2025 F1 season preview: Will Verstappen finally be dethroned?

The 2025 F1 season is among the most anticipated seasons in recent memory in the wake of a shockingly competitive campaign last year.

After a couple of months in which Max Verstappen dominated as expected, the top of the grid closed up so dramatically that the 2024 season ended with seven different race winners.

While Verstappen still ultimately prevailed for a fourth straight Drivers’ Championship, the Dutchman and Red Bull are no longer an unassailable force entering 2025.

What is the biggest storyline of the season? Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari

In what feels like a glimpse into a parallel universe, Hamilton will don the iconic red of Ferrari in 2025 after the biggest driver move in F1 history. The legendary Brit replaced Carlos Sainz, forming arguably F1’s strongest driver duo alongside Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton announced last February that he’d leave Mercedes after six Drivers’ Championships and eight Constructors’ Championships together. 

The seven-time champion has been part of the Mercedes family, one way or another, since 1998. So it was a seismic decision to end their relationship and take a huge gamble on joining a new team at 40 years old. 

While it was a stunning choice, Hamilton and Mercedes have struggled throughout these technical regulations — rules on how teams can build their cars — which started in 2022 and come to an end this season.

The Englishman failed to win in 2022 and 2023 before earning two victories last season. Things might not get much easier for Hamilton, either.

He’s facing a teammate who has been part of Ferrari for the past seven years. Leclerc is also in the conversation for F1’s best qualifier, an area of significant struggle for Hamilton under these regulations.

The most compelling narrative of 2025 by far is how Hamilton will perform at Ferrari. And also, what will happen between him and Leclerc if they’re provided with a winning car?

Are there any new drivers on the grid?

There are six drivers set for their first full-time seats in 2025. It’s the most since 2001 and a stark change from last year when the entire 20-driver grid stayed exactly the same.

We’ve already seen three of them — Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman, and Jack Doohan — in F1 as short-term replacements. However, they’re still considered rookie as this will be their full-season debut.

Here is the full 2025 driver lineup:

What’s the 2025 F1 schedule?

The F1 schedule is unchanged from last season in race total and locations, though there’s been some tinkering with the order to maximize travel efficiency in a gruelingly long campaign.

The season will feature 24 Grand Prix, which continues to be the most ever. There will also be six Sprint races in China, Miami, Belgium, Austin, Brazil, and Qatar.

For the first time since 2019, Australia will regain its spot as the season-opening race. Bahrain has hosted it for the previous four years but was moved to round four due to Ramadan.

Here is the full 24-race schedule:

Are there any notable rule changes for 2025?

Entering the final year of these current regulations, there aren’t many significant changes to F1’s rulebook.

Most notably, the FIA scrapped the bonus point for the fastest lap for a driver within the top 10 six seasons after its introduction.

Daniel Ricciardo sparked controversy about the rule last season when he pitted on the penultimate lap of the Singapore Grand Prix for new tyres, taking the race’s fastest lap as a result.

Ricciardo, driving for RB (now Racing Bulls), wasn’t eligible to win the point as he finished 18th. However, he took it away from Norris, who was trying to chase down Red Bull’s Verstappen for the title with six races left.

RB said it pit Ricciardo as a sendoff in what ended up being his final race. But others argued that Red Bull was using its sister team to assist Verstappen in his championship defense.

The other significant update for 2025 is specific to Monaco, home to F1’s most storied Grand Prix. While Monaco is a historic track, the quality of the races has dipped in recent years, mostly due to the size of modern F1 cars.

To fix this problem, the FIA announced in February that Monaco will have a mandatory two-stop strategy, regardless of the weather.

Is F1 set for one of the most competitive seasons ever?

A year ago, Verstappen was coming off one of the most dominant seasons ever, winning 19 of 22 races. Few expected anything different in 2024. Verstappen’s odds of retaining the title stood at -612, with Leclerc his closest competitor at +1,300.

But after earning victory in seven of the first 10 races, Verstappen only won twice for the rest of the campaign. In fact, no driver was able to win two races in a row over the final 13 Grand Prix, a display of incredible parity.

Norris (four victories), Leclerc (three), Hamilton, Piastri, Sainz, and Russell (all two) were all multi-time race winners.

This season is the final year of the current regulations, and car development is often close to maximized. As a result, the top four teams — McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari — should be just as close again.

Both championships are very much up for grabs. But with a clear divide between the best teams and the rest of the grid, I’ve opted to only look at FanDuel’s odds for the top six drivers and top four teams.

Drivers’ Championship odds

That’s right. Verstappen is not only no longer the odds-on favorite, but he’s second to Norris. While McLaren isn’t expected to have the significant advantage that Red Bull had to begin 2024, they should be the fastest car.

But McLaren was the fastest car for much of last season, too, and Norris was unable to dethrone Verstappen. Norris dealt with poor starts, questionable strategies from McLaren, and a teammate who wasn’t prepared to play second fiddle.

So, the big question is: Can Norris now handle a championship fight with a year of experience under the spotlight?

Versappen proved last season that he doesn’t need the best machinery to come out on top. His ruthlessness from the 2021 season also reemerged, and Norris needs to deal with that pressure from his rival better.

Next up is the trio of Leclerc, Piastri, and Hamilton. After an offseason of optimism, Ferrari’s hype has diminished somewhat amid significant changes in car concept.

Leclerc is favored over his new teammate after finishing third in 2024 — and only 18 points off Norris — despite rarely having the fastest car. While Piastri challenged Norris at times last season, he was more often off the pace of his veteran teammate than on it.

Finally, Russell sits in his own tier in championship odds, with Liam Lawson (+4,000) next up. But Mercedes looked surprisingly strong in testing, with some now expecting them to be maybe the second-fastest car in Australia.

Constructors’ Championship odds

While Norris missed out on the drivers’ title, McLaren won its first Constructors’ Championship in 26 years last season. After beating out Ferrari by just 14 points, the British outfit is favored to keep its crown.

Not only does McLaren likely have the fastest car entering 2025, but its driver lineup of Norris and Piastri is also in the conversation for the grid’s best. They combined for six wins, 21 podiums, and eight pole positions in 2024.

Only Ferrari’s lineup is arguably stronger, though perhaps not initially as Hamilton comes to grips with his new car.

Meanwhile, Red Bull and Mercedes are distinctly third and fourth in championship odds. That’s partly down to the end of last season when they were a step behind McLaren and Ferrari, but also due to their new rookie drivers.

Even if Red Bull and Mercedes come out with cars capable of taking it to McLaren, Lawson and Antonelli will likely struggle to beat the far more experienced drivers in the top four teams consistently.