Last year I became - well, obsessed is the word I would use - with Formula 1. I watched the races religiously and tried to learn everything I could. I still do not know everything, but I am as obsessed, if not more, with F1 this year. With the first practice of the Chinese Grand Prix starts tonight, I thought it would only be appropriate to recap my thoughts from the very first race of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Round 1 was interesting, to say the least. In my opinion, it was actually a hot mess. I say this because my emotions were ALL OVER the place. While I have my favorite driver(s) (and this will become apparent) to cheer for, I felt so bad for the rookies, AND I had to think of the drivers on my fantasy F1 team (this is also my first time doing any kind of fantasy sports thing). The race was filled with conflicting emotions and it was such an interesting race for the season with it being a rainy race, having 6 DNFs, and multiple iconic moments.
Rookies:
I think I will start with the rookies because they had it ROUGH. Isack Hadjar spun out in the formation lap (DNF #1). He was clearly emotional, very understandably. His first Grand Prix in Formula 1 and he didn’t even get past the formation lap. I almost cried when Anthony Hamilton left the Ferrari garage to comfort him. After Hadjar, Jack Doohan spun and crashed out (DNF #2) in Lap 1, Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto crashed out as well much later in the race (DNF #5 and #6). Ollie Bearman stayed in the whole race, but unfortunately ended in 14th. The rookies mostly had a rough race, the exception being Kimi Antonelli, he ended IN THE POINTS, I repeat he ended IN THE POINTS. Not only did he end in the points he got P4!
Additional DNFs:
Besides Jack Doohan crashing in Lap 1, Carlos Sainz crashed into the wall (DNF #3) - this was devastating. Most of the DNF’s were due to the track being wet/slippery but also not completely, commentators said it was more “greasy” than “slippery”. The last DNF for me to mention is when Fernando Alonso spun and crashed out (DNF #4).
Iconic Moments:
Now we can move onto the iconic moments. I’m not sure if this qualifies as iconic, but it is getting crossed off my bingo squares, there was a safety car in the first five laps (Lap 1). Not only was there a safety car in Lap one but there were multiple safety cars in this race due to all the crashes. Lando also kept his lead through Lap 1, Turn 1 (YAY!) - if you watch F1 you will know. Another iconic moment was Charles Leclerc’s radio message and his engineer, Bryan Bozzi’s, response. The convo went as follows:
CL - “ Is there a leakage?”
BB - “A leakage of what?”
CL - “I have the seat full of water! Like, full of water!”
BB - “Must be the water”
CL - “Let’s add that to the words of wisdom.”
This radio message had me laughing so hard, I had tears in my eyes. Besides this message, for most of the race, the Mclarens were battling Max Verstappen, this gave me some 2024 deja vu. Lando was in first with Max and Oscar battling for second. Speaking of Oscar, he had one of the most iconic moments during the race. In Lap 44 he spun out and into the grass. Everyone thought he was done. The screen even said he was out, which was heartbreaking as it was his home race. Suddenly he decided he was going to try to reverse out of the grass - the WET grass - and get back into the race. It worked, and he made it back into the points. It was an amazing comeback and showed his determination and talent. He may not have ended on the podium for his home race, which hurts my heart, but he finished the race in the points.
Race Conclusion:
The race ended with George Russell in P3, Max Verstappen in P2, and Lando Norris in P1! Lando Norris got Driver of the Day and also broke Max Verstappen’s streak (over 1,000 days) of leading the championship. This made me so happy because Lando is one of my favorite drivers. Some may say this race was interesting, some may say it was a hot mess (me), overall I think it was a great first race for the season and can not wait for the rest of it!
Fantasy Team:
Lastly, my fantasy team. My father and I are doing a fantasy league together, and after week one I think we are doing pretty good. I am superstitious where I do not like to say my predictions or hopes as I do not want to jinx it. So except for one, I am not going to say what drivers and constructors my team consists of, as I am hoping and predicting them to do well or better this week. I HAD to have Lando Norris, that was my one non-negotiable when making decisions. I needed to have Lando on my fantasy team as he is probably my favorite driver and I believe he will do well this year. I am looking forward to the race this week in Shanghai and to see how the drivers I chose do.
I love your line art design. I think Lando needs a new LOGO using your line art!