THE BIG PICTURE: Red Bull can win a race with one hand tied behind their back. So, why are the other teams voluntarily tying their own hand behind their back -- overheating, brake issues, steering wheel problems. Fans' anger should be directed at all the other teams who continously fail to design a better car and get their act together.

EVENT: We kind of like the idea of the race running on Saturday. Gave us Sunday to ourselves.

TRACK: One of the hardest surfaces for the tires to deal with. Did this make Red Bull's superior lack of tire degradation more pronounced, or are we just grasping for hope?

QUALIFYING: After all that talk, Verstappen gets pole, but the Ferraris are still strong (Leclerc's Q2 time would have had pole), Russell begins his grasp of being number one on Mercedes, Hulkenberg continues to qualify well, Stroll does worse with an able body, and the Alpines are horrible.

RACE: Like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, F1 is Lucy to us fans.

START: Verstappen nails it, moves to block Leclerc who's failed lunge almost allows Russell to catch him while Hulkenberg punts Stroll into a spin. For the first time, DRS is activated after just one lap, but even then the leaders were more than a second apart.

VERSTAPPEN: Max continues to do all the right things on track (including his fifth grand slam of his career) while his father continues to do all the wrong things off it.

PEREZ: Hey, Sergio finished second. Like he's supposed to. Albeit, 22+ seconds behind the other Red Bull.

RED BULL: 114 wins. Tied for fourth with Williams. But that is overshadowed by the grab your popcorn power struggle/soap opera going on right now.

SAINZ: Umm Ferrari, why are you getting rid of me instead of the guy I passed twice en route to beating him and a podium finish?

LECLERC: Hey Ferrari, don't listen to Carlos. My car had terrible braking issues. You made the right choice.

FERRARI: Guys, we're getting Lewis freaking Hamilton for crying out loud.

HAMILTON: As Mrs. Deep Throttle always says, Lame Duckie.

MERCEDES: The center of the 2025 silly season.

MCLAREN: At least they started the season way better than last year's start. But they are still following the same strategy -- bring in major upgrades during the year to incrementally wow everyone.

ALONSO: Mercedes may hold the first domino of the driver market, but Fernando is domino one-and-a-half.

HAAS: We'll give them that they may have (partially) solved their race pace tire degradation issue. But, they still need speed.

TSUNODA: Immaturity is an understatement. What he pulled after the race was downright dangerous. And probably the last straw for Red Bull. Will Yuki even last the year now?

RICCIARDO: Then again, Daniel is just not beating Yuki convincingly. Or even at all.

RB: What is their name? RB? Racing Bulls? Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team? VCARB? Who cares?

SARGEANT: Granted, you can't blame him for the electrical problems on his car. But, Logan really needs to up his game this year. Williams didn't have many other options, but next year, there will be a number of good choices.

WILLIAMS: We were hoping for so much more from Williams after their complete redesign appeared to have worked during testing. We still have hope, but we're going to have to temper it.

BOTTAS: Monaco pit stop, part deux.

SAUBER: They will be called Stake in those countries where it is legal to sell their gambling products. They will be called Kick in the other countries. When will they be called Suck?

ALPINE: If it wasn't for the disastrous performance of Toyota in the early 2000s, Alpine would go down as the worst factory team in F1 history. Get ready for another round of (useless) firings.

F2: Prema has constently over the years been one of the premier junior formula teams. But they are out to lunch getting a grip on this new chassis. Could this cost two promising careers in Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman? Meanwhile, Barbadian Zane Maloney won both races.

F3: Brit Arvid Lindblad won the sprint race. He is only 16-years-old. And, incidently, drives for Prema. Fellow Brit Luke Browning took the feature race.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Crushing.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Zero -- The differences between the lineup in the final race of the prior season and the lineup in the first race of the current season. The first time that has happened in F1 history.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: This was the first time that Formula 1 ran on Leap Day since 1992, when the second qualifying session took place on February 29 for the South African GP. Nigel Mansell (Williams-Renault) won pole and then the race beating out teammate Riccardo Patrese and Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Honda). He led every lap and won by nearly 25 seconds. The more things change...

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND: With all the crazy goings on in F1, one Twitter user, @patrickricu, speculated about a possible outcome: Imagine being in Russell's position...

You finally don't have to be second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton, just to have Max Verstappen replace him.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Journalist David Tremayne wrote in the excellent online magazine, GrandPrix+, "How soul-destroying must it have been for everyone else to see the fruits of their winter labors blown into the tumbleweed."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Considering English is his second language, and one he learned relatively late in his life, it is amazing how Yuki Tsunoda fully understands the concept of sarcasm using it, as he said after being forced to let his teammate through, "Yeah, thanks guys, appreciate it."

SCHEDULE: Off to Jeddah, where Perez was so strong last season. Let's see how things have truly changed in a year.

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