Last season, we saw Franco Colopinto replace Logan Sargeant for a spot at Williams racing. Although Colopinto did not have much time in the seat, he quickly proved himself to be a very strong driver. However, he was left without a seat for the 2025 season as Williams had already signed Carlos Sianz. This left Colopinto to sign as the reserve driver for Alpine Formula One’s racing team, which fans quickly took note of. This is because the team had just signed Jack Doohan and seemed to be securing a back-up plan before the season even started. This fear was quickly realized when Colopinto replaced Doohan after just six races. Doohan’s entrance into Formula One was anything but smooth. He had an early retirement in his first race and then subsequent crashes with other drivers and more, which earned him four penalty points on his super license. However, it is not the replacement as much as the fan reactions that seem the most troubling. Many of Colopinto’s fans have been attacking Doohan and his family. This caused the need for increased security during the Miami Grand Prix. The hate that Doohan has received has been astronomical and some former Formula One drivers, including Johnny Herbet, have criticized the toxic fan behaviors.

Late last season, we saw competition between the two McLaren drivers (Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri) heat up immensely. As Norris was closing in on Max Verstappen for the drivers championship, Piastri made it clear that he would not be playing the role of second driver. He showcased this not only in interviews, but also in actions during races. In my opinion, competition between racing drivers is normal. It is all a part of the sport, as each driver wants to win races and championships, even against their teammates. But, I believe that the way in which McLaren handled the competition between their drivers was what made the situation more explosive. For example, during the Hungarian Grand Prix last season, Norris and Piastri were in the lead of the race. During the last set of pit stops to change tires, the team decided to pit Norris before Piastri, which left Norris ahead of the Australian racer. But, as Piastri was leading the race before the pit stops, the team ordered Norris to pull over to allow Piastri through. Originally, it appeared as though Norris would not do this, but with two laps to go, he pulled over to the side allowing Piastri through to win his maiden Grand Prix. Afterwards, McLaren got a lot of criticism for this decision. If they would have pitted Piastri first and Norris second, there would have been nothing to complicate the race, or the relationships, between drivers. It seemed as though McLaren had once again made a strategic error at the cost of their drivers. Nonetheless, as we move further into the 2025 season, the Norris and Piastri competition continues, but without the added pressure from the team. They race each other respectfully and currently Piastri is only three points ahead of Norris in the drivers championship. If both the team and the drivers continue racing the way they have been, we could be looking at a McLaren Constructors win and a McLaren drivers championship win.

After the conclusion of the Monaco Grand Prix, debates over the race’s relevance in modern Formula One have been opened once again. Before the race even began, the FIA, in an attempt to make the race more engaging, made a new rule: Drivers were now mandated to have two pit stops and use three sets of tires. This change aimed to increase the strategic variability and overtaking opportunities on Monaco’s notoriously narrow circuit. However, this did not go to plan with many drivers, including Carlos Sainz and George Russell, criticizing the race. Max Verstappen even equated it to a game of Mario Kart. One of the major criticisms was that instead of focusing on racing, teams and drivers alike were focusing on pit stops. The new rule also did not increase any overtaking opportunities. Instead, we saw both Williams cars drive much slower than normal, to hold up more than half the grid behind them. This left none of those drivers being able to pass, until both Mercedes drivers passed off track and took the penalty. This led to notorious best friends Alex Albon of Williams and George Russell of Mercedes having dinner together, where Albon was required to pick up the bill. Russell told a Sky Sports reporter that this would make up for the race results, but later commented that it would take a few more dinners. Both Williams drivers did not enjoy the team strategy they had to participate in, but recognized that there was not much else they could do.

Finally, while the allure of the Monaco race is still very strong, many have thrown out ideas like changing it to a Formula E exhibition or a race outside of the championship to balance the allure of the race but also the needs of a modern Formula One car.