The F1 Track Heats Up!
The past few races, and events that have followed, have left fans and drivers alike anticipating what the rest of the 2025 Formula One season will look like.
The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) has been noticeably more firm with their drivers, giving out penalties seemingly left and right. Williams driver Carlos Sainz just recently expressed his concern over his penalty over his tardiness to a national anthem of only five minutes and having to pay a fine of €20,000 (approximately $21,910). Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has also shared his concern very visibly from the fines over swearing in interviews, at times even staying silent in protest.
Comiong back to the track, the Japanese Grand Prix, in the beginning of April, was fairly tame. No crashes or incidents occured throughout the entirely race. Max Verstappen finished in first place, with a McLaren side-by-side seeing Lando Norris in second and Oscar Piastri in third.
The following race in Bahrain had a bit more traction. Haas rookie dirver Oliver Bearman impressively moved from P20 all the way to P10, driving the Haas into the points. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in their Ferrari fought multiple battles against their Mercedes opponents, as well as with the dominating McLaren. The end results reinforced Piastri’s successes as he finished first, with George Russell close behind in 2nd and Norris in third.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this past holiday weekend started with a multitude of theatrics. During turn one on lap one, Verstappen and Piastri battled it out for the lead, leaving Max with a five second penalty after all four tires were off the road. The incident caused a lot of commotion between Max and the FIA, fueling the tension between drivers and their penalty distributors.
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly and Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda also had drama on the first lap, with both of them crashing and DNF-ing into the barriers.
In the end, Piastri became the leader in the Drivers’ World Championship with another first place victory, followed by Verstappen, and Leclerc scoring Ferrari’s first podium in third.
