There’s a new leader at the Formula 1 drivers’ championship after the first five rounds of the 2025 campaign. After winning his third race of the season in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend, Oscar Piastri is in pole position with 99 points. Meanwhile, teammate Lando Norris is right behind Piastri with 89 points, and McLaren’s constructors’ title defence is off to an auspicious start.
Defending champion Max Verstappen is third in the pecking order with 87 and is doing all he can to keep Red Bull afloat. Meanwhile, the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have underachieved so far this term.
Williams are back in the midfield mix after an eventful weekend in Jeddah, though the Formula 1 2025 odds are stacked against them from entering the top four because of the gap between them and Ferrari.
Here are the latest Formula 1 2025 updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Piastri leads but Norris isn’t far behind
Oscar Piastri almost fell out of the points category during his home race at the Australian Grand Prix. But since then, he won in China, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia while securing P3 in Japan.
Piastri was disappointed to miss out on pole position after losing to Max Verstappen only by a hundredth of a second, but the 24-year-old bounced back big time in the actual race. He benefited from a five-second penalty given to Verstappen after the Dutchman tried to keep the lead by going off the track at the first corner. Verstappen claimed Piastri forced him off track, but the race stewards disagreed. The penalty, which Verstappen served at his pit stop, was enough for Piastri to go all the way. The Australian was temporarily held up by Lance Stroll when he tried to lap the Aston Martin driver in the closing stages, but once he was clear, Piastri finished the drive with a 2.843s lead.
In stark contrast, teammate Lando Norris had a rough time in Jeddah last weekend. The 25-year-old crashed in the final phase of qualifying session on Saturday, so he started 10th on the grid. Norris took advantage of the collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly to gain positions. He eventually went toe-to-toe against Lewis Hamilton and bested him but ultimately finished fourth.
After winning in Australia, Norris has claimed back-to-back P2s in China and Japan and finished P3 in Bahrain. His P4 finish in Saudi Arabia is his worst result so far, and the Briton admitted he has been feeling the pressure to win in the past few weeks, which may have affected his mental health.
Ferrari must find solutions fast
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has called for more consistency after the team grabbed its first podium this season in Jeddah, courtesy of Charles Leclerc. Leclerc started fourth on the grid after a strong performance in the qualifying, and the Monegasque star managed his race strategy and tyres well to finish third and claim the final podium berth.
Meanwhile, teammate Lewis Hamilton cut a downbeat figure after finishing seventh for the second time in his last three outings. After the race, the seven-time world champion admitted he struggled mightily with the SF-25.
“I will be 2000% behind him and I will give him support here,” Vasseur said about Hamilton. “But honestly, I am not too worried; if you have a look on what he did in China or what he did in the race in Bahrain last week, or even on the first part of the season except in this weekend, the potential is there for sure.”
The Scuderia are expected to bring in upgrades in Miami, but there’s a sudden change of plans. For some reason, Ferrari said they’ll “probably” wait until the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to implement the upgrades, which is a huge blow for the team, especially Hamilton.
Are Williams turning the corner?
Williams were one of the biggest winners in Jeddah, as Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alex Albon finished within the points category for the first time this year. Sainz was eighth while Albon was hot on his heels in ninth.
Before this, Sainz laboured in the past few races. The Spaniard had two DNFs in Australia and Bahrain, a P14 finish in Japan, and a P10 finish in China. On the other hand, Albon only finished outside of the points once (P12 in Bahrain).
The duo worked in sync in Jeddah last weekend to push Williams to fifth in the constructors’ standings with 25 points. The Grove-based outfit has already accumulated more points than it had in 2024.
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