At the beginning of the Formula One season, I predicted that Charles Leclerc would be the lead driver at Ferrari. This has held so far; Leclerc has only been beaten by his teammate Lewis Hamilton on race day twice.
Now, halfway through the season, I did not predict the dominance of the McLaren car and the battle between their two drivers, as well as the downfall of Red Bull.
The McLaren drivers are the only ones in the title fight this season. It is Lando Norris versus his teammate, Oscar Piastri. Norris joined the grid in 2019, and Piastri joined the grid in 2023. Both drivers could not be more different in their careers.
Norris didn’t get his first podium till his second year in 2020 and didn’t achieve his first win till 2024. While Piastri scored not one but two podiums in his rookie season, he was the first driver to do this since Hamilton in 2007. He also won his first race in his second season in the sport.
While Norris has more experience in the sport and with the team, it is Piastri who is pushing the team toward victory. In total, Piastri has won five races so far and Norris has won four. Piastri currently leads Norris in the drivers' championship. I believe that Piastri will keep that lead and will win the driver's championship in his third season in F1. This is due to Piastris's overall adaptability in his racing style. Piastri never panics and rarely makes race-ending mistakes.
The McLaren dominance this season has been shocking, considering that in the past few years, it has been Red Bull dominating on the track. Max Verstappen has still been quick this season, but his car isn’t matching his speed anymore. Verstappen is still consistently on the podium, but is also complaining on the radio to his race engineer about the status of the car.
On top of that, the second Red Bull car has been struggling even more than Verstappen. Liam Lawson started the season with the second Red Bull seat before being demoted, and Yuki Tsunoda was promoted. While Tsunoda has performed somewhat better than Lawson, it is clear that whoever is in that seat will struggle.
On top of the car issues, Christian Horner was just fired from his position as team principal after 20 years with the team; there has never been a Red Bull race without him. This announcement coincided with the rumor linking Verstappen to a possible move to Mercedes. Although Verstappen's contract with Red Bull is said to last till 2028, it is also said he has an exit clause that he may have enacted.
This F1 season has already had very memorable moments, from the Lego car driver parade to Nico Hulkenberg scoring his first podium, who has been in and out of the sport for 15 years now. While it is now halfway through the season, the summer break isn’t till August 4, which is when the real rumors fly and contract signings happen.
I’m excited to see how the rest of the season turns out, if Red Bull can pull together the team and if Piastri will pull further ahead in the drivers' championship from his teammate.
Cassie is a senior studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the views and opinions expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassie? Email her at cb086021@ohio.edu.
