Formula 1 in 2025: Close racing, Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari and plenty of new faces

Even before he’d parked his car after winning the last Formula 1 race of 2024, Lando Norris made a vow to be champion in 2025.

“Next year is going to be my year, too,” Norris, who was runner-up to Max Verstappen this year, told the McLaren team over the radio.

After four different teams won races in 2024, next year could see an even closer contest for the title. Lewis Hamilton will be aiming for an eighth career championship at his new team, Ferrari, and there’ll be ambitious young drivers joining the grid.

Close competition

Major rule changes in F1 tend to shake up the established order, but can let one team gain a big advantage.

When the same rules are in place for a while, teams tend to be more evenly matched. The season-long competition for the title in 2021 between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton preceded a rule change for 2022.

Expect McLaren and Norris to be in the hunt next time.

“The one thing I’ve learned this year is probably to believe in myself a bit more,” Norris said Sunday. “I’ve certainly not come out on top as often as I would have liked in certain moments as a driver, especially in my fights against Max. As much as it hurts sometimes, I’m probably happy about it now that I’m going to go into next season knowing that I can fight.”

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Some worry focusing on 2025 could hurt them in the long run, and may be tempted to aim for 2026 instead.

Carlos Sainz Jr. on Sunday said his new team, Williams, is “preparing to maximize that chance” in 2026. Aston Martin has Adrian Newey, widely considered F1’s greatest designer, heading up its development after he left Red Bull. Audi is turning Sauber into its works team for 2026 and General Motors is joining the grid with its Cadillac brand and may already have a head start on development.

“Obviously, the earlier start, the bigger advantage you have,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said, “but if there is a tight championship (in 2025) and it does go down to the wire, then that’s going to be a tough balancing act.”

Hamilton at Ferrari

A seven-time champion in Ferrari red.

Hamilton’s move to the storied Italian team could bring back memories of Michael Schumacher, the only other driver to win seven titles in F1.

After an emotional farewell to Mercedes on Sunday, Hamilton’s focus will shift quickly to 2025. No driver has won the F1 title with Ferrari since Kimi Raikkonen beat then-rookie Hamilton by a single point in 2007.

“Lewis has achieved so much in the sport and it will be a big motivation,” his future teammate Charles Leclerc said Sunday.

Hamilton, F1’s only Black driver, has also said he wants to continue his efforts to improve diversity in F1 when he joins his new team.

New challengers on the grid

Could 2025 be the year the next generation of drivers upsets F1’s biggest names?

The biggest rookie class in years arrives in F1 with plenty of hype as 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli steps up from Formula 2 to replace Hamilton at Mercedes.

Oliver Bearman joins Haas after impressive stand-in drives this year, while F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto moves to Sauber. Alpine gave its new driver Jack Doohan, son of a motorcycle racing great, an early taste of F1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he was 15th. Post-season tests Tuesday in Abu Dhabi offer a chance to get valuable experience.

The new arrivals mean experienced drivers will be off the F1 grid.

Ten-time GP winner Valtteri Bottas is likely heading back to Mercedes as a reserve next year after leaving Sauber. Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu and Franco Colapinto are also without race seats for 2025.

Then there’s Sergio Perez. Second to Verstappen in the 2023 standings, the Mexican driver was nowhere near his Red Bull teammate’s pace this season and has faced repeated speculation he will be dropped for 2025 despite a contract extension agreed in June.

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