SPORTS CORNER: WEEK OF 3/30 – 4/5
Only two races into the season, we’ve already seen a preview for a year of racing bound to bring blockbuster excitement, with a grid filled with new faces and some of its biggest drivers in new places. Most notably, audiences have seen one of the greatest ever don the Ferrari red, as Lewis Hamilton has had a shocking change in after spending over a decade driving for Mercedes, bringing in a total of six driver championships and eight constructor championships within that time. With two races already having occured, and driver changes, there’s more than enough to speak about in the world of Formula One.
One of the pieces of interest for this season is that, recently announced on March 7, 2025, Cadillac will be bringing an 11th team to the grid for next season, and most importantly with it: two new driver spots in a sport that has been especially cutthroat in the past few seasons with drivers. Just last season, seven different drivers lost their jobs either midway through the season or at the end of it, proving that the sport is at a competitive high and that two new seats are almost necessary at this point.
The driver’s championship is bound to be competitive this year, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen looking to defend four straight titles, being chased by Mclaren, who brought the best car last year, and after the recent races in Australia and China, look to have retained that status. They also had two drivers who were able to propel the British team to the constructor’s championship last year. Lando Norris was criticized by social media heavily last year for not being able to beat Verstappen, and this year he aims to finally silence the doubters, which started with an unreal start to finish drive in Australia where he weathered terrible conditions and attacks from Verstappen. His teammate Oscar Piastri has needed to prove himself as well, with him being limited by ‘papaya rules’ last season that kept the two from fighting heavily on the track. The aforementioned Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, if they can find their feet, form arguably the most accomplished driver pairing on the grid at Ferrari, and could make a push as the year goes on if Ferrari strategists can equal that quality.
AUSTRALIA: THE ELEMENTS DOMINATE
Australia was one of those races that keeps new fans watching for a long time after. Some rain in the opening of the race brought a tough start to Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar’s Formula One career, with the conditions so poor that the 20 year old had lost the car in low speeds during the formation lap. Luckily for Hadjar, he wasn’t the only driver wavered by the conditions, as after the lights went out, fellow rookie Jack Doohan lost traction on a straightaway, and multi race winner Carlos Sainz, new to Williams, crashed during the ensuing safety car.
Lando Norris, who had struck it on pole in qualifying, fought off Verstappen during the initial start, and did well to stay away again on the restart and extend his lead for comfort as the race went on. Norris didn’t come under serious pressure for a while, with the only threat being his teammate Piastri getting close, only for the Australian driver to be told on lap 29, “hold position please, hold position, transition to the dry, clear the backmarkers.”
Norris’ race early on was flawless, but it finally took a turn when an unfortunate patch of rain hit the southwest part of the track right as the leaders came to it, and both Mclarens took a ride over the gravel trap, with Norris managing to keep the car straight. Piastri, on the other hand, had too much momentum, and skipped over the track in front of Verstappen before becoming stuck in the grass. He managed to get the car going again, to a standing ovation from the home crowd, but his race was ruined. Under the panic of the rain, most of the drivers were told by their team to pit, but both Ferraris and Tsunoda, who were in the top 5 as others ducked into the pits, were instead advised to stay out. They then pit with the next safety car only laps later, not trusting in their strategy. This was a massive blunder, and lost them any chance at valuable points, especially for Tsunoda, who had expertly piloted a relatively slow car into a competitive position.
Some of the winners from the chaos include Alex Albon, securing a 5th place finish and 10 important points for Williams, and Nico Hulkenburg, who got more points for Kick Sauber in this race than they were able to achieve across the entirety of last season.
Norris finished a statement drive with a win, and made a case to why he’s arguably the main championship contender. Max Verstappen and George Russell rounded out the podium, with the latter quietly staying in the chase and capitalizing upon mistakes. His teammate Kimi Antonelli left a performance of note too, driving from P16 to P4 as he made multiple legitimate overtakes to get there, and at 18 years old, became the youngest point scorer since Verstappen himself.
CHINA: MCLAREN DOMINATION AFOOT?
China was the first Formula 1 weekend on the calendar to have a sprint race, and with that opportunity, Hamilton dominated in Ferrari red for the first time. Setting the lap record on the Friday, he then kept out any noise from the opening laps and cruised to a nearly seven second win to secure good points to open the weekend. It was a much celebrated win, and exemplified that even without a fast car, Lewis Hamilton still has the pace to win races if given the chance.
Mclaren locked out the qualifying, and started the Chinese Grand Prix much like Australia, securing the top 2 spots off the start. Red Bull did not have enough race pace to pressure Mclaren whatsoever, and George Russell looked the only driver capable of putting the Papaya duo under pressure, starting to create the possible narrative: could Mclaren run away with this season?
They finished the day as they started, 1-2, with Piastri being the dominant driver this time around and finishing almost 10 seconds ahead of his teammate. Ferrari again threw away good points as both drivers were disqualified after the race, and left the same questions of previous seasons. Ferrari need to perform better as a team to help their drivers, who are clearly producing on the track and being held back from results they deserve.
RED BULL: LAWSON LET GO EARLY?
It may be only two races into the season, but Red Bull were quick to act upon what was an incredible small sample period for Liam Lawson, who was demoted from his seat with Red Bull to Racing Bulls less than two weeks after his official debut for the team.
In my personal opinion, I think Lawson’s appointment in the first place was a mistake. He may only currently be a year younger than Tsunoda, yet the latter boasts four full seasons of experience and had more than enough of a case to take the position. Appointing Lawson only made the beginning of his career unnecessary pressured, and created much unneeded rivalry between the two drivers. It also feels unfortunate for Tsunoda, who deserved the seat in the first place, and will surely be having thoughts about if he’s truly valued by the team.
It’s no secret that the second Red Bull seat has been hard to keep over the years, with Sergio Perez being booted to the curb at the end of last season, and both Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who still have seats on the grid, struggling to succeed when placed in the car. Albon said back in 2024, “It’s quite a hot seat – the seat that I was in, it’s been moved around a fair bit – so that was one of the main things.” There’s cutthroat criteria when you’re paired with a 4 time world champion, but Red Bull have been known to cycle through drivers heavily, and time will tell if Tsunoda will become another to fall victim to this system.
