Formula 1 First Race

by Bradford Adams ‘26

On raceday on Sunday March 5th, the Red Bulls were followed by the Ferrari’s in 3rd and 4th, the Scuderia hoping to improve off of a disappointing 2022 season after hiring a new team Principle, the French Frederic Vassuer. After the lights went out, we were treated to a surprisingly clean first lap, with Charles Leclerc, the exceptionally talented Ferrari superstar, managing to get past 2nd Place “Checo” Perez to put pressure on reigning Champion Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. In the Midfield, the Williams cars of American Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon had a super start, each gaining 4 places, a surprising feat considering that the team finished last the previous year. After ten laps, the drivers went in for the first set of pit stops, with the McLaren car of Lando Norris taking an exceptionally long stop do to an issue. In the other McLaren car, Oscar Piastri had to retire from his first career race due to an engine issue. On the insuing laps, Fernando Alonso surprised everyone when he made incredible overtakes on both the Mercedes cars of George Russel and Sir Lewis Hamilton to slide into 5th place behind the Ferraris, and the Red Bulls, who were separating from the pack and cruising towards a victory. During this time, Alpine driver Esteban Ocon was given 4 separate penalties totalling 35 seconds, a record number which completely ruined his race.

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In the end, Ant Man 3 was fun to see in the theater, but was forgettable overall. It had great music, pretty solid acting (especially from Jonathan Majors) and a weird CGI head named M.O.D.O.K. that made me laugh out loud whenever it appeared on screen. Also, Luis wasn’t in it, so honestly what’s the point? 5.5/10

On lap 40, familiar tragedy struck Ferrari fans, as championship Charles Leclerc retired after an engine issue. Only a few laps later, the Tifosi were dealt another blow when Fernando Alonso surprised everyone and managed to overtake the Ferrari of fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz to go into the podium positions (1st3rd place). The race ended after 57 laps, and Max Verstappen took victory, with his teammate Checo Perez taking 2nd, after an impressive display bt the Red Bulls. Fernando Alonso secured his fist podium in year by taking 3rd, followed by Sainz and the Mercedes cars split by Lance Stroll, Alonso’s teammate. Former Mercedes Driver Valterri Bottas finished 8th, followed by Pierre Gasly in 9th, grabbing two point on his Alpine debut after spending 5 years in the Red Bull teams(Alpha Tauri and Red Bull Racing). Williams also grabbed a point in an impressive display by both drivers. Although the season has just started, it will be extremely exciting to see how it will finish, and it is sure to be a highly competitive season, as is seems that four teams will be able to win on any given day, compared to previous years of dominance by usually only two teams.