Max Verstappen held off the challenge of both McLaren drivers to win the Japanese Grand Prix.
The result stretches his unbeaten record at Suzuka to 6 years and was both Red Bull and Honda’s fourth successive win at the circuit.
He finished ahead Lando Norris in second and Oscar Piastri in third, with neither driver able to land a blow on Verstappen save for one challenge from Norris at pit exit which saw the Brit take to the grass.
The Dutchman is now only one point behind Norris in second place in the Drivers’ Championship in a car some believe is only 4th fastest.
Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with Lewis Hamilton seventh for Ferrari.
Isack Hadjar took his first points of the season in eighth to become the second highest Red Bull-backed driver in the standings with four points, ahead of a frustrated Alexander Albon and Ollie Bearman in tenth for Haas.
In what was a largely processional affair, Verstappen made the best of starting from pole position to lead away from the lights, and through the first stint was never troubled as Norris could rarely get close enough to stay within DRS.
After some jockeying from McLaren in the pit lane, both lead drivers pitting on lap 22.
A slow stop for Red Bull allowed Norris alongside, but with the pit lane narrowing Verstappen was never going to move aside and Norris went grass-tracking.
Verstappen was never troubled from there on.
At points it was Piastri who looked the quicker of the two drivers, the Australian getting to within one car length on lap 50 as the closest he could get to second place.
Leclerc was best of the rest for Ferrari but ultimately never close to the cars ahead with Hamilton a distant seventh on a different strategy as Ferrari produced a steady weekend after the double-disqualification farce in China two weeks ago.
George Russell could not re-produce his podium heroics of Shanghai, as yet another quiet race yielded fifth ahead of his charging young teammate Antonelli, whose overcut strategy ultimately yielded no gain from sixth on the grid.
Further back it was more of the same with little action to excite the fans, the best action coming as Albon and Hadjar both passed slowing traffic including Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz as they came through the field on new tyres on their way to decent points finishes.
Hadjar’s pace had been excellent all weekend, and starting seventh he and his Racing Bulls team will be pleased to finish in the top eight on a weekend where former teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced Lawson at Red Bull for this race, could only manage 12th at his new team.
Albon’s race was apparently blighted by upshift issues and some less than happy radio exchanges, the Thai driver taking aim at Williams’ strategy after earlier shift frustrations, while Bearman built on a superb Chinese Grand Prix to score another point for Haas in tenth.
Max Verstappen will start from pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman took a shock pole for Red Bull Racing by 0.012s ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
George Russell will start tomorrow’s race from fourth ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, while Russell’s Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli will start sixth.
Isack Hadjar, who had to overcome seat issues earlier in the day, starts and excellent seventh for Racing Bulls ahead of Lewis Hamilton, while Williams’ Alex Albon and Haas’ Ollie Bearman complete the top ten.
Eyes were on both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, with Lawson having been moved to Racing Bulls from Red Bull after two poor weekends ahead of the Grand Prix this weekend to be replaced by Tsunoda.
Lawson advanced through to the second session for what was already his best qualifying session of the season, knocking out Nico Hulkenberg in the process.
The German joined teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll on the sidelines after the first session.
That was to be as far as both men would get, with both departing in the second qualifying session.
Lawson did manage to outqualify Tsunoda in 14th as the Japanese driver, who had looked quick throughout the weekend, made a mistake at Turn 2 to only manage 15th on the grid.
They’ll start behind Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in 13th, Carlos Sainz’s Williams in 12th and Pierre Gasly in 11th.
Confirmation of the news that no one in F1 has been waiting for came on Thursday morning, as Red Bull announced that Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson in the senior team.
Lawson will drive for Racing Bulls, the team he drove for in 11 races across two part season spells in 2023 and 2024, and returns after twice qualifying last at the Sprint weekend Chinese Grand Prix and 18th at the Australian Grand Prix, while crashing in the race in Australia and finishing 15th on the road in Shanghai.
Tsunoda gets his chance after over four seasons and 89 starts with the Red Bull junior team in the guises of Alpha Tauri, VCARB and Racing Bulls.
Red Bull are renowned for their ruthless handling of their young driver programme. Just ask Pierre Gasly, who in 2019 got half a season and despite obvious improvement in the junior team was never again considered for the senior team.
Even for Red Bull though, two races is a new low.
Not since Yuji Ide’s infamous four race spell for Super Aguri in 2006, where he lost his superlicense when three dreadful flyaway races were followed by the Japanese flipping Christijan Albers at the San Marino Grand Prix, has a stated permanent drive gone so wrong, so quickly.
Lawson will get a chance to go again.
What’s changed?
Much has and will be made of the decision to replace Lawson, a driver Red Bull believed had the mental fortitude to be teammate to four-time World Champion Max Verstappen with Tsunoda, who not three months ago was not believed to have the mentality to be able to cope with the same role he’s now been thrust into.
Team Principal Christian Horner said of Tsunoda when announcing the switch: “Yuki’s experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car.”
When announcing Lawson’s move to Red Bull, Horner said: “Liam’s performances over the course of his two stints with Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top.”
Contrast that with this week:
“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together we see that, after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”
How times change.
Red Bull’s muddled thinking
On the face of it, Red Bull have, completely by themselves, got the worst of both worlds.
The reality is worse than that.
When all meaningful metrics – race finishes, points, qualifying points – pointed to Tsunoda being the right choice to replace the shredded Sergio Perez for 2025, Red Bull chose Lawson based on being a “real racer” and other intangibles.
It then gave Lawson a full pre-season and two races in a car that, while tricky, is better than the New Zealander has been able to show at two tracks he’d not driven on before pulling the trigger.
In taking Tsunoda out of the Racing Bulls frying pan and throwing into the Red Bull fire this early on, it is giving Tsunoda almost a full season in a car notorious for being difficult to adapt to, while wasting the chance to ease him in and help the Japanese prepare with pre-season testing.
Tsunoda’s most recent meaningful time in a Red Bull was at the end of season test at Abu Dhabi last year.
He has carried on what was an impressive end to last season in 2025, and would have scored points in both Grands Prix were it not for poor strategy calls from Racing Bulls, after a 6th in the Chinese Sprint.
However, promotion to Red Bull this soon in the season with the media interest that will generate, plus the adaptation process that will inevitably come with joining a new team, in time for his home race will bring a pressure he hasn’t previously been under.
His fiery personality and some expletive-laden radio exchanges are ultimately what led to doubts at Red Bull about his ability to cope with pressure.
It is worth remembering that despite outshining every teammate since Gasly left for Alpine, Tsunoda was Red Bull’s third choice for this seat.
The team brought Daniel Ricciardo back to what was then Alpha Tauri for a shootout to join the senior team in the second half of 2023 before injury hampered his comeback.
A slow start to the 2024 season made Red Bull realise that the Australian – the first choice to replace Perez – was not the same driver as the daring, late-braking and often rabbit-out-of-hat driver that deposed Sebastian Vettel as team leader before leaving for Renault in 2019.
Masking a fundamental issue
The decision to drop Lawson and the circus around Red Bull’s second seat should not detract from the fact that since design genius Adrian Newey left Red Bull almost a year ago, they have gone backwards in competitiveness.
Verstappen won the World Championship with two weekends to spare in 2024, but he won just two of the last 14 races and one of those was at the wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
The Dutchman has hinted that Red Bull have the fourth fastest car, repeatedly criticised the car’s balance and even hinted that Racing Bulls may have a faster car.
While the car is obviously better than Lawson has shown and should score points at every weekend, Verstappen has more than maximised the car’s potential and taken advantage of quicker rivals falling by the wayside.
Verstappen, the last true success of Red Bull’s once fabled young driver programme, is believed to view the decision to drop Lawson as the wrong call, and the fundamental issue is with the RB21 and not the second driver.
While in part that may be a Formula One driver talking up his own performance, the evidence backs up Verstappen’s view.
If finally giving Tsunoda a chance backfires, it will once and for all expose a team in complete disarray.
The second, less heralded driver to partner Max Verstappen in the Prinha Club’s most ruthless team has come in and struggled to adapt.
Reports of Liam Lawson facing demotion from Red Bull Racing after two races in 2025 have emerged after the Chinese Grand Prix, with Yuki Tsunoda tipped to replace the New Zealander from as early as the Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull are considering dropping Liam Lawson after just two races
Lawson has struggled early in this season having twice qualified last at the Sprint Weekend Chinese Grand Prix, having qualified 18th in Australia last week before crashing out.
Lawson could only manage 15th on Sunday having climbed to 14th in the sprint race on Saturday.
Post-race in China, Lawson alluded to not having time to improve for this season and a lack of testing in preparation for the season, while a typically curt Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s Motorsport Advisor, said in reply: “He is right.”
“Yuki is a different Yuki from the years before. He is in the form of his life. Obviously he changed managed. He has a different approach. He’s more mature. It took a while, but now it looks like it’s working.”
Such a move would raise serious questions about Red Bull’s driver management, with Lawson having been promoted with less than half a season’s F1 experience to the top team after previous failures with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, while Sergio Perez was paid off two years early just months after being given a new contract to 2026.
For over half a decade no driver has been able to convince that they can cope with the pressure of that now infamous seat across the garage from Max Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo, sensing which way the wind was blowing within Red Bull, departed for Renault in 2019.
Lawson’s career to date
Lawson had a solid junior career including winning the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series in 2020, before fifth at the first attempt in F3.
He moved up to F2 for the following season, doubling up with the DTM sportscar series with 2021 ending with ninth in F2 and second in DTM, before 3rd place in F2 the following season.
He moved to Super Formula for 2023 and was in contention to win the series when got his chance in Formula One as a stand in for the injured Ricciardo.
Lawson fared well compared to Tsunoda including points at Singapore, before another six race stint at the end of 2024 saw the New Zealander get the nod ahead of the Japanese driver to replace Perez.
How did we get here?
Red Bull first demoted one of their drivers to the support team in 2016 after Daniil Kvyat was demoted after twice hitting Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari at the Russian Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who along with Carlos Sainz had caught the eye as a rookie in 2015, got the call and promptly won his first race in Spain.
Ricciardo was then replaced by Pierre Gasly, who’d shown well for Toro Rosso after replacing Kvyat in 2017 while Sainz was released to go to McLaren.
Gasly made a terrible start by crashing twice in 2019 pre-season testing and ultimately failed to recover his confidence, only once finishing ahead of Verstappen in fortuitous circumstances at the British Grand Prix.
He only twice got within four tenths of a second in qualifying before being lapped by Verstappen in Hungary leading the Frenchman to be dumped in favour of Alexander Albon.
Albon initially started well with a strong recovery drive at the Belgian Grand Prix to fifth, and was only out of the top six once for the remainder of the season when Lewis Hamilton spun him out of a podium position late on in Brazil.
Albon was again spun from a promising position by Hamilton in Austria, but eventually took his first podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello and took another at Bahrain. The damage was done a week later as Sergio Perez won from the back of the field while Albon crashed out.
Perez seemed an obvious answer to Red Bull’s problems but in truth the four seasons spent in that hottest of hotseats by Perez was for the most part a marriage of convenience, brought about by no credible alternative to a burnt Albon within Red Bull’s junior ranks at the end of 2020.
While Perez initially failed to match Verstappen in outright speed, he was an able back up to Verstappen and his contribution at the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was crucial as he cost Lewis Hamilton over six seconds with a feisty defence of the lead, meaning Hamilton couldn’t pit during that Safety Car period.
Perez started 2022 well and earned a new contract ahead of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, with further success in Singapore. From there, performance dipped and he was fortunate to take second in the 2023 Championship despite Red Bull winning all but one race.
Despite a new contract early in the season, reports and rumours surrounded Perez for over two years before he was finally put out of his misery at the end of a winless 2024 as Red Bull paid the Mexican off.
Red Bull had previously recruited Dutchman Nyck De Vries for 2023 on a whim of one off points finish for Williams at the Italian Grand Prix of 2022, before he was sacked after 10 races and replaced by Ricciardo.
What about those demoted drivers?
Drivers who’ve been burned by the top team have had mixed results since their ill-fated moves.
Kvyat’s F1 career was a strange one, being dropped completely in 2017 before coming back to race in 2019 and 2020 as Red Bull ran out of drivers.
Pierre Gasly has thrived since leaving the Red Bull stable
Gasly has gone on to shine as a team leader at the junior including a win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix before moving to Alpine, where he has since seen off the challenge of Esteban Ocon.
Albon disappeared for a year as third driver, notably being used to reconstruct a crash between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix, before ably leading Williams in their rise from the back of the grid to 2025 midfield leaders since 2022 while Perez may yet resurface with Cadillac in 2026.
Albon has spoken in the past of being “underprepared” by Red Bull to the High Performance Podcast, while Gasly in particular was critical of the environment during his half season with the team.
“From the moment I made my first mistake in a car, I felt like people there slowly began to turn on me. I’d had a crash in winter testing and from that moment on the season never really got going.
“Then I had a tough first two races with Red Bull and the media just ate me up. Anything I said in the press was twisted into an excuse for my form, and nobody really stuck up for me.
“The car wasn’t perfect and I was doing my best to try to improve and learn each week. But here’s what I’ll say about it – it was a difficult time for me at Red Bull because I didn’t feel like I was really supported and treated the same way as others there have been. And for me, that’s something I just can’t accept.
“I was working my ass off every day, trying to get results for the team, but I was not being given all the tools I needed to succeed. I would try to offer solutions but my voice wasn’t heard, or it would take weeks to see changes.
The Red Bull signals and issues it needs to address
It is important to state that nothing has been decided and Red Bull have been satisfied with Lawson’s approach and refusal to make excuses, but history suggests there’s no smoke without fire.
After the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Team Principal Christian Horner said that the intention “was to keep Pierre in the car” before replacing him the next race with Albon, while late into 2020 the team were giving Albon “every chance” before he was demoted to third driver.
The pressure could increase further with another junior in Arvid Lindblad mooted for a promotion as early as 2026 depending on his F2 progress this season.
It was accepted within F1 circles that Tsunoda would have to leave Racing Bulls with no obvious team to go to at the end of this season, but were he to move to Red Bull and get closer to Verstappen, Lawson would have no time to readjust against an Isack Hadjar who, formation lap crash in Melbourne aside, has shown speed this season.
Max Verstappen has proven impossible to live with as a Red Bull Racing teammate
While it is true that Red Bull have a car that has been built around Verstappen’s unique driving style, that is something all drivers heading to a new team have to adapt to.
The issue is that Red Bull have often been slow take on feedback from the second driver, with Perez’s performances improving slightly after upgrades on the car in the autumn of last year known to have been as a result of finally listening to the struggling Mexican’s feedback from the summer of 2023.
Irrespective of when, or if, Lawson does move back to the junior team, seven seasons of struggle in Red Bull’s other car points not only to an issue with recruitment, but with the management of a driver programme that has produced Ricciardo, Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel to name three drivers.
That young driver academy has been reduced to a topic of debate and ridicule, producing drivers who in recent years have come through the ranks only to end up as cannon fodder to a Max Verstappen juggernaut.
Often drivers either been thrown in too early, lacked support during early struggles and have ended up destroyed by comparisons to Verstappen instead of nurtured and moulded to fit within the team.
Recruitment has often been hap-hazard at best, with De Vries getting ten races before his sacking after a signing based purely on a one-off appearance where circumstances favoured him while Tsunoda, into his fifth season of Formula One, has not had a Red Bull look in before now and should he complete a mid-season switch to will go in with little Red Bull testing and next to no preparation from the main F1 team.
Oscar Piastri took his third Grand Prix victory with an imperious win at Shanghai International Circuit.
His McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to manage a brake issue but managed second to complete a 50th 1-2 for the team, while George Russell was third for Mercedes and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
The result leaves Norris eight points clear of Verstappen in the fledgling Championship standings, with Russell a point further back and Piastri a point behind in fourth.
Haas improved from a terrible opening round to claim a double points finish
.The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth, while Haas improved from a dreadful Australian Grand Prix with seventh for Esteban Ocon and tenth for Ollie Bearman.
Kimi Antonelli in eighth and Alex Albon in ninth completed the points positions.
It was the perfect start for McLaren as Piastri blocked off Russell to hamper his entry into Turn One, with Norris sweeping around the outside to take second.
Max Verstappen was another to go backwards as he was passed by both Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, who lost a chunk of front wing hitting Hamilton, through ahead of the Dutchman.
A slow burner of a first stint was curtailed as the midfield, led by Pierre Gasly, Ocon and the Racing Bulls duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar pitted before lap 12.
Expected high tyre wear throughout the race failed to materialise as the leading five cars – all of whom pitted before lap 17 – making it to the end of the Grand Prix on their hard tyres.
McLaren were once again the class of the field in Shanghai
At the front, Piastri completed his most complete weekend with a race win during which he wasn’t troubled, with a difficult Friday giving way to a dominant display to underline his own World Drivers’ Championship credentials.
A strong undercut, where the car behind pits for fresh tyres to pass the car ahead when they pit, was prevalent in China and helped Russell briefly repass Norris, but the McLaren had regained second by lap 18 and gradually built a gap.
That gap became important for Norris, who in the last 15 laps reported a long brake pedal that was critical by the penultimate lap.
An eight-second gap became 1.3s by the end of the race as a quietly effective Russell maximised his weekend once again.
Behind that Verstappen grew into the race after an off-colour first stint in which he dropped back from the Ferraris in sixth.
The Dutchman salvaged fourth as Leclerc’s damage caught up with the Monesgasque driver with four laps to go.
Hamilton’s hard tyre performance fell away leading Ferrari to call him in for a second stop before Verstappen passed his old rival.
It was another chastening weekend for Liam Lawson at Red Bull, as he twice qualified 20th and last and could only manage 15th in the race, over a minute behind Vertappen.
Haas’ turnaround from an Australian Grand Prix weekend in which they were clearly the slowest team to an excellent weekend in China was remarkable.
Ocon expertly judged his one-stop strategy to pass and stay ahead of Antonelli’s Mercedes while Bearman, starting 17th, managed his tyres superbly for tenth.
Lando Norris survived late challenges from both Max Verstappen and the weather to win the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.
Norris had serenely led the race through three Safety Car periods before a heavy rain shower 14 laps from the end caught both he and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri out two corners from the end of the lap.
The Brit recovered, but Piastri ended up beached on the grass for nearly a lap when a podium at worst would have been on the cards.
George Russell was third for Mercedes ahead of an excellent fourth place for Alex Albon in the Williams, while the impressive rookie Kimi Antonelli was fifth from 16th on the grid.
Lance Stroll took a quiet sixth for Aston Martin ahead of Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc eighth ahead of a disappointed Piastri, who recovered to ninth by passing Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.
Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar gave a taste of what was to come as he both crashed on the formation lap, leading to a delay of 15 minutes, while fellow rookie Jack Doohan got one sector further before spinning under acceleration on lap one, with Carlos Sainz going off later that lap.
A quiet race briefly livened up when Piastri passed Verstappen on lap 19, with both McLarens quickly opening up a lead over Verstappen that still looks ominous for the rest of the season.
Fernando Alonso then spun off at the exit of Turn 6 on lap 35 to pull the pin on the rest of the Grand Prix, as the Safety Car was deployed and drivers pitted for slick tyres.
Shortly after this a heavy rain shower fell on the Albert Park circuit, and three laps after the Safety Car pitted all hell broke loose as Norris and Piastri both went off at Turn 12.
Norris sought refuge in the pit lane to fit Intermediates while Piastri took over a minute to free himself from the grass to drop to the back of the field.
Liam Lawson spun in identical fashion to Hadjar before him as Gabriel Bortoletto also found trouble at Turn 12 to bring the Safety Car out, with Ferrari the big losers as a strategy gamble to stay out on slicks backfired.
Leclerc was able to pass Hamilton at the Safety Car restart before later taking eighth from Gasly, but it was a bitterly disappointing start to the season for the Scuderia who would have expected much more than 5 points from the season opener.
The Safety Car allowed Piastri to rejoin the pack and gave the Australian a shot at points – a chance he took by passing Gasly two laps from the end, before an excellent move on Hamilton at Turn 9 on the last lap salvaged ninth and two World Championship points.
On a tough day for the Championship’s rookies with four of the six failing to finish, Kimi Antonelli kept his head save for one small spin at Turn 4 early race as he picked his way through to fourth on the road, and fifth overall courtesy of a post race penalty.
The Italian’s maturity stood out with passing moves Hulkenberg and Stroll particular highlights as he recovered well from a disappointing qualifying on Saturday.
Lando Norris will start the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from pole position.
The Brit beat McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by 0.081s as the pre-season favourites send out an ominous message to rest of the field.
2024 World Champion Max Verstappen will start third on the grid ahead of Mercedes rival George Russell, while it was a disappointing session for Lewis Hamilton and his new Ferrari team.
Hamilton will start only eighth having struggled with rear instability all session, but he’s only one spot behind teammate Charles Leclerc as two midfield teams usurped the Scuderia.
Alex Albon confirmed Williams’ solid pre season form with sixth place on the grid, behind Yuki Tsunoda and his Racing Bull in fifth.
Pierre Gasly for Alpine and Carlos Sainz’s Williams round out the top 10.
Q1: Top team rookies toil
The surprises didn’t end at Row Three.
Liam Lawson was qualifying for Red Bull for the first time after an 11-race, two-spell audition with their junior team and struggled on a torrid Saturday in what’s been dubbed Formula One’s toughest seat.
After losing the entire Saturday practice to an engine issue, Lawson struggled with the balance in a bitty qualifying session for the New Zealander.
He’ll start 18th after locking up at the penultimate corner, ahead of only the two Haases of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman.
Lawson wasn’t the only well-fancied rookie to struggle, as Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli could only manage 16th on Saturday.
The Italian has been all over the kerbs all weekend and after clouting them one too many times, damaged the bib on the underside of the car, which Mercedes believe cost him three tenths to teammate Russell on the straights.
Nico Hulkenberg, so often the star of qualifying last season, was the other driver out in Session One in his Sauber.
Q2: Hamilton spin effectively ends the session
The second session ended in anti-climactic fashion, as a spin from Hamilton right at the end brought out double-waved yellow flags to hamper a number of drivers.
One of those was the quietly impressive Jack Doohan, who was unlucky to line up 14th after being on track to be at least on the cusp of getting through the the final session in his Alpine.
It also ended the session of Fernando Alonso, who had fought with the leaders in session one but could only manage 12th in the Aston Martin, ahead of teammate Lance Stroll but behind Isack Hadjar, who backed up the improvement showed by Racing Bulls since testing.
Gabriel Bortoletto survived a scare to keep his Sauber out of the wall, but will start 15th after a good opening Saturday.
Q3: McLaren come good in the end
McLaren recovered from a scrappy start to the final session to snatch the front row away from the rest of the pack.
Norris had his first time deleted for track limits at Turn 6, while Piastri made a mess of the final sector to initially fall half a second behind the early pace.
Verstappen, cast in the unusual role of underdog with Red Bull far from the force they have been since 2022, had gone fastest ahead of late-2024 rival Russell.
The surprises in the final session were two-fold. Ferrari’s lack of pace was evident throughout the session as the Prancing Horse struggled with rear instability.
That manifested with Hamilton’s spin in Q2, and neither driver was anywhere near their early weekend pace as Leclerc could only manage seventh ahead of the seven-time champion.
That opened the door for two of the midfield’s strongest performers this weekend, with Albon initially deposing the Scuderia.
That before Tsunoda made his point to the Red Bull hierarchy having been passed over for the main team over the winter to nick 5th.
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.
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!
IMPORTANT: This article contains important regarding the passing of several people. Continue at your own convenience.
1st February 2024-Rumours emerged of the 7 time world champion leaving the UK based Mercedes team to join the most famous team in the world: Scudaria Ferrari. Rumours like this have circulated for years. However, this one felt different: accredited journalists and news outlets started reporting it. This was happening.
I remember hearing about it and being shell shocked, surprised at the move. Talking to people online, everyone was denying it. When it was announced that evening, everyone was so surprised. The most successful driver in F1 history across multiple eras of the sport, the most recognisable driver was leaving the Silver Arrows to join the prancing horse.
While I have been watching the media covorage of Hamilton’s first few days at Maranello, I became overthrown with emotion and which I could not understand why. As I thought about it more and more, I realised how emotional this partnership and lineup genuinely is.
Carlos Sainz’s Seat Removal
Of course, this meant that 3 into 2 didn’t go so sadly Carlos Sainz had to depart the legendary team to join Williams Racing. I don’t think Williams Racing, with all due respect, was the highest team on Sainz’ radar given the obviously vacant seat left by Hamilton at Mercedes or even the Red Bull seat of Sergio Perez which had a contract expiration at the end of 2024. Sadly, those pieces fell short for Sainz but there is one major positive to leave behind for Sainz: he did nothing wrong. Sometimes in life, things don’t work out for one reason or another. I don’t think Sainz has any bad blood at all with Hamilton, Leclerc, Vasseur or Ferrari. In fact, apart from Hamilton, Verstappen and Alonso, Sainz never would have left that seat. He left his mark at the team and I would never rule out a move back to Ferrari.
Back to Hamilton now and up until now, I didn’t think it was real. It felt like a F1 24 Career mode move with Hamilton to Ferrari, Leclerc to Aston Martin and Dino Beganovic to Mercedes. Seeing the images of Hamilton in Italy, dressing head to toe in very fancy clothes (which I am jealous of) and impressively speaking Italian so naturally it shows that he wants to make this move work. By work, I of course mean Hamilton getting that 8th Drivers Championship title with Ferrari which I think it will happen.
A Formula 1 Butterfly Effect?
Personally, I am strong believer of “Everything happens for a reason” and when I cast my mind back to 2021 and to Abu Dhabi, I remember Lewis Hamilton and Anthony Hamilton (Lewis’ father) going up to Max Verstappen and Jos Verstappen (Max’s father) to shake their hands. That showed me what kind of person Hamilton is like. Despite all of his effort, and fighting so much, he lost by so little. The reason that event links up to “Everything happens for a reason” is if Hamilton won that title in 2021, he may have retired and never get to live out racing in red and for Ferrari. Of course, these are all what ifs and sure, Hamilton would more than likely before an 8th title over racing for Ferrari; but it feels like something good will come of this.
Lewis Hamilton meeting staff at Scudaria Ferrari in Maranello. Image Credit: Scudaria Ferrari’s Media Centre
Charles Leclerc’s Emotional Barriers to and in F1
I want to reflect on Charles Leclerc, Hamilton’s teammate for 2025 and beyond. Since I started watching Formula 1, stories of how drivers either came from nothing and built their way up or drivers who suffered grief and heartbreak and always attached and stayed with me. Charles’ story of losing his god father Jules Bianchi after a horrific crash in 2014 is one which still looms over not only Formula 1 but Leclerc as Bianchi told Ferrari to give his godson a chance. That is not the only tragedy Charles’ has faced in his life, however. Charles’ father, Herve Leclerc, passed away from an illness. Before his father passed, Leclerc told his father that he signed the contract to race in F1 which, at the time, was not true. Sadly, Charles told his father this as he knew he would not survive to see it come to reality. However, this was not the final grief Charles or the entire Formula 1 family would have suffered as sadly, in 2019, Antoine Hubert lost his life in a crash in Spa during a Formula 2 Sprint Race. Hubert passed away on the same day of the accident and Leclerc went on to take his debut win the following day.
An emotional era for the Scudaria
I am sure you are wondering “Kieran, what does 2021 and Charles’ personal griefs have to do with Hamilton going to Ferrari?” Well, I am glad you asked! To circle back to the main point of this article, Formula 1 has not been easy for Leclerc or Hamilton. Performances, cars, emotional factors or just bad luck in general. While yes, this happens in general in F1, the loss of anyone, especially a relative or parent is something which can tug at your heartstrings so much. While Hamilton has both of his parents’ alive, he has had his fair share of emotional abuse while not directly at grief but in relation to racial comments which started since he was a young boy first getting into kart racing. While I, a white male, cannot begin to understand the emotional toll this could take on anyone, I do understand Charles’ pain of losing a relative. The emotional impact this can have on someone so close to you not knowing you’ve partnered with one of the best drivers ever seen in Formula 1 history truly makes this an emotional but inspirational era at the Maranello based team.
I cannot help but feel that this was written in the stars. A young, thriving driver who has been impacted by life’s punishment for love and a vetern of the sport who has had been to hell and back due to outside forces is one partnership which is willing to prove the critics wrong.
As Enzo Ferrari once said: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
