and it was a second stage win in a row for the French duo at Hyundai. Elfyn was still setting great pace going second fastest and Takamoto third. Adrien moved into second overall pushing his teammate Ott down to third. Further down the leaderboard Kalle was on the move, passing Thierry for fifth overall.
After the lunchtime service came SS5 Bygdsiljum 2 – 28.27 km and Takamoto was fastest this time from Thierry and Martins. The Japanese star with his Irish co-driver moved into the lead as Elfyn and Scott could only manage the seventh best time and was now 5.8 seconds from their teammate.
Following that was SS6 Andersvattnet 2 – 20.51 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn and Martins. Elfyn moved back into the lead with Takamoto and Ott remained third. Martins remained the top placed Ford driver holding seventh place.
Onto the penultimate stage of the day then, SS7 Bäck 2 – 10.80 km and Thierry found some pace at last going fastest from Ott and Sami. This all led to a change at the top as Elfyn could only manage the eighth best time and was now half a second from new overall leader Ott who leapfrogged Takamoto and Elfyn.
There were more changes at the end of SS8 Umeå Sprint 2 – 5.16 km as Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Takamoto. Ott fell again to third place. At the end of the final stage just 2.5 seconds covered the top three.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Saturday
1
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
1:08:36.5
2
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+0.6
3
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+2.5
4
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+7.9
5
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+9.1
6
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+25.5
7
M. Sesks
R. Francis
Ford Puma Rally1
+43.6
8
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:02.6
9
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:10.6
10
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:22.5
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been very close out there today. Sometimes it’s suited us to be running at the front and sometimes it hasn’t. This morning it was pretty good for us but the grip was still quite changeable and difficult to read. The afternoon was not so kind for us and even the last stage felt quite messy but still the time was good. Compared to how it’s been when we’ve opened the road here in the past, we should probably be quite happy to be in the lead after Friday, but the gaps are very tight so let’s see how tomorrow plays out.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Today has been very good. It has felt very comfortable: we have not been pushing crazy hard but still the times have been coming. I’m enjoying it a lot so it’s going well so far but there’s still some way to go. At the moment it’s very tight in the top five; one mistake could cost a lot, so I will try to continue in the same way and have another clean day tomorrow. The starting positions should be more equal, and the conditions should be good so I’m looking forward to it.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It hasn’t been the best day for us. I was struggling more than I was expecting with my feeling in the car and how my driving style is working together with the tyre. We tried many small things during the day and made some steps, so we had a slightly better feeling this afternoon, but we’re still not in the place we want to be. If we can find something more for tomorrow then hopefully it will be a better day and we can be more among the top times.”
Sami Pajari
“The feeling was really good in the first stage this morning: it felt quite clean with a nice flow, and I didn’t feel I was pushing that much. In one place we hit the snowbank, which is quite normal on a snow rally, but for some reason the tyre came off the rim. It was disappointing to lose so much time, and without that it could have been a really good day. But it’s all about the learning, and there’s still two more days to drive and enjoy.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“We tried to put a consistent run together, but it was not so much fun in the car today, so we are for sure looking forward to tomorrow. We need to use the used tyres in the right moment and make sure you finish them, but the last two stages were more icy and the fresh tyre was probably more needed there. Normally when it’s icy it’s very good for the first car on the road and then normally the ice breaks down more and more, the layer seems to be a bit thicker so maybe it will last a bit more tomorrow, but we will see.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 02, Rally Sweden 13-16 February 2025 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Adrien Fourmaux
“It was a really positive day; I think everybody enjoyed the conditions; it was really nice this morning with a lot of ice. This afternoon, as expected, we saw the gravel in the ruts, and we had to manage our tyres a bit more to try our best to not be lose too much to the others with better road positions. I don’t have too much experience on snow, but I am enjoying it, trying to do my best and use my experience from last year. It seems to be working really well and we want it to continue like this tomorrow. It will be more icy, and the loop is shorter than today so it’s going to be easier for the tyres. Tomorrow will be full attack for everybody.”
Thierry Neuville
“We knew this morning that we had to keep calm and accept that we were losing time, but we also knew that the afternoon would be to our advantage. I think we made the best out of it and I’m pretty satisfied with how the second loop went – the feeling was better. We are missing experience on the tyres and with the setup as well; the amount of understeer left me a bit surprised. It’s going to be a big push out there tomorrow, but if the feeling is like it was this afternoon then we will definitely be in the game.”
WRC2
Oliver Solberg
“Honestly, I can tell you, I have been really feeling the love coming from the forest today.”
“It’s so nice to see so many fans out there – I have to thank them all very much for the cheering and the waving of the flags! For the driving, it’s been good. We have made some nice times and we’re in the lead, but I think there is still some more speed to come from me and the car.
“I feel like we’ve visited nearly every snowbank along the way today!
“We’re going to have a look at the car tonight and see if we can change something for tomorrow. The conditions have been nice and quite consistent for us – it’s such a pleasure to drive a winter rally when it’s like this.”
Saturday
The second full day will see the crews tackle 97km’s over seven stages. Who will make the best of the conditions out there? Elfyn and Scott’s drive on the full first day has been remarkable given that they were opening the road and to lead this rally shows they are right there this year. Long may it continue!
Within the book category family, there are many subtopics. Fiction, non fiction,sci-fi and drama, for example. For On The Grid, the category is non-fiction. However, it changes when the stories are specific and certain stories which are not known to the general fans.
On The Grid covers many stories such as Lance Stroll’s bike accident to Esteban Ocon’s dedication from himself and his family in order to hit the pinnacle of motorsport as well as the diversity issues which many categories such as F1 Academy and Mission 44 aim to eliminate with the teams’ and drivers’ enviornmental impact.
The Context To The Story: There are many plots within Formula One; McLaren vs Ferrari at the end of 2024, Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s domination in 2023 and the huge championship battle at the end of 2021. The subplots, however, have gone under the radar in the eyes of the motorsport family which is a shame. Thankfully, Smith dives into these storylines such as Lance Stroll’s bike accident ahead of the 2023 season and Esteban Ocon’s fascinating story in order to make it to the top step of the podium. Both of these stories, a subset of the collectives available in the book, show the determination of 2 drivers whos reputations have been thrown into question within the last few seasons.
Lance Stroll couldn’t get better than P17. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Press Room
Memories Of Those Who Have Passed Its fair to say that Formula 1 is an incredible sport, form of entertainment or just an escape from those realities of life. Unfortunately, however, with that thrill and entertainment contains a loss. Smith addresses the hard and sad passing of Antoine Hubert and Jules Bianchi, the two most recent Formula One drivers who have lost their lives doing the sport they love. Explaining this situation to young viewers or veterens of the sport is never an easy task. Smith tackles this by talking to two drivers which have been heavily impact by these two talented drivers’ passing; Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc respectfully. The impact this has had on the overall book is, ironically, positive in the way it can encourage these drivers to not only talk about the memories but of how these drivers can be remembered, especially to Charles who ultimately owes his Formula One career to his godfather.
The Inequality Battle: One section which was fantastic to see was the feature of F1 Academy and Lewis Hamilton’s fight against racism. First on the F1 Academy conversation and the talks Smith had with Suzie Wolff, CEO of F1 Academy, and Jamie Chadwick, 3 time W Series Champion, really brought to light the impact F1 Academy is having on the female representation in motorsport, not only for racing but also the further career opportunities such as STEM(Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). I never actually realised this but I am so glad that I did.
L-R: Jamie Chadwick, Sarah Moore, Abbie Eaton, Abbi Pulling, Alice Powell, Jessica Hawkins (Courtesy of W Series Racing)
Final Conclusions: This book has been a real treat to gain more and a deeper knowledge of Formula One and gain a deeper understanding and meaning of not only the pinnacle of motorsport but also the people behind the scenes and understanding the true story of Formula One. While I have not covered everything detailed in this book, it is definately worthy of a read!
