Two grand prix down and two wins for McLarens. Two grand prix down and zero finishes for Fernando Alonso. Two grand prix down and just 17 points for Ferrari when it could've been a lot more.
Heading into the first off-week of the 2025 season, there's a lot to look at before the Japanese Grand Prix. Here's the biggest storylines and reactions of round two.
Is Lando vs. Oscar alive and well?
After an underwhelming 2024, season three for Oscar Piastri is a big one to prove his championship prowess, and he's definitely shown it so far.
You can talk down on his error in the wet at Australia, but the overall product shows Piastri has been at the top of his game 95 percent of the season so far. Now with a grand prix win in his pocket, Piastri sits just 10 points back of Norris.
It's early to know if Piastri can keep this form all season, but it's hopeful for Piastri fans and fans looking for a close title battle if no one can take on McLaren at the top.
Piastri will need to improve on his 2024 result in Japan, where he finished 18 seconds behind Norris. If Piastri can win and Norris places second, it'll be just a 3-point margin for Norris.
Can Mercedes, Ferrari challenge McLaren?
There was really no threat to McLaren for the top step on the podium in China, but George Russell, on his way to consecutive P3s, was within a reasonable distance for a portion of the race.
Russell was able to temporarily undercut Norris for P2 and would fend off a challenge from Charles Leclerc, before fading to about 7-8 seconds behind Norris before his brake issues emerged, which allowed the Mercedes driver to close the gap.
Again, Mercedes doesn't look like a consistent challenger to McLaren, but they at least have a car not so incredibly far behind that you can't imagine an opportunity for them to make up some ground as they develop the car.
Ferrari also can put themselves in that conversation, especially after winning the sprint on Saturday, but the most consistent driver of the pack to this point has been Russell.
What can Red Bull do with the mess they have?
Liam Lawson leaves China with zero points, zero Q2 appearances and zero confidence from himself or the team he drives for.
Thanks to three disqualifications, Lawson finished 13th, but he was much worse than that after starting from the pit lane. He has been absolutely nowhere to be found while his world champion teammate sits second in the standings.
Yes, the car is clearly not as good as it has been in the past few years, but the performance has been so otherworldly poor that when reporters asked Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner if Lawson will be in the car for the next race, he isn't able to say yes, instead saying, "We’ve just finished this race, we’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it."
While a demotion after two races might be a bit much, I think another non-competitive entry in Japan and Bahrain could force the team's hand. But what the team has to keep in mind is: can anyone deal with this car? Verstappen himself has said Lawson would probably be faster in the Racing Bulls car. So would putting Yuki Tsunoda, who has been on top form but has been denied good results due to bizarre damage and poor strategy, make a difference?
Ferrari shows promise but kill any good feelings with Sunday missteps
Saturday brought a sprint victory for Lewis Hamilton. So Ferrari changed the car for qualifying and the grand prix. It didn't work.
A small clash between Leclerc and Hamilton left Leclerc with damage to deal with all race long. He was still quick anyway, but got bogged down as the team tried to figure out if and how to swap the cars. It likely wasn't executed quick enough, as Leclerc got to the back of Russell for P3, but couldn't convert.
Hamilton seemed frustrated with the feedback he was getting from his team. He went for a two-stop strategy, giving up a spot to Verstappen that he wouldn't get back. Then Verstappen passed Leclerc on track.
Still, P5 and P6 .., oh, nevermind, both cars were disqualified for different infractions, a loss of 18 points for the team, putting Ferrari tied with Williams in the constructors at 17 points, and Hamilton and Leclerc in ninth and tenth on the drivers' table.
Ferrari sometimes unfairly gets clowned for every misstep they make, because it's "typical Ferrari" when they do. But they cleaned up a lot of the errors in 2024. This harkens back more to the years before that, where the scrutiny was more deserved. Ferrari now needs some clean, competitive weekends to make up for the pile of points they lost in Australia and China.
Haas shows much-needed promise
From testing through the Australian Grand Prix, Haas truly looked like they could be in the running for last place.
Ollie Bearman couldn't keep the car on track and Esteban Ocon was nowhere to be found in the struggling, Ferrari-powered machine.
But this weekend was a helpful reminder that we have to be careful with our determinations after one race. Thanks to the DQs, Haas put up 14 points.
Ocon said the team "knew the car had more performance in it" and he showed it by comfortably being best of the rest behind the McLarens, Ferraris, Russell and Verstappen. Bearman said he wasn't expecting a point-scoring performance, but remarked that the car let him do everything he needed.
Haas now sits ahead of rivals Aston Martin by four points, thanks in part to Alonso not being able to finish a race yet, with Williams just ahead of them heading into Suzuka.