71 replies to this topic

[FullThrottleF1]

So with the season c9ncluded now. What are our predictions for 2025. Will Max make it 5 in a row? Will McLaren add a drivers championship to go with their constructors? How will Hamilton perform in his first year for Ferrari?

Let's discuss what we think could unfold next season

[FLB]

1. Somebody who isn't visible yet will run for FIA President.

2. Piastri and Norris will both be fighting for the WDC.

3. Verstappen will get his fifth.

4. Hamilton at Ferrari will work out better than what some are expecting.

5. Mercedes will keep looking like a team that's collapsing onto itself, but it will not be the drivers' fault.

[danmills]

Red Bull downward trend, not the best car from day 1, Max still makes the difference and wins a few. There is no late season development surge.

 

Title goes between Leclerc and Norris with Lewis gaining momentum and grabbing wins before Ferrari make a call over summer to back Leclerc for the title as Lewis is taking precious points away.

 

Norris is there with convincing dominating weekends, but on days where he makes mistakes, Charles is just still always there grabbing silent podium finishes whereas Norris is out when it's a bad day.

 

Lewis will win in Monza and it will be absolutely incredible. He will first win for Ferrari within the first 5 races.

 

Antonelli gets a win, but will quickly earn a fast but erratic reputation. Mercedes have doubts.

 

Ocon gets a podium in a Haas.

 

Leclercs title to lose.

 

Perez tries Indycar and is an immediate star.

 

Max serves a 1 race ban before the first third of the season. Yuki gets a shot in the main Red Bull team and finishes on the podium. Hadjar joins RB.

 

Mercedes implodes. Max to Aston rumours swirl. Russell also sniffing a way to Aston.

 

Gasly becomes THE hot property into 2026.

Edited by danmills, 09 December 2024 - 09:11.

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

So without going into detail, I'm going to do a list of my predictions, even though some things are uncertain (eg who races for Red Bull/RB).

WDC: Lando Norris
WCC: Ferrari
Unexpected podium: Gasly or Ocon
Surprise of the season: Williams finishing in the top 6 in the WCC
Number of mid season driver changes: 5 (permanent changes only, not including drivers missing races due to illness or injury)
Leclerc to beat Hamilton but both drivers to win races
Antonelli to win at least 1 race
At least 7 teams to get podiums
Random one to finish....at least 1 race DSQ or race ban (for any reason, be it penalty points accumulation, DSQ applies either for in race DSQ eg Hulk in Brazil or post race eg Russell in Spa)

Edited by HuddersfieldTerrier1986, 08 December 2024 - 17:15.

[KWSN - DSM]

1. World Drivers Champion - Verstappen
2. World Constructors Champion - Ferrari
3. Gasly - Podium.
4. Antonelli - Podium.
5. Leclerc better of the two Ferrari drivers.
6. Aston Martin to have another sub-par season.
7. Haas falling back from this year points wise.
8. RB falling back from this year points wise,
9. Sauber/Audi what ever they chose to call themselves will score points in more that 7 races.
10. Norris the better of the two McLaren drivers in points.

[BleuMurmure]

The gaps between the teams will be narrowing.

 

The team that supports one driver earliest will win the WDC.

Max v Lando most likely

Max is clearly 1st in the team, Mclaren probably knows what to do. George v Kimi is unknown, Charles v Lewis is problematic PR wise.

[Joseki]

Red Bull will sacrifice 2026 to focus on the 2025 car more than Ferrari/McLaren, Max will win a 5th WDC.

Hamilton generally gets beaten by Leclerc.

Piastri will be in the driver title fight.

Mercedes will get the occasional wins but overall once again 4th best over the season.

Antonelli will be very close to Russell after 1/3 of the season.

Cowell/Cardile/Newey get Aston immediately clear of the midfield.

Doohan does not finish the season before being replaced by Colapinto.

Haas will not be as competititve.

Sainz regularly beats Albon who gradually loses confidence.

Sauber will be regularly in the mix with Alpine/Haas/Williams.

Bortoleto will have a difficult rookie season.

Edited by Joseki, 08 December 2024 - 17:23.

[Ali623]

Right now I think McLaren will win everything next season (WDC - Norris, and WCC again). They really should have won everything this season tbh, more comfortably than they did. But they’ve just been continuously improving since mid-2023 and seem to have the best balanced car overall in these regs and the best understanding of it.

Red Bull will be a bit of a mess if the trends of this season continue, and Verstappen won’t have the best season out of sheer frustration.

If anyone has a chance against McLaren, it’ll be Ferrari. They have the better driver pairing on paper but I’m not sure if Ferrari will be able to give a consistent enough package to Leclerc/Hamilton.

In general I think everything will be incredibly close next season, with everyone looking towards 2025 and a potentially tight title battle, we could have some random midfield teams on the podium (or winning) like in 2021.

[Disgrace]

Enjoy, future me.

• Red Bull's loss of Newey is very costly. Max hangs on for a while, but ultimately isn't a serious title contender.
• Leclerc beats Hamilton, but it's not by much.
• Sainz beats Albon, with questions about the latter's place in F1.
• All rookies struggle against their experienced team-mates. Top rookie: Antonelli.
• Ocon and Bearman collide at least twice.
• Tsunoda announced as an Aston Martin Honda driver for 2026.
• Out at the end of the year: Doohan and Stroll.

[DJH63]

Red Bull got to the bottom of what was wrong with the car after summer but couldn’t fix it under the budget cap, hence the Frankenstein floors they were bringing for several races. I expect a pretty comfortable cruise to the WDC for Verstappen. Lawson gone after the summer break.

[FullThrottleF1]

<p>

Enjoy, future me.

• Red Bull's loss of Newey is very costly. Max hangs on for a while, but ultimately isn't a serious title contender.
• Leclerc beats Hamilton, but it's not by much.
• Sainz beats Albon, with questions about the latter's place in F1.
• All rookies struggle against their experienced team-mates. Top rookie: Antonelli.
• Ocon and Bearman collide at least twice.
• Tsunoda announced as an Aston Martin Honda driver for 2026.
• Out at the end of the year: Doohan and Stroll.

As long as Lawrence is in the sport, hard to imagine that Stroll won't be on the grid

[Disgrace]

As long as Lawrence is in the sport, hard to imagine that Stroll won't be on the grid

 

That's true, it's a big punt, but I feel Stroll gets bored and decides to pursue business or something. Or transfers over to Aston's WEC programme.

[Ruudbackus]

1. The ferrari thread will explode, and the mercedes one dwindle

2. Verstappen wil get a race ban for penalty points

3. Norris takes the title ahead of Russell and Leclerc

4. Hamilton quits halfway the season

5. Verstappen announces either his retirement or a move to Mercedes

[DJH63]

As long as Lawrence is in the sport, hard to imagine that Stroll won't be on the grid

I’ll add Alonso being let go at the end of the year for Tsunoda to my early prediction list.

[ForzaGTR]

Number 8 is delivered.

[Disgrace]

I’ll add Alonso being let go at the end of the year for Tsunoda to my early prediction list.

 

I think there are genuine reasons to think Aston's line-up could change before 2026. One: pressure from Honda to keep Tsunoda in the sport. Two: Newey.

 

Maybe that means Lance is shuffled over, or maybe it means Alonso (who may still be performing) is paid not to race in 2026 if/when the once-in-a-generation opportunity to sign Verstappen presents itself.

 

Either way, I think it'll be a silly season story next year.

[F1Frog]

Norris is champion.
Antonelli wins multiple races but finishes behind Russell overall.
Sainz to finish in the top ten in the drivers’ championship.

[H0R]

1 Franco Colapinto will return on the grid

2. as will one of the as of today retired drivers.

3. Sainz will end up higher in the final championship standings than Hamilton

4.this year it'll be Alex Albon's turn to unsuccessfully grow a beard. 

5. McLaren will end up third or lower in the WCC standings.

6. Monaco will be a nailbiter somehow

7. Zak Brown will be spotted at Mar-a-Lago und subsequently change his job.

[SamH123]

Without any surprises over winter I can't see past Ferrari vs Mclaren next year in the WCC

Ferrari with the slightly better driver lineup, Mclaren with the slighty better car

[Bleu]

1. Leclerc will win the title

2. Antonelli will break the record of youngest podium finisher

3. Someone outside of McLaren/Ferrari/Mercedes/Red Bull will win a race

4. Lance Stroll will announce it's his last season

5. Hamilton will win British GP again

6. Tuukka Taponen will have FP1 drive

[TauriJ]

Doohan does not finish the season before being replaced by Colapinto.

They have Aron

[Augurk]

Title fight between Ferrari and McLaren for both Championships. With every team being cash strapped for development of their 25 car (as they all need to hit the ground running in 26) everyone will have an evolution of this years car.

I just can’t see Ferrari and McLaren lose the momentum they have now.

Leclerc to lead the way in early 25, Hamilton to come into form in the second half of the year. Ferrari lose the WDC because of not prioritising.

Piastri will find another gear.

Norris will work on his ruthlessness and go over the line a couple times but it will work out better for him. He will take WDC.

Midfield will be too close to seperate.

Hulk will continue to impress. Sauber will be slightly better.

Red Bull will be 4th fastest from the get go, Max will be the most consistent driver again but it won’t be enough.

Antonelli disappoints.

PS: can we please postpone the 26 rules? Again we have a tight field at the end of a set of regulations.

[Anderis]

4. Hamilton at Ferrari will work out better than what some are expecting.

If you frame it this way, it's almost certain to be right, because you will always find "some" people who are way off the mark.

 

"Hamilton at Ferrari will work out better than what most people are expecting"- that would be a more tangible prediction.
 

[AlexPrime]

Battle between Lando and Oscar for the WDC, with Lando's pace proving to be decisive. A few wins for Max and Charlie and emotional one for Lewis at Monza.  Merc a mystery to me, it is too soon for Kimi, but George might surprise me.

[jAnO76]

I assume Max will have an easy 5th. They’ll have more windtunnel time. Then he’ll go to Ferrari as Charles will go to Mercedes after he feels let down on account of Lewis getting the better strategies. Lewis stays on for 26 and it’s a total repeat of Paul vs Tyson, a nothing fight only worth it for Netflix wherein Max holds back his punches as the real fight is at Mercedes.

[eibyyz]

Way out on a limb, but:

 

Bearman wins either Monaco, Montreal or Miami, in a race with five finishers (wet/dry/wet/dry).

[FirstnameLastname]

Lewis makes shock return to Merc for 2026 after realising he hates pizza. Realises he still hasn’t found what he was looking for at Ferrari, and is reunited with Bono.

Edited by FirstnameLastname, 08 December 2024 - 19:21.

[pup]

I think at the front things will mostly pick up where they left off; with McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull trading poles and wins. Then development through the season favoring McLaren and Ferrari.

Within those teams, Lewis and Leclerc very close throughout, Antonelli outshines Russel, Verstappen murdering whoever is willing to sit next to him. Lando has the wind to his back and it will show, but Piastri will perhaps outshine him in the end.

Elsewhere, Newey will make little impression at Aston; Alpine continue their slide into oblivion; Williams continue their midfield rise; and Haas, RB and Sauber will continue to show up.

[Coral]

My optimstic predictions for 2025:

 

Lewis wins his 8th WDC for Ferrari...at Abu Dhabi

 

Ferrari win the WCC after another epic battle with McLaren

 

Alonso wins a few races for AM when the car starts to come good under Newey

 

Max struggles with an under-performing Red Bull and makes enemies in the paddock when he has collisions with several other drivers. Halfway through the season he "retires" Mansell-style before he decides he has been too hasty and returns

 

Mercedes continue to have problems but Russell wins a couple of races. Antonelli is a disappointment

 

Gasly's impressive form continues and he scores at least one win

 

Perez races again for Red Bull but performs even worse in 2025 and is finally fired at the end of the season

 

Williams will be surprisingly competitive and Sainz will score good points

[Cyanide]

1. Antonelli will be a major disappointment and way behind Russell.

2. Leclerc and Hamilton's H2H will be skewed by reliability, luck and bad race operations.

3. Max will leave RBR at the end of 2025 after they fall to P4 in the WCC
4. Norris will bottle the title with the fastest car and Leclerc will steal it from him.

5. Bearman podium

6. Tsunoda leaves RB family to join Aston Martin.

[vlado]

McLaren clear favorite.

[messy]

I think there’s a good chance, in the trajectory that they’re on with this car concept, that McLaren are clearly top. And then it’ll probably be Ferrari and Max, with the occasional circuit that suits Mercedes - so basically like this year but without the big Red Bull head start. And then it gets interesting. Because the McLaren team orders will be a massive talking point, as I suspect will Hamilton’s initial pasting from Leclerc. And yet if I had to put my money on anybody to win the WDC, it’d still be Max.

I expect Antonelli and Lawson to underwhelm, through little fault of their own. But one will be given time and nurturing and the other won’t. I expect Doohan to be next season’s Sargeant, if he even gets that far. I think Bearman and Ocon will be bright at Haas, I think Sauber will struggle again. I think Sainz will be a regular Q3 presence and score much more regularly for Williams than anyone has since the Bottas days, but without massive fireworks.

And if McLaren are on top from the start and Norris still clearly their fastest driver, we’ll find out a lot about him next year.

[basimi]

1. Norris WDC and McLaren WDD.
2. Piastri a solid number two after 5 races.
3. Bortoletto has some Verstappen-esque performances from back in the day.
4. Verstappen fights for the occasional win, but the car is on par with Mercedes.
5. Ferrari is in the fight, but cannot get close enough.
6. Lewis keeps getting good Sunday performances, but still lacking in the Saturday department.

[RedKloud]

From my post in the 2025 WDC thread:
McLaren will probably be fastest at the beginning of the season only to lose their way after a few races. I expect Ferrari to be the fastest car over the whole season and Leclerc to beat Hamilton after a close fight. Red Bull will be 3rd/4th fastest and Max will either jump ship or retire at the end of 2025.

Also:
Bortoleto will be a revelation.

[Mat13]

All this talk of McLaren vs. Ferrari is making me feel fizzy.

[Mc_Silver]

Max with full backing behind him is in the best position for WDC. Ferrari and McLaren drivers will take points away from each other.

It will be McLaren vs Ferrari for WCC.

Another epic season awaiting us for sure.

Edited by Mc_Silver, 08 December 2024 - 21:42.

[F1Lurker]

I think the championship will be Hamilton, Norris, Max, then Leclerc.

The Ferrari looks stable and relatively predictable. Lewis will also be incredibly motivated. Even if he is only trading qualifying positions with Charles (i.e. keeping it even), I see him mounting a championship challenge.

[Balnazzard]

WDC: Norris

WCC: Ferrari

 

Red Bull continues its downward spiral, Finishing 4th behind Mercedes.

 

Antonelli and/or Doohan turn out to be disappointing and one of them is replaced by Bottas during the season.

 

Aston Martin is again comfortably the kind of the midfield, Williams is able to take fight to Haas and Alpine more regularly thanks to more reliable driver lineup in the fight for 6th place. Sauber continues to struggle with just Audi focusing ok 2026 or potentially withdrawing their F1 project altogether 

Edited by Balnazzard, 10 December 2024 - 07:50.

[Cliff]

WDC: Norris

WCC: Ferrari

 

Red Bull continues its downward spiral, Finishing 3rd behind Mercedes.

 

Antonelli and/or Doohan turn out to be disappointing and one of them is replaced by Bottas during the season.

 

Aston Martin is again comfortably the kind of the midfield, Williams is able to take fight to Haas and Alpine more regularly thanks to more reliable driver lineup in the fight for 6th place. Sauber continues to struggle with just Audi focusing ok 2026 or potentially withdrawing their F1 project altogether 

 

So you are saying Norris will win the WDC in the 4th best car? 

[RainyAfterlifeDaylight]

George Russell to become world champion!

 

Pecking order:

• Mercedes
• Ferrari vs McLaren
• AstonMartin
• RedBull
• HAAS
• Alpine vs Williams
• RB
• Sauber

[GunnarN7]

Starting off a new season I'd expect a a lot less Verstappen shenanigans. He's shown he knows constraint when it's in his best interests. He stays out of trouble and maximizes points, that's mainly how he won the title this year after all. But what if Mercedes improves and Russell becomes a factor? Max seems particularly angry, "never in my entire career have I experienced this kind of thing" and things like that. He also feels like he's being targeted by the FIA.

 

The only two times he's really crossed the line he had: 1) the upper hand in the championship, 2) only one other driver to worry about. But he also never showed this level of animosity towards anyone so far, not even with Lewis in 2021. Butting heads with George and losing a lot of points, getting penalties, etc, could be the perfect chance for other drivers to deal with the Verstappen threat.

 

If he keeps it cool and the Red Bull stays reasonably competitive, I still see him as the favorite. Leclerc has worked on his biggest weakness which was inconsistency, he's done his best season so far in that department. But he's still miles away from Max imo.

Edited by GunnarN7, 09 December 2024 - 00:08.

[JordanIreland]

WDC: Lewis
WCC: Ferrari

Lewis still has it, he will bring a lot to the team.

Sadly I suspect Williams will be last. They have limited capacity and are focusing 100% on 2026. Carlos will easily beat Albon.

Aston Martin are really difficult to predict. But with lance still in the team their chances are constrained.

[vlado]

All this talk of McLaren vs. Ferrari is making me feel fizzy.

Watch Aston steel the show

[Balnazzard]

So you are saying Norris will win the WDC in the 4th best car? 

My bad, meant Red Bull finishing 4th  McLaren 2nd 

[engineblock1]

1. It will be Ferrari vs McLaren. McLaren driver will take WDC, Ferrari WCC

2. Top 3 cars: Ferrari, McLaren, RBR

3. Bottom 3 cars: Williams, Sauber, Aston Martin

4. VER will get a race ban when his penalty points reach the limit

5. LEC will beat HAM but points gap would be less than 25.

6. This will be Ocon's last season in F1

[Beri]

I really really really want to see Ferrari nail it. I would really really really really really want to see the Williams drivers crashing less in order to fully take advantage over the updates and be in the points scoring positions more. And I would absolutely die from happiness if someone other than Verstappen, Hamilton or Alonso wins the championship.

[aray]

WDC: Norris
WCC: Macca

Pacewise:
1.Macca
2.Ferrari
3.Merc
4.RB
5.Alpine
6.Haas
7.Williams
8.RB jr./Aston
10.Audi

[JimmyClark]

I think 2025 is going to be an odd year, in that with the big regs change in 2026, not too many teams are going to put too much effort into their 2025 cars. Those who know they have no chance of wins/titles in 2025 will probably concentrate fully on 2026, as has proved fruitful in the past, and probably even more pertinent now with the cost cap rules (having more development time in first half of 2026 as cars are more understood will be very valuable). So the order will remain quite consistent with 2024, with some disappointments. 

 

So my first prediction is that Aston Martin will be one of the teams to sacrifice, and will have a terrible year. I think Fernando will regress more, so even that won't save them. 

 

To go through the other teams: 

 

McLaren - Likely the strongest driver lineup of the top teams next year, and will fight with Ferrari for the constructors' title again. Their car has a good base. Piastri will be statistically closer to Norris, but Lando will be the main title contender again. 

 

Ferrari - Hamilton will take some time to settle in and get up to speed, and will get a walloping by Leclerc, particularly in the first half of the season. But he will win a race or two, and CHarles will get at least 4 wins. But Hamilton's struggles to adapt will mean McLaren get the advantage in the constructors' race. 

 

Red Bull - Will be better than expected, but will be a one car team again. Max will be fully focused and will win the title. If Lawson is in the second seat, he will be destroyed and replaced mid-season. If Yuki gets a seat at any time, he will get a couple of popular podiums but a win is probably too much given McLaren and Ferrari will be strong. 

 

Mercedes - George will step up seamlessly as team leader and will have an impressive year, winning 1-2 races, but Mercedes will be in no man's land again as they throw their weight into 2026. Antonelli will struggle at times and have some lary moments, but will show flashes of speed however I don't think he will win anything. But he will do enough to be kept on. 

 

VCARB - They will have a relatively anonymous year. Probably another team with eyes on 2026, and with no real love for their driver line-up it will be a 'treading water' year. 

 

Haas - I they will build on a good 2024 and will actually surprise, as they will probably buck the trend of concentrating on 2026 after being stung in 2022. With a stong driver line-up, my standout prediction is that they will finally get a podium in 2025, and could well be best of the rest behind the 'big 4'. 

 

Alpine - Doohan will dissapoint. Gasly will be as solid as ever. But the uncertainty in the team will affect it, and they will have a fairly rudderless and anonymous year, hoping for better in 2026, but probably will get more points finishes than 2024 but without any podiums. 

 

Williams - Sainz will shine. I don't think he will let the team rest on its laurels and they will do quite well. Albon will show up well against Carlos, enhancing his reputation, and will cut out some of the crashes. 

 

Sauber - Another team to bin off this year, but Bortoleto will show up well against Hulkenberg and will impress many. However, I can't see them not finishing last again. 

 

Drivers' championship prediction:

1. Verstappen

2. Leclerc

3. Norris

 

Constructor's championship prediction: 

1. McLaren

2. Ferrari

3. Red Bull

4. Mercedes 

5. Haas

6. Williams

7. Alpine

8. Aston Martin

9. VCARB

10. Sauber

[7MGTEsup]

McLaren make a huge leap over the winter, they win every race and Norris takes the title with 7 races left.

[FirstnameLastname]

Sauber really need to be looking like making progress - if not the Audi boards itchy feet might be a bigger cause for concern. Solid driver lineup will be demoralised if they are stuck at the back again.