By Addison Burke, Sports Editor

The first two races of the 75th season of Formula 1 are in the books, and McLaren has taken an early lead in the constructors and drivers championships. The Papaya team has claimed first in both races with Lando Norris in Australia and Oscar Piastri in China. 

The first two races have proven troublesome for four of the six rookies this season. Red Bull’s youngster Liam Lawson has so far failed to impress fans, qualifying 18th and 20th in Australia and China, respectively. Lawson did not complete the race in Australia after crashing out on lap 47 due to weather conditions and also scored no points in China with a 12th place finish. 

Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine rookie Jack Doohan have also struggled to secure good results in the first two races, both crashing in Australia and finishing 14 and 13, respectively, in China. Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar had an unlucky day in Australia, crashing on the formation lap before the race began. He turned his fate around in China, qualifying in seventh and finishing just outside the points in 11th. 

The two rookies who are quickly making a new for themselves are Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Haas’ Ollie Bearman. Antonelli had an impressive debut for Mercedes, securing fourth place in Australia and sixth place in China, starting the season with 22 points. 

Bearman has an edge over the other five rookies as he raced in place of then-Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia last season and also in place of former Haas driver Kevin Magnussen last season in Azerbaijan. While unable to score points in Australia, Bearman showed his skill as a rookie by surviving the rainy race. In China, he added four points to his name with an eighth place finish. 

While the Chinese Grand Prix only saw two-time champion and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso DNF from the race and not much other drama during the race, post-race inspections of three cars lead to disqualifications for all three. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were disqualified for car weight and rear skid block breaches, respectively. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was also disqualified for his car being underweight. 

In qualifying, Piastri took his first pole position of his career and was able to secure the win on Sunday as well. Norris came in second, giving McLaren their 50th 1-2 finish in team history. Piastri struggled in the weather of his home race in Australia, but his turn around in China has helped the team to a 21-point lead in the constructors championship. 

With Norris’ win in Australia and second place in China, he has claimed first place in the drivers championship. Norris took over first from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had the longest-ever streak of leading the championship for 1,029 days. 

Verstappen has still been cranking out high performances while still falling short of the top step. In Australia, he claimed second place, and China saw him just short of the podium in fourth. Questions have been raised about Verstappen’s teammate as the three-time champion has scored all of the points for Red Bull after the two races. 

Praises can also be given to Mercedes’ George Russell after the first two races. Russell has found himself on the podium in both races with two third place finishes. 

The F1 season continues this weekend in Japan before heading to the Middle East for races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.