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Unexpected Twists in First Day of F1 2025: Ferrari Surges, Red Bull Struggles, and Mercedes Searches for Pace

Carl Harrison by Carl Harrison
March 14, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Unexpected Twists in First Day of F1 2025: Ferrari Surges, Red Bull Struggles, and Mercedes Searches for Pace

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Practice - Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 14, 2025 Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli during practice REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy

The inaugural day of the 2025 Formula 1 season has already served up a cocktail of surprises, laying the groundwork for an exhilarating qualifying round for the Australian Grand Prix. The day was dominated by Ferrari, who surged to the top, leaving McLaren in their wake, yet the second practice session presented an enigmatic picture that left many teams pondering their strategies.

Albert Park, Melbourne, played host to this captivating day of racing, with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari outpacing his competition on both the medium and soft tyres. The day, however, did not paint a clear picture due to several drivers struggling to improve their timings after swapping from the medium to the soft tyres. This created a disarray in the final ranking, with big names like Mercedes and Red Bull failing to clock in notably fast laps.

Leclerc’s performance hinted at a promising season for Ferrari, despite the uncertainty surrounding their true potential. This may validate Lando Norris’s prediction. The McLaren driver had previously stated he expected Ferrari to surge ahead based on his assessment of their fuel strategy during testing.

McLaren’s performance was consistent, if not exceptional, with both of their cars finishing just 0.017s apart in FP2. However, the real test will be how much they can ramp up their speed in the final qualifying round when all teams are pushing their limits to the maximum.

Mercedes had a day to forget, with George Russell’s performance marred by mishaps, including narrowly avoiding a collision with a wall and struggling with a lock-up into the penultimate corner. His young teammate, Kimi Antonelli, also seemed to be grappling with the pace of the competition and ended the day trailing Russell by four-tenths. Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, acknowledged the need to enhance their single-lap performance on the soft compound ahead of the qualifying round.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen arrived in Australia with tempered expectations, and they seem to have been met. Verstappen seemed disenchanted after FP2, having to abort his first qualifying simulation quickly due to a lack of grip on the tires. Despite salvaging a seventh place finish in the qualifying simulations, Red Bull has a mountain to climb before they are ready to challenge for the top spot.

In the middle of the pack, Racing Bulls emerged as a surprise package, outpacing both Red Bull and Mercedes. However, it remains to be seen if they can maintain this momentum in the upcoming qualifying round.

Meanwhile, Williams and Alpine were the biggest letdowns of the day. Both teams, who had shown promise in testing, were unable to translate that potential into performance. Williams’ speed in the opening practice, headlined by Sainz’s second-fastest finish and Alex Albon’s sixth place, was not reflected in the FP2. Alpine, on the other hand, has been consistently underwhelming so far.

Lewis Hamilton, who is now paired with Leclerc at Ferrari, admitted he was lagging behind in terms of pace. However, he remains hopeful of improving his performance overnight. The qualifying simulations offered the first direct comparison between the two teammates, revealing Leclerc’s early edge over Hamilton.

Sauber, a team that was expected to languish at the bottom, took everyone by surprise with a respectable performance, with Nico Hulkenberg breaking into the top 10. The team’s performance is a result of a revised development plan, which included new front wing and sidepods.

Haas, on the other hand, had a disastrous day, with Ollie Bearman crashing heavily during the first practice on a qualifying simulation. The team, which was already the slowest of all, has a massive recovery task ahead.

The first day of the 2025 Formula 1 season has set the stage for an exciting season. With teams grappling with their respective challenges and vying to get ahead, it promises to be a thrilling ride for Formula 1 enthusiasts.

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