Formula Journal

It came down to the wire after 58 laps someone would be named 2025 World Champion. Would it be Max Verstappen for the 5th time or Oscar Pastri or Lando Norris for the first time ever?

The race : Verstappen lunged down the straight ahead of both McLarens. Piastri passed his teammate Norris for P2 whilst Alonso and Leclerc squabbled. Lap 8 Oscar was told to pick up the pace and put pressure on Verstappen. Drivers with soft tyres came into the pits on lap 9 for hard tyres. Liam Lawson was handed a 5 sec penalty for driving erratically.

Lap 15 the mid field came in to pit and Russell pitted to undercut Leclerc. A couple of laps later Norris came into pit for hard tyres and rejoined the track in P9 behind Antonelli. Lap 19 Norris overtook both Lawson and Stroll at the same corner, with Leclerc repeating the same move on lap 20. Lap 23 Norris went off the track whilst overtaking Tsunoda. Verstappen entered the pit leaving Piastri leading the race. Both Tsunoda and Norris were under investigation. Tsunoda was given 5 sec penalty for weaving on the track, whilst Norris received nothing.

Albon received a 5 sec penalty for speeding in the pit lane. 18 laps later Leclerc pitted for the second time with Norris coming in after, with a perfect 2.4 second pit stop, and rejoined in P3 infront of Russell. A lap later Oscar comes in for another great 2.2 second pit stop.

With 5 laps remaining Oscar continued to hunt down Verstappen, Norris in P3 had the championship at his fingertips. With 3 laps remaining Lando was putting pressure on his teammate.

LANDO NORRIS IS THE 2025 WORLD CHAMPION!!!!!!

Top 10: Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Russell, Alonso, Ocon, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Stroll

See you next season!

The stakes were high coming into Qatar there was an opportunity for Lando to secure the win and be guaranteed the championship title.

Lap 1 Max passed Lando for 2nd at turn 1. Russell dropped positions after a rough start but Antonelli moved up into P4. A few laps later Hulkenberg went off the track after contact with Gasly who then had a puncture, as a result of this a safety car was deployed. Verstappen and the rest of the grid came into the pits, for fresh tyres, however neither of the McLarens took this advantage. Ocon was given a 5 sec penalty for a false start. Lap 10 the safety car ended and Piastri controlled the restart with Verstappen keeping very close to the McLarens. Lando was caught totally off guard by Oscar’s fast restart.

Each driver was limited to 25 laps for their tyres, with McLaren not pitting during the safety car this meant they had more ‘flexibility’ however everyone who did pit, would have to pit around lap 32. This meant between lap 25 and 32 McLaren should have fresher tyres (possibly softs) for a fast middle stint. All McLaren just needed to do was create a large enough gap from Verstappen, which is easier said than done.

Lap 20 a massive DRS train occurred from Alonso in P6 to his teammate Stroll in P16! A situation McLaren really needed to avoid after pitting. Lap 24 Piastri came into the pit trading his medium tyres for another set of mediums, and came out in P5 clear of Alonso. Next Lando came in for a clean stop and medium tyres, he came out just about clear of Alonso in P5.

Stroll received a 5 sec penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Lap 30 Piastri moved up to P3 after overtaking Antonelli. Lap 33 the drivers who pitted during the safety car came in for a change of tyres, leaving the McLarens out infront to create a gap. Lap 37 Lando reported he may have damage due to him going off into the gravel. Luckily there was no major damage. Bearman was given a 10 sec penalty for unsafe release.

Lap 42 Piastri came into the pits for his second stop, 1.8 seconds!! Bearman came into the pits to serve his penalty and retired from the race. 2 laps later Norris came in for his last stop of the race and returned to the track behind Antonelli and Sainz, in P5. Sainz in P4 radioed in thinking he may have lost a piece of the car as he had understeer on righthand corners. Meanwhile Antonelli and Norris battled it out for P4. Lap 56 Hadjar had a puncture and Antonelli went wide leaving Lando to take advantage of the gap to progress to P4. Sainz achieved P3!!

The championship fight continues, see you in Abu Dhabi!

Top 10: Verstappen, Piastri, Sainz, Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Alosno, Leclerc, Lawson, Tsunoda

Norris made a decent start but so did Verstappen who was coming at him with a typical aggressive Max move. Lando went wide, giving Vertstappen the lead whilst Lando fell to 3rd, after Russell overtook him. Both McLarens lost positions on the first lap. A yellow flag was deployed so Marshals could clear the debris on the track, Bortoleto collided into the side of Stroll, causing the Canadian’s race to abruptly end. There was a similar move involving Lawson and Piastri which caused the McLaren to loose places.

Lap 12 Leclerc made the move on Piastri for P6 and then overtook Hadjar for P5. Antonelli received a 5 sec penalty for a jump start. Lap 16 Piastri gained his position back by overtaking Hadjar.

Lap 31 the oldies on the grid, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had a scrap but not for long as Bearman overtook Alonso for P11. A few laps later Norris overtook the Mercedes of Russell for P2.

Dominating from the start Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix. On the last lap Piastri overtook Antonelli for P4.

Top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Antonelli, Leclerc, Sainz, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Hamilton

But the drama didn’t stop there ladies and gentlemen. Both McLarens were under investigation and at risk of disqualification. The skid blocks (titanium plates at the bottom of the car to prevent the plank from scrapping the track). The skid block, limits how low the car can run reducing the downward force effect. The skid blocks are expected to be 1cm but with 1mm give or take. However both McLarens skid blocks were below 9mm and the stewards have launched an investigation into them. In cases like this the most often result is disqualification.

CONFIRMED: Both McLarens have been disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Norris still leads the championship but both Verstappen and Piastri are now 24 points behind him. It’s all to play for with only 2 races left.

New Top 10: Verstappen, Russell, Antonelli, Leclerc, Sainz, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Ocon, Bearman

Norris achieved a better start than Antonelli with Oscar fending off Hadjar. Bortoleto exited the race after crashing into the barriers, and a safety car was deployed. Hamilton’s front wing and floor received a sizeable amount of damage after contact with Sainz, causing him to drop to the back of the pack. Lewis subsequently pitted for a new front wing.

Lap 5 the safety car ended and Lando launched himself onto the start, finish straight. Going into turn 1 Oscar locked up and bumped into Antonelli who span, plus Leclerc lost a tyre. A VSC was deployed. Verstappen who had progressed to P13 had a puncture so had to box for new tyres.

Lap 12 Russell overtook Hadjar for a crucial P4. A lap later Bearman overtook Lawson for P6 with Verstappen overtaking a struggling Lewis Hamilton. Piastri and Tsunoda were both given 5 second penalties for causing a collision. Verstappen made another move, overtaking Hulkenberg. Lap 18 Bearman and Sainz came into the pits for fresh tyres. With more drivers pitting Verstappen increased his position to P4.

Lap 27 the Stewards noticed that Tsunoda had failed to serve his 10 sec penalty correctly, in the pits, so he received another 10 sec penalty. Hamilton was given a 5 second penalty for causing a collision with Colapinto. A few laps later Antonelli made a move on Albon for P5. Norris came into the pits for new tyres and rejoined in P4 behind Verstappen.

Lap 35 Max entered the pits, rejoining the track in P12. Lap 38 Ferrari radioed Hamilton telling him to box in order to retire the car. Piastri came into the pits to serve his penalty and for what we expected to be his only pit of the race. Lando was left leading the race with Bearman in P4. A few laps later Bearman enters the pits for some fresh tyres.

Lap 51 Norris pits to trade his soft tyres for mediums leaving Verstappen leading the race. A couple of laps later Max pitted for the soft tyres he hadn’t used during qualifying.

Lap 63 Verstappen launched past Russell into turn 1 for P3!

Max was on Kimi’s tail for the last few laps, while the young 19 year old strived to keep him at bay, and maintain his P2 position.

Lando Norris won the Brazilian Grand Prix, dominating the whole weekend, and extending his championship lead by 24 points.

Top 10: Norris, Antonelli, Verstappen, Russell, Piastri, Bearman, Lawson, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Gasly

Turn 1 Max went wide, off the track and onto the grass, a long with Charles who rejoined the track in P1 however he had to give the place back to Lando. By the first corner Bearman was up into P6. Lance Stroll also span off the track but rejoined in P19. What’s more Liam Lawson came into the pits for a new front wing after contact with the Williams.

Lap 6 Verstappen made contact with Lewis and the Ferrari left the track, forcing him to take the escape route. During that Bearman took advantage of the situation passing Verstappen for P4. Lap 9 Lawson came into the pits to retire the car.

Lap 11 Piastri overtook Tsunoda for P8 with Verstappen out of Bearman’s DRS. Hamilton was given a 10 second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Lap 24 Lewis came into the pits and took his penalty.

Lap 25 Piastri and Bearman came into the pits, with Ollie having a great stop of 2.7 secs. A few laps later Hulkenberg DNF’d after an engine failure while Carlos Sainz was given a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Lap 35 Norris came into the pits for a clean stop and stayed out in front. Lap 36 saw Alonso DNF’d.

George Russell in P5 radioed his team saying that his teammate wasn’t fast enough and he had the McLaren of Piastri on his tail. Lap 41 Mercedes finally told Antonelli to let George past to see if he could overtake Bearman. With a few laps left McLaren told Piastri that if he didn’t overtake Antonelli at the start of the finish straight he should come into the pits, the next lap both Antonelli and Piastri came into the pits. McLaren had a smooth stop and Piastri came back on the track in front of Antonelli.

Lap 53 Bearman was under pressure from Russell and Carlos Sainz was given another penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Some laps later Piastri launched past Russell to secure P5 and the Mercedes drivers swapped back. With two laps left Piastri was on the tail of Bearman’s Haas and Verstappen was on Leclerc’s. We had a VSC on the last lap as Sainz came to a stop. We thought we were going to be robbed of a last lap battle between the Red Bull and the Ferrari. However, we had half a lap left but not enough time for Verstappen.

Lando Norris dominated this weekend and the race. He is now the leader of the Championship by 1 point. And a career best for rookie Oliver Bearman finishing in P4.

Top 10: Norris, Leclerc, Verstappen, Bearman, Piastri, Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton, Ocon, Bortoleto

After a crazy sprint race on Saturday we were expecting just as much of an action packed race today.

Lap 1 Charles overtook Lando at turn 1 and Piastri passed Russell. It wasn’t long until Max was out of DRS and began creating a gap between him and Charles. Lap 3 Norris was on the tail end of Leclerc. Lap 7 Antonelli span off into the gravel after contact with Sainz at turn 15, unfortunately the Williams had to retire but the Mercedes was able to carry on. Unlucky day for Williams as Albon also had contact with Hulkenberg. Sainz was given a 5 place grid penalty for the Mexican GP.

Lap 15 there was a game of cat and mouse between the McLaren of Norris and the Ferrari of Leclerc. Lap 18 Antonelli made the move on Hadjar for P16, as he tried to make his way back up the grid. Lap 21 finally Lando made his move and got up into P2. Next lap both of the Ferrari’s were scrapping for P3. Leclerc came into pit, and rejoined the track in P9.

Lap 33 Lando had yet another slow stop. I’m starting to think McLaren is becoming the new Ferrari, messing up these pit stops. A couple of laps later Bearman span after chasing Tsunoda but, luckily, he came out unscathed.

Another battle ensued during lap 38 with Lando and Charles….. but not for long as McLaren told Norris to back off and save his tyres. Nevertheless with a few laps remaining Norris caught back up and overtook Charles for P2.

And… Max Verstappen won the Austin Grand Prix. He is now only 40 points behind Piastri and Abu Dhabi is edging closer. Who do you think will win the WDC?

Top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Alonso

Lando progressed 2 places at the beginning with George having a great start ahead of Verstappen. On the radio Lando confirmed he had slight contact with Verstappen, but he was told there was nothing to worry about. Being reassured he began hunting down Max for P2, whilst George, in P1, had a comfy 2 second gap from Max.

Lap 9 Max was dropping back from George with over a 4 second gap.

Lap 17 Norris was told to box to overtake Verstappen, and then was told him to stay out. A sneaky move to catch Red Bull out. A few laps later Max came into the pits to trade his medium tyres for hards. Next Hadjar and Leclerc came into the pits.

Later on Norris pits, leaving Oscar out infront. When Oscar came into the pits he had a long pit stop of over 5 seconds but luckily this didn’t affect his track position and he still came out P4.

Lap 37 Max locked up, unfortunately for him, loosing time to both Russell and Norris. A few laps later whilst Lando was edging closer, Max was crying for help over the radio. Lap 45 Hulkenberg spins off but manages to keep going.

With 5 laps left Norris was half a second behind Max.

George Russell won the Singapore Grand Prix AND MCLAREN ARE THE 2025 CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Top 10: Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Antonelli, Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Bearman, Sainz

After a crazy qualifying we were ready to go racing, with bated breath. Max shot to the first corner while Oscar Piastri had a dreadful start, stopping and stalling, resulting in him winding up last. PIASTRI FINISHED UP IN THE WALL after locking up, the safety car was deployed. Many drivers from the back of the grid came into the pits for an early stop. On the same lap Hulkenberg hit Ocon but he came out unscathed.

Lap 4 we restarted with Russell and Norris loosing positions. Fernando Alonso was given a 5sec penalty for a jump start. Leclerc, climbed up to P7 after overtaking Hadjar, with Sainz still staying surprisingly close to the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Russell overtook the Red Bull of Tsunoda and began chasing after his teammate.

Lap 11 Colapinto started a DRS train of 6 drivers. Lap 15 both Mercedes were hunting Lawson for P3. The next lap Albon came into the pits for the favoured hard tyres.

Lap 17 Colapinto and Albon crashed which caused Colapinto to scuff the wall and Albon to loose part of his front wing. Albon was given a penalty. Antonelli pitted for hard tyres which enabled George to charge ahead in order to catch Lawson. Lap 21 Lawson came into the pits emerging just infront of Antonelli but not for long as Kimi fought back and gained P9. Antonelli made another move, this time on Bortoleto. Lap 28 Sainz entered the pits and returned to the track in P6.

Lap 33 Tsunoda had a message from his team to ‘pick up the pace’ as Lando was edging closer. A few laps later Hamilton pitted for medium tyres and rejoined in P9. Lando also came into the pits but it was yet another slow pit stop for Lando. Tsuonda and Lawson battled for P5, with Lawson winning which meant he progressed into the top 5. Russell was next to pit. Max followed but with a 32 second gap between him and George in P2 there was very little risk.

Lando chased Tsunoda for P6 while Tsunoda chased Lawson for P5. Hamilton in P8 joined the back of the DRS train. With 2 laps left Max had a safe 14 second gap from Russell.

Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix AND CARLOS SAINZ TOOK P3!!!

Top 10: Verstappen, Russell, Sainz, Antonelli, Lawson, Tsunoda, Norris, Hamilton, Leclerc, Hadjar

Before lights out, it was bad news for Nico Hulkenberg as he was instructed to retire the car.

Lap 1 Lando ran off into the grass after trying to pass Oscar as Max cut off the corner whilst Lando was overtaking him. Max was told to give P1 back to Lando. Oscar overtook Charles for P3 but not for long as Charles fought to regain his position. Lap 4 Lando locked up and Max took advantage to reclaim P1, a couple laps later Pastri was back up to P3.

Esteban Ocon was given a 5 second penalty for forcing Stroll off the track. Lap 18 Kimi Antonelli moved up into P9 after overtaking Tsunoda.

Lap 25 Alonso had to retire after experiencing suspension failure. 5 laps later Max’s front tyres were blistering causing his performance to slowly degrade.

Lap 34 Leclerc pitted and came out in P6. A couple of laps later Verstappen came into the pits leaving Lando out infront. Lap 41 Bearman and Sainz crashed but both were able to carry on racing. Bearman receiving a 10 second penalty.

With 10 laps to go Oscar was closing in on his teammate when he came into the pits for soft tyres. The next lap Lando came in for softs too but unfortunately had a very slow stop. Piastri let Norris past with McLaren telling them they were free to race.

Verstappen won the Italian GP.

Top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Albon, Bortoleto, Antonelli, Hadjar

Through the first corner Max made a move on Lando for P2! Alex Albon also gained 5 places just on the first lap! Charles was putting pressure on Isack Hadjar who had an amazing quali (P4). Lap 3 Oscar had escaped DRS from Max and by Lap 7 Max’s soft tyres were beginning to degrade. The next lap Charles was closer to Isack and Lando was within Max’s DRS.

Lap 9 Lando regained P2 from Max after squeezing past him. A few laps later Bearman came onto the radio giving a message to the stewards that Bortoleto’s front wing was flapping from a previous contact with Lance Stroll. Part of the front wing had fallen off and many drivers were having to drive over it.

Lap 20 fans began putting on their ponchos in the grandstands but the drivers were still pitting for slicks. A few laps later Lewis Hamilton ended up in the barriers with many drivers taking advantage to came in for a safety car pit stop, including a McLaren double stack. Lap 26 we restarted and Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson made contact, resulting in both of them falling to the back of the grid. Carlos Sainz was later given a 10 second penalty which he was far from happy about.

Lap 31 we had a VSC due to the debris on the track. During the next lap Charles and George went wheel to wheel but Charles wasn’t backing down, he squeezed passed and gained P5. 10 laps later George was told by the team to allow Kimi past to see if he had the pace to overtake Charles.

It’s a bad day if you’re a Ferrari fan because on lap 53 Leclerc went round the outside to overtake Kimi crashing into the barriers. Of course another safety car was deployed, which many drivers took advantage of. Kimi was awarded a 10 sec penalty. A few laps later we restarted again with Lando under major pressure from Max. Kimi was given another penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Lap 60 Lando was within Oscar’s DRS but lap 65 Lando reported he could smell smoke coming from his car within seconds he had stopped and jumped out. Unfortunately for him the championship battle has now increased to 34 points. 3 laps later the safety car ended as light drizzle began to cover the track.

Oscar Piastri won the Dutch GP and ISACK HADJAR P3!!!

Top 10: Piastri, Verstappen Hadjar Russell, Albon, Bearman, Stroll, Antonelli, Alonso, Tsunoda