FORMULA 1 2025 PREVIEW: MARTIN BRUNDLE ANSWERS THE BIG QUESTIONS
The 2025 Formula 1 season is just around the corner, and fans are eagerly anticipating the start of another thrilling campaign. With a host of talented drivers, innovative cars, and a packed schedule, this season promises to be one of the most exciting in recent memory.
To get a better understanding of what to expect from the upcoming season, we turned to Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle for his expert analysis. Brundle, a veteran F1 driver and respected pundit, shares his thoughts on the key talking points ahead of the new season.
IS THIS GOING TO BE THE CLOSEST F1 SEASON FOR YEARS?
Martin Brundle: I saw nothing at the test in Bahrain to change my mind that it’s going to be very close at the front of the field in Formula 1 this year. Of course, that test took place on just one track, which has a necessarily aggressive surface given it’s in the desert, with a layout which challenges the rear tyres hard, and conditions which were unseasonably cold, but I still think we saw a pecking order emerge.
That will ebb and flow through the season depending on track layout, temperatures, and other challenges on any given weekend, but the top four teams appear close. They’ve all had a big go at improving their cars for what’s the final season of the current regulations.
Ferrari have made quite dramatic changes to their front suspension, for example, as have McLaren too for aerodynamic benefit. We couldn’t imagine over the winter that a team would come up with a magical double diffuser-style solution this late into regulations which have been in place since 2022, and there indeed doesn’t appear to have been one.
I think what we witness in the first few races is what we’re going to see for the whole season, as all teams will want to quickly focus resource and budget on the massive 2026 changes.
Williams and Alpine in the midfield look closely matched, and I’m sure Aston Martin will join that group, maybe Racing Bulls too. We’ve got a great grid of drivers throughout the field and a very exciting intake of rookies, and while you learn over the years to be wary of predicting too much, all the ingredients are there for an all-time classic season.
WHICH F1 TEAM HAS THE BEST 2025 LINE-UP?
The 2025 season sees several teams with strong driver line-ups, but one team that stands out is Red Bull Racing. With reigning world champion Max Verstappen and talented youngster Liam Lawson, Red Bull has a potent combination that could prove difficult to beat.
However, other teams, such as Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes, also have strong driver pairings that could challenge Red Bull’s dominance. Ferrari’s new signing, Lewis Hamilton, brings a wealth of experience and championship-winning pedigree to the team, while McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri form a exciting and talented young duo.
LEWIS HAMILTON AT FERRARI – WHAT’S YOUR EARLY VERDICT?
Martin Brundle: As the old adage goes, a change is as good as a rest, and the Ferrari move does seem to be working for Lewis. I’ve never seen him smile so much. While we’ve seen in the past the likes of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher, and Niki Lauda return after time out of the sport, Lewis has never had a break from F1 since he started in 2007, but I do think this Ferrari move is the equivalent for him.
We’re seeing that just observing him and reading his words. He seems really energised and invigorated by this new opportunity. Lewis has been very smart too. Obviously, he knows team boss Fred Vasseur very well from times of old, but he’s had an advance party at Ferrari to integrate as quickly as he can into the team.
Angela Cullen has returned, while Marc Hynes has been back in the fold for a year or two now already. He’s got a new race engineer, Riccardo Adami, and has got to understand how Ferrari works, which will be diametrically opposed to how Mercedes works in terms of culture I suspect, in terms of procedures.
Lewis is going to have to find out where all the green buttons are, and I expect it will take him a little bit of time to get used to that, along with speaking some Italian. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, is totally embedded after six years at the team and knows how to make things happen at Ferrari.
He’s extremely fast and experienced too, of course. The championship fight – who
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