Formula 1 2025 Season Discussion

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#3427567 23-Oct-2025 18:18

Side note but this part of the season is where having a clear number 1 lead and number 2 support driver setup pays off.
McLaren sharing their points between too is an issue Max has not encountered recently, where max points on offer are always allocate to him by default.
Red Balls doesn't have to play the team orders game as one of their drivers is sensational and the others can't ever match it.
Bet they would be backing just one too if it ever came to it.

If McLaren lose the driver title this year it will be a direct consequence of allowing two to fight it out, compared to a single driver leagues ahead of the other.

thermonuclear

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#3427729 24-Oct-2025 14:29

bigreddog:

So far the only thing I think Lindblad truly excels in, is whining on the radio, but he wouldn't be alone in that skill! He was fast enough when he was down in the local Toyota Formula Regional Series at the start of the year, but not really against any known competition so very hard to judge from that. But comparing him to Lando, Stroll, Zhou and others when they were down over the years he's not at their levels (at the time), maybe similar to Yuki when he was here, but Yuki has only managed to take big steps in the last couple seasons.

From what I saw and heard Lindblad needs a good reality check, which I'm quite sure he'd get in F1, but he doesn't appear to be registering it in F2 so it might just go over his head in F1 as well.

I was watching Tommo on YouTube last night and he mentioned that Campos Racing has already allocated both F2 seats for the 2026 season, and neither of them has gone to Lindblad. So, unless Red Bull intend moving him elsewhere in F2 or he's going to do a season in Super Formula or he's going to be a full time Reserve Driver, it looks like Lindblad will be making the step up.

Completely ridiculous in my mind, a case of Red Bull and Marko pre-determining the outcome they want regardless of what the actual performance says. Not unlike the justifications given for Lawson getting the Red Bull seat over Tsunoda initially. No doubt we'll be hearing how Lindblad was less than 2/10ths off Verstappen's time in TPC running shortly. Make the "facts" suit the answer they are looking for.

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#3427736 24-Oct-2025 14:52

thermonuclear:

Completely ridiculous in my mind, a case of Red Bull and Marko pre-determining the outcome they want regardless of what the actual performance says. Not unlike the justifications given for Lawson getting the Red Bull seat over Tsunoda initially. No doubt we'll be hearing how Lindblad was less than 2/10ths off Verstappen's time in TPC running shortly. Make the "facts" suit the answer they are looking for.

Agreed. Lindblaad's season in F2 has not singled him out as some sort of heir apparent, and Iwasa has become somewhat anonymous as of late. There simply isn't anyone in the 'Juniors' who is making a strong case for them to be immediately promoted to F1 - which I guess is why they've gone shopping for Dunne.

Lawson is a known quantity at this point, the fans like him, he doesn't seem to be meaningfully slower than Tsunoda and has kept his nose clear compared to some of the drivers he's had run-ins with (Sainz etc). There's no convincing reason to not keep him, but I would have liked a podium or something to underline the fact he's succeeded in spite of a very disrupted season, possibly one of the most disrupted rookie seasons since Hamilton in 2007 clashing with Alonso.

But we know Red Bull will make a decision based on more than data and logic and I'm not sure there's much point to speculate beyond that. Outside of RB options are limited, and short of Piastri to Red Bull or Hamilton retiring/Leclerc walking away after 2026, neither of the other big teams are likely to have a spot for him. That's not to say I wouldn't be picking up the phone to Ferrari from time to time, but it would criminal if Perez works his way back into the sport after years of midfield-at-best mediocrity and Lawson gets dumped out of it.

Jvipers2

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#3427990 26-Oct-2025 08:33

Lindblaad's great FP1 shows that RB is running 2 different cars! lol

Jaxson

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#3428017 26-Oct-2025 10:43

Shocker qualifying for Liam

Basil12

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#3428102 26-Oct-2025 22:12

Jaxson:

Shocker qualifying for Liam

It's odd because it seems to happen quite often - he gets into Q2 or Q3 but then doesn't set a lap.

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#3428119 27-Oct-2025 08:56

Impossible to predict this race. Lando ordinary gets turn 1 from pole, clean air then manage it. 1/2 a km to turn 1 with two Ferrari's and Max with nothing to lose getting a slipstream or double slipstream, bound to be some carnage at turn 1. Damage, off track excursions, anything can happen

Oscar.... Two possible causes. He is faltering under pressure. Lando with nothing to lose is pushing it and hoping not to bin it. Or. Lando is the better driver, and frequent errors held him back previously

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#3428189 27-Oct-2025 11:14

Fun race in parts. Lando, well deserved, can't fault his weekend. Leads WDC by 1

Great drive from Max, had a show before silly VSC came out. 36 behind, still very do-able

Oscar did alright IMO, a wake up call, 1 point behind, so he needs to take the last races as a shootout.

Dunno why they are booing Lando.

Bearman 10/10 drive

Jvipers2

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#3428196 27-Oct-2025 11:41

Yeah, what's with the booing?

Amazing that a soft tyre lasting as long as a medium

I think Oscar is a bit bitter thinking the team isn't behind him... hopefully he can turn it around in the last 4 races. Lando picking up form just at the right time...would be a very exciting last few races..

It's a shame Bearman lost 3rd...still not sure why the team decided to pit him...

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#3428214 27-Oct-2025 13:00

Jvipers2: Yeah, what's with the booing?

Apparently Oscar is a fan favourite in Mexico

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#3428224 27-Oct-2025 14:16

Jaxson:

Shocker qualifying for Liam

didn't make it past lap 1

Helmut Marko says driver line up for 2026 will be announced after the Mexican GP

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#3428233 27-Oct-2025 14:54

Abysmal weekend for Lawson, hard to see how it could have gone much worse. Qualifying was a disaster, relatively easily through to Q2 by his standards, then the pressure appeared to get the better of him. The in-car footage showed that he was told by Desiderio he needed to make his first two runs in Q2 count. Mistake on the the first run which resulted in being pitted. Second run was half a second slower than the first run, pitted again, two fresh sets of softs wasted. Third run in Q2 on used softs, terrible time.

Meanwhile Hadjar makes it look easy on a track he's never seen before. As a Kiwi it's hard to accept Hadjar is a far better driver but that's the demonstrated reality unfortunately. Lawson has not solved his one lap pace, seems to constantly find reasons to abort laps when the pressure is on, meanwhile Hadjar can fairly regularly hook it up regardless of the situation.

In the race he was bulldozed by our great personal friend, Sainz, on the first corner. Just drove straight on despite having Lawson on his left. Haven't caught up with whether Sainz was boxed on his right, have to look at some more replays to see what was going on. Then nearly bowled a couple of marshalls running on the track after his front wing change. Then retired with a poked floor.

This recent run of results is doing nothing to secure Lawson's seat for next year. Hadjar and Tsunoda finished outside the points is a slight silver lining I suppose. You'd hope the Red Bull minds are already made up for next season and it just hasn't been announced yet. Guess we will hear soon enough.

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#3428242 27-Oct-2025 16:03

Yeah Hadjar to red bull, new guy into racing balls, leaves Yuki vs Liam.
putting aside the obvious NZ link Liam needs to prove he’s the better choice and this weekends event was absolutely shocking.

Lando well deserved. Master class lap speed wise, less so evidence of racing /passing craft.
Oscar has been off for quite a few races now. Lando’s DNF means Oscar was even further away that it could have been.

Felt sorry for Lewis. He was stupid to not try harder to steer back towards that escape road, straightening up that corner cost him 10s, but crazy he was the only one to be seriously penalised for all that early mayhem.

thermonuclear

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#3428338 27-Oct-2025 23:50

Entirely predictably reports are now out from Marko that the driver decisions will be delayed until Qatar or Abu Dhabi so they can "priortise Verstappen's title race". More likely that they just aren't sure what any of Tsunoda, Lawson and Lindblad are doing to make the decision easy for them.

Tsunoda is marginal at best, Lawson's recent form has not inspired confidence, and Lindblad is mediocre in F2. He had a headlining FP1 appearance supposedly in Verstappen's car (according to the British press) but I see he still managed to find himself in front of the Stewards after the session. Red Bull would have to be concerned at how regularly he gets into trouble. Makes Lawson look like a choir boy.

Anyway, has to be good news for Lawson if he can find the top half of the grid again. Really needs to bank some more points to secure a place for definite. Still don't think Lindblad is doing enough in F2 to put much upwards pressure on Tsunoda or Lawson, but the Brit will now have the last two rounds of F2 to impress before the final decision is likely made.

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#3428343 28-Oct-2025 02:42

Jaxson:

Side note but this part of the season is where having a clear number 1 lead and number 2 support driver setup pays off.
McLaren sharing their points between too is an issue Max has not encountered recently, where max points on offer are always allocate to him by default.
Red Balls doesn't have to play the team orders game as one of their drivers is sensational and the others can't ever match it.
Bet they would be backing just one too if it ever came to it.

If McLaren lose the driver title this year it will be a direct consequence of allowing two to fight it out, compared to a single driver leagues ahead of the other.

Yes, but they might get away with it this year as their car is simply that much better.

Naturally you want your #2 pushing your #1 but never quite beating them consistently and only collecting the wins if the #1 is not in position to win like Bottas and Hamilton.

I guess it's harder currently when the gaps are so tidy at the moment, in some races 200ms slower than your team mate and you're out in Q3 thesedays.

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