FIA deputy president for sport, Robert Reid, has resigned from the FIA with immediate effect. Reid joins the ever-growing list of motorsport leaders to have left the organization in recent months, citing a “breakdown of governance standards” under the leadership of president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Having been elected to the role in 2021, Reid raised concern about “critical decisions being made without due process” which are “being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structured and people the FIA exists to represent”. He called for everyone to “demand greater accountability from the federation’s leadership”. The FIA hit back against Reid’s comments, with a statement reading in part: “The FIA has exceptionally robust corporate governance policies which guide our operations and ensure our rules, practices and processes are adhered to.”
NASCAR teams 23XI and Front Row Motorsports have filed a subpoena urging Formula One to disclose various financial details as part of a lawsuit against NASCAR. These two NASCAR teams refused to sign NASCAR’s 2025 Charter Agreement and subsequently sued the sport, claiming that NASCAR operates as an unlawful monopoly. As part of the case, these NASCAR teams are seeking financial documents from other motorsport series to use as an example of how other sports are run. They are requesting revenue numbers for many aspects of Formula One, including broadcasting, sponsorship, tickets, merchandise, and gambling, as well as how that revenue is split between the teams. Other sports have also received similar requests, including the NFL, NBA, and NHL.
Ryo Hirakawa has signed on as a Haas reserve driver for the rest of the 2025 season, leaving the same role at Alpine. This is despite the Japanese driver participating in a free practice session with Alpine at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. With Alpine’s driver lineup options filling up, including recent signings like Franco Colapinto, Hirakawa felt there would be “limited opportunity” to join Alpine in a full-time role. Additionally, he is strongly linked with Toyota, which has a technical partnership with Haas. Hirakawa has already driven the Haas car, participating in the first free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Sir Jackie Stewart drove an exhibition run wearing a helmet that has been autographed by all 20 living World Champions, including Michael Schumacher. The classic white helmet topped with the Royal Stewart Tartan will be auctioned to raise funds for Stewart’s Race Against Dementia charity. Stewart’s wife Helen was diagnosed with the disease in 2014. The auction will help fund a new blood test developed by the University of Cambridge that could help detect early signs of dementia up to 10-20 years before symptoms appear. All 20 living F1 World Champions signed the helmet. This includes Michael Schumacher, who, with the help of his wife, signed “MS” below the visor. Schumacher has been out of the public eye since a ski accident in 2013 left him with life-changing brain injuries.
Lando Norris topped the first free practice of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. The session saw six rookies climb into cars as part of the teams’ obligation to run rookie drivers in practice sessions throughout the season. Ayumu Iwasa drove Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, Dino Beganovic replaced Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, George Russell’s Mercedes was given to Fred Vesti, Fernando Alonso sat out in favour of Felipe Drugovich at Aston Martin, Ryo Hirakawa took over Oliver Bearman’s Haas, and Williams ran Luke Browning instead of Carlos Sainz. Browning was the fastest of the bunch, setting a time worthy of P13. Kimi Antonelli also sat out most of the session due to mechanical issues after only three laps of running. Pierre Gasly finished the session just 0.238s behind Norris with a shocking P2 result.
McLaren was back on top in the second practice session of the day, with Oscar Piastri leading teammate Lando Norris. The two drivers appeared to be in a league of their own, finishing 0.527s ahead of George Russell in the Mercedes. It was not smooth sailing for Fernando Alonso, whose steering wheel came off early into the session. Fortunately, the Spaniard was travelling at a very slow speed after the wheel appeared to lose power and he was able to quickly reattach it.
The order at the top remained the same in the final free practice session, with Oscar Piastri leading the way significantly faster than his McLaren teammate. Many drivers struggled with the difference in conditions compared to the night sessions at this circuit, with significantly higher track temperatures. Charles Leclerc was the only other driver to get within a second of Piastri’s pace, despite suffering a small wing mirror failure mid-session. Nico Hulkenberg triggered a brief virtual safety car period after parking his Sauber trackside.
Oscar Piastri continued his strong showing in the weekend, claiming pole position in qualifying. George Russell was second fastest at the end of Q3. Lando Norris was fastest in Q1 and was second fastest to his teammate in Q2, but failed to deliver in Q3 and had to settle with P6 on the grid. This was only one position ahead of Max Verstappen, who struggled during qualifying. Q2 was red-flagged early on when Esteban Ocon backed his Haas into the barriers, losing it on the exit of turn two. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly put in a good performance to qualify for fifth on the grid behind Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli. He and Leclerc were each promoted one spot higher after the stewards applied a one-place grid penalty to both Mercedes cars. During the red flag, they had driven out of the Mercedes garage before race control had announced a restart time, which is not permitted under the regulations.
There was no chance of dethroning Oscar Piastri, who rounded out a wonderful weekend with his second victory of 2025, bringing him only three points behind his teammate in the World Drivers’ Championship battle. Lando Norris was penalized early for starting the race outside of his grid slot, although the powerful undercut at this circuit minimized the damage to the excellent opening lap that saw him advance to P3. Max Verstappen had a tough day in the office, pitting early for hard tyres, which were not up to his liking. He did manage to turn things around slightly to finish P6 on the final lap. George Russell found himself under pressure in the closing laps from Norris after suffering from a technical glitch. There was a fear that the Brit would be demoted after the race for opening the DRS by mistake, but the FIA decided the mistake had not given the Mercedes driver an advantage. A surprise safety car for debris in the latter half of the race caused chaos in the strategy department. Click here to read our full summary of the action in Bahrain.
There will be more action this weekend, as the season’s first triple-header will conclude in Saudi Arabia on April 20.
It can be challenging for even the most avid fans to keep up with the fast-paced world of Formula One. The Weekly F1 Recap is a series published each Monday that breaks down the action, both on and off the circuit, into bit-sized pieces. It's perfect for casual and experienced fans alike.
