After a dramatic start to the 2025 Formula 1 season, the circus rolls-up in Shanghai for Round 2, and Motorsport Week discusses all the big talking points ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

After Round 1’s hugely eventful series of events, F1’s pre-season promise of 2025 being a year of constant excitement and drama seems to be coming true, and with China now days away, there seems to be little chance of this changing.

‘Mini-DRS’ loophole suspicions sees further FIA clampdowns

The ‘mini-DRS’ saga has continued to rumble on, despite the FIA imposing stricter measures on flexi-wings in the off-season.

Following further alarms being raised that some teams are continuing to benefit from the slots within the wings, the sport’s governing body has concluded that all 10 teams must prepare their rear wings to flex at a limit of 0.5mm, with a tolerance of 0.25mm added due to the short notice given.

McLaren has been the team that has previously benefitted the most from exploiting the apparent loophole since last year, which begs the question: will the Woking squad see its advantage reduced from this weekend onwards?

Lando Norris seems to disagree, who said, when asked about how the team is responding to the directives: “We don’t have to change anything. 

“Ours is fine. In fact, ours was probably too good.”

Can Piastri bounce back against Norris?

Oscar Piastri looked on course for at least a podium finish at his home Grand Prix, but on Lap 44, he squandered the opportunity with a spin that sent him to the back, recovering to finish in ninth.

Piastri’s strong 2024 showing has seen him afforded the same respect his more-established team-mate has been given in regards to his chances in 2025, but with Norris now carrying a 23-point advantage already, Piastri will need to bounce back immediately.

The Aussie has yet to appear in any way a shrinking violet, nor someone lacking any confidence in his own ability, so it is doubtful that he will be greatly affected by his Melbourne misdemeanour, which, in fairness, did claim many other drivers.

If McLaren are able to enjoy a pace advantage over its rivals, Piastri will be in a prime position to get his campaign back on track.

Was Ferrari’s Australia struggle an anomaly?

After appearing to be the second-fastest package upon arrival in Australia, and even during the free practice sessions, Ferrari’s promise seemed to fall off a cliff from qualifying onwards at Albert Park.

The race did not fare much better, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton labouring to eighth and 10th place respectively.

A Groundhog Day-style strategic shambles once again put paid to any chances of the team making any sort of recovery.

Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished in the points last year in Shanghai, and will hope to at least be able to overhaul Red Bull and get itself closer to McLaren.

Leclerc is doubtlessly more settled, and as long as he has the car with the pace to compete, he will do so, particularly over one lap, but Hamilton’s sluggish start may provide some cause for concern.

Despite downplaying his underwhelming weekend in Melbourne, Hamilton still needs to imbed himself into the team, given the disconnect between himself and new engineer Riccardo Adami that appeared to play out over team radio during the race.

Both drivers are of such a high standard that ought to be relied-upon to deliver if the car is fast, but the team as a whole will need to be on top of its game to kickstart its championship.

Were Ferrari’s and Haas’ problems intertwined?

Haas’ 2025 begun with optimism, given it had reached the cost cap for the first time and boasting a younger and exciting line-up of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman.

But once cars were out on track, the weekend was hugely depressing, and perhaps its worst since the tenure of Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal.

One of the significant issues the team suffered in Melbourne was with the balance of the car, particularly in the rear, the bulk of which is predominantly Ferrari-built.

Given that Ferrari had its own pace issues from qualifying, were both teams’ shared gearbox and diffuser package the cause of their respective issues?

Can the midfield create further shocks?

One of the stories of last weekend was the surprises caused by two of the midfield teams, particularly in qualifying.

Williams and Racing Bulls caused a sensation, with Yuki Tsunoda the highest-placed driver in fifth.

Alex Albon was sixth, with Carlos Sainz tenth, with the second Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar narrowly missing-out on Q3 in his first qualifying outing as an F1 driver.

And in the race, both teams mixed it with the ‘big boys’, with Albon finishing fifth, with Tsunoda driving exceptionally all race but a poor strategy cost him, leaving him out of the points.

Williams were already confident of being able to mix it in the middle of the pack, and certainly seemed to justify that confidence, and Racing Bulls’ pace was more of a surprise, given the inconclusive nature of its pace in pre-season testing.

If both teams can produce a similar result in China, it may be just a little more than a one-off.

READ MORE: Charles Leclerc: Ferrari’s unlocked 2025 potential not enough to rival McLaren yet

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Eddie Jordan, who has died aged 76, was one of the most charismatic, cheerful yet toughest Formula 1 team principals of his time. Motorsport Week takes a look back at his life and career.

It was Monza, 1991. Jordan’s eponymous F1 team was in its first season of competing in the world’s biggest motorsport. He arrived in Italy under a cloud of confusion and disappointment, as he fought to cling on to his new driver, one Michael Schumacher. The German had made his debut at the previous round in Belgium, and stunned everyone with a seventh-place qualifying result, and even reached fifth before retiring at the top of the hill after Eau Rouge on the first lap, but his rising star status was already rubber-stamped.

So much so, that Benetton boss Flavio Briatore made an audacious attempt to lure Schumacher to his team, and successfully did so. Legal wrangling ensued, and a furious Jordan was resigned to losing his new young talent via a legally complex yet sinister coup.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis smiled at Jordan, and proclaimed: “Welcome to the piranha club.”

The club in question was the name given to the pack of team bosses and F1’s supremo promoter, Bernie Ecclestone. It may have been rough, tough and dog-eat-dog, but Jordan, with his Irish background and strong personality, would have always been prepared for a fight.

From Dublin to Le Mans – Eddie Jordan’s beginnings in racing

Born in Dublin on March 30 1948, Jordan resisted his family’s suggestion of becoming a dentist, and after also briefly entertaining the idea of entering the priesthood and being a bank clerk, he chose an entirely different career path.

Irish Kart Champion at the first attempt in 1971, Jordan was in Formula Ford just three years later, and then Formula 3 a year after that, but a horrific leg-breaking accident at Mallory Park enforced a year’s sabbatical.

After stints in the Irish Formula Atlantic series and British Formula 3, Jordan even went as high as Formula 2 and tested a McLaren F1 car.

Alongside British driver David Hobbs and David O’Rourke – manager of rock band Pink Floyd – Jordan entered the 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours, driving a BMW M1, which agonisingly retired two hours from the end. By this time, Jordan was already a team owner and gave up racing himself to shift his full attention onto helping a new breed of drivers, many of whom would wind up in F1.

Tackling Senna en route to F1

Eddie Jordan Racing’s first chunk of notoriety perhaps came in 1983, when, whilst also running a European F3 team, his British F3 team was fighting at the front, with its driver Martin Brundle going toe-to-toe with a Brazilian upstart called Ayrton Senna.

In the 20-race championship, only one was won by a driver that was neither Senna nor Brundle, who duly went into the final round at Thruxton seeking the title. Senna dominated and won by 10 points, but the battle lived so long in the memory, that it surely helped secure Jordan’s team with a reputation as one of the ones to be part of.

Four years later, Jordan’s team did win the title via British sensation Johnny Herbert. Reputed to be one of the greatest talents of his era, Herbert and Jordan made their way up to Formula 3000 [now F2] – the premier feeder series to F1. With both men perhaps sensing the pinnacle of motor racing was around the corner, Herbert’s title dream came to a shuddering halt at Brands Hatch with a crash that left him with shattered feet, almost requiring amputation.

Whilst Herbert managed to work his way into F1 for the next year, Jordan remained in F3000. The team dominated the campaign and won the title thanks to its exciting French-Sicilian prospect, Jean Alesi. He too, like Herbert and his team-mate Martin Donnelly, was in F1 straightaway, but Jordan’s time of having his own team in the big-time was nearing ever closer.

Pre-qualifying, gassing cabbies and losing Schumacher – Jordan’s eventful first year

Jordan Grand Prix was launched in 1991, and, like all new and/or struggling teams at that time, arrived in Phoenix for Round 1 needing to ‘pre-qualify’, setting a time deemed fast enough to make it into regular qualifying for the race.

The car – the 191 – immediately made an impression with its green-and-blue livery, backed by a lead sponsor in soft drinks brand 7 Up, and is still today ranked in polls as one of the best-looking F1 cars of all time.

Belgian Bertrand Gachot and gaffe-prone Italian veteran Andrea de Cesaris were chosen for the task, and Gachot made it into the race on the tight, dusty street circuit, eventually finishing 10th. Whilst the team initially struggled for pace, Jordan did not need to wait long for points to come, and they did so in a pair, with de Cesaris and Gachot coming home fourth and fifth in the fifth round in Canada.

Perhaps its biggest challenge came before Gachot’s home race, when he was jailed for spraying CS gas in the face of a London taxi driver, earning him a short stint in prison. This was how Jordan unearthed the rising sportscar driver Schumacher and quickly lost him to Briatore. Ever the tough and uncompromising dealer looking to get a bargain, Jordan signed up Roberto Moreno, who was ousted by Schumacher in the Benetton team, effectively sealing a straight swap.

The team ended 1991 an astonishing fifth in the Constructors’ Championship with a haul of 12 points, placing it above longstanding teams such as Tyrrell, Lotus and Brabham.

The ’90s – Jordan become the rock n roll F1 team

1992 and ’93 were tough years for Eddie Jordan, regressing in terms of performance, and managing a meagre four points across both seasons.

1994, however, saw a second breakthrough, with the help of two drivers Jordan helped to bring through the ranks.

Rubens Barrichello, who made his debut the year before, and Eddie Irvine, who was promoted after a late cameo alongside him, were tasked with helping the team regain its momentum, with the help of Brian Hart’s V10 engines. At the second round – the Pacific Grand Prix – Barrichello took his, and the team’s, first podium, with third.

The next round saw Barrichello suffer a horrific accident at Imola, the first in the chain that claimed the lives of Roland Ratzenberger and his old adversary Senna. The team performed well over the year, with Barrichello nabbing a rain-assisted pole position at Spa.

1995 saw a similar vein of form, this time through Peugeot engines, with Barrichello and Irvine securing a double-podium in Canada, alongside winner Alesi, which made Jordan feel it was, in a sentimental way, a Jordan 1-2-3.

1996 saw Irvine jump ship to Ferrari, and Barrichello partnered with Brundle, reuniting with Jordan after 13 years. Another fifth place in the Constructors’ followed, with 1997 taking on a new look which became synonymous with the team.

Title sponsor Benson & Hedges enabled Jordan to unveil a yellow livery, also boasting a new line-up in rising stars Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher, and despite the pair clashing at Round 3 in Argentina, Schumacher took third, with Fisichella taking third and second in Canada and Belgium.

1998 brought a new set of twists and turns, replacing Benetton-bound Fisichella with 1996 World Champion Damon Hill. The team suffered a horrific start to the year, scoring no points until Round 9 at Silverstone via Schumacher, but then, a total 180 saw Jordan enjoy perhaps his greatest day.

Hill got off the board in Germany, and then Hungary, before the team arrived in Belgium for Round 13.

Qualifying third, Hill upset Jordan by refusing to partake in sponsorship commitments, telling him he needed to work into the night with the team to help secure a good result on race day, a decision that was, via some fortune, vindicated. In torrential Ardennes rain, a multi-car pileup at the start was avoided by both drivers, and Hill claimed the lead at Turn 1 on the restart but was quickly dispatched by Schumacher Sr’s charging Ferrari.

But, after ploughing into the back of David Coulthard’s McLaren, Schumacher was out and Hill was in the lead. Hill, aware that Ralf was catching him, told the team over the radio that a team order would guarantee a 1-2 finish.

Jordan quickly made the order, and together, the two cars skated across the line to take that one-two, with a jubilant Jordan almost skipping down the pit lane and onto the podium as a winning constructor for the first time.

Title challengers to selling out

Jordan signed Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 1999 and together, the German came as close as the team ever did to the championship. Had he not retired at the Nurburgring, Frentzen would have likely won the race, putting him a point within the top with just two rounds to go.

It never got as good for the team again after that, with Jordan firing Frentzen in mid-2001, and replacing him with Alesi, in another reunion between boss and driver.

Jordan’s final moment in the sun again came, ironically, in the rain, with Fisichella – now back at the team – taking a contentious victory in Brazil, which was eventually claimed through the FIA courts in Paris after a timekeeping error initially denied the Italian the win.

The team suffering financial strife, Jordan reluctantly sold the team to the Midland Group for $60 million, eventually becoming Midland F1 Racing. Midland made way for Spyker, Force India then Racing Point, and now, Aston Martin, still operating at Silverstone like Jordan did.

Jordan the man – drummer, media pundit, podcaster and the fountain of knowledge

Jordan became a TV pundit with the BBC in 2009, and quickly developed a reputation for being the man with the inside knowledge on all things F1.

He was the first to break the news that Schumacher would return to F1 with Mercedes for 2010, and told the world that Lewis Hamilton would replace him for 2013.

Always known as a man to have fun and with strings to his bow, Jordan had many extracurricular hobbies, such as playing the drums in various bands, and often playing with other driver musicians at a post-British Grand Prix concert at Silverstone.

In recent years, Jordan began his own podcast entitled Formula For Success, alongside fellow pundit Coulthard. Interviewing a plethora of drivers from their respective time in the sport, the show was often humourous and light-hearted in nature and grew a considerable following.

Known to be a man who knew how to secure a good deal, Jordan’s final crowning glory was his role in helping one of F1’s greatest technical gurus make a big money move. Jordan managed Adrian Newey in his negotiations to leave Red Bull and join Aston Martin, helping him secure a move to the team that operates on the same site on which Jordan Grand Prix opened its doors 34 years ago.

Jordan is survived by Marie, and their four children, Zoe, Miki, Zak and Kyle.

READ MORE: Tributes pour in following tragic passing of F1 legend Eddie Jordan

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Lando Norris has bemoaned the Netflix fly-on-the-wall Formula 1 series, Drive to Survive, saying the show’s depiction of his rivalry with Max Verstappen as “fabricated nonsense.”

The World Championship leader has called into question the way the show has depicted his 2024 title battle with the Dutchman, who went on to clinch his fourth successive Drivers’ crown.

In the second episode, Verstappen is portrayed as being significantly unhappy with losing the Miami Grand Prix to Norris, the Brit’s first-ever F1 win.

However, some of the footage used is taken from a moment at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, when Verstappen lost out on a home win to the McLaren driver.

Speaking ahead of his successful Australian Grand Prix, Norris said the show should take a more truthful tact.

“They need to show the truth about people more,” he said.

“I’m not a fan of fake stuff. I want facts. I don’t want made-up scripts and fabricated nonsense, which there is.

“The portrayal of Max, and how we were against each other so much, they don’t need to create that drama, just show the facts.

“It is almost lying in some ways, and I just don’t think that’s correct. They just jumble up the whole thing and they don’t care when they put it in.

“Maybe it needs to be more of a documentary of the season, more than a show like they’re trying to do. It has drifted too far away.”

Verstappen ‘ignores’ and Russell says he ‘doesn’t care’ how he’s portrayed by Netflix

Verstappen, an outspoken critic of the show, had previously mocked this particular moment in the series, and speaking to media including Motorsport Week in Melbourne, he stated that he tries his best to give it any of his attention.

“I’m not surprised, so… I didn’t watch it,” he said. “It’s just unfortunate you see these things pop up on X, but you just need to quickly ignore it so it doesn’t come up again in your feed.

“No, not blocked [Netflix], because they see that. If you ignore it, then no one knows.”

Fellow Brit George Russell, who completed the podium with Norris and Verstappen at Albert Park, appeared to echo Verstappen’s chosen ignorance of the show.

“I’ve got to be honest, I’ve not seen the episode in full … and I was fed back it was two extremes from the first half to the last half,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“But ultimately, I don’t really care how I’m portrayed there, I care about how I perform in the car and how I work with my team, to be honest.

“There’s always an agenda for the best storyline possible and that’s just the way of the world with these entertainment programmes, as I said I haven’t even seen it and it’s not something that concerns me.”

READ MORE: Lando Norris makes ominous vow to F1 rivals over McLaren’s 2025 potential

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McLaren CEO Zak Brown has predicted that reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen will decide to leave Red Bull to move to Mercedes for the 2026 campaign.

The Dutchman’s prospects have provided much speculation since tension behind the seats coincided with Red Bull sustaining a downturn in competitiveness in 2024.

With Lewis Hamilton signing with Ferrari, Verstappen’s name was bandied about as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s leading target to replace the seven-time F1 champion.

However, with Verstappen insisting that he would be remaining with Red Bull in 2025, Mercedes promoted Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the seat alongside George Russell.

Verstappen, though, has been linked with a possible move to Aston Martin, with reports claiming that a deal worth $1 billion could see him reunite with Adrian Newey.

But Brown, who has spearheaded McLaren’s renaissance to eclipse Red Bull as the benchmark in the sport, is convinced Verstappen will make a switch to Mercedes.

“Oh I think he’ll leave at the end of this year, most likely to Merc,” Brown told The Telegraph.

“There’s been talk of Aston Martin, too, with Adrian Newey joining.

“But as great as Adrian is – and he’s the greatest ever – you need a whole team around you. You need the culture. That takes time.

“If I was betting, I’d bet on Merc.”

Brown highlighted how the suspicion that Mercedes has an edge with work on the next-generation power units coming in 2026 could be enough to entice Verstappen.

“In the last 10 years, they’ve won the championship seven or eight times,” he pinpointed. “Last year they won five races. They have stability.

“We know Toto likes him.

“And I think we all feel HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] is best equipped on the power unit side heading into the new engine regulations next year.

“Plus, George is out of contract at the end of this season and Kimi will be on a series of one-years.”

Mercedes performance key to future Verstappen move?

The contractual situation of both Mercedes drivers could come into play, should Brown’s assertion that Verstappen is likely to join the team be correct.

Antonelli has kickstarted his F1 car in impressive fashion, overturning a lowly grid place at the season-opener in Melbourne to finishing in fourth, navigating his way through the tricky, changeable conditions to stay on the road and finish one place behind Russell, who completed the podium.

The Italian’s progress will be watched closely, and will be keen to repay the faith shown in him by Wolff, who chose him to fill the seismic gap left by Hamilton.

Russell has performed admirably in his time with the team, since joining from Williams in 2022.

In three seasons, the Kings Lynn man has finished above Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings twice, being the first team-mate of the seven-time champion to do so.

Depending on the competitiveness of the W16, Russell will be surely expected to return more wins this year.

An additional factor at play could be his relationship with Verstappen, which took a contentious turn last year at the Qatar Grand Prix, in which an alleged incident involving the stewards, who stripped him of pole position, left him saying he had “lost respect” for Russell, who then rebuked Verstappen’s attitude in media interviews after the event.

However, such speculation may be academic, as Wolff has said Verstappen was “not on any radar” for the team.

READ MORE – Max Verstappen ‘not on Mercedes radar’ as George Russell contract talks loom

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A number of Formula 1 teams have had their freight from Australia to China delayed, causing a knock-on effect in their respective preparations for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

It is known that at least four teams – McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Aston Martin – have been victims of the delays, caused by cargo flights from Melbourne to Shanghai being delayed by eight hours.

This meant that the teams in question took receipt of its freight late on Wednesday afternoon, thought to be around 4pm local time.

The FIA also confirmed that tyre manufacturer Pirelli also received its own freight late, but has now also arrived.

Given the nature of the problem, the sport’s governing body has also taken the decision to allow the teams affected to break its mandatory curfew for working on cars, giving them an extra period of time – thought to be 30 minutes – to work on their cars should they need it.

An unnamed team member told Motorsport.com: “There are no worries about free practice, but these days will be some late nights for our mechanics.

“The only free practice session of the sprint weekend starts at 11:30 local time, which means teams still had a day and a half to prepare for the opening session.”

The issue will take its toll on the respective teams’ personnel, who will have made a 10-hour flight from city-to-city and will now be working overtime to ensure cars are ready for FP1, with this weekend’s race also including the added stress of a Sprint Race being added to the schedule.

The Shanghai International Circuit is hosting a Sprint for the second time, having initially done so upon its long-awaited return to the F1 calendar last year, after a four-season-long hiatus due to the Covid pandemic.

READ MORE: F1 CEO hails Thailand’s ‘impressive plan’ to host race in Bangkok

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World Rally Championship drivers have doubled-down on their stance regarding the FIA’s rules on drivers swearing by refusing to answer questions in interviews.

The World Rally Drivers’ Alliance [WoRDA] has issued a statement ahead of this weekend’s Safari Rally Kenya, which says drivers will choose to either remain silent in any obligatory media duties, or answer questions in their respective language, rather than English.

This comes after a similar statement, penned three weeks ago, rebuking a €10,000 fine handed to Hyundai driver Adrien Fourmaux – €20,000 suspended – for swearing in a television interview at January’s Rally Sweden.

The Frenchman’s fine was the catalyst for WoRDA being established, and is, in effect, the WRC’s equivalent of Formula 1’s Grand Prix Drivers’ Association [GPDA], which has also been at loggerheads with the FIA and its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, regarding his directives which takes a similar no-tolerance approach to drivers’ language at race weekends.

It urged the sport’s governing body for a “mutually agreeable and urgent solution,” and with no apparent communication opened with WoRDA, the new WRC driver alliance has felt it necessary to promulgate a further explanation for its intended upcoming actions.

WoRDA statement in full

“We all agree to keep rudeness at the microphone to a minimum,” the statement read. “At the same time, it is necessary to maintain a certain freedom of expression and to keep emotions alive while drivers don’t need to be afraid of getting punished in any way. 

“We have asked the president of the FIA for some positive changes in the rules to help us achieve this goal.

“For the reasons explained in our statement, it is impossible for us to guarantee that we (drivers and co-drivers) will be able to follow these rules perfectly and systematically.

“This is why we – WoRDA members –  are now taking the responsible decision to remain silent at the end of the interviews or to answer in our mother tongue.In the own interest of our sport, such an action is unfortunately needed, and we apologize to all the rally fans, even though we know they support us in this.”

READ MORE – WRC news from Motorsport Week

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Formula 1 2025 arrived with the Australian Grand Prix hosting the season-opening race, bringing with it an indelible myriad of thrilling moments and incident – and all it needed for those to happen was a bit of rainfall.

After all the build-up, anticipation and speculation, the season, perhaps one of the most hotly-anticipated in years, got going at the Albert Park Circuit under a blanket of rain, heightening the tension, becoming a meteorological starting pistol for a race of high drama that comprised many winners and losers.

Lando Norris: 9

Qualified: P1, Race Result: P1

Norris picked up where he left off in 2024, with a win, and with pole position to boot.

There might be added pressure on the Briton this year, given that he is seemingly in the fastest car -this time from the start of the season – and in his seventh season in the sport, and many have questioned whether he will be able to cope with the pressure.

But in tricky conditions and circumstances, Norris managed it. Well, just.

Having had the measure of the field the whole race – the benchmark being team-mate Oscar Piastri – he and the fellow McLaren slid off the greasy surface on Lap 44 as rain became to descend once more.

But staying calm and composed, Norris rejoined, pitted for intermediates, retaking the lead when everyone else had come to the same conclusion that a change of rubber would be safer.

The late portion of the race would now see him being challenged by a familiar view in the mirrors – Max Verstappen – but in the end, Norris stayed the coolest man in Melbourne to kickstart the year in the more desired way, and hopefully for him, setting the tone to what might be a career-defining campaign.

The victory was latterly made more impressive by the revelation that he suffered floor damage in the midst of his excursion.

Oscar Piastri: 6

Qualified: P2, Race Result: P9

Piastri stayed in-touch with Norris for pretty much the whole race as he did he in qualifying, rectifying an early mistake on his first run to secure second, a fraction off Norris’ time.

At the start, Piastri lost out to Verstappen at Turn 2, but after regaining the position later and bearing down on Norris, he was ordered to hold station.

On Lap 44, following Norris off the road in sympathy, he wasn’t so lucky when it came to recovering, beaching himself in the wet grass.

Eventually working-out that reversing would be beneficial, Piastri extricated himself from the grass and back onto the track, his race now no more than a damage limitation job.

However, that particular task went well, picking-off a great deal of cars in-front of him, including a pass on Pierre Gasly and a daring move on Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.

On a different day, Piastri might have got himself onto the top step of the podium, but in a race where even some of the best drivers of many years made mistakes, he was caught-out by the elements, denying him not only a shot at a home win, but a more meaningful result.

Max Verstappen: 8.5

Qualified: P3, Race Result: P2

The reigning World Champion’s expectations have been lowered like a limbo pole this year, but writing off Max Verstappen is never a wise thing to do.

Qualifying third, albeit a three tenths off the McLarens’ pace, Verstappen, as per usual in this sort of weather, kept a calm head but on Lap 17, he made an uncharacteristic error into Turn 11.

He lost 14 seconds on the McLarens in the next 10 laps, but his bacon was saved by the arrival of the Safety Car, which gave him the opportunity to eradicate the gap.

After losing the obstacle Piastri was, he set about closing down on Norris, but in the end, he had to settle for second place, but after the glass-half-empty feeling the team had when coming into the race, it was a happy weekend for Verstappen to end-up on the podium.

Liam Lawson: 3

Qualified: P18 (Started from the pit lane), Race Result: DNF

In his first race for Red Bull, the Kiwi bemoaned his own lack of pace, and after missing FP3, it always felt he would be on the back foot in qualifying, particularly as he had never previously driven the Albert Park Circuit before the weekend.

After two mistakes on his push laps in Q1, he was eliminated, and after being opted to start in the pitlane, his race never really got going.

Given the unenviable position he was in during the race, his team chose to gamble and let him stay out on slicks when the rain returned on the infamous 44th lap, but it was quickly realised that this throw of the dice saw him land on a snake, rather than a ladder.

Into the wall at Turn 2, his race was done, but instead of the usual harsh critique from his Red Bull paymasters, Christian Horner defended Lawson’s race, saying his dry weather pace “was not too bad” and backed the “resilient” new team-mate to Verstappen to bounce back.

George Russell: 8.5

Qualified: P4, Race Result: P3

Whilst an uneventful, perhaps boring race might not always seem like a glowing review, Russell’s decision to take this tact was an intelligent one and saw him reap rewards with his best first-race result of his F1 career.

A good qualifying saw him as a potential cat amongst pigeons, Russell quickly determined that he would be faster over the course of the race than the Ferraris, and therefore opted to play it conservatively.

This approach served him well, as he found himself a benefactor in Piastri’s mistake and being able to largely make the finish un-pressured.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli: 8

Qualified: P16, Race Result: P4

Being a teenager and replacing one of the oldest drivers on the grid – who also happens to be one of the most successful ever – is a daunting task, particularly when you suffered in qualifying, and missing out on reaching the later stages, but it did not deter Antonelli.

The Italian was condemned to a lowly grid spot after floor damage caused by running over the kerbs, but come race day, he seemed to come of age.

Despite a spin in the race, he hauled his Mercedes up the order, an impressive feat in the dry, let alone the changeable weather that reality handed him during the race.

A late overtake on Alex Albon saw him finish fourth, though briefly relegated to fifth after a five-second time penalty which was later overturned.

Such an impressive debut will now give Antonelli a platform on which to build, proving he is worthy of the expectation placed about his shoulders.

Charles Leclerc: 6

Qualified: P7, Race Result: P8

The Monegasque sought to challenge McLaren having gone fastest in FP2, but come qualifying, optimism dissipated.

Qualifying a disappointing seventh, Leclerc managed to quickly get past Yuki Tsunoda and Albon, but any sense of brightness in Leclerc’s day went with the weather, as he was another spinning victim of the Lap 44 drizzle.

Not aided by another bungled Ferrari strategy decision, Leclerc pitted late which left him to leave Australia with eighth, having got past Gasly and new team-mate Lewis Hamilton late-on to claim two points.

Lewis Hamilton: 6

Qualified: P8, Qualified: P10

The most anticipated F1 driver move in years finally began, but not so much with a bang, but more the crackle of a cheap firework.

Unable to extract anymore pace out of the SF-25, Hamilton was forced to settle for eighth on the grid, and after being stuck behind Albon in the early stages, Hamilton would find himself, at one stage, running in the top three, but the strategic gamble, including a double-stacking with Leclerc, saw Hamilton come home in an underwhelming 10th for one point.

His downcast demeanour, so frequent in his final years at Mercedes, did not return however, and despite radio communications broadcast conveyed a sense of disconnect with his new engineer, Hamilton downplayed his weekend but recognised its still early-days in the union with his new team.

Alex Albon: 9

Qualified: P6, Race Result: P5

Albon had a weekend which helped early-season optimism that Williams are finally turning the corner from backmarkers to midfield contenders.

Qualifying fifth ahead of new team-mate Carlos Sainz, the Thai driver said the result was a vindication of such a prediction, and hopefully for the Grove squad, a sign of things to come.

Albon was able to hold-off Hamilton’s challenge for a big chunk of the race, and he, along with his team, profited from Ferrari’s strategy blunders, enabling him to score his best-ever result as a Williams driver.

Carlos Sainz: 4.5

Qualified: P10, Race Result: DNF

There would always be an inevitable sense of expectation on Sainz, having become Williams’ first race-winning driver on its roster for some time.

Running well in practice, Sainz was unable to match his team-mate in qualifying, but there was always room to improve for the race.

However, it all went horribly wrong very quickly.

Due to what the team put down to a spike in torque, Sainz dropped it at the exit of the final corner under the Safety Car before the end of Lap 1 to end his interest early.

Or so he thought, as his experience and insight became useful to the team later on.

Instead of ruminating on a less-than-desirable start to his Williams career, Sainz utilised his knowledge to help the team tweak its strategy which significantly boosted Albon’s race, providing a glimmer of something impressive to show for what was, on track, a disappointing first race.

Lance Stroll: 7.5

Qualified: P13, Race Result: P6

Lance Stroll has a really unenviable position in F1: a driver with a seat virtually guaranteed by the family connection to his team, and often making mistakes that often give the Canadian the aura of being a rookie, when in reality, it’s his ninth season in F1.

But Stroll can deliver in the wet, and amid all the chaos around him, he kept his head well.

Qualifying behind his team-mate Fernando Alonso, Stroll was able to be, for a change, the Aston Martin driver who showed experience under difficult circumstances, profiting from the mistakes of his partner and others to surely give the Silverstone-based squad a result it was not expecting at all.

Fernando Alonso: 4

Qualified: P12, Race Result: DNF

Alonso’s disposition across the whole weekend made the Sunday weather seem more sunny by comparison.

Aware time is not on his side with age, combined with what appears to be a car that is regressing from last year’s, and the year before.

Narrowly missing-out on Q3, Alonso could usually be counted-on to perform under adversity, but an unusual error at Turn 6 ended his afternoon, a particular shame for him as he had been running well with good pace on the intermediate tyres.

Nico Hulkenberg: 7

Qualified: P17, Race Result: P7

In one fell swoop, Hulkenberg managed to help Sauber surpass its 2024 points total in one race, the German returning to the Swiss outfit before it begins its transition into the works Audi team.

The veteran’s weekend did not get off to a good start, however, as he was out-qualified by rookie team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto, but a sensible race by him and his team saw him climb up the order, and finish ahead of the Ferraris and home favourite Piastri to begin his second stint with Sauber on perhaps the most positive note it could have hoped for.

Gabriel Bortoleto: 6

Qualified: P15, Race Result DNF

The reigning F2 champion began life as an F1 driver facing the wrath of Red Bull’s outspoken advisor Helmut Marko, who labelled the Brazilian as a “B driver”.

Undeterred, Bortoleto was able to out-qualify Hulkenberg, and ran well during the race, particularly given the tricky conditions in what was a hectic day’s running for a rookie, but was unable to make the finish after crashing at the exit of Turn 11.

A rear suspension problem caused the crash, taking the heat of Bortoleto’s more harsher critics.

Yuki Tsunoda: 9

Qualified: P5, Race Result: P12

Tsunoda must have flown out of Australia rueing what might have been due to a strategic error, but can be hugely proud of himself for a sterling performance all weekend.

Qualifying in fifth, 13 places ahead of Lawson – the man he surely considered his competition for that coveted Red Bull drive – the Japanese ran superbly all race.

He overtook Leclerc after switching for slicks, but like Leclerc, he suffered a similar fate of being left out for too long towards the end of the race when the rain returned, leaving him out of the points, no reward for his fine performance.

Racing Bulls accepted responsibility for the mistake, and will be hoping of giving him the same sort of car performance in China to ensure he will be battling in the points-scoring positions again.

Isack Hadjar: 3

Qualified: P11, Race Result: DNF

After the events of Sunday, it was hard to determined which was redder: a Ferrari, or Hadjar’s face, as an embarrassing moment on the formation lap ended his afternoon before it even began.

The weekend had started so well for the French rookie too, narrowly missing-out on Q3, but 11th was enough to get many people talking positively about the 2024 Formula 2 runner-up’s chances.

Come race day, the rain, coupled with the act of attempting to warm his tyres, Hadjar slid into the barrier on the exit of Turn 2, which left him with nothing to do but endure a walk of shame through the paddock, soothed by the comforting words of Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony, who consoled him.

Hadjar’s mental strength will now be tested between now and China, as scrutiny will surely continue for what was, quite literally, a rookie error.

Pierre Gasly: 6

Qualified: P9, Race Result: P11

Gasly is, perhaps for the first time in his career, a true team leader, with Alpine largely squared around him with Esteban Ocon now at Haas.

The French team was perhaps not quite as competitive as it hoped. With Williams naming it its midfield benchmark for 2025, Alpine were outdone in both qualifying and the race.

Qualifying ninth ahead of Sainz but behind Albon by two-tenths, Gasly did not have quite enough power under his right foot to keep himself in the top 10 during the race, labouring to an 11th-place finish behind Hamilton.

Jack Doohan: 3.5

Qualified: P14, Race Result: DNF

Whilst all F1 drivers, particularly rookies, enter a season with the spotlight under them, it’s fair to say Doohan is perhaps the one with the most eyes watching him.

As what must feel like a million different magnifying glasses inspecting his every turn of the wheel, Doohan must have also felt the presence of Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto, widely-speculated to be waiting in the wings to replace the Australian, hanging over him like a cloud as dark as the ones in the Melbourne sky.

The weekend got off to a positive start, qualifying in 14th and showing a decent amount of pace, and could count himself unlucky not to make it into Q3, after losing the use of DRS on his final run after Hamilton spun ahead of him.

Before that, his day’s running had seen him largely on-par with Gasly in terms of his times.

But under all those watching eyes, the dream of racing in-front of his home fans quickly turned into a nightmare, as he would, like Sainz, not complete a lap, clouting the barrier at Turn 6.

Whilst Hadjar’s critics might forgive him for his mistake, Doohan must now endure a more torrid week of forensic analysis, Colapinto continues to lurk in the shadows, waiting to pounce.

Oliver Bearman: 3

Qualified: P20 (Started from the pit lane), Race Result: P14

An early crash in FP1 set the tone for a depressing weekend for Bearman and Haas, the young Brit completing less than 14 laps by the time of qualifying.

A gearbox issue further compounded his misery, and in the race, he would spin at Turn 12, but was able to make it to the end, along with his team-mate, banking necessary and useful mileage for the American squad.

Esteban Ocon: 5

Qualified: P14, Race Result: P13

In what was, essentially, an extended test session for Haas, Ocon was the slowest driver to set a lap time in qualifying, no doubt a painful experience as he would see former employers Alpine jostling for top 10 finishes.

In the race, he was able to assert some inter-team dominance, being able to finish around seven seconds up the road from Bearman, the pair keeping everything crossed for an improvement with the aid of its technical partners Ferrari and Toyota soon.

READ MORE – Lando Norris survives late drama to win F1 Australian GP

The post Motorsport Week’s F1 2025 Australian GP Driver Ratings appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The first Formula 2 Feature Race of 2025 was cancelled after significant rainfall in Melbourne prevented any action to take place.

ART’s Victor Martins was hopeful of kickstarting the F2 season having landed pole position on Friday, but the elements took over.

With the prior Formula 3 Feature Race having been brought to an early conclusion due to the conditions, it seemed unlikely that any racing would take place.

The first delay was initially thought to be caused by Richard Verschoor’s MP Motorsport having a technical issue, but a few minutes later, the formation lap began.

However, the next delay would be announced by race control before the Safety Car had brought the field round.

The next formation lap began over half-an-hour later, with the laps now turning into ‘time remaining’, 16 minutes to be precise.

But with Verschoor’s team-mate Oliver Goethe spinning midway through the formation lap, it seemed that the race would be curtailed again.

It was, and race control was to then quickly announce the cancellation of the race, with the rain continuing to fall and time now rapidly running out.

With no points being given, F2 will arrive in Bahrain next month with Joshua Duerksen championship leader after his Sprint Race victory on Saturday, with last year’s F3 title-winner Leonardo Fornaroli second and Britain’s Luke Browning third.

READ MORE – Rafael Camara takes Melbourne F3 Feature Race win in tricky conditions

The post Heavy rainfall sees Melbourne F2 Feature Race cancelled appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Santiago Ramos won the opening Formula 3 race of 2025, in an incident-packed race which ended under the Safety Car.

The Van Amersfoort Racing driver led from pole position and held off the challenge of Hitech’s Martinius Stenshorne to claim victory, as a frantic battle for victory truncated by the Safety Car appearing after a shunt between Javiar Sagrera and Bruno Del Pinto.

Rodin’s Roman Bilinski took third in his first-ever F3 race, with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak fourth for Campos.

Magias Zagazeta fifth in his DAMS Lucas Oil, with AIX’s Nikita Bedrin sixth, followed by Ramos’ team-mate Theophile Nael in seventh.

Nikola Tsolov was eighth, with Britain’s Callum Voisin ninth, and Noel Leon 10th.

How the first F3 race of 2025 unfolded

At lights out, Ramos held on to his lead despite Zagazeta’s fast start. At Turn 2, Bilinski got up to third, as Charlie Wurz found himself in problems, and off onto the grass into Turn 5, the Austrian having touched Tim Tramnitz and coming off worse and immediately parking on the run off.

As Ramos opened-up a big gap already, a bottleneck appeared on the exit of Turn 13, with Stenshorne having moving from fifth to first in two corners, with Inthraphuvasak outbreaking himself. Behind, Josh Dufek and Louis Sharp touched, sending both men in for repairs.

A virtual safety car was signalled and after going green a lap later, there would be further chaos at the same corner to trigger a full Safety Car this time around.

James Wharton appeared to enter the corner a bit too deep, and in turn, touched Rafael Camara and Laurens Van Hoepen, the latter two out on the spot, with Wharton able to return to the pits but would go no further.

As Dufek was given a time penalty for his role in the incident with Sharp, Tramnitz seemed to be out, crawling to a halt in his MP Motorsport on the pit entrance, but then got going again, drove through the pit lane and back onto the circuit, but now in last.

With the race now in the eighth lap and still under the Safety Car, Tramnitz’s problems finally appeared to condemn him to retirement, coasting around and managing to bring his stricken car back to the pits.

The Safety Car would return to the pits at the start of Lap 9, and Ramos timed his restart perfectly, opening a half-second lead into the lap, with Bedrin and Nael jostling for sixth, giving the top five a chance to pull ahead.

Noel Leon made his way into the top 10, as Ugo Ugochukwu, who had started fifth, finding himself struggling to gain any momentum, as he would slip down the pecking order to 13th, having dropped five places on the first lap alone.

Now at half-distance, Ramos was now ahead by nearly a second, but with DRS now open, Stenshorne’s Hitech was suddenly all over the back of the Ramos’ Van Amersfoort, but the Mexican would keep himself ahead.

The top five were well clear of the rest, with Inthraphuvasak, Zagazeta and Bilinski keeping tabs on the Ramos-Stenshorne battle.

Lap 13, and Ramos was beginning to feel the heat from Stenshorne, going deep into T13 as he defended, but just stayed ahead of the Norwegian and continued to do so even when he tried to sell a dummy into T3 on the next lap.

Inthraphuvasak took Zagazeta for fourth, as the status quo remained at the front, but Bilinski was now the only one of the rest of the top five to keep himself close to Ramos and Stenshorne, and was beginning to sniff at victory himself.

Just as the rhythm seemed to be unerring, the Safety Car was back out, as two Spaniards in the shape of Sagrera and Del Pinto coming together, the former’s AIX in the gravel at T6, and the latter’s MP nose-first in the barrier, the pair seemingly having tangled into the braking zone.

The Safety Car’s appearance was welcome news for Ramos, as gravel strewn over the track at the exit of T7 needing to be cleared by marshals, frantically sweeping it back into the run-off area.

With the Safety Car’s lights staying on at the end of Lap 19, it meant that the final lap was now going to be run under it, ensuring Ramos would take the win in the first F3 action of the year.

The top of the grid will now be reverted back to the fastest time taking pole for the feature, with Rafael Camara starting from first.

READ MORE – Rafael Camara takes maiden F3 pole position for season opener in Australia

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As Formula 1 2025 draws ever closer, speculation will end and racing will begin, and the words of the great Murray Walker spring to mind: “You can cut the atmosphere with a cricket stump.”

Motorsport Week discusses what promises to be five big topics with ‘lights out’ just three days away.

For the first time since 2019, the Albert Park Circuit is playing host to the first round, which it has done on several occasions since making its first appearance on the calendar in 1996.

In doing so, it has made it a location known for giving drivers, teams and fans the chance to finally see who is where and an indication of how the campaign will play out.

With this season promising to be one the closest for a long time, this is most certainly not an exception.

Will McLaren deliver on pre-season promise?

From the Miami Grand Prix onwards last year, McLaren picked up the baton of momentum and carried it all the way through to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, claiming its first Constructors’ Championship in 26 years.

Max Verstappen’s early season dominance condemned the Woking squad’s drivers – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – to being empty-handed, but the Brit and the Australian are seemingly in a prime position to being a first-time Drivers’ Champion this time around.

The label of ‘favourites’ comes with the responsibility of carrying it through, and McLaren’s projected race pace in pre-season testing in Bahrain seems to give it a good chance of also carrying its momentum and trajectory from last year into this.

Its potential Achilles’ heel is the fact that, whilst both men took four and two wins respectively last year, this could be their first firm chance of battling for a championship.

Norris fluffed his lines on occasion last year when he was in a position to chip away at Verstappen’s lead, and the lack of experience of fighting at the very front regularly could come in to play.

Waiting in the wings are potentially Verstappen and Red Bull – should the team be able to find more pace – and Ferrari, who are boasting the most experienced driver when it comes to fighting for titles in Lewis Hamilton.

If the team and drivers use the early rounds as an audition and pass the screen test with wins, then the sky’s the limit, and will turn from blue to papaya.

Hamilton’s long-awaited Ferrari F1 debut

It’s been over a year since we learned that one of the most successful and decorated F1 drivers of all-time was pairing up with a team dripping in the same level of prestige.

We’ve had a Godfather-style pose at Fiorano, Italian lessons and now a tech-aided cameo in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but it’s finally here: Lewis Hamilton’s debut for Ferrari.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, the demeanour Hamilton is exuding now compared to that of his post-2021 Mercedes era is a far different one.

No glumness, no self-effacing comments of being “not fast anymore,” and with right-hand-woman Angela Cullen back at his side, Hamilton appears happy and content, and above all, conveying the excitement of a child on Christmas morning.

One could speculate that he is aware that the SF-25 may be capable of delivering him wins on a more regular basis again, or that purely, a fresh challenge is just the tonic he needs to reinvigorate him, a word he used at the F1 75 launch a month ago.

How will the F1 rookie quintet fare?

For the first time in F1 history, the first race of 2024 boasted the exact same grid as that which ended the 2023 season.

But 2025 brings about a vibe of a university freshers’ week, with five rookies lining up on the grid, either for the first time ever, or as a now-permanent driver.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli takes Hamilton’s seat at Mercedes, with his 2022 Formula 2 team-mate Oliver Bearman taking a spot at Haas, having impressed for the American outfit and Ferrari in outings last year.

The man who left them all trailing in F2 last year, Gabriel Bortoleto, joins Sauber, with the series runner-up Isack Hadjar being given the vacant seat at Racing Bulls alongside Yuki Tsunoda.

And lastly, but by no means least, the man who is perhaps the one with the biggest microscope placed over him – Jack Doohan, who has been left to constantly waft away speculation about the future of his time at Alpine like a man frantically shooing wasps at a picnic.

The son of motorcycle racing legend Mick, Doohan will hopefully be able to channel his partisan crowd in Melbourne to give him a much-needed boost to show the team’s ruthless executive director, Flavio Briatore, that he is worthy of the seat, with Franco Colapinto lurking in his shadow.

If the Mercedes machine can propel George Russell back to the front of the grid again, Antonelli’s raw speed could see him through, especially under the watchful eyes of Toto Wolff and reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, who will both be guiding him.

If Sauber can make its final year before transitioning to Audi a good one, then Bortoleto will surely be able to give his veteran team-mate Nico Hulkenberg a run for his money.

Bearman has already shown his fellow drivers what he is capable of, having scored points in his debut race last year, stepping-in for Carlos Sainz in Jeddah, and following it up with another top-10 finish in Baku for his new team.

Is Lawson the answer to Red Bull’s second driver conundrum?

Early indications point towards this F1 season being difficult for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen seemingly needing to use every ounce of strength to keep his fingers tightly gripping hold of his Drivers’ Championship.

This year, he has a new team-mate, his fifth overall as a Red Bull driver, in the shape of Kiwi Liam Lawson.

Having impressed in his outings for Racing Bulls in 2023 and stepping back into the team last year after the unceremonious dumping of Daniel Ricciardo, Lawson has been deemed to have the minerals to be the man who lines up alongside the Dutchman.

Ricciardo was the first partner to fall in prior to 2019, with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon following out of the door next. Stability seemed to arrive in the form of Sergio Perez in 2021, who played the perfect foil to Verstappen, right up until last year.

As the RB20 began to become less bulletproof, Perez’s form fell off a cliff, and after months of speculation, he was also out, with Lawson seemingly waiting in the wings from the moment he passed Ricciardo in the corridors.

Lawson has already stated that the team will design its challengers to cater to Verstappen’s own driving style, and if he is to succeed, he will need to adopt it and quickly, otherwise, he will begin to feel Christian Horner and Helmut Marko breathing down his neck.

Was Williams’ testing pace genuine?

There appears to be an air of excitement around Williams this year, perhaps the most it has had since the days of its eponymous founder and leader, Sir Frank, was present in the garage.

With James Vowels’ reputation as an F1 Team Principal growing all the time, and with Carlos Sainz now joining to partner Albon, its apparent pace in Bahrain is giving more reason to be confident.

Many speculated that what the team showed over the three days of pre-season running could make them able to even be able to keep Red Bull in sight, but having only recently seen one of its cars nearby when a blue flag is shown to let it lap them, it might be an over-confident prediction.

However, both drivers have experience and talent, and with the stability Vowels has brought to the outfit in the post-Williams family ownership, 2025 might be the year it starts to make headway towards where many feel it belongs – at the front of the grid.

READ MORE – Get to know the five F1 rookies ahead of the Australian GP

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