Six big F1 questions to answer as the European season begins

An almost uninterrupted run of 10 races in Europe represents a make-or-break period for the Formula 1 teams.

Barring a trip across the Atlantic to Canada for round 10, Formula 1 is focusing on Europe for the next stretch of races and here’s what we want to know.

Can Ferrari find performance?

Aside from Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint victory in China and Charles Leclerc’s Saudi podium, there hasn’t been much to cheer about for Ferrari so far this year.

Entering the year as a title contender, the team have found themselves fourth best with a car that is just outright slow.

Team boss Fred Vasseur said the Maranello outfit will bring “small upgrades” to Imola and Monaco, but a home race demands improvement and Ferrari need to kick-start their season.

Have Aston Martin given up?

Another team struggling for form is Aston Martin, who have just 14 points to their name so far.

The prospect of an Adrian Newey-designed, Honda-powered F1 2026 car appears to have taken the focus off 2025, but they are enduring a so-far embarrassing season.

Fernando Alonso has yet to get off the mark but rather than any blame for the driver, the issue is the car as it lacks performance in all key areas.

The days of 2023’s podiums seem a long way off now, and having looked like P5 was theirs to lose, Aston are now battling the lower midfield teams for the honour of not finishing last.

The monetary benefits will not worry the team too much and the extra R&D allocation may assist Newey but the reputational damage of having the Aston Martin brand behind a sister team is a prospect they should be trying to avoid.

How much will the new technical directive affect teams?

2025 is an unusual season with the unprecedented midseason regulation change coming ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.

While technical directives are not new, the FIA’s advance warning of TD018 has essentially split 2025 in two.

The sport’s governing body informed teams at the end of January that from the ninth round of the championship, they would be clamping down on flexi wings – a problem they have been looking to solve for a number of years.

As is always the case with F1, there have been a lot of paddock whispers about which team will be most vulnerable but right now, it is guesswork as to who will be most affected.

McLaren have often been the subject of flexi wing accusations and the race in Barcelona will show if those claims have any merit.

Can Lando Norris swing momentum back his way?

A win to start the season was the perfect way to begin what Lando Norris hoped would be his march to the title but momentum has dramatically swung since then.

A loss to Max Verstappen in Suzuka was followed by three consecutive wins for team-mate Oscar Piastri, catapulting the Australian to the top of the standings at the expense of Norris.

The knives have been out for the Briton with many claiming he is not capable of making the final step so it is now or never to start to prove the doubters wrong.

Momentum is with Piastri but a win this weekend could be the revival of Norris’ title aspirations.

How will Franco Colapinto fare at Alpine?

Further down the grid, there will be plenty of eyes on the Alpine garage as Franco Colapinto> rolls out of it for the first time.

The latest episode in the Alpine drama occurred in the wake of the Miami GP as Jack Doohan lost his seat in favour of Colapinto.

Considering the money Alpine paid to get Colapinto, it was a move many saw coming but what many did not predict was the five-race contract handed to the Argentine.

The 21-year-old, who scored five points in his first five races in F1, has Imola, Monaco, Spain, Canada and Austria to prove himself and will want to at least score a point, something Doohan failed to do. If not, he too could be on Alpine’s discarded pile.

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Will Monaco pit stop changes prove beneficial?

After years of complaints over boring races, F1 has stepped in to try and provide some excitement to the outdated Monaco Grand Prix.

With extending the track not an option, F1 has instead mandated that two mandatory pit stops occur, double the regular amount, in an attempt to make it less procedural than it has become, and 2025 will be the litmus test.

Of course, conditions and the race scenario will dictate excitement far more than pit stops but it was high time some measure was done.

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