Joe Saward has indicated in the latest version of his Green Notebook that the 2025 calendar will be significantly overhauled due to Ramadan in March in the Middle East. The experienced journalist also looked back on the third Grand Prix of the season, where several drivers and teams were beaten.
‘The Australian Grand Prix is one of the highlights of the season for many fans, even though it is on the other side of the world,’ the Briton opens. “The good news is that Melbourne will be the season opener again in 2025. I haven’t read the Quran myself, but they don’t want to organize a race during Ramadan, so the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are put back on the calendar. So the season starts in Melbourne, probably on March 9, and then the Chinese Grand Prix will follow a week later.’
According to Saward, the Formula 1 circus will then remain in Asia. ‘There will then be a free weekend for the Japanese Grand Prix on March 30, which will form the first part of a triple header with Bahrain on April 6 and Saudi Arabia on April 13, as Ramadan ends on March 30 in 2025. The race will probably take place in Miami on April 27, with the start of the European season afterwards,” the motorsport journalist suspects.
Alonso causes controversy
In a look back at the weekend in Australia, Saward manages to lash out at the Mexican fans, Ferrari, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll in just a few sentences. “It was a bit ironic that the race in Melbourne was won by the only top driver who is still out of work for next year,” Saward laughs. “Let’s leave Pérez out of the picture for fear of angry Mexicans.”
Saward also seems to have little confidence in Ferrari, despite the good recent results. ‘Hamilton switches to Ferrari because he likes to jump out of a plane without a parachute. Fernando Alonso also seems to be in need of a new tan again, and is considering silver, by going to Mercedes for his hair to have that color, although this now seems unlikely.’ Saward believes that the Spaniard has somewhat smashed his own windows at Mercedes. ‘His hassle with the brake test and a sticking brake pedal will not have done his chances at Mercedes any good. He usually beats the boss’s son, but every now and then he says something positive about Lance Stroll, and so he keeps the criticism at bay.
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Major clean-up looms
Oliver Bearman came in cleverly in Saudi Arabia, and according to Saward this creates a Bearman effect. ‘Teams are reminded that hungry and cheap young drivers can do very well, so there is no need to hold on to old and expensive drivers. Everyone is now watching the Formula 2 drivers with more interest, and a few older Formula 1 drivers are therefore coming under pressure. Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, and Nico Hülkenberg are among them, as are younger drivers such as Stroll, Logan Sargeant, and Zhou Guanyu. I feel bad for Zhou, because every time he does something good, Stake makes a mess of it, now again with the pit stops.’
Saward expects Bearman to be on the grid at least in 2025. ‘It is said that Haas would like to put him alongside Hulkenberg in 2025, and that may also result in a discount on the engines. In any case, Bearman is an option to replace Hamilton if he retires. Bearman’s teammate in Formula 2, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, is also doing well. He has enough points on his super license, but is not yet eighteen years old. He seems to be a real superstar.’
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