Round 16 of the Formula One season has officially wrapped up, so let's dive deeper into what happened during this weekend in F1.
Authors Note 1: The Formula One Season has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the individual drivers. The drivers who finish in the top-10 each weekend will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship. The next is the Constructors' Championship is a competition between the teams as a whole. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 241 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 197 points, giving the McLaren team 438 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.
Author's Note 2: 22 drivers will be listed in the Drivers' Standings, as Oliver Bearman was a replacement driver for Carlos Sainz for one race. Also, Franco Calapinto has replaced Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season.
Before we jump in and start our engines, here is a look at the current Drivers' and Constructors' current standings after this weekend.
Drivers' Championship Standings:
Max Verstappen 303 points
Lando Norris 241 points
Charles Leclerc 217 points
Oscar Piastri 197 points
Carlos Sainz 184 points
Lewis Hamilton 164 points
Sergio Perez 143 points
George Russell 128 points
Fernando Alonso 50 points
Lance Stroll 24 points
Nico Hulkenberg 22 points
Yuki Tsunoda 22 points
Danial Ricciardo 12 points
Pierre Gasly 8 points
Oliver Bearman 6 points
Kevin Magnussen 6 points
Alexander Albon 5 points
Esteban Ocon 5 points
Zhou Guanyu 0 points
Logan Sargeant 0 points
Franco Calapinto 0 points
Valtteri Bottas 0 points Â
Constructor's Championship Standings:
Red Bull 446 points
McLaren 438 points
Ferrari 407 points
Mercedes 292 points
Aston Martin 74 points
Racing Bulls 34 points
Haas 28 points
Alpine 13 points
Williams 6 points
Kick Sauber 0 points
Standings were found at F1.com.
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Alpine: Are There Finally Signs of Life?
Alpine had a quiet weekend in Monza; however, that may be precisely what they need. Esteban Ocon qualified 15th and finished the race in 14th, while Pierre Gasly qualified 14th and finished the race in 15th. Considering everything happening within the team (such as the firing of their Team Principal, Bruno Famin, and Ocon's aggressive driving), Alpine should be satisfied with quiet weekends like these.
After a dreadful first half of the season, Alpine is finally showing signs of life. The team officially announced that F2 driver Jack Doohan will replace Ocon and compete alongside Gasly next season. Alpine has also put together a nice couple of weekends (their highest finishes being P9 in the Dutch and Belgian GP).
As long as Alpine can keep competing for points and keep up with the midfield, the rest of the season should go pretty smoothly. They are in desperate need of consistency within all aspects of the team, which they may finally be starting to find.
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Aston Martin: Is This Year Officially a Lost Cause?
Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Aston Martin had a disappointing weekend in Monza. Alonso qualified in 11th and finished 11th, while Stroll qualified in 17th and finished the race in 19th.
Aston Martin has struggled to meet their own expectations and to separate themselves from the rest of the midfield. With Racing Bulls now only 30 points behind, the concern for a team with high aspirations at the beginning of the season grows stronger each weekend.
The lack of progress Aston Martin has made over the past few months may be a sign that the team should start shifting its focus towards developing its car for the 2025 season. The pace is just not there, with neither Alonso nor Stroll having a top-six finish since the Canadian Grand Prix in June. It has been a long year for Aston Martin, and the light at the end of the tunnel might not be reached until next year.
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Ferrari: Is the Pace Back?
Ferrari's dream of winning their home race came to fruition this weekend as they pulled off the unthinkable and won the Italian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc qualified 4th and won the race, while Carlos Sainz qualified 5th and finished 4th.
Ferrari invested everything into this weekend. They brought their most extensive upgrade package of the season, with upgrades to their front and rear wing, as well as the car's underfloor. Even though Ferrari did not seem to be the strongest team on paper going into the weekend, their risk paid off, as the team did just enough to survive the wrath of the McLaren drivers and will their way to their first win in Monza since Leclerc won in 2019.
Ferrari showed a lot of promise and signs of improvement in Italy. Monza's track is known for its long straights and minimal corners, so it will be interesting to see how they perform on high-corner tracks (like the next race in Baku).
Looking at the rest of the season, Ferrari should expect to be back in the fight, with the team hoping to make a significant push in both championships. Leclerc is 24 points behind Norris, and Sainz is 20 points behind Piastri in the Drivers' Championship. The team is also 39 points away from Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship. Though it seems like McLaren's Constructors' Championship and Max Verstappen's Drivers' Championship to lose, do not count out the prancing horses just yet.
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Haas: Is it Still Worth Keeping Magnussen in the Car?
Hass' weekend was not much to write home about, with Kevin Magnussen starting in 13th and finishing in 10th and Nico Hulkenberg starting in 10th and finishing in 17th.
However, the big news surrounding Haas this weekend is that after the race, the FIA announced that Kevin Magnussen will receive a one-race ban after accumulating too many penalty points throughout the season. He is the first driver to receive this ban since Romain Grosjean did in 2012. Drivers can receive a penalty for multiple reasons. It could be as little as going just wide off the track too many times and as big as causing a collision with another driver, with much in between. The severity of the penalty will determine the number of penalty points given, but once a driver passes the 12-point threshold, consequences will ensue, which is why the FIA gave Magnussen a one-race ban. The team has yet to announce the driver replacing Magnussen in the next race at the time of this article.
Magnussen has not had the worst year in terms of race results (his best finishes being 8th place in Austria and 10th in Australia and Monza). Still, his aggressiveness on track is costing the team and himself potential point finishes and financially. Receiving a race penalty happens frequently in F1 and is part of the sport, but receiving enough penalties to get him banned for a race is an entirely different conversation. From causing a crash in Monaco that took his teammate Nico Hulkenberg out with him to crashing in multiple practice sessions, K-Mag's run of form has been controversial, to say the least.
With F2 star Oliver Bearman already being announced to drive for the team next season and Hulkenberg having a fantastic year, it begs the question of whether Haas should look into bringing Bearman in sooner rather than later. Haas can push for at least 6th place in the Constructors' Championship, but it will be challenging to do so if Magnussen is driving the aggressive way he has been this year.
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Kick Sauber: When Will it Be 2026?
There is not much to say about Kick Sauber, as they had another weekend where they failed to show any race pace or competitiveness on the track. Valtteri Bottas qualified 19th and finished 16th, while Zhou Guanyu qualified 20th and finished in 18th.
Kick Sauber's nightmare season continues, as it has been all season long. The team has consistently provided the slowest car on the grid, with Monza no different. The only reason Zhou did not finish last this past weekend is because Lance Stroll pitted a third time to try and get the fastest lap (getting the fastest lap in the race will give the driver an extra point). It is a shame, as Bottas is actually having a pretty decent year, but Zhou has not been anywhere near Bottas' pace.
Audi is set to replace Kick Sauber in 2026, leaving the team little to no motivation to improve the car. With only a year and a half left in the sport, the team and the fans can only hope 2026 comes as fast as possible.
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McLaren: The Car is Ready to Win a Championship, But is the Team?
McLaren seemed to have once again fumbled an opportunity to make the maximum amount of progress towards chipping away at the deficit they are facing in both the Driver's and Constructors' Championship. The Papaya team locked up the front row in qualifying this weekend, with Lando Norris starting the race on pole in 1st place and Oscar Piastri starting in 2nd. However, they let the win slip away, with Piastri finishing in 2nd and Norris finishing in 3rd. It is pretty clear McLaren had the fastest car this weekend and the quickest car on the grid in general, but they cannot seem to do what it takes to win races they should be winning.
It is a mystery what the team has been thinking the past few race weekends. Since the Grand Prix in Hungary (where Norris was forced to give up the win so Piastri could take it), it seems as though McLaren is focused on winning the Constructors' championship and keeping Oscar Piastri happy, even though the Drivers' Championship is still very much within reach.
With Red Bull struggling immensely, the Constructors' Championship is already McLaren's to lose, regardless of which driver finishes in front of the other. Keeping your drivers happy is always essential to a team's success, but McLaren needs to realize what they are sacrificing because of that. There is a way to win the Constructors' championship while prioritizing Norris' fight for the Drivers' Championship; the team just has to be willing to take the risk.
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Mercedes: What Should Fans Make of Antonelli's Crash?
Mercedes did not have a great weekend, but it certainly was not a bad one. Lewis Hamilton qualified 6th and finished 5th, while George Russell qualified 3rd and finished 7th.
However, all eyes were on 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was set to drive his first practice session in a Formula One car (replacing George Russell). During the session, things did not go as planned. Antonelli pushed a little too hard and crashed into the wall on the final corner. Thankfully, he is okay and sustained no injuries, and the team was able to repair the car in time for qualifying. However, the crash did leave some uncertainty on how to feel about the young driver.
Antonelli's crash could be viewed in one of two ways. First, fans can take it as somewhat of a good thing. Antonelli did not seem nervous or hesitant on the track. As an 18-year-old driving one of the fastest cars in the world, his fearlessness on the track was extremely impressive and a positive sign for him and the team moving forward. Yes, he made a mistake, but it was not an inexcusable one, which could give him the benefit of the doubt. Fans need to remember that regardless of the expectations, he is still very young and is gaining experience of what it is like to drive a F1 car. Another way this could be viewed is that he is simply not ready yet. Crashing so early in a practice session can signify that bringing him up to Formula One so quickly might be premature, and he might benefit from staying another year in F2.
Before driving in Formula One, drivers have to go through tiers of racing in order to gain experience and show off their talent; these are called F2, F3 and F4. If you are unfamiliar with how F2, F3 and F4 work, it is very similar to how the MLB has its minor league system. Usually, drivers will start in F4 and work through F3 and F2 in hopes of eventually joining an F1 team. Antonelli, who is affiliated with the Mercedes team, skipped F3 altogether and jumped straight to F2 as a 17-year-old. This is highly unusual and only happens if the team that the driver is affiliated with truly believes in their talent. The question remains if that decision, along with those they have made regarding Antonelli, was the best for his development.
Even with the crash, the long-awaited announcement was made that Antonelli will replace Lewis Hamilton and drive alongside George Russell for Mercedes in 2025. As a result, all eyes will remain on the superstar 18-year-old prospect from Italy.
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Racing Bulls: Where Has Yuki's Pace Gone?
RB's weekend in Monza did not go as they may have planned. Danial Ricciardo qualified 12th and finished 13th, while Yuki Tsunoda qualified 16th and did not finish the race due to damage to his car after a collision with Nico Hulkenberg.
The pace of the RB, for their standards, still seems to be there. Riccardo has finished 13th, 12th, and 10th in the last three races. On the other hand, Tsunoda has had some more unfortunate results, finishing 16th, 17th, and a DNF ("Did Not Finish") in his last three races.
Looking at the Drivers' standings, Yuki has been the stronger driver this year with a 10-point gap between him and his teammate Ricciardo, but the last few races have been a major struggle for him. As a driver who is still competing with Ricciardo for a potential seat at Red Bull, Tsunoda will need a strong end of the season if he wants to keep his name in conversations within the Red Bull team in the future.
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Red Bull: Is Max's Talent Enough to Save Red Bull's Season?
Disaster strikes again for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen qualifying 7th and finishing 6th, and Sergio Perez qualifying 8th and finishing in 8th.
As a team that has gotten accustomed to dominating the track the past couple of years (Verstappen has won the Drivers' championship three years in a row, while Red Bull has won the Constructors Championship the past two seasons), Monza showed that the team once again is very far off the pace. The talent of Verstappen can only bring the team so far anymore. At the end of the day, it is the car that needs to improve if they stand a chance at winning the Constructors' and Drivers' Championship.
McLaren is right on Red Bull's tail in both Championships, which very few people thought would happen at the beginning of the year. With Perez having another disappointing year and Max struggling to overcome the car's problems, the thought of winning both Championships seems a little out of reach if they cannot get their act together.
If McLaren keeps prioritizing the Constructors' Championship, Verstappen has given himself a big enough lead to still possibly win the Driver's Championship. However, one thing is for sure: if the panic button had not been pushed within the Red Bull team before, it certainly should be now.
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Williams: Can the Team Finish Strong?
Williams may have had their strongest weekend of the season in Monza. Alex Albon qualified 9th and finished 9th, while new driver Franco Colapinto qualified in 18th and finished 12th.
Williams seems to have found something positive within the car in the past few races, with Monza being the best of the bunch. Albon produced another strong result, while Colapinto did everything the team could have asked from him this weekend in his debut race. The pace from Colipinto was incredibly positive, as he gained the most ground throughout the race (6 places). The Argentinian driver also finished 13.8 seconds behind Albon, which exceeded the team's expectations. This is a very positive sign, considering Logan Sargeant (the driver Colapinto replaced) was nowhere near the pace of Albon and consistently finished near the bottom of the grid in qualifying and the race.
With the rest of the midfield struggling, the team has a chance to finish strong and produce some good results. As long as Colapinto can keep the damage to the car at a minimum and finish close to Albon, and Albon races the way he knows he can, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season will go for the team.
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Baku is next on the Formula One calendar. It is a street circuit much different from Monza, with many low-speed corners and one large straight heading into turn one. The circuit in Azerbaijan is also known to cause some chaos on track, which should make for another exciting and action-packed weekend!
Stay tuned for more F1 content, and be sure to check out fansonlysportz.com for more sports media content posted daily.
Catch you next time!
-Matt Hylen
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