2025 Formula 1 Pre-Season Review

The 75th season of Formula 1 is only a few days away, as we enter the first race week of the 2025 season!

Following the tense, season-long battle of 2024, this coming season is one of the most anticipated in years, as no one can predict who will come out on top. The ten cars and the twenty drivers to be behind the wheel have all been revealed, with the F175 event earlier last month launching the liveries and the all new-look teams to the racing world.

Pre-season testing has also now been completed and the teams have put in the laps around the Sakhir circuit to gage where they lie amongst their fierce competition. So much has changed and it is hard to say who looks will come out on top so let’s break it down…

The Teams and Their Drivers:

First, let’s have a look at the constructors and the drivers to be taking on this highly anticipated season. There are many new faces and many that we all know and love. So, who is taking to the grid this year?

Following their first constructors title in a record breaking twenty-six years, McLaren go into a third season with their strong partnership of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. With team CEO Zac Brown keeping a strong eye from the pit wall, Norris will be determined prove his haters wrong and claim his first title, while Piastri won’t settle for being a second driver to his teammate.

Ferrari announced their shocking new partnering early last season, but it will take some getting used to seeing Lewis Hamilton in red alongside his well-grounded teammate Charles Leclerc. Being called one of the greatest driver signings in the sport, Hamilton hopes his team swap can produce a record-breaking 8th world title, while Leclerc will be no push over and will hope to challenge for his first title too.

Mercedes will look unfamiliar without Lewis Hamilton’s name above their garage, as rookie Kimi Antonelli takes his seat alongside George Russell. Antonelli will be wanting to show that he has what it takes to be a top contender, and Russell will again be hoping for further success in his 4th season with the Silver Arrows.

After a more promising end to 2024, Red Bull Racing will be hoping to secure themselves back at the top of the table. They are another team to boast a new pairing, as RB debutant Liam Lawson joins four time and defending world champion Max Verstappen. The #1 driver will be hoping to retain his world title while Lawson will be pushing to show that he has what it takes to be a race winner.

Aston Martin will be hoping to bounce back from the back of the field with Adrien Newey coming in from Red Bull. They are one of two teams to keep the same driver line-up with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Both drivers will be hoping their car can take them to be best of the rest and to pick up on any podiums or wins up front.

Following a tricky start to last season, Alpine will be hoping to kick off their year in better form, with rookie Jack Doohan and the trusted Pierre Gasly. Doohan will be determined to improve on his first outing in Abu Dhabi, while Gasly will be hoping to improve on the successes of the latter half of last season.

Haas will be hoping to come off one of their best seasons in years as they take on a brand-new driver pairing of Esteban Ocon and 2024 race debutant Oliver Bearman. Ocon will be wishing for more from his new partnering with the American team, while Bearman will also be out to prove that he will be one of the better rookies, while being in maybe one of the slower teams.

Visa Cashapp Racing Bulls will be pushing to reach the best-of-the-rest status in the field, with Yuki Tsunoda entering his 5th season with the team and Frenchman Isack Hadjar making his F1 debut for the Red Bull sister team. There is no doubt Tsunoda will continue to have his fiery attitude behind the wheel, and following his successes in the junior categories, Hadjar is hoping for more of the same with in his first F1 season.

Williams will be looking for a more promising season in 2025, following their struggles of last season. Alexander Albon enters his 4th season with the team and will be hoping for more success. Ferrari reject Carlos Sainz Jr joins alongside him and he will be determined to show he was what it takes to be back in a top of the table team.

After a frustrating 2024 campaign, Stake are looking to bounce back from the bottom of the table with their brand-new driver partnership of veteran Nico Hulkenberg and newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto. Both drivers will be hoping for better results for the team, especially Bortoleto as he looks to secure a future in the sport.

Season Expectations:

Pre-season testing always throws unexpected outcomes our way, as we get to see who sits where in the pecking order. But this year’s shortened three-day test at the Bahrain International Circuit has had a lot of surprises and has really shaken up the grid.

Despite limited track time and preparation, a clear favourite has evolved from the three-day test: McLaren. Lando Norris set the fastest time in the colder, first session proving that the car has what it takes to dominate at the cooler circuits, especially in the Europe season.

For the rest of the sessions, neither driver topped the leader boards, as they appeared to focus more on race pace rather than pure speed. But both drivers and team principal Andreas Stella have come away extremely happy with their tests as Piastri says the car ‘ran pretty flawlessly’ over the three days. Promising signs for the Woking based team as they aim to secure both titles this season.

On the other hand, Red Bull seem to have a lot to work on. Both drivers struggled with the handling of the car, resulting in multiple spins of them both.

Their single lap pace looked better, with Verstappen sitting two tenths off Norris’s time on the first day, and only two one hundredths off Russell’s time on the final day. Despite this, they have a lot of work to do before Melbourne if they want to retain their titles.

While McLaren and Red Bull seem to be at the top and bottom of the best teams, Mercedes and Ferrari appear very closely matched for pace as they aim to challenge the papaya cars.

Both teams were always at the top end of the timesheets over the three days, and Russell placed 2nd, 4th and 1st over the week. The Ferraris were also very quick with Hamilton and Leclerc finishing second and third respectively on day two.

Antonelli also proved why he is one to watch, as he kept up with his teammate finishing six one thousandths behind him on day two. This battle between the two teams will be very interesting to watch over the season, as both drive to beat McLaren.

Of course, there is always one team who comes out looking the worst, and this year it is Kick Sauber. They had an extremely difficult 2024 campaign, only picking up four points across the season.

Unfortunately, things aren’t looking much better for the Swiss outfit. They ran consistently near the bottom of the timesheets, including when they focused on qualifying and one lap pace, which is particularly worrying.

The only team who sat behind them was Haas, who also have a lot of work to do. But they also seemed to focus on longer stint pace and had a lot of problems fixed by the final day when Ocon finished 8th in the table.

Neither team looks competitive but the big worries still lie with Sauber who will be aiming to have these problems resolved come Melbourne.

The best-of-the-rest battle is always very exciting in every season, but this year has so much more to offer. A lot of these middle teams have a lot of experienced drivers, like Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz Jr, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, not forgetting the rookies to who are looking to prove a point.

Williams currently look very quick, with Sainz finishing the second day top of the leaderboard and they seem like the team to beat in the mid table.

Alpine also look much more competitive than last year and will be hoping to come out of the gates much quicker than last year.

Racing Bulls also sat consistently in the middle of the table with Tsunoda putting in some very convincing lap times and they will be hoping to further challenge the other mid teams for that extra prize money.

Aston Martin seem to have more work to do despite the arrival of sporting legend Adrian Newey, and they will be hoping he can put them in a place to rival the other teams for those precious championship points.

What next?

So, with the opening race in Melbourne’s Albert Park only a few days away, who will be the ones to watch in 2025?

Will Norris finally secure his first world championship? He will have to be wary of Verstappen who will do anything in his power to reclaim his title.

Will Hamilton dominate in red, and what about Russell when it comes to leading the Silver Arrows back to their favoured spot on the front row.

Six drivers make their full season debut, three of them making their race debut in Australia but who will come out on top amongst them?

All will be revealed on Sunday, when the five lights go green for the first time in 2025.

Written by Samuel Mason, Edited by Oliver Parkinson