Oscar Piastri raised the expectations of his home crowd in Melbourne by setting the fastest time in final practice.
However there was little to choose between the three quickest teams at the end of the last hour of running before qualifying. George Russell, second for Mercedes, and Max Verstappen, third for Red Bull, both lapped within a tenth of a second of Piastri’s time.
Yesterday’s pace-setter Charles Leclerc made it four different cars in the top four, lapping just over a quarter of a second off Piastri. However the Ferrari driver was less happy with the change in balance he felt since yesterday, complaining his car was “understeery”.
The two drivers who were arguably most in need of extra running got almost none. Oliver Bearman, whose crash yesterday left him with just a dozen laps on the board, joined the track immediately after the pit lane exit lights turn green. To his team’s dismay, he spun into a gravel trap at turn 11 soon afterwards, causing another session stoppage.
New Red Bull driver Liam Lawson, who was only 17th accompanied Bearman onto the circuit when the session began. However he soon returned to the pits with an apparent power unit problem and never re-emerged.
Verstappen, still running the newer front wing specification on his RB21 compared to his team mate, pressed on alone. Having lagged well off the pace yesterday, he improved his time by over a second.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli had a trouble-free run to the fifth fastest time in the Mercedes.
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Behind him, Williams underlined their status as potential midfield front runners. By the end of the session Carlos Sainz Jnr was just three-tenths of a second off the pace, with team mate Alexander Albon just six thousandths of a second behind him.
Lewis Hamilton was eighth, two-tenths of a second off Leclerc. He kept pressing race engineer Ricardo Adami for details on the gap between them, and appeared to be losing the most time in the quicker right-hander of turn six, where the gravel trap has been expanded since last year and now extends right up to ther edge of the kerb.
Yuki Tsunoda put Racing Bulls in the top five. Lando Norris completed the top 10, six-tenths of a second off Piastri, after abandoning a better lap in the penultimate corner. He did, however, set the fastest time of anyone in the final sector before the session ended.
2025 Australian Grand Prix Grand Prix third practice result
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2025 Australian Grand Prix Grand Prix combined practice times
Oliver Bearman’s crash in the first practice session was especially unfortunate for Haas as their car did not live up to the team’s expectations in Australia.
The rookie spun into a barrier at turn 10 after just a dozen laps in the first practice session. The team’s mechanics worked quickly to repair the car for the second practice session, which began two-and-a-half hours after the first ended, but narrowly failed to do so.
“I’m a bit sad to have missed all the running today,” Bearman admitted afterwards. “The guys did a great job to try and get the car back out, we just ran out of time.
“I just had a small mistake in turn 10, which put me a bit wide, and out there, it’s very, very bumpy and I unfortunately lost the car.”
Bearman said that prior to his crash he “really felt confident in the car – maybe too much.”
Haas was rooted to the bottom of the times in both sessions. Esteban Ocon’s best lap of 1’18.034 was six tenths of a second off the next team.
“Today was a pretty difficult day,” team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted afterwards. “It wasn’t the performance we were expecting.
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“We have one indication as to why in FP1, but Ollie crashed so we couldn’t completely get to the bottom of why we were uncompetitive, so we need to make another step tonight and then do the best we can tomorrow.”
Ocon said “it hasn’t been the smoothest day” for the team. “Obviously it’s the first day of the year so it is normal that it goes that way, but we still have more to put together to try and get correct, to try and exploit the maximum out of the car.
“I was still not happy with the balance and how the car felt. We did a step between P1 and P2, but we need more.”
However he believes the route the team need to take with its car tomorrow “is clear for us.”
“We need to try and do that of course and hopefully we can do that in [final practice] and then build on from there,” he said.
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Oliver Bearman apologised to his Haas mechanics after a crash during first practice for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix saw the British rookie forced to sit out the second hour on Friday.
With a little over 20 minutes remaining of FP1, Bearman took too much kerb and ran wide at Turns 9 and 10, running onto the gravel and ultimately slamming into the wall, bringing out a red flag.
While the 19-year-old was cleared by medical staff, his Haas needed plenty of attention and, despite the team’s best efforts, he was unable to get out of the garage for second practice.
“The feeling was good. I think just wanting a bit too much, too soon – which is kind of my approach, which isn’t really the right one for F1,” Bearman explained.
“In F2 you go straight to quali after the first practice session and in F1 you have two more, so there’s no need to be straight on the limit. Maybe I overdid it slightly, but it’s totally on me.
“Just a bit too much steering lock over the compression at the apex of 10, which sent me wide, and it’s quite bumpy out there. I just lost it.
“Once you’re in the gravel it’s so bumpy and there is asphalt, grass, bumps and I was already out of it, but once you’re there, honestly, there is no more control, unfortunately.”
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Both sides of the Haas garage worked on trying to repair Bearman’s VF-25 in the hope of sending him out towards the latter stages of the afternoon practice session. However, their attempts were vain as Bearman was unable to take to the track at Albert Park.
Asked if he felt well physically, Bearman replied: “Yes, fine, it was a small hit, just not great for the car. So, yeah, my apologies to the team.
“It would have been nice just to do an install and check everything, make sure everything was OK for tomorrow.
“The guys did an amazing job, both sides of the garage helping me out to try and get me back on track. I can only apologise to them, and I owe them a few beers on Sunday.
“They’ve had a busy few weeks starting out with everything, building up the second car now, and to have the damage so early on and to put them back to work and give them a long evening is not really good enough. So, yeah, I can only apologise to them.”
While Bearman was confined to the back of the garage, fellow Haas newcomer Esteban Ocon was the slowest of the 19 runners able to post a time in FP2.
Having completed 31 laps, the Frenchman’s best effort still left him over a second and a half off the pace set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Asked by Autosport if there was more in the car, Ocon said: “It’s still very early days. Of course, it wasn’t the smoothest day for us.
“We’ve had quite a few difficulties in some areas, and we need to smooth that all together. There’s a lot for us to test. We completely changed the car from P1 to P2.
“There are still some readings that we’re not happy with in P2. We’ve lost a little bit of time in some sessions, and we also didn’t get the full running with the two cars to be able to compare with both set-ups in general.
“It hasn’t been the smoothest day, but it’s the first Friday of the year, so that’s pretty normal.”
Team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted to Haas having had “a pretty difficult day” in Melbourne, with the outfit needing further analysis to get to the bottom of its worries.
“It wasn’t the performance we were expecting,” Komatsu said. “We have one indication as to why in FP1, but Ollie crashed so we couldn’t completely get to the bottom of why we were uncompetitive, so we need to make another step tonight and then do the best we can tomorrow.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren
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In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
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Oliver Bearman apologised to his Haas mechanics after a crash during first practice for the F1 Australian Grand Prix saw the British rookie forced to sit out the second hour on Friday.
With a little over 20 minutes remaining of FP1, Bearman took too much kerb and ran wide at Turns 9 and 10, running onto the gravel and ultimately slamming into the wall, bringing out a red flag.
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While the 19-year-old was cleared by medical staff, his Haas needed plenty of attention and, despite the team’s best efforts, he was unable to get out of the garage for second practice.
“The feeling was good. I think just wanting a bit too much, too soon – which is kind of my approach, which isn’t really the right one for F1,” Bearman explained.
“In F2 you go straight to quali after the first practice session and in F1 you have two more, so there’s no need to be straight on the limit. Maybe I overdid it slightly, but it’s totally on me.
“Just a bit too much steering lock over the compression at the apex of 10, which sent me wide, and it’s quite bumpy out there. I just lost it.
“Once you’re in the gravel it’s so bumpy and there is asphalt, grass, bumps and I was already out of it, but once you’re there, honestly, there is no more control, unfortunately.”
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Both sides of the Haas garage worked on trying to repair Bearman’s VF-25 in the hope of sending him out towards the latter stages of the afternoon practice session. However, their attempts were vain as Bearman was unable to take to the track at Albert Park.
Asked if he felt well physically, Bearman replied: “Yes, fine, it was a small hit, just not great for the car. So, yeah, my apologies to the team.
“It would have been nice just to do an install and check everything, make sure everything was OK for tomorrow.
“The guys did an amazing job, both sides of the garage helping me out to try and get me back on track. I can only apologise to them, and I owe them a few beers on Sunday.
“They’ve had a busy few weeks starting out with everything, building up the second car now, and to have the damage so early on and to put them back to work and give them a long evening is not really good enough. So, yeah, I can only apologise to them.”
While Bearman was confined to the back of the garage, fellow Haas newcomer Esteban Ocon was the slowest of the 19 runners able to post a time in FP2.
Having completed 31 laps, the Frenchman’s best effort still left him over a second and a half off the pace set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Asked by Motorsport.com if there was more in the car, Ocon said: “It’s still very early days. Of course, it wasn’t the smoothest day for us.”
“We’ve had quite a few difficulties in some areas, and we need to smooth that all together. There’s a lot for us to test. We completely changed the car from P1 to P2.
“There are still some readings that we’re not happy with in P2. We’ve lost a little bit of time in some sessions, and we also didn’t get the full running with the two cars to be able to compare with both set-ups in general.
“It hasn’t been the smoothest day, but it’s the first Friday of the year, so that’s pretty normal.”
Team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted to Haas having had “a pretty difficult day” in Melbourne, with the outfit needing further analysis to get to the bottom of its worries.
“It wasn’t the performance we were expecting,” Komatsu said. “We have one indication as to why in FP1, but Ollie crashed so we couldn’t completely get to the bottom of why we were uncompetitive, so we need to make another step tonight and then do the best we can tomorrow.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren
Photos from Australian GP – Free Practice
In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
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For the fourth part of a mini-series where Motorsport.com is assessing the early Formula 1 careers of the six 2025 rookies, today we’re introducing Oliver Bearman. He, more than any other F1 newbie this year, is responsible for the current large rookie crop.
After all, it was Bearman’s one-off appearance for Ferrari in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that made the F1 paddock sit up and pay attention to how a highly-rated youngster can perform if given the right chance – one really denied to previous Formula 2 champions Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire.
Bearman’s big break most famously came about because of then Ferrari star Carlos Sainz requiring urgent appendicitis surgery in Jeddah.
And, as that was the first of three F1 starts Bearman made last year, like Liam Lawson he occupies a different place to the other rookies in terms of already possessing considerable previous F1 experience.
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Although Bearman continued to impress Haas with his Baku and Brazil stand-in appearances for Kevin Magnussen later last year – after first wowing team principal Ayao Komatsu with his skills in a rookie practice outing at the 2023 Mexican round – everything that’s happening now comes back to what he did in Jeddah.
Bearman had by then raced up the junior formula ladder, winning the 2021 ADAC and Italian Formula 4 titles. Elevated into Formula 3 the following year, he finished third.
Bearman then spent two years in Formula 2 – winning seven times, including four as a rookie in 2023 – but his F1 substitute appearances thwarted a 2024 title tilt even around his squad Prema Racing struggling to get the best from the category’s new car early that year.
Bearman burst onto the scene with impressive display as Sainz stand-in
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
By taking Sainz’s car to a seventh-place finish in Jeddah, without the full complement of practice sessions to gel further, Bearman showed that he could be trusted to get at least enough of the job done at F1 level. This was, after all, as his temporary team-mate Charles Leclerc showed that Saturday, a car that could’ve been on the Jeddah podium.
But Bearman’s result also showed what could be done when a young driver commanding a fraction in salary terms of a long-established F1 star was backed with conviction.
And Komatsu, needing to maximise squad owner Gene Haas’s existing investment to secure more at the American team, saw enough to convince him Bearman was worth fully signing for 2025. Here his salary is said to be minimal due to his ongoing Ferrari junior links.
Intriguingly, it has even been suggested to Motorsport.com that, had Komatsu been in charge of Haas in late 2023 after Bearman’s impressive Mexican debut, then he might’ve been making his rookie bow at Magnussen’s expense this time a year ago.
Like fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, Bearman comes from a wealthy family, with his father David Bearman the founder and CEO of the Aventum insurance company.
The resources such backing builds have given Bearman a considerable support team. In Baku, for example, he was accompanied by an assistant and a mind coach. David is surely set to make further regular appearances in the F1 paddock (he was in Bahrain for testing, for instance), along with Bearman’s manager, Chris Harfield.
They’re all switched on to the business potential of Bearman’s F1 stint, arranging a dedicated stand at January’s ASI show in Birmingham, which sold the Briton’s personal merchandise and hosted an autograph session so popular with fans its queue closed hours before Bearman arrived to take part.
Bearman benefits from having a strong support network around him
Photo by: Ferrari
Such an array of support will be helpful for a rookie in pushing away outside noise, as well as providing the 19-year-old with quick reassurance if things awry.
That said, one of Bearman’s strengths as a driver is his ability to quickly move on from mistakes and challenges, with the Baku event providing another handy example here.
Early in that race, Bearman’s pace was too conservative for the tyres he was initially running – as dictated by Haas’s strategy.
Bearman complained when asked to move aside for Nico Hulkenberg – with whom he gelled well after his youthful exuberance broke through what Motorsport.com understands was a slightly cool first reception from his second temporary F1 team-mate of 2024 – but even after complying, rescued his race.
He battled Lewis Hamilton well and then nipped by Hulkenberg in the aftermath of Sergio Perez’s shunt with Sainz late on. This showed positive instincts shining through in a tricky situation.
Going off repeatedly while standing in again for Magnussen in Brazil is, however, the most recent memory F1’s collective hive mind really has of Bearman. That’s other than a stone flicking off his car on the last morning of Bahrain testing and shattering the glass side start/finish control gantry.
The Bahrain event had Bearman and new Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon mainly go through the strict tyre management drills Haas employed so well with Hulkenberg and Magnussen last year.
“I’m going away from this test wanting a little bit more,” Bearman said as the test ended. “There’s no denying that. I missed out on low-fuel runs pretty much through a few issues that we had. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do the performance runs that I was hoping for and that really helped me to get confidence in the car.
“But it’s not all negative because the car was performing pretty well in high fuel, so I’m pretty happy with the feeling I have.”
Rookie did miss out on some running in Bahrain but at least has existing Haas experience
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
But perhaps one eye-opening difference to his predecessors the youngster showed in Bahrain was in revealing the bodywork issue Haas currently has that blighted his final session of testing (the VF-25’s engine cover is currently said to be very thin and it peeled back at speed that day) during the day three press conference.
It will be interesting to see if he becomes more guarded as the year progresses.
Nevertheless, Bearman’s early days at Haas are going very positively – even by the end of the Baku weekend last year the team was already pretty besotted with his enthusiastic character. Although what is said to be his considerable delectation for sweets might make quite a hole in the team’s catering budget – if Christian Horner’s excuses for Red Bull’s 2021 cost cap breach are to be believed…
In this article
Alex Kalinauckas
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
For the fourth part of a mini-series where Autosport is assessing the early Formula 1 careers of the six 2025 rookies, today we’re introducing Ollie Bearman. He, more than any other F1 newbie this year, is responsible for the current large rookie crop.
After all, it was Bearman’s one-off appearance for Ferrari in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that made the F1 paddock sit up and pay attention to how a highly-rated youngster can perform if given the right chance – one, really denied to previous Formula 2 champions Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire.
Bearman’s big break most famously came about because of then Ferrari star Carlos Sainz requiring urgent appendicitis surgery in Jeddah.
And, as that was the first of three F1 starts Bearman made last year, like Liam Lawson he occupies a different place to the other rookies in terms of already possessing considerable previous F1 experience.
Introducing F1’s rookies: Alonso and Perez spats will stand half-rookie Lawson well at Red Bull
Although Bearman continued to impress Haas with his Baku and Brazil stand-in appearances for Kevin Magnussen later last year – after first wowing team principal Ayao Komatsu with his skills in a rookie practice outing at the 2023 Mexican round – everything that’s happening now comes back to what he did in Jeddah.
Bearman had by then raced up the junior formula ladder – winning the 2021 ADAC and Italian Formula 4 titles. Elevated into Formula 3 the following year, he finished third.
Bearman then spent two years in Formula 2 – winning seven times, including four as a rookie in 2023 – but his F1 substitute appearances thwarted a 2024 title tilt even around his squad Prema Racing struggling to get the best from the category’s new car early that year.
Bearman burst onto the scene with impressive display as Sainz stand-in
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
By taking Sainz’s car to a seventh-place finish in Jeddah, without the full complement of practice sessions to gel further, Bearman showed that he could be trusted to get at least enough of the job done at F1 level. This was, after all, as his temporary team-mate Charles Leclerc showed that Saturday, a car that could’ve been on the Jeddah podium.
But Bearman’s result also showed what could be done when a young driver commanding a fraction in salary terms of a long-established F1 star was backed with conviction.
And Komatsu, needing to maximise squad owner Gene Haas’s existing investment to secure more at the American team, saw enough to convince him Bearman was worth fully signing for 2025. Here his salary is said to be minimal due to his ongoing Ferrari junior links.
Intriguingly, it has even been suggested to Autosport that, had Komatsu been in charge of Haas in late 2023 after Bearman’s impressive Mexican debut, then he might’ve been making his rookie bow at Magnussen’s expense this time a year ago.
Like his fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, Bearman comes from a wealthy family, with his Dad, David Bearman, the founder and CEO of the Aventum insurance company.
The resources such backing builds have given Bearman a considerable support team. In Baku, for example, he was accompanied by an assistant and a mind coach. David is surely set to make further appearances in the F1 paddock (he was in Bahrain for testing, for instance), along with Bearman’s manager, Chris Harfield.
They’re all switched on to the business potential of Bearman’s F1 stint – arranging a dedicated stand at the ASI show in Birmingham in January that sold the Briton’s personal merchandise and hosted an autograph session so popular with fans its queue closed hours before Bearman arrived to take part.
Bearman benefits from having a strong support network around him
Photo by: Ferrari
Such an array of support will be helpful for a rookie in pushing away outside noise, as well as providing the 19-year-old with quick reassurance if things awry.
That said, one of Bearman’s strengths as a driver is his ability to quickly move on from mistakes and challenges, with the Baku event providing another handy example here.
Early in that race, Bearman’s pace was too conservative for the tyres he was initially running – as dictated by Haas’s strategy.
Bearman complained when asked to move aside for Nico Hulkenberg – with whom he gelled well after his youthful exuberance broke through what Autosport understands was a slightly cool first reception from his second temporary F1 team-mate of 2024 – but even after complying, rescued his race.
He battled Lewis Hamilton well and then nipped by Hulkenberg in the aftermath of Sergio Perez’s shunt with Sainz late on. This showed positive instincts shining through in a tricky situation.
Going off repeatedly while standing in again for Magnussen in Brazil is, however, the most recent memory F1’s collective hive mind really has of Bearman. That’s other than a stone flicking off his car on the last morning of Bahrain testing and shattering the glass side start/finish control gantry.
The Bahrain event had Bearman and new Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon mainly go through the strict tyre management drills Haas employed so well with Hulkenberg and Magnussen last year.
“I’m going away from this test wanting a little bit more,” Bearman said as the test ended. “There’s no denying that. I missed out on low fuel runs pretty much through a few issues that we had. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do the performance runs that I was hoping for and that really helped me to get confidence in the car.
“But it’s not all negative because the car was performing pretty well in high fuel, so I’m pretty happy with the feeling I have.”
Rookie did miss out on some running in Bahrain but at least has existing Haas experience
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
But perhaps one eye-opening difference to his predecessors the youngster showed in Bahrain was in revealing the bodywork issue Haas currently has that blighted his final session of testing (the VF-25’s engine cover is currently said to be very thin and it peeled back at speed that day) during the day three press conference.
It will be interesting to see if he becomes more guarded as the year progresses.
Nevertheless, Bearman’s early days at Haas are going very positively – even by the end of the Baku weekend last year the team was pretty besotted with his enthusiastic character.
Although what is said to be his considerable delectation for sweets might make a hole in the team’s catering budget – if Christian Horner’s excuses for Red Bull’s 2021 cost cap breach are to be believed…
In this article
Alex Kalinauckas
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
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Posting headline lap times isn’t always a sign of true performance, and in the early 2000s, you might have even accused Williams of doing it just to keep their newly signed sponsors happy. Carlos Sainz’s fastest time on Thursday and Alex Albon’s heroics on Friday don’t necessarily mean they are now ready to challenge McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull (which, to me, looks like the competitive order at the front). However, there are genuine reasons to believe that the Grove-based team can now aim for fifth place in the constructors’ championship – which would be a massive step forward for them. — Oleg Karpov
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Loser: Sauber poised to struggle
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images
According to an old paddock saying, there are no weak teams in F1. They all have highly skilled and incredibly expensive engineers working for them, people who could just as easily be developing spacecraft – but every year, one team has to finish last.
And all signs suggest that this year, it’s going to be Sauber.
As the team continues to prepare for its transformation into Audi next year, it’s only natural that their main focus isn’t on the present when the future holds such importance. What we’ve seen in Bahrain over the past three days only reinforces that impression. — O.K.
The world champions picked up where they left off in Abu Dhabi – seemingly as the class of the field. This is based on Lando Norris’s astonishing Day 2 race simulation, putting 30s into Ferrari and Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli respectively, on similar programmes. Oscar Piastri then seemed to have the long-run edge on George Russell, even as temperatures went up and things got harder for the drivers on the final day.
The team is trying hard to avoid complacency – Norris and Piastri want the team to improve rear grip even around what is a typical problem in Bahrain where, finally, the ‘home’ team has gone well. — Alex Kalinauckas
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Loser: The Bahrain International Circuit had a bad couple of days
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Without wishing to offend our hosts, this was a baffling and pretty bad week for the Bahrain circuit.
The power cut on day one had serious safety implications given the floodlights went out in gloomy conditions where famously headlight-less race cars were still blasting around.
There was nothing the circuit did wrong in the shambles of only two teams having wet-weather tyres to run in the rare desert rain on Day 2, but, in addition to the bus ending up in the Turns 9/10 runoff that caused a red flag as the final session started on Day 3, Motorsport.com observed a chair having been blown into another runoff earlier on the final day. This took a long time to be removed, which was concerning in the blustery conditions. An odd week, overall. —A.K.
Winner: Rookie Bearman proves to be a wise head on a young man’s body
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Flying under the radar, Oliver Bearman made more headlines for spotting what Lewis Hamilton had changed on Ferrari’s steering wheel than he did for his own performances on track. And that’s precisely what the Haas team appeared to want. Bearman spent most of his time performing race simulations, doing so cleanly and without drawing any attention to the Haas car’s pace.
Reviewing the in-car footage revealed lots of early lifting ahead of Turn 1 and no stuffing the VF-25 into corners. His stealthy approach was undone only on the last day when his engine cover partially delaminated while out on track. —Stuart Codling
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Loser: Stroll struggles before being laid low with sickness
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Lance Stroll was the driver of the least visible Aston Martin since the vanishing Vanquish in the risible James Bond movie Die Another Day – even before illness ruled him out of the final track session.
The AMR25 accomplished precious few laps over the period of the test, most accomplished by the evergreen Fernando Alonso rather than the boss’s son. It’ll be a painful debrief. — S.C.
Winner: Another vote for McLaren, but Red Bull could spring a surprise in Melbourne
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB21
Photo by: Erik Junius
In terms of race speed, McLaren was the benchmark of the week. Norris’ race sim on Thursday and Piastri’s on Friday were highly impressive, and give an indication that the team may be able to have a serious shot at the drivers’ title this year.
It is a shame that Max Verstappen did not do a complete race simulation, so Red Bull remains a bit of a question mark. And from the midfield pack it seems that Williams has progressed well, although their race pace was nowhere near as fast as their one-lap pace. — Christian Nimmervoll
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Loser: Mercedes loses its mojo
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images
From what was the top four teams of 2024, Mercedes’ long run on the final day looked the least impressive. It seems the team has lost its mojo a bit after the 2021 Abu Dhabi drama, and it will need to rebuild for 2026.
I don’t see them challenging the likes of McLaren, Verstappen and probably Ferrari on a regular basis. Further back, from a German view, the testing performance of Sauber with Nico Hulkenberg has been nothing but disappointing. I assume this will increase pressure inside the Audi camp, and it will certainly not help James Key to silence his critics in Germany. —C.N.
Photos from the Bahrain Pre-Season Testing – Day 3
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In this article
Motorsport.com staff writers
Formula 1
Lance Stroll
Oliver Bearman
Mercedes
Sauber
McLaren
Williams
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Take a step back in time to January 2024 and tell yourself that in a year’s time you’ll know that Lewis Hamilton has moved from Mercedes to Ferrari, Carlos Sainz is at Williams, Liam Lawson has landed a Red Bull seat, and a fellow called Franco Colapinto (did you even hear of him back then?) is in line for one of the Alpine seats after having competed in nine grands prix at the end of last season.
What a difference a year makes.
Formula 1 sometimes produces snooze fests on race Sundays, but it’s always full of craziness, at least off the track – so you can almost never rule anything out. Here are some wild predictions from the fans that have a good chance of not looking so wild a year from now.
Verstappen won’t be a championship contender this year
Sorry, what? To imagine that the driver who dominated F1 in 2022 and 2023 will not even be in contention for the championship is difficult. But is it really so unlikely?
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
No question, even with arguably the third-fastest car last year, Verstappen was able to score consistently and didn’t even allow Lando Norris to close the championship gap in the second half of 2024. But the new Red Bull looks incredibly similar to last year’s – and visually, at least, some of the rival teams’ cars represent major developments.
There are a lot of ifs in this equation, but what if Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren make a bigger step forward than Red Bull? Verstappen is certainly a great driver, but will he be able to compensate if the gap gets too big?
The prospect of the Dutchman not being involved in a title fight still sounds too unrealistic, but 12 months ago it looked like 2024 would be as easy as the previous two seasons.
Alonso’s 33rd victory
Did you hear Lando Norris say that it won’t be just the top four teams that win races this year? As bold as it sounds, he has a valid point. The gaps tend to shrink when F1 keeps the same regulations for several years – and if nothing anomalous happens, we’ll definitely see some close racing at the front. And maybe it won’t just be McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes fighting it out. If so, who better to bet on for a surprise victory than Fernando Alonso?
Fernando Alonso on the podium in Sao Paulo in 2023
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Yes, Aston Martin clearly struggled last year – the string of podiums from early 2023 already feels like a long time ago. But back then, Alonso was just one strategic decision away from winning at Monaco: had the team put him on intermediates on lap 54, he could have already secured victory number 33.
Lawrence Stroll doesn’t back down – he just keeps upping the ante. Sooner or later, Aston Martin’s impressive team of engineers will have to get to the bottom of what has stalled the team’s progress over the past year and a half. Plus, Adrian Newey is due to join at the beginning of March, and maybe – just maybe – the genius will casually point them in the right direction for car development.
It will probably take more than just: “Oh, guys, this part should be 2mm higher and that’ll give you 20 extra points of downforce”. But Newey has long proven to the F1 world that he alone can make a difference.
Lawson and Tsunoda to swap places
Given Christian Horner and Helmut Marko’s reluctance to even consider putting Yuki Tsunoda behind the wheel of one of Red Bull’s cars, it’s almost unimaginable that the Japanese driver will end up as one of the team’s drivers. It was only last December that Tsunoda was offered a test with Red Bull – apparently after the team had already decided on its 2025 line-up – and now it’s almost unthinkable that he will ever be presented with such an opportunity again. Outperforming the likes of Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson clearly wasn’t enough for Tsunoda to convince his bosses that he was up to the task of being a top team driver.
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda
Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images
However, crazy things have happened with Red Bull’s driver line-up in the past. Sacking, swapping and promoting drivers mid-season is Marko and Horner’s habit, so is it completely out of the question that Tsunoda will get his shot?
You don’t have to think too hard about the circumstances that might force Red Bull to at least consider swapping Lawson for Tsunoda. The New Zealander was moved to the main team after just 11 races in F1 – and there’s still a chance he could repeat the fate of Pierre Gasly, who was sent back to Faenza after just half a season with Red Bull Racing. If Lawson’s season turns out to be as bad as Sergio Perez’s last, the team chiefs may be left with no choice.
Antonelli to break Verstappen’s record as youngest winner
It’s a tall order – not just because of the lack of evidence that Mercedes will be able to win races this year and Antonelli’s inexperience, but also because Kimi only has three attempts to break Verstappen’s record as the youngest grand prix winner.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
The Dutchman won the Spanish Grand Prix, his first race for Red Bull Racing, at the age of 18 years and 228 days. As a result, Antonelli’s chance of surpassing that achievement will expire after the Japanese Grand Prix at the beginning of April. Furthermore, no rookie has won a race in their debut season since Lewis Hamilton in 2007 (with the exception of Oscar Piastri’s sprint victory in Qatar in 2023). Even for the eventual world champion it took six races to reach this milestone.
A lot will have to go right for Antonelli to win one of the first three races of the season. But Toto Wolff wouldn’t be giving the young Italian a seat in the car if he didn’t believe in his potential. How quickly he can adapt to F1 remains one of the biggest questions ahead of 2025 – but what if he is indeed a once-in-a-generation talent, as the Mercedes boss clearly believes, and stuns the F1 world in his very first races?
Sainz to bring Williams back to the podium
James Vowles’ plan to take Williams back to the top is in full swing. Ditch the Excel spreadsheets – check. Hire a top driver – check. Secure a huge sponsorship deal – check.
He was clear last year: 2025 is not a priority for his team. In fact, he’d rather sacrifice the final season before F1 enters a new era in 2026 than jeopardise the future. However, Williams made real progress throughout last season and begins the new campaign with a car that was born in a much better environment than its predecessor and is at least not suffering from excess weight.
Carlos Sainz, Williams FW47
Photo by: Williams
Can Sainz make the difference? Alex Albon was showered with compliments during the time he shared a garage with Nicholas Latifi and Logan Sargeant, but who can rule out the idea that he didn’t always get the absolute maximum out of the car? Now Williams has a proven race winner. In a crazy race – and in a season of 24 rounds, some are sure to be chaotic – you can count on Sainz to keep his nose clean and come up with something special.
Drivers to strike against FIA
Back in 1982, Formula 1 drivers were so fed up with the organisation now known as the FIA that they went on strike and locked themselves in a hotel ballroom during the South African Grand Prix. They played games, told stories and Elio de Angelis entertained the group with some piano jams…
It’s hard to gauge whether Mohammed Ben Sulayem and the FIA are close to reaching the same level of discontent among grand prix drivers as Jean-Marie Balestre and FISA did some 40 years ago – but there is clearly some form of frustration in their ranks, especially in light of the recent news about swearing fines. Repeat offenders face not only financial penalties (which are quite hefty!) but also a one-month suspension and a deduction of championship points – and that’s pretty serious. The thought that a casual F-word dropped in an interview could affect the title fight is rather uncomfortable.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA, with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The grand prix drivers have already shown their unity by taking the decisive step of creating a joint Instagram account (an unprecedented move!). What comes next is hard to predict.
Just imagine: someone like Max Verstappen (name chosen randomly) finds himself on the verge of a third offence and punishment in the form of points deduction, say before the Austrian Grand Prix – but instead of heading to the stewards’ room, he rallies the other drivers to go on strike and they lock themselves up in, say, Helmut Marko’s Hotel Steirerschlössl? There’s no shortage of those who could play the piano on the current grid.
Bearman to beat Ocon comfortably
That doesn’t even sound so wild… All the F1 rookies of 2025 will have a difficult task going up against experienced teammates. But it’s probably Ollie Bearman who stands the best chance of actually beating his garage neighbour.
On paper, Ocon, a race winner with almost 10 years of F1 experience, would appear to be the clear number one driver at Haas – given Bearman’s lack of experience. But the young Briton has already demonstrated his speed and ability to learn quickly. Defeating Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying in Baku and then scoring a point in the race was excellent proof of his quality as a driver – and even more impressive than his infamous Jeddah performance.
Ayao Komatsu and Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Ayao Komatsu believes that Bearman is a future Ferrari driver. And while that’s a nice compliment from a boss, it’s also a statement of expectations: any driver who wants to drive a red Formula 1 car one day shouldn’t just aim to beat any of their team-mates – that has to be their only goal.
Perez to return before end of season
The four-year stint (or maybe just the last couple of seasons, to be fair) has really damaged the Mexican’s reputation. At times, he looked hopeless in the second Red Bull – and that impression was only exacerbated by Max Verstappen’s brilliance. But is this really the Sergio Perez we knew from his Force India days? Perhaps the toll of sharing a garage with a generational talent has simply been too great – and in different circumstances, he could rediscover some of his old speed and tenacity.
For now, as Perez enjoys time with his family and travels the world for pleasure rather than work, it’s hard to imagine him back on the grid. But F1 has seen its fair share of comebacks in the past – even from those who had been written off. After all, who would have thought that Daniel Ricciardo would swallow his pride and return to race for his former Toro Rosso team after a stint with McLaren?
Can Sergio Perez get back to F1?
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Would Christian Horner organise a tyre test for another of his former drivers in July? And if Isack Hadjar is as much slower than Yuki Tsunoda as Nyck de Vries was, could there be an opening? You could say there’s too much bad blood between Horner and Perez at the moment, but don’t forget Ricciardo left Red Bull to sign with Cyril Abiteboul, who seemed to annoy Horner almost as much as Toto Wolff! You never know…
Hulkenberg to qualify on front row with Sauber
Nico Hulkenberg has always been a strong qualifier, but it was during his two-year stint with Haas that he really showcased that skill. The German’s ability to put a lap together on demand is nothing short of extraordinary – and some of his Saturday performances deserve some serious praise. Remember him qualifying second in Canada in 2023?
He’s moving to a team that, on paper, looks like favourites to finish last in the constructors’ championship, but does that preclude some qualifying highlights?
Nico Hulkenberg, Stake F1 Team
Photo by: Sauber
Sauber also improved its car towards the end of last year, and in Abu Dhabi Valtteri Bottas made it to Q3, setting a time just 0.4s off the front row! Hulkenberg was fourth in the same session. If the field is indeed closer this year, the German could really raise some eyebrows.
Is it too hard to imagine him putting his Sauber on the front row in mixed conditions? Definitely not. It’s not like we’re talking about him getting a podium, right?
Doohan to complete full season with Alpine
Let’s just hope Jack Doohan hasn’t been reading the motorsport press over the winter – because if he has, he must be feeling immense pressure. Too many in the paddock are convinced that the Australian’s days at Alpine are numbered – and that translates into tons of articles suggesting that Doohan’s only job is to warm the seat for Franco Colapinto.
The reasons for such speculation are clear: the Argentinean wouldn’t have left Williams if he wasn’t hoping to get into one of the Alpine race cars in the near future. And the news of the team signing up sponsors from his homeland only adds fuel to the fire.
Doohan doesn’t need to read the press to be concerned. The facts are enough.
Jack Doohan, Alpine F1 Team, in cockpit
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
But guess what, he’s still starting the season alongside Pierre Gasly – and as long as he’s in that seat, his destiny (you’d like to believe it!) is in his hands. A strong performance in such circumstances could really boost the Australian’s image and secure not only a full season with Alpine, but a long career at the pinnacle of motorsport.
What a story that would be!
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In this article
Oleg Karpov
Formula 1
Fernando Alonso
Carlos Sainz
Max Verstappen
Nico Hulkenberg
Sergio Perez
Yuki Tsunoda
Jack Doohan
Liam Lawson
Oliver Bearman
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
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Formula 1 2025 rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman have shared amusing anecdotes about their adventures obtaining a road drivers’ license.
F1 may be the pinnacle of motorsports, and one of the ultimate driving challenges, but one bizarre quirk is that drivers technically don’t need a road drivers’ license to be able to race in the series.
At 18, Mercedes debutant Antonelli is the latest driver to first qualify for an FIA superlicence before passing his actual driving test on the road. And while the young Italian is used to dealing with pressure at the highest levels of racing, that didn’t prevent him from feeling shaky before passing his exams.
“I was really nervous,” Antonelli admitted in a conversation with the BBC. “That week was like hell because I was really studying and practising because I knew I only had that shot at the end of the day.
“Because then the preparations start, then the season starts and I had no time to do the driving test again. So I was super happy to have passed straight away.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
“I made one little mistake on the theory, but I had three mistakes allowed, so it was fine.”
Making himself even more relatable to us mere mortals, Antonelli said he particularly struggled with parking. “The hardest thing was the parallel parking and reverse parking,” he smiled. “I mean, I’m not used to parking an F1 car! Definitely that was the toughest part.
“I’m super happy to have passed the driving test and finally I can drive on my own, and I don’t need to ask my mom to bring me to places. So, I can say I got my superlicence before actually getting my drivers’ license, which is crazy.”
Fellow 2025 rookie Oliver Bearman managed to get his driving test out of the way early when he turned 17, but not at the first time of asking.
“I passed the second time,” the Haas driver said, much to the amusement of the press at his F1 75 press conference. “I shouldn’t have said that…”
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Getty Images
“I didn’t stop at a stop sign. I didn’t burn through; I slowed down and I was crawling, but you are supposed to stop. We don’t have stop signs at a race track so that was my first sighting of a stop sign…”
“But typical me, or typical racing driver probably, I thought I could pass my tests without any lessons, so that’s probably where I went wrong. After that I took a few lessons. But I’ve been driving since 2022, so I’m a very experienced driver now.”
Antonelli is in good company, because four-time world champion Max Verstappen was a ‘veteran’ of 14 F1 grands prix before obtaining his license when he turned 18. And like Bearman, the Dutchman too passed after the odd hiccup.
At the time, Verstappen had to fly back from the Japanese Grand Prix to Belgium to take his test in between his racing commitments. He recalled in an interview with The Times last year that he got into a bit of an argument with his instructor.
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“The examiner told me to go right and I went left. Then I didn’t give way [to pedestrians],” Verstappen said. “He was not very happy. I argued with him because I thought they were not actually at the crossing. So I was, like, ‘But they’re not there yet, so why should I stop?'”
“Luckily [I passed]. It would be quite embarrassing if I hadn’t. I think he was nice to me.”
In this article
Filip Cleeren
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Ferrari
Mercedes
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Formula 1 is about to host its first-ever season livery launch party in London. Technically the event is called “F1 75 Live at The O2” — landing, as it is, at the outset of the 75th season in the sport’s history. At the centerpiece of the event, all 10 F1 teams will take their turn unveiling their car (or their car’s main livery, at least) for the 2025 season — on a stage, in a massive arena, as well as in front of a global audience of millions.
Given this is the first-ever event of it kind, the only concrete details we have are the ones we’ve been given by F1 itself.
Here’s everything you need to know about the F1 75 Live event at The O2 Arena in London:
When is the F1 75 Live event?
Everything kicks off at 5:30pm GMT, and the event is scheduled to last for five hours.
How can I watch it?
Unless you were one of the lucky few to grab arena tickets in the literal minutes before they sold out, you can watch along on F1’s YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook pages.
What is the plan for the F1 75 Live event?
Traditionally, each team pulls the covers off its new cars in their own ways: a racetrack with a few media in attendance, or in more recent (and boring) ways, as an email or social media post with a few images of the new car’s paintwork and some canned driver quotes.
This time, Formula 1 has stepped in to bring all the teams together on one night in London in front of a live audience with musical acts, streaming the show for free. Though the event is fronting F1’s 75th anniversary, think of F1 75 Live more as an opening ceremony than a birthday party.
More importantly, it’s F1’s chance to build up — and, possibly, better control — the biggest moment before cars hit the track for pre-season testing. By turning the normally workaday livery launches into a spectacle, there’s a chance to invent something of a 25th audience-friendly event in a schedule already stuffed with races. And, given the musical performances (more on those in a moment), there’s a chance to do something that’s a little more loose, and globally pop cultural, than the usual nose-down focus of a race weekend.
How will the event go?
All 20 drivers will be there, plus the team bosses — as well as, of course, the new 2025 F1 cars.
Each team will have a seven minute segment on the O2 stage to do what they wish, meaning we are in for a range of interpretations when it comes to a livery launch. It’s worth noting: in advance of F1 75 Live, we’ve already seen both Williams and McLaren unveil their car designs — but not the liveries the cars will wear. For the other eight teams, everything we see will be new.
The running order will be the reverse of last season’s constructors’ championship standings, meaning the evening will kick off with Sauber and end with McLaren.
If you’re doing the math, 10 teams multiplied by seven minutes doesn’t nearly fill up a five-hour arena-sized production. That’s where the host and musical acts come into play.
What artists are performing at F1 75 Live?
F1 75 Live’s musical line-up
Photo by: Formula 1
F1 finally announced the event’s musical line-up on Monday, and it’s quite the varied bill. There’s American country singer Kane Brown and rapper mgk (formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly), who had a famous interaction with Sky F1’s Martin Brundle during the 2023 Sao Paulo GP that led to the two falling out.
Also performing are UK pop legends Take That, who these days perform as a trio, minus Robbie Williams.
Composer Bryan Tyler, who produced the F1 theme, will also provide the musical backdrop.
Who is hosting?
F1 75 Live Host
Photo by: Formula 1
The main emcee for the evening is Jack Whitehall, a London-born comedian and actor who is likely unrecognisable to the rest of the world save those who have seen “Jungle Cruise.”
Of course, since this is an F1 event, we’ll also see familiar faces from its broadcast channels, including Laura Winter and Lawrence Barretto. One we won’t see: Will Buxton, who left F1 TV to join Fox Sport’s IndyCar coverage for 2025.
Is there a way to make Lewis Hamilton central to this moment?
Absolutely. The F1 75 Live event will be Lewis Hamilton’s first public appearance with Ferrari. Expect this to generate its own flurry of headlines and social posts.
What about the other 19 teams and drivers?
Every team, aside from McLaren and Aston Martin, have a new driver lineup in whole or in part, so we’ll get to see drivers wearing new uniforms and how those relationships are building up.
What’s the deal with the O2 Arena?
The O2 Arena is a large, multi-purpose arena located in east London, sitting beside the River Thames. It has the third-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the UK, with a capacity of 20,000. Originally it was called the Millennium Dome, but given how time operates, that quickly turned into a white elephant until sponsorship arrived from communication firm O2.
Whatever the name, the arena was (in 2023) the third-busiest music in the world, behind New York’s Madison Square Garden and the Movistar Arena in Chile. Which is to say, F1 didn’t skimp on the party’s location.
In this article
Ben Hunt
Formula 1
Culture
Fernando Alonso
Lewis Hamilton
Nico Hulkenberg
Carlos Sainz
Max Verstappen
Esteban Ocon
Pierre Gasly
Lance Stroll
George Russell
Charles Leclerc
Alex Albon
Lando Norris
Liam Lawson
Jack Doohan
Isack Hadjar
Yuki Tsunoda
Oscar Piastri
Oliver Bearman
Gabriel Bortoleto
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Ferrari
Red Bull Racing
Mercedes
Sauber
McLaren
Racing Bulls
Williams
Aston Martin Racing
Haas F1 Team
Alpine
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