THE BIG PICTURE: The drama off the track continues to far outdo the drama on the track.

EVENT: Forget this event. Did you see the obscenely, ridiculous, money is no object Qiddiya track design? Holy molly. If they actually build that, it will be the eighth Wonder of the World.

TRACK: It is a thrilling track for the drivers and fans. But we continue to say, to call this a street circuit and homologate as such is dangerous and sets a bad precedent.

QUALIFYING: It's the Max and Charles front row show again with Perez wishing he could join, Alonso is solid, Piastri outdoes Norris, Russell outdoes Hamilton, Tsunoda makes a statement, it's baptism by fire for Bearman, and Alpine is wretched again.

RACE: This track is too smooth. Too easy on the tires. Thus, it took away all tire strategy, the need to save tires, and the ability to make a difference pushing on new tires. If anything, this track clearly shows the race pace pecking order.

START: A heartstopping battle between Leclerc and Perez in the first few corners, Bearman runs off the track to avoid ending his race so soon, everyone gets through cleanly, Russell thinks Norris jumped the start but the Stewards ultimately did not, and Gasly's gearbox says sayonara.

VERSTAPPEN: Max has got to realize at a certain point that leaving Red Bull is stupid. Just ask Sebastian Vettel.

PEREZ: So much for Perez using a favorite track of his to try to get some momentum back from Verstappen. Momentum he lost back at Baku last year.

RED BULL: The internal battle for control heats up.

LECLERC: Allowed all the attention to focus on his new teammate, while Charles quietly grabbed a podium.

BEARMAN: When you were 18, what was the most intense phone call you received? Certainly not as intense as the one Oliver received Friday, two hours before FP3. And he delivered. Boy, did he deliver!

SAINZ: Carlos might be wise to read up on the biography of baseball player Wally Pip. Just saying...

FERRARI: Now, where do they place Bearman in 2025?

NORRIS: Even Lando couldn't convince himself he didn't jump the start.

ALONSO: Fernando has to be happy with his race, and he was.

HAMILTON: Like Norris, the late pit stop for fresh, soft tires didn't pan out like you would expect at most tracks.

HULKENBERG: Needs to buy Magnussen a beer.

MAGNUSSEN: Brilliant driving and brilliant teamwork.

HAAS: Their strategy to grab a point is one to marvel at. Of course, it helped that Magnussen was a naughty boy. Twice.

ALBON: That point should have been Alex's until, ironically enough, Magnussen banged it out of him.

SARGEANT: Though Logan obviously has a year to get better and prove himself, in reality it's much less than that, as Williams will soon be looking for a replacement. There isn't much time.

TSUNODA: Emotions in check. Better than Ricciardo. Again.

RICCIARDO: Daniel fans, you are not going to like this. But the fact is, Ricciardo is done. Only once, since he got the RB ride last year, did he outperform Tsunoda. And when Liam Lawson was in that seat, Liam outperformed Tsunoda. The only question now is when does Lawson get that seat this year?

ZHOU: And now Guanyu's pit stop is messed up. Perhaps Sauber needs to work on their wheel nut threading?

ALPINE: The revolving door for top level management is spinning once again. What a great way to run an organization...

F2: Oliver Bearman had the pole, as Prema finally got their act together, but then he had better things to do. Brazilian Enzo Fittipaldi won the feature race on an exciting pass of two cars at the same time. Richard Verschoor thought he won the sprint race, but a technical infraction DQ'ed him, giving the win to Norwegian Dennis Hauger.

F1 ACADEMY: The second season is now aligned with all F1 weekends. Frenchwoman Doriane Pin took two poles, led every single lap, and won both races. Or so we thought. The problem was she led one extra lap, ignoring the checkered flag in the second race, and running full tilt on the cooldown lap. An absolute taboo in racing, and her well deserved 20-second penalty handed the second win to Brit Abbi Pulling.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Debut.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 18 -- Oliver Bearman's age, the third youngest driver to compete in Formula 1.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: The last driver to make his F1 debut in a Ferrari was Arturo Merzario in the 1972 British GP. Also interesting was the fact he was Italian, something Enzo, ironically, rarely did. Merzario qualified ninth and finished sixth, so he, too, debuted in the points, a lap down from the winner Emerson Fittipaldi. Merzario had 57 F1 starts, never finishing on the podium, accumulating a total of 11 points. He finished second at Le Mans in a Ferrari in 1973.

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND: From @Planet_F1:
Pro sim racer Max Verstappen takes time out from his busy streaming schedule to continue his hobby of collecting #F1 World Championship titles.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: The understatement of the weekend, when Oliver Bearman said after a fabulous race, "Not too bad, I think."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Christain Horner sends a salvo the other way, "No individual is bigger than the team."

SCHEDULE: A short break, and then off to Australia where two drivers and a reserve call home.

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