Brutal calls the tip of the iceberg in wild F1 fortnight

The 2025 Formula 1 season has come crashing out of the gates with force, with news of early driver swaps and surprise results from one end of the grid to the other.

Beginning in an unseasonably wet and miserable Melbourne before heading to the highly technical Chinese Grand Prix, the season has already had many talking points in conjunction with penalties and nostalgic driver seasons.

As we find ourselves in the first off-week of the season and gear up to the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, Wide World of Sports breaks down five key takeaways from the start of this years' F1 season. 

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1. The FIA is taking no prisoners

The FIA has started the season strong-willed with their determination to keep the teams and drivers in check in terms of regulations. Multiple infringements have been handed down from the stewards, most notably the disqualification of Pierre Gasly and both Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, from the Chinese Grand Prix.

Both Leclerc and Gasly were excluded for their cars being underweight by a full kilogram at the conclusion of the race. Hamilton's team blunder came in after the skid block on the bottom of the car was more than 1mm thinner than allowed. 

Williams also found themselves in the stewards' bad books after failing to provide video of the rear wing in practice. Aussie Jack Doohan was slapped with four penalty points and two 10-second penalties for the same mistake made twice during the weekend.

All this to say, race control was booked and busy during the Shanghai weekend. 

2. McLaren look very hard to beat

For Aussie driver Oscar Piastri, the start to his season can barely be faulted; a race win after a devastating slip-up in Melbourne that prevented what looked set to be a podium finish has put him in good stead to contend for the championship.

His teammate Lando Norris took first-place honours in Melbourne (much to the Australian crowd's disappointment) and the papaya team seem to have cracked the code.

But lower down the standings, underdog teams have experienced unexpected highlights. Haas notched a double points weekend in China and Alex Albon clinched a career-best fifth and seventh place finish in the first two races of the year.

It may be these underdogs that tip the standings one way or another as we come closer to the penultimate races of the season.

3. Did the sport let Ricciardo leave too soon?

Many a fan still mourns the loss of beloved Daniel Ricciardo from the paddock, the Australian an exuberant mainstay in the sport that is not exactly well known for its exciting personalities.

With the rumour mill in overdrive that Liam Lawson faces the axe and will be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, fans have become nostalgic for what might have been if Ricciardo was in the second Red Bull seat.

Ricciardo regularly battled teammate Verstappen for race wins and podiums, something his successors have struggled to do. Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez and now Lawson have all felt the immense pressure to go up against one of the sport's very best, and not choosing Ricciardo may have been a grave error.

But the 35-year-old is well and truly in retirement mode away from the F1 circus, recently choosing to spend his home grand prix weekend away from the track. Watch this space to see what Red Bull does next.

4. The driver market is shaky

The rumour mill has been alive with rumours of mid-season driver swaps in multiple teams, mainly focusing on the seemingly inevitable shuffles involving Lawson and Tsunoda and Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto. 

Aussie Doohan has had a shocking start to his rookie season, racking up four penalty points in one weekend and crashing out of the other. The noise surrounding his mid-season swap with Alpine's reserve driver Colapinto loom large for the Aussie son-of-a-gun.

Six rookies joined the 2025 field after a wild F1 silly season but there's very little room for error in a sport in which small margins can determine a career.

5. Does anyone know what is going on at Ferrari?

If you told F1 fans Esteban Ocon would be the highest Ferrari-powered driver in the driver standings after China, they would never believe you. Ferrari has once again come started a season with disastrous strategy and an uncanny ability to come unstuck.

Kitted in his new red overalls, Hamilton dominated on Friday and Saturday in China, taking a lights-to-flag victory for sprint race honours. But miscalculations from the team saw both cars disqualified from Sunday's race - the first time that's happened in the team's storied history.

In Australia, the drivers could only manage to round out the top 10 during the race, far below expectation for the Maranello team. 

Tifosi fans have been waiting for the turnaround of luck for the Prancing Horses, but at this stage the wait may go on.