The 2025 Formula One season roared to life once again under the floodlights of Sakhir, and if the Bahrain Grand Prix was any indication, we’re in for a fiercely competitive year! From strategic masterclasses to reliability woes, the fourth race of the season gave fans plenty to talk about and teams plenty to work on.
With just a week to reset, the paddock now shifts west to the high-speed streets of Jeddah, where the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix promises a very different test. Here’s what we learned in Bahrain – and what to watch for next.
The Danger for Norris is from Within
As it stands, going into Saudi Arabia, McLaren’s Lando Norris sits atop the World Drivers’ Championship (WDC) standings. After a chaotic Australian Grand Prix where he battled hard to a dramatic win, Norris has failed to clinch a victory since, falling short thrice thus far.
Twice coming in as runner-up to his teammate, Oscar Piastri, Norris has been candid about his struggles with the McLaren. While it’s the fastest car on the grid by some distance, it’s proving to be a challenge for Norris to corral into one that can win him races.
As for Piastri, the Australian driver is now entering his 3rd year in Formula One, and many expected him to be a clear understudy to Norris. However, with big improvements and a car that’s suited to his driving style, the now 4-time Grand Prix winner has emerged as an unlikely early championship contender.
For Lando Norris, it’s up to the Brit to wrestle his ornery McLaren into submission and start squeezing out more consistent results in his races. If not, the lead of the WDC may very easily slip through his fingers.
Ferrari Continues to Struggle
Another race, another middling result for the once-illustrious Scuderia Ferrari. Both of its drivers combined have each only managed a measly 57 points this season, lower than either of the top-dog McLaren drivers’ individual points totals.
Four races gone by, and it’s clear the Ferrari duo are trying their absolute best to squeeze results out of the car, but innate issues with the SF-25 are becoming more and more apparent.
For starters, there’s a significant disparity between the straight-line speed of the Ferrari against its competitors. The reasoning given behind this has been that the focus of the Ferrari engineering team is higher downforce for better cornering instead of speed.
However, significant aerodynamic problems mean that when it comes down to it, the car is still unable to match McLaren or Red Bull in high-speed corners.
Compounding this, the SF-25 appears sensitive to setup changes, which doesn’t play well with the chaos of the two drivers trying their best with tweaks to extract as much potential as possible out of the car. At the moment, Ferrari continues to languish in fourth.
Tsunoda Survives For Now
Newly promoted Yuki Tsunoda was expected to go the way of Max Verstappen’s other teammates – swallowed up by the monstrous competitive presence of ‘Mad Max’. Against the odds, the occasionally foul-mouthed Japanese driver has succeeded in keeping afloat, if only just.
Despite a disappointing 12th-place finish in his home Grand Prix in Suzuka, Yuki drove a solid race in Bahrain, holding off both Haas drivers to deliver Red Bull’s first double top 10 finish in 2025. One of his highlights so far has been from Suzuka, where he lapped within 0.1s of Verstappen during FP1, showing that he has the potential to adapt to the fickle RB21, and the ability to extract it.
Statements from Red Bull staff holding Yuki in high regard in terms of racing skill are clear. Red Bull executive Helmut Marko said, “I would have gone with Yuki Tsunoda from the start. I said that already – I made it clear last autumn.” and, “You could give Lawson 100 years, and he still wouldn’t be as fast as Yuki.”
Tsunoda has shown himself to be the superior choice over his unfortunate predecessor, Liam Lawson, but only time will tell if he will finally break the Red Bull second driver curse – or if he’ll be another in a long line of drivers who couldn’t make it next to Max in Formula One.
Verstappen Fighting to Make History
Speaking of Max Verstappen, the reigning World Drivers’ Champion is our next topic of discussion. He’s chasing a record five-peat of WDCs, a feat only equalled by the legendary Michael Schumacher in the years of Ferrari’s dominance in the early 2000s. As it stands, Verstappen has won four titles in a row, equal to rival Lewis Hamilton and former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel.
Max has everything you’d want from a driver – blessed with bags of talent and years of honing it to a deadly point, so much so that the car setup he’s most comfortable with is nigh-uncontrollable for his fellow drivers. However, this season has been a slog by his high standards. At this point last season, he was sitting pretty in first, his fourth Formula One WDC all but a foregone conclusion.
Now, he’s stuck in third behind the McLarens, dealing with a recent teammate swap and a car that’s become far too overengineered, struggling with corners and tyre degradation. In spite of a monstrous win in Suzuka, which saw him set a new lap record for the circuit, Verstappen finished a dismal 6th in Bahrain and 4th in Shanghai—a far cry from his previous dominance.
In addition to the on-track problems, whispers abound of Verstappen possibly seeking a position in another team, with talks between his management and Mercedes during the summer break. Max’s contract is rumoured to have a clause stating he can leave Red Bull if they don’t deliver with a good car, so who knows what’ll happen going into the rest of 2025?
Mr Saturday is Mr Consistent
Quietly, George Russell has been having himself a very good first part of the season. The newly promoted Mercedes number one driver has finished on the podium in every race so far, and he currently sits in 4th, right below Max Verstappen.
Adding to that, he and rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli’s consistently good performances have landed Mercedes in second place in the World Constructors’ Championship (WCC), right behind the dominant McLaren.
Russell has impressed many with his tenacity after experiencing technical difficulties with the car throughout the first four races. Pitfalls include problems with overheating and a lack of downforce in the corners, yet he’s adapted and made the very best of it, showing his quality as a driver.
Whether George can actually put together an effective challenge for the WDC isn’t clear yet, with more than three-quarters of the season left to race. But with the Mercedes W16 delivering consistent results over the other teams, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that ‘Mr Saturday’ could see himself eyeing the championship in 2025.
Going Into Saudi Arabia
Going into Saudi Arabia, a lot of questions need answers. Oscar Piastri has shown that he’s attained a new level of racecraft, displaying excellent tire management, raw pace, dogged determination and his ever-present levelheadedness. He’s only 3 points off his teammate’s top spot in the WDC, and it remains to be seen if he can lay a serious claim to championship glory for the first time.
As for Ferrari, with a veritable mountain of technical and setup flaws plaguing them, it’s a wonder the team are still even battling for top four. It speaks to the incredible talent they have on their hands in Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, but if either of them wants so much as a sniff of WDC glory this year, things have to change, and fast.
Over in the Red Bull camp, Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen both have a lot to lose. Tsunoda needs to continue proving he can be competitive with the temperamental RB21 to keep the support of the team. For the current Formula One World Drivers’ Champion, all eyes are on Max Verstappen to see if he and Red Bull can turn his poor start to the season around and get his hands on a record-tying five-peat of the World Drivers’ Championship.
Attention will also be on George Russell, who is hot on Verstappen’s heels in the drivers’ standings, with 63 points to Verstappen’s 69. Any errors by Max and Red Bull will be capitalised on by Russell and Mercedes, who would gleefully take the chance to cruise into the top 3 of the standings.
Formula One Singapore Grand Prix
As the 2025 Formula One season heats up, fans have already been treated to a thrilling spectacle of speed, strategy, and surprises. With rivalries intensifying and every point counting more than ever, the road to the title is as unpredictable as it is electrifying.
While the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is happening in only a few days, don’t forget about our very own Singapore Grand Prix! Our race on the calendar is a high-octane experience set against the backdrop of a vibrant cityscape glowing in the night. Tickets are already on sale, so don’t miss your chance to witness the action firsthand as F1 roars through the streets in one of the most iconic races of the season!
🗓️Dates: 3 – 5 October 2025
💲Prices of available tickets*:
Hospitality Packages
| Hospitality Packages | 3-Day Pass | Friday (3 October) | Saturday (4 October) | Sunday (5 October) |
| The Vista Suite @ Singapore Flyer | S$6,104 | – | – | – |
| Sky View Pavilion @ Singapore Flyer | S$4,306 | – | – | – |
| Torque @ Singapore Flyer | S$4,306 | – | – | – |
*Hospitality refers to all-in-one package experiences that include unobstructed views and dining. Grandstands provide prime vantage points to see the racers. Walkabouts allow free roaming around the circuit map zone, with designated viewing points available.
Grandstands:
| Grandstand | 3-Day Pass | Friday (3 October | Saturday (4 October) | Sunday (5 October) |
| Super Pit Grandstand | – | – | – | – |
| Pit Grandstand | – | S$328 | S$768 | – |
| Turn 1 Grandstand | – | – | – | – |
| Republic Grandstand | – | S$208 | S$438 | – |
| Padang Grandstand | – | – | S$328 | – |
| Stamford Grandstand | – | – | S$268 | – |
Walkabouts
| Walkabout | 3-Day Pass | Friday (3 October) | Saturday (4 October) | Sunday (5 October) |
| Premier Walkabout | – | S$188 | S$318 | S$448 |
| Zone 4 Walkabout | – | S$148 | S$248 | S$288 |
*All tickets listed are available and priced accurately as of the time of writing.
Get your tickets to the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix 2025 right now! Get the latest updates on the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix through their Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok pages.
Visuals courtesy of Formula One.
