Lights out and away they go. Formula One (F1) has returned to thrilling hairpins and tight corners after the annual three month winter break concluded.
The 2024 season ended Dec. 8 of last year, coming back in late February for preseason testing. The first race was held in Australia, March 15, at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in wet weather conditions. The winner of the exciting first race back was McLaren driver Lando Norris after a chaotic race.
The win was well earned by Norris and the McLaren team in the tough conditions. The wet weather caused huge problems for the whole grid, and with slippery conditions, strategy became absolutely crucial to the race. McLaren struck the right strategy for this race, with the pit to intermediate tires as the rain spell started, but unfortunately for the other McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri, it was not soon enough. Norris made it out mostly unscathed and kept his lead, but Piastri hit gravel and spun into the grass, continuing the race after getting back onto the track but losing places, ending in ninth. The seven place drop made a disappointing home race for the Aussie.
Piastri’s slip allowed for previous F1 World Champion, Max Verstappen, to jump from third to second and create a tense race for the last four laps. With less than a second between Norris and Verstappen, the win was very close.
Piastri was not the only one who experienced problems due to the rain. The race finished with only 14 out of 20 drivers on the track. During the formation lap rookie Isack Hadjar got a little too much throttle and spun into the wall, effectively ending his first ever F1 race. A disappointing start to his career, but along with him, other rookie Jack Doohan did the same, taking him out almost immediately.
Along with Hadjar and Doohan, rookies Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson–racing his first full F1 season after taking Daniel Riccardo’s seat for part of last season–both hit the barrier due to the difficult wet conditions. The rookies were not the only ones who felt the wrath of rain, though, both Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso did not finish the race after losing control.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the rookie taking Lewis Hamilton’s old Mercedes seat, drove an unbelievable race. His first F1 race ended with him in fourth after starting in 16th. The 12 place climb was unexpected as he did not perform nearly as well during qualifying or during testing.
One thing many fans are talking about is the debut of Lewis Hamilton for Scuderia Ferrari, it was a bit of an unfortunate race for him because of the weather’s unpredictable nature, with Hamilton ending in P10. Fans are very interested to continue seeing Hamilton’s transition into Ferrari and what he can do with his new car.
From preseason testing, McLaren seem to be favorites to repeat as constructors’ champions with Ferrari, Mercedes and Redbull just behind them as other contenders. Kick Sauber are projected to be the worst team on the grid as their average lap times have been worse than last year. The Racing Bulls are also widely expected to be one of the bottom teams on the grid as their car has not seen large improvements from the previous year.
It has also been announced that Cadillac will be joining F1 as the 11th team on the grid. Fans speculate who they will choose as their drivers, Colton Herta seems a likely favorite to be a driver for the team as he has won many races in Indycar, another racing series in the motorsport world. The 2025 season has taken off with a McLaren victory. Fans are grateful and excited for the return of the beloved sport and can’t wait to see who wins it all when the checkered flag is waved in 23 races.
