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I think that Leclerc will have a good year personally . Very early days yet.

WillyDaP wrote: Sat Mar 15, 2025 10:56 am Heck , even Hadjar looked better than Liam ---- I was as surprised as you were with Lawson's performance.

Hadjar at least so far has shown he belongs .

I think the young guys are pushing so hard to make their mark against more experienced drivers that they are making mental errors while driving.

Driver’s championship up front will be close this year. I don’t see Max V. dominating every race like previous years. Red Bull will struggle unless Liam recognizes his role is also to get point every race and not just win at all costs.

McClaren looks amazing. Car setup and two drivers who will push each other to surpass Max. I see Ferrari fighting for the CCup this year with McClaren while Red Bull and Mercedes fight for third.

I’m rooting for Hamilton to win his 8th. But I know new car, new team, and all may not happen this year or at least will not see him in his top form until mid season. My sentimental favorite is Sainz and Williams.

Sam_Flat6 wrote: Sat Mar 15, 2025 2:44 pm I think the young guys are pushing so hard to make their mark against more experienced drivers that they are making mental errors while driving.

Driver’s championship up front will be close this year. I don’t see Max V. dominating every race like previous years. Red Bull will struggle unless Liam recognizes his role is also to get point every race and not just win at all costs.

McClaren looks amazing. Car setup and two drivers who will push each other to surpass Max. I see Ferrari fighting for the CCup this year with McClaren while Red Bull and Mercedes fight for third.

I’m rooting for Hamilton to win his 8th. But I know new car, new team, and all may not happen this year or at least will not see him in his top form until mid season. My sentimental favorite is Sainz and Williams.

Agree on all points except for Hamilton Would much rather see Lando or Oscar take the Driver's although I often root for Max because it feels like rooting for the villain

But yes - now that Kimi (the OG) and Vettel are gone, Sainz is my fav too.

Won't spoil the event for some who have the race recorded , but nice to have another Kimi in Formula One, ha. I have this funny feeling he will make his namesake proud.

Just a reflection on the F1 Drivers in 2025, it becomes even more confusing how Countries with populations so much smaller than the United States have such an interesting representation in the Series and yet not a single driver from the USA can make the grid? Sure there are drivers from small Countries around the Globe , yet the number of English and French Drivers is of particular note.

England - 4 Drivers
France - 3 Drivers
Australia - 2 Drivers
Spain - 2 drivers

WillyDaP wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 7:14 am Won't spoil the event for some who have the race recorded , but nice to have another Kimi in Formula One, ha. I have this funny feeling he will make his namesake proud.

Just a reflection on the F1 Drivers in 2025, it becomes even more confusing how Countries with populations so much smaller than the United States have such an interesting representation in the Series and yet not a single driver from the USA can make the grid? Sure there are drivers from small Countries around the Globe , yet the number of English and French Drivers is of particular note.

England - 4 Drivers
France - 3 Drivers
Australia - 2 Drivers
Spain - 2 drivers

I was going to try to watch part of the race but with a roughly midnight start my time, that attempt failed. Nodded off in the Ekornes - it's so easy to do.

But, I did scope out the results in the middle of the night when I woke up. Appears that it was a good race for fans and participants (at least some of them).

The race will be re-broadcast on ESPNews twice today - 3pm and 11pm Eastern but I think that channel may also be part of ESPN+.

The F1 channel others have mentioned appears to be a good alternative.
https://www.carpokes.com/viewtopic.php?t=3849#p42983

Racing on TV schedule from Autoweek:
https://www.carpokes.com/viewtopic.php?p=43021#p43021

Edit: it's on regular ESPNews that's part of most regular cable channels, not in the ESPN+ app. For Comcast/Xfinity it's Ch 1210 and according to ESPN is on today (Sunday) at 2pm Central and again at 8pm.

It was a terrific race with lots of action and safety cars throughout.

My wife and I attended the race weekend in 2019 and it was a blast - great event and fans. Highly recommended if you’re planning a trip to AUS. Also Melbourne is a wonderful city with excellent food.

I was able to watch parts of the race - it was entertaining. The start was crazy and the finish quite good, things F1 needs. The off/on rain/wet conditions were definitely challenging - kind of threw precise strategy out the window. It was more of holding a finger in the air to see which direction the wind was blowing a la Zak Brown holding his palm out behind him to see if it was starting to sprinkle or not. Forget the weather reports!

Definitely some surprises - the awesome finish for young Antonelli in 4th just behind teammate Russell in 3rd - strong day for Mercedes. Stroll at 6th (!), Nico 7th, resulting in Kick Sauber already having more points after this first F1 race than it did for all of the 2024 season.

Autoweek:

"F1 Melbourne Results: Norris Triumphs in Chaotic Crash-Filled Opener."

Clive Rose//Getty Images
Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver to score points in his debut.

Voting for " Driver of the Day " saw Lando Norris come out on top and I would agree it was a brilliant drive and he had to be on the wheel every millisecond the last 4-5 laps with Max on his heels, yet I would have to give the " Driver "award to rookie Kimi Antonelli , roaring from 16th to 4th ! Raikkonen had to be at home smiling ( of course it would be a wry smile only a staunch Kimi fan would notice , ha ) as it doesn't take much to figure where Antonelli got his middle name.
With the majority of the " Rookies " having a rough time, he was on a Planet all by himself.

I think the race in China , coming up, will be interesting after the strength of Mercedes, McClaren and Red Bull currently.

Congratulations to the winner . Racing Bulls need to up their game on race strategy . Also they need better glue for Yuki's front wing . Haas scores well needed points . Albon gets points on his birthday . Liam continues to struggle as his Red Bull clock is ticking . On to the next race we go .