Fourteen down, 10 to go. The 2025 F1 season is in full swing and it’s neck-and-neck at the top of the world championship.
After Lando Norris’ victory in Hungary following a thrilling finale, holding off a late charge from Oscar Piastri, the Australian’s lead in the drivers’ standings is now just nine points.
Away from the McLaren title fight, Ferrari are second in the constructors’ standings but have not won a race – with star signing Lewis Hamilton yet to secure a top-three finish – while Red Bull (twice) and Mercedes (once) have managed to finish on the top step of the podium.
And what about the rest of the pack? Williams have shown signs of improvement, while Sauber have made massive progress in the last few months, ahead of their entry as Audi in 2026.
As F1 rolls into the four-week summer break, with the next race in Zandvoort on 31 August, The Independent takes a look at the most memorable moments so far.
Best driver: Oscar Piastri
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Norris was the clear favourite at the start of the season, ahead of a campaign where McLaren’s superiority was widely foreseen.
Yet Piastri’s consistency in just his third F1 season – he has been off the podium just once since the season-opener in Australia – means he leads the world championship and deservedly so, regularly outshining his senior teammate. Six wins, 12 podiums – it’s been immensely impressive.
Other shoutouts go to George Russell, who has eked out the maximum from this capricious Mercedes car, with one win and six podiums to his name. Max Verstappen‘s wins in Japan and Imola were also mighty.
Best team: McLaren
What a job team principal Andrea Stella has done at the papaya-clad team, alongside CEO Zak Brown. In the space of a year, McLaren have overtaken Red Bull and overseen a period of dominance not a million miles off Verstappen’s near-perfect team in 2023.
A lot of credit should go to chief designer Rob Marshall (formerly of Red Bull), who has carved out a car light years ahead of the rest of the field for Piastri and Norris.
And with two genuine No 1 drivers, it has been rare for McLaren not to capitalise on their superiority. The team’s 200th win on Sunday in Hungary is indicative of an outfit revitalised in a way not seen since the Ron Dennis era.
Biggest disappointment: Lewis Hamilton
There can be no sugar-coating it. Without a podium, let alone a win, in his first 14 races for Ferrari, it has been a dismal start to life at the Scuderia for the seven-time world champion.
The last race in Hungary – beyond the disqualification in China – was perhaps the new nadir, with Hamilton at his most despondent in the media pen afterwards, describing his performance as “useless” and even mooting that Ferrari should replace him.
That won’t happen. Team principal Fred Vasseur has signed a new deal and both parties are desperate for improvement, with focus firmly shifted on 2026’s new regulations. Yet for a team that narrowly missed out on last year’s constructors’ title, and a driver desperate for an eighth title, it has been the most painful of struggles for the 40-year-old in red.
Most improved team: Sauber
Former Red Bull chief Jonathan Wheatley’s arrival in April has coincided with a dramatic revival for Sauber, who were firmly rooted at the bottom in 2024.
Since round eight in Monaco, Sauber have scored points in every race with both rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg regularly in the top-10, with the team now a respectable sixth in the constructors’ standings.
Which brings us nicely to...
Best moment: Nico Hulkenberg’s podium
The dramatic round of applause in the Silverstone media centre spoke volumes for the feel-good story that was the 37-year-old’s first podium in Formula One, after 239 races.
And what a podium it was, storming from 19th on the grid, perfecting every decision in a chaotic wet race and holding off a charging Hamilton to take third place.
A real win for one of F1’s most consistent performers – and more momentum for the outfit morphing into Audi in 2026.
Biggest shock: Christian Horner’s exit
A few days on from Silverstone, a departure many would have anticipated at the start of last year came with a rapidly penned statement from Red Bull’s parent company.
Twenty years on from spearheading the energy drink outfit’s foray into an F1 juggernaut, Horner was out as F1 CEO. Perhaps inevitably, the embattled team boss finally lost the long-running power struggle within the upper echelons of the team.
Not long after, Verstappen committed his future to the team for 2026. But will Horner’s exit trigger a turnaround on track? That remains to be seen.
Best rookie: Isack Hadjar
Out of the five (six if you include Liam Lawson) rookies on the grid this season, Racing Bulls’ Hadjar has impressed the most.
Sitting 13th in the standings, with just Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli ahead of him in the rookie race, the 20-year-old Frenchman’s most impressive statistic is that he is yet to be eliminated in Q1 on a Saturday.
His raw pace in a field of the world’s best comes as a surprise and he may well be thrust into the second Red Bull seat next year as a result. Bortoleto has also recently come to the fore, while Ollie Bearman’s form has dropped after some early-season promise. Most worryingly, the Briton is already two penalty points away from a race ban.
Biggest farce: Liam Lawson dropped after just two races
The poor New Zealander was hung out to dry by Horner and Red Bull, dropped to the sister team after just two rounds of the 2025 season.
The shortest full-time seat stint in F1 history, it’s perhaps understandable that Lawson has struggled for consistency at Racing Bulls in the weeks since.
What is more indicative of Red Bull’s struggles – and proves that Lawson was far from the issue – is Yuki Tsunoda’s poor results in the RB21. The Japanese driver has scored a measly seven points since stepping up, and is without a top-10 finish in the last seven race weekends.
The similarly uncomfortable handling of Jack Doohan at Alpine – with replacement Franco Colapinto without a point in the eight rounds since – deserves a mention too. Young drivers deserve more time to shine.
Best race: Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne’s first wet race in 15 years meant the 2025 campaign started with high-octane drama.
Norris claimed an impressive victory ahead of Verstappen, after Piastri slid off the racetrack to the dismay of the home fans. Hamilton, in a sign of things to come, was audibly frustrated with his Ferrari team as a potential podium slipped through his fingers.
If nothing else, with nearly half a million fans attending throughout the weekend, it proved that Albert Park should return as a permanent host of the first race of the season over Bahrain, which it is at least for 2026.
Worst race: Monaco Grand Prix
No surprises here.
Monaco’s attempted rejig with two compulsory pit-stops was futile in the end, as Racing Bulls and then Williams manipulated the rules – and the circuit’s ‘no-overtaking’ configurations – to slow down cars behind, creating a gap where both cars could score points.
Back to the drawing board for the sport’s traditional crown jewel event.
Anthony Davidson addresses ‘elephant in the room’ for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton hints at ‘background’ issues at Ferrari in another deflated interview
F1’s return to Hungary serves as reminder of McLaren quarrel on the horizon
McLaren boss anticipates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ‘swapping paint again’
Anthony Davidson addresses ‘elephant in the room’ for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari F1
Lando Norris holds off Oscar Piastri in thrilling finale to Hungarian Grand Prix
