Formula 1 – 2025 Preview

Many would have thought 2025 to be a year of little change given many teams likely already focused on their new concepts for the 2026 rules. However, given the incredibly close end to the 2024 season and the manic ‘silly season’ kicked off by Lewis Hamilton’s shocking move to Ferrari, this year is shaping up to be a juicy year both on and off track.

New Kids on the Block and a Few Familiar Faces in Different Colours 

This year has more rookies than we have seen in a while, with Isaac Hadjar racing for Racing Bulls, Kimi Antonelli for Mercedes – who’s bound to cause some spicy collisions at the front of the field – Jack Doohan (Alpine), who looks to already have Colapinto lined up as a replacement for him before even the first race, and finally Gabriel Borteletto, who earned his seat at Stake F1 after a stellar F2 title triumph. 

Lawson and Bearman also make their full-time debuts with Red Bull and Haas respectively. The Red Bull seat going to Lawson is seen by many as an unjust decision, believing Tsunoda had earned the call-up. Therefore, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on this seat, which historically has already been a bit of a merry-go-round. 

Other than that, Ocon will be in Haas red, and Carlos Sainz in Williams blue, no doubt with a point to prove after being ushered out of Ferrari to make way for an incoming Hamilton. He will also finally provide a benchmark for the true quality of Alex Albon, who hasn’t previously had a good enough teammate to truly challenge him.

The Ferrari Dynamic 

Without question, the strongest and most interesting driver pairing is the Leclerc–Hamilton line-up, with some hailing it as the strongest pairing since Prost and Senna. This will be a critical year for both drivers, as Hamilton looks to prove he still has it after being beaten by Russell last year. Leclerc will also be determined not to be the second Ferrari across the line, as a loss to 40-year-old Hamilton would no doubt leave some questioning his revered status as a future great. 

The FIA-F1 Rift 

Since Abu Dhabi 2021, there has been growing tension between the FIA and F1 as an organisation. This has not changed, despite the drama around an 11^th F1 team finally being resolved with Cadillac set to join in 2026. Never-ending complaints about inconsistent stewarding and nonsensical rulebook wording continue, and events such as the unfounded attack on the integrity of Susie and Toto Wolff at the start of the 2024 season have not been forgotten within the paddock. No doubt tensions will continue to build this year.  

Testing 

Day 1 of testing saw Lando Norris pick off where he left off, clocking the fastest time of the day on a set of C3 mediums, with a time of 1:30.430. A substation failure which halted power to the circuit resulted in a lengthy delay to testing. Esteban Ocon, now driving for Haas, put in the most laps of any driver on Day 1, completing 88 in total. Day 2 saw the quickest time of testing, with the Spaniard Carlos Sainz clocking a 1:29.348 in the Williams to edge out Hamilton by three hundredths of a second. Hamilton’s new teammate, Leclerc, rounded out the top three. The last day of testing was somewhat troubling for Red Bull, with the reigning champion Verstappen spending much of the day oversteering and understeering around the circuit. While the Red Bull looked like a challenging drive, Verstappen still took the second fastest time of the day with a 1:29.566, 2 hundredths off Russell in the Mercedes. 

Australia preview 

The new season returns this weekend in Melbourne. McLaren after testing look like they are team to beat. The six rookies begin their first season in F1, newbies Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli could even challenge for the podium. This season marks the last for the current regulation cycle – with little room to develop, it’s looking like it will be a tight grid particularly in the midfield, as teams will be shifting their focus to develop 2026 projects. 

Will Lando Norris being the bookies favourite for the Championship prove to be accurate in Melbourne? How will Lewis Hamilton start at Ferrari? Are Red Bull on the back foot? The opening race this Sunday will kick off this widely exciting and anticipated season – be sure to set your alarms for a 4am race start!