F1 Is Back. Who’s Your Money On?

Finally! Formula 1 is back, and as much as I hate to agree with many of the racing pundits who typically exaggerate every little claim; this year may be one of the, if not the, most competitive seasons in the sport’s history. This should result in one of the most exciting seasons in a while—though hopefully for the right reasons, unlike in 2021.

Red Bull and Max Verstappen will undoubtedly be strong from the get-go, even if they’ve yet to put on a fast time around Melbourne Park throughout the first and second practice sessions. It’s less clear how well Liam Lawson will do on his maiden race for the team, as he’s been languishing in 16th and 17th so far.

Whether it’s Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari will be a threat all weekend—there’s not much more to say about that. The established Monegasque knows the car, knows the team, and has been in the top three for both practice sessions so far, and is likely to repeat that in Practice 3. It’s going to come down to everything clicking together for qualifying. Meanwhile, Hamilton will have a steeper learning curve and he’ll definitely want to avoid pushing too hard too soon, which could lead to an off-track excursion. If only someone would’ve told Oliver Bearman this, he probably wouldn’t have thrashed his Haas on the first outing of the year.

Then there’s the reigning constructors’ champ, McLaren. All eyes are on the papaya team to deliver the goods this weekend. Lando Norris topped the charts in Practice 1 and came in third in Practice 2. His teammate Oscar Piastri, who is enjoying his home race, delivered the fourth- and second-fastest times so far this weekend. If I were a betting man, my money would be on one of these two to win the race come Sunday.

The rest of the field is too scattered up to this point to speculate on the best of the rest. Much noise has been made about Carlos Sainz and his Williams, after the Spaniard managed to put in a few good laps early on this weekend. The same can be said about Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda and his rookie teammate Isack Hadjar. Everyone’s favorite brat, Lance Stroll, has managed to place his Aston Martin in the top 10 for both sessions, while Fernando Alonso managed eighth and 13th, respectively. Mercedes is in a similar situation, as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have failed to stand out so far.

We’ll have a much clearer idea of the pecking order after qualifying, which will take place tonight (technically Saturday morning) at 1 a.m. Eastern. Even then, it’s safe to expect lots of carnage during Sunday’s race start, given Albert Park’s Turn 1 typically delivers wild multi-car crashes. If that doesn’t claim a few folks, typical early-season reliability woes can cause major headaches for teams—especially those who will already be chasing valuable championship points. Let’s not forget what happened to Verstappen last year.

If you had to choose the 2025 constructors’ and drivers’ champions today, who do you got?

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