By: Adiram Castro

Races 1-6 are available today with races 7-14 to be updated on Monday after the Belgian GP

By this time last year, we all had our notepads and calculators out trying to see when Max Verstappen would win the championship once again, and it seemed like it’d be like that again this season once we went down to Bahrain and Red Bull was able to secure a strong 1-2 finish. Mclaren were also able to finish in the points with Norris in sixth and Piastri in 8th. At this point it seemed like we might as well give Max the title again, the car was fast, the driver was on top of his game and the crew had amazing pit stops that day. Now today, Mclaren and Norris are strongly pushing to be contenders this year. Today we will break down every race on how it got to this point and if Lando and Mclaren can win their championships.

Saudi Arabia/Jeddah (Race 2)

After Carlos Sainz found out he had appendicitis, Ferrari had young gun Ollie Bearman get into the car, Bearman ended up qualifying 11th, and bringing the Ferrari home in 7th, getting him 6 points and his first Driver of the Day award in his very first career Formula 1 race. Red Bull came into the weekend looking very strong, with Verstappen finishing in the Top 3 of all practice sessions and Mclaren saw a team best P5 in practice by Lando Norris in P2. Qualifying put both Red Bulls in the Top 3 (Verstappen 1st , Perez 3rd) and for Mclaren, it was a 5th for Norris and 6th for Piastri with Mclaren looking to keep both cars in the points. Race Day was pretty much what you’d expect, Verstappen ran away with the race and Perez was able to finish 2nd to secure another Red Bull 1-2 to bring their championship lead to 38 points over Ferrari and 59 points over Mclaren. Both Mclaren drivers were able to finish in the points with Piastri finishing in 4th and Norris in 8th.

Drivers Championship (Race 2)

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 51 points
2. Sergio Perez, Red Bull – 36 points
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 28 points
4. George Russell, Mercedes – 18 points
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 16 points
6. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 15 points
7. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 12 points
8. Lando Norris, McLaren – 12 points
9. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 8 points
10. Oliver Bearman, Ferrari (reserve driver) – 6 points

Constructors Championship (Race 2)

1. Red Bull – 87 points
2. Ferrari – 49 points
3. Mclaren – 28 points

Australia, Melbourne (Race 3)

Race 3 was very different than other race weekends we’ve experienced since we’ve seen Max Verstappen take the top step as one of the best drivers on the grid currently. Practice sessions were a little bit all over the place with P1 going to Lando and Max getting the second fastest lap of the day, Perez finished a strong sixth with Piastri finishing in 10th. P2 was no different for Verstappen finishing in second once again with Lando falling back to ninth, and Perez and Piastri finished neck and neck with each other in practice with Piastri edging out Perez by 0.013s of a lap. P3 was once again no different for Verstappen finishing second once again in practice and Norris in 10th. Piastri came home 8th with Perez taking the W in this practice session finishing in seventh. Qualifying was once again no different with Verstappen taking pole and Perez starting third again, with Norris and Piastri not to far behind with Norris in fourth and Piastri in sixth, a strong opportunity at a podium for Lando if Mclaren can play their cards right. Race day finally came and on Lap 5 of the Grand Prix, Red Bull heard a radio message, that probably sends chill down the spine of all Red Bull Fans. “I have smoke, blue smoke, fire, fire”. That was Max Verstappen and at the time which seemed like a potential power unit issue for them, turned out to be the brakes which forced Max Verstappen to retire out of the Grand Prix with Hamilton being forced to retire as well which opened the door wide open for a solid midfield battle and a amazing battle upfront which is what we exactly got, Norris was able to fight in second for a little bit until Leclerc and Ferrari completed the undercut (pitting early before Norris) and were able to gain that second place finish back. As the laps winded down late and Norris was giving a late race charge to Leclerc. Fernando Alonso and George Russell got together on the final lap sending Russell’s car onto it’s side and in the middle of the track and a blind spot coming out of the corner, the FIA had no choice but to call a safety car on the final lap, giving Ferrari a much needed win and solid points, with Norris getting his first podium of the season, finishing third!

Drivers Championship Standings (Race 3)

• 1. Max Verstappen (51)
• 2. Charles Leclerc (-4)
• 3. Sergio Perez (-5)
• 4. Carlos Sainz (-11)
• 5. Oscar Piastri (-23)
• 6. Lando Norris (-24)

Constructors Standings (Race 3)

• 1. Red Bull (97)
• 2. Ferrari (-4)
• 3. Mclaren (-42)

Japan (Race 4)

At this point of the season it seemed like it was gonna be Ferrari VS Red Bull and Leclerc VS Verstappen, with them being neck and neck and Ferrari having good race pace, Red Bull came into Japan for the first time in a while, with their backs towards the wall, Friday came around and Red Bull were able to lock out the 1-2 in the first practice, with Ferrari drivers Sainz finishing third and Leclerc sixth with the Mclaren drivers finishing 8th (Piastri) and 10th (Norris). Practice 2 was affected by heavy rainfall which only saw 5 drivers make a timed lap. Saturday came and the sunshine scared away the rain clouds and brought us a dry session for both Saturday events. With Practice 3 going 1-2 again for the Red Bull’s with Ferrari finishing their practice session in seventh (Sainz) and tenth (Leclerc) Mclaren finished their practice session sixth (Norris) and eighth (Piastri). Qualifying was no different then P1 and P3 for Red Bull with Verstappen and Perez locking out the front row, yet again. With Mclaren putting their cars third (Norris) and sixth (Piastri) with Ferrari being able to put their machines fourth (Sainz) and eighth (Leclerc). Sunday was definitely shaping up to be a good day for both Red Bull and Mclaren if they were able to secure that podium with a hard charging Sainz behind them in fourth. Once again on Sunday it was the Verstappen and Perez show being able to bring home a 1-2 in the race, bringing home the max points in Japan. Ferrari has had multiple problems with strategy in the past but this weekend proved everyone wrong, showing everyone that they can get their cars on track with good strategies and that’s exactly what they did, being able to finish third (Sainz) and fourth (Leclerc). Norris had a real shot at the podium towards the final 10 laps but a very costly lock up allowed both Ferrari’s to pass by with ease, turning Norris attack into a defense from a fast charging Fernando Alonso. Norris was able to finish fifth with Piastri finishing his day in Japan in eighth. Definitely not the race day that Mclaren wanted to have but another impressive performance by both the Red Bull’s and the Ferrari’s, keeping the championship battle close.

Drivers Championship (Race 4)

• 1. Max Verstappen (77)
• 2. Sergio Perez (-14)
• 3. Charles Leclerc (-18)
• 4. Carlos Sainz (-22)
• 5. Lando Norris (-40)
• 6. Oscar Piastri (-44)

Constructors Standings (Race 4)

• 1. Red Bull (141)
• 2. Ferrari (-21)
• 3. Mclaren (-72)

China (Race 5)

China was definitely a fun buildup, it had been over 5 years since Formula 1 raced in China and with it being a sprint weekend (Race Weekend with a shortened points paying race before the big race on Sunday) and only having one practice session on Friday to get the track down, and it came down to Lance Stroll, Aston Martin driver getting the fastest lap in the only practice session for the weekend, with the Red Bull’s not finishing far behind in third (Verstappen) and fourth (Perez) with Piastri from the Mclaren team being able to slot in between Stroll and Verstappen in second. Leclerc (13th) Sainz (14th) and Norris (16th) definitely had a practice session to forget finishing outside of the top 10. Usually after Practice 1, we have Practice 2 but since this is a sprint weekend, we will be going straight into Sprint Qualifying (qualifying for the small race before Sunday). The Red Bull’s didn’t have the best session compared to previous sessions this season, with rain falling in the third session of qualifying, that put Verstappen starting fourth for the sprint and Perez starting sixth. Ferrari were able to split the two Red Bull’s with Sainz starting fifth on saturday and Leclerc seventh. Piastri would be right behind all the action starting in eighth with Lando Norris securing pole position (1st place) in the sprint! The sprint race was an opportunity for Red Bull to show off some muscle being able to put Verstappen (first) and Perez (third) both on the podium for the sprint race! Ferrari finished their day fourth (Leclerc) and fifth (Sainz) with the Mclaren’s right behind with Norris having a disappointing sprint session finishing sixth and Piastri right behind. After the sprint race we have Qualifying now, and that is pretty much what you expected in the first and second positions (Verstappen and Perez) Mclaren wouldn’t be to far behind to have a chance to battle for the podium with Norris in fourth and Piastri in fifth and the Ferrari’s right behind with Leclerc in sixth and Sainz in the seventh slot for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Sunday came around and it wasn’t what you expected with Norris being able to split the Red Bull’s! Norris finished second with the other Mclaren finishing eighth and the two Ferrari’s were able to improve their position during the race to keep the championship battle with Red Bull in the constructors title as close as they can.

Drivers Standings (Race 5)

• 1. Max Verstappen (110)
• 2. Sergio Perez (-25)
• 3. Charles Leclerc (-34)
• 4. Carlos Sainz (-41)
• 5. Lando Norris (-52)
• 6. Oscar Piastri (-72)

Constructors Standings

• 1. Red Bull (195)
• 2. Ferrari (-44)
• 3. Mclaren (-99)

Miami (Race 6)

At this point you may be asking yourself if you aren’t a big F1 fan. Does Verstappen ever not win? Will Mclaren even have a chance? Well this Miami race definitely changed everything and one team was able to put the whole sport on notice, but first i need to tell you how we got here first, so it’s another sprint weekend, just like it was in China so let’s get started with Practice 1 and the only practice session of the weekend. Verstappen was able to top the speed charts yet again, with his teammate Sergio Perez finishing practice in sixth. Mclaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc both had days to forget in Practice with Lando in 16th and Leclerc in 20th (issue with the car forced him to watch most of the practice session) with Piastri and Sainz both finishing second and third in this practice session. Sprint Qualifying was just as you expected in first and third with the Red Bull’s showing strong speed so far this weekend, Leclerc was able to split the two Red Bull’s to start the sprint in 2nd. With Sainz not to far behind watching the battle from fifth. Both Mclaren’s were able to qualify top 10 with Piastri in sixth and Norris in ninth. The results in how they qualified is pretty much where they all finished except Lando Norris who had an issue in sprint that forced him to retire the Mclaren. Verstappen wins again, with Leclerc in second, Perez in third, Sainz in fifth and Piastri in sixth. Qualifying was a full Top 6 lock out by the Top 3 constructors in the standings at the moment, Verstappen will start first on Sunday, Leclerc and Sainz will follow in second and third, with Perez completing the double decker Ferrari sandwich, and Mclaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri start fifth and sixth. Well Sunday came around and the five lights went on and off and we were racing. Verstappen was able to lead the field into turn 1 but it was obvious that Lando Norris Mclaren is gonna be really fast today, passing Perez a couple laps later, and then Sainz, then Leclerc, the Mclaren was showing strong race pace so when a VSC (Virtual Safety Car, drivers only need to slow down 40% and no passing) came out and Mclaren weren’t where they needed to be on track for that pit stop they needed to make but haven’t made, it seemed like everything was starting to go downhill until Logan Sargeant and Kevin Magnussen got together and sent Logan into the barriers, bringing out a full course yellow. And when everyone looked up from their monitors, they saw that Mclaren’s Lando Norris was the closest to pit road, which means he will get a free pit stop and come out into the lead since the safety car was already picking up the other half of the field. As the laps winded down and Norris put on a master drive, holding off a charging Verstappen on that restart who later stated to the team that he was having issues turning, and Charles Leclerc who was just waiting for a mistake to happen, but when none of that happened, on the final lap of the race, Lando Norris took a moment to take it in, he knew if everything held up, he’d be F1’s newest winner and Mclaren’s most recent winner since 2021. And coming out of the final turn, with all the Mclaren Boys on the wall, Lando Norris slides to the far right of the track on the front straightaway and he’s gonna win his first career Formula 1 Race! Verstappen comes home second, Leclerc third, Perez fourth, Sainz fifth and Piastri 13th.

Drivers Championship (Race 6)

• 1. Max Verstappen (136)
• 2. Sergio Perez (-35)
• 3. Charles Leclerc (-38)
• 4. Carlos Sainz (-51)
• 5. Lando Norris (-53)
• 6. Oscar Piastri (-95)

Constructors Standings (Race 6)

• 1. Red Bull (237)
• 2. Ferrari (-48)
• 3. Mclaren(-113)