This week, to be honest, we've had more news than what we could've expected, so let's review some of them:
The 2025 calendar has been confirmed
We aren't even on the equator of the season and yet the 2025 calendar has been officially confirmed by the official F1 social media, with the most significant change being the season opener, changing from Bahrain to Australia, as it was in the past. Below there's a table with all the races of the calendar and in bold the races which have been moved in the list:
| Race | Date |
|---|---|
| Australia | 14-16 Mar |
| China | 21-23 Mar |
| Japan | 04-06 Apr |
| Bahrain | 11-13 Apr |
| Saudi Arabia | 18-20 Apr |
| Miami | 02-04 May |
| Imola | 16-18 May |
| Monaco | 23-25 May |
| Spain | 30 May - 01 Jun |
| Canada | 13-15 Jun |
| Austria | 27-29 Jun |
| UK | 04-06 Jul |
| Belgium | 25-27 Jul |
| Hungary | 01-03 Aug |
| Netherlands | 29-31 Aug |
| Italy (Monza) | 05-07 Sep |
| Azerbaijan | 19-21 Sep |
| Singapore | 03-05 Oct |
| USA (Austin) | 17-19 Oct |
| Mexico | 24-26 Oct |
| Brazil | 07-09 Nov |
| USA (Las Vegas) | 20-22 Nov |
| Qatar | 28-30 Nov |
| Abu Dhabi | 05-07 Dec |
Alonso will still racing on his fourties
This week Fernando Alonso announced his renewal with Aston Martin in a post saying: "I'm here to stay". At first, we didn't know about the duration of this new contract, but soon after that, Alonso talked to the media and said:
This is the longest contract I've ever signed. I will be 45 or more and still racing. Lewis will be 40 next january, so at least I will not be the only 40+ that you will talk about!
With this new contract Alonso becomes one of the few to have a confirmed seat on the F1 for next season, alongside Max Verstappen in Red Bull, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in McLaren, George Russell in Mercedes, and, of course, Leclerc and Hamilton in Ferrari.
Possible China mayhem?
It's been a while since the F1 stopped racing in China, more accuratedly, since 2019. This may not seem like a big deal, but looking back, in China 2019, for instance, Versappen had only won 5 times, Hamilton only had 5 world championships, and it was Russell, Lando and Albon's third ever race in F1.
The fact that drivers might not be as experienced as in any other circuit, combined with the renovations of the circuit, such as new tarmac, will make the race a very interesting one and let's see if we don't have any surprises.
Is the 2026 regulation in danger?
Simulations about the 2026 new aerodynamics were done, and they weren't possitive.
The data showed a very poor performance and, above all, a very unstable driving, spinning even on straights and having the need to brake too early in order to take turns "normally". We also knew that in order to set a lap with that aerodynamics the simulation was required to drive extremely conservative and setting times above the current F2 laps.
They will have to sort out a solution as soon as possible, because 2026 is just around the corner and the new regulation must be ready before 2025.
Next week's schedule
In China we will have the first Sprint weekend of the 6 in total, and let's see how the new session order works.
Chinese Grand Prix
| Session | Date * |
|---|---|
| Free Practice 1 | Friday 03:30 AM |
| Sprint Shootout | Friday 07:30 AM |
| Sprint Race | Saturday 03:00 AM |
| Qualifying | Saturday 07:00 AM |
| Race | Sunday 07:00 AM |
* All times are in UTC format.
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Miguel, Co-owner of SBOF1