It has been a thrilling Formula One season so far with the final races looming over and an ongoing championship battle. With a maximum of 83 points left available to a single driver across the 3 weekends, everything is still to play for. This is a recap of the season for far.
There has been a lot of unforgettable races this season that have promised action, excitement and surprises. Particularly Australia, Silverstone, Azerbaijan and Mexico.
Australia
Kicking off the season with Australia was a real treat to viewers with the wet conditions causing chaos among drivers. With a total of six DNFS it was certainly a race packed with action. This included Isack Hadjar who unfortunately crashed on the formation lap at turn one during his debut race. Other early retirees included Rookie Jack Doohan and Carlos Sainz. Fernando Alonso, Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson all retired further on in the race.
Home hero Oscar Piastri was a favourite going into the weekend and got off to a tremendous start in P2. However, due to the tricky conditions this did not last. Both Mclaren’s had a bit of a slide at turn 13. Oscar wasn’t as lucky as his teammate and ended up on the grass. This cost him the chance of a podium finish, and he brought it home in a respectable P9.
Silverstone
Silverstone is always a highly anticipated race of the season especially for the British fans. Every year there is the hopes of a British driver securing the win such as Lewis Hamilton last season. This looked entirely possible with the British drivers qualifying third, fourth and fifth place.
Once the race got underway Oscar Piastri was leading out front. However, during one of the safety car restarts Oscar was found to be driving irresponsibly due to heavy levels of breaking. This caused other cars to avoid bumping into each other, earning Piastri a 10 second penalty. He served this during a final pit stop which allowed Lando Norris the chance to surpass him. Lando ultimately finished in P1 with Oscar finishing behind him.
An unexpected surprise occurred during the grand prix with Nico Hulkenberg earning his first ever Formula one podium. After 239 races as a driver he finally got to step onto on the podium.
Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijan qualifying session proved to be a tricky one with a total of six red flags appearing. This meant that Verstappen would be on pole for the race start with Sainz and Lawson following to complete the top three. Due to these effects, it was certainly an interesting race.
During the race start Oscar Piastri crashed and headed straight into the barriers which saw the end of his race. It also took a significant chunk out of his championship lead. This was a shocker to many fans as Piastri doesn’t make a lot of huge errors.
A massive highlight of this race was Carlos Sainz getting his first podium with Williams causing a lot of celebrations to be had. With Williams being a mid-field team, this was a pivotal moment for them this season.
Honourable mention to Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson who finished fourth and fifth. They both had an excellent race and achieved some points for their teams.
Mexico
Mexico was arguably the best race of the season so far with multiple battles happening on track at once, viewers were certainly kept on the edge of their seats. Hamilton and Verstappen fighting it out once again allowed lots of action to be going on. There was also a lot going between the mid-field. This meant the race didn’t have any boring parts.
A change in championship leader occurred at the end of the grand prix with Lando Norris now out in front ahead of Oscar Piastri. He converted pole into a race win allowing him to finish 1 point ahead of Piastri in the championship.
Ollie Bearman also deserves credit for his incredible run from P9 to P4. This saw Haas’s first P4 finish in a long time. Due to this performance Ollie was awarded with a well-deserved title of driver of the day.
Looking Ahead To Next Season
Next season everything will be shaken up a little with DRS changing to MOM. As well as the cars becoming smaller and lighter with changes in the aerodynamics. The cars will also run on 100% sustainable fuel. This means that next season it could be anyone’s game. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Image Credit: Johnathan Borba
