How the entire F1 season was foretold through a remarkable coincidence

The 2025 Formula 1 season produced a statistic so unlikely it feels almost scripted.

After 1,558 competitive laps spread across 24 grands prix and six sprint races, the top five in the drivers’ championship finished in exactly the same order as they ran at the end of lap one of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

As the field streamed through Turn 3 at Albert Park in March, Lando Norris led Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc.

The Red Bull driver had started behind the McLarens, but got past the second MCL39 around the outside of Turn 2. Meanwhile, Leclerc made a move on Yuki Tsunoda into the following corner.

Nine months later, after thousands of racing kilometres and countless strategic calls, that snapshot from Melbourne proved to be a perfect miniature of the final championship standings.

To put the scale of the coincidence into context, that opening lap accounted for just 0.06% of the entire season. The remaining 1,557 laps – including 1,443 grand prix laps – ultimately delivered the same top five, even if the title fight itself was anything but static.

Throughout the campaign, the standings — particularly at the sharp end — fluctuated significantly.

Piastri led the championship for much of the year, often holding Norris at bay during McLaren’s strongest mid-season stretch, while Verstappen spent large portions of the campaign in third as Red Bull fought to keep pace with its rivals. The order shifted repeatedly, but the names never changed.

In an era defined by razor-thin margins, through drama, strategy and even mechanical unreliability, the season ebbed and flowed, but the same five drivers ended the campaign locked at the summit.

Norris’ title triumph sealed a landmark season for McLaren, while Verstappen’s second place brought an end to his four-year run as world champion.

Piastri completed a double top-three finish for McLaren, Russell carried Mercedes to fourth, and Leclerc once again flew the flag for Ferrari in fifth.

Formula 1 is famous for last-lap drama and championship deciders when the pressure is at its zenith.

But in 2025, one of its most remarkable stories was written almost immediately — a single lap that, against all probability, foretold an entire season.