Twenty-four grands prix, six sprints, and a three-way fight for the world championship… and yet somehow the F1 2025 season felt flat with Sundays failing to deliver.
Which races really bored us in F1 2025? Our writers name the worst grands prix of the season…
As Oscar Piastri said: ‘That’s it? That’s all the highlights of that race?’
By Michelle Foster
It’s mind-boggling that at the end of a season in which three drivers went into the finale with a shot at the Drivers’ Championship title, F1 2025 did not produce a plethora of epic races. Anything but, to be honest.
It makes it difficult to choose just one as the worst race for the championship.
Monaco (as it often does) failed to set the stage alight despite its rejigged compulsory two-stop strategy as Racing Bulls and Williams added some controversy as they gamed the system, while even Austin failed to deliver and Max Verstappen single-handedly saved the Sao Paulo race.
But surprisingly one grand prix stood apart from them all in the boring stakes – Suzuka’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen qualified on pole position ahead of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman.
The end result: Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, Isack Hadjar, Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman.
All in all, there were 15 overtakes and 11 drivers finished in the position they started.
Dirty air and a lack of tyre degradation led to one of the most iconic circuits on the calendar producing the season’s worst race.
As Oscar Piastri said in the cooldown room after the race: “That’s it? That’s all the highlights of that race?”
Monaco was not Formula 1
By Jamie Woodhouse
The Japanese GP absolutely deserves Michelle’s mention.
For me, I just cannot look past Monaco for the worst grand prix of F1 2025.
With on-track action suffering in general across large parts of the calendar, Monaco never really stood a chance of being an overtaking-filled thriller.
But, somehow, it was made to feel even less exciting, and frustrating, thanks to the two-stop rule.
New for 2025 – and a ruling which remains in place for 2026 – drivers were forced to make at least two pit-stops during the Monaco GP.
It was designed to throw some jeopardy in there, rather than driver’s circulating at a snail’s pace on a one-stop, knowing cars behind could not overtake.
All this change really did was make the controversial tactics more prevalent and blatant.
We saw Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson playing games to help create gaps for their teammates to pit, which really was the cherry on top of a terrible cake. It was not what Formula 1 is supposed to be about.
Sainz issued a post-race plea to Formula 1, the FIA and drivers to ensure that “manipulating” a race outcome, as he believed happened in Monaco, can never happen again.
He felt that the slowing tactics were “not a very good look for the sport” and he is absolutely right.
Monaco was the worst grand prix of F1 2025.
Qatar had everything, except racing
By Henry Valantine
Two worthy choices from my colleagues above, and I was so close to choosing Monaco as well for all the reasons Jamie listed, but then I remembered the Qatar Grand Prix happened.
The mandatory two-stop minimum in place from Pirelli already gave away one strategic element (though in the name of safety, caution must always apply), but when Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly collided on the exact lap where drivers could do two stops, it was a procession of processions from there.
The only element of real interest came because McLaren made a call that basically botched both drivers’ races, with the main reason to watch being if they could catch up a whole pit stop’s worth of time to Max Verstappen – and they did not make much of a dent.
While seeing 18 drivers stop at the same time, twice, without getting tangled in each other’s way was an impressive feat from the pit crews, the action in between left a lot to be desired.
Lusail looks a great circuit to drive, but its mixture of medium and high-speed corners with one long straight has not always shown itself to be conducive to overtaking.
Indeed, Kimi Antonelli’s late slide to give Lando Norris what proved to be a key overtake led to unfounded (and incorrect) allegations that he did it deliberately.
A messy race, but entertaining? Not really.
Monaco was bad, but at least it gave us something to talk about…
By Mat Coch
It’s difficult to recount all 24 races of the F1 2025 campaign to settle on a ‘worst’, but there are a few that stand out.
The way the Belgian Grand Prix was managed transformed what could have been a thriller into a dud, and China resulted in a runaway win for Oscar Piastri with precious little else to talk about aside from new tarmac and the reversal in fortunes of Lewis Hamilton.
Monaco was a ridiculous race thanks to some poorly thought out pit stop regulations that created something unusual, and so that perhaps means its safe from being the worst because at least there was something to talk about and watch, even if it wasn’t enjoyable or positive for the sport.
And so that leaves me with Japan.
Where once then tension of the leading ‘battle’ (procession) would have been enough to see this one rate more highly, F1 has moved on. And that’s a positive, because over the years there have been some properly dull races.
So that we’re singling out a race when there was a bit of tension, even if the action itself, is in some regards a positive. It shows the progress that has been made, the closeness of the pack, and all the things we’re told are true but often can’t see.
Suzuka therefore highlighted the best and worst of F1 all in one, comparatively lacklustre encounter.
Max Verstappen drove brilliantly and maybe Oscar Piastri might have been able to mount a stronger challenge than Lando Norris, maybe not. We saw then a glimpse of McLaren’s mindset that would become so significant later in the year.
But away from the top three, what actually happened in that race?
In F1’s own eighty minute highlights video, the excitement of the race start was described with commentary highlights including “as they were”, “they all behave themselves”, and “no-one making positions”.
Beyond that, there was a dive from Carlos Sainz at the hairpin in the early laps, and a Lap 6 pass for Hamilton on Isack Hadjar.
There was a moment for Norris exiting the pit lane as he went side-by-side with Verstappen, the only real highlight from what was the worst grand prix of 2025.
Qatar is becoming an issue for F1
By Oliver Harden
It is a sad state of affairs that there are plenty to choose from when trying to identify the worst race of 2025.
Japan and Monaco are the standouts. And there was a niggling sense of an opportunity lost with the delayed start at Spa.
With the mandatory two stops and prescribed stint lengths, Qatar was actually quite a fascinating race to follow strategically this year, augmented by the tension of the title fight.
Yet it is increasingly obvious that this circuit is becoming an issue Formula 1 can no longer ignore.
Twice since it returned to the calendar, maximum stint lengths have had to be imposed in Qatar as a result of tyre and safety concerns.
Why? Simple: the Lusail circuit was built not for racing cars, but for motorcycles.
The flowing medium- and high-speed corners may be a joy to drive, but are responsible for those recurring tyre worries and have a negative effect on the racing spectacle.
Qatar was one of the additions to the calendar to fill a slot in the pandemic-affected 2021 season.
Yet while Imola and Istanbul have since faded away, Lusail – on a 10-year deal – remains in place.
There was talk when Qatar first arrived on the calendar that Lusail would eventually make way for another venue, potentially a street race in Doha.
It’s probably time to revisit those plans.
Read next: Ranked: How each team performed in F1 2025
