Tag Archives: Andrea Kimi Antonelli

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Results & aftermath

Norris prevails over Piastri in chaotic Austrian GP; Ferrari gain in Constrcutors’ with Leclerc P3, Hamilton P4; Red Bull score zero at home race after Verstappen taken out by Antonelli on Lap 1, sloppy Tsunoda finishes last

A race after crashing out in a clash with his teammate in Canada, McLaren’s Lando Norris kept his cool under the hot Spielberg sun, fending off his chief rival and fellow Papaya driver Oscar Piastri to take victory at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. In a chaotic race that saw four retirements, including the usually impervious Red Bull of Max Verstappen, Norris reestablished his championship potential by controlling the race from the front after starting from the pole, deftly weaving his way through back-markers at the very short and intense Red Bull Ring and executing a very clean final stint under pressure to earn a valuable win. Despite a late race charge by Piastri after the final round of pit stops in this 70-lap contest, Norris withstood the challenge, as his young Aussie rival and current points leader could never quite close up enough to get the DRS and find a way by. Norris’s 25-points on the day versus Piastri’s second place 18 tightened up his deficit to a mere 15-points and, most importantly, restored the young Briton’s confidence after his error in judgement in Canada. It will be game on at Silverstone next weekend, where Norris will enjoy a slight home race advantage from the fans, while Piastri will be looking to reassert his dominance over his teammate and reignite his championship campaign.

As if to drive home the point of McLaren’s absolute dominance this Grand Prix weekend, Not only did Norris and Piastri finish 1-2 but the third place Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was nearly 20-seconds in arrears when he took the checkered flag.  Still, with stablemate Lewis Hamilton slotting in at P4, it was a good day for the Scuderia in the points, especially on a day where their nearest rivals for second place in the Constructors’ had downright dismal outings. Ferrari couldn’t have drawn it up any better when Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli made an overly optimistic dove bomb move on Lap 1 steaming into Turn 3. The Silver Arrow’s rear tires locked up under breaking and Antonelli slammed into the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull, ending both their races before they could even compete a single circuit. To show just how rare that DNF was, it ended Verstappen’s astonishing 31-race scoring streak, a catastrophe for the team, as Yuki Tsunoda ran a ragged race and came home P16 when all was said and done, plumb last among the surviving cars. Still, it must be noted that Verstappen put himself into jeopardy by only qualifying P7 and Tsunoda is only the latest in a long line of second Red Bull drivers who are unable to find any kind of pace in the car. So, Red Bull’s situation might be even more grave than their zero-points result in Sunday in Austria before most of their corporate brass. For Antonelli, it was a brutal comedown after scoring his first podium in Canada two weeks ago and a reminder that they don’t call them “rookies” for nothing. George Russell salvaged at least a little something on the day, finishing where he started in P5, but Mercedes still saw Ferrari overtake them for P2 in the Constructors’ one race after it seemed they were ascendent after a 1-3 in Montreal. They’ll be hoping to get back on terms when they fire the engines up again in Silverstone.

Places 5 through 10 were nothing but happy surprises and good vibes, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson continuing his rebound from his short-lived tenure with Red Bull at the start of the season by scoring his best ever F1 finish in P6. Wily old vet Fernando Alonso kept his Aston Martin out of trouble and the pursuing whippersnapper Gabriel Bortoleto behind him en route to seventh place. It was still an outstanding day for Kick Sauber, with not only rookie Bortoleto driving superbly to score his first F1 points in P8 but also veteran teammate Nico Hulkenberg adding to the team total in P9. Haas’s Esteban Ocon made it two races in a row in the points with a solid P10, no doubt helped by the slew of retirements, including both midfield-running Williams.

Top 10 finishers of the Austrian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

LAPS

TIME / RETIRED

PTS.

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

70

1:23:47.693

25

2

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

70

+2.695s

18

3

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

70

+19.820s

15

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

70

+29.020s

12

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

70

+62.396s

10

6

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

70

+67.754s

8

7

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

69

+1 lap

6

8

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick Sauber

69

+1 lap

4

9

27

Nico Hulkenberg

Kick Sauber

69

+1 lap

2

10

31

Esteban Ocon

Haas

69

+1 lap

1

Complete race results available via Fomula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time — the British GP from the legendary Silverstone Circuit, the grandaddy of them all in F1. We’ll see if  McLaren can keep pulling away from the field at a very different kind of circuit than the Red Bull Ring and, if so, whether the Piastri-Norris battle may once again lead to an internecine clash that opens the door for the other contenders. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Qualifying results

Norris claims pole at Red Bull ring ahead of P2 Leclerc, teammate Piastri in P3

Looking to rebound from the clash with his teammate that ended his race in Canada prematurely two weeks ago, McLaren’s Lando Norris blistered the field to earn pole during Saturday Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. Norris mastered the short and tricky Red Bull ring to the tune of a record-setting 1:03.971 fast lap, half a second ahead of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and a few tenths more than that versus McLaren stablemate and current points leader Oscar Piastri. After the the Papaya duo collided late in the race in Quebec a fortnight ago, costing Norris any points at all and nearly taking out Piastri as well in the process, Lando will be desperate to get away and stay away from all of the other contenders, run a clean race and take home maximum points to reignite his championship aspirations. With Leclerc’s Prancing Horse slotting in at P2 and teammate Lewis Hamilton pulling one out of the bag good enough for the fourth fastest time, Piastri could well have his hands full just trying to fend off the Ferraris, let alone getting  back on terms with Norris, who frankly looks like he has the edge here in Spielberg.

Mercedes suffered by comparison when measured against McLaren and the Scuderia, perhaps due to the extremely hot conditions here at the circuit, with George Russell only good enough for P5 and rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli scuffling his way to a lowly P9 spot on the grid. Racing Bulls Liam Lawson, who has really come on after a very rough start to the year in the senior Red Bull team, shocked his old teammate Max Verstappen by out-qualifying the Flying Dutchman, P7 to P8. Verstappen may have gotten a taste of what his wingmen usually have to deal with, as the four–time champ complained that his car was literally un-drivable. He struggled with snap oversteer repeatedly over the course of these short but demanding laps, and teammate Yuki Tsunoda fared even worse, coming home a shocking P18 and rueing his lack of front grip. On the other side of the coin, Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto achieved his best-ever qualifying result with a very impressive time good enough for P8. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the Top 10 in P10, unable to improve his time when he spun on his final quali effort.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Austrian GP:

POS.

NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren

1:04.672

1:04.410

1:03.971

18

2

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:05.197

1:04.734

1:04.492

21

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

1:04.966

1:04.556

1:04.554

19

4

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:05.115

1:04.896

1:04.582

21

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:05.189

1:04.860

1:04.763

18

6

30

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

1:05.017

1:05.041

1:04.926

17

7

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:05.106

1:04.836

1:04.929

18

8

5

Gabriel Bortoleto

Kick Sauber

1:05.123

1:04.846

1:05.132

21

9

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:05.178

1:05.052

1:05.276

17

10

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

1:05.054

1:04.846

1:05.649

21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live beginning at 9AM Eastern on ESPN here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Norris can keep his quali momentum going and get his championship campaign back on track with a victory, or if Lady Luck — and his teammate Piastri and the two charging Ferraris — have other plans in store.

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Qualifying results

Russell excels with superb final lap to take pole in Montreal, bests P2 Verstappen & P3 Piastri; Norris off the pace in P7

Saturday qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix delivered thrills aplenty, as the gap between the top three teams and the top four drivers appeared to narrow sharply here at the short and fast Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. With Red Bull’s Max Verstappen looking the favorite to take pole ahead of the two McLaren’s of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris late in Q3, it was Mercedes’ George Russell who seemed to come from nowhere and lay down a blistering lap to knock off Verstappen and Piastri and grab pole for himself. It was the second year in a row Russell earned pole in Canada and he clearly has an affinity for the temporary Notre Dame Island street circuit smack dab in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. Not only did Russell’s excellent effort burnish his own sterling credentials this season — the Briton has four podiums out of nine races so far — but it also might be evidence that Mercedes is finally closing the gap to McLaren and Verstappen’s Red Bull, as Silver Arrows teammate Kimi Antonelli also qualified a very solid P4. Verstappen’s best flying lap still kept him ahead of points leader Piastri and on the front row, P2 vs P3, but the second McLaren of Lando Norris fumbled his way to a poor P7 time and will have his work cut out for him fighting his way to the front from there. .

Lewis Hamilton was the highest placed Ferrari on a favored circuit where he has won a record-equalling seven times, besting his teammate Charles Leclerc P5 to P8. Fernando Alonso made the most of his vast experience and the Aston Martin’s latest upgrades to claim a surprise P6, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar earned P9 but was subsequently penalized three grid spots for impeding earlier in qualifying. Alexander Albon rounded out the top ten starters, putting in an excellent effort just to make it to Q3 let along set the tenth fastest time after his Williams’ engine cover literally blew apart midway through Q1. Albon’s mechanics deserve extra plaudits for getting the car ready to progress to Q2 during the not overly long Red Flag period caused by the cleanup of all that Williams debris on track

Top 10 qualifiers for the Canadian GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:12.075

1:11.570

1:10.899

21

2

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:12.054

1:11.638

1:11.059

20

3

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:11.939

1:11.715

1:11.120

23

4

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:12.279

1:11.974

1:11.391

21

5

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:11.952

1:11.885

1:11.526

27

6

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:12.073

1:11.805

1:11.586

27

7

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:11.826

1:11.599

1:11.625

22

8

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:12.038

1:11.626

1:11.682

27

9

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

1:12.211

1:12.003

1:11.867

21

10

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

1:12.090

1:11.892

1:11.907

30

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live on ABC beginning at 2PM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out between the extremely competitive top three starters and really a top eight that could conceivably take the victory in Canada!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Spain — Qualifying results

Piastri pips Norris for pole in Barcelona; Verstappen heads Russell, P3 to P4

In a tense and intriguing Saturday Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lando Norris set the ultimate one-lap pace with a blistering final effort to wrest pole position from his teammate, Lando Norris. with Norris sitting atop the pylon ahead of the final flying laps of Q3, Piastri was letter perfect in all three sectors of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while Norris seemed to overdrive on his ultimate effort and ended up losing time to his hard-charging Aussie teammate. It was Piastri’s fifth pole of the season but only the second front row lockout for team McLaren.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also saved his best for last, getting the better of the very competitive Mercedes of George Russell, P3 to P4. Both of those elite drivers will be looking to pounce if there is any kind of kerfuffle between the McLaren duo on the opening lap of tomorrow’s race, a distinct possibility as their duel for the championship really heats up. Verstappen’s quali was even more impressive in the context of the second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda ending up dead last in P20, while Russell’s Silver Arrows wingman Kimi Antonelli earned a more representative P6. No matter who Red Bull put in that second car, it seems apparent that only Verstappen can get a handle on the tricky RB21.

Filling out a very competitive top seven, Ferrari showed well, with Lewis Hamilton getting the better of Charles Leclerc, P5 to P7, at a track where the seven-time champ has always run well. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P8, Racing Bulls’ impressive rookie Isack Hadjar in P9 and home race favorite Fernando Alonso in P10 rounded out the top ten starting spots on the grid.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Spanish GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:12.551

1:11.998

1:11.546

14

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:12.799

1:12.056

1:11.755

15

3

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:12.798

1:12.358

1:11.848

12

4

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:12.806

1:12.407

1:11.848

12

5

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:13.058

1:12.447

1:12.045

15

6

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:12.815

1:12.585

1:12.111

18

7

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:13.014

1:12.495

1:12.131

12

8

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine Renault

1:13.081

1:12.611

1:12.199

18

9

6

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls Honda RBPT

1:13.139

1:12.461

1:12.252

15

10

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:13.102

1:12.523

1:12.284

14

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9 AM Eastern here in the States. While McLaren are clearly the cars to beat, those directly behind them will be hoping they beat themselves and will be looking to pounce on any internecine combat between Piastri and Norris. 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 Miami — Qualifying results

Verstappen shines again in Miami to take pole ahead of Norris; surging Antonelli finds pace to claim P3 ahead of Piastri

Top 10 qualifiers for the Miami GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:26.870

1:26.643

1:26.204

18

2

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:26.955

1:26.499

1:26.269

21

3

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:27.077

1:26.606

1:26.271

20

4

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:27.006

1:26.269

1:26.375

16

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:27.014

1:26.575

1:26.385

20

6

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams Mercedes

1:27.098

1:26.847

1:26.569

20

7

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

1:27.042

1:26.855

1:26.682

20

8

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:27.417

1:26.948

1:26.754

20

9

31

Esteban Ocon

Haas Ferrari

1:27.450

1:26.967

1:26.824

21

10

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:27.298

1:26.959

1:26.943

21

Complete qualifying results available via Fomrula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live on ABC beginning at 4 PM here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Verstappen can hold off Norris steaming into Turn 1 or if both potentially clash to open the door for another contender!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia — Qualifying results

Verstappen nabs pole from Piastri as Norris crashes out; Russell P3, Leclerc P4 foreshadowing hyper-competitive race

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen once again showed that he’s not ready to cede his current championship crown to McLaren or anyone else, as the flying Dutchman laid down a blistering lap on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit to secure pole for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. In a hyper-competitive Saturday Qualifying under the lights of the tight and twisty Jeddah street track, Verstappen’s final flier in Q3 was good enough to pip McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for P1 by a slim .01-seconds. Earlier in that final quali session, Piastri’s teammate and current point leader Lando Norris lost control running over the curbs exiting Turn 4 and binned his car in the walls  across from that the exit. Under pressure from not only his teammate Piastri, the dominant winner last week in Bahrain, but also the stubbornly excellent Verstappen, Norris will be forced to start from P10 on the grid at a track where overtaking is extremely difficult.

Once again, Mercedes’ George Russell capitalized by keeping it clean and putting in a very solid effort good enough for P3. While the Silver Arrows may not quite be ready to take a win on pure pace, Russell certainly shows all the signs of earning one should one or more of the top two come to grief in the race. His rookie Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli also acquitted himself well in P5. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc spilt the Silver Arrows in P4 but teammate Lewis Hamilton was out qualified by the Williams of Carlos Sainz, P6 to P7. Sainz seems to really be getting to grips with his new mount for this season, while Hamilton continues to suffer from inconsistency in the Prancing Horse. The second Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda completed qualifying in P8 and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly took P9, both ahead of the stricken McLaren of Norris, which will certainly require some overnight repairs.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Saudi Arabian GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:27.778

1:27.529

1:27.294

19

2

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:27.901

1:27.545

1:27.304

18

3

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:28.282

1:27.599

1:27.407

16

4

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:28.552

1:27.866

1:27.670

19

5

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:28.128

1:27.798

1:27.866

17

6

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams Mercedes

1:28.354

1:28.024

1:28.164

23

7

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:28.372

1:28.102

1:28.201

20

8

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:28.226

1:27.990

1:28.204

16

9

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine Renault

1:28.421

1:28.025

1:28.367

22

10

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:27.805

1:27.481

DNF

11

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 1PM Eastern here in the States. Expect a real street fight between at least the top four players and it wouldn’t be surprising if an accident-induced Red Flag jumbled things up. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2025 F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain — Qualifying results

McLaren’s Piastri rockets to dominant pole in Bahrain but teammate Norris fumbles final effort en route to P6; Mercedes’ Russell and Antonelli qualify P2 & P4 but penalized one spot each for pit infractions; Leclerc elevated to second on grid; Verstappen and Red Bull nowhere

A week after being thoroughly outperformed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix, the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were keen to reassert their dominance during Saturday Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. But it ended up only Piastri who flew the Papaya flag by laying down a stunning marker here at the very tricky and twisty 5.4 kilometer Bahrain International Circuit, blasting his way to a dominant pole position, some two-tenths ahead of his closest pursuer, Mercedes’ George Russell. Meanwhile, Piastri’s normally superlative McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, failed to get the best out of his MCL39 and to come to grips with the windy conditions in the desert and could only manage P6 on his final flier in Q3, over four-tenths behind his pole-sitting teammate. While it is certainly more possible to pass here than at what ended up a stagnant Suzuka circuit last week, Piastri will have a major advantage getting away from the point while Norris has to fight his way through a quartet of fairly fast drivers to get back on terms for a win. Piastri will certainly be looking to maximize that advantage and take a victory that would vault him ahead of Norris for the points lead. Game on.

Mercedes were impressive and were definitely the next best team on pace here, just ahead of Ferrari and well ahead of the struggling Red Bull duo. But, while Russell was hyper-competitive with a P2 effort and rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli excelled to slot in at P4, the team were penalized for a pit lane infraction under Red Flag conditions after Haas’s Esteban Ocon had a major crash earlier in Q2. Both drivers were docked a grid place for the team’s error in sending them info the fast lane prematurely while the medical car was still driving to the front of the pits after Ocon had been dropped off for examination, big no-no. That elevated Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to second on the grid and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who had a genuinely superb qualifying effort regardless, up to the second row and P4. Meanwhile, a week after their surprise victory in Japan, Red Bull were nowhere in Bahrain, with both Verstappen and Tsunoda struggling mightily with balance and breaking. It all ended up with a humbling P7 effort for last week’s winner Verstappen, with Tsunoda at least making it to Q3 for the first time in tow tries, albeit with only the tenth fastest time.

Carlos Sainz appeared to finally get the handle on his Williams with a very solid P8 result, but Lewis Hamilton again struggled in his Prancing Horse and could manage no better than an underwhelming P9.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Bahrain GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:31.392

1:30.454

1:29.841

15

2

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:31.494

1:30.664

1:30.009

20

3

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:31.454

1:30.724

1:30.175

16

4

12

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

1:31.415

1:30.716

1:30.213

20

5

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine Renault

1:31.462

1:30.643

1:30.216

19

6

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:31.107

1:30.560

1:30.267

18

7

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:31.303

1:31.019

1:30.423

17

8

55

Carlos Sainz

Williams Mercedes

1:31.591

1:30.844

1:30.680

19

9

44

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

1:31.219

1:31.009

1:30.772

18

10

22

Yuki Tsunoda

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:31.751

1:31.228

1:31.303

17

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

The adjusted grid after Mercedes’ penalties are factored in is here. 

After a raft of overnighters to start the season, tomorrow’s race airs at the perfectly decent time of 11AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. With a supreme advantage over his teammate and the rest of the field, Piastri will be looking to both stamp his authority on the race from the get go and then vault himself ahead of Norris in the Championship by dint of the victory. But do the Mercedes duo of Russell and Antonelli have anything to spring an upset when the lights go out, even from their slightly demoted positions? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

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!