Formula One. The most watched motorsport in the world. Having races all over the world, including the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix (part of the triple crown of motorsport, the other two races being the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indy 500), to the home of Ferrari in Monza, it is the pinnacle of motorsport. The best engineers compete to build the best car possible, which the best drivers in the world use to drive at very fast speeds, averaging 200 MPH on F1 circuits, always trying to overtake one another in the hope of winning. Some drivers fail, while others like Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton forever etch themselves into the history books with their achievements. Every year, fans, teams, and drivers hope that this season will be their year.
But in 2025, everyone is hoping, and for good reason. Ferrari hopes to win the constructors championship for the first time since 2008, with one of their best driver lineups, consisting of Charles Leclerc who placed 3rd last season and 2nd in the 2022 season, and 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. McLaren hopes to defend their title, Red Bull hopes to bounce back, and Max Verstappen hopes to win his 5th world champion title while having to defend it from the likes of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, who both hope to make history by winning their first ever world champion title.
But it’s not just the top drivers. 2 new drivers have made it to the grid, and they are all the talk of F1 fans. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is 18 and will be driving for Mercedes, takes Lewis Hamilton’s spot after he left for Ferrari. Liam Lawson, the 22-year-old is taking Sergio Perez’s spot in Red Bull after he had a disappointing season last season. These drivers have a lot of potential to become great F1 drivers, and maybe even world champions one day, but must handle the pressure of driving for big teams and securing points. This is especially true for Lawson, as Red Bull hopes to win the constructor’s championship for the 7th time, and their first since the 2023 season when Verstappen and Perez dominated everyone else. Red Bull needs Lawson to perform well enough to score a good amount of points so that, combined with Verstappen’s points, they win the constructor’s championship, which is a remarkably large task, considering he is just a rookie. Antonelli, meanwhile, must prove that he is a great prospect. He could be the first Italian driver to become the F1 world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953. That was over 70 years ago. Will Antonelli prove himself to be a potential future world champion, and will Lawson prove that he deserves a spot on a team as good as Red Bull?
Another driver who must prove himself is Carlos Sainz. After being dumped by Ferrari in favor of Lewis Hamilton, he has ended up at Williams, a historically great team that has fallen off massively in recent years. Williams has won 9 constructor’s championship titles, all between 1980-1997. However, in recent years, they have become a mid-table team, finishing 8th in the 2021 season, 10th/last place in 2022, 7th place in 2023, and 9th in 2024. Sainz will have to prove to the world that he can still do it but now faces the challenge of driving a worse car. If he doesn’t perform, he may never again get the chance to race for a larger, better team. And if he does? He will be seen as one of the best drivers in Formula One, potentially allowing him to get picked up by another big team like Mercedes. Will Sainz get his revenge and prove his skills? That is another question waiting to be answered this season.
The 2025 Formula One season gives us many questions, and it will answer them all, making it a must-watch. This season could be the most exciting one since Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fought until the last lap of the final race in the 2021 Formula One season. This season will be full of surprise wins and finishes, heartbreak upon failure, and joy upon winning.