Why F1 2025 season has all reasons to be a blockbuster

CHENNAI: It’s that time of the year when social calendars are abandoned and alarms are set at ungodly hours for 24 weekends, as Formula One fans remain glued to their screens to see the battle for supremacy among top drivers and manufacturers, who are vying to win the prestigious crowns.

But this isn’t like any other season. The celebration of a sport that started with greasy suits and open cockpits in 1950 and evolved into a billion-dollar global spectacle has entered its 75th anniversary edition. For more reasons than one, this season has all signs of being a blockbuster.

A shaken grid

The 2025 season brings a whirlwind of changes with only McLaren and Aston Martin sticking to their line-ups from the previous year.

The biggest news before the season came calling was the two titans of motorsport, Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, joining hands. After 12 years in Mercedes, Hamilton now finds himself in the Italian stable, wearing its iconic red suit teaming up with the talented Monegasque, Charles Leclerc.

He needs to live up to the hype and deliver on track to tell his Italian mates that he still has it in him to get that eighth title.

The other big change came over winter when Liam Lawson replaced Sergio Perez at Red Bull after the latter’s poor run last year.

Carlos Sainz was snapped up by Williams, Nico Hulkenberg moved to Sauber, and Esteban Ocon switched to Haas.

Rookie wave

There are six rookies this season, the most since 2001, who will vie among themselves and the masters to show they deserve a spot among the big names.

Terming them rookies may not fully convey the full picture. Sample this: One of them passed the licence test to drive a road car only a few weeks before his full-season testing in F1. That young boy, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, is the one who will be stepping into the cockpit vacated by Hamilton at Mercedes.

The Italian had been a Silver Arrows protégé since he was 11 years old. With one season of F2 under his belt, Antonelli will be the driver lining up alongside George Russell.

Mercedes can give McLaren a hard time as it showed in some races last season. With Russell stepping up to lead the side alongside young Antonelli this year, it offers a fresh package.

Oliver Bearman, who will join Haas, made headlines last season when he drove one race for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last season replacing Carlos Sainz, who had to pull out due to appendicitis. And Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto will race for the Audi-owned Sauber.

Alpine promoted its reserve driver Jack Doohan to a full-time seat while Isack Hadjar, who won four races last F2 season, will drive for Racing Bulls.

Key battles

This season will witness the closest fight among drivers and teams in a long time. McLaren, the reigning champions, will be the favourite, but it won't be an easier task for it considering the dynamic Ferrari with arguably one of the best driver line-ups in F1.

Even though Red Bull might not seem to have a championship-winning car, anything is possible when Max Verstappen is behind the wheel.

But more than the rivalry between the constructors, the intra-team rivalry within the leading pack will be pure popcorn material. We’ve had glimpses last season, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris going at it when it came to team orders of letting the other go on a few occasions.

The battle of supremacy between Hamilton and Leclerc in the Ferrari camp is another one to watch out for. Remember, Hamilton has only driven Mercedes engines his whole career. Having few runs in testing might have helped, but it would still take time for him to get the feel of the car – and the team environment.

Among the teams, the battle revolves around car development. But it’s a slightly different task this time due to the major regulation change coming next season. With that in mind, the developments the teams will make will mostly revolve around similar philosophies and perhaps small tweaks here and there. That makes it even more special to see who goes all in and who set their sights for next year already.

Point to prove

At the heart of it, the sport is rather simple: it is a battle between men and machines. Seniors making statements that they are still the best in the business while rookies eager to earn their place in the pantheon, while constructors engrossed in showing the world – including those who are not necessarily fans of F1 – that they make the best machines.

This year, there is a lot of it. Hamilton is going to the Ferrari after a few tough seasons with the Silver Arrows. Even last year, he failed to put in strong single-lap timings compared to Russell.

On the other side of the garage, Leclerc, fondly called ‘Ferrari Prince’, would like to remind the team that he is their long-term project. While the duo seemed to be gelling well for now, but when push comes to shove, how Ferrari would respond remains to be seen.

Carlos Sainz, who was ejected to make space for Hamilton, seems to be enjoying his new stint at Williams so far. He had a good testing session in Bahrain and topped the charts. Although testing would not give the full picture of what lies ahead, Williams looks way better than the ninth-quickest team they were last year.

Another one on whom many eyes will be glued to is Liam Lawson who will go up against Max at Red Bull. The orders would be clear from the team on who the number one driver is.

That curse of the second seat in Red Bull has ended the careers of many a driver. However, Lawson seemed quite confident last season when he was in the junior team fighting Perez wheel-to-wheel. Playing second fiddle to Verstappen will be a test of patience for the New Zealander in his first full-season with the team.

It’s still early days to predict what lies in store without knowing even a rough pecking order. Fans will have to wait till the fourth round, as the first three rounds - Albert Park, Shanghai and Suzuka - are unusual tracks to determine the order.