Category: Formula One

Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix Preview and Predictions

4 races (including sprint races) within 4 weeks for Formula 1 before a month long break and it is almost time for Japan to take centre stage. Many teams and drivers will be wanting this break, others will want to go racing immediately after but all recognise why there is such a long gap. Lets preview this race, shall we?

Japanese Grand Prix Track Preview

This famous track in Japan has seen champions crowned, teammate controversy and iconic moments between world champions happen.

5.807km around this circuit sees 22 drivers take on 18 corners a total of 53 times. Thats 954 corners for the race winner and 20,988 total corners taken if all 22 drivers finish the race without being lapped. Of course, given the last 2 Grand Prixs has seen at 2 and 4 drivers not even start the formation lap respectfully (both including Oscar Piastri and one Audi) so we could see 6 or 8 drivers not start the race if this record continues.

Image Credit: Formla One’s Japanese Grand Prix section of their website

2 Straight Mode Zones within this weekend:
– 1 on the start/finish straight
– 1 after turn 14 all the way up to 130R.

The Overtake Mode is activited on the start/finish straight too so expect a lot of overtakes there.

Rookie Free Practice

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Team Predictions

Kieran and Jack have attempted to look into the weekend to see who will take the podium and 1 surprise!

Prediction	Chris	Jack	Kieran
Winner	N/A	George Russell	Lewis Hamilton
Podium	N/A	Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc	Charles Leclerc, Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Surprise	Oscar Piastri completes a racing lap	Alonso gets into Q2	Mercedes Mechanical trouble in qualifying or the race

24th March 2026

Adrian Newey To Step Down As Aston Martin F1 Team Principal

Adrian Newey will step down as F1 Team Principal at Aston Martin’s F1 team principal.

The 67-year-old world renowned designer, who replaced previous Team Principal Andy Cowell four months ago, will continue in his work as Aston Martin’s F1 Managing Technical Partner, with Audi’s Jonathan Wheatley – himself less than a year into his role – most likely to replace him.

Wheatley and Newey spent almost two decades working together at Red Bull Racing before both announcing their own departures in the wake of the Christian Horner misconduct scandal in 2024.

The news comes after a disastrous start to the Aston Martin-Honda partnership, largely on the engine side, which has seen repeated reliability issues and a lack of performance at the start of a new era of F1 technical regulations, which has aimed for a near 50/50 split between the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and the battery powered by the MGU-K.

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll have been unable to finish a Grand Prix due to excessive vibrations that have shaken the engine to the point of failure, with Newey revealing that the drivers risked long term damage to their health in a pre-weekend press conference at the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Kieran’s Analysis:

This entire Newey/Wheatley/Aston Martin news came out of NOWHERE from my side. Two races into the season and a big change already?! Deja vu from 2025 in the Red Bull stables!

In all seriousness, this change shapes 2 teams futures: Audi and Aston Martin.

Firstly the positives from my side: Aston will have 2 of the biggest personnel at their best areas which will be a MAJOR boost for the entire team and drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Newey is widely regarded as the best car designer in the business and Wheatley, in this writer’s opinion, is one of the best team principals in F1 with DTS showing behind the scenes of the private man who would have been ideal for Red Bull to promote to succeed Christian Horner.

Now the negatives and it will come primarily from the Audi side: losing a key figure to their long term project is a MAJOR negative for their plan. Wheatley was imagined to be the leading man in the case for Audi to become world champions in Formula One. However, it seems that train has been derailed which is not good for Audi. The question then remains: who will take over the seat? They could place Binotto who has experience as being a team principal but is overseeing the engine development. Could Audi promote someone with experience like Andreas Seidl who left the Audi project in 2024? Could we see a name like Allan McNish jump into that seat? Or is there another name in the hotseat? This writer is certain of something: shockwaves will be sent around the paddock as this could shape silly season for both team principals and drivers!

Jack Prentice:

On the face of it, this adds more chaos to an already unstable start to 2026 and the partnership between Aston Martin and Honda.

After firing shots in the pre-weekend press conference at the first round in Australia by telling the world’s media that Aston Martin weren’t aware of how different the makeup of this Honda engine department was from the successful team that powered Red Bull to victory, and that the engine represented a danger to the driver’s long term health, Newey left observers in no doubt as to his feelings on a torrid start to the season.

That however is not thought to be behind Newey looking for a new Team Principal, as is thought to have been leading the process for as long as he has been in that very role and it is coincidental that Aston Martin’s start has been as bad as it has.

Formula One being Formula One, this does increase the spotlight on an already beleaguered partnership with the team 11th in the Constructors’ Championship following well documented inabilities to get the car to the finish.

While this is undoubtedly going to create even more noise around the team, it does not alter or solve Aston Martin’s current problems with the engine and understanding of its car, and while Honda have made progress in identifying the root cause of its well known vibrations that could still take months to get on top of.

19th March 2026
The Key Achievements That Will Represent Tangible Success for Cadillac in 2026

Cadillac has already ticked off plenty of its 2026 to do list, in not looking like breaching the 107% qualifying rule and getting two cars to the finish at the second attempt in the Chinese Grand Prix.

With those goals achieved, this is not the time for F1’s newest team to rest on their laurels as the scale of their medium and long terms competitive aims has already hit home at the General Motors backed entry.

While the latest American team to join the F1 grid is another to have been built from the ground up after Haas joined the grid, at its core for 2026 is decades of F1 experience with Team Principal Graeme Lowdon having formerly been in charge at 2010 new team Virgin, latterly Marussia, until 2015. Executive Engineering Consultant Pat Symonds having previously worked for Benetton and Renault at Team Enstone and later Williams, while drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have 14 and 12 years’ experience in F1 respectively.

With the prospect of points an unlikely one for 2026, we take a look at what milestones and achievements would represent a successful debut season for Cadillac.

Consistently Clean Weekends

While Cadillac have gotten two cars to the finish faster than World Champions McLaren, neither weekend has been trouble free for the team, which follows a winter schedule in which the team was ahead of only the beleaguered Aston Martin Honda entry in terms of mileage completed across the two official Tests in Bahrain.

In Australia, Perez only managed 16 laps across the first two practice sessions as reliability issues hobbled the Mexican former Red Bull driver, while Bottas was able only to complete 12 laps on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying before retiring with an engine failure after 15 laps in the race.

In China, Perez was once again hamstrung on Friday morning.

He only completed 13 laps in the sole practice session of the first Sprint weekend of the season before failing to set a time in Sprint qualifying, and having his Sprint race and Grand Prix Qualifying were once again compromised as deployment issues set the 36-year-old back. Those gremlins would last into the race, notwithstanding a clumsy collision with Bottas at the start of the Grand Prix.

This ultra-complicated era of Formula One engine regulations have caused problems for numerous teams including the aforementioned McLaren, who failed to start with either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri in Shanghai on Sunday, while Audi have yet to have both scares start a Grand Prix this season and Red Bull have had at least one retirement in each Grand Prix so far, so this inexperienced at ground level team are far from alone.

Nevertheless, the team will be targeting cleaner weekends as it attempts to build a better understanding of its car and the new era.

Taking advantage of F1 experience inside the team

We earlier referenced the F1 experience that Cadillac does have including a combined 26 seasons of experience across its driver lineup.

Few were enthralled when it was announced that Bottas and Perez would be taking the two race seats ahead of an unlikely berth for now F2 and Cadillac development driver Colton Herta, himself an Indycar race winner.

Coming into the season, the two men had 16 grand prix wins and 527 starts between them. Both drivers have been part of dominant F1 teams in their career, with Bottas a fine understudy to Lewis Hamilton for five seasons from 2017 through to 2021 at Mercedes, while Perez was at Red Bull for four seasons during their return to domination with the all-conquering Max Verstappen up until his untimely departure in 2024.

Both are known to have strong technical feedback which should help the team build a better understanding of their car in more timely fashion compared to an inexperienced rookie, and they will be able to bring to the team elite level processes after recent stints with two behemoths of Formula One.

Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss pointed to the experience brought by the two drivers when both men were announced for 2026 back in August last year.

In Team Principal Lowdon it has a man experienced in starting a Formula One team from Ground Zero. While Virgin’s ambitions and scale did not compare to the plans that Cadillac will eventually have, Lowdon has seen the challenges the team will face all before. Given the difficult birth that Virgin suffered, including a fuel tank that began 2010 too small to complete a Grand Prix, he is equipped to solve problems that new teams will face and implementing processes across an entirely new team.

With Symonds in an Engineering Consultancy role, the team has a man who’s been involved in the good – and bad – of Formula One with his time encompassing title victories at Benetton with Michael Schumacher and Renault with Fernando Alonso. He was a key part of the leadership team during his time there and was in a consultancy role when Lowdon was in charge at Virgin-Marussia.

The presence of both Bottas and Perez have given the new team instant credibility and tapping into the F1 experience and nous they already have will be vital to the team’s short and medium term progress.

Getting on to the back of the midfield

Cadillac’s pace is at the higher end of where they were expected to start in 2026, but over a single lap they are still behind even the troubled Aston Martin package, and while they have been clear in the races that is mostly down to the reliability measures Honda have had to take.

They were a thrice lapped 16th with Perez in Melbourne, while both drivers were lapped down in 13th and 15th in China, albeit aided by a Safety Car after 10 laps as Lance Stroll retired.

The Ferrari Power Unit that the team has until at least 2028 is a competitive one bested only by Mercedes at this stage of the season, and with the current generation of cars being so young the rate of development will be huge, and Perez did tentatively target points by the end of the season when speaking after the Chinese Grand Prix.

Time will tell whether that proves to be realistic this season, but there is only so long that the team will accept being on the back row and a second off the next nearest team.

The team will learn a lot about how well they can develop a car throughout their debut season ahead of providing a solid base for a more competitive 2027.

Image: Pirelli F1 Media

18th March 2026
The F1 Driver Who Is Already Under Pressure In 2026

On the face of it, two races into a season is very early to be talking about a driver losing his place on the Formula One grid, Red Bull and Liam Lawson from last year excepted.

But it is a position that Esteban Ocon could find himself in come season’s end if performances relative to young teammate Ollie Bearman do not improve, with Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu admitting at launch that the team “expect(s) more” from Ocon in 2026.

Ocon joined the team as an Alpine refugee, giving up his seat one race early at the end of 2024 after a tumultuous two years as teammate to Pierre Gasly came to a head when Ocon ran into Gasly at the Monaco Grand Prix, with the former publicly admonished by then Team Principal Bruno Famin. That followed another acrimonious ending to a teammate partnership with Fernando Alonso two years prior.

The one time Grand Prix winner was 15th in the Drivers’ Championship standings in 2025, three points off 20-year-old Bearman and Ocon is yet to score this season, while Bearman has two top 7 finishes in a Haas that looks a strong contender for points in the early races of F1’s new era in 2026, while comparisons from last season can be split almost exactly between the first and second halves.

2025 Rounds 1-13

In the first half of last season, Ocon seemed a good fit for an improving Haas team as a rapid but raw Bearman would often match the Frenchman for pace if not consistency. This showed in Ocon’s slender average Grand Prix qualifying pace advantage throughout the first half of 2025 of 0.013s, excluding sprints and the Australian Grand Prix where Bearman failed to set a lap time following a crash in practice.

A disappointing start in Australia as the team briefly struggled with ride heights and balance around the high speed Albert Park circuit was followed up with an excellent fifth for the Frenchman in the Chinese Grand Prix, which coupled with eighth place for Bearman confirmed the team’s second highest ever points haul since their inception in 2016.

Ocon would then follow that up with an opportunistic eighth place at the Bahrain Grand Prix two rounds later, before began a run of ten Grands Prix without a points finish, save for two points in the Belgian Sprint race.

Ocon, who by now was in his eighth full season in F1 looked on paper to have the measure of the Brit on race day, having finished ahead seven times to three in the ten races where both drivers finished, and scored further points with seventh place in Monaco, ninth in Canada and a point for tenth in Austria alongside a Sprint fifth place in Belgium.

At this point, he led Bearman 27 points to 8, with notable errors including crashing under red flags in practice at Silverstone seeing the Brit pick up four penalty points and a ten place grid penalty before both men collided in the Grand Prix as one example of the team leaving points on the table early on.

2025 Rounds 14-24

The summer break marked an upturn in form for Bearman, while Ocon grew less comfortable in the car following an undertray upgrade brought to the British Grand Prix.

Bearman put in an excellent charge from the back of the grid in the Netherlands to finish sixth and followed that up with well executed races to ninth place in Singapore and Texas ahead of a more headline grabbing end of season.

That paled in contrast with Ocon’s struggles, with a particular low point in Azerbaijan as braking struggles stymied his weekend on the way to 14th before an 18th placed finish in Singapore.

After a major upgrade package was brought to the Circuit of the Americas, Bearman’s season peaked in Mexico with a fourth position finish as he briefly threatened a podium in amongst the chaos caused by Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s early battle, but he was able to keep behind title challenger Oscar Piastri and both Mercedes drivers, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell on pure race pace.

He followed that up with sixth place in a chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix for another flawless drive to finish as best of the rest once again and move well clear of Ocon in the standings, with the Frenchman recovering to take seventh place in the Abu Dhabi finale.

2026 – and what has Komatsu said?

Bearman has continued the form that has led to calls for his promotion to the Ferrari team of which he is a member of their junior driver academy.

For much of the Australian Grand Prix weekend the two were evenly matched and started Bearman 12th and Ocon 13th, but the race was a different story.

Ocon renewed rivalries with former teammate Gasly to finish outside of the points in eleventh, while a strong start for the Brit saw Bearman take seventh ahead of RB’s Arvid Lindblad.

While the Frenchman could count himself unfortunate at the timing of a Safety Car at the Chinese Grand Prix, it is inescapable that a chance for good points went begging solely because of a clumsy move to hit the Alpine of Franco Colapinto after he left the pits, with a top eight finish more than likely. That would have backed up a fifth place for Bearman and left Haas third in the early Constructors’ Standings.

It is a trend that Team Principal Komatsu has been picking up on since the autumn of last year, telling The Race: “I’m not saying he’s (Ocon) slow, but when he’s not 100% comfortable with the car, he cannot go there. Whereas Ollie, Ollie will drive around anything.”

At the launch of this season’s car in January, that feedback became more pointed.

He told F1.com, “If you look purely at a sporting result, without going into details, for sure nobody is satisfied with Esteban’s sporting result last year.

“He’s a team mate against a rookie – yes, an amazing rookie, but nonetheless he’s got 10 years of F1 under his belt. He’s a race winner, he’s a podium finisher, so we expected more from him. Obviously it’s not totally his fault. Sometimes as a team we couldn’t give him the car that he was comfortable [with].”

The Frenchman’s contract is thought to expire at the end of this season, and having fallen out with Alpine and what was Force India prior to their Stroll-backed takeover, no realistic prospect of a drive at another midfield team and with no top drive likely, it’s difficult to see where else he’d fit in what could be a very busy silly season ahead of 2027 should he fail to convince Komatsu.

Ocon’s start to the season has done little to ease his situation, and after losing out to a rookie in 2025, 2026 is threatening to become a Sophomore smashing at the hands of Ollie Bearman.

16th March 2026
Russell wins terrific season-opener in Melbourne

George Russell claimed victory in the opening race of the 2026 season in Australia, leading a Mercedes one-two from Kimi Antonelli.

Charles Leclerc came home third despite enjoying a phenomenal start in his Ferrari from fourth on the grid, taking the lead from Russell into Turn One.

Several laps of entertaining action saw the pair swap the lead on multiple occasions, but a Virtual Safety Car would prove Ferrari’s undoing.

Russell and Antonelli, whose poor start saw him fall to seventh on lap one, pitted after Isaac Hadjar’s engine failure brought about a caution period. Ferrari opted not to bring Leclerc or Sir Lewis Hamilton in, costing them valuable time as the Mercedes duo managed to get both cars to the end on one stop.

Leclerc and Hamilton pitted significantly later, but were unable to reel in either Mercedes car despite the freshness of their rubber, ultimately leaving them third and fourth respectively.

Chaos had ensued before the curtain could even be raised when Oscar Piastri, at his home race, lost control of his McLaren on his lap to the grid, ruining his McLaren and leaving Lando Norris as the sole runner for the constructors’ champions. Norris finished fifth in a disappointing day for the Papaya squad.

Mixed fortunes could be found at Red Bull too. Hadjar’s engine failure spelt another ill-fated Melbourne outing for the Frenchman, but Max Verstappen recovered from his accident in qualifying – which saw him start 20^th – to finish sixth.

Oliver Bearman made up impressive ground to end up seventh, and Arvid Lindblad scored points on his Formula One debut in his Racing Bulls car in eighth. Gabriel Bortoleto was the only Audi to take the start after a pre-race issue ruled out Nico Hulkenberg’s car, and the Brazilian crossed the line in ninth.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Haas’ Esteban Ocon renewed their rivalry with a series of absorbing overtakes on one another, the former beating his fellow Frenchman to the final point.

Alex Albon finished 12^th for Williams ahead of Liam Lawson’s Racing Bull, the Kiwi suffering a disappointing finish having been slow off the line at the start.

Franco Colapinto took 14^th in the second Alpine ahead of the other Williams of Carlos Sainz, while Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, missing a piece of his bargeboard after it came loose, took 16^th.

Lance Stroll was 12 laps behind in 16^th, having initially brought his Aston Martin into the pits before heading back out to complete some more running.

His team-mate Fernando Alonso retired early due to the British team’s persistent safety concerns, and Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac joined the retirement list when he ground to a halt at the final corner midway through the grand prix.

It is the first time that Mercedes have won the season opener since 2021, and the first time they have opened the season with a one-two since 2019.

8th March 2026
Russell takes Melbourne pole as Verstappen crashes

George Russell claimed pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen suffered a horrible start to 2026, the Dutchman crashing in the early stages.

Russell beat team-mate Kimi Antonelli to pole, with Mercedes locking out the front row in Melbourne for the first time since 2019.

Attention in the early part of qualifying was dominated by Verstappen’s accident which took place on his first timed attempt, confirming a 20th-placed start for the race.

The rear axle of Verstappen’s RB22 seized as he braked into Turn One, sending the four-time champion skating across the gravel into the barrier.

The Dutchman’s misfortune did pay dividends to Mercedes, the subsequent red flag offering them more time to prepare Antonelli’s car following his crash in third practice prior to qualifying.

But more drama ensued in the third and final part of qualifying, when Mercedes sent Antonelli onto the circuit with both sidepod coolers still attached.

The coolers were inevitably deposited onto the racetrack; one landed in the gravel at Turn One, while one was obliterated by Lando Norris’ McLaren having been flung onto the track.

The Mercedes driver’s day became trickier when he took an excursion at Turn Three having locked up. However, he recovered from that and his earlier crash to end qualifying second.

Isaac Hadjar impressed hugely on his Red Bull debut, setting a lap good enough for third behind the Mercedes duo.

Charles Leclerc will line up fourth for Ferrari, ahead of the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in fifth and sixth respectively. Sir Lewis Hamilton will start seventh. The Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindlad followed.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto will start 10^th having ground to a halt in the pit entry at the end of Q2 – an incident that caught Lawson and Lindblad by surprise. The latter nearly ended up in the barrier as a result.

Nico Hulkenberg was pipped into Q3 by team-mate Bortoleto and will start 11^th, while the Haas cars of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon will take to the grid in 12^th and 13^th respectively on Sunday.

Pierre Gasly ended qualifying in 14^th ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon, a trip across the grass at the end of Q2 preventing any improvements for the Thai driver. Franco Colapinto will start the grand prix in 16^th.

Fernando Alonso, during a torrid opening to the year for Aston Martin, set a time good enough for 17^th, ahead of the Cadillacs of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.

Verstappen, following his shunt, ended the session in P20, while Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll did not manage to get out on track.

Russell’s pole is his eighth in Formula 1, and his first in Australia.

7th March 2026
Formula One Australian Grand Prix Preview and Predictions
After 85 days, Formula One finally returns this week to the homeland of Oscar Piastri, Jack Doohan and Mark Webber! The Australian Grand Prix marks Formula One’s 76th season and the second year since 2019 that the country has hosted the opening round, the first of a new engine era since 2014…the last era. Not many driver changes this season with Arvid Lindblad being the best (and only) rookie this season, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez returning to the sport with Cadillac and Isack Hadjar moving up to the main Red Bull team.

Track Preview

This 5.278km long circuit displays the 30th anniversary since the first Grand Prix held here. There are 5 “Straight Mode Zones”:
- Main straight
- Turn 2 to turn 3
- Turn 5 to turn 6
- Turn 8 to turn 9
- Turn 10 to turn 11
Formula One Australia Grand Prix Circuit Map. Image Credit: Formula One’s website

The active aero side of the cars, which is new for this season, will impact the races in a way we have never seen it before.

Along with Formula 1 starting, Formula 2 and Formula 3 also return this weekend which will see more drivers and teams take to the track and attempt to make their way to F1!

Countdown to the Weekend

Its a dream weekend for viewers in the oceanic region of the world and one of the rare weekends that happens before sunrise for many sections of the world.

Countdown to FP1

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Countdown to Qualifying

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Countdown to the Australian Grand Prix

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Predictions

The Crew over here at Crew Towers have made predictions of the top 5 ahead of the Grand Prix.

Kieran:
P1. Leclerc
P2. Russell
P3. Verstappen
P4. Norris
P5. Antonelli

Taras:
P1. Hamilton
P2. Russell
P3. Leclerc
P4. Norris
P5. Verstappen
2nd March 2026
PitCrew Online F1 2025 Driver Rankings Revealed

Ranking the 2025 grid is not an exact science, as there are a myriad of factors behind any driver’s performance across a season.

Still, eight members of the Pit Crew Online have tried to do just that with each member placing emphasis on different factors.

These rankings are taken from a mean average of where those eight members have ranked every driver, with lowest average to highest average.

So, with that introduction done, let’s start with the lowest ranked driver.

21: Jack Doohan
It feels harsh to judge Doohan on the basis of six races, but Doohan was on a hiding to nothing given his position was subject to rumour even before the season started. Some high profile crashes in Australia, Japan and Miami made the probable inevitable, but the Australian did have some highs and deserved points in Bahrain but for a safety car. Needs to leave the Alpine stable.

20: Franco Colapinto
Colapinto arrived at Alpine with a big fee and a big reputation, but got off to a horrible start after a needless crash in qualifying at Imola. For a while, he was nowhere and not helped by rookie errors such as switching the car off in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. He will benefit from stability going into 2026.

19: Yuki Tsunoda
A strong start at Racing Bulls ultimately proved his undoing as he became the latest victim of Red Bull’s second seat. A solid start to his Red Bull career at the Japanese Grand Prix foreshadowed what was to be the root of most of his problems, as his lack of qualifying pace in an albeit tricky car meant he was always out of position. Another to crash in qualifying at Imola, his spectacular accident spooked Red Bull and meant until Laurent Mekies took over from the sacked Christian Horner after the British Grand Prix, he was always a spec behind teammate Max Verstappen. 2025 reputational damage was complete when he dangerously weaved in front of Lando Norris in Abu Dhabi like a poor man’s Sergio Perez. Out of F1 for 2026.

18: Lance Stroll
It is abundantly clear that only family has kept Lance Stroll in Formula One for ten seasons. A fortunate but nevertheless impressive sixth in the season opening Australian Grand Prix soon gave way to a now familiar mix of frustration and a lack of pace. Was the only car lapped in Japan at the third round and thereafter failed to finish above 14^th until an excellent 7^th at the British Grand Prix in July. Save for two more 7^th places in Hungary and the Netherlands, this wasn’t backed up and the Canadian admitted to being lost compared to teammate Fernando Alonso.

17: Liam Lawson
Lawson looked on a one-way ticket out of Formula One after demotion from Red Bull after two races. The New Zealander regrouped at Racing Bulls and after his first top 10 of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix, points were semi regular. In the final 8 races, he outpointed lauded teammate Isack Hadjar with brilliant drives in Baku and Brazil and after three years of upheaval for Lawson within the Red Bull stable, 2026 offers the first year of stability. He showed himself to be the right choice to be incoming rookie Arvid Lindblad’s benchmark next season, but his career at the top of F1 appears over before it’s begun.

16: Esteban Ocon
If this ranking was during the summer break, Ocon would likely have made the top 10. Showed real class in a drive to 5^th in China (albeit assisted by a Ferrari double DSQ) and impressed with 8^th in Bahrain, but was buried by rookie teammate Ollie Bearman in the second half of the season to finish behind the Brit in the standings, and qualified on average 1.2 places behind. As Haas’ base pace improved, Ocon was often lost on setup and the car got often got away from him. His reputation has taken significant damage this season.

15: Lewis Hamilton
If Hamilton had thought a fresh start for 2025 at Ferrari would rejuvenate his form after a sad end to a wonderful Mercedes partnership, he was sorely mistaken. A sprint win in China was as good as it got as the 7-time World Champion was soundly beaten by one of the current best in Charles Leclerc. The Brit was not helped by a Ferrari team who came up with a totally new concept in the final season a rules cycle and failing to understand their car, and it took both team and driver a long time to adjust to one another. His first year off a Grand Prix podium in 19 seasons in the sport says much about how the year went. He cut disconsolate figure at the end of the season, with the final four races seeing him out of Q1 and relying on recovery drives to score in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. It feels like 2026 could be farewell for a legend of the sport.

14: Gabriel Bortoleto
Save for a comment by former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko about being a B grade rookie, Bortoleto’s first half of the season went under the radar as an uncompetitive Sauber had him out of the limelight. Sauber got their act together and points followed in Austria, while he outraced none other than Max Verstappen with an excellent sixth in Hungary. He troubled esteemed teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying throughout the season but will be disappointed that a few rookie errors crept in with two needless crashes in Brazil and another in Las Vegas. Part of a strong lineup for 2026 as Sauber becomes Audi.

13: Pierre Gasly
Gasly has proven difficult to rank in what was clearly the worst car. Some excellent drives include a seventh in Bahrain, eighth at the ultimately chaotic Spanish Grand Prix and a brilliant sixth at the wet British Grand Prix. Made Q3 10 times in a car that had absolutely no business being there, but with Alpine moving to customer Mercedes status for 2026 there should be scope for better things for the Frenchman.

12: Nico Hulkenberg
2025 will be remembered as the year the German finally broke his podium duck, with a perfectly judged third place at Silverstone. Outqualified 11 times by rookie teammate Bortoleto, it was his Sunday pace that impressed most in 2025 with nine points finishes and another top five in Spain. A strong end to the season for the German yielded an unexpected 11^th in the standings as he showed himself to be a sensible choice as Audi embark on their first F1 adventure in 2026.

11: Ollie Bearman
Bearman’s potential was highlighted with his parachuted performances for Haas and Ferrari in 2024, and he backed that up in his first full season in F1 at Haas in 2025. Three points finishes in the first four races was a good start, and while rookie errors such as crashing under red flags at Silverstone and needless collisions have him close to a race ban, he can be pleased with his season. As Haas got quicker, so did he and he buried experienced teammate Ocon in the second half of the season, with a brilliant drive to fourth in Mexico threatening a first ever Haas podium the pick of the bunch. Looking like Ferrari’s long-term answer.

10: Alex Albon
While he outscored new teammate Carlos Sainz over 2025, his late season slump was alarming as the Spaniard eventually got the upper hand in the final third of the season and it is that momentum that has counted against him here. However, his excellent form before the summer break shouldn’t be ignored and he was for a long time battling Antonelli for 7^th in the standings. Four top fives in a body of work containing 11 points finishes show that when the top four teams had an off day it was him more than most that picked up the spoils, and if he can regain that form for 2026 then Williams have a formidable driver pairing for F1’s new era.

9: Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli made a consistent start with three top 6 finishes in the first three races including a wonderful fourth on debut that showed his sky-high potential. He went missing in the European season when Mercedes brought in a suspension upgrade they would later drop. There were some rookie errors along the way, such as when he took Verstappen out on lap 1 in Austria and spun predecessor Hamilton in Holland. Showed good mental strength to bounce back in the final third of the season and almost take 6^th overall. Two third places in Canada and Las Vegas were good if fortuitous, but his second place in Sao Paolo was another glimpse of his world class talent. Plenty to improve on but a very high ceiling.

8: Isack Hadjar
Hadjar suffered a nightmare debut in Australia by crashing out on the formation lap and attracting a needless comment from Helmut Marko. To bounce back as he did with strong pace in China and points in Suzuka was impressive, and the Frenchman carried on that improvement throughout the season. There was bad luck and bad RB strategy along the way notably in Qatar and China, while crashing in qualifying in Austin is a mark against him. Hadjar has shown enough about him to suggest he won’t be overawed by being Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate in 2026.

7: Fernando Alonso
That he took until Round 9 in Spain to score his first points was more down to luck than the Spaniard as reliability problems proved costly in China and Monaco, and the Aston Martin wasn’t strong enough to compete. That said, there were costly errors with a crash in Melbourne and a spin in Qatar to drop out of the top 6, but he comprehensively outperformed Stroll again. If Adrian Newey works his magic, 2026 could roll back the years for F1’s oldest driver.

6: Carlos Sainz
It is too simplistic to say that Sainz was poor in the first half and great in the second half of 2025. Sainz was on for points before crashing in Australia, and while he was outperformed early season by Albon there were good races in Saudi Arabia, Imola and Miami while Williams found his technical feedback and mentality invaluable. While he went missing in Spain and Japan and had a needless collision with Antonelli in Austin, Sainz got the upper hand on Albon in the second half of the season culminating in two podiums, on merit, in Baku and Qatar. If Williams master the 2026 regulations, he and Albon will make the most of it.

5: Charles Leclerc
Leclerc was a victim of Ferrari’s strange design path from the start of 2025, and took it to six front row starts that the car didn’t deserve. There were a couple of poor races including another horrible wet British Grand Prix outing but this season was another where the car was the issue and not the driver. 2025 being winless does not reflect how good this season was for the Monegasque as he firmly asserted himself over 7 time Champion Hamilton. He must wonder whether it will ever happen for him at Ferrari.

4: Oscar Piastri
If this was compiled after Monza, Piastri would top the standings. Unfortunately the Australian’s season completely unravelled after a disastrous weekend in Baku, and he revealed later in the season that being asked to swap positions with teammate Norris in Monza affected him. He was never able to wrestle back control of the season and by Mexico he had fallen behind his teammate in the Championship standings. Despite this, there was a lot of good as he dominated Norris in the first 15 races of the season and the run from China through to Holland was peerless as he was off the podium only once in Canada during that run. He will need to work on his mentality to become the complete driver in Formula One.

3: George Russell
Russell showed remarkable consistency and did not deserve to have questions over his future throughout most of 2025. Asserted himself over hotshot teammate Kimi Antonelli after beating Hamilton in two of three seasons at Mercedes. Two wins in Canada and Singapore were brilliant and his worse weekends were mostly car induced, with only the borderline farcical Monaco Grand Prix and a Sao Paolo Grand Prix in which he was outpaced by Antonelli really count against him. Has proven himself the complete driver in 2025.

2: Lando Norris
Norris threatened to blow a golden opportunity at the title with a lacklustre and error strewn first half of the season, with an unnecessary collision with Piastri in Canada the nadir of that spell. Victory at the Austrian Grand Prix kickstarted the Brit’s season and he came to form at the right time of the season to knock the stuffing out of teammate Piastri. Norris proved a lot of people wrong by showing enormous mental fortitude to come back and close out his first World Drivers’ Championship. A worthy champion.

1: Max Verstappen
This season eclipsed Fernando Alonso’s 2012 for the best forlorn World Championship challenge. That Verstappen only made two notable mistakes with the red mist on George Russell in Spain and the halfspin in Silverstone when a dry set up proved too hot to handle in the wet. Apart from those, and a horrible weekend in Hungary, the Dutchman extracted the maximum from his car. His ability to rally the team over a weekend and improve performance on such a consistent basis, and his mentality in chasing at the end of the season means no one can argue when he says that 2025 was the best performance of his career. The biggest asset on the current grid.

Image credits: f1pressarea.pirelli.com

22nd December 2025
BREAKING NEWS: Red Bull sack Christian Horner as CEO, Laurent Mekies replaces him

Red Bull Racing has announced that Christian Horner has been let go of his duties at Red Bull Racing with immediate effect. Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies will replace the long-standing team principal of the Milton Keynes team.

Horner was the first and only team principal of the team from the inaugeral season since 2005, seeing 8 world drivers championships come under his wing from Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013 inclusive and Max Verstappen from 2021 to 2024 inclusive.

In a statement to F1, Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Corporate Projects and Investments, said:

“We would like to thank Christian Horner for his exceptional work over the last 20 years,” added Mintzlaff. With his tireless commitment, experience, expertise, and innovative thinking, he has been instrumental in establishing Red Bull Racing as one of the most successful and attractive teams in Formula 1. Thank you for everything, Christian, and you will forever remain an important part of our team history.”

Laurent Mekies went on to say, “The last year and a half has been an absolute privilege to lead the team with Peter [Bayer, Racing Bulls CEO]. It has been an amazing adventure to contribute to the birth of Racing Bulls together with all our talented people. The spirit of the whole team is incredible, and I strongly believe that this is just the beginning.”

Laurent Mekies joins after taking over the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team in 2024, taking over from Franz Tost, who retires at the end of 2023. Mekies worked previously at Ferrari and saw many drivers under his wing once taking command of Red Bull’s sister team, including Liam Lawson, Daniel Ricciardo, and Yuki Tsunoda, the latter of whom he will be reunited with at Red Bull Racing.

Alan Permane has been given the top role at Racing Bulls as Mekies has moved up to the main seat at Red Bull Racing.

Formula One returns on 25th July 2025 at Spa Francorchamps, Belgium.

9th July 2025
Spanish Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri Dominates Controversial Spanish Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri dominated to win a controversial Spanish Grand Prix for McLaren ahead of teammate Lando Norris.

Charles Leclerc took an opportunistic third ahead of George Russell, who was seemingly deliberately hit by an angry Max Verstappen three laps from the end.

Verstappen received a 10s penalty for that and is the subject of another investigation, which saw him drop from fifth to tenth.

Nico Hulkenberg took a masterful fifth after overtaking an off-colour Lewis Hamilton in the dying stages, with Isack Hadjar seventh.

Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso completed the top tenth ahead of Verstappen.

Controversy came after the a Safety Car ten laps from the end was brought out after Kimi Antonelli suffered an engine failure in his Mercedes.

Almost all of the drivers still left pitted for used or fresh softs, with the exception of Verstappen who stopped for new hards from third.

The Dutchman made his frustrations with his Red Bull team clear, and on the restart nearly spun into the inside wall leading on to the main straight.

That allowed Leclerc’s Ferrari alongside and ahead into third, via a touch on the straight, before the seeds of this race’s defining incident were sewn, as Russell made contact with a now mad Max at the first corner to force him off the track.

An angry Verstappen was then told to let Russell through having retained fourth, and on lap 64 he appeared to comply with that instruction into Turn 5, before ramming the Brit’s Mercedes in what appeared to be retaliation similar to his incident with Hamilton at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Verstappen was given a ten second penalty for his act of retribution meaning he scored one point for tenth.

Piastri made an excellent start to lead away from the grid, while teammate Norris dropped behind Verstappen after they went three wide with Russell, who was subsequently baulked and passed by the two Ferraris.

Norris would eventually pass Verstappen after 12 laps and Red Bull switched to a three stop race.

That looked like it may pay dividends as McLaren woke up to the possibility that they may be caught napping, and before the Safety Car Verstappen was only two seconds behind Norris having covered off a previously two-stopping Leclerc.

More to follow…

1st June 2025