Happy Spring dear readers! Well, at least it feels MOSTLY like Spring. As I write the forecast is projecting temperatures far better suited to Late May or Early June by my reckoning. To those who’ve kept up with my F1 Articles thus far, you will already be aware of the upcoming, Month-Long, Break between Grand Prixes. Due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, the descision was made to cancel the scheduled events for the safety of everyone involved.

This respite is welcomed by many, who see the 2026 regulations as a negative aspect to this year’s season. The FIA has already shared that discussions on changes to the regulations have already been occurring after feedback from the teams. Given that a few teams have been struggling significantly has given this decision more weight. While some teams have thus far been successful, there is still room for improvement on all fronts, and this lengthy break will offer all parties additional time to improve their prospects this year.

So, as we head into this break [read: content drought] we have at least one Grand Prix to discuss. A format that I’ve begun to notice in many F1 communities is that of “Winners and Losers.” In this case a Winner is not necessarily on the Podium, and a Loser may still have received points.

Once more the Italian Teen is on top. Kimi once again secured his place as Pole during qualifying this week, a back-to-back feat that was unheard of previously. But Acheiving Pole position, and keeping it once the lights go out are to entirely separate challenges.

Antonelli struggled at launch, falling to P6 and facing an uphill climb for the remainder. Luckily a window of opportunity opened for him to retake his lead, a position he retained for the rest of the race, thus securing the first Italian Back to Back victories since Alberto Ascari in 1952.

After failing to complete a single lap over the course of two Grand Prixes, Piastri experienced a singificantly more positive weekend in Suzuka. After qualifying for P3, Piastri was set to make great progress in this weekend’s race. Within moments, Antonelli fell behind Piastri, amongst others, leading to Piastri’s acquisition of P1. This would not last unfortunately, as Antonelli would retake P1, and push Piastri into P2, a position he carried to the finish.

This is a notable finish for McLaren, who’s been unable to reach the podium this year, after a remarkable performance in 2025. This was a notable event for Piastri himself, having secured 3 Podiums at Suzuka in 4 Appearances at the Circuit.

After a competitive race between himself and Hamilton in Shanghai, Leclerc returned to the Podium this weekend in Suzuka. Again, the two Ferraris were threatening a collision as the pair pushed each other, and George Russell, around the track. Acheiving P3 in two of the first 3 races this year leaves Leclerc in P3 for the Driver’s Championship, ahead of Hamilton by 8 points.

After a rather troublesome practice session on Friday, Alpine was able to improve their vehicles’ performance tweaking the understeering issue, and allowing Gasly to secure P7 for the race proper. And secure it he did, holding P7 throughout the entire race. For the first time, he’s picked up points in three consecutive races.

The smiles for his teammate may be beginning to sour, as Russell has now lost his place at the lead of the Driver’s Championship. Amongst numerous issues that arose during qualifying, Russell further experienced bad luck pitting just before the Safety Car, which saw him mired into the middle of the pack for the remainder of the race. His attempts to reach the podium came up short after being stuck behind the Fierce Ferraris for the better part of the race, eventually coming up short behind Leclerc. What seemed to be a fantastic start to the season has soon turned into the beginning of a nightmare, as Mercedes #1 is slowly becoming their #2.

What a dreadful turn of events for Ollie Bearman this week. After securing a victory in Formula 1.5 in Shanghai, and acheiving P5 in the Driver’s Championship following Melbourne and Shanghai; the young driver suffered a pair of devastating results. Losing control in both instances, Bearman found himself out in Q1, and receiving a DNF after a 50G 308kph collision with the barrier in the Race. His attempt to go around Colapinto saw him lose control and collide with several markers, and ultimately the tire wall. While not suffering any grievous injury, he will be using this upcoming break to rest his knee.

Evidently, Williams has a bit of a weight problem. Suzuka is known for it’s fast and sweeping turns, and it’s those aspects that plagued Williams all weekend. Sainz was able to make it to Q2, but ultimately came up short on points.

Albon began using a test programme during the latter laps of the Race, in an effort to collect some performance data to use over the course of the break.

Hulkenberg and Bortoleto both suffered poor starts in Sunday’s race, with Nico recovering from 19th to 11th, and Bortoleto gaining a few positions, still without scoring.

I guess we won’t have to worry about hearing the Dutch National Anthem anytime soon. For the third race in a row, the powerhouse that is Max Verstappen has failed to acheive a podium in the first three Grand Prix for the first time since 2018.

Instead of seeing a victory, Verstappen, whose negative opinion of the RB22 and the 2026 Regulations has been quite apparent, the Dutchman was stuck watching Gasly’s rear end. This is a particularly sobering turn of events for Verstappen who’s brief Victory at the Nurburgring was stolen from his grasp by a mistake made by his team… Evidently you can swap your tires too many times.

His teammate Isak Hadjar started in the top 10, but was relegated to 12 as he struggled with Deployment issues.

This weekend’s events also featured notable appearances of some famous faces. In an effort to celebrate the impending release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie , Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor Joy, Brie Larson, Charlie Day, and Benny Safdie visited the Ferrari Garage, and attended Sunday’s race. Further Black had the honor of waving the Checkered Flag to signal Antonelli’s Victory.

So, you might have caught my brief mention of this in my breakdown of Bearman’s weekend. Formula 1.5 was first conjured during the long string of victories by Max Verstappen, Mercedes, and Ferrari during the early 2020s.

With many podiums consisting of a handful of teams, some intrepid fans took it upon themselves to rethink the competition. Excluding the teams that consistently acheived success, the Formula 1.5 is the fan-made competition for those stuck in the middle of the pack. Teams like Alpine, and WIlliams, Audi, and yes, even Cadillac, are given the chance to acheive success. Cutting the field down a few teams completely shifts the dynamics to make even Liam Lawson a contender.

I love this idea! While the official competitions still stand, having a community driven sub-competition is compelling, and can turn what would otherwise be a boring rotation of champions into a dynamic competition praising those whose performance falls just short of widespread acclaim.

In some ways, it brings to mind the many tiers of English Football. There’s the Premier League at the top, and MANY tiers below. To bring the many levels together, however, there is the FA Cup, and the Carabao Cup. Both competitions have no bearing on their individual “official” championships, but they offer smaller teams the opportunity to compete with the greats.

I want to check out more of these fan-made competitions, and perhaps they can serve to reframe my thoughts and opinions on sporting competitions at large.

Speaking of reframing things… I have something rather exciting planned for these weeks between Grand Prix. I’ve been hearing a lot of consternation and discourse about this years regulations.

In a derisive manner, I first heard the 2026 regulations as “Formula E, on steroids,” which immediately begged a question… What the heck is Formula E? Stay tuned, because I have a LOT to say about what could very well be the future of F1, one way, or another!