F1 2025 continues at a relentless pace with Bahrain Grampurin marking the second part of the season’s first triple header this weekend.
After an attractive three-round opening, the World Championships left Asia for the first of their consecutive races in the Middle East, and the title race began to heat up after a surprising winner in Japan.
As the F1 Circus moves to Sakil, here are some of the biggest stories…
Is Max Verstappen a favorite of the title now?
Despite McLaren having the fastest car of the season, Max Verstappen is just a single point drift for early world championship leader Rand Norris, following his astonishing Japanese Grand Prix victory.
Paddock has a general consensus that McLaren has a pace advantage inherent to other fields, but his incredible performance in what is considered Verstappen’s fourth-highest kicker car keeps him in the mix.
In the opening three races, Verstappen maximized the results on every opportunity, finishing the second, fourth and first.
Red Bull expects a fresh flexiwing clampdown from the ninth round of the season to be able to get an edge over McLaren, further raising Verstappen’s hopes to seal off the fifth consecutive world title.
Given the current competitive situation of Red Bull, imagine what Verstappen could do if it improved. Dutchman’s display highlights why he considered him the four-time world champion and the best on the current grid. Japan was undoubtedly one of the best weekends of his Formula One career.
Verstappen may not be a complete favorite yet, but he is certainly on the hunt.
Verstappen is just a point from the top of the World Championships
Will Ferrari address their problems?
To reset what was a hot start to the season, Ferrari is rumoured to bring Bahrain the first upgrade of 2025.
Italian media report Ferrari will debut a new floor this weekend to try and address the major flaws that currently hold Lewis Hamilton and Charles LeClair.
It was a disappointing race for Japan’s Ferrari, with Leclair finishing fourth and Hamilton managed only seventh. The Italian outfit has yet to score the podium this year, and is clearly visible from the pace of their rivals, except for Hamilton’s victory in the sprint event in China.
Ferraris are currently unable to drive their car as low as they want, and they are taking valuable performances to their team. Hamilton’s disqualification from China’s Grand Prix due to excessive plank wear was rare to dispel rumors that the team was battling inherent ride height issues.
After a race at Suzuka, Hamilton revealed that his car was “low performer” compared to his teammate Leclerc, and suggested future fixes, perhaps soon in the fourth round of the season this weekend.
Hamilton’s comments seem to be supported by reports coming from Italy. Could an upgrade be key to getting Ferrari’s inactive campaign back on track?
Can McLaren bounce off on a “bogie” track?
Despite Red Bull’s victory, McLaren still has the fastest car
McLaren remains a strong favorite despite falling into the first Grand Prix defeat of 2025 at Suzuka, but they now head to the tracks they have traditionally struggled in the past.
Many viewed Japan’s Grand Prix as a massive missed opportunity for McLaren, who boasts the fastest package on the field in 2025. Winning – and a key point – it came to appear to have been there for the take and fell to the lap of Verstappen, the main nemesis of McLaren and Norris.
McLaren arrives at a less successful circuit, knowing that another slip will cost Norris the world championship lead.
Norris suggests that Red Bull could actually become Bahrain’s favorite, citing the strength of the RB21 in the slow speed corner. According to Norris, this is McLaren’s biggest “weakness.” The team had a strong show on the track during preseason Tests.
There’s no reason why McLaren is in panic yet, but the team feels pressured to return to winning ways, as they don’t have the breathing space to play with their dog Verstappen.
Is Yuki Tsunoda an upgrade from Liam Lawson?
Tsunoda made his tough Red Bull debut
By his own standards, the Red Bull debut of Snow Horned was not a success. He went for points over the weekend and scored a 12th place finish. It was tailored to the best results for his predecessor, Liam Lawson.
Following his sudden promotion, the Tsunami was always given time to find his feet on the Main Red Bull team, as only two races were raced in the season.
But time is a valuable product. Red Bull’s second car has not yet scored points this season. The team needs the hornda to regularly win strong hauls for the constructors championship.
However, there was a reason Red Bull was encouraged. Tsunoda got off to a promising start to the weekend before things dipped at the Q2 exit, which set up a challenging race that was largely determined by the qualifying round.
While disappointed by his outcome, the tsunami felt that he had made progress in at least adapting to Red Bull’s tricky RB21. Red Bull also recognizes that Tsunoda has done a solid job in that situation, and has good reason to believe that Japanese driver Stint will be more successful than Lawson’s.
Is Jack Doohan borrowed time?
Jack Doohan continues to be under pressure
For Jack Doohan, it was the beginning of his life in Formula 1.
Doohan, who missed out on his first practice when Ryo Hirakawa acquired his place, suffered a 185-mile crash early in FP2. It was later revealed that the crash – the second major accident in Doohan’s three races – suffered from a driver error.
The Australian was persuasively outperformed by his teammate Pierre Guthrie, taking 15th place. The weekend did little to ease the constant pressure surrounding Doohan even before the wheels changed this season.
As Alpine Reserve’s Franco Cora Pinto continues to link with Doohan’s seat, the 22-year-old was able to actually make a breakthrough performance to reduce the threat of x.