Formula 1 is currently experiencing a generational shift in the driver market, as there will be six full-time rookies on the grid this year. There has also been lots of changes amongst the existing drivers with 8/10 teams making some sort of change to their line-up in anticipation of the 2025 season.
Finlay McSporran
Published: 12:54, 3rd January 2025
In this article, we’ll be looking at each teams line-up and ranking them based on the strength of their driver pairing, which is no easy feat given the amount of talent on display!
10. Racing Bulls
As is the case with a lot of drivers on this list, it feels wrong to be putting Tsunoda this low down, but such is the nature of this grid. 2025 will be his fifth year at the team, having beaten some big names there such as Daniel Riccardo, Nick de Vries and Liam Lawson. Apparently this wasn’t enough to convince Redbull however, as they chose not to sign him when a seat opened up there last month.
His teammate on the other hand, Isack Hadjar (the first of six rookies) is a bit of an unknown, having never competed in a F1 race before, and while he has appeared in multiple FP1 sessions, these were apparently quite underwhelming if rumours are to be believed. He does however have a decent single-seater record, finishing second in this years Formula 2 season with four wins to his name, showing that he does have the pace, it’s just a matter showing that potential in F1.
9. Alpine
Alpine are in a similar situation to RB when it comes to there driver line-up, as they have an experienced and talented midfield driver in Pierre Gasly, who has one win and a further four podiums to his name.
In the other car will be Jack Doohan, another rookie. What puts this team ahead of RB is that there new driver has more Formula 1 experience, as Jack competed in the final race in Abu Dhabi last year, as well as an extensive test programme during his role as reserve driver for the team.
8. Aston Martin
Putting a team with a two-time world champion this low down on the list may seem a little strange to some. Their star driver Fernando Alonso failed to reach the heights of 2023 last year, as the team slipped back into the midfield after looking strong at the start of the year.
But the main reason for them being so low on the list is down to the other driver, Lance Stroll. It fair to say that Lance has outstayed his welcome at the team owned by his father Lawrence, having never beat a teammate during his five-year stint there, and showing little signs of improvement as he scored less than half the points of his teammate Alonso in 2024.
With Lawrence Stroll investing Millions into the Aston Martin project and signing big names such as Adrian Newey, it seems like the only thing holding them back from title winning success is their drivers, as Alonso is 43 years-old and probably thinking about retirement, whilst Lance has failed to adapt to an increasingly competitive F1 grid.
7. Sauber
Sauber have, on paper, the best of the rookies under their belt. As back-to-back F2 and F3 champion Gabrielle Bortoleto will be racing for them in 2025. Bortoleto is a bit of an unknown however, as up until post season testing a few weeks ago, he had never driven an F1 car, so it’s difficult to know exactly what level he’s at.
His teammate on the other hand, Nico Hulkenberg, has proven himself to be one of the most consistent and reliable drivers in the midfield, as he helped Haas to seventh in the standings last season.
The real question however, is will these two drivers even get a chance to showcase their skills this season, as the Sauber was by far the slowest car last year, scoring points just once during the 24-race season.
6. Haas
Both Haas and Sauber will have two completely new line-ups this season. But one thing Haas have that Sauber don’t is a proven rookie. Whilst Sauber’s Gabrielle Bortoleto has never raced in F1 before, Haas driver Oliver Bearman did so three times last year, becoming the first and only Formula 1 driver to score points for two different teams in his first two races, as he drove for both Haas and Ferrari during his time as a reserve driver last year, performing incredibly well.
In the other car will be French driver Esteban Ocon, who rightly or wrongly, has developed a reputation as being a bad teammate and overlay aggressive. What some people seem to forget about him however, is his ability to extract the most out of midfield cars, having finished 3rd in Monaco for Alpine in 2023 and 2nd for them during a wet race in Brazil last year, which is exactly the types of performances Haas will need to move them up the pecking order this season.
5. Williams
One of the big talking points throughout 2024 was where Carlos Sainz would go after being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. Sainz would eventually settle on going to Williams for 2025, meaning that the British team will have a four-time Grand prix winner and greatly experienced driver on their hands this year.
In the other car will be Alex Albon, who spearheaded the teams climb back up the order after joining in 2022, helping them to seventh in the constructors championship the year after.
Despite the team slipping back to ninth in the standings last year, this devastating driver combination of an established team leader in Albon, and an ex Ferrari driver in Sainz, makes this team a much bigger threat in the midfield.
4. Mercedes
This time last year, you could make a good argument for Mercedes having the best driver line-up on the grid. However, the departure of Lewis Hamilton has left some pretty big shoes to fill, with the seat eventually going to 18-year-old Kimi Antionelli. Putting a rookie straight into a race winning team like Mercedes is a big risk, however his CV speaks for itself, having won titles in Italian F4, German F4, Formula regional, and beating fellow F1 junior Oliver Bearman in the F2 standings last year whilst they were teammates at Prema.
In the other car will be three-time grand prix winner George Russel, who had a great season last year, taking multiple race wins, pole positions and beating teammate Lewis Hamilton in the standings. George also looked like a more complete driver in 2024, as he ironed out a lot of the mistakes he made the year before, becoming less accident prone and generally more consistent than ever before.
3. Redbull
Redbull have arguably the best on the grid right now in Max Verstappen, as the Dutchman wrapped up a fourth consecutive drivers title in a car that was at times, the second or third fastest, proving once again why he is one of the best drivers that the sport has ever seen.
His teammate this year will be Liam Lawson, who was promoted from Redbulls junior team after just 11 races, the least of any Redbull driver promoted to the senior team. This birth of fire for Lawson could prove costly for both the team and driver, as they could find themselves in a very similar situation to when they threw Gasly and Albon in the car too early which is no easy challenge, especially when you’re being compared too Max Verstappen.
2. McLaren
The devastating combination of two young but fast drivers in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastry helped McLaren to their first constructors tile in over 25 years in 2024, with both drivers winning multiple races and marking themselves out as stars of the future.
That’s not to say that there season was perfect however, as Norris often fumbled under the pressure of racing Max Verstappen, whilst Piastry lacked consistency, sometimes being miles of the pace of his teammate.
But if they manage to iron out these issue for 2025, we could see both of them fighting it out to be crowned world champion, providing McLaren have a good car.
1. Ferrari
“Next year is our year” is a phrase that has often been used to mock the fact that Ferrari haven’t won a major F1 title since 2008, but 2025 may finally be “their year”, providing they start the season off with a good car.
The prospect of Lewis Hamilton driving for Ferrari was a dream that Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur turned into a reality in February last year, despite the seven-time world champions recent dip in form.
Formula 1’s most successful driver racing for the sports most successful team seems like a match made in heaven, but Hamilton wont have it easy next year, as he’ll be up against Ferrari’s golden boy Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc will be coming off the back of what was probably his best season in F1 last year, which included winning his home race in Monaco, taking a surprise win in front of the Tifosi at Monza, and a career best 13 podiums in a season.
Leclerc has proven that he has everything it takes to be Formula 1 world champion, and with Lewis Hamilton in the other car, 2025 may finally be Ferrari’s year.
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