Last week’s pre-season testing came as a warm hug to us motor-racing fans, a gentle yet exciting reminder that the pinnacle of motor action is FINALLY BACK TO DELIVER! Drivers spent hours on the track collecting essential information about the machinery beneath them, helping the team to better modify their car for the rounds to come. Lando Norris put the fastest lap on the board on Day 1, followed by Carlos Sainz from Williams on Day 2 (Giving us delusional hopes of Williams win and podiums already) and George Russell in the Mercedes W16 on Day 3.

The main highlights for these 3 days of testing undisputedly go to the Red Flags that peppered the sessions, (And contrary to popular assumption, it wasn’t Lance Stroll causing them). From power outage on Day 1 to shattered window pane on track, and to top it all off, AN ACTUAL BUS simply wandering close to track side during an ongoing session brought frequent and unnecessary halts to the testing (And thus allowing us to finally relate with the world of racing). Most drivers also voiced out their deep frustration as they were unsatisfied by three days of testing as they get a maximum of 1 and half days to know about the car they will be driving all the year through. Nevertheless, all the teams seemed well satisfied with their run-plan and we won’t have to wait long enough to see how these test results translate to actual performance when we hit the track racing in Melbourne, Australia.

People got to witness a great story in the making this weekend as the Marquez brothers dueled each other in a nail-biting race action all through this weekend in the Thai GP. Securing a 1-2 in the final round of qualifying set the scene up brilliantly as it promised to be a fierce battle through and through with polesitter Mark Marquez to be followed by his brother Alex Marquez for the win.

Although Alex Marquez subsequently closed the gap to under a second, the factory Ducati rider was able to streak clear again to claim an unchallenged victory in the opening sprint of 2025. Bagnaia resisted race-long pressure from Trackhouse’s debutant Ai Ogura to claim the final spot on the podium. A 1-2 finish from the Marquez brothers once again set the tone for the weekend, hinting at an electrifying main race ahead. In the main race, however, Polesitter Marquez purposefully sat behind Gresini’s Alex Marquez for a large section of the race and made the decisive move on him with four laps to run.

Marc Marquez managed to achieve this feat in his first race with the factory Ducati team and managed to easily defeat his teammate and team’s pet project Bagnaia. This put Marquez on a clear favourite stance entering this season and with almost all the 5 manufacturers featuring in the top 10, the year 2025 is shaping up to be a rather tasty one as thrilling battles can be expected to break out at every part of the grid. From close rivalry at the front to fight for every position and battle for every last point paying position in the middle of the grid, this year’s season comes packed with the unmatched spirit of racing throughout.

The first racing car of Mercedes post Lewis Hamilton era has arrived and a huge amount is riding on this for a team that’s still working through a period of painful readjustment. The era of multiple championships increasingly feels like a distant memory. The team feels trapped in an endless cycle of gifting problematic cars with temporary and inconsistent gains over track, and now that their star achiever has left the team, the path isn’t going to be any easier to say the least. Mercedes unveiled its new car, the W16, with some studio imagery ahead of the Bahrain test.

Technical director James Allison claims that the main development focus has been dialing out the slow speed under steer that plagued the 2024 car. The team described the new design as a revamp with sizeable changes made under the W16 skin to remedy some characteristic problems with the car. They also seem to have followed Red Bull’s lead with a split horizontal and vertical t-shaped inlet. (Looks like Toto did change his car after Horner “politely” advised him to.) The team enjoyed 3 dominant wins last year, for which they were dominated by 3 other teams for the remainder of the season. (Not the best trade out there). It would be fascinating to see how the partnership of George and young rookie Kimi Antonelli helps push the team forward and amidst the fierce competition at the front of the grid.

The three days of testing unveiled some fearsome data that we as fans might miss at first glance by just taking a casual glance at the fastest laps done through the course of the session. McLaren has relied on what’s called ‘Anti-dive’ technology for this year’s car. (No, it is not a magic switch that helps Lando keep the lead off turn 1). It is the art of directing load through suspension directly to the chassis, making the front more stiff while gaining easy speed over kerbs and corners. The downside, however, is compromising compliance and extra energy spent on focusing more on breaking techniques by the drivers as locking-up becomes a rather possible issue. McLaren have never found themselves starting strong from the very start of a season and races like Bahrain and Saudi have been more like a write-off for them in the past years, however, they wish to change that now as they go full throttle behind both the championships this year.

 Monaco has been confirmed as a mandatory two-stop race in an attempt to elevate the racing experience for both the drivers and the fans following last year's events. (It was either this or providing free pillows to fans and drivers alike). The Monaco Grand Prix of 2024 was a rather odd and boring one as the red flag at the start of the session allowed the drivers to change their tyre compounds and tick-off the one mandatory pitstop enforced in every round. What followed was a sheer uninteresting series of laps only to be made worth while by Charles Lecler’s win at the end.

Monaco has been a highly debated round of the racing calendar as the new regulation cars are just too big for the track, which minimises overtaking and our only source of action. However, no one has gone as far as to mention its complete omission from the racing calendar now or in the far future due to the rich heritage and history it holds (but mainly due to the fear of being cancelled by the racing world). Enforcing the new rule of two mandatory pit stops is the first step in the direction of taking an initiative to possibly make the race experience better at Monaco.

THE WAIT IS OVER!!!

The drama behind the curtains, the emotions behind some of the most legendary moments on track last season and the heated rivalries are back as the new season of Drive to Survive drops on the 7th of March. This entire year has seen one question being repeated again and again and that being, HOW WILL DRIVE TO SURVIVE COVER ALL OF IT? Well now comes the moment for the answer and to relive all the great moments that were gifted to us by the lovely year 2024. Red Bull drama, Toto’s heartbreak and McLaren’s chase to the top is everything you need to set you up for the new season of sport but deep down inside everybody knows that the things everyone is waiting is for Guenther to now be able to talk trash about not only other teams and drivers on the grid but also his very own ex-team.

OFF 2 THE BEST RACE WEEKEND EXPERIENCE!

Our heartfelt congratulations to Yash Paranjape, the winner of the Thai GP contest and thus securing a trip to Qatar! Wondering how you can join him in this experience? Simple, just make your fantasy teams on Grid Master, outscore the competition, and take the top spot in our OFF 2 QATAR contest live for the Argentina GP! The winner secures a trip to Qatar to witness the adrenaline-pumping action LIVE!

But that’s not all! Grid Master is also launching OFF 2 BAHRAIN contest for Formula 1 which is now live at Grid Master! Your race experience is no longer bound to one place alone, but it chases the ultimate race experience wherever that might be! Watch the closest season unfold under the flood lights of the racing track!

Do you have what it takes? Last year, 10 passionate fans found themselves enjoying the ride to Qatar to witness the thrilling sport in action, and this time it could be you!

So join now and race your way to the top!

MIR-A ROAD TO QATAR

Presenting a brand new section of your much loved newsletter, called DID YOU KNOW? A segment where we take random, interesting and shocking facts, trivia and stories realising how they painted the motorsport world how we now see and love!

Since this week marked the start and end of a 3-day pre-season test, let’s talk about a very essential component used in testing. Did you notice this bright green paint covering different parts of the car during the first few rounds of track run? This is what engineers call ‘flow-vis’ paint. It allows the engineers to better understand the aero performance for different parts of the car with different fuel and weight conditions. The often luridly-fluorescent fluid is made up of coloured powder and paraffin that allows aerodynamicists to analyse the airflow over one or several areas of a car while it’s on track.