The 2025 Components One season has all of the makings of a extremely aggressive 24-race celebration to mark 75 years for the reason that inaugural seven-race championship in 1950.
Lewis Hamilton’s extremely publicised transfer to Ferrari has been the important thing low season storyline. The star British driver says his transfer from Mercedes to Ferrari has given him a brand new lease on life.
Crimson Bull’s Max Verstappen seems to have his work reduce out to seal a fifth straight drivers title with Lando Norris of McLaren poised to knock the Dutchman off his perch.
Listed below are the important thing speaking factors earlier than the 2025 F1 season will get underneath approach in Australia on Sunday:
Can Max win title quantity 5?
Seventy-five years after Giuseppe Farina claimed the primary F1 world championship on the wheel of an Alfa Romeo, Verstappen embarks on the 2025 season in pursuit of a fifth successive title, a feat achieved solely as soon as earlier than, by Michael Schumacher, from 2000 till 2004.
If he succeeds, it’ll cement the Dutchman’s place as a titan of the game.
He hoovered up seven of the primary 10 races in his rampaging Crimson Bull season final yr earlier than enduring a 10-race winless run as McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari closed the championship factors hole.
However Verstappen had the final phrase, preventing again to win in Brazil and clinch title quantity 4 with two races to spare.
McLaren prised the F1 constructors championship away from Crimson Bull – an award decided by the whole factors amassed by the crew’s two drivers over a season – for the primary time since 1998.
The powerful activity dealing with Verstappen is underlined by the betting, which has him as solely the second favorite behind Norris (who ended final season 63 factors behind) for the 2025 drivers crown.
Can Hamilton return Ferrari to the glory days?
Hamilton is satisfied he will help Ferrari win its first drivers championship since 2007 after the seven-time world champion made the transfer to Italy.
At 40, the Briton appears stuffed with youthful enthusiasm for the brand new problem.
“The eagerness right here is like nothing you’ve ever seen. They’ve bought completely each ingredient they should win a world championship, and it’s nearly placing all of the items collectively,” he stated.
The battle of the 2025 rookies
An Italian teenager who handed his driving take a look at solely in January is among the many six-strong 2025 rookie consumption.
Kimi Antonelli is an thrilling 18-year-old who takes Hamilton’s seat alongside George Russell at Mercedes.
“I actually wish to make my very own story,” final yr’s a number of Components 2 winner stated, disregarding strategies he’s the seven-time world champion’s “alternative” on the Silver Arrows.
New Zealand’s Liam Lawson, who changed Daniel Ricciardo at Crimson Bull in 2024 and has already raced in 11 Grand Prix, makes his full-fledged debut as Verstappen’s new wingman at Crimson Bull.
Ferrari’s British academy driver Ollie Bearman joins the Haas crew whereas Brazil has a presence on the grid for the primary time in 5 years in F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber.
Australia’s Jack Doohan can be hoping to take pleasure in even a small slice of his legendary father Mick’s success on two wheels in MotoGP as he graduates from reserve driver to develop into Pierre Gasly’s teammate at Alpine.
Final however not least is Crimson Bull’s Isack Hadjar, the 20-year-old French-Algerian who narrowly missed out to Bortoleto for the F2 title.
FIA in drivers’ crosshairs
Within the risky, unpredictable, high-octane bubble that’s F1, one factor appears assured in 2025: renewed stress between the governing physique and the drivers, notably over the FIA’s crackdown on swearing.
Prime drivers Verstappen and Charles Leclerc fell foul of the foundations in 2024 for utilizing profanities at an F1 information convention.
The rules had been strengthened in January, triggering an indignant response from drivers, who took a swipe at FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“We urge the FIA president to additionally contemplate his personal tone and language when speaking to our member drivers, or certainly about them, whether or not in a public discussion board or in any other case,” they wrote, including: “Our members are adults. They don’t must be given directions through the media, about issues as trivial because the sporting of jewelry or underpants.”
From Australia to Abu Dhabi
Australia hosts the primary of the 24 races subsequent weekend, and the race in Bahrain has been moved to April as Ramadan runs all through March. As well as, there can be six dash races held at six of the 24 venues: Shanghai, Miami, Belgium, Austin, Sao Paulo and Qatar.
The FIA is making an attempt to brighten up the jewel within the calendar – Monaco – the place overtaking is nigh on not possible, imposing a compulsory two-pit-stop technique.
The standard three-week summer season break is available in August, and the F1 circus pitches up within the desert of Abu Dhabi for the season finale on December 7.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali stated “2025 can be a particular yr as we have a good time the seventy fifth anniversary of the FIA Components One World Championship, and it’s that legacy and expertise that enables us to ship such a robust calendar.”
Testing instances
The instances from three days of preseason testing in Bahrain final month didn’t reveal a lot in regards to the type of the top-ranked groups.
With gas hundreds unknown and crew set-ups stored underneath wraps, it was arduous if not not possible to pinpoint the winners and losers.
Russell’s Mercedes was prime of the pile on the final day. Carlos Sainz’s Williams topped the instances on the center day, and Norris’s McLaren took the primary day honours.
Ferrari had been bang within the thick of it, and Verstappen can have been happy together with his displaying on the ultimate day.
The principle takeaway from testing is that the majority of the groups look carefully matched, prompting McLaren CEO Zak Brown to foretell: “I can see it being tremendous aggressive. Final yr, 4 groups gained a number of races. This yr, I might see that being much more. I’m extra excited than nervous.”
