Formula One 2025 Season Predictions
It’s that time of the year again when every F1 fan, pundit or Journalists’ makes their stake for what they believe will happen in the upcoming season.
More often than not they cause uproar and everyone tends to disagree with each other which means that come the end of the season they make for some pretty amusing viewing.
So today we are going to make our predictions for the 2025 season’s drivers champion, constructors champion and more.
Drivers Champion - Lando Norris
It feels unusual to go into a new season and not have Max Verstappen’s name set in stone for the title. This year McLaren will more than likely be the quickest package overall and Lando will without a doubt be championship favourite if that is the case and to be honest he has good grounds to be the favourite.
Last season he showed the promise that people had been touting him with for years and it felt as though Lando was finally proving a lot of his haters wrong, but he also proved some of them right. 2025 is crunch time for Norris in his hunt for a drivers title. We saw on occasions last season how quick he can be and how he can be a champion but we also saw the inexperience of Lando being in a title fight.
He has to cut out those mistakes for this year if he wants to be top dog, we need more of Zandvoort 2024 where he pinned his ears back and just schooled the field and less of Brazil 2024 where he doesn’t capitalise on a golden opportunity for himself. Norris will be well on his way to claiming his first drivers title if McLaren is anywhere near its 2024 pace but it’ll take some work on his side to up his consistency to that of a world champion.
Constructors Champions - Ferrari
Ferrari fell just 14 points short of the constructors title in 2024 and that was with a far from fastest car compared to McLaren. Not only that but they also have a new driver and unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past year then you would’ve realised Ferrari could have arguably the best driver lineup on the grid for 2025 after Lewis Hamilton joined their ranks.
Now, of course the question is how much of an impact will an aging Hamilton actually make on the team. Whilst the Brit has been in a lull in performances since 2021 we’ve still been able to see the Hamilton of years gone by. That is where Ferrari comes in to the equation, this give Lewis a fresh start to not only get his performances back on top form but also prove he’s still the record breaking driver of Mercedes.
Let’s not forget about the prodigal son of Fiorano Charles Leclerc. Leclerc might be one of the unluckiest drivers in recent history whether that be through his teams mistakes or car troubles but this year just has a different feeling to it. This year feels like years gone by. Hunt vs Lauda, Senna vs Prost and Schumacher vs Hakkinen all have two names in common, Ferrari and McLaren.
Now McLaren have a great driver lineup and will without a doubt be a tough test for the Scuderia but the duo of Hamilton and Leclerc could be outstanding. Hamilton’s experience paired with Leclerc’s raw speed and talent could deliver the prancing horse their first constructors title since 2008 when Ironically Hamilton was fighting in McLaren’s corner.
Breakout Star - Gabriel Bortoleto
The reigning F2 champ is advancing to F1 for the first time since Mick Schumacher made his move to Haas in 2021 and Bortoleto is bringing with him some exciting potential. He’ll be joining up with Kick Sauber for 2025 which on the surface looks like a baptism of fire for the rookie but it could actually be quite the opposite.
What this gives the Brazilian is a slight get out of jail free card due to most people expecting the Sauber to be abissmal on track so there’s zero expectation for Bortoleto to light up the timing sheets. But if he does anywhere close to that and especially against his veteran team mate Nico Hulkenberg then he is certainly going to cause a few ears to prick up around the Paddock.
The obvious standout comparison for Bortoleto will be the other rookies in and around himself and Sauber the likes of Hadjar, Bearman and Doohan will be his litmus test on how well he’s actually done but Bortoleto could have just what it takes to show his potential and stamp his future onto the sport.
Biggest flop - Jack Doohan
This has less to do with Doohan and more to do with Alpine on this one. In our article looking into the rookies we said how Jack Doohan was already under pressure for his seat and to be honest that’s why he gets the biggest flop. No other new driver who’s changed teams is already under threat, no other teams has signed a driver as a reserve and already hinted at them being a potential replacement.
The closest we’ve got is Valtteri Bottas being announced at Mercedes and Toto Wolff saying the Finn is going to coach and mentor Kimi Antonelli this year but he’s never hinted of replacing him. This almost makes Doohan’s announcement as a rushed decision and Alpine almost just used what they already had until they got what they wanted.
What also doesn't help Doohan is the fact he’s not a driver with the highest of stock coming into the season and most people are expecting him to be less than impressive in the Alpine.
Other Predictions
Stroll family feud
Lance stroll has been a driver under massive criticism during his time in the sport and this season could be the tipping point. Lawrence Stroll has spent mega bucks on a new factory and signing big names such as Adrian Newey to Aston Martin so would he really risk his team's success to keep his son in the sport?. Only time will tell but surely Lawrence’s patience is running thin with Lance underperforming year after year.
F1 announce a Grand Prix in Africa
This is more a hopeful prediction than anything but an African Grand Prix has been spoke about for years but it feels the direction the sport is heading there’s no better time than now to announce an African GP. Whether that be the South African GP at Kyalami or whether they approach it similar to the European Grand Prix which rotated between tracks, hopefully we see an African GP announced this year.
A driver gets banned and the GDPA threaten to strike
Now this is arguably the craziest prediction of the year but just listen for two minutes. The FIA have launched new sanctions on drivers which could see drivers banned for repeat offences for swearing or speaking in an ill manner of or criticising the FIA.
This was met with uproar from the media and some outlets reported the drivers highly disapproved of the sanctions. Last season the GDPA, which is the Grand Prix drivers association, wrote a letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem after Max Verstappen was given a community service order for swearing.
There’s already tension between the FIA and the GDPA and these sanctions will only add fuel to the fire so we could potentially see threats of strikes or a breakaway from the FIA all together.