Formula 1 rookies were destined to fail at chaotic 2025 season opener in Australia, and an F1 flashback
Did you catch the 2025 Formula 1 season opener? While I could not be at the Albert Park circuit in Australia, I did watch the mayhem unfold on TV.
The weather for practice and qualifying was decent on the days leading up to the race, but rain was predicted for race day. Support races had been run prior to the Formula 1 race, laying down rubber on the track. The rain on top of that rubber made the surface extremely slick. One team member likened the surface to being covered with wet, slippery soap. Driving on the painted white lines was even more slippery.
The racecars were new for 2025 and Formula 1 regulations barely permit any testing, so no one knew exactly what to expect. Even the great Lewis Hamilton, the multiple Formula 1 World Champion now driving for Ferrari, had never driven his new-for-2025 racecar in the rain.
Add to that an unfamiliar circuit for some of the drivers. The rain made this already challenging situation much more difficult. What happened to most of the rookies, therefore, was almost certainly predictable and inevitable.
Six rookies were on the grid for the start of the race, and one did not even make it to the start of the first lap. Even the most experienced Formula 1 drivers struggled to keep their new racecars off of the walls.
After years of preparation, working his way up through the junior classes, rookie Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar was on the verge of fulfilling his life-long dream — to race in Formula 1. He was on the Formation Lap, following behind other cars, as they drove at reduced speed around the racetrack. All that Isack needed to do was continue to follow along and then stop his racecar in his place on the starting grid — but he did not get that far.
On the Formation Lap, racers try to put some heat in their tires to improve their grip. They do this by turning the steering wheel back and forth as they drive, and perhaps spinning the rear tires a little, just prior to the start of the race. No doubt that is precisely what Isack’s racing experience had taught him to do — use the warm-up lap to try to put some heat into his tires, to get them closer to their optimum level of grip. However, a Formula 1 car is unlike anything he had ever raced before. It is much more powerful than the Formula cars in the junior classes, and the racetrack was slick because of the rain. He broke traction and lost control. His racecar spun and slid hard into the wall, leaving it a mangled wreck. His race was over before it began.
Concerned and anxious, his team called out to him on the radio, but Isack was too distraught to answer. Instead, sullenly he emerged from his stricken racecar and, with his helmet still on, broke down in tears, uncontrollably weeping next to a track worker. Later, as he walked back to the pits, Lewis Hamilton’s father came over with some encouraging words.
Other rookies faced a similar fate, but thankfully after the race began. One after another, they too found a wall that ended their day.
Even the highly experienced Carlos Sainz similarly, and suddenly, lost traction and was forced to retire as a result of his racecar hitting a wall. Once the racecars broke loose and started to spin, their drivers were just along for the ride.
Fortunately, some drivers were more lucky, spinning harmlessly on the racetrack or on the wet grass.
In retrospect, the race could have been postponed, but with another F1 race in China the following week, that was probably not a realistic alternative. So, instead, the rookies were let loose on the track to face the inevitable. It was a very expensive day, but at least no one got hurt.
For more information about this race and the rest of the 2025 season, visit https://www.formula1.com.
FORMULA 1 FLASHBACK:
Since I do not have any pictures from the race in Australia (I wish that I could have been there to take them!), here are some photos (including several that have never been published before) that I took of Max Verstappen when he and a Red Bull Formula 1 test team visited the 2017 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The demonstration was in a parking lot at “SEMA Ignited.” Max showed us that he certainly knows how to control a Formula 1 racecar while spinning its rear tires.
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Copyright © 2025 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #875r1
Jan, I think we discussed some time ago ( can’t remember when) that a column with a few good photos is very worthwhile. When you have many, many photos, there is bound to be some overlap, similarity or duplication, and your readers don’t necessarily understand the extra effort that went into all the editing. David.
PS. I saw that same Red Bull F1 car at the Harrisburg PA Auto Show a few years ago, but Max wasn’t there. My overall impression was that the car was larger than I expected. David.
David,
As I recall from way back in 2017, Red Bull had at least one traveling Formula One test team, which is what they used to provide that car and the support that was needed for them to appear at the SEMA Show. A somewhat younger Max Verstappen did some drifting in a SEMA Show parking lot to entertain the “SEMA IGNITED” visitors.
“SEMA IGNITED” is the SEMA Show’s after-party, which follows the “SEMA Cruise.” “SEMA IGNITED” used to be free to SEMA Show attendees. It is also available as a separately ticketed event that is open to the general public, on the Friday evening following the SEMA Show. Unfortunately, in recent years, “SEMA IGNITED” has turned into more of a pricey music concert deal. Unlike before, even SEMA Show Press credentials will not get people into “SEMA IGNITED” like they used to, so I don’t even going to cover that.
Jan
Jan, great analysis of the Albert Park race. I don’t recall you doing too many columns on F1. My son and I are F1 fans and never miss a race. For a season’s opener, the Australian race was really exciting, and could bring new fans to the sport. With the intermittent rain, the officials did struggle to make the right decisions, but postponing a race even to the next day, is a gigantic logistical problem. While disappointing for most of the rookies, this is the kind of race that fans long for. David.
Thanks David,
I had forgotten that you and your son are big F1 fans. I am too.
I do recall that even the race announcers said they welcome a race in the rain, as it is more exciting and unpredictable.
I do not tend to cover F1 very much because it is rare that I can use my own photos, which I like to include in my columns. Except during the pandemic or for movie reviews, I rarely use other people’s photos.
Is a column with mostly or just my comments sufficient? I could certainly do that more often. It requires much less work.
Jan
You were half way there – Albert Park.
You reached Albert. What stop you going to Park? HaHa
Ha. You had me going for a minute there.
Jan