The Spire

Jaden Stainforth ‘27

Staff Writer

Just as us Holy Cross students returned from summer break two weeks ago, so too did Formula 1 as the 2025 racing calendar resumed on the last weekend of August with the Dutch Grand Prix. Commentators, fans, and teams alike held great expectations for this season back in February and March, following a thriller of a campaign in 2024. However, this year’s campaign bears less of the dynamism and tension that marked last year’s epic drama. The rookies have all infused some flavor and intrigue, but many of the F1 world’s most pressing questions from the beginning of the year have been answered with incredibly muted, underwhelming, or regrettable replies. 

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton caused great uproar within the F1 community when he signed with the famed Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Team back in February 2024. His entrance into the Maranello-based team was met with tremendously elevated expectations with everyone wondering how he would perform after a twelve year run with Mercedes. 

More than halfway through the season, his performance with the team has not been particularly exceptional. While the famed Briton has scored at all but two races this season, he’s only been able to secure a best finishing position of 4th at Austria, Silverstone, and Emilia-Romagna, with him finishing many races 6th or lower. In comparison, Monegasque Charles Leclerc has outscored his teammate at numerous occasions and has even stood on the podium multiple times. 

For a seven-time world champion to not have stood on the podium at all this entire season so far is incredibly underwhelming. While both Lewis and Ferrari alike are to blame for the tame results, the team at Maranello need to seriously reevaluate their car development and race strategies if they ever hope to secure a world title once again. 

Poor engineer to driver communications have severely hampered Lewis’s ability to succeed this season as well. Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami has failed multiple times to provide Hamilton with important and relevant information during multiple races, most notably failing to alert Lewis that Max was on a flying lap coming up behind him in Monaco during qualifying. 

Additionally, great speculation surrounded the incredibly talented Spaniard Carlos Sainz when Lewis Hamilton’s jump to Ferrari forced him to find another team– that being Atlassian Williams Racing. Drivers need time to adjust to new team environments and cars, and Sainz has faced terrible luck this season, with many drivers coming into contact with him at different races in the season. 

However, Thai-Brit Alex Albon is leagues ahead of his teammate by eleven places in the drivers’ championship standings. Albon has been able to secure three fifth place finishes at Australia, Miami, and Imola alike, impressive work considering the lack of pace devoid in the Williams FW47. Like Hamilton, Sainz’s performance with his new team has been remarkably mediocre for a driver with incredible strategy and raw pace. 

Significant speculation also swirled around the Red Bull Racing garage. Last year saw the departure of highly instrumental Red Bull team members such as renowned designer Adrian Newey and knowledgeable engineer Jonathan Wheatley, as well as the unceremonious firing of Mexican driver Sergio “Checo” Perez. Additionally, former team principal Christian Horner’s leadership came under serious question when he was investigated for improper conduct with colleagues. 

Most importantly, however, Red Bull lost the constructors title to McLaren last year as they were plagued with development issues and management of their “second” car. The F1 community wondered how the Milton Keynes–based team would approach 2025 after a turbulent 2024. This season so far has shown that they have fallen victim to their internal chaos. 

While Max has been able to capitalize on opportunities to remain at the top of the field, the second Red Bull seat remains cursed. The team swapped Kiwi Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda after only two rounds, having realized their decision to rush Lawson into the senior Red Bull team was utterly short-sided. Horner held onto his post throughout the chaos throughout 2024, but poor second car performance has mounted pressure upon him this year and the team eventually sacked him following this year’s British GP. 

Additionally, the all-important fight for the Drivers World Championship between McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris has been nothing short of underwhelming. With both drivers so close in pace and skill, fans were anticipating close wheel to wheel action on track and a competitive fight between the two. Yet, with the exception of Canada where side by side on-track fighting led to Lando binning it into the wall, limited on-track action between the two has unfolded. 

In the Netherlands, Norris’s race was thwarted by a power-unit failure, ruining what could have been a close fight for P1. Just last weekend, McLaren engaged in team-order shenanigans in Monza by forcing Oscar and Lando to swap positions as a result of the team’s poor pit stop with Lando’s car. What many thought might unfold as a Hamilton and Nico Rosberg type rivalry turned out to remain an incredibly uneventful dynamic between the Papaya drivers who are fighting for the most sought-after prize in motorsport. 

While long-time names of the sport have struggled this season, many of the fresh faces have proven themselves handedly this season. Fans and the media alike wondered how the rookies would fare in the highest level of motorsport. However, Italian Kimi Antonelli, Frenchman Isack Hadjar, and Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto have all had moments of utter brilliance in 2025. 

Antonelli secured a spot on the podium finishing P3 in Montreal, Canada, becoming the third-youngest driver ever to finish on the podium. Isack Hadjar did the same at the British GP with the Red Bull Racing junior team, Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team, which is meant to serve as a development team for the senior Red Bull team. 

At Monza last Sunday, he even finished the race in the points after starting in the pit-lane. While Bortoleto struggled at the beginning of the season, he secured his best race finish at Hungary, hauling an incredibly sluggish Sauber to 6th position. 

With only eight races remaining, McLaren are already decisively on their way to win the constructor’s title, and only Piastri and Norris remain in true contention for the driver’s title. However, much is to play for in the midfield, with five teams – Haas, Stake Sauber, Racing Bulls, Alpine, and Williams – all fighting for fifth in the constructor’s rankings. Additionally, the rookies continue to write their first chapters in F1, showing rapid pace and witty racecraft along the way. 

Finally, while this year may not prove as entertaining or intriguing, F1 fans can look forward to 2026, when the car regulations are completely overhauled. With new designs and engine regulations on the way, a whole range of new questions will present themselves, and hopefully, the drivers, teams, and races can provide more exciting and positive responses to those inquiries. 

Featured image courtesy of PlanetF1.com

Copy Edited by Sophia Olbrysh ’28