Well, that looks like a more familiar order for 2025 compared to the last few events, with Lando Norris and McLaren on top of the pile and by a healthy margin over their usual rivals. But looks can be deceiving.
Nico Hulkenberg slotting a Sauber into second means one of the things we learned from the weekend’s sole practice session is that there is a big track evolution factor at play. Drivers can gain a lot by running later on the road in qualifying and that was Hulkenberg’s second qualifying simulation attempt to Norris one.
Oscar Piastri has started on the backfoot compared to his title rival, with third place behind Norris and Hulkenberg. But that has been the case so often this season, he surely doesn’t have anything to worry about — yet.