The 2025 F1 season so far
30 April 2025The Formula 1 season roared into life six short weeks ago, and we’ve already seen five thrilling chapters of the 2025 campaign during that time.
There have been impressive performances from this year’s rookie contingent, controversial rulings by the stewards and the development of a scintillating title battle in prospect.
First blood may have gone the way of Lando Norris, but Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri have each thrown their hats in the ring, with the Australian announcing himself as a bona fide title contender having won three of the last four Grand Prix.
George Russell has kept himself and Mercedes within touching distance of the top three with unwavering consistency, while his former team-mate Lewis Hamilton has found his start to life with Ferrari more of a challenge than he would’ve liked, barring that spectacular Sprint victory in China.
Less than a quarter of the way through its 24-event calendar, the 2025 season has already churned up plenty of storylines to sink your teeth into…
Norris on top down under
The season opener in Melbourne came to be defined by its challenging conditions, catching several of the fresh-faced rookie drivers out early on.
Lando Norris was unphazed, though. In typically British fashion, he mastered the rain to secure a commanding victory, confirming McLaren's reputation as title favourites after all the noise around the team during pre-season testing.
Team-mate Oscar Piastri didn’t get off to as ominous a start having faltered at Albert Park. On home turf, the Aussie driver finished ninth after a late-race spin that broke thousands of hearts in the packed grandstands.
Reigning champion Max Verstappen made it known he wasn’t giving up his crown without a fight, chasing the papaya car all the way to the line to finish second.
The ever-present George Russell, meanwhile, completed the podium with rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli not far behind in fourth, kicking off Mercedes’ campaign with a solid haul of points.
Piastri bounces back
After Piastri became the latest Australian to be afflicted by the home race curse, Shanghai was always going to be a pivotal race.
If he showed he could compete with the likes of Lando and Max, he could be in with a shout of winning the title in 2025, and compete with them he did. A truly commanding victory from the 24-year-old was unmistakably a statement of intent for the rest of the season.
The pre-season title favourites, meanwhile, endured challenging weekends in China. Norris recovered from an abandoned final run in Qualifying and a long brake pedal late on to finish second.
Red Bull and Verstappen struggled for ultimate pace throughout the weekend – despite a front row start in the Sprint – and could only manage a distant fourth in the Grand Prix.
Russell once again rounded out the podium in third, making Mercedes’ lurking presence very much known once again.
There was a flash of the old Hamilton brilliance in the Shanghai Sprint, where he launched from pole and controlled the race to take his first victory in red, but a lack of pace followed by disqualification in the Grand Prix compounded his early season Ferrari woes.
Max makes the difference
On-track overtakes at Suzuka may have been at a premium, but Max Verstappen’s dominant victory in the land of the rising sun went a long way to reaffirming his position as a very real threat to the McLarens.
The top three were separated by just over two seconds at the flag, with the papaya cars following the Dutchman home in formation.
Norris was second and Piastri a disgruntled third – he felt he had the pace to challenge Max up front but team orders weren’t put into effect.
Charles Leclerc took Ferrari’s biggest points haul of the season to date with a distant fourth, some 16 seconds off the lead highlighting that there was still work to be done at Maranello.
Oscar hits his stride
Piastri got back to winning ways under the lights in Sakhir for the season’s first night race. Taking pole, fastest lap and the race win by 15 seconds, Bahrain proved to be the Australian’s most dominant victory to date.
It was another less-than-perfect event for Norris though, who faltered in Qualifying to line up sixth before earning himself a five-second penalty for being out of position on the grid. Nevertheless, the Brit recovered to finish on the podium, just behind compatriot and ‘Mr. Consistent’, George Russell.
Further back, Verstappen’s championship took its first major blow as he finished sixth, only snatching the position from Pierre Gasly in the Alpine on the final tour.
Corniche Circuit controversy
In Jeddah, Piastri sealed another emphatic victory – his third of the season. It wasn’t without drama, though.
The Australian and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel in a predictable Turn 1 tussle. As expected, the latter refused to concede ground, but neither did Oscar and Max earned himself a penalty for maintaining position off track. That ultimately resigned him to second come the end of the race.
There was another glimmer of hope for the Tifosi as Charles Leclerc hustled his Ferrari to the team’s first Grand Prix podium of the year, although team-mate Hamilton still struggled to attune himself to the nuances of his new machinery, finishing in seventh.
What’s still to come?
With 19 races left to run, there’s still plenty of twists and turns ahead in the 2025 season.
If the unpredictable 2024 season was anything to go by, one raft of updates could see Mercedes or Ferrari jump to the top of the pile and turn the championship picture on its head.
For now, though, it looks set to be a battle between Piastri, Norris and Verstappen.
McLaren certainly seems to have the faster package right now, so the Dutchman will have to keep getting his elbows out if he’s to stay in the running.
One thing is for sure, he won’t be going down without a fight, and with races like Miami, Austria and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on the horizon, that’s sure to generate some dramatic and historic moments.
