The Story Of The 2025 F1 Season

It's been 80 days since the chequered flag fell in Abu Dhabi. But now, the slate is white clean. I'm so excited. We're 20 of the best drivers in the world. Formula 1 is well and truly back. Welcome to the start of the Formula 1 season. This is the journey to crown the greatest driver and constructor on earth. Radio check. Loud and clear. It is unbelievable. It is absolutely astonishing. Into the side of Charles Leclerc. Oh my word. Red is the colour of passion. Every time you get into a Ferrari, there's such a special feeling. The bombshell move from Mercedes to Ferrari took all of two races to reach the front. Mega job. The 2025 season has so many great stories and the rookies, they're definitely a key part of that. You can perform when you're a rookie, that's amazing because it shows that you can adapt quickly. But sometimes you don't. You feel like your world is falling apart. Isaac Hedger, you are P3! Megan Olley. Great job, man. What a race. Yes! Yes, man! Go on! Big news coming into this weekend was the Liam Lawson-Yuki Tsunoda switch. I'm happy it's a decision. Pressure now on Franco Colopinto's shoulders. I got another chance and I'm very grateful for it. Surprise podiums has been the order of Formula 1 in 2025. I'll miss the podiums. For the first time with Williams, Carlos Sainz will stand on the podium. Vamos! No one has ever waited as long to stand on a podium. The third youngest Formula 1 podium finisher. Kimi Grande. Isaac Hedger, the youngest French driver to stand on a Formula 1 podium. They are in tears of joy down there. A reflection of that rollercoaster of emotions that you get in Formula 1. McLaren will retain their crown. They are the Constructors' champions. It's a new team. It's fantastic. Really enjoying the challenge. How can it be anything else than an honour and a privilege? Big news. Breaking news. A talking point coming into this weekend. Cancel your plans. It is Verstappen. That is insane. Versus Piastri. It's Piastri on top. Piastri has been brilliant this year. Versus Norris. Is this the day that Lando begins to believe he can win it all? You've made a history. True, thanks so much. The 2025 Formula 1 season kicked off with something never seen before in the entire history of the sport. As all ten teams gathered at the O2 in London to reveal their new cars at a joint launch event to celebrate F1's 75th anniversary. The stars hit the red carpet and the fans watched on in anticipation as the covers came off the brand new machines the drivers would be racing on track. The event also gave us our first glimpse at the drivers in their new team colours, with all eyes on Lewis Hamilton as he donned the famous red of Ferrari for the first time after more than a decade in Mercedes Silver. To make way for the seven-time champ at Maranello, Carlos Sainz switched to Williams alongside Alex Albon, while Nico Hülkenberg swapped hats for Sauber with his seat at the American team filled by Esteban Ocon, who moved over from Alpine. An exciting crop of eager rookies also joined the F1 grid in 2025. Jack Doohan was in at Alpine after he'd stepped into Ocon's seat in the final race of the previous season, while Oliver Behrmann landed a full-time drive with Haas following his super-sub performances for Ferrari and Haas in 2024. F2 champion Gabriel Bortoletto made the step up to F1 with Sauber, while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff put his faith in Italian youngster Kimi Antonelli as Hamilton's replacement at the Silver Arrows. Liam Lawson had contested 11 Grands Prix across 2023 and 2024 as a reserve driver, and his reward was a full-time seat with the Red Bull team, while F2 championship runner-up Isaac Hadjar took Lawson's seat at Racing Bulls. After the glitz and the glamour of the F175 live show, the teams and drivers got down to the serious business of testing. And it was Carlos Sainz who grabbed the headline quickest time of the three-day Bahrain test for his new team, Williams. But it was reigning Constructors' Champions McLaren who looked like the team to beat, given their pace across both short and long runs. Meanwhile, Red Bull had a tricky test as they struggled with reliability and with finding a good balance with the new RB21, as the team adjusted to their first pre-season without design guru Adrian Newey in almost 20 years. The man with the golden pen had left the team in 2024 and took up his new role as managing technical partner at Aston Martin, just after pre-season testing concluded. Newey starting work at the Silverstone-based squad wasn't the only big news in March, as Cadillac received final approval for their Formula One entry, meaning the brand-new team could step up their preparations for their debut in 2026. Meanwhile, attention turned to Melbourne for the season opener, and home hero Oscar Piastri arrived in Australia, armed with a new long-term McLaren contract, signed just days before the racing got underway at the circuit, just a stone's throw from his birthplace. Given McLaren's fine form at the end of 2024 and their pace in testing, the Albert Park crowd were hopeful of a win for the local hero, and Piastri was looking quick in qualifying, where he was just beaten to pole by teammate Lando Norris. I mean, if there's a chance to try and win the race, I'm going to try and take it. It's as simple as that. There was no Australian sunshine on Sunday, as rain fell on the circuit. And before the race had even begun, there was heartbreak for rookie Isaac Hajar, who discovered just how tough life can be in the top echelon of motorsport when he slid off the slippery wet track and crashed on the formation lap. I'm sure there's tears of frustration within that helmet. Along with Piastri, Jack Durham was the other home hero in the field, but his day didn't last much longer than Hajar's as he crashed out on the opening lap when he too was caught out by the slippery surface. By mid-distance, Oscar Piastri was running second and getting closer and closer to race leader Lando Norris. But when the rain started falling again on lap 44, Piastri's hopes of a home win slipped away as he slid off the wet track. Is that the moment that home victory dreams are dashed for Oscar Piastri? He managed to get back on track and eventually finish ninth, but Lando Norris kept his cool to fend off reigning champion Max Verstappen in the closing stages. Norris weathers the storm. The British driver sees the chequered flag first. Lando Norris wins the Australian Grand Prix. And begin the new year as he'd finished the last, on the top step of the podium. First blood then to Lando, but at the next round in China, it was another Brit who initially grabbed the headlines. Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Shanghai Sprint and then drove to victory in the Saturday race on what was just his second weekend with new team Ferrari. Starting from first in the Ferrari and winning the Ferrari is next level. It's mega and I definitely didn't expect to have it at the second race. But after his disappointment at his home race a week earlier, Oscar Piastri bounced back in spectacular style P1, well done mate, pole position. Very nicely done. to claim his very first F1 pole position, which he followed up with his first win of the year to kickstart his own title tilt. Oscar, very dominant win, a 1-2 for McLaren. Is this the start of your title campaign? I hope so. It was a superb result for the Australian, but over at Red Bull, the team bosses were already shuffling their driver line-up as Liam Lawson struggled to match the pace of teammate Verstappen. I'd love to say I just need more time driving the car, but obviously we don't really have that. As ever, the Red Bull chiefs wasted no time in making a decision and Yuki Tsunoda was called up to the senior team as Lawson returned to racing bulls for the rest of the year. Three races had delivered three different winners so far in 2025 and we got a fourth as Formula One headed to Japan for the next Grand Prix. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen arrived in Suzuka without a pole or victory in the season so far. But that was a situation he put right in qualifying where he dug deep to produce something extraordinary. What a lap time from Max Verstappen! Wow, wow, wow. That is insane. Pole position. Yes! Let's go! And on race day, the Dutchman proved he had the long-run pace to match and held off the McLarens to seal yet another win at Suzuka, his fourth on the spin of the Japanese track. Max Verstappen takes the chequered flag to win in Honda Colors in Japan! You see, we don't give up. We keep pushing together. Three weekends into the new season and a championship picture was beginning to emerge. Norris, Piastri and Verstappen looked like the main contenders and each had a Grand Prix win on the board. One of the trio was about to unleash a devastating run of form that began with an utterly dominant display in Bahrain. First, Piastri took pole ahead of George Russell, then fought off an attack from the Mercedes man into Turn 1 on race day before scampering away to seal the victory and claim the fastest lap for good measure. Oscar Piastri wins the Bahrain Grand Prix! Piastri was beaten to pole by Verstappen a week later in Saudi Arabia He's stolen another one from the grasp of McLaren! But the Australian was in attack mode into the first quarter when the lights went out to start the Grand Prix. Piastri getting to the apex first, Verstappen trying to hang on to it and Verstappen hangs on to the lead but he went all four wheels off the road. And Verstappen was hit with a penalty for cutting the corner to keep the lead. Piastri though was unruffled and raced to another victory under the Jeddah lights, a win which saw him take the lead in the title race. And a champion of Formula 3, a champion of Formula 2, is the new championship leader in Formula 1! Oscar Piastri wins the Saudi Grand Prix! Let's keep it going, we've got a lot of fun to have this year. The Australian turned the screw with another victory next time out in Miami as he made it three wins on the bounce and opened up a 16-point lead over Norris at the top of the standings. Things were going superbly for Piastri, but Miami marked the end of the road for his fellow Aussie Jack Dewan who had retired from the Grand Prix. And with no points on the board, Alpine decided to swap him out for reserve driver Franco Colapinto who competed in nine races for Williams in 2024. Miami was also the final race for another key Alpine figure as Oliver Oakes resigned as team principal leaving veteran boss Flavio Briatore in charge at the Endstone team, his third separate spell in the role. As the Formula 1 circus headed for Europe and the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Piastri proved he was just as potent on any continent as he took another pole position. It seemed it was going to take something very special to knock the unflappable Aussie off course. And it was Max Verstappen who pulled out a move from the very top drawer to do just that on the opening lap. That move was the foundation of an impressive victory in what was Red Bull's 400th race in Formula 1. Next up was F1's blue-ribboned event, the most unique and historic race on the calendar and the one they all want to win, Monaco. As the F1 circus arrived in the Principality, Lando Norris found himself second in the drivers' standings. The pre-season favourite hadn't won a Grand Prix since the opening round in Melbourne, while his super-quick teammate Piastri already had four victories on the board. Norris needed a statement performance to avoid slipping back any further. With its tight confines and unforgiving walls, Monaco is a tough place to go when you're under pressure and need a result. But Norris wasn't cowed and became the first driver in F1 history to lap Monaco in under 70 seconds when he claimed a superb pole position ahead of home hero and Monte Carlo specialist Charles Leclerc in an electrifying qualifying session. What an extraordinary qualifying hour! That's pole for Lando in Monaco! Norris locked up defending an attack from Leclerc on the opening lap, but thereafter raced to the flag to seal his second win of the year and get his title challenge back on track. There you go, P1 in Monaco, baby. Monaco, baby. Yeah, baby! In Spain, Piastri led home Norris in a McLaren 1-2. Drama everywhere you look. No dramas for Oscar Piastri, who wins his fifth Grand Prix of the year. It's a McLaren 1-2. Checkered flag. What a race. What a weekend, mate. Really good. But behind the papaya pear, a furious Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty after he made contact with George Russell late in the race with tensions running high. And Max Verstappen and George Russell come to blows in the final stages of the Spanish Grand Prix. It has to be deliberate. It has to be. George has given his take on the incident. What's your take on that and also the 10-second penalty? I don't need to say anything about it because it doesn't matter anyway. We can't be critical about anything. Nine Grand Prix into the season and no-one had managed to break the McLaren-Verstappen stranglehold on the top step of the Grand Prix podium. But as the teams and drivers headed to Montreal, that was about to change. George Russell was in his first year as team leader at Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton's switch to Ferrari and seemed to be growing into the role with each passing weekend. And in the final moments of Q3 in Canada, the former Williams driver proved he wasn't content to let the title contenders have all the glory in 2025. And on race day, Russell kept his cool and kept the lead all the way to the flag to claim his and Mercedes' first win of the season. It was a double celebration for the Silver Arrows as 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli claimed his maiden F1 podium with P3. The young Italian, who had been fast-tracked to F1 by Toto Wolff, had already shown flashes of brilliance. In Japan, he'd become the youngest driver in F1 history to lead a Grand Prix and in Miami, he'd claimed a brilliant pole position for the sprint. And now he had his first piece of Formula 1 silverware and became the third youngest podium finisher in the sport's history. But while there was joy at Mercedes, there was despair at McLaren, at least on one side of the garage. With the speed in the MCL39 and Norris and Piastri looking so evenly matched, it looked like the two were bound to clash on track at some point in the season. And it happened in Montreal, where Norris, forced to fight his way up the order from P7 on the grid, came up behind P4 Piastri on lap 62. Oh, he's ripped off the front wing! The McLarens collide! Lando Norris into the wall and out of the race! I think he's got to accept that's an error of judgment in the heat of the battle. Yeah, I think it is. It's a misjudgment. So he's hoping that space is going to open up and it just doesn't, so he drives into the back of his teammate. There were no points for Norris, while Piastri finished fourth. After the race in Montreal, the stars jetted into New York City for the hotly anticipated premiere of F1, the movie. As Brad Pitt and Damsen Idris wowed film fans on the silver screen with their racing exploits for the fictional Apex Grand Prix team. And it was back to Europe for the next round of the real world championship, as the quest for title glory resumed at the Red Bull Ring in the picturesque Styrian Mountains. But no one on the McLaren pit wall was looking at the scenery, as Norris and Piastri resumed their wheel-to-wheel battle on track. Just a walk to the inside, looking for more! Locking up! In a thrilling and intense fight for victory that would have been worthy of any Hollywood blockbuster. The resistance is complete! Piastri asked so many questions and Lando had the answers! And it was the turn of another rookie, this time Gabriel Bortoletto, to grab his first points in F1 with a P8 finish. The result for the young Brazilian sparked celebrations in the Sauber Garage. But even better was to come for the Swiss squad a week later at Silverstone. Verstappen was on pole, but this was to be anything but a routine lights-to-flag British Grand Prix, as the drivers had to contend with rain, multiple safety cars both real and virtual, crashes, pit stops aplenty and action from start to finish. Veteran driver Nico Hülkenberg went into the race with one of the most unwanted records in Formula 1. With almost 240 Grand Prix under his belt, the German had the most race starts without a podium of any F1 driver in history. But while running in P4 on lap 35, he saw his chance. Here comes Hülkenberg, Hülkenberg's got DRS, Hülkenberg goes through to a podium position! There were 17 more agonising laps for the driver in the green and black Sauber, but when the chequered flag fell on lap 52, the longest wait for a podium in F1 history was over. 239 starts and a podium finisher in Formula 1 at long, long last! Meanwhile, the fight for honours continued between the McLaren duo, with Piastri slowed by a controversial penalty as Norris pounced to claim his first home win and take his second victory on the bounce to close the deficit to his teammate to just eight points. There was big news off-track in the days following the British Grand Prix as Red Bull announced Christian Horner, the longest-serving team principal in the sport, had left the squad after two decades in charge. Under Horner's watch, Red Bull had become one of F1's top teams, picking up six Constructors' Championships, eight Drivers' titles and 124 Grand Prix victories since 2005. The Englishman was replaced at the helm by Racing Bull's team principal, Laura Mechies, with F1 veteran Alan Permain taking on Mechies' previous role. Back on track, Norris and Piastri rounded off the first half of the year with another win at peace. Piastri in Belgium… The Grand Prix victory on the line! Oh, it's playing good. They are so close, aren't they? …and Norris at the Hungaroring. That meant Piastri led the standings heading into the summer break nine points ahead of his teammate and it looked like it would be a straight fight for the title between the papaya pair as F1 shut down for the traditional summer break. And as most of the paddock jetted off for their holidays, two drivers not racing in 2025 were preparing for their return to the grid. In late August, Cadillac announced Grand Prix winners Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez would form the new team's driver line-up for 2026 with American racer Colton Hurter later named as the team's test driver. When the summer break was over, the teams and drivers gathered at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix. The McLarens locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying with Piastri ahead of Norris. But when the lights went out to start the race, Max Verstappen was determined to put on a show in front of his home fans and pushed to the limit on superb car control through the opening corners. Norris though wasn't content to sit behind the Dutchman and on lap 9 he lined up a move around the outside of the red bull to take back second place and then set off in pursuit of his teammate. But there was heartbreak for Norris just seven laps from the flag when he saw his hopes of victory go up in smoke. Lando Norris is retiring from the Dutch Grand Prix! There was heartbreak too as he finished the day with no points and a hefty repair bill for Hamilton and McLare's cars. But for Oscar Piastri it was another win and 25 more vital points in his quest for the title. While Verstappen took advantage of Norris' DNF to claim P2. But perhaps the happiest man on the rostrum was racing bulls rookie Isaac Hadjar who had a superb run at the seaside circuit to finish P3 Verstappen's P2 was just his sixth podium finish of the campaign and despite that home podium he actually slipped even further behind championship leader Piastri. The gap now a whopping 104 points. It seemed his four-year reign as the F1 World Champion was sure to be over come the end of the year. But as the circus moved on to the historic Monza circuit the Dutchman made it clear he wasn't ready to wave the white flag. Lando Norris made the reigning champ work for it but Verstappen was in determined mood. What's going on with Lando Norris? A slow stop and it counts! Behind him McLaren were playing team tactics as the pit wall tried to ensure a fair fight between their drivers. Please let Lando pass and you're free to race. No, that's not fair. Just because he had a slow stop? Team order issued. Team order listened to. But it was Verstappen who took the chequered flag to seal his first victory since Imola. The fight back had begun and it continued in Azerbaijan where Verstappen repeated the feat grabbing another pole and victory double on the streets of Baku. Verstappen was roaring back into form and contention while McLaren was stumbling. Lando Norris managed to score a handful of points for P7 but Oscar Piastri had a difficult weekend and things didn't get any better when the lights went out to start the race. Piastri has not got away at all. Oscar Piastri into the barriers and his Grand Prix ends on the opening lap. Piastri was left to rue a costly weekend but it was a very different story for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard had been left unhearted when Ferrari decided to bring in Lewis Hamilton this year meaning the four-time Grand Prix winner had to find another home on the F1 grid. James Vowles pushed hard to convince the ex-McLaren man to join his rebuilding project at Williams and there had been a string of points finishes for Sainz at his new team. But in Baku Sainz was on his game from the get-go and in a qualifying session that saw a host of drivers hit the wall and crash out the Spaniard was millimetre perfect and was even on provisional pole until Verstappen snatched P1 away with a typically assured last gasp lap. But from P2 on the grid Sainz kept it clean, tidy and fast to seal his first podium with his new team. Another weekend, another street track and McLaren arrived in Singapore knowing they could wrap up the Constructor's title in the Lion's City. But it was Mercedes who were looking quick when the cars hit the track during his second pole of the year. And on race day things were looking less than harmonious at McLaren when Lando Norris muscled his way past Oskar Piastri with a Lap 1 move that the Aussie didn't think was fair. Oskar Piastri is millimetres away from the wall as Lando Norris gets by. If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his teammate then that's a pretty good job of avoiding fare. The team were celebrating as P3 and P4 finishers ensured they clinched the Constructor's Championship for the second year in a row and with six Grand Prix remaining. There were also celebrations over at Mercedes as Russell added to his victory tally with the second Grand Prix win of the year. And with Russell still basking in the glow of his latest win Mercedes announced just days later that the Brit would remain at the team and once again spearhead the F1 Series in 2006 and confirmed Kimi Antonelli would also keep his seat as the Silver Arrows went for an unchanged line-up for next year. So with the team's title wrapped up full attention turned to the battle for the driver's crown as the F1 circus headed to the US to begin a four-race run in the Americas. As F1 history shows when two teammates are up for the biggest prize Alonso and Hamilton all fierce intrateam title battles that became ever more brutal as the stakes got higher. The main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory is not to come third, fourth, fifth or sixth. But so far in 2025 Norris and Piastri had played out a remarkably friendly fight as they battled for title honours bound by McLaren's famous papaya rules. It hadn't all been plain sailing there was the contact in Canada the team orders in Monza Please let Lando pass then you're free to race and then the Singapore skirmish. And any possible tensions were not cooled by the opening lap of the Sprint at the next event in Austin. He'll be late on the brakes Piastri's going to be hit by Holkenberg and the McLaren's made contact as well. Meanwhile the resurgent Verstappen completed a clean sweep of the weekend pole and victory in the Sprint and the Grand Prix. Suddenly what had looked like a showdown for the title between the two McLaren teammates was now most definitely a three-way battle. And Verstappen had no intention of surrendering his crown without a fight as he continued to claw back the deficit to his rivals. But in Mexico City it was Norris' turn to hit back. What a weekend this has been for Lando Norris! A win which meant he wrestled the championship lead back from Piastri in the Grand Prix back in April. We have a new championship leader! There were also wild celebrations in the Haas Garage as Oliver Berman sealed a career-best fourth place after a brilliant drive from the rookie racer which equaled the American team's best-ever result in Formula One. And if Mexico City was an impressive weekend from Lando Norris he followed it up with an even better one. In Sao Paolo the British driver looked like a man in the form of his life as he topped every single session of the weekend. He was quickest in FP1 then took the pole and victory in the sprint before doing the same for the Grand Prix itself. Five sessions, Norris on top for every single one. Two poles, two race wins, 33 points and a now 24-point lead at the top of the table. With his relentless determination to never give up Verstappen delivered another stunning drive at Interlagos pulling off a host of overtakes to go from the pit lane to the podium on race day. There were contrasting emotions too for two of the 2025 rookies. P2 Kimi Antonelli was celebrating his second career podium since stepping up to the big time but Gabriel Bortoletto had a home Grand Prix weekend to forget. Bortoletto had thousands of fans willing him on but suffered a terrifying high-speed crash in the Saturday sprint. And in the Grand Prix itself he didn't even finish the opening lap after finding the barriers following a tangle with Lance Stroll at the start. The barriers saw more action at the next round in Las Vegas as rain in qualifying caught out a couple of the drivers. It was up to Verstappen to grab another pole and make it three on the spin for the informed Brit. But when the lights went out for the Grand Prix Norris stumbled and Verstappen pounced. Second place was no disaster for Norris putting him 42 points clear at the top with two rounds remaining. But even as he, Verstappen and Russell were being chauffeured to the podium ceremony the scrutineers were busy checking over his car. And then the bombshell dropped. Norris and his teammate Piastri had both been disqualified for excessive wear on the skid block underneath their McLarens. This thrilling fight for the World Championship had just taken another extraordinary twist under the Las Vegas lights. Off track, Norris was crowned Team Principal in 2026. The legendary designer had joined in March as Managing Technical Partner but a reshuffle at the top meant Mui would be taking over the entire running of the team in owner Lawrence Stroll's latest bid to help his outfit join F1's front runners. Next time out in Qatar Piastri found his form again to take victory in the sprint and claim his first Grand Prix as Norris could do no better than P4 in Sunday's race. And that result set up the mouth-watering prospect of F1's first three-way title decider since 2010 as the teams and drivers moved on to Abu Dhabi for the season finale. Who would come away with the prize? Would it be in form Verstappen who from a full 104 points down had staged a remarkable comeback to be in with a shout and bring a fifth title to his collection? Would it be Piastri who had come of age in his third year of F1 and won seven Grand Prix while leading the standings for most of the season? Or would it be Norris the man who had started the year with a bang and then come into form at crucial moments in Monaco, Hungary, Mexico City and Sao Paulo where the lines were drawn, the drivers were ready. Verstappen then did what comes naturally. He won the race with a commanding performance. The Dutchman's victory ruled out Piastri's chance of a maiden crown But Norris only needed to finish third to get the job done which is exactly what he did. His final points tally was just two ahead of Verstappen but it didn't matter. Lando Norris was the new champion of the world. But even as Norris celebrated his title win, some in the paddock were saying their farewells to Formula 1. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was Yuki Tsunoda's last race for now at least as Red Bull had announced before the finale that Isaac Hajar would be rewarded for his impressive rookie year with a promotion to the top team for 2026 with F2 racer Arvid Lindblad stepping up to the top tier with Racing Bulls alongside Lawson next season. That meant there was no seat available for Tsunoda who will stay with the team as a test and reserve driver. The Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit also saw the Sauber team race under that name last year while Alpine's cars were powered by Renault engines for the last time before their switch to Mercedes-Benz power for 2026. And it was the final outing for this generation of ground-effect cars ahead of a major technical regulations change for 2026 that could once again shake up the order after one of the most intense and thrilling title battles in the sports history that went right down to the wire. It was McLaren and Lando Norris who came out on top. Once again in 2025 papaya ruled.