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Oscar Piastri takes controlled Bahrain win ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris: F1
Sakhir, 13 April 2025: Oscar Piastri handed McLaren its first Bahrain Grand Prix win with a controlled drive from pole position that saw the Australian finish 15 seconds clear or Mercedes’ George Russell while Lando Norris recovered from a starting grid penalty to battle through to third at the flag.
At the start of the race, polesitter Piastri got away well to take the lead. Alongside him, however, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was slow off the line and he was passed by Mercedes’ George Russell and the second McLaren of Lando Norris. Further back Max Verstappen also had a tricky start and Red Bull driver was passed by Williams’ hard-charging Carlos Sainz. Verstappen slotted into eighth place ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
As Piastri took control of the first stint, Sainz charged up to sixth, but he was soon passed by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Verstappen followed the Italian driver at the hairpin to reclaim seventh. Sainz then slipped back and on lap 9 both Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull charged past the Williams driver.
Norris was in trouble, however. The McLaren driver has stopped short on the grid and in trying to move he put his car beyond the grid slot. He was handed a five-second time penalty.
The Soft tyres many had started on quickly began to fade and at the end of lap 10 Norris was the first to shed them. He dived into pits, served his time penalty and made a switch Mediums.
Sixth-placed Pierre Gasly and Verstappen were next in for a change, but the champion’s switch to the Hard compound Pirellis was a slow 4.7 seconds and when he emerged, he found himself three seconds back from Gasly and with backmarkers between them.
At the front, Medium-tyre starters Leclerc and Hamilton took over as the lead pair, ahead of Piastri and Russell. Norris was now fifth ahead of Gasly and Haas’ Esteban Ocon, while Verstappen was down in P8.
Ferrari completed a stacked stop at the end of lap 17 and while Leclerc slotted into the pack in fifth and soon passed Gasly, Hamilton emerged in P11. With fresher tyres on board, he soon made his way past Tsunoda.
On lap 20 Verstappen was ambushed by Antonelli who got past in Turn 4. Struggling with “everything overheating” Max was then passed by Hamilton who was gradually hauling his way forward.
At the front, Piastri was slowly stretching away from Russell and on lap 24 he was five seconds clear of the Mercedes. Norris was third but being pressured by Leclerc who almost made his way past in Turn 1 only to go too deep. The Monegasque driver wasn’t done, however, and on the following lap he powered past the McLaren in Turn 4 to steal third place.
With the second pit stop window now open, Tsunoda climbed to P7 but on lap 31, he tangled with Sainz. The Red Bull driver slid sideways into the Williams man’s car and the Spaniard’s car was damaged. With debris strewn across the track the Safety Car was deployed, and the pit lane was quickly flooded with drivers taking advantage of the caution.
Behind the SC, Piastri led ahead of Russell, Leclerc, Norris and Hamilton. Gasly was now sixth ahead of Ocon and Max, with Alpine’s Jack Doohan next ahead of Sainz and Tsunoda.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 35 and Piastri held the lead ahead of Russell and Leclerc. Hamilton and Norris tussled but after swapping position twice the McLaren driver forged ahead. Verstappen, too, was on the move and he dived past Ocon to claim P7.
In a tight closing third of the race, battles throughout the order. Norris pressured Leclerc for a dozen laps and although the Ferrari driver was initially able to resist, eventually his defence faded and on lap 52 the McLaren driver got past. Further back, Verstappen closed up to Gasly and on the final lap of the race the champion was able to power past to take sixth place.
At the front, Piastri was in control and after 57 laps he took his second win of the year ahead of Russell who was set for investigation for a DRS infringement late in the race due to technical problems with his car. Norris finished third ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton finished in fifth place ahead of Verstappen. Gasly ended up sixth ahead Ocon while Tsunoda took his first points for Red Bull Racing with ninth place ahead of the second Haas of Bearman.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:35’39.435
2 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:35’54.934 15.499
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:35’55.708 16.273
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:35’59.114 19.679
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 57 1:36’07.428 27.993
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 57 1:36’13.830 34.395
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 57 1:36’15.437 36.002
8 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 57 1:36’23.679 44.244
9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 57 1:36’24.496 45.061
10 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 57 1:36’27.029 47.594
11 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 57 1:36’27.451 48.016
12 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 57 1:36’28.274 48.839
13 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 57 1:36’32.907 53.472
14 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 57 1:36’35.749 56.314
15 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 57 1:36’37.241 57.806
16 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:36’39.775 1’00.340
17 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 57 1:36’43.870 1’04.435
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:36’44.924 1’05.489
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 57 1:36’46.307 1’06.872
Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 45 1:17’36.543 Retirement -
Oscar Piastri takes his second pole of 2025 ahead of George Russell: Bahrain GP
Bahrain, 12 April 2025: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took his second pole position of 2025 with a dominant performance in qualifying for the FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in which he finished almost two tenths tenth of a second ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and three clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as championship-leading team-mate Lando Norris could only manage sixth and Japanese GP winner Max Verstappen was seventh.
At the start of Q1, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso set the early pace with a lap of 1:32.362. Verstappen was on track soon after and looked set to ease past the Spaniard with his first flyer, but he locked up in Turn 15 and immediately abandoned the lap. He headed back to the pits saying, “something wrong with the car”.
At the top of the table Norris took over, with the McLaren driver posting a lap of 1:31.107, two tenths of a second ahead of Piastri who was over three tenths ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
With a little under three minutes remaining, and with no time on the board, Verstappen needed a strong final flyer. His 1:31.303 lifted him from P19 to P3, just 0.196 off Norris’s earlier table topper, behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and ahead of Piastri, while a conservative 1:31.751 took Yuki through to Q2 in 14th place.
However, there was no way through to Q2 for Williams’ Alex Albon who went out in P16 along with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson who had a DRS problem on his final run, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Haas’ Oliver Bearman.
Q2 was disrupted after just four minutes when Esteban Ocon lost control of his Haas in Turn 2 and slid backwards into the barriers in Turn 3. After an eight-minute delay to retrieve the Frenchman’s car the session got underway once more. Piastri quickly set the pace at 1:30.454, a tenth ahead of Norris, but further back Verstappen, still struggling with understeer and brake issues, abandoned his lap.
Team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was similarly disadvantaged and for the second session in a row the Red Bull drivers were restricted to a single lap to try to get through to the next stage.
Once again, they were up to the task, but the pair had to endure nervous moments at the end of the session as they slid to the edge of the top 10. In the end, as Piastri took P12 ahead of Norris with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly taking third ahead of both Mercedes cars,
Verstappen made it through in ninth place just one hundredth behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton while Tsunoda scraped through in P10 just two hundredths of a second ahead of Alpine’s Jack Doohan.
Eliminated along with Doohan were Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and the unfortunate Ocon.
At the start of Q3 Piastri took provisional pole with a lap of 1:30.233, two tenths clear of Mercedes’ George Russell and with Norris third. And the Australian McLaren driver made sure of his second pole of the season with a final run of 1:29.84, with Russell a couple of tenths behind and with Leclerc in third. Kimi Antonelli took fourth for Mercedes but both Mercedes drivers could lose out having been summoned for leaving their garages ahead of a confirmed restart time in Q2.
Pierre Gasly took fifth place for Alpine ahead of a below par Norris while Verstappen hauled his uncooperative RB21 to seventh with a time of 1:30.423, almost six tenths off pole. Carlos Sainz was eighth for Williams ahead of Hamilton, and Tsunoda took 10th place with his final flyer of 1:31.303.
2025 Fia Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 11:29.841 – –
2 George Russell Mercedes 11:30.009 0.168 0.187
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 11:30.175 0.334 0.372
4 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 11:30.213 0.372 0.414
5 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 11:30.216 0.375 0.417
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 11:30.267 0.426 0.474
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 11:30.423 0.582 0.648
8 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 11:30.680 0.839 0.934
9 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 11:30.772 0.931 1.036
10 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 11:31.303 1.462 1.627
11 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 11:31.245 1.404 1.563
12 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 11:31.271 1.430 1.592
13 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 11:31.783 1.942 2.162
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 11:31.886 2.045 2.276
15 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari – – –
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 11:32.040 2.199 2.448
17 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 11:32.165 2.324 2.587
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 11:32.186 2.345 2.610
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 11:32.283 2.442 2.718
20 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 11:32.373 2.532 2.818 -
Oscar Piastri tops FP2 as Lando Norris completes McLaren 1-2 at Bahrain
Sakhir (Bahrain), 11 April 2025: Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two in the second practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, with the Australian finishing 1500ths of a second clear of team-mate Lando Norris.
The pair used the hour-long session to forge a strong advantage over the rest of the field, with Mercedes’ George Russell half a second off the pace in third place and with Japanese Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen in P7 and over eight tenths of a second adrift of top spot.
In the session’s opening quarter, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton set the early pace with a lap of 1:32.157 on Mediums. Soft tyre-shod Kimi Antonelli slotted into second, +0.141 off the man he replaced at Mercedes, while George Russel was third on the same tyre, almost four-tenths off his former team-mate. Max Verstappen then moved ahead of Russell with a lap of 1:32.376 on Soft tyres after the Red Bull driver had earlier complained about his car ride, which was bumping around the track.
There was a bigger problem, though, for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who had an issue with his steering wheel and returned to the garage to fit a new one.
Just after the quarter-hour mark Russell moved in the 1m31s bracket and to the top of the timesheet as he outpaced Hamilton by two-tenths of a second.
Hamilton then bolted on a set of Soft tyres and thanks to a purple middle sector he moved back to P1 with a lap of 1:31.915, still almost two seconds off Verstappen’s 2024 pole time.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was the next to get a spell in P1 as he also used Soft tyres to move the benchmark to 1:31.729. The Monegasque’s time at the top was all too brief, however, as Williams’ Alex Albon posted a time of 1:31.696 to slip past and then Verstappen found almost four-tenths more to claim P1 with a lap of 1:31.330.
The McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had spent much of the opening half of the session running Hard compound Pirelli tyres but as the midpoint approached both moved to Soft tyres and Piastri took top spot on 1:30.505, just 0.0154 ahead of Norris. The Mercedes pair also moved ahead of Verstappen with Russell in third, half a second off Piastri, with Antonelli two-tenths further back.
With a little over 20 minutes left in the session, Leclerc split the Mercedes, 0.013s off Russell, but there was no upward movement for Verstappen who complained that he had no brakes in the final corner as he stalled in P7 behind stablemate Isack Hadjar who was the highest placed of the Red Bull-owned cars with a time of 1:31.238 set on Medium tyres. Verstappen, however, was working his way through a longer run on Softs, as was team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who was down on 17th place.
With long runs now the order of the evening, the times settled and with the McLarens of Piastri in the top two spots ahead of Russell and Leclerc, with Antonelli in fifth place. Hadjar took sixth for Racing Bulls, with Verstappen in seventh and still complaining of brake issues in the final corner. Hamilton took eighth place for Ferrari, just 0.008s ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman who put in a strong performance to finish ahead the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.505 26 215.272
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.659 0.154 25 214.906
3 George Russell Mercedes 1:31.032 0.527 22 214.025
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.045 0.540 24 213.995
5 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:31.227 0.722 24 213.568
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:31.238 0.733 21 213.542
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:31.330 0.825 24 213.327
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:31.576 1.071 20 212.754
9 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:31.584 1.079 24 212.735
10 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:31.623 1.118 25 212.645
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:31.696 1.191 26 212.476
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:31.706 1.201 24 212.452
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:31.772 1.267 22 212.300
14 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:31.788 1.283 24 212.263
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.825 1.320 16 212.177
16 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:31.870 1.365 23 212.073
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:31.947 1.442 24 211.895
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.024 1.519 21 211.718
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:32.382 1.877 24 210.898
20 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:32.496 1.991 20 210.638 -
Max Verstappen holds off McLarens to take first win of 2025 in Japan: F1
Suzuka (Japan), 6 April 2025: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen held off the McLaren of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, to take his first win of 2025 at Suzuka and become the first driver to take four consecutive Japanese Grand Prix victories beating Michael Schumacher’s record.
After taking the lead from pole, Verstappen managed a slim gap to the hard-charging McLarens across the first stint. And after shrugging off a pit exit challenge from Norris when they made their sole pit stops on the same lap, the defending champion closed out his first win since Qatar last year in style, managing his tyres and his pace to cross the line with 1.4 seconds in hand over Norris, with Piastri another six tenths back in third.
“It was tough, just pushing very hard – especially on the second stint,” said Verstappen afterwards. “The two McLarens were pushing me very hard, and it was a lot of fun out there. Not easy, of course, to manage the tyres, but I’m incredibly happy. It started off quite tough this weekend, but we didn’t give up. We kept improving the car and today it was in its best form. And of course, starting on pole, that really made it possible to win the race.”
After taking the lead ahead of Norris at the start, Verstappen set about trying to build a gap back to the McLarens, and despite complaining of poor upshifts, by lap five he was 1.4 second clear of Norris, with Piastri almost a second further back.
As the opening stint headed towards the pit window Piastri was the first of the leaders to blink, and at the end of lap 20 the Australian dived into the pit lane for a set of Hard tyres. That prompted Red Bull to pit Verstappen at the end of the following tour and McLaren responded by pitting Norris on the same lap.
McLaren were quicker to fit a set of Hard tyres to Norris’ car and as Verstappen reached the end of the pity lane Norris pulled out into the working lane almost alongside the Dutchman. Verstappen held his line in the fast lane and though Norris protest that he had been forced onto the grass at the side of the pit exit, Race Control ruled that there was nothing to investigate, and Verstappen held the lead on the road.
With the pit stops out of the way, Verstappen was now 1.4s clear of Norris, with Piastri another two seconds further back in third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held fourth place, five seconds off the lead with Mercedes George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in fifth and sixth places.
With 20 laps remaining Verstappen was given free rein to push but he couldn’t shake the McLarens, who continued to exert maximum pressure. Verstappen, though, was flawless and the champion delivered a perfect closing third of race to take his first win since last year’s race in Qatar and the 64th of his career.
Behind the top three, Leclerc was fourth ahead of Russell, who got to within 1.3 of the Ferrari in the closing stages but couldn’t quite put pressure on the Monegasque driver. Mercedes rookie Antonelli finished sixth while Hamilton took seventh after racing on a Hard-Medium strategy in opposition to the bulk of the field. Isack Hadjar took an impressive eighth place and his first F1 points for the Racing Bulls ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and the final point went to Haas’ Ollie Bearman.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 53 1:22’06.983
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 53 1:22’08.406 1.423
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 53 1:22’09.112 2.129
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 53 1:22’23.080 16.097
5 George Russell Mercedes 53 1:22’24.345 17.362
6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 53 1:22’25.654 18.671
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 53 1:22’36.165 29.182
8 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 53 1:22’44.117 37.134
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 53 1:22’47.350 40.367
10 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 53 1:23’01.512 54.529
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 53 1:23’04.316 57.333
12 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 53 1:23’05.384 58.401
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 53 1:23’09.105 1’02.122
14 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 53 1:23’21.112 1’14.129
15 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 53 1:23’28.297 1’21.314
16 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 53 1:23’28.940 1’21.957
17 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 53 1:23’29.717 1’22.734
18 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 53 1:23’30.421 1’23.438
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 53 1:23’30.880 1’23.897
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 52 1:22’19.912 1 lap /12.929 -
Max Verstappen grabs stunning Suzuka pole ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri: F1
Suzuka (Japan) 5 April 2025: Max Verstappen took a stunning first pole position of 2025 for the Japanese Grand Prix and claimed the outright lap record of Suzuka as he hauled his tricky RB21 ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris by just one hundredth of a second. Oscar Piastri claimed third for McLaren with the top three covered by just 0.040s.
In the final runs of Q3 Norris looked to have done enough to secure pole when he crossed the line in 1:26.995. His main rival looked to be Piastri, who was midway through his lap, but no Verstappen, who had struggled for balance all weekend.
The Dutchman had clearly not read the script, however and after “sending it and hoping it would stick” the Red Bull Racing driver secured his first pole since last year’s Austrian Grand Prix and the 41st of his career.
“We tried the best we could to get the best possible balance with the car, but it wasn’t easy, even in qualifying,” said the Dutchman afterwards. “But every session we just kept on making little improvements. I think that’s what made the difference. And yeah, the last lap was just flat out. I mean, around here being on the limit – or maybe even a bit over in places – is incredibly rewarding.”
At the start of Q1, it was Piastri who led the way, with the Australian setting the early benchmark at 1:28.143. Verstappen’s opening flyer, two tenths down on P1, left him fourth on the timesheet. Norris then went for an early second attempt and dropped the P1 time into 1m27s bracket with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc mirroring the strategy to climb to second place, a tenth behind the McLaren on 1:27.920.
In the final runs, Piastri reclaimed top spot, posting a lap of 1:27.687 to beat Mercedes’ George Russell by 0.156s. Norris was third ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen progressed to Q2 in sixth place with a time of 1:27.943, just 0.001s behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Headed for the exit after Q1, in P16 and P17 respectively, were Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto and the Sauber pair were followed out by Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and in last place Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who had an off in the ‘Esses’ on his final lap.
Verstappen was first out of the pit lane at the start of Q2 and the Dutchman upped his pace from Q1 to stop the clock at 1:27.502. It was good enough to split the McLaren’s with Norris taking top sport on 1:27.146, while Piastri could only manage 1:27.613, to sit a tenth off Verstappen. Russell then jumped to P2. Running halted there, however, as a grass fire at 130R brought out the red flags just as the first runs concluded.
The session resumed after an eight-minute delay and both Norris and Russell elected to sit out the final runs. Verstappen ventured out but with little threat coming from further behind he abandoned the attempt and headed into the pits.
Ruled out at the end of Q2 were Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P11 with the French driver followed out by Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Aston Martins’ Fernando Alonso, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Red Bull Racing’s Yuki Tsunoda.
In the opening runs of the top-10 shootout it was Piastri who claimed provisional pole, with the McLaren driver setting the target at 1:27.052. Verstappen put in a strong Q3 opener of 1:27.278 to take P2 and keep Leclerc and Russell at bay, while Norris’s opener was four tenths slower than his Q2 best and he slotted into fifth place ahead of the final runs.
Russell was one of the first out for his final flyer and a mistake in the Esses put paid to his thoughts of pole. Norris was next across the line and with a time of 1:16.995 it looked like the championship leader had done enough. Verstappen had other ideas, however, and in a track record time the four-time champion once again proved why he’d been on pole 40 times.
“A lot of happiness when I crossed the line,” he said. “The whole qualifying, we just kept on trying to improve the situation a bit. And the final lap, honestly, it was very good. I had a lot of fun out there, being fully committed everywhere. Some places, not sure if I was actually going to keep it or not, but yeah, it was really nice. And yeah, it was great for the team as well.”
2025 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:26.983 – –
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:26.995 0.012
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:27.027 0.044
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.299 0.316
5 George Russell Mercedes 1:27.318 0.335
6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:27.555 0.572
7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:27.569 0.586
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:27.610 0.627
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:27.615 0.632
10 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:27.867 0.884
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:27.822 0.839
12 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:27.836 0.853
13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:27.897 0.914
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:27.906 0.923
15 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:28.000 1.017
16 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:28.570 1.587
17 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:28.622 1.639
18 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:28.696 1.713
19 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:28.877 1.894
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:29.271 2.288 -
Oscar Piastri wins Chinese Grand Prix; both Ferraris disqualified
Shanghai, 23 March 2025: Oscar Piastri took a controlled third career victory in Shanghai, managing a tactical tyre-focused race expertly to win the Chinese Grand Prix from pole ahead of team-mate Lando Norris who overcame late-race brake woes to complete the McLaren 1-2 ahead of third-placed George Russell of Mercedes.
When the lights went out for the start, polesitter Piastri got away well to take the lead ahead of Norris and Russell. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, got away slowly from fourth place on the dusty side of the grid, where earlier in the day oil had been deposited along the pit straight during a support race, and the Dutchman lost two places as he was passed by the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. But both Ferraris were later disqualified for technical infringements.
Disqualified
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both been disqualified from the final classification of the Chinese Grand Prix, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also excluded after all three were found to have infringed technical regulations.
In the case of Hamilton who crossed the line in P6, the thickness of the plank assembly was below the permitted minimum thickness of 9mm, by 0.4mm on the left side and centreline and by 0.5mm on the right side. The Stewards determined that Article 3.5.9 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations had been breached and “therefore the standard penalty of a disqualification needs to be applied for such an infringement”.
In the cases of fifth across the line Leclerc and 11th-placed Gasly, both cars were found to be 1kg under the minimum 800kg weight and this time the Stewards determined that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations had been breached, which again comes with a standard penalty of disqualification.
On his way through to P5, however, Leclerc was clipped by Hamilton. With the left side of his front wing dropping and the end plate missing, he was told by his team that he had lost 30 points of downforce. Leclerc told his team he could manage the loss and in a superb drive, the Monegasque showed great pace from there on.
Ahead of the first pit stop window Piastri managed to build a small two-second gap to team-mate Norris, with Russell a further 2.7s behind. Behind the fourth and fifth-placed, however, Max was losing touch with the leaders and on lap 13 the Dutchman was 5.5s adrift of Leclerc.
At the end of lap 13 the Team brought Max in to shed his opening Medium tyres, and the champion bolted on a set of Hards in a 2.2 second halt. He rejoined in P11, behind Hamilton who had pitted on the same lap.
Race leader Piastri made his stop at the end of lap 14, along with Russell, while Norris and Leclerc made their switch to Hard tyres at the end of the following tour. And after the first round of stops was complete, Piastri resumed in the lead. Norris was briefly undercut by Russell, but the McLaren driver swiftly closed in and under DRS at the start of lap 18 he swept past to reclaim the position.
Hamilton though was struggling for pace, and the Briton was told to swap places with Leclerc, who despite holding on to his broken wing in his pit stop, was flying. Max, meanwhile, was still in sixth place, three seconds behind the Ferraris.
The Hard tyre proved to be more durable and pacier than anticipated and soon after the second stint had begun, teams began to target a one-stop race, with all of the eventual top 10 opting for a single visit to the pit lane.
As the race entered its final third, Verstappen began to close in on Hamilton, and with the Dutchman showing good pace, Ferrari chose to back out of the brewing battle, and pitted Hamilton for a new set of tyres in order to make a late charge. The seven-time champion emerged a little under 19 seconds behind Verstappen who was 4.5s behind Leclerc.
The Red Bull driver began to slowly reel in the lead Ferrari and on lap 52 he was withing DRS range. Leclerc tried to defend but the champion had too much pace and as they crossed the line to start the following lap, Verstappen passed the Ferrari around the outside of Turn 2 to take a fourth place he held to the flag.
At the front, Piastri took the third win of his career ahead of Norris who managed an ever-lengthening brake pedal in the closing laps to stay ahead of Russell. Leclerc took fifth ahead of Hamilton. Esteban Ocon put in a good performance to take six points for Haas. Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished eighth for Mercedes, while birthday boy Alex Albon took two points for Williams and Haas earned a double points finish with tenth place.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Race
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:30’55.026
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:31’04.774 9.748
3 George Russell Mercedes 56 1:31’06.123 11.097
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 56 1:31’11.682 16.6565 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 1:31’18.237 23.211(both disqualified later)
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 56 1:31’20.407 25.3815 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 56 1:31’44.995 49.969
6 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 56 1:31’48.774 53.748
7 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 56 1:31’51.347 56.321
8 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 56 1:31’56.329 1’01.303Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 56 1:32’02.221 1’07.195(disqualified later)
9. Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 56 1:32’05.230 1’10.204
10 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 56 1:32’11.413 1’16.38
11 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 56 1:32’13.901 1’18.875
12 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Honda RBPT 56 1:32’16.173 1’21.147
13 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 56 1:32’23.427 1’28.401
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 55 1:31’05.782 1 lap /10.756
15 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 55 1:31’15.252 1 lap /20.226
16 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 55 1:31’18.537 1 lap /23.511
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 4 7’25.574 Retirement -
Leclerc quickest in FP2 ahead of Piastri and Norris: Aussie GP
Melbourne, 14 March 2025: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the second practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, beating McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda was fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the other Ferrari, as defending champion Max Verstappen finished seventh.
Leclerc was at the top of the times early in the session, with his time of 1:16.794 on Medium tyres setting the initial benchmark, a little under half a second clear of team-mate Hamilton.
The field then began to make the move to Soft tyres for qualifying simulations and Leclerc was demoted by the quick-looking Racing Bull car of Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver set a time of 1:16.784 to claim top spot.
Verstappen then went out on the red-banded tyres but struggling with his RB21 the Dutchman abandoned the lap. Norris then moved ahead with a lap of 1:16.580, as Piastri’s first flier on Softs put him third.
Leclerc was out on the red rubber, however, and with a little under 30 minutes remaining, the Monegasque racer logged a time of 1:16.439 to take P1, which he would go on to hold for the remainder of the session.
Piastri made gains with a second run to take P2 with a lap of 1:16.563 that left him 0.124 behind Leclerc and 0.017s ahead of McLaren team-mate Norris. Tsunoda’s best time of 1:16.784 kept ahead of Hamilton who finished a little over four tenths of a second off his team-mate.
Verstappen also improved late on, but he couldn’t go quicker than stablemate Isack Hadjar. The French/Algerian rookie delivered a good lap of 1:17.019 to end the session 0.580 off Leclerc and a little over two tenths off team-mate Tsunoda.
Nico Hulkenberg finished eighth for Sauber, ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and lead Mercedes driver George Russell.
Elsewhere, Oliver Bearman missed the entire session as his Haas crew repaired his car following a heavy crash in the opening session.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.439 32 248.574
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:16.563 0.124 30 248.172
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:16.580 0.141 30 248.117
4 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:16.784 0.345 29 247.457
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:16.859 0.420 31 247.216
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:17.019 0.580 30 246.702
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:17.063 0.624 22 246.561
8 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:17.161 0.722 24 246.248
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:17.279 0.840 28 245.872
10 George Russell Mercedes 1:17.282 0.843 30 245.863
11 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:17.302 0.863 30 245.799
12 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:17.302 0.863 28 245.799
13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:17.330 0.891 27 245.710
14 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1:17.394 0.955 30 245.507
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:17.493 1.054 30 245.193
16 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:17.634 1.195 31 244.748
17 Liam Lawson Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:17.640 1.201 30 244.729
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:17.847 1.408 29 244.078
19 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:18.034 1.595 31 243.493 -
Russell quickest on day three, but Sainz takes ‘pole’: F1 test 2025
Sakhir, 28 February 2025: The curtain has come down on the only official test session prior to the start of the 2025 season. Three busy days saw all 20 race drivers on track, able to work on development of their new cars more or less uninterrupted. In total there were 25 hours of track time, with 3,896 laps completed, equivalent to 21,090,564 kilometres.
Quickest today was George Russell, the Englishman stopping the clocks in 1’29”545. Next up was Max Verstappen who, on the same C3 compound as the Mercedes driver was just 21 thousandths slower. Alex Albon was third on a set of C4s with which he lapped in 1’29”650. It’s worth noting that today’s top eight drivers represented eight different teams. Behind the top three came the McLaren of Oscar Piastri (1’29”940), Pierre Gasly in the Alpine (1’30”040), the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton (1’30”345), Yuki Tsunoda for Racing Bulls (1’30”497) and Esteban Ocon in the Haas (1’30”728).
Russell’s time today was not enough to give him the nominal pole position for the test, that honour going to Carlos Sainz with his time of 1’29”348 set yesterday in the Williams. He thus repeats his performance of last year when at the wheel of a Ferrari. Further confirmation of how closely matched were the top teams at this test, three different drivers from three different teams topped the time sheet each day, the only one not mentioned so far being Lando Norris on the first day.
“We’ve had three rather unusual testing days here in Bahrain,” commented Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, Mario Isola. “For years now, Formula 1 has chosen this circuit for the only pre-season test because the weather is usually very favourable, but that was not the case this week, especially the first two days. Low temperatures, considerably lower than at this time of year in previous years, and strong wind affected the teams’ work and made it even harder than usual to interpret the results, with no previous reference points on this track at such low temperatures.
“From our side, the most data came from the C3 and the C2 and, slightly less so from the C1: that was entirely to be expected, given that these are the compounds usually chosen for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Only a few laps were completed with the C4, while the C5 and C6 never appeared on track, to be expected as only Ferrari and Williams had opted to include these in their allocation. From what we could see, the C2 behaved as expected, confirming that it was further from the C1 than last year and therefore closer to the C3. The hardest compound struggled a bit in these temperatures, while the C3 proved to be the most versatile of the range.
We did not see any real performance runs, which would have allowed us to fully evaluate the performance difference between the compounds. As for degradation of the three hardest compounds, it’s clear that because of the low temperatures, it was minimal, even if it increased slightly today when it was a bit warmer, but not in any significant fashion. Now we head home with plenty of data to study as we prepare for the opening round of the season, the Australian Grand Prix. In Melbourne, we will bring the same compounds in terms of nomenclature, as last year, namely the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft, so we will have a first meaningful look at the softer compounds.”
With testing of the 2025 cars now complete, Pirelli stays at the Sakhir track for a further two days of testing on Sunday 2nd and Monday 3rd March. On the agenda, development of the 2026 tyres, working with Alpine and Williams. The French team will run its two test drivers, Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa, while the English squad is giving its race drivers Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz more time on track.
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Norris takes Abu Dhabi win ahead of Ferraris to seal Constructors’ title for McLaren
Abu Dhabi, 8 Dec 2024: Lando Norris took a controlled lights Abu Dhabi Grand victory to seal the 2024 FIA Formula One Constructors’ Championship title for McLaren as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took second place and Charles Leclerc stormed through the field to ensure the contest remained tense right to the chequered flag.
When the lights went out at the start, Norris and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri got away well, but from fourth on the grid, Max Vestappen reacted even better. The Red Bull driver passed Sainz and as the McLarens went into Turn 1 the four-time champion dived down the inside to attack Piastri.
The move was foolhardy, however, and as the corner tightened the Dutchman collided with his Australian rival. Both spun but while Verstappen was somehow able to slot straight back into the pack in P11, Piastri went off track and dropped to the back of the field. Verstappen’s over-ambitious move would quickly result in a 10-second time penalty from the Stewards for causing the collision.
Moments later, there was another incident. Sergio Pérez was hit by Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and though the Red Bull driver was able to rejoin in last place behind Piastri he was soon forced to pull over at the side f the track and retire from what could be his final race with the team.
The incidents led to the Virtual Safety Car being deployed, and under the caution Norris led ahead of Sainz, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Mercedes’ George Russell and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg. Behind them, Leclerc had profited greatly most from the incidents, and by the end of lap one the Ferrari driver had climbed from 19th to eighth place.
When the VSC was withdrawn, Leclerc made his way past Magnussen and Fernando Alonso to claim sixth, and Verstappen followed suit, climbing to eighth place by lap 12. There were more woes for Piastri, however, as the McLaren driver clipped the rear of Franco Colapinto’s Williams at the restart and like Max, the Australian was handed a 10-second time penalty. As the first stint elapsed, Leclerc and Verstappen continued their progress and by lap 15 the Ferrari driver had moved up to fifth, with the Red Bull drive just four seconds behind in sixth place.
With Norris four seconds clear of Sainz at the front and 15 ahead of Russell, fourth-placed Gasly was the first of the frontrunner to make a pit stop and the Frenchman shed his starting Mediums for a set of Hard tyres on lap 15. He rejoined in ninth ahead of new team-mate Jack Doohan.
Gasly’s rivals didn’t immediately respond, but on lap 21 Leclerc attempted to undercut Russell and after taking Hard tyres the Monegasque driver rejoined behind Gasly before clawing his way past the Alpine driver to claim P6.
Sainz was next in, on lap 26 and McLaren covered the Spaniard by pitting Norris on the following lap, with Russell also making his way in from third place. Verstappen climbed to P3 but despite complaining that his tyres were fading, he stayed out on his ageing Medium tyres, hoping for a Safety Car.
It didn’t materialise, however, and he pitted on lap 30 to bolt Hard tyres and serve his 10-second penalty. After emerging in 11th place he swiftly cleared the Williams of Alex Albon and when Piastri pitted on lap 33 to serve his penalty and fit fresh tyres, Verstappen powered past Fernando Alonso to grab eighth behind Hamilton who had just pitted for a set of Medium tyres and a rapid final stint.
The seven-time champion was soon on the move and he was quickly past Hülkenberg and Gasly. Verstappen then closed in on the Haas and with 15 laps left he powered past the German. He then reeled in Gasly and on lap 46 he swooped past the Frenchman in Turn 9 to rise to sixth place behind Hamilton.
That as far as Verstappen would rise. With Hamilton on fresher Medium tyres there was no chance of closing in on the Briton and as Norris took his fourth win of the season to earn McLaren its first Constructors’ crown since 1998. Sainz and Leclerc followed while Hamilton ended his Mercedes career by passing team-mate Russell to take fourth place. Behind Verstaoppen, Gasly’s seventh place ahead of Hülkenberg meant that Alpine beat Haas to sixth place in Constructors’ standings. Alonso crossed the line in P9 and the final points went to Piastri.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:26’33.291
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 58 1:26’39.123 5.832
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58 1:27’05.219 31.928
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 58 1:27’09.774 36.483
5 George Russell Mercedes 58 1:27’10.829 37.538
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 58 1:27’23.138 49.847
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 58 1:27’45.851 1’12.560
8 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 58 1:27’48.845 1’15.554
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 58 1:27’55.664 1’22.373
10 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:27’57.112 1’23.821
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 57 1:26’44.542 1 lap /11.251
12 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 57 1:26’48.029 1 lap /14.738
13 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 57 1:26’50.595 1 lap /17.304
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:26’51.764 1 lap /18.473
15 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 57 1:26’59.846 1 lap /26.555
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 57 1:27’50.888 1 lap /1’17.597
17 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 55 1:24’36.949 Not running
Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 30 47’27.280 Accident damage
Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 26 41’10.430 Retirement
Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 0 – Retirement -
Norris takes pole in Abu Dhabi as McLaren lock out front row ahead of Sainz
McLaren edged a step close to the F1 Constructors’ title as Lando Norris took pole position ahead of Oscar Piastro to complete a front-row lock out for the team. Carlos Sainz took third place for Ferrari but the Scuderia’s hopes of challenging for a first title in 16 years were dealt a blow when Charles Leclerc qualified 14th.
In the final top-10 shootout, 2024 Drivers’ champion Max Verstappen claimed provisional pole with a strong first run that was hampered by a slide in the final corner, but while the Red Bull driver had run with new Soft tyres, Norris, just 0.004s off, and Piastri, had run with used tyres on their opening runs.
And with new rubber on board for the final runs, the McLaren pair showed a clean pair of heels to their rivals with Norris taking his eighth pole of the year thanks to a time of 1:22.595, two tenths ahead of Piastri and Sainz.
Nico Hülkenberg grabbed a shock fourth place on the grid for Haas with a superb lap of 1:22.886, while Verstappen failed to improve on his first time of Q3 and was forced to settle for fifth place and the front of row three.
Behind the top five Pierre Gasly kept Alpine’s hopes of staying ahead of Haas in the battle for P6 in the Constructors’ Championship alive as he took sixth place, while George Russell was seventh for Mercedes ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, surprised ninth-place qualifier Valterri Bottas of Kick Sauber, and the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez.
The major absence from Q3 was Leclerc. The Monegasque driver looked to have comfortably secured his spot in Q2 by posting a time that took him to the top of the timesheet in the closing stages of Q2. But within moments of crossing the line the Ferrari man’s time was deleted for exceeding track limits in Turn 1 at the start of his final flyer. And as the order shook out following the chequered flag, Leclerc dropped to 14th. The Ferrari driver is already facing a 10-place grid drop for taking a third Energy Store of the season, so is set to start from the rear of the field.
Also eliminated at the end of Q2 were RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson in 11th and 12th respectively, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in P13 and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in 15h place.
The major faller as the first hurdle was Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time champion, taking part in his last qualifying session with Mercedes, looked to be improving on his final flying lap. However, he managed to run over a bollard dislodged by Magnussen and with the debris trapped under this car, Hamilton’s pace dropped and he was eliminated in P18 behind Williams’ Alex Albon and Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu and ahead of the second Williams of Franco Colapinto and Alpine’s Jack Doohan.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1’22.595
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1’22.804 0.209
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’22.824 0.229
4 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1’22.886 0.291
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’22.945 0.350
6 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1’22.984 0.389
7 George Russell Mercedes 1’23.132 0.537
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’23.196 0.601
9 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1’23.204 0.609
10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’23.264 0.669
11 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1’23.419 0.824
12 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 1’23.472 0.877
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’23.784 1.189
14 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’23.833 1.238
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1’23.877 1.282
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1’23.821 1.226
17 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1’23.880 1.285 1.556
18 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’23.887 1.292
19 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 1’23.912 1.317
20 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 1’24.105 1.510
