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This is what the Formula 1 grid will look like in 2025 | F1 Silly Season
The Silly Season for the 2025 F1 season is already in full swing. Lewis Hamilton bit the bullet with his switch to Ferrari, but things are also rumbling around Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. Here is an overview of how each team is doing and a prediction for the 2025 F1 grid.
Red Bull Racing
With Max Verstappen under contract until 2028, Red Bull Racing seemed to be in good shape for the foreseeable future, but Verstappen has made it clear that if Helmut Marko leaves, he will also leave. Jos Verstappen speaks of a power struggle within the team. Earlier, it became clear that Max might also leave if Christian Horner stays on as team boss.
So there is a chance that Verstappen will leave, and Red Bull Racing will have to look for a new front-runner. Alexander Albon seems to be the biggest candidate for that. He didn't match up to Verstappen previously, but has clearly made progress at Williams. Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz will also be on the list.
Sergio Perez, meanwhile, seems well on his way to securing his 2025 seat. The Mexican did what was asked of him in the first races and sees that his rivals for the seat at VCARB are not exactly making a good impression. With Verstappen potentially set to leave, Perez would be even more likely to retain his seat. After all, some consistency in a top team does matter.
Ferrari
Did Ferrari act too early in bringing in Lewis Hamilton? With the uncertainties surrounding Max Verstappen, it would now have been nice to have another seat available. However, Ferrari does not have one. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton signed a new deal and will also race for the Italian team in 2025.
McLaren has also recently extended the contracts of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and thus seems to be in good shape for 2025. Norris and Piastri will be wanted by Red Bull Racing should Verstappen indeed leave there, but it would have to be a very strange situation for either of these two men to turn their backs on McLaren, especially now that the team seems to be on the rise.
Mercedes
George Russell is under contract for 2025, but Mercedes' other seat has yet to be filled. If Max Verstappen does not want to continue at Red Bull Racing, this seems to be the place for him. Toto Wolff, therefore, says he is in no hurry to fill this seat. In addition to Verstappen, Wolff is also talking to other candidates.
Fernando Alonso might be interested in the vacant seat, and with Alonso, Wolff is bringing home another big name, which is important for Mercedes' shareholders. Carlos Sainz's management was also spotted in Saudi Arabia in the hospitality of the German racing team.
Mercedes also has two more drivers from its own team. Esteban Ocon hopes for a call from Wolff. The same will be true for Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian is still very young, but Wolff is keeping the door open longer to see how the young talent will develop in his first season of F2.
Aston Martin
As long as Lawrence Stroll is CEO of Aston Martin, his son Lance Stroll will be guaranteed a seat with the team. Who will sit next to Stroll in 2025 is still unknown. Fernando Alonso's contract expires, and he must first decide for himself whether he wants to continue in F1. With a seat at Mercedes available and possibly even a slim chance at Red Bull Racing, Alonso will also keep his options open.
As for Aston Martin, there will be plenty of candidates for 2025. With Honda as a partner, it will become a genuine factory team in 2026. The team is also ahead of Stake, which will later become the Audi F1 team. Carlos Sainz, as Alonso's replacement, is therefore certainly not inconceivable.
Yuki Tsunoda is also being linked to the 2025 seat due to his ties with Honda. The Japanese driver is developing well, but is he ready to take the lead at the team? With Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso leading, Lawrence Stroll showed he would like a figurehead in the car. Tsunoda is not that (yet).
Haas
At Haas, the contracts of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg are expiring. At least one of the two will have to clear the field for the almost certain arrival of Oliver Bearman. Ferrari and Haas are not preparing Bearman for nothing with extra tests in 2024. It would make sense for the team to keep one of the two seasoned drivers.
Hulkenberg seems the fastest option for that, but at the end of 2023, Hulkenberg was already hoping to switch to Stake. The German is high on Audi's wish list and will also be back in talks for 2025. Stake is not necessarily in a better position than Haas in 2024, but with Audi's future entry, it is obviously an attractive proposition for the German.
In that case, Magnussen could stay on as the experienced man. Magnussen is a much-loved team member, but Hulkenberg clearly put him in his place last year. Therefore, Magnussen will have to perform better in 2024 to prevent Haas from shopping at other teams.
Williams
Alexander Albon still has a contract until 2025 at Williams, according to James Vowles, but in all, Albon himself makes it clear that he has options for 2025. Mercedes has a seat available, but the most logical option would be a return to Red Bull Racing. As Sergio Perez's replacement or perhaps as the new front-runner should Verstappen leave. There seems to be little chance of Albon staying at Williams for another year.
Logan Sargeant will hope that Albon leaves, because then there is a greater chance that he will be allowed to stay on. A team rarely wants two new drivers. On the other hand, Sargeant has not started the season well again in 2024, and the gap to Albon does not exactly seem to have narrowed.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the odds-on favourite for one seat at Williams. Although his first two F2 weekends were far from perfect, the Italian is expected to develop quickly and eventually show enough to make the switch.
Albon and Antonelli would be the ideal duo for Williams. Should Albon leave and Sargeant not show enough, there will be a number of options that will interest Williams due to their experience in F1. Consider, for example, Esteban Ocon, who sees Alpine slip further and further away. Wouldn't Williams be an ideal step aside for him? James Vowles is an old friend of the Frenchman as a former Mercedes head of training.
Stake F1 Team, aka Sauber and officially Audi in 2026, has not made the leap forward in 2024 that will have been hoped for. It does not exactly make the switch attractive for a driver of the calibre of Carlos Sainz. Sainz has good links with Audi through his father, but with where Stake is currently on the grid, it would be a big step backwards for the Spaniard.
With Valtteri Bottas, the team has an experienced driver in-house, but does the Finn still really have the fire in him to take the team to the top? Guanyu Zhou is also in his third F1 season, but he has not really convinced yet.
Nico Hulkenberg does seem to be in the running for a seat with the team in 2025. This would fill the spot of an experienced driver and make it unnecessary to keep Bottas. Bottas and Hulkenberg would also make for a very old driver duo. Retaining Zhou is an option, especially given the money the Chinese driver brings. With the position on the grid, Stake will struggle to attract big names.
Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda are fighting for their seats at Red Bull Racing in 2024, but with that, it also seems to be all or nothing straight away. The loser(s) of this duel may also have to pack up. Tsunoda seems to have the best chances at the moment but is rarely mentioned seriously as a contender for the seat at Red Bull Racing.
With many other doors closed it seems only logical that Tsunoda will become the new benchmark for the team. Provided he manages to beat Ricciardo, which it now looks like he will. With his current performance, Ricciardo's period in F1 seems to be ending, although the good-humoured Australian will surely be able to count on other offers.
Liam Lawson should then be the man who gets the vacant seat. Actually, the New Zealander already earned that spot this year. Now, though, he should do everything he can to claim his spot in F1 in 2025. Other Red Bull talents are not knocking on the door yet, so this should be his year.
Alpine
And then the team currently occupying the last spot in the constructors' standings: Alpine. A factory team, but with management constantly changing and technical people leaving at the drop of a hat, not exactly a stable place to enter as a driver. Besides, the team will not aspire to keep Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon after 2024, as they do not exactly work well together.
Gasly has proved to be the stronger of the two but also the most emotional. How will Gasly deal with the fact that the team is now at the back? Will he now stand up as the leader or will he lose out to Ocon in this season? Both drivers will be hoping for a better seat. Mercedes, Aston Martin, Stake, and even Williams are now much more interesting for both drivers, but they will not be on the radar at most teams.
Assuming one of the two drivers leaves, one spot will become vacant. Knowing Alpine, it will probably opt for a Zhou, Bottas, Ricciardo or Tsunoda from another team. It would make more sense if they promoted a junior from their own training programme. After all, after letting Oscar Piastri walk, there are some talents ready to step into F1.
Jack Doohan is still hoping for his chance. Although there is no F2 programme this year, he hopes that an F1 opportunity will still present itself in 2025. Victor Martins is still hoping to impress the team in F2, although that is not running smoothly in early 2024. Mick Schumacher might still be the best option. He is part of the Mercedes programme but driving in Alpine's WEC programme. Schumacher has the experience and the name to go with it.
This is what the F1 grid will look like in 2025
Max Verstappen at Mercedes
George Russell at Mercedes
Alexander Albon at Red Bull Racing
Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing
Charles Leclerc at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari
Lando Norris at McLaren
Oscar Piastri at McLaren
Carlos Sainz at Aston Martin
Lance Stroll at Aston Martin
Kevin Magnussen at Haas
Oliver Bearman at Haas
Esteban Ocon at Williams
Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Williams
Nico Hulkenberg at Sauber
Guanyu Zhou at Sauber
Yuki Tsunoda at RB
Liam Lawson at RB
Pierre Gasly at Alpine
Mick Schumacher at Alpine
