An estimated 40,000 people descended upon the Marina on Saturday to watch Formula 1 race cars roar down the streets — and San Francisco is dealing with the fallout.

Why it matters: While the high-octane, Red Bull-hosted spectacle drew massive crowds, social media posts showing the lengths people went to catch a glimpse have prompted concerns over public safety, traffic and crowding.

State of play: Criticism of the event, which featured drivers (including Mayor Lurie at one point) tearing down a 0.8-mile route, began shortly after it concluded.

• Because there were no bleachers, visibility was limited beyond the front row. Videos shared to Instagram show people climbing trees, traffic lights, utility poles, private balconies and even roofs to get a good view of the action.
• There were also reports of physical altercations as people pushed to get through crowds.

The atmosphere felt "extremely chaotic — very 'every person for themselves,'" Lower Haight resident Taylor Yamada told Axios via email. "It took away from what could have been a really incredible experience."

• "I was genuinely so excited when Red Bull announced it would be coming to the Bay Area ... [but] I don't think the execution fully supported the size of the crowd," Yamada said. "The event's infrastructure just wasn't built to handle the volume of people who showed up."
• The San Francisco Standard cited neighbors sharing stories about people urinating in yards, attempting to break into residences and scaling roofs, as well as broken windows and garage doors.
• "It was chaos," Patrick Souris told the Standard. "It was terrible."

Between the lines: Though San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA) personnel and police officers were present, several attendees noted a lack of response from law enforcement at certain times.

• Souris told the Standard he saw only a few cop cars and that officers were "just sitting there chilling." One person who appeared to have passed out did not immediately receive medical assistance, he added.

Red Bull did not immediately return requests for comment.

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​​Violent crime dropped sharply across America's biggest cities — including San Francisco — in 2025, according to data reviewed by Axios.

Why it matters: The stats point toward a sustained San Francisco recovery, away from the doom-loop narrative that has dogged the city since the pandemic.

• The new numbers also counter the crime-related reasons President Trump cited for wanting to send federal troops to Democratic-run cities last year.

Zoom in: Homicides in San Francisco fell 20% from 2024 to 2025, per preliminary data analyzed by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which examined statistics for 67 of the nation's biggest police departments.

• Rape dropped nearly 38%, while robberies decreased by about 25% and aggravated assault by almost 13%.

The big picture: The San Francisco Police Department announced in January that in 2025, homicides dropped to the lowest number (28) since 1954.

Yes, but: While property crime fell in 2025, SoMa and Mission bucked the trend, primarily due to larceny theft, according to police data analyzed by the San Francisco Chronicle.

By the numbers: The Major Cities Chiefs Association found declines across every major violent-crime category in 2025 compared with 2024 and confirmed other studies on last year's declines.

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🔋 State Sen. Scott Wiener has introduced a bill that could move San Francisco closer to splitting from PG&E.

• SB 875 would lower the burden of proof for cities to justify switching to a private utility. (SF Standard)

The former chief executive of a nonprofit San Francisco contracted to serve homeless people faces charges for allegedly stealing and misappropriating public funds, according to city prosecutors. (SF Chronicle)

🎶 A new nightclub called Downtime — from the teams behind Bar Part Time and Berkeley's Rose Pizzeria — will open later this year at the former Bissap Baobab site on Mission Street. (SF Chronicle)

I did the drive to Lake Tahoe over the weekend — my first snow trip there since moving to California. It was worth it… mostly.

Flashback: I tried to get to Tahoe at Christmastime in 2021. We were turned back and ultimately never made it as the roads stayed closed for days.

• This time, we left Berkeley at midday on Thursday and had a clear run to Sacramento before a gentle snowfall started around Colfax. But with the I-80 closed across the mountains due to whiteout conditions, we opted to spend the night in Nevada City (which was like a Christmas card!).

By Friday morning, we were back on the freshly-ploughed roads… with half of the Bay Area. Traffic was a nightmare and roads were at a standstill, but thankfully we didn't see any reckless driving or spinouts.

• For once, Californian drivers had their wits about them.

😱 All told, it took us 26 hours, door-to-door, to get from Berkeley to Carnelian Bay.

Yes, but: We had a lakeside house with stunning views of the mountains and everywhere we looked there was a fresh layer of powder.

My final verdict? Lake Tahoe was beautiful, but I don't ski and with the recent avalanche tragedy in the backcountry I wasn't up for hiking or snowmobiling. So it did feel like an awfully long way to go for some après action.

• Still, reading my book by the window and having a glass of wine by the fire was my ideal way to spend a weekend.