The F1 stories to look forward to in 2025's expected close battle

There’s a reason why Max Verstappen selected the 2021 United States Grand Prix as his best Formula 1 victory when Autosport asked for his pick at last year’s Mexico City race.

Back then, he’d just reached 50 such wins – having gone from quarter to half century in just 32 events. A year on, not only does Verstappen now possess an F1 career victory total of 63 after a further nine victories in 2024, there are many more candidates for the number one slot.

He’d almost certainly now pick that brilliant wet drive in Brazil – given it effectively sealed his fourth crown. But his Imola, Montreal, Spain and Qatar 2024 wins all had the battling, pressure-cooker factor behind his Austin 2021 selection.

PLUS: How Verstappen topped a year of surprises - F1 2024's full story

Few could’ve predicted such battles occurring as the last F1 winter break unfolded. Perhaps in Red Bull’s inner sanctum, where fear of the opposition closing up as it eventually did in 2024 abounded. But that came only after Verstappen and his squad had gotten the delightful surprise of turning up in Bahrain with their 2023 dominant advantage preserved.

That things swung around so spectacularly is what made the season so captivating.

Verstappen’s 2024 title was always inevitable. But the savageness of his post-Miami battle with Lando Norris and how the Briton’s McLaren squad eclipsed Red Bull just kept the hope of a showdown alive. The successes of Ferrari and Mercedes sprinkled the icing sugar on this unexpectedly tasty mince pie of a campaign.

A year that looked set to be another Verstappen walkover turned out to be far more interesting than was anticipated

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

And so, to 2025. A season that is already eagerly anticipated by so many F1 fans, given Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari is now just around the corner and you can expect intense interest in the first shots of the seven-time world champion revealed in Scuderia scarlet, especially after his deftly done white-to-red civvies transformation across the recent Abu Dhabi weekend.

How Hamilton gets on against Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in 2025 will top the interest bill for next season. At least until it is clear the expected multi-team scrap for victory from the off is indeed on.

PLUS: Can Hamilton avoid Vettel's mistakes in taking on Leclerc at Ferrari?

This will only be revealed across Bahrain testing and the Melbourne season opener – although expect plenty of chat about how Albert Park is an “outlier” track that does throw up many random results from anyone underperforming early on.

There’s the spectre of 2013’s MP4-28 lurking under the mistletoe

The surge from McLaren and Ferrari as 2024 concluded means they sit as the two favourites for next year right now – with the added caveat that Verstappen will be a constant threat if Red Bull occupies the same spot in the pecking order.

That, however, can’t be guaranteed. Red Bull made a breakthrough with its Austin floor and sidepod revisions and finally returned to winning ways before the 2024 season concluded. It now has a winter to harness that hope.

At McLaren, the newly minted constructors’ champion team is promising “brave risk” in terms of its 2025 design, per team CEO Zak Brown. And yet there’s the spectre of 2013’s MP4-28 lurking under the mistletoe. How back then McLaren opted for a massive design overhaul during a time of stable rules, a year ahead of new major ones arriving, and went from being 2012’s fast-but-fragile to really starting its spiral down the grid.

That surely won’t happen again, but it highlights how the upcoming 2026 engine and chassis rule changes mean the teams will once again have to enact the careful balancing required in perfecting currently winning machines while also developing new ones to different regulation requirements.

If 2025 turns out to be the campaign so many are hoping for, the questions on why the rules are changing at all will, understandably, grow louder.

When McLaren took a "brave risk" in 2013, it didn't go too well

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

Meanwhile, at the same time as the expected battles for the world titles and intra-Ferrari supremacy, there will be tantalising sub-plots at so many other teams too. For instance, how the fortunes of the rookies preparing to turn out at Alpine, Haas and Sauber will impact the future careers of Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg.

And perhaps the driver most under pressure on this front is George Russell. He’s done very well against an active legend in Hamilton in the three years since his Williams elevation, but in Andrea Kimi Antonelli arriving across the Mercedes garage he has an altogether different challenge.

PLUS: The Russell traits that will ease his adaption to becoming Mercedes team leader

Because, if the young Italian is as good as Toto Wolff hopes and the Mercedes supremo continues trying to woe Verstappen away from Red Bull – with that team’s possible continued implosion yet another story to watch in 2025 – then suddenly Russell’s position looks rather precarious.

But before then, there will surely be more chat about how Verstappen would rather be sim racing than banking squillions as F1’s leading star. Plus, more thankfully, it is the final year of F1’s silly ocean hopping through the calendar’s first half – before Canada gets paired with Miami in 2026.

How Audi and Cadillac are progressing towards their entries that year will also be much discussed - albeit from their two very different starting points - and the impact of 100% sustainable fuels for 2026 will also be rammed about too.

But the racing will still be king. And on, that front, the impact of how the upcoming changes to F1’s ‘Driving Standards Guidelines’ will impact Verstappen’s brutal art of turning defence into attack, as we outlined last week, will be keenly watched by those that love hard-but-fair racing.

Given how good a driver Verstappen is, he’ll surely adapt. But if such moves can be made more palatable, then, really, everyone wins.

We ended last year hoping Father Christmas would deliver anyone versus Verstappen and Red Bull in 2024. F1 indeed unwrapped that, so here’s hoping to the next chapter being even better in 2025, along with everything else.

Will Verstappen be toppled in 2025?

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images