JEDDAH: THE CHAMPIONSHIP TURNED DOWN UNDER
I am glad to say that the triple header has finally come to an end! Never in my life have I been so stressed and felt this level of emotional exhaustion from motorsport. These past few weeks have felt like a fever dream, and while Jeddah was supposed to be the grand finale of this stretch, it also felt like the last straw. While still recovering from this emotional rollercoaster, I am also bracing myself for whatever chaos the rest of the season is about to throw at us.
The resurrection of Campos and the rise of Formula 2’s future
Before diving into the headline acts, I feel it is necessary to mention once again the Formula 2 series. Jeddah marked the end of the first double-header weekend for the series this year, and if you’ve ever doubted the entertainment value of F2, this weekend probably shut that down for good.
In Bahrain, we saw the unfiltered joy of Pepe Martà after taking the Sprint win and a glimpse of the car's potential this season. In Jeddah, the rookie Arvid Lindblad took the win for the first time! It was the kind of clean, calculated driving that makes you sit up and take notes. It is safe to say that Campos Racing is working hard to get the drivers’ championship they saw slip through their fingers last season with Isack Hadjar.
Beyond the podium, Formula 2 gave us overtakes, speed corners, wheel-to-wheel battles, team radios, and a good dose of entertainment. If you are tuning into Formula 1, you are honestly missing out: these young drivers are striving for success, driving as if every lap were the last one.
Formula 1: crashes, comebacks, and Australian history
Now, in all honesty, I expected a fast race, complicated and pretty nerve-wrecking. A crash on Lap 1? Sure, we’ve seen that before. Whatever the unimaginable situation in Turn 1 that happened between Piastri and Verstappen? That set the tone for a race that didn’t let up.
Was Max going to make it to the corner? Highly doubt it.
Did I laugh like a maniac out of pure fear of a crash? Oh, absolutely.
And the team radios that followed? iconic. I live for that kind of chaos.
But being serious now, Piastri’s start was probably the best one I’ve seen of him so far, and the way he controlled the race was worthy of a world champion. And in the same way, he secured his back-to-back win, becoming the first Australian to lead the championship since 2010. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; the season is long enough, and Norris is not going down without a fight.
Lando had to go through the pack, from P10 after a crash in qualifying, to finish P4; an impressive recovery from the number 4. It might not seem like this, considering he has said he hasn’t been performing as he would like, but he is getting comfortable, and I am sure we soon will be able to see why he is the favorite in contention for the title.
And if we want to talk about drivers that are not backing down, let’s talk about Charles Leclerc. Despite the disappointment that is the Ferrari -because let’s be honest, that car is not living up to the expectations- the Monegasque driver shed blood, sweat, and tears to put that car in P3, securing the first podium for the team.
And probably one of the prettiest trophies, too.
And while some are fighting for their lives out there, the Williams drivers are securing points after points with the power of friendship (and a DRS train) that helped them to keep the rookie Isack Hadjar at bay.
I HAVE GREAT NEWS ! <3
Welcome back to the reflection subplot of The Racing Lineup! I know I didn’t say anything for like a couple of weekends? But it’s because I have a boring life (until now). I have some news and fears that I need to take off my chest, so here I go: I am moving to the UK.
Yes. I am in my last term of my degree, and I have already been looking for MAs. That is probably more stressful than the degree itself, because you know how hard it is to choose the ideal MA that potentially would help you fulfill your dreams? That’s level impossible with a dream job, downright anxiety attack inducing, without a clue of what to do with your life. I am an example of CASE 2.
After spiralling for weeks, I decided I wanted to go through a whole different route. So I applied for an MA in Sports Journalism. At first, I applied without thinking about it properly, because in my mind, there was no way they would select me. Plot twist: I got selected.
Now I am preparing all the documents necessary to transfer and leave. To be honest, I am excited to do so, even if I am constantly worrying about how to survive an ocean apart from my family, but I kid you not, I am vibrating with excitement. Actually, the part that scares me is not reaching the expectations, nor the level, nor being enough. Knowing that I will have to write a lot, knowing that I might not be as good or precise as the rest, knowing the language disadvantage that I am in… maybe that’s why I started writing this blog for the first time. Maybe I am trying to prove to myself that I am capable of doing so. I am still figuring that one out.
But yeah.
I guess I am an aspiring sports journalist <3