Glad New 12 months System 1 followers!
And with the calendar turning to 2025 we will formally say this: A brand new F1 season is sort of upon us.
2024 delivered one of many extra fascinating F1 seasons in current reminiscence, with a number of Grand Prix winners, a Drivers’ Championship race that went deep into the season, and a Constructors’ conflict that lasted till the ultimate laps of the 12 months. When all was mentioned and achieved Max Verstappen had locked up his fourth Drivers’ title, and McLaren emerged because the Constructors’ Champions.
Can 2025 match the theatrics of 2024? In a couple of quick weeks, we’ll begin answering that query. Till then, listed here are ten storylines we’re wanting ahead to within the 12 months forward.
Rookies galore!
The beginning of the 2024 F1 season marked a primary within the sport’s historical past. The 20 drivers who started the 2024 season had been the identical 20 drivers who ended the prior 12 months.
That’s definitely not the case for 2025.
Six rookies are becoming a member of the grid on a full-time foundation in 2025: Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes, Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber, Jack Doohan at Alpine, Oliver Bearman at Haas, Isack Hadjar at Visa Money App Racing Bulls F1 Group, and Liam Lawson, who earned a promotion to Crimson Bull after two super-sub stints at VCARB.
Younger drivers getting full-time seats is nice for the game, however it would possibly make for some chaotic moments as all of them acclimate to life on the F1 grid.
Can Crimson Bull rebound?
2024 was a season of disappointment, and turmoil, for Crimson Bull.
The 12 months started with allegations of misconduct levied at Group Principal Christian Horner, and rumors of an influence battle at Milton Keynes.
The 12 months ended with Crimson Bull mired in third place, behind McLaren and Ferrari. Whereas Max Verstappen managed to safe his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship — extra on him in a second — a tough season for Sergio Pérez introduced his Crimson Bull tenure to an finish, as Liam Lawson will take over alongside Verstappen in 2025.
Pérez will not be the one key departure from the crew, as different key figures equivalent to Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley have left for different alternatives inside the sport. Actually Crimson Bull has a number of proficient people inside the crew who might thrive with larger duties, together with Principal Technique Engineer Hannah Schmitz, however can they rebound from a tough 2024 and work their means again up the standings in 2025, or has the remainder of the grid — in addition to the fee cap — maybe caught up with them?
New faces, new locations
The incoming rookies aren’t the one new faces in new locations this season. The 2024 driver switch market was one for the ages.
Some veteran drivers have discovered a brand new house for 2025. Esteban Ocon is headed to Haas after driving for Alpine, Nico Hülkenberg is leaving Haas to hitch Sauber forward of that crew changing into the Audi works operation in 2026, and Carlos Sainz Jr. joins Williams after spending the previous few seasons at Ferrari.
After all, who’s taking his seat at Ferrari is one other face in a brand new place, however one worthy of a class all his personal.
However seeing these drivers acclimate to their new groups is one other massive storyline to comply with in 2025.
Has McLaren realized every little thing they want?
2024 was a season of studying for McLaren.
What they realized was sufficient to crown them Constructors’ Champions.
Alongside the best way, nonetheless, McLaren additionally realized how powerful it may be to stability what CEO Zak Brown himself calls the perfect driver pairing on the grid. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are two supremely proficient drivers, each of whom are younger, hungry, and quick.
That led to some tense moments all through the season, maybe exemplified by Piastri’s first Grand Prix win, coming on the Hungarian Grand Prix. The duo locked out the entrance row in qualifying, with Norris beginning in pole place. However he misplaced the lead after the begin to his teammate, and solely regained the lead late within the race due to an early pit cease that allowed him to undercut Piastri.
As Norris led the race within the closing levels, the crew by means of race engineer Will Joseph instructed him to swap positions with Piastri, who was in second. As this was taking part in out, followers everywhere in the world, in addition to the commentators on F1TV, puzzled if McLaren was dealing with this the suitable means.
And hundreds of “Papaya Guidelines” memes had been born.
In the end, McLaren secured the Constructors’ title, which the crew said all year long was their principal purpose. However as Norris got here throughout the road along with his win on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to finish the 12 months — and safe the title — he made it clear that his eyes are on a Drivers’ Championship in 2025.
Is McLaren prepared for what lies forward?
Has Lando Norris?
In my years of talking with skilled athletes I’ve come throughout many I’d qualify as introspective.
Lando Norris may be on the high of that record.
Certainly one of my lasting recollections of the 2024 F1 season was listening to from Norris after the US Grand Prix, when he was hit with a five-second penalty within the closing laps in Austin for overtaking Max Verstappen off the monitor. The penalty got here after one other laborious battle between the 2 drivers, and it dropped Norris into fourth place behind Verstappen, because the McLaren driver tried to inch nearer to his Crimson Bull rival within the Drivers’ Championship standings.
Assembly with the media, together with SB Nation, following the race Norris spoke at size about what it takes to race — and win — towards Verstappen. “The factor is with Max you’ve obtained to commit, however individuals don’t perceive that sort of factor. With Max, you possibly can’t simply go half-hearted,” mentioned Norris in Austin.“I feel Max drove very effectively. It’s very laborious to do what we’re doing.
“I respect the battle that we had. It was an excellent one, it was pleasurable, I feel it was respectful.”
You could possibly see in his eyes, and in his face, the conclusion of simply what it takes to finest Verstappen.
It takes close to perfection.
In the end, Norris couldn’t catch Verstappen, and the McLaren driver settled for second within the Drivers’ Championship behind him.
Has he realized sufficient from 2024 to overhaul Verstappen in 2025?
Alpine ascendant?
When the 2024 F1 season started, issues had been powerful over at Alpine.
The A524, their challenger for the 2024 marketing campaign, had are available in chubby and in consequence, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon had been behind the sector on the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Issues lingered because the season wore on. Alpine didn’t rating their first factors till the Miami Grand Prix, when Ocon completed tenth. However on the Monaco Grand Prix a couple of weeks later, an opening-lap collision between the pair knocked Ocon out of the race, on a day when Gasly began tenth and Ocon eleventh, giving the crew one other good probability at factors.
That incident sparked rumors that Ocon would get replaced for what many thought of an pointless try on the opening lap, and whereas that didn’t materialize, Ocon would later announce he was leaving the crew for Haas in 2025.
Extra adjustments would come, as Bruno Famin stepped away from duties as Group Principal for an additional place with the group, and Oliver Oakes joined through the summer time shutdown to take over in that position.
Alpine arrived in Austin for the US Grand Prix mired in ninth within the Constructors’ Championship standings, however with an improve bundle for the A524.
Abruptly, issues started to show round. Gasly superior to Q3 at the US Grand Prix, displaying indicators of improved tempo. He then scored a degree in Mexico on the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix as that improved tempo continued.
Then got here the gorgeous weekend for Alpine in Brazil, on the São Paulo Grand Prix. Gasly completed seventh within the F1 Dash Race in São Paulo, including two extra factors to the crew’s tally. Then within the rain within the Grand Prix Alpine delivered a magical double podium, with Ocon ending second and Gasly third. They left Brazil with 35 extra factors of their account, now sitting sixth within the Constructors’ Championship standings.
They might keep there, due to a fifth-place end from Gasly in Qatar, and a seventh-place end in Abu Dhabi to shut out the 12 months.
Even with their dramatic rise, there have been nonetheless tensions to finish the marketing campaign. Ocon was launched from his contract forward of the season finale, which whereas permitting him to drive for Haas within the post-season testing session was not the top many anticipated, together with Ocon who had a particular crash helmet designed for his closing race with the crew. Jack Doohan drove in his place, gaining useful expertise forward of his first full-time season with the crew in 2025.
Regardless of that, the arrow is pointing up for Alpine as 2025 begins. Can they preserve this trendline within the season forward?
Whither Aston Martin?
Aston Martin was the story of the early 2023 season, as they roared out of the beginning grid and put Crimson Bull beneath strain to start out the 12 months.
Nonetheless, that unimaginable begin quickly light, as they slowly tumbled down the standings, finally ending fifth behind McLaren.
They completed fifth once more in 2024, however whereas they recorded a whopping 280 factors within the 2023 marketing campaign, they had been really caught in the midst of the pack in 2024. Aston Martin banked simply 94 factors on the 12 months, 29 factors forward of sixth-place Alpine, however 374 factors adrift of third-place Mercedes.
However assistance is on the best way, within the type of the best engineer within the sport’s historical past.
Adrian Newey shocked the F1 world in Might, saying that he was leaving Crimson Bull fully following 2024, and stepping away from his F1 duties with rapid impact.
After weeks of hypothesis, Aston Martin introduced that Newey was becoming a member of the crew in early 2025 as a shareholder and Managing Technical Accomplice.
That may imply that Newey won’t be able to supply enter on the AMR25 forward of the season, however will have the ability to assist the crew with some mid-season growth, a difficulty that has plagued Aston Martin the previous two seasons.
And, this additionally signifies that Newey may have his fingerprints everywhere in the AMR26, Aston Martin’s challenger for the 2026 season when new F1 rules go into impact.
Can Max Verstappen high his 2024 marketing campaign?
Max Verstappen has delivered some unimaginable seasons earlier than.
However there’s a robust case to be made that his 2024 marketing campaign was his finest but.
Whereas Verstappen was nowhere close to as dominant as he was in 2023 — when he alone outscored each different crew on the grid — his drive to a fourth Drivers’ Championship pushed him almost to the brink.
But he did every little thing he wanted to do to safe a title, as solely champions can.
Not like the RB19, Crimson Bull’s 2023 challenger, the RB20 was not the dominant bundle on the grid. On some race weekends, Verstappen was driving the third- or fourth-fastest automobile on the grid. However he maximized each race weekend, and by the point the checkered flag flew in Abu Dhabi to convey the curtain down on the 12 months Verstappen had gained 9 grands prix, and completed within the factors in all however one among them: The Australian Grand Prix when a brake duct failure pressured an early retirement.
F1, like many sports activities, might be fickle relating to sustained success. Underdogs and up-and-comers are praised at first, however once they flip into dynasties or repeat winners followers start to search for the subsequent underdog to root for. NFL followers would possibly consider the New England Patriots, who shortly reworked from plucky upstarts into soccer’s model of the Empire, led by a head coach who reminded lots of Darth Vader himself, all the way down to the hoodie he would put on on the sidelines.
Verstappen’s personal transformation from an upstart younger driver right into a four-time champion has led some to develop weary of his success. However 2024 confirmed that when pushed to the restrict, he can nonetheless discover a technique to ship.
It might need been his finest season but.
Can he high it in 2025?
The ultimate 12 months of the present rules
As a reminder, 2025 is the ultimate season beneath F1’s present set of technical rules. One of the crucial fascinating points of the game is that F1 always adjustments the rules, pushing groups, engineers, and drivers to adapt.
The final time that F1 modified their technical rules? That got here again in 2022. Nonetheless, whereas the ultimate rules have but to be finalized, the working rules proposed by the FIA embody some large adjustments, together with energetic aerodynamics, lighter vehicles, a good cut up between an inside combustion engine and electrical energy, and using 100% sustainable fuels. That is going to be a wide-ranging shift from the present rules.
Many groups may have their eyes set on 2026 relating to growth, hoping to start the 12 months on the entrance foot. Growth of their 2025 challengers, and particularly mid-season growth, might pay a worth. It’s a tough act for the groups to stability, as Alpine Group Principal Oliver Oakes defined to me in Austin.
“It’s actually powerful since you’re compromising on a regular basis and you’ll’t make everybody proud of what they need,” mentioned Oakes when requested by SB Nation about balancing bettering the automobile for the remainder of the 2024 season, preparing for 2025, and waiting for 2026. “I feel everyone needs every little thing at the moment, however that’s not actuality in F1
“I feel truly, for us as a crew, we had a reasonably tough begin to the season and we’re form of taking part in just a little little bit of catch-up. However no person ever stops in F1.
“So sadly, I dare say we introduced an improve this weekend, it’s helped us to form of transfer ahead just a little bit, however everyone’s introduced upgrades, and then you definately sort of go, ‘[o]h, how massive was our step?’ So that you’re all the time sort of taking part in that form of battle, I assume, to maintain bettering,” mentioned Oakes.
“And then you definately go into the winter, , we’ve obtained it for the time being, the place how a lot effort do you place into the start of 2025? As a result of the brand new guidelines come out in January and also you sort of go, effectively, we need to make a extremely good automobile to start out 2025,” added Oakes. “However truly, we all know 2026 is an important factor for the crew.
“It’s a actual good problem as a result of, truly, you’ve obtained to be actually good, strategic, and a few of it’s a little little bit of, I wouldn’t say luck, however when you make the suitable steps they usually repay, you’ve sort of obtained extra respiratory room to go and give attention to the longer-term stuff.”
How the groups stability these twin wants — or fail to stability them — may make for an additional thrilling marketing campaign.
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
We’ve got already addressed a number of the faces we’ll see in new environments subsequent season, however one transfer rocked the game at first of 2024 and can take some critical getting used to.
Seeing Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari crimson.
However these photos will quickly be headed our means, as Hamilton begins his first 12 months driving for the legendary Italian outfit. These photos will harken to the nice quote from former champion Sebastian Vettel:
“Everyone seems to be a Ferrari fan. Even when they are saying they’re not, they’re Ferrari followers.”
In his closing season at Mercedes, Hamilton delivered a pair of victories, together with an emotional win at Silverstone in his closing British Grand Prix with a three-pointed star on the facet of his race automobile. The tempo and the racecraft are nonetheless there, and the starvation remains to be there for another championship.
However seeing him in Ferrari crimson will take some getting used to.