Introduction
The 2025 Formula 1 season has delivered drama from the very first lap. Rules changes meant points are still awarded according to the familiar formula 1 points system — 25 for a win down to 1 for tenth place, plus a point for fastest lap — but the way those points have been distributed has shocked even seasoned fans. After 14 of 24 races, every team has scored and 19 of the 21 drivers have points, which says everything about how competitive the grid has become.
As we build a real‑time F1 watch companion app that will track f1 points, f1 standings and calculate live championship battles, we’ve been following the twists and turns closely. This mid‑season review looks at the biggest surprises so far. From a dominant McLaren battle to veteran Nico Hülkenberg finally standing on a podium, here are the storylines that have defined the first half of 2025.
McLaren’s unexpected dominance
Piastri vs Norris becomes the championship fight
Entering 2025 most observers expected a battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. Instead, it is a two‑horse race, but both horses are papaya. Oscar Piastri has been the season’s revelation. After taking victories in China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Spain and converting another win in a wet‑dry Belgian Grand Prix, the Australian leads the f1 drivers championship. He has taken pole positions, fastest laps and displayed calm race management. His Bahrain victory came from pole with a 15‑second cushion over George Russell after McLaren nailed their strategy. In Saudi Arabia Piastri held off Verstappen despite a first‑lap wheel‑to‑wheel tussle and a five‑second penalty for the Dutchman. In Spain he resisted late pressure as a Safety Car bunched the field and turned a McLaren 1‑2 into reality.
Yet Norris has not let his team‑mate run away. The Briton kicked off the season by beating Verstappen in a chaotic wet Australian Grand Prix. When rain hit late in Melbourne both McLarens skated off the track, but Norris kept his car pointing the right way and fended off Verstappen by less than a second. He followed up with an emphatic win in Monaco, controlling the race from pole and slashing Piastri’s championship lead to just three points. A month later he mastered changeable conditions in Austria, holding off Piastri after both McLarens pitted under a Safety Car. At his home race in Silverstone he capitalised on Piastri’s unsafe restart penalty to score a dream British Grand Prix victory, and at the Hungaroring he edged Piastri by 0.698 s in the closest finish of the season. The gap between them has rarely exceeded 20 points, and by the summer break Piastri led 284–275 — a margin small enough that every fastest‑lap point and sprint result matters.
A table of race shocks
The first half of the season has been sprinkled with unpredictable results. The table below summarises the winners and the surprise talking point from each Grand Prix so far.
| Race | Winner | Surprise twist |
|---|---|---|
| Australian GP | Lando Norris | Rain soaked the finale and both McLarens slid off, yet Norris gathered his car and beat Verstappen by 0.8 s while rookie Kimi Antonelli finished fourth. |
| Chinese GP | Oscar Piastri | Dominant McLaren 1‑2; Alex Albon briefly led for Williams, highlighting the midfield’s strength. |
| Japanese GP | Max Verstappen | The champion took his first 2025 win, fending off Norris and Piastri by just over a second. |
| Bahrain GP | Oscar Piastri | Converted pole into victory with a 15‑second margin; George Russell held off Norris for second. |
| Saudi Arabian GP | Oscar Piastri | Five‑second penalty for Verstappen flipped the order; Norris led briefly after starting on hard tyres. |
| Miami GP | Oscar Piastri (sprint) & Norris (main race) | Antonelli stunned by taking sprint pole at 18 years old; Norris collided with Verstappen in the Grand Prix allowing Piastri another win. |
| Monaco GP | Lando Norris | Survived a huge lock‑up at Sainte Dévote, kept Leclerc at bay and cut Piastri’s lead to three points. |
| Spanish GP | Oscar Piastri | Safety Car triggered late drama; Verstappen collided with Russell and was penalised while Hulkenberg charged from 15th to 5th. |
| Canadian GP | George Russell | Capitalised when the two McLarens collided; teenager Kimi Antonelli scored his first podium; Piastri and Norris tumbled. |
| Austrian GP | Lando Norris | Beat Piastri by 2.7 s; rookie Gabriel Bortoleto scored his first points in eighth as Kick Sauber outpaced Aston Martin. |
| British GP | Lando Norris | Wet chaos produced the season’s feel‑good story: Nico Hülkenberg’s first podium after 239 races and Kick Sauber’s first since 2012. |
| Belgian GP | Oscar Piastri | Out‑braked Norris at the restart and built a slender gap in mixed conditions; Charles Leclerc fended off Verstappen for third. |
| Hungarian GP | Lando Norris | Won by under a second over Piastri; George Russell’s third place was Mercedes’ sixth podium of the year, while Fernando Alonso took Aston Martin’s best result in fifth. |
Max Verstappen’s stop‑start defence
Reigning champion Max Verstappen has been the story’s oddity. In previous seasons he dominated from the front, but new Formula 1 championship rules curtailing wind‑tunnel time for top teams and a competitive field have levelled the playing field. Verstappen’s only Grand Prix win so far came at Suzuka, where he withstood a late charge from both McLarens to claim his fourth consecutive Japanese victory. His other highlight was a sprint win in Miami, but he has finished third or lower in every other race. Penalties and strategy missteps have hampered his points haul: a five‑second penalty in Jeddah dropped him behind Piastri, a slow stop in Spain left him vulnerable to Leclerc and Russell, and at Monaco an alternate strategy saw him lead until the penultimate lap only to tumble to fourth.
The result is that Verstappen sits third in the f1 drivers standings, more than 90 points adrift of Piastri. Red Bull’s struggles also mean the team sits fourth in the constructors championship behind McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. With 10 rounds left the Dutchman remains a threat, but the days of walking away with the title appear over — a welcome surprise for neutrals craving competition.
Mercedes and Ferrari back in the hunt
The new season has also produced a two‑tier battle behind McLaren. Mercedes started slowly but gained momentum. George Russell remains their spearhead; his Canadian Grand Prix victory was a masterclass in seizing opportunity when the leading McLarens tripped over each other. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli has been a revelation. At just 18 he took pole for the Miami sprint, becoming the youngest pole‑sitter in F1 history, and converted that into a podium finish in the race proper in Montreal. Antonelli’s confidence on slicks in changing conditions has yielded 64 points and Mercedes sit third in the constructors’ table.
Meanwhile, Ferrari have enjoyed their most competitive start in years. Lewis Hamilton’s high‑profile switch from Mercedes delivered immediate dividends. The seven‑time champion has consistently finished in the top five; his highlight came at Monaco where he quietly collected fifth after a post‑qualifying penalty, and he came within seconds of the podium in Austria. Team‑mate Charles Leclerc has taken poles and scored podiums in Bahrain, Monaco and Spain, hinting that the Scuderia’s long‑run pace is improving. With both drivers regularly finishing ahead of the Red Bulls, Ferrari sit second in the constructors’ standings and could yet challenge for wins if updates pay off.
Hülkenberg ends the longest wait for a podium
One of 2025’s most heart‑warming moments arrived in the rain at Silverstone. Nico Hülkenberg, a driver known as one of the sport’s unluckiest nearly‑men, had made 238 Grand Prix starts without a podium. At the British Grand Prix he started 19th in his Kick Sauber and revelled in the changing conditions. Choosing the right moment to pit for intermediates and avoiding the crashes around him, the 37‑year‑old climbed to third. His finish marked Sauber’s first podium since 2012 and ended a 239‑race wait for the German driver. It also highlighted the competitiveness of the new Kick Sauber package — an Audi‑backed team that many expected to languish at the back.
Hülkenberg’s story isn’t the only surprise from the Swiss squad. Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto has quietly racked up points, including a career‑best sixth place in Hungary and a gutsy P8 in Austria. Kick Sauber’s haul of 37 points currently puts them in the thick of a five‑way scrap for fifth in the constructors standings.
Rookies making waves
The 2025 grid features an influx of young talent. Kimi Antonelli has already been mentioned, but he isn’t the only rookie turning heads:
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Isack Hadjar has become the season’s surprise package. The Racing Bulls driver scored points in Monaco, China, Spain and Hungary and sits ahead of several veterans in the standings. His calm racecraft and strong qualifying performances earned comparisons with top midfield drivers.
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Liam Lawson, also at Racing Bulls, struggled early but found form with a sixth‑place finish in Austria and a run of points that have kept the team within reach of Williams.
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Gabriel Bortoleto at Kick Sauber has shown impressive one‑lap pace and exploited strategic races to score regularly. His qualifying head‑to‑head against Nico Hülkenberg stands at 8–6 in his favour and he is already being touted as a future star.
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Oliver Bearman at Haas displayed flashes of brilliance, reaching Q3 in Suzuka and Shanghai, but needs to iron out mistakes after collecting penalties in Silverstone and other races. He nevertheless scored points in Bahrain and remains an exciting prospect.
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Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto at Alpine have struggled in the uncompetitive A525. Mid‑season the team swapped Doohan for Colapinto in a bid to kick‑start results, but both rookies have found themselves adrift of Pierre Gasly.
The depth of rookie talent combined with the f1 tie breaker rules — which reward consistency and highest finishes — means these youngsters could still swing the points tables late in the year.
Midfield stars and unexpected performances
Behind the headline teams, the midfield has been a battleground. Williams have emerged as the surprise of the season’s first half. Alexander Albon scored a remarkable fifth place in Melbourne and even led a lap during the Chinese Grand Prix thanks to a bold strategy, reminding fans that clever race management can still thrust a mid‑field team into the spotlight. Team‑mate Carlos Sainz Jr. joined the squad after leaving Ferrari and has added valuable points; together they’ve given Williams its strongest start since 2014.
Aston Martin have endured a difficult first half, but Fernando Alonso’s fifth place in Hungary and Lance Stroll’s wet‑weather heroics in Australia suggest they can still spring surprises. The team has scored in every race, underlining the dense competitiveness of the midfield.
Racing Bulls occupy a similar position. The Faenza outfit, rebranded from AlphaTauri, has benefited from Honda power and the maturity of Hadjar and Lawson. They’ve scored multiple sixth and seventh‑place finishes and currently sit ahead of Haas and Alpine.
Close racing and razor‑thin margins
Beyond the results, the season has been defined by microscopic gaps. The Saudi Arabian qualifying session saw pole decided by 0.010s, one of the smallest margins in F1 history. In Hungary just 0.126s separated the first six qualifiers and 0.543 s covered the entire top ten. Races have been equally tight: Norris beat Piastri by less than a second in Hungary, and Russell triumphed in Canada after just 0.228 s separated the top three before a late Safety Car. Seven drivers from five teams have stood on the podium and eight different drivers have led laps, including Williams’ Albon in Shanghai. Such depth means that fans must pay attention to f1 points distribution — a fastest‑lap point, an eighth‑place finish in a sprint or even pole in a sprint shoot‑out can swing championship momentum.
Championship outlook and what to watch
With 10 races remaining the fight for both championships remains finely poised. McLaren’s car is clearly the class of the field, but the mental battle between Piastri and Norris is only just heating up. One crash or mechanical issue could swing the f1 championship standings. Verstappen and Red Bull remain lurking; if they unlock more performance in the RB21 they could still win races and influence the championship battle. Ferrari and Mercedes will hope to capitalise on any slip‑ups, while Kick Sauber, Williams, Racing Bulls and Aston Martin are locked in a compelling five‑team scrap for fifth with only about 35 points between them.
Fans should also keep an eye on the f1 sprint format 2025 — several remaining rounds include Saturday sprint races with their own f1 sprint race points. Sprints award 8 points for first place down to 1 point for eighth, and, as we saw in Miami, they provide an opportunity for rookies like Antonelli to shine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are points awarded in 2025?
The modern f1 points system awards 25 points to the race winner, 18 for second and 15 for third, then 12‑10‑8‑6‑4‑2‑1 down to tenth. A point is also given for fastest lap if the driver finishes in the top ten. Sprint races award 8 points for a win down to 1 point for eighth. See our explainer on how F1 awards points for full details.
What happens if a race is shortened?
When a race is stopped early and less than 75% of the scheduled distance is completed, reduced points are awarded. If less than 50% is completed, half points are given; if between 50% and 75%, three‑quarter points are awarded. Visit our guide to standings in shortened races for the exact breakdown.
Do sprint results count toward the championship?
Yes. Since 2021 sprint races have offered championship points and determined part of the grid for the Grand Prix. Our primer on the sprint race points system explains how points are allocated and how the new f1 sprint format 2025 differs from previous years.
How are tie‑breakers decided?
If two drivers or constructors finish the season tied on points, the FIA uses a tie‑breaker based on countback of best results. The competitor with the highest number of wins is ranked ahead; if still tied, the number of second places is compared, and so on down the finishing positions. We cover this topic in our article on tie breaker rules.
Where can I learn about fastest‑lap bonuses and prize money?
Check out our deep dive into the fastest lap points history. These articles explain how fastest laps can influence the championship and how the financial distribution works behind the scenes.
Looking ahead
The second half of the season promises more intrigue. The 2025 formula 1 standings could pivot on a single incident in Zandvoort or Monza. Rookies will continue to mature, and established stars will fight to reclaim lost ground. Whether you’re following for the on‑track drama or to optimise your fantasy league, the key takeaway is that Formula 1 in 2025 remains gloriously unpredictable. Our real‑time watch companion will help you navigate every twist in the battle for glory.
Stay tuned as the championship heads into the home stretch — and prepare for more surprises along the way.