Breaking records in Baku
This years Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be one of the most memorable races of the 2025 calendar breaking all kinds of records.
Qualifying on Saturday was the longest ever qualifying session due to having 6 red flags and multiple yellow flags, the session lasting 1 hour and 58 minutes.
Sundays race marked Williams first ever podium under James Vowles as team principal. With Carlos Sainz getting his first podium since leaving Ferrari after qualifying P2 on Saturday with a flyer of a lap.
Championship leader Oscar piastri crashed out on lap 1 after hitting the barrier at turn 5. His teammate Lando Norris finished P7, still gaining valuable points in the championship battle.
Liam Lawson finished in a career best with P5, with Kimi Antonelli beating him just to clinch P4. Kimi’s teammate George Russell secured P2 after having a difficult start to the weekend due to ill health, he later said that if the race had been in Singapore he would’ve had to pull out with reserve driver Valterri Bottas taking his space.
Yuki Tsunoda claimed a career best finish with Red bull finishing P6. With his teammate Max Verstappen winning the race, his 4th win of the season and is still firmly in the run to take the drivers championship away from both Mclaren drivers.
Ferrari had a better weekend than previously, but still a tough day at the office as both cars struggled in qualifying. Lewis finished P8, with Charles taking P9.
Next we head to Singapore, the most physically demanding race in the calendar, with Singapore becoming a sprint race next year, a decision a lot of fans are unhappy about. Drivers can lose a lot of weight in this race compared to other tracks due to the humidity and the length of time they are in the car.
As we head into the final stretch of the 2025 season, theres still a lot of racing and hopefully a lot of surprises still to come.
An Italian GP full of surprises
In a weekend full of red, this years Grand Prix ended in the blue of red bull with Max Verstappen taking the win after an incredible lap in Saturdays qualifying session.
The tifosi weren’t left totally disappointed as both Ferrari drivers got a decent result, with Charles taking P4 and Lewis taking P6 after he started P10 due to a 5 place grid drop penalty he received after last weeks race.
Both McLaren drivers took the other steps on the podium, but not without controversy surrounding the teams strategy which has left fans wondering if the team prioritises one of the drivers over the other.
Oscar pitted first with a good stop, they then pitted Lando who faced a slow stop and ended up dropping behind Oscar after he ran P2 for most of the race. The team ordered Oscar to swap positions with Lando so he could keep P2 position. Lando later said that “it’s what we decided as a team beforehand” and if it had been the other way around he would have done the same thing. Mean while Oscar sounded less pleased, and that’s valid when you’re leading the championship against your teammate, Oscar said there would be “things to discuss” within the team post race. So is there problems with this years leaders?
3 of this years rookies finished in the top 10, Isak taking P10 following his first podium in Zandvoort. Gabriel finished P8 helping sauber bring in points after Niko had to retire during the formation lap due to an mechanical issue. And Kimi took P9 in his home race, fighting well in the midfield to get into the points.
We now head to Baku this weekend, a favourite on the calendar for a lot of fans. With only a few races left in the 2025 season, will the cracks start to show more in McLaren? And can Ferrari get their first win of the year?
A Grand Prix for the rookies
The Dutch Grand Prix could be dubbed as having the most action in the 2025 season. With 3 DNF’s, a first time podium and rookies celebrating their best ever results it was nothing short of exciting.
Oscar Piastri took his 7th win in the 2025 season, making the gap in the championship now 34 points with Lando Norris unfortunately having to DNF due to a mechanical issue.
Both Ferraris had to DNF due to crashes, with Lewis Hamilton slipping on a wet track and Charles Leclerc colliding with Kimi Antonelli. Hamilton has also been given a 5 grid place penalty for this weekends race in Monza, due to speed infringement under yellow flags.
On a positive note, the rookies all had one of the best races in the 2025 season. Isak Hadjar took his first ever podium after qualifying P4 in Saturdays session. He’s the first ever junior red bull driver to get a podium and the youngest French driver to ever reach the podium.
Ollie Bearman had his best ever performance reaching P6 after starting from the pit lane due to changes within his car after qualifying. Franco Colpainto finished P11 after qualifying P16 on Saturday, a quiet race but managed to fight through the traffic in the middle of the field. Liam Lawson finished P12 after qualifying P8 on Saturday but still had a great race fighting amongst the top teams. Gabriel Bortoletto finished P15 after qualifying P13 on Saturday with both Sauber’s having a tough day at the office. Kimi Antonelli was having a good day until two time penalties came his way due to incidents in the race, including the crash that caused Leclerc to DNF, which means he finished P16.
With 9 races left in the 2025 calendar, the constructors championship looks like it’s been decided with McLaren having a 200 point lead over Ferrari.
This week is the return of a season favourite, Monza. But will the Ferraris be able to get a good result? Charles Leclerc took the victory at this track last year so the fans will be hoping history repeats itself this weekend.
Cadillac announce 2026 driver lineup
On Tuesday Cadillac announced their driver line up for the 2026 formula 1 season as they prepare to become the 11th team to join the sport.
Cadillac have chosen two veterans of the sport for a multi year deal for their entrance into F1. Finland’s Valterri Bottas will join Mexican Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez to represent the American company.
Valterri Bottas left Sauber at the end of the 2024 season and remained in the paddock this year as Mercedes’ reserve driver. With Sergio Perez rejoining the paddock after being dropped by Red Bull before the end of the 2024 season. He took a year out to make a long term decision and to spend time with his family. Both are welcomed back to the sport with a lot of buzz around them.
Between the two they have 527 race starts, with 106 podiums and 16 race wins. Both have been in the sport for upwards of 10 years. Bottas’ longest run alongside Hamilton at Mercedes for 5 seasons. And Perez being with Racing point (now alpine) for 6 seasons where he got his maiden win.
With some seats still empty for next season in a few teams, who knows what the rest of the season could bring and what driver line ups could be created. But this duo are going to be one to look out for with plenty of experience behind both of them.
A Hungarian Grand Prix full of emotions
Hungarian grand prix
After a dramatic weekend in Hungary Lando Norris took the victory after Charles Leclerc had a Sunday to forget. The ferrari lead for over half of the grand prix until issues started occurring and he rapidly dropped from pole to being out of podium contention, to then being handed a 5 second penalty post race due to ‘erratic driving’ close to George Russell who clinched P3.
Both Ferrari’s struggled after Lewis Hamilton qualified P12 and after stating in his media interviews that Ferrari should “Just change their driver” he failed to make any positions up in the order in Sunday’s race. Left wondering again, what is happening with Ferrari this season?
A good day for the rookies with Bortoletto, Lawson & Antonelli finishing in the top 10, with Hadjar just missing out on points in P11. Both Aston Martins both gained points in P5 & P7 the teams best finish in 2025 so far. Rookie Gabriel Bortoletto was voted driver of the day, after qualifying P7 on Saturday and making up a place in Sundays main race, a season best for the Brazilian.
Now we have a 3 week break until the Dutch Grand Prix, will there be any mid season driver changes? Cadillac are set to announce their driver line up for 2026 in the coming weeks, with names such as Sergio Perez, Valterri Bottas and Mick Schumaker being thrown around in the mix for the seats.
One things for the sure, the rest of this season is going to be jam packed full with excitement.
An uneventful sprint weekend
Saturday sprint results
P1 - Max Verstappen +8
P2 - Oscar Piastri +7
P3 - Lando norris +6
P4 - Charles Leclerc +5
P5 - Esteban Ocon +4
P6 - Carlos Sainz +3
P7 - Ollie Bearman +2
P8 - Isak Hadjar +1
P9 - Gabriel Bortoletto
P10 - Liam lawson
P11 - Yuki Tsunoda
P12 - George Russell
P13 - Lance Stroll
P14 - Fernando Alonso
P15 - Lewis hamilton
P16 - Alex Albon
P17 - Kimi Antonelli
P18 - Nico Hulkenberg
P19 - Franco Colapinto
P20 - Pierre Gasly
Todays sprint race in spa was lacking in action, but how much action can you pack into 15 laps of racing. Pierre Gasly had to start for the pitlane due to a oil leak and therefore dropped 12 places after qualifying P8 on Friday. Max Verstappen overtook Oscar Piastri early on and maintained his lead, even with both mclarens threatening his position each lap but just couldn’t reach him.
Moving onto qualifying for the grand prix
A disappointing qualifying for Aston martin with both cars out in Q1, along with the mercedes of Antonelli, the alpine of Colapinto and the ferrari of Hamilton after his lap time was deleted due to his car being over the white line on track.
A good day for VCARB with both drivers making it into Q3. And Albon qualifying in P5. And Norris clinched pole from his teammate Piastri at the last second.
It was later announced that 4 drivers would be starting from the pitlane with Alonso, Antonelli, Hamilton and Sainz all taking upgrades after qualifying.
Starting line-up
P1 Lando Norris
P2 Oscar Piatsri
P3 Charles Leclerc
P4 Max Verstappen
P5 Alex Albon
P6 George Russell
P7 Yuki Tsunoda
P8 Isak Hadjar
P9 Liam Lawson
P10 Gabriel Bortoletto
P11 Esteban Ocon
P12 Ollie Bearman
P13 Pierre Gasly
P14 Niko Hulkenberg
P15 Lance Stroll
Pitlane - Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso
