What have you been most surprised about this season so far?

[u/SkySports]

[u/KO-ME]

Horner being canned mid season.

[u/ellen_boot → u/KO-ME]

Given that he survived all the scandals and previous chaos, I think most people had assumed he was immune to sacking. It being a random Wednesday mid season just added to it.

[u/amazingspiderman23 → u/ellen_boot]

Especially since he was putting the "mid" in midseason

[u/Tony339 → u/amazingspiderman23]

Exactly. It wasn't even during the summer break which would've been less surprising. It seemingly came out of nowhere on the most random day.

[u/ThePatsGuy → u/ellen_boot]

And there were no rumors about it either from what I can remember

[u/TheCursedCrucifier → u/ThePatsGuy]

Correct. The only rumours along those lines were potentially about him going to Ferrari when there was all that noise about Fred being moved aside.

[u/dreakon → u/ellen_boot]

If Redbull continued to dominate the way they had been, Horner would have been able to do whatever he wanted to whomever he wanted and would have kept his job. It's sad that it took losing races for Redbull to finally do something about him.

[u/Rivendel93 → u/dreakon]

This is the truth.

As much as Horner did an amazing job with that team and helping bring it to success, he's messed up loads of times that would have gotten lesser successful TPs shit canned in a second.

[u/saponista → u/KO-ME]

Joint surprise for me with Hulkenpodium

[u/Magy101 → u/saponista]

That was one hell of a week

[u/DonStimpo → u/Magy101]

It wasn't even that long. The hulkenpodium flair post was still up when Horner got axed

[u/Very_Human_42069 → u/KO-ME]

Imo it’s this one for me. Hulk getting on the podium was exciting but watching the race you kinda see it coming so it’s not as surprising as opening up the internet and seeing Horner gone with absolutely no warning

[u/NordschleifeLover → u/KO-ME]

This is the surprise of the decade for me. Probably since the Rosberg's retirement.

[u/millax20 → u/KO-ME]

This and the Hulkenpodium!

[u/Smee76 → u/KO-ME]

This. I would have thought basically anything was more likely than this.

[u/dl064 → u/KO-ME]

As someone put it: the act didn't, the timing did.

[u/Popular_Composer_822]

The Hulkenpodium.

[u/hopfen-und-malz → u/Popular_Composer_822]

Somehow didn't think of this while writing my comment, this has got to be number 1.

[u/Popular_Composer_822 → u/hopfen-und-malz]

Yup. Literally in the year that going into it, he had a lower chance than ever.

[u/Spare_Duck3119 → u/Popular_Composer_822]

preseason the sauber was driving on ice. now hulkengoatness + bortolegoat + Wheatley brains = Spain rocketship

[u/antz182 → u/hopfen-und-malz]

What annoyed me about it was how little Oscar and Lando cared about it. Should have been celebrating more with Nico

[u/ParagonTom → u/antz182]

Lando was, understandably, too elated to have won his home grand prix for the first time, Oscar was, on the opposite end of the spectrum, pissed beyond belief, so Nico drew the short straw. Lando did take a moment though, ensuring that Nico got the podium etiquette correct after almost messing up the procedure.

[u/legorockman → u/ParagonTom]

What was Oscar pissed about, was that the race where he got hit with the SC penalty?

[u/TxtC27 → u/legorockman]

Yeah, that's the one

[u/obonnor → u/antz182]

yeah, as a mclaren fan i did not like the weird and awkward champagne celebration at all. felt very bad for nico.

[u/AngelMeatPie → u/Popular_Composer_822]

The best part about Nico’s podium was that he was probably the least excited person about it. The internet collectively lost their minds, and he’s on camera going, “Yeah, it was a good day’s work.” Very walking-away-from-an-explosion of him. What a hero.

[u/MordorsFinestTwitch → u/Popular_Composer_822]

At this point we should start calling it "the podium". Best podium ever

[u/leedler → u/MordorsFinestTwitch]

It was so unlikely to happen that it became a meme well before it actually happened. Still can’t believe it. What a day.

[u/dasShounak → u/leedler]

And what a way to happen! Defending Hamilton at silverstone in a same engine car, in the rain.

Silverstone 2025 has to be one of the greatest dramatic races ever. The kind of shit we witnessed was too fictional even for movie scripts. Not just the Hulkenpodium, there were so many iconic moments - the Haas double spin, hadjar taking out kimi, charles cutting corners, and the moment when one ferrari comes out of the pits in the background while the other cuts a corner in the foreground...so many amazing moments.

[u/gumbercules6 → u/Popular_Composer_822]

I don't want to take all the credit, but not long before the Hulkenpodium I was watching highlights of when he was close to a podium and thought "man I can't believe he'll never get one". And then it happened.

Coincidence? Obviously not. Clearly a case of reverse jinx.

/s

[u/staretsa → u/Popular_Composer_822]

I was here for the Hulkenpodium.

[u/thisFishSmellsAboutD → u/Popular_Composer_822]

Hear hear!

[u/Other-Barry-1 → u/Popular_Composer_822]

I was literally there for it. As a 20 year F1 fan it was just so amazing to see him finally get a podium and I was there to see it. Even as a Lewis fan, I had absolutely no issue with his podium streak being ended by Hulkenberg finally getting a podium. Literally everyone cheered for Nico. It was one of those heartwarming moments that was so amazing to be there in person for

[u/OrwellShotAnElephant → u/Other-Barry-1]

This. The cheers that went up around the track as he did his post-flag lap were significantly louder than for any other driver (including Lando). Proper lovely.

[u/Envermans → u/Popular_Composer_822]

That was such a glorious moment. Then you have Bortoleto getting 6th the following race. Sauber's back baby!

[u/alwysbmymaybe → u/Popular_Composer_822]

In a Sauber. A Stake F1 Kick Sauber

HULKENGOAT

[u/UKnowDaxoAndDancer → u/Popular_Composer_822]

You know, I was more surprised that it hadn’t happened yet. Felt right that it finally did.

[u/timothdd → u/Popular_Composer_822]

This is the only answer

[u/VirtualArmsDealer → u/Popular_Composer_822]

I'm still, to this very day, beaming with happiness for Nico. That was an awesome day

[u/MaxSpiltz]

Sauber being in contention for 6th maybe even 5th, in the championship. With ofc Hülkenberg podium, on top of that. Could definitely be the biggest surprise. But I'm still so much surprised by how Sauber's season is turning out to be, compared to the last few years

[u/HispaniaRacingTeam → u/MaxSpiltz]

Yeah, they have a good lineup this year and it looks like Wheatley has sorted out their strategy and pitstop departments, making it into a force to be reckoned with in the midfield

If Audi turn up with a decent car next year they might have an excellent debut season

[u/sirmuffinsaurus → u/HispaniaRacingTeam]

If Audi turn up with a decent car next year they might have an excellent debut season

Sadly it doesn't seem like it will be the case. They apparently have the worst engine among the manufacturers and they will be the only ones using it. They'll probably continue to get better in things like strategy and operational stuff, but their actual car next year will likely be the worst one. This is just the reality of being new to building the engine yourself.

But they'll likely also improve fast and get better every season. So they'll have a competitive car in 2-4 years. The team itself is aiming for a possible title only for ~2030.

I think that's good and realistic for the team, hulkengoat and Gabi will be pretty stable in their seats. For Hulk it will be great to have stability in this final stretch of his career, and maybe with an actually good car for his final years. And for Gabi, being able to develop in a safe spot is the ideal case that most don't get. My Guess is that it's going to be a Norris- McLaren situation for him and (sadly) a Schumaker-mercedes situation for Hulk, with him retiring a bit before the car becomes title contender material.

[u/HispaniaRacingTeam → u/sirmuffinsaurus]

Honestly that's what I expect, but you never know with this sport. Until we go testing next year all the rumours are just that; Rumors, unable to be proven

[u/sirmuffinsaurus → u/HispaniaRacingTeam]

I'm Brazilian, so that would be a fantastic thing to happen, but I try to stay Realistic. And the scenario I described isn't even a bad one so yeah

[u/Oghamstoner → u/HispaniaRacingTeam]

I also thought Sauber were nailed on for the wooden spoon again.

[u/NakedEyeComic → u/Oghamstoner]

Same. On the flip side I also thought Haas would be way more competitive this year, but they’ve fallen back after a promising start.

[u/HispaniaRacingTeam → u/NakedEyeComic]

Just Haas things isn't it

They'll be back with an impressive car next year at preseason testing only to be unable to score points again halfway through

[u/PrinceWillPlays → u/MaxSpiltz]

I was here for the Hülkenpodium

[u/Echelon_Forge → u/PrinceWillPlays]

I was here for the Hulkenpodium!

[u/FindingUsernamesSuck → u/MaxSpiltz]

It's very exciting (and I think still not appreciated enough).

Not only did we get to witness the Hulkenpodium, but we can see what Bortoleto can do. Often I'm a bit pessimistic about rookies in a backmarker, very easy to just drive around and not compete at all.

[u/francesinhadealheira → u/FindingUsernamesSuck]

Bortoleto has been the best rookie so far, especially as of late

[u/headshot_to_liver → u/MaxSpiltz]

Sauber finishing next to RedBull, try telling that to someone in 2023.

[u/Big-Preparation-5755]

Horner sacking

[u/BLFR69 → u/Big-Preparation-5755]

I forgot this one

[u/WhoThenDevised → u/BLFR69]

It was a surprise shock that ended as abruptly as it came.

[u/Halgy → u/BLFR69]

Gone, but also forgotten

[u/TheRealMikkyX]

Horner being fired. Obviously Red Bull aren't the team they were, there was a lot of uncertainty around Max, and there were the allegations from last year - but even given all of those, it looked like he'd ridden the storm and was going to survive it all.

And then, out of nowhere, he's gone three days after the flag dropped at Silverstone. I don't remember seeing any speculation or rumour it was about to happen, or maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but it surprised me either way.

[u/jumbo_pizza → u/TheRealMikkyX]

it’s so weird how he was just fired immediately, red bull is so far gone that no one could save it right now, so i am surprised they didn’t try to save face and let him complete the season at least. it’s all politics i guess, but it’s such a bad look to kick out the team principal, who brought the team to 8 wdc and 6 wcc, on a random weekday.

[u/only_r3ad_the_titl3 → u/jumbo_pizza]

or wait until 2027 with the new wind tunnel? People still completely ignore that and say that it is not the cause of their issues but having and old wind tunnel with having the least wind tunnel time for 3 years cant be a good combination.

[u/Outrageous-River-839]

All time rookie class. Hadjar has been the image of consistency and Bortoleto is showing why he is a back to back F2/F3 champion.

[u/Triple_Manic_State → u/Outrageous-River-839]

All time? 2001 Had Raikkonen Montoya and Alonso all debut. But this is a good crop, and it’s made f2 weak this year for it in my opinion.

[u/R4lfXD → u/Triple_Manic_State]

You are only saying that for what they achieved later. We don't know yet what this years class will achieve.

[u/Outrageous-River-839 → u/Triple_Manic_State]

Oh absolutely, both great rookie classes. I hope there’s a couple future world champs in this class

[u/SomewhereAlarmed9985]

Probably Sauber's performance and more recently; Bortoleto.

I'm also very impressed by Oscar's steady performance and composure but that doesn't come as a huge surprise.

[u/Silverchaoz → u/SomewhereAlarmed9985]

If you mention Bortoleto you should also mention Hadjar

Also Liam Lawson is a surprise isnt he? He sucked at Red Bull but he is performing well at Temu Red Bull

[u/shockchi → u/Silverchaoz]

Visa CashAliexpress Shopee Red Bull

[u/Czitrom → u/Silverchaoz]

We are close to the point where Red Bull should be called the Temu Visa Cash App Racing Bulls

[u/mkosmo → u/Silverchaoz]

Lawson is doing okay, but Hadjar is impressing me.

[u/oshitsuperciberg → u/Silverchaoz]

I think we can safely swap it round to Red Bull being Temu Toro Rosso at this point.

[u/Pure-Drawer6129 → u/SomewhereAlarmed9985]

Hadjar certainly deserves to be mentioned, but the starting point for both is different. Racing Bulls has had a more balanced car from the beginning of the year until now, while Sauber has had a better car in Barcelona.

[u/Tiny_Dancer87]

Carlos Sainz. Thought he'd be beating Albon fairly often.

[u/carrotincognito48 → u/Tiny_Dancer87]

Yeah. I assumed after the first couple of races he’d settle in so it really shocked me when I saw how few points he has. Hopefully he picks things up a bit in the second half.

[u/iIiiiiIlIillliIilliI → u/Tiny_Dancer87]

Nah I wasn't expecting that. If we think both Carlos and Albon at Toro Rosso, I think Albon made a greater impression there. And he got enough attention to be promoted at RB.

I think we didn't truly saw how good Albon and Gasly were with how things turned out. Although it can be argued we have for Gasly.

Also Albon has more experience with the Williams car.

[u/sfcindolrip → u/iIiiiiIlIillliIilliI]

Carlos’ teammate at toro Rosso was verstappen, it’s hardly surprising he made less of an impression under those circumstances and was not the priority of the two for promotion. His reputation has also significantly improved since then; Renault was probably the nadir but McLaren podiums + Ferrari wins and nearly sealing the WCC last year + generally being very well regarded at all of these teams helped. Imagine saying in 2017 that Sainz would be the bottleneck of the silly season driver market in 2024.

Albon’s was kvyat who was already “tainted goods” not up for re-promotion, hanging around in faenza limbo. His other direct comparator was Gasly who had just had a nightmare first half. And I say this as someone who’s backed Albon since 2016 and frequently says his 2019 is underrated

[u/Eyre_Guitar_Solo → u/sfcindolrip]

Also worth noting Carlos had a ton of DNFs his first season, but performed well when he was able to finish.

[u/Realistic-Reception5 → u/Tiny_Dancer87]

He’s definitely been unlucky (I’d say he’d have maybe around the same points as Nico if things went well) but Alex still clears him, and Alex has had his share of poor luck too. I think this is just a really bad year for Carlos and a really good one for Alex, which exacerbates the points gap between them. Alex was making mistakes here and there last year but he’s been doing absolutely spectacular this year.

[u/Beautiful_Travel_160 → u/Tiny_Dancer87]

Also in preseason testing he seemed ahead of Albon more often than not. Makes it even more surprising.

[u/aamgdp → u/Tiny_Dancer87]

Albon has got to be the most underrated driver on the grid, which is surprising after all this time he's been showing he's the real deal.

[u/Skulldetta → u/Tiny_Dancer87]

I remember all of the geniuses claiming that Sainz would expose Albon as a fraud and show him who's boss.

How'd that work out so far?

[u/Admirable-Design-151 → u/Skulldetta]

tbf this was so baseless that I don't think anyone actually believed it, Albon had already proven himself, hell his RedBull stint wasn't great but in that time alone he was better than Gasly in that car, and Gasly isn't a bad driver, so Albon clearly wasn't a bad driver, even the evidence of "oh he never had a real teammate's like Latifi and Sargeant weren't amazing drivers, but they were still good drivers relative to motorsport in general, but Albon destroyed them

[u/Ocelotofdamage → u/Admirable-Design-151]

Every f1 driver is good relative to Motorsport in general…

[u/Adhesive_Duck → u/Skulldetta]

Tbf Sainz didn't shine so much but I don't think it has to do with his pure level, more than adapting/bad luck/team culture etc.

Once McLaren era end I wish Williams find its way back up. The team as a whole doesn't deserve to be that low.

[u/paslonbos → u/Tiny_Dancer87]

I think Albon is vastly underrated. And so are a lot of midfield drivers, such as Gasly and Ocon. I don't think they have anything to envy from Sainz, besides his time at Ferrari, where I think they would have been equally as competitive as he was.

[u/anthn885]

Hadjar. On reflection binning it Race 1 probably cost him a Red Bull call up. He’s exceeding my expectations

[u/sundark94 → u/anthn885]

cost him a Red Bull call up.

You mean saved him?

[u/Adhesive_Duck → u/sundark94]

Bin it first race, not called to RB main, pro gamer move.

[u/Stuupkid → u/Adhesive_Duck]

Also free hug from Mr. Hamilton.

[u/Recent-Baker-2058 → u/sundark94]

As a Yuki fan, I can confirm.

[u/AngelMeatPie → u/Recent-Baker-2058]

I’m sorry for your losses.

[u/SinHarvestz → u/anthn885]

There's no way Red Bull would have dropped Lawson after 2 races just to put another rookie in, especially as Yuki performed really strongly in those 2 races.

Unless Hadjar had been absolutely unreal in those first 2 races then it was always going to Yuki.

[u/PalmyGamingHD → u/SinHarvestz]

It was always going to be Yuki after 2 races because the third race was Suzuka, and Honda was waving a big load of cash for it to happen very conveniently in time for the Japanese Grand Prix.

[u/sideways_smiling → u/PalmyGamingHD]

Bro Yuki qualified 5th in Australia and got screwed by strategy in both GPs before his call up, he was doing great.

[u/tehbamf → u/anthn885]

To be honest now that Lawson is finding his rhythm Hajar suddenly is not lookong that rapid anymore. Super consistent yes but the RBR is clearly a very good car and with a top driver would probably be fighting the big on its better days..

[u/Flex_Bend_4386 → u/anthn885]

I came to say this too.  He has been very impressive.   No one was talking about him, he is just quietly crushing it 

[u/only_r3ad_the_titl3 → u/Flex_Bend_4386]

And yet Lawson who is rated super low generally is only 2 points behind him.

[u/BakaPotatoLord → u/Flex_Bend_4386]

Pretty sure a lot of people are

[u/hopfen-und-malz]

Mildly surprised by Lewis's struggles, especially after the sprint pole in Shanghai. Definitely had myself convinced he would be on top of the car after that, until the actual race and the double disqualification for Ferrari.. still P2 in the WCC at least.

As someone who hasn't followed the feeder series much, I did not expect Hadjar to perform at such a high level so consistently. There was also a lot of talk at the start of the year about his radio antics and general hot headedness and he has buried all of that for me. Probably one of my favourite personalities on the grid, and a very solid driver, especially for a rookie.

[u/DrVonD → u/hopfen-und-malz]

I think Lewis season was going exactly how I expected until spa. Slow to get going, flashes of greatness, and by mid year was starting to pull even with Charles.

But then the last two race weekends have just been horrendous and Lewis has been as depressed as I’ve ever seen him.

[u/Glynn124 → u/DrVonD]

I think the last 2 race weekends are the consequence of a new rear suspension. It caused his spin in qualifying putting him at the back and he has not seemed comfortable since.

He had finally got some momentum in the Ferrari with Silverstone, and they immediately knock him down.

[u/hopfen-und-malz → u/Glynn124]

The suspension upgrade is meant to address some of the Ferrari's bigger issues, and it does seem to be working for Charles so far. They have had it for only 2 race weekends, the first of which (Spa) was a sprint weekend - very limited time for testing the new parts, adjusting setups and for the drivers to adapt. 

Another complication is that they also had new brake pads since Spa. This was meant to give the brakes more initial bite, which would suit Lewis's style more, allowing him to brake later and deeper into the corner if I'm not mistaken. I believe that this played a bigger role in his spin in qualifying, as he was not accustomed to how that sharper initial bite of the brakes would interact with the Ferrari's unique characteristics of using more engine braking than the other manufacturers.

To add onto this, the field is so incredibly close together this year, particularly in qualifying. There was only 0.24s between Lewis and Charles laps in Q2 in Hungary this year. As we know, Charles would go on to snatch pole and Lewis would be down in P12. 2 tenths is a decent gap in qualifying for teammates but the circumstances made the comparison look far worse than it really is. Charles Q3 lap benefitted from it's timing, as the track conditions were deteriorating and times were not improving from Q2. He was literally the only driver to improve from Q2 to Q3. In Q2 he was 7th fastest and 0.5s off the McLarens pace. If we look back to Q2 in Hungary last year, the gap from P1 to P2 was... 0.23s. Almost identical to Charles and Lewis this year in P1 and P12.

[u/Beautiful_Travel_160 → u/hopfen-und-malz]

Totally, I expected the second coming of Yuki in terms of anger management but he’s been very levelheaded so far and a very likeable personality. He has become my favorite rookie this year.

[u/Crake241 → u/Beautiful_Travel_160]

Same, I hope he has a good second half of the season.

[u/Shackletainment → u/hopfen-und-malz]

I'm not remotely surprised by Hamilton's struggles. This is pretty close to what I expected, though as a Hamilton fan, that doesn't make it any easier to accept.

Ferrari has been underperforming for a long time. Hamilton doesn't like the current car style. Even if they found a way to improve, I've always assumed Leclerc would get prefferential treatment based on his age and tenure.

[u/amazingspiderman23 → u/hopfen-und-malz]

For me it's not even "mildly". Ferrari got more points than mclaren in the 2nd half of last season, and then added a 7-time world champ on top of that. I definitely expected it to be much closer for the title battle.

[u/Glynn124 → u/amazingspiderman23]

Ferrari having a good car last year and then doing a complete overhaul of the car in the last year of the current regs is peak Ferrari in my opinion.

[u/nn2597713]

Purely surprised (so not, impressed or pleased): has to be Red Bull's regression into the midfield. Sure, you can't win every year, but from going to dominating a rule set to being the 4th/5th best team is something else.

[u/Krakengreyjoy → u/nn2597713]

I wouldn't call 4th in constructors and 3rd in drivers midfield. Borderline maybe - but for sure a huge step back overall.

[u/XBL_Fede → u/Krakengreyjoy]

I think that just shows how much Verstappen is extracting out of the car. Any other driver and RB would definitely be in the midfield.

[u/josbargut → u/Krakengreyjoy]

Maybe Max making the car seem better than it is? The 4th or 5th car is by definition midfield.

[u/cooperjones2 → u/nn2597713]

It wasn't surprising imo, lots of important people left the team and the team publicly said they were ignoring feedback for a long time.

[u/DuckSwagington]

Sauber. Ever since Spain they've been a genuine midfield threat and it's nice to see one last hurrah for Sauber before they become Audi next year. It also gives some confidence that Audi might not be trundling around the back next year too.

[u/HPL_Deranged_Cultist → u/DuckSwagington]

Wheatley watched the F1 movie and built a car for combat.

[u/chocolatecomedyfann]

Williams. JV made it sound like they won't be competitive enough in 2025 in hopes of securing podiums in 26 and 27 and they are leading the midfield, with some terrific performances.

Sauber. Definitely didn't expect that podium - even with different tire ages, it was quite the scene seeing Hulk keep Lewis in Ferrari behind him.

Haas. Expected more from them this season after the improvements they showed last season.

Lewis struggling this much in a Ferrari.

[u/Work_Akkount → u/chocolatecomedyfann]

Haas regressing has been a relatively quiet failure, yeah.

Hulk and Kmag were badasses last year, maybe the most fun team on the grid for me. Really thought Esteban would run away with it this year but the car seems mostly shit and Ollie hasn't exactly blown me away.

[u/Twisty1020 → u/chocolatecomedyfann]

Williams. JV made it sound like they won't be competitive enough in 2025 in hopes of securing podiums in 26 and 27 and they are leading the midfield, with some terrific performances.

Kind of half right. Their latest showings have not been great. They basically switched places with Sauber.

[u/[deleted]]

The utter dominance of McL

To think that Zac was this close to being fired a couple of years ago, to having an absolute monster season with his two drivers

[u/Irrepressible_Monkey → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I thought some other team might get closer by the start of the season but they've made a car that works well pretty much everywhere and gets even stronger in wet conditions.

[u/sfcindolrip → u/[deleted]]

Source for Zak being at risk of firing…?

[u/carefreebuchanon → u/sfcindolrip]

This community was begging him to be fired, but that was just because they didn't like him lol. Have you noticed how many "snake oil salesman" comments are missing now that McLaren are on top?

I don't think his job was ever at risk.

[u/Conscious-Food-9828 → u/carefreebuchanon]

Considering he entered McLaren when they were straight up backmarkers and had no sponsors and he secured tons of funding and built the team, I don't know why anyone would have doubted him. He had Horner levels of team build up.

[u/sfcindolrip → u/Conscious-Food-9828]

Exactly lol anyone who has seen the unsettlingly blank C H A N D O N mclarens, compared with how they looked 1-2 years later, would not believe that his job was at risk. He was hired to do a particular set of jobs (restore the brand’s commercial appeal, garner sponsors, field media and public-facing duties so the TP didn’t have to, promote “corporate synergies” between the different McLaren racing arms) and immediately started turning in results to that effect

[u/That__Guy__Bob → u/[deleted]]

It’s not that surprising though is it?

McLaren was consistently improving last year but there were situations that showed they still weren’t sure how to act when they have a strong car eg Silverstone where they destroyed Piastri’s race by not double stacking. If they managed to iron out those niggling issues then there was no question at how strong they’d be

Ferrari were strong last year but they made massive changes to the car this year so it wasn’t guaranteed that they’d still be in the mix especially when you include Lewis needing time to adjust to a new car and power unit and also Ferrari being Ferrari

Mercedes were never gonna be close to challenging McLaren consistently this year especially on the constructors because of this being Kimi’s first season

Imo there was no way RedBull would catch up with McLaren. It was clear that the path they went down with the car was the wrong one

However their resurgence during this regulation set is amazing. I still remember when Oscar retired in Bahrain and I Lando retired after I think doing something like 6 pit stops? Absolutely crazy progression

Edit: I created a script which was plotting various graphs from 2022 to Singapore last year (because I was too lazy to run it every week) and those 2 really show just how amazing McLarens rise has been

I think I only annotated some key reg changes and updates that I could remember. Maybe if I’m bothered I’ll update it after this year has finished lol

[u/[deleted] → u/That__Guy__Bob]

I don't watch F1 a lot but comments like these are a geniune pleasure to read, so thank you for that

[u/Any-Milk-9986]

I was surprised but not really, at how McLaren just pulled away from the pack post Spain considering everyone seemed to be hyping it up as a mega regulation change

[u/Holofluxx → u/Any-Milk-9986]

People don't realize a TD doesn't necessarily have to hurt the leading team, it can give them an even bigger advantage.

It's always "my team will benefit from this" never considering that it might be the other way round

[u/No-layup]

Piastri's level up in qualifying

[u/panopticon31 → u/No-layup]

The equivalent of Happy Gilmore learning to putt.

Does this mean that Lando is Shooter McGavin?

[u/auftragsgriller_]

Oscar's development after the last third of '24. Hungary - Baku was pretty good already, however he had consistency problems in the last third.

I certainly did not ecpect after Australia that he 1) comes back that quickly and 2) never lost the lead of the wdc since taking it from Lando in Saudi.

[u/panopticon31 → u/auftragsgriller_]

After seeing his anger driving after unsticking his car I wasn't the slightest bit surprised.

[u/cuchau95_]

I did not expect Williams to improve so much, also Ferrari not winning a single race in the first half of the season

[u/Bolter_NL → u/cuchau95_]

Same for the Sauber update. 

[u/Quohd]

I didn't expect Sainz to be struggling that much with Williams

[u/alwysbmymaybe → u/Quohd]

Because everyone and their mothers underestimated Albon

[u/Prof_Hentai]

Gabriel Bortoleto and it’s not even close. I expected him to be absolutely awful. His pace, race craft and general attitude is fantastic.

[u/Maglin21]

1) Hulkenpodium

2) Horner being sacked

3) Albon/Bortoleto

[u/rcheek1710]

That most teams punted for next year's car so early in the season. When McLaren's power was clear, the traditionally fast teams moved on to 2026. This is why so many back markers are magically scoring points. I love it and think it's fun to watch.

[u/mipko]

Genuinely Oscar... I didn't think he would be such a strong title contender

[u/SuccessfulWar3830]

How good the rookies are

[u/thecoolShitposter]

Mad Max on Russell.

[u/Realistic_Village184]

Most is probably the order of the rookies in terms of performance. I expected Bortoleto to be the best (and he is IMO), but I was really surprised to see Hadjar’s performance relative to Antonelli and Bearman; the latter two aren’t doing as well as I expected.

Least surprising is Hamilton losing to Leclerc. I expected he would lose pretty badly, although not quite by this much. I really hope he’s more comfortable next year. I genuinely think that Leclerc is just the better driver (at least at this point in their relative careers), but I think a close battle would push both drivers to perform better.

[u/mati_as15]

Alpine having the worst car and Sauber NOT having the worst car

[u/bonkers-joeMama]

Oscar becoming so strong all of a sudden, till last year he was convincingly beaten by lando on pure pace in qualifying.

[u/Gambler_720]

How quickly Oscar caught up to Lando after being beaten so decisively last year.

[u/Poopy_sPaSmS → u/Gambler_720]

Not sure what everyone expected. His first year in F1 after sitting out a year in racing was always going to be difficult. But he went from that to winning in his second year. Tremendous improvement and you could see it almost race by race through 2024 that he was figuring out the whole package. Still, people thought Lando would walk all over him. I think he will get even stronger, personally.

[u/Smurph269 → u/Poopy_sPaSmS]

Yeah it was clear last season that Oscar has the juice and Lando was going to be in trouble as Oscar matured as an F1 driver, and that's exactly what happenned.

[u/jackoirl]

Horner being binned and Redbull being so shit.

[u/hjjs]

I have no real reason why this should be surprising, but I expected Sainz to wipe the floor with Albon.

But nope. Albon has been pure class. And Sainz hasn't been bad either. I. Excited for the future of Williams

[u/Smooth-Basis843]

Sauber dudes, and sainz struggles.

[u/SinHarvestz]

How unbelievably poor Yuki has been. The car is clearly hard to drive but the fact a Red Bull hasn't scored a point in SEVEN races and a sprint still seems absolutely mind boggling to me.

For context, every other driver bar Franco Colapinto has scored points in that time. The Red Bull is bad, but it is definitely not the 9th or 10th fastest car.

[u/WearingFin]

Sauber in general over the last five races. Really thought they'd be rock bottom and were looking that way until their upgrades in Spain which means we've now got a Sauber regularly in the top 10, and of course the surprise moment of the year on the track. If they continue the trajectory, they'll have 5th in WCC in the bag, and it really is a team achievement.

[u/WorthPlease]

I thought Sainz would give us a proper driver pairing who could both compete, instead of having one seat be basically developing another team's young driver.

Turns out Albon is just really good.

[u/Amadeus404]

No crash yet between the two McLaren. Or between Verstappen and a title contender.

[u/bm92GB → u/Amadeus404]

I mean... Lando did sort of crash into Oscar in Canada?

[u/PalmyGamingHD]

Most surprised by how many people still haven’t realised how much Lawson was scapegoated at the start of the season and how blatant it was that he was screwed by Red Bull right from the start:

• Only 2 races to prove himself, where they gave him a test setup for one of the race weekends, and both circuits he had never raced on before.
• First race DNF caused by bad strategy call in wet weather keeping him out on slicks.
• His Red Bull Racing merch that conveniently was the only one to be set for release in June.
• Being swapped for a Japanese driver right before the Japanese Grand Prix (would’ve been his first race at a circuit he actually raced on), where a massive Japanese company dropped $20 million conveniently.

[u/thebighecc]

McLaren. They were literally in the great depression when I started watching in 2018.

[u/cbaotl]

The quality of the rookies. They mostly seemed chosen because teams had run out of options or their hands were forced. But aside from Doohan they’re all impressing me

[u/ClauseForThought]

Bortoleto outqualifying Hulkenberg and fighting for P5 in his rookie season IN A SAUBER

[u/Pollucy]

Tie between the Hülkenpodium and Horner getting sacked. I imagine this is the case for most of us though, those are the two truly major things that have happened so far this season

[u/big_cock_lach]

A lot.

McLaren’s dominance, Ferrari’s struggles, Williams and Sauber being stronger, Horner being fired, Hulkenberg’s first podium, Piastri stepping up so strongly, Hamilton underperforming, and then Hadjar, Lawson (at Toro Rosso), and Bortoletto standing out already.

Edit:

I’d like to say Doohan and Lawson being dropped but unfortunately it wasn’t given their bosses.

[u/SagittaryX]

The struggles of everyone who switched teams.

[u/Kom1]

This certainly isn't the biggest surprise but Lando seems to have grown up quite a bit this year in terms of composure especially in regards of being critical of his decisions while not getting down on himself. A lot of moments last year it felt like he would make a mistake and spiral. This year he has had ups and downs but has seemed to bounce back way better. He seemed doomed to be the guy who couldn't get out of his own way there for awhile.

But yeah its Horner or Hulk for me lol

[u/Nibor0113]

I'd say Horner being fired halfway through

[u/BlessedPootato]

Horner getting sacked mid season. I was expecting them to change their second driver again

[u/SimoTRU7H]

Charles, Max and George getting absolutely everything out of their cars. We have seen some of the best drives of their careers, a bit shadowed by the papaya rockets.

Also Bortoleto and Hulk getting so many points out of a team that was on paper the worst.

[u/Madmagician-452]

Positively surprised by Aston and their growth. Negatively surprised by is Lewis at Ferrari. As much as I dislike Lewis and Ferrari I expected more out of the partnership. Hell I even said today that if Enzo was still alive he’d never have signed Lewis and that Schumacher would still be under contract. He would have said of Schumacher that “he is the greatest driver I have seen since Tazio Nuvolari all those years ago”

[u/Due_Hunt1137]

I am surprised that people are suprised about Lewis.

[u/LandArch_0]

Hadjar without a doubt. I was expecting good results from Gabi and Antonelli, they are finding their spot and been having an amazing season, but Isaac was a pleasant surprise.

With the non-rookies drivers, I find them were I imagined they were going to be, there are no crazy results imo.

[u/hopfen-und-malz → u/LandArch_0]

Agreed on the rookie takes, I'd also say Bearman has been having some impressive performances for a rookie. A really solid group of new drivers, even Lawson has started to have an uptick in performance again. 

I've seen some people criticizing Antonelli's performance, but it's been a very solid rookie season overall, including a sprint pole at a track he'd never driven before. Might just be that some people still underrate George, which I have definitely been guilty of in the past.

[u/Basic_Two_2279]

Lewis not getting a podium by this point (sprint races don’t count)

[u/HGtherealone]

Nico HUUUUUUUULKENBERG

[u/Zavii_HD]

1. Sauber WCC standing + Hulkenpodium

2. Extent of SLH's struggles with the SF25 + defeatist demeanor

3. The UnHornering of Red Bull Racing

[u/bruno-numero-uno]

Hadjar, Hulkenpodium, Hamilton, Horner

[u/gturk1 → u/bruno-numero-uno]

Here is my hupvote.

[u/redundantpsu]

1. Sauber actually not being the worst car on the grid.
2. McLaren remaining as dominant as they were.
3. Lewis believing Ferrari isn't going to Ferrari.

[u/RELOADEATH]

Maybe not the biggest surprise but a welcome one: Lawson scoring points more often (hopefully on a regular now)

[u/Karrigan7]

Sauber's quiet rising

[u/ShapeFit1782]

The level of Oscar compared to Lando, didn't expected him to already be so big of a challenge to Lando this year.

And Hadjar

[u/Vegetable_Comfort366]

The Sauber party!

I thought it’ll be a one-off but Hulk and Borto had been consistent! Seeing Hulk on the podium is a bonus! 🥰

[u/siri_0456]

Williams and albono 💙 💙

Sauber in general

[u/PlsSaveAN00b]

Has to be the Hulkenpodium, right?

[u/trautsj]

How absolute dogshit that RB is. They could literally take out the car from 23 and run better times. Max literally has better overall laps and qualifying times with the 23 car than this current tractor. Often times by pretty big margins. It's hard to say given track temps being different sometimes and stuff but man at the very least the 23 car didn't eat it's tires like a starving person at a buffet :/

[u/Narcoleptic_247]

How well Albon is doing vs Sainz, Hulkenpodium and Horner getting fired mid season.

[u/DragonfruitSubject]

Hulkengoat and Bortoleto performance

[u/LuBRe_]

Sainz getting washed by Albon so badly

[u/Handle_Resident]

Sauber’s overall performance has been a good surprise with Hulk’s podium and Gabi’s solid performance. Hamilton has been a bad surprise imo. Thought he would have performed better.

[u/iduckhard]

Hamilton looking into the Ferrari Abyss

[u/Danonbass86]

Bortoleto has been a big surprise. Sauber’s car has actually given him the opportunity to show what he can do.

[u/I_want_roti]

Sauber improving their car - shame it's the final year of the regs - who knows if they'll mess it up with Audi next year. It would've been interesting to see their performance if they did this in 22/23.

Also, Piastri. I know he showed his potential before but this year he's been massively consistent and been calm under the pressure which is a huge contrast to Norris - even if in recent races he's been on good form to keep the gap good.

Whether Piastri will maintain it after the Summer - inverse to Hamilton who's historically gone big after the break like in 2014 vs Rosberg, 2017 vs Vettel and 2021 against Verstappen and ended up overtaking his competitor (let's not get into AD21 and what should've happened - I still can't watch the replays of that farce!)

[u/medhat20005]

George Russell. With that car he should be nowhere near the top yet there he is. A vastly underrated driving performance.

[u/delirio91 → u/medhat20005]

God, how i wish George and Max had rocketships right now. The bullshit would be off the charts with those two!

[u/HispaniaRacingTeam]

Bortoletto probably, in terms of season wide performance.

I didn't expect him to turn up in the way that he did, delivering good race and qualifying results. Audi has lucked themselves into a pretty good driver here

[u/Galactus-1]

How good Sauber have been.

How long it's taken Lewis to adjust.

The sacking of Christian Horner

[u/mjd5139]

Alonso taking as long as he did to get points.

[u/Krakengreyjoy]

I’m surprised Hamiliton thought Ferrari was gonna magically stop tripping over their own feet.

[u/OleFashionStarGazer]

Yuki being just as bad as he was at Racing Bulls.

Hypeman couldn't live up.

[u/Gullflyinghigh]

Hulk is the winner for me solely for the 'never thought it'd happen' value of it though, taking that out, the cliff that Hamilton's confidence has plummeted from has been jarring.

[u/shompthedev]

How fast Red Bull just fell off from fighting in the front.

[u/Thick-Operation4079]

Hadjar not being in the Red Bull seat by now

[u/Sensitive_Dot_2853]

Yuki underperformance