Formula 1

Caryss Green, 25

Going into the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull shocked almost no one in announcing the driver swap between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. With Lawson’s performance in the first few races leaving much to be desired, many fans expected this swap. However, Red Bull has received criticism for this choice, with some fans believing that Lawson was not given enough time to prove himself.

Aside from the Red Bull drama, the Japanese Grand Prix was uneventful, especially when it came to the top point scorers. The top six finished in the exact same order as they started the race for the first time on a permanent race track, and the top four also finished in the same order as they did in 2023 at this race. Unsurprisingly, the podium finishers were Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri.

One of the main points of excitement during the race was Kimi Antonelli, who finished P6, became the youngest ever driver to lead a Grand Prix at 18 years and 224 days. Antonelli also became the youngest driver to set the fastest lap, taking the title from Max Verstappen at 19 years 44 days in Brazil 2016.

The Bahrain Grand Prix had much more action than Suzuka. Ollie Bearman pulled off an amazing feat of driving his way all the way from P20 at the start of the race up to P10 to score a point. Additionally, Oscar Piastri became the first multi-race winner of the season with his victory in Bahrain. George Russell and Lando Norris claimed the remaining two spots on the podium.

Not everyone was successful in Bahrain. Carlos Sainz was the only driver to retire from the race after making contact with Tsunoda. Nico Hulkenberg was disqualified due to the rear skid block of his car being under the minimum thickness required by the regulations.

In Saudi Arabia, Piastri won yet again, putting himself into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship. Piastri is the 1st Australian to lead the championship since Mark Webber in 2010. Another exciting accomplishment belonged to Charles Leclerc, who scored Ferrari’s 1st podium of the season. Williams also had an exciting race because they scored the highest number of points in the first 5 rounds of the season since 2016, scoring a total of 25 points.

Max Verstappen was not as lucky as these other drivers. He started on pole but was bumped down to P2 after a 5-second penalty for leaving the track, gaining an advantage, and not giving the place back to Piastri.

In the most recent race in Miami, Piastri won yet another race, meaning he has won 4 of the 6 races so far, and his team, McLaren, has won 5 of the 6 races. Every podium in the 2025 season has had a McLaren driver on it, with double podiums at 4 races.

In true Max Verstappen fashion, he missed the media day in Miami because he and Kelly were expecting the birth of their child. Their daughter Lily was born on May 1st, and three days later, Verstappen scored 4th in the Grand Prix.

It’s anyone’s guess who the 2025 champion will be. Will it be the reigning champion, Max Verstappen? Or, maybe a McLaren driver will take the title after their strong performance so far. Only time will tell who will claim the 2025 Championship title.