Tag Archives: Alexander Albon

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Vintage Verstappen dominates at Monza; McLaren engineer Norris-Piastri to secure P2 & P3; Leclerc P4, Hamilton P6 in difficult weekend for Ferrari at home race

For one race weekend in the countryside of Northern Italy on the occasion of Round 16 of the Formula 1 World Championship and the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, it seemed just like old times for four-time champ Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team. Imperious on Saturday in setting the Monza lap-record en route to pole, Verstappen survived an early lap kerfuffle with McLaren rival Lando Norris in the Grand Prix that saw the Dutchman have to give up the lead after forcing Norris off track at the very start of the race. But mighty Max would not be denied this Sunday and he forcefully took the position back on Lap 4 with a perfectly gauged late-braking maneuver steaming into the first chicane. And despite being so early in the course of this 53-lap contest, once Verstappen regained the lead, it was lights out for any other aspirant on the day. In a vintage performance by Verstappen and in a Red Bull that more closely resembled the fearsome rocket that dominated the sport just a few years ago, Verstappen ran away from both McLarens with apparent ease, intuited that their overcut gamble would not thwart his pursuit of victory when he pitted some ten laps earlier than the Papaya duo eventually would, and then easily maintained his lead when Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri did finally come in for fresh rubber on Lap 46. And while McLaren denied to run that long first stint purposely to try and get an advantage by running their final short stint on Soft Pirellis in opposition to Verstappen’s older Lap 37 switch to Hards, it didn’t really work out and Verstappen headed the McLaren duo by a whopping 19.2 seconds when the checkers flew. It was Verstappen’s first victory since the other Grand Prix in Italy this year, Emilia-Romagna, way back in Round 7. Now, whether he and Red Bull can replicate this Monza resurgence at the very different animal that is Azerbaijan in a fortnight remains to be seen. But for one race weekend, at least, the Dutch king and his court were back in action.

McLaren, meanwhile, had a bit of a kissing your sister kind of experience here at Monza. Already surprised at their usually superior pace being bettered easily by Verstappen’s Red Bull, the team’s braintrust found themselves at pains to keep everything civil between their two gentlemanly pilots, Norris and Piastri. While their gamble to run a long first stint on Mediums and then make the late switch to Softs was a sound one in the face of Verstappen’s dominance and their own cushion to the runners behind them, things got complicated when they finally did call their drivers in. Running in third behind his teammate, Piastri was first in for service, with Norris being assured that despite staying out an extra lap, Piastri would play the team game and not fight it out via the undercut when they reemerged on track. But Norris’s stop was painfully slow with a sticky front left tire change costing him about four extra seconds stationary compared to his teammate and championship rival. So, Norris now emerged behind Piastri in P3 after all that time spent on pit lane. The team quickly ordered Piastri to swap back since the loss of position was no fault of Norris’s and they had all been down this road together in Hungary last year. With only the mildest grudging hesitation, Piastri ceded P2 back to Norris cleanly. Despite being told he was free to race after that, the young Aussie points-leader could never find the pace to really execute any sort of overtake in the final few laps of this fast moving race. With a lot of extra championship points in hand after Norris’s unfortunate mechanical DNF in Zadvoort last Sunday, Piastri could well afford to spot Norris three here at Monza.

Charles Leclerc was the best placed Ferrari in P4, the Prancing Horses never really in contention for a podium this year with that eventual lightning fast top three in front of them. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton did manage a very solid effort to work his way up from a penalty-induced tenth place start on the grid to P6 at the finish, but it was hardly a weekend to remember for the Scuderia or the hoards of loyal tifosi in the stands. Mercedes’ George Russell split the Ferraris in P6, while rookie Silver Arrows teammate got a confidence boosting result with a solid if unspectacular P9. Alexander Albon had an excellent drive for Williams to come home P7, while Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto continued his upward trajectory with a P8 finish. And Racing Bulls Isack Hadjar, yet another impressive rookie from this year’s bumper crop, had another superlative drive a week after his first podium in the Netherlands, willing himself from a pit lane start all the way into a points-paying P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Italian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

53

1:13:24.325

25

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

53

+19.207s

18

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

53

+21.351s

15

4

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

53

+25.624s

12

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

53

+32.881s

10

6

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

53

+37.449s

8

7

23

Alexander Albon

Williams

53

+50.537s

6

8

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick SGabrielauber

53

+58.484s

4

9

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

53

+59.762s

2

10

6

Isack Hadjar

  

Racing Bulls

53

+63.891s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two week’s time at the very entertaining Baku City Street Circuit in Azerbaijan. A horse of a very different color than flat-out Monza, it will be interesting to see if Verstappen and Red Bull can keep their Italian mojo working there or if it will be a return to McLaren’s mostly dominant form this season. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands — Results & aftermath

Piastri prevails at Zandvoort as Norris’s championship dreams take hit with late race mechanical DNF; Verstappen inherits P2; Rookie Hadjar earns first podium with spectacular drive ahead of Russell; Ferrari suffer zero-points double retirement

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Top 10 finishers of the Dutch GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

72

1:38:29.849

25

2

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

72

+1.271s

18

3

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls

72

+3.233s

15

4

63

George Russell

Mercedes

72

+5.654s

12

5

23

Alexander Albon

Williams

72

+6.327s

10

6

87

Oliver Bearman

Haas

72

+9.044s

8

7

18

Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

72

+9.497s

6

8

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

72

+11.709s

4

9

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing

72

+13.597s

2

10

31

Esteban Ocon

Haas

72

+14.063s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time, as the F1 circus visits the Temple of Speed in Monza, Italy. Piastri will be seeking to extend his advantage while Norris will be desperate to get back in the game and secure a solid result. And Ferrari will be looking for redemption after their miserable Dutch weekend on their home turf and in front of of the rabid tifosi. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Results & aftermath

Piastri gets the better of Norris early in delayed wet-to-dry race as McLaren finish 1-2 again; Leclerc holds off Verstappen for P3

The legendary Spa-Francorchamps Circuit nestled into the Ardennes Forest lived up to its unpredictable nature on this Belgian Grand Prix Sunday, as heavy rains blanketed the entirety of the long, 7 kilometer track, delaying the start of the Formula 1 race by some eighty minutes. But while it looked for a while like we might be on for a repeat of the aborted 2021 race here, the weather eventually cleared enough to get the Grand Prix underway, albeit behind the Safety Car after a lengthy Red Flag period waiting for the precipitation to let up and track conditions, especially visibility, to improve. With the Safety Car coming into the pits on Lap 5 of this 44-lap contest, it didn’t take long for the decisive move to unfold. As the pole-sitting McLaren of Lando Norris attempted to speed away at La Source, his points-leading teammate Oscar Piastri tucked in behind him and used the slipstream to beautiful effect while heading up Eau Rouge, executing a nifty and authoritative pass steaming into the Kemmel Straight. Piastri then skipped away from the now second place Norris to the tune of a full second by the end of the first racing lap.

But with the track now drying out amidst the unusually warm summer weather here, the next inflection point was just when to duck into the pits to get off the rapidly wearing Intermediate Pirellis and onto slick tires. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, having very little to lose after starting form the pits due to a track limits deletion in Q1 on Saturday and the Scuderia’s decision to change the car set up after that, was the first to make the leap, coming in for Medium tires. That started the dominoes tumbling, as Piastri followed in a lap later for the same tire change, as did most of the rest of the field, but Norris stayed out, along with only Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon and Isack Hadjar. When he did come into the pits a lap later, his pit wall made the audacious decision to switch him to the Hard tire in hopes of making it to the end of the race on those tires while, they hoped, others would be forced to pit off the slightly moire fragile Mediums, which the rest of the field had chosen.

But it didn’t really work out for Norris, as Piastri proved a master at nursing his tires to the end, while also benefitting from running in clear air at the front. While Norris pushed hard until the bitter end and got within 4-seconds of his teammate, it seemed to be his Hards that lost their performance first and the young Briton had a handful of slight moments in the latter two-thirds of the tilt that saw him slide off track momentarily and lose whatever time he had previously gained. Piastri took the checkered flag the victor, with Norris relegated to P2 essentially from the very first action of the race. It was sweet payback for Piastri after the Aussie pilot felt hard done by a penalty in the last race at Silverstone that cost him the win, and it ended the resurgent Norris’s winning streak at two. Clearly, these two drivers have the best cars on the grid on any given weekend so, it will almost certainly come down to a two-man, intra-team battle between these exceptionally talented young Formula 1 stars for the Drivers’ Championship, even as McLaren are now running away with the Constructors’.

While it was always a going to be some combination of Piastri-Norris for the top two positions today, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the best of the rest, holding off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Saturday’s Sprint winner, to claim P3 and a step on the podium. Leclerc’s stablemate Hamilton put in a brilliant recovery drive, coming all the way from that pit lane start up to P7. Mercedes’ George Russell had a bit of lonely race but still scored valuable points for the Silver Arrows in P5 on a day where rookie Kimi Antonelli continued to falter and finished well down in P16. Williams Alexander Albon was able to stave off Hamilton’s best efforts en route to an impressive P6, and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson continued his rebound from a tough start with Red Bull and eventual demotion, taking a valuable and confidence boosting P8. Fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto continued to impress by coming home in P9 for the much improved Kick Sauber outfit and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly held off a host of midfield pretenders to take the final point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Belgian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

44

1:25:22.601

25

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

44

+3.415s

18

3

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

44

+20.185s

15

4

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

44

+21.731s

12

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

44

+34.863s

10

6

23

Alexander Albon

Williams

44

+39.926s

8

7

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

44

+40.679s

6

8

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

44

+52.033s

4

9

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick Sauber

44

+56.434s

2

10

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

44

+72.714s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time, the Hungarian Grand Prix from Budapest, which is also the last contest before the traditional summer recess. While McLaren certainly seem have the pace on all the other contenders, the Hungaroring is a very different beast than Spa. Hope to see you then to find out whether it’s another internecine fight for the win between Piastri and Norris or if another team and driver can spoil McLaren’s summer holiday!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain — Results & aftermath

Norris prevails to take victory at Silverstone after painful Piastri penalty; Hulkenberg earns first podium after 239 starts in chaotic, rain-affected race

In a thrilling and chaotic British Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lando Norris kept it clean and composed to take victory ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri, who dominated the early part of the contest but made a pivotal mistake behind the Safety Car that led to a race-altering 10-second penalty. With heavy rains falling on Silverstone before the race start and more predicted for early in the GP, the field started the Formation Lap on Intermediate wet weather tires on a damp circuit. But Mercedes’ George Russell, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Haas’s Oliver Bearman, Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoletto and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar all dove to the pits to gamble on slick tires rather than line up on the grid despite the still quite wet final third of the circuit. With Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leading away from the pole, followed by Piastri in P2 and Norris just behind in P3, it didn’t take long for the first incident on a day full of them. The second Racing Bul of Liam Lawson tangled with Haas’s Esteban Ocon, sending the Aussie spinning off track and out of the race. A Virtual Safety Car was quickly deployed, and Mercedes also brought Kimi Antonelli in for a set of Hard Pirellis, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also pitting to take Softs. But for some it was too soon for that maneuver, as even the slick-clad Bortoleto spun out into the gravel once the VSC ended on Lap 4, prompting another VSC just two laps later when his car stalled on track. Stroll pitted again for fresh Softs before the VSC ended during Lap 7, a key move for the Aston man that left teammate Fernando Alosno wondering why his side of the garage hadn’t executed the same tactic on the rapidly drying track.

 

;

No sooner did racing resume but the rain started to fall in earnest, with Antonelli diving to the pits on Lap 10 to get back on Inters and teammate Russell, Ferrari’s Leclerc and Stroll yet again, having made the most of his Softs to gain valuable track position, following for the same swap a lap later. Verstappen stayed out on his aging set of Inters, however, and promptly ran wide coming out of Chapel, allowing Norris to briefly take P2, with teammate Piastri diving in for fresh Inters. Norris and Verstappen followed Piastri in, with a slow stop by McLaren costing Norris the position and a clean one by Red Bull getting Verstappen out in P3, while Piastri had assumed the lead ahead of the yet-to-pit Williams of Alex Albon. With the rain really chucking it down and visibility terrible by Lap 13 of this 52-lap contest, a full Safety Car was deployed a lap later for the wellbeing of the drivers until the deluge could subside. The SC ended on Lap 17, and Piastri restarted ahead of Verstappen, Norris in P3, Stroll amazingly in P4 and Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg suddenly in P5 after an early stop for fresh Inters on Lap 9 paid off handsomely for the German veteran in then increasingly wet conditions thereafter. But a lap later there was yet another Safety Car deployed for the recovery of the crashed Racing Bull of Hadjar at Copse, having run into the back of Antonelli’s Silver Arrow in the blinding spray. While Antonelli came to the pits again for fresh Inters, the rear diffuser of his Mercedes was badly damaged and he would be forced to retire a few laps later.

With the Safety Car coming in on Lap 21, Piastri made the crucial error in judgment that destroyed his race. While controlling the restart from the front, the young Aussie braked far too hard to set up his getaway, nearly causing Verstappen to ram into the back of him such was his excessive deceleration. While Piastri then scooted away, the incident was almost immediately and ominously under review by the stewards. Piastri was eventually penalized 10-seconds for the excessive braking action, a backbreaker for his hopes of victory on the day. But Verstappen was unable to capitalize on this eventuality because he spun out in pursuit at the restart on Lap 21, dropping the Dutch Master all the way down to P10. This all redounded to Norris’s great benefit, because when the penalty was handed down and Piastri eventually had to pit for Medium tries on Lap 43 due to a now-finally drying track, Norris inherited P1 while his teammate sat stationary for that agonizingly slow 10-seconds before any work could be done on his car. So, despite coming in a lap later for his own set of Mediums, he still emerged with the lead of the race, such was the impact of Piastri’s penalty. Controlling the race from the front and with no more incidents to speak of, Norris was able to keep his teammate at bay and take an emotional victory at his home Grand Prix in front of of his adoring countrymen and women in the  grandstands. For Piastri, it was a doubly bitter pill to swallow, as he not only finished P2 in a race he likely should have won but also saw his points advantage to Norris in the Drivers’ Championship slip to just eight. Obviously unhappy with how the day transpired, Piastri will have a lot to stew on before the next race at the end of the month in Belgium, while Norris will be riding high with his confidence fully restored  in the interim after his dream victory here at Silverstone.

With his team’s strategy paying off beautifully, Hulkenberg made a crucial pass on Stroll for P3 and then held off the charging Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton easily to take P3 and his maiden pole in F1 after an astonishing 239 race starts. As the saying goes, better late than never and it was the feel good story of the whole day to see the veteran German pilot rewarded for his years of skillful and professional driving with teams of various quality. Hamilton slotted in at P4 at one of his favorite tracks, bettering by far his Scuderia stablemate Leclerc, who had a miserable day in the wet with a multitude of offs and came home well out of the points in P14. Verstappen managed to recover from his ill-timed spin somewhat to take P5 but it was still a day to forget for the normally flawless four-time champion after starting from the pole. It’s distinctly possible that the team’s decision to really trim the car out hurt him when he most needed downforce during the race, despite netting him the pole. Pierre Gasly had another fine drive for Alpine in P6 and Stroll’s early race tire gambles paid off for Aston Martin even if he faded bit on his final stint, still coming home a solid P7. Teammate Alonso took P9, with Williams’ Albon splitting them in P8, another impressive drive that flew somewhat under the radar amidst all the excitement. Russell took a lone solitary point in P10 after what turned out to be a pretty awful day for the Mercedes factory team. The Monday morning debrief at Brackley should be fairly brutal and they” be looking to get back on form at Spa in three weeks’ time.

Top 10 finishers of the British GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

52

1:37:15.735

25

2

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

52

+6.812s

18

3

27

Nico Hulkenberg

Kick Sauber

52

+34.742s

15

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

52

+39.812s

12

5

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

52

+56.781s

10

6

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

52

+59.857s

8

7

18

Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

52

+60.603s

6

8

23

Alexander Albon

Williams

52

+64.135s

4

9

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

52

+65.858s

2

10

63

George Russell

Mercedes

52

+70.674s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race weekend doesn’t begin until July 25th, as team’s will have loads of time to prepare for the Belgian Grand Prix at the venerable Spa-Francorchamps circuit, including the added pressures of a Sprint weekend there. For Norris, it will mean more time to savor his dream win at his home Grand Prix. For Piastri, it will mean a long time between races to stew on his nightmare penalty and his own culpability for that. And for most of the other drivers, it will mean putting Britain in the rearview and starting fresh in Belgium — except for Hulkenberg, who will surely savor his career achievement and be looking to make it two podiums in a row. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Monaco — Results & aftermath

Norris holds off Leclerc for maiden Monaco win in plodding, strategic race; Piastri P3, Verstappen P4: FIA double-pit stop rule change backfires

Formula 1 and the FIA tried to fix the age old problem of passing at the venerable Monaco circuit and avoid last year’s Red Flag-induced processional by mandating two separate pit stops for Sunday’s dry and sunny Monaco Grand Prix. It did not quite work out exactly as planned. Instead of creating more opportunities for strategic overtakes, the clever team engineers bent the procedure to their own individual goals for the race and ended up using whichever car and driver that qualified lower as a blocker for the car that qualified in the better position to create a safe window for their pit stops. This created long stretches of the 78-lap race where most of the field were running well below full speed, as drivers like Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon took turns playing cork in the bottle to the second half of the field to ensure each of them could pit twice without any real threat of being overtaken. In the end, the key to Monaco, as it almost always is in good weather, was the Saturday qualifying order. And pole-sitter Lando Norris, who also set the track record in his McLaren en route to the top starting spot, was able to survive the best efforts of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, as well as having to wade through a slew of back markers, to capture his first Monaco victory.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen did his best to put a spanner in Norris’s works by running a long and not particularly fast second stint from nominal the race lead while waiting for the penultimate lap to make his mandated second stop for fresh Pirellis. This backed Norris into Leclerc late in the going as Verstappen was simply goal hanging for a Safety Car of some sort or a Red Flag, and therefore the proverbial “cheap” pit stop.  But there were no late incidents and once Verstappen ducked in, Norris sped away from Leclerc’s Ferrari rather easily to secure the win, with the Monegasque and last year’s storybook winner settling for second place. Norris’s McLaren teammate Piastri had a bit of wild and wooly weekend in the principality, with plenty of drifting and airborne kerb-banging, but kept it clean enough in the race to bring the car home in P3. Piastri now leads in the Drivers’ championship by a mere three points over the reinvigorated Norris. Verstappen, who had nothing to lose by running  to the bitter end for his second stop due to his massive time cushion over the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, claimed P4 at the finish, exactly where he started.

While Hamilton ran a lonely and unsatisfying race after a bit of clever pit strategy early on to get him out in front of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, his P5 was two places better than his penalty-induced seventh place start on the grid and about as much as one could expect for improvement here on the streets of Monte Carlo. Hadjar continued to impress despite ceding a spot to Hamilton early in the race on pit cycles and came home a very solid P6, with Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson also scoring for the squad in P8. Esteban Ocon secured his and Haas’s best result of the season in P7, while the Williams duo of Albon and Sainz were rewarded for their slow going shenanigans by scoring valuable team points in P9 and P10 respectively.

Mercedes had a disastrous day as their gamble on running a long first stint on Hard tires with both their cars did not pay off at all due to the slow pace of the midfield runners in front of them. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli scored exactly zero points on a frustrating day the Silver Arrows team will be keen to put behind them as they pack up for the short trip to Barcelona next weekend.

Top 10 finishers of the Monaco GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

LAPS

TIME/RETIRED

PTS

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

78

1:40:33.843

25

2

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

78

+3.131s

18

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

78

+3.658s

15

4

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

78

+20.572s

12

5

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

78

+51.387s

10

6

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

77

+1 lap

8

7

31

Esteban Ocon

Haas Ferrari

77

+1 lap

6

8

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

77

+1 lap

4

9

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

76

+2 laps

2

10

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams Mercedes

76

+2 laps

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time as F1 wraps up another hectic sequence of three races on the trot with the Spanish Grand Prix from the well-loved Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Hope to see you then at a much more conventional and faster race track where overtaking should at least be reasonably possible and we’re also sure see the return of only the single mandatory pit stop after this weekend in Monaco’s unintended consequences from the FIA’s fiddling.

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Monaco — Qualifying results

Norris beats Leclerc to pole in Monaco, sets track record; Piastri P3, Hamilton demoted from P4 due to blocking penalty

On the biggest race weekend of the year, with the traditional Memorial Day Weekend Sunday lineup of the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500, and the Coca-Cola 600, Saturday qualifying for arguably the most prestigious trophy of them all took place on the fabled streets of the Principality of Monaco under perfect conditions. With the elite teams of Formula 1 posting ultra-competitive lap times on this tight and twisty temporary circuit, it came down to a final Q3 shootout between hometown hero and Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc and the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. In the end, Norris pipped Leclerc for pole by dint of setting the new lap record, an astonishing 1:09.954, ahead of the Monegasque’s seemingly impervious 1:10.063. It was quite the fillip for young Norris, who, after displaying a lack of confidence under intense pressure from teammate Piastri, has reasserted himself with his decent P2 in Emilia-Romagna last weekend and today’s impressive one-lap heroics on one of the toughest circuits on the calendar. Of course, Leclerc will be charging hard from P2 at the start of tomorrow’s tilt in an effort to execute an opening lap pass on Norris, often the surest way to victory on what is one of the most difficult tracks on which to overtake.

With Piastri coming up a bit short of that sterling top two and slotting in at P3, it appeared his partner in the second row on the grid would be the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. But Hamilton, who had a small shunt to end free Practice 3, was also dinged three grid spots for impeding Red Bull’s Max Verstappen during qualifying after his race engineer gave him some incorrect information about Verstappen’s pace on track. That dropped Hamilton to a difficult P7 spot on tomorrow’s grid, while Verstappen reaped the rewards and was elevated to P4 despite only qualifying P5. The Racing Bull of impressive rookie Isack Hadjar and the Aston Martin of veteran pilot Fernando Alonso also benefitted from Hamilton’s misfortune, with Hadjar being promoted to P5 and Alonso to P6 for tomrorow’s race. Esteban Ocon did yeoman’s work to make Q3 and hustle his Haas up to P8; the second Racing Bull of Liam Lawson qualified a confidence-boosting P9 and Alexander Albon put his Williams in P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Monaco GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:11.285

1:10.570

1:09.954

27

2

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:11.229

1:10.581

1:10.063

27

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:11.308

1:10.858

1:10.129

29

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:11.575

1:10.883

1:10.382

28

5

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:11.431

1:10.875

1:10.669

21

6

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

1:11.811

1:11.040

1:10.923

27

7

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:11.674

1:11.182

1:10.924

30

8

31

Esteban Ocon

Haas Ferrari

1:11.839

1:11.262

1:10.942

32

9

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

1:11.818

1:11.250

1:11.129

26

10

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

1:11.629

1:10.732

1:11.213

34

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ABC beginning at 9 AM Eastern here in the States. While it looks to be a Norris-Leclerc/McLaren-Ferrari shootout from the front, the second McLaren of Piastri and Verstappen’s Red Bull are sure to be in the mix thanks to Hamilton’s unfortunate penalty. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna — Results & aftermath

Verstappen takes win with immaculate start at Imola, Norris bests Piastri for P2; Hamilton maximizes performance to score P4 for Ferrari; Williams closing the gap as Russell plummets to P7

Top 10 finishers of the Emilia-Romagna GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

LAPS

TIME/RETIRED

PTS

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

63

1:31:33.199

25

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

63

+6.109s

18

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

63

+12.956s

15

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

63

+14.356s

12

5

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

63

+17.945s

10

6

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

63

+20.774s

8

7

63

George Russell

Mercedes

63

+22.034s

6

8

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams Mercedes

63

+22.898s

4

9

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

63

+23.586s

2

10

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

63

+26.446s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Verstappen stuns McLaren duo at Suzuka with surprise pole; Norris out-duels teammate Piastri for P2; Tsunoda fails to impress after promotion to Red Bull for home race

Saturday qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix at the storied Suzuka Circuit looked for all the world like a battle for pole between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. With Norris taking victory in Piastri’s backyard to open the season in Melbourne and Piastri getting the better of Norris for the win in China two weeks ago, all eyes were on the Papaya duo to see who would emerge as the fastest qualifier. But all eyes were on the wrong team and drivers. Reigning champion Max Verstappen proved he is not ready to go gently into that good night this early in 2025, with a blistering final lap that knocked a stunned Norris off the pole and relegated Piastri to P3 and the second row. With Verstappen’s Red Bull trimmed to the limit for maximum straight line speed even though Suzuka has many more twisty bits than straights, the Flying Dutchman was able to hustle his RB21 to the tune of a track record 1:26.983, a mere one hundredth ahead of Norris. It was not only a nice moment for Verstappen after a challenging first two rounds of the season but also for Red Bull engine supplier Honda at their home circuit. However, new Red Bull Number Two Yuki Tsunoda did not fare much better on the day than most of Verstappen’s other wingman of recent vintage. The young Japanese driver, opting for a much more downforce heavy setup, ended up a desultory P15 despite the enthusiastic urgings of his countrymen in the stands. Liam Lawson, the driver Tsunoda replaced at the big team just three races into the season, out-qualified him in P14 driving his own former Racing Bull. That was probably not what Tsunoda or Red Bull had envisaged when they made the switch and this race weekend began.

Behind the elite top three, Charles Leclerc bettered by some margin his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, P4 to P8.  Mercedes’ George Russell had a fairly ragged final effort in Q3 and could not improve his P5 position when the scoring was over, while rookie Silver Arrows teammate Kimi Antonelli made impressive leaps throughout the three difficult sessions to wind up a surprisingly strong P6. Fellow rookie Isack Hadjar was able to overcome a persistently painful too-tight lap belt situation to pull himself all the way up to an quite solid  P7, while Williams’ Alexander Albon and Haas’s Oliver Bearman, yet another rookie, filled out the rest of the top ten in P9 and P10 respectively.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese Grand Prix:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:27.943

1:27.502

1:26.983

17

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:27.845

1:27.146

1:26.995

15

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:27.687

1:27.507

1:27.027

18

4

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:27.920

1:27.555

1:27.299

21

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:27.843

1:27.400

1:27.318

17

6

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:27.968

1:27.639

1:27.555

18

7

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

1:28.278

1:27.775

1:27.569

18

8

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:27.942

1:27.610

1:27.610

23

9

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

1:28.218

1:27.783

1:27.615

20

10

87

Oliver Bearman

Haas Ferrari

1:28.228

1:27.711

1:27.867

21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.,com.

Tomorrow’s race airs overnight here in the States beginning at 1 AM Eastern Sunday morning on ESPN. With Verstappen in his preferred spot — up front and in clean air — we’ll have to see if McLaren’s long run pace can pull the Red Bull back into their clutches of if the four-time Champ is only beginning to show that he’s a serious contender to earn his fifth on the trot despite all predictions to the contrary. Hope to see you then to find out how it all plays out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of China — Qualifying results

Piastri earns first F1 pole with blistering lap in Shanghai; Russell splits McLarens at the death with stunning P2 effort, relegating Norris to P3, Verstappen to P4

McLaren’s second of two young phenoms, Oscar Piastri, got the better of his ostensible team number one, Lando Norris, during Saturday qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit, earning the young Aussie his first career Formula 1 pole position. In what is shaping up to be an intrateam battle for the ages, Piastri earned the top starting spot ahead of a competitive Norris and regained some momentum for his own championship aspirations a week after Norris’s spectacular win in a rain-soaked Melbourne, where Piastri could do no better than P9. Adding insult to injury for Lando, he was pipped for P2 at very death of Q3, when Mercedes’ George Russell put in a stonking lap to nab second on the grid. Russell’s excellent effort also dropped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to P4, extending the Dutch Master’s pole-less streak in Grand Prix to 15 races dating back Austria last year.

After an exhilarating and redemptive win in the Sprint race earlier on Saturday, Ferrari’s new signing,  seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton, was brought back down to earth a bit and could only record the fifth fastest time in Quali. Still, he was faster than teammate Charles Leclerc and the Monegasque could only muster a fast lap good enough for P6. The two young Racing Bulls showed excellent pace, with rookie Isack Hadjar putting the heartbreak of his formation lap crashout in Australia behind hime with an outstanding effort good enough for P7 on the grid and his senior teammate Yuki Tsunoda taking P8. They sandwiched the second Merc of Kimi Antonelli in P8, while Alex Albon rounded out the top ten starters in P10 for Williams. Worth noting, the second Red Bull of Liam Lawson had a torrid time once again in his second race weekend with the big team and was plum last in Q1. He’s fated to start from the rear in P20 tomorrow if no one else has any woes prior. The curse of Max Verstappen’s wingman seems to be fully upon the Kiwi and one has to wonder how long Dr. Helmut Marko and the Red Bull braintrust will stick with the rookie, especially with Tsunoda looking very racy and more than ready in the junior team.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Chinese GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:31.591

1:31.200

1:30.641

20

2

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:31.295

1:31.307

1:30.723

22

3

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:30.983

1:30.787

1:30.793

17

4

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:31.424

1:31.142

1:30.817

15

5

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:31.690

1:31.501

1:30.927

21

6

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:31.579

1:31.450

1:31.021

21

7

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

1:31.162

1:31.253

1:31.079

20

8

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:31.676

1:31.590

1:31.103

22

9

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

1:31.238

1:31.260

1:31.638

19

10

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

1:31.503

1:31.595

1:31.706

20

Complete qualifying results available via  Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race from Shanghai International Circuit airs live beginning at 3 AM Eastern on ESPN here in the States. So set your DVR or brew some coffee to find out if Piastri can convert pole into victory or if someone else in the mega-talented top six can beat him to the checkered flag!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Australia — Results & aftermath

McLaren and Norris begin championship hunt with impressive win at tricky, rain-affected Aussie GP; Red Bull’s Verstappen stays calm amidst carnage to salvage P2, Russell earns final podium position with solid effort; Piastri and Ferrari lose out

Round 1 of the 2025 season kicked off in chaotic fashion on Sunday at the Australian Grand Prix from the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, where persistent rain caused havoc throughout the field. In a true drive to survive, McLaren’s Lando Norris kept his cool throughout the race long carnage, including a late mistake by teammate Oscar Piastri amidst a renewed downpour, converting pole position into his first win of the year in what the young Briton hopes will be his first World Championship-winning campaign. With his car obviously slightly inferior to the McLarens coming out of the offseason, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made the best of a bad hand and put himself in position to pounce on P2 when Piastri slid off the track and into some very wet grass late in the going. The unlucky Aussie elicited cries of dismay from his countrymen in the stands but was at least able to salvage P9 after determinedly — and very slowly! — backing onto the tarmac when he looked to be stranded and en route to an embarrassing DNF. And Mercedes, who have been flying somewhat under the radar amidst all the McLaren-Red Bull-Ferrari hype leading into this opening round, made the right strategy calls when it counted most to boost their drivers, veteran George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, to P3 and P4 respectively. Both Silver Arrows pilots were impressive in the wet, with Russell bettering his P4 starting position to reach the podium after many other cars around him crashed out — there were a whopping six DNFs by the time the checkers flew — and Antonelli using a bit of luck, skill and good strategy to overcome  a clearly out of position P16 start after the young Italian damaged his car by clouting one too many curbs in Saturday qualifying. 

Williams Alexander Albon was another standout driver on the day, surviving and thriving to take an impressive fifth place. Others scoring improbably good points by dint of keeping their cars on the black stuff and staying steady during the frequently  very greasy conditions were Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Kick Sauber’s wise old hand Nico Hulkenberg, who placed P6 and P7 respectively. But there was not much to cheer for Ferrari after they gambled and lost by keeping Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton out on slick tires a lap too long and then bringing the duo in for the much needed Inters after the other contenders had already made the much needed switch. The Prancing Horses went from a potential 1-2 finish to Leclerc holding on for P8 and the game but forlorn Piastri relegating Hamilton to P10 on the last lap of this eventful 57-lap contest.

What does such a rain-affected contest really tell us about who’s got the pace overall in 2025? Not much except that McLaren and Verstappen looked quick in any and all conditions. And Mercedes could be further along in their development than initially suspected, especially with new Red Bull number two Liam Lawson having a horror show weekend the ended with him crashing out and scoring zero points in Melbourne. Meanwhile, Antonelli acquitted himself admirably on his debut drive for Mercedes in highly challenging circumstances. As for Ferrari, they’ll be looking forward to the quick turnaround in China next weekend to be able to hopefully show their true pace under more predictable conditions. Hamilton, in particular, seemed to struggle to fully get to grips on the technical side with his new mount after so many years with Mercedes, and his relationship with his new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, is clearly still a work in progress after working hand in glove with Pete Bonnington over the course of the prior dozen years.

Top 10 finishers of the Australian GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

LAPS

TIME/RETIRED

PTS

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

57

1:42:06.304

25

2

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

57

+0.895s

18

3

63

George Russell

Mercedes

57

+8.481s

15

4

12

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

57

+10.135s

12

5

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

57

+12.773s

10

6

18

Lance Stroll

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

57

+17.413s

8

7

27

Nico Hulkenberg

Kick Sauber Ferrari

57

+18.423s

6

8

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

57

+19.826s

4

9

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

57

+20.448s

2

10

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

57

+22.473s

1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time, as F1 hits the ground running for the Round 2 Chinese Grand Prix from the Shanghai International Circuit. It’ll also be the first Sprint weekend of the season, with all the extra angst that entails for the teams, especially with such a short turnaround. Norris will be looking to make it two in a row, Verstappen will be looking to take him down a peg, and Piastri will be seeking redemption, as will so many other drivers who had disappointing or even disastrous days in Australia. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!