P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The 2025 F1 season was raced over 1,558 laps, from Melbourne to Abu Dhabi. However, the top five in the drivers’ standings only needed one.
The 2025 Formula 1 season produced a statistic that felt almost scripted: the top five in the drivers’ championship finished in exactly the same order as they ran at the end of lap one of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Lando Norris led Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, and Charles Leclerc through Turn 3 at Albert Park in March. Despite thousands of racing kilometers and strategic calls, this snapshot proved to be a perfect miniature of the final championship standings. Throughout the season, the standings fluctuated significantly, with Piastri leading the championship and Norris clinching the title triumph for McLaren. Verstappen ended his four-year run as world champion, Russell secured fourth for Mercedes, and Leclerc once again represented Ferrari in fifth. The season’s remarkable story was written almost immediately on that single lap, foreshadowing an entire season of unprecedented consistency and drama in Formula 1.
