Formula One’s new season kicks off in Melbourne this weekend and there is serious buzz about what 2025 can deliver. The competition should be the closest in years, with McLaren the team to beat and Red Bull looking a lot less bullish than in the past.
Overshadowing all of that, though, is Lewis Hamilton and whether his move to Ferrari will prove the greatest of fairytales or a mistake.
Hamilton managed to break the internet a couple of days ago when he posted a clip from 1980s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, with Lewis inserted in place of the parking attendant who helps himself to the iconic Ferrari 250 GT California. He even brought his mate Edward Norton along for the ride.
Hamilton has compared the last few months to when he began his career with McLaren in 2007. He also feels it will take time for him to bed in, saying: ‘While respect is a given, trust is something that’s built over time.
‘Of course, the goal is to win and take the team forwards. I’ve had some not-so-spectacular years and I’m trying to see if I can have a better year than the last three.’
Hamilton, 40, was last crowned champion in 2020. His wins at Silverstone and Belgium last year came after a 56-race drought. Victory on debut with the red team is not unprecedented. Juan Manuel Fangio did so in 1956, as did Mario Andretti in 1971, Nigel Mansell in 1989, Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 and Fernando Alonso in 2010. Only Fangio and Raikkonen went on to take the title that year.
Former F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone predicts Charles Leclerc will be the higher scoring Ferrari driver. It’s even starrier than the Scuderia’s pairing of Alain Prost and Mansell in 1990, which failed to deliver the goods. The vibes are better this time around, with a car that performed brilliantly at the end of last year and an evolution that looked pleasing in testing.
Team principal Fred Vasseur, who has known both drivers since they were young, has helped create a more positive atmosphere in Maranello and this is Ferrari’s best chance of winning a title since 2008. If Lewis is able to secure his record-breaking eighth crown, he will retire on the spot.
Vasseur said: ‘We are keen to find out what the hierarchy will be. Charles has pushed harder than ever in the gym and Lewis has made a great effort to assimilate himself as quickly as possible. We have everything in place to do well.’
Gunning for his fifth world title on the bounce, Max Verstappen should never be discounted, but he’s playing down his Red Bull team’s chances, stating: ‘I don’t think we can fight for the win already in Melbourne.’
The Dutchman has been disengaged and vague in his pre-season media appearances. Patience isn’t one of Max’s strong points and if he hasn’t won by round seven in Imola, when the calendar reaches Europe, we may well start seeing him in discussions with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
How much this is down to the absence of previous technical overlord Adrian Newey is hard to say. Newey, now ensconced at Aston Martin, will make his influence felt on Lawrence Stroll’s emerald machines later in the season, but we’re unlikely to see podiums from Alonso in the first half.
Hamilton and Verstappen have 11 world titles between them but the bookies’ favourite this time has none. Lando Norris was runner-up last year, but he’s now a more battle-hardened prospect and McLaren have already proven they can win the ultimate prize.
Norris knows how to win the title, he just has to go out and do it. What will make the job tougher is team-mate Oscar Piastri is almost as quick and with maturity beyond his years.
The guys who need to prove themselves the most are Liam Lawson, who has been given the toughest job in F1 – sharing a garage with Verstappen – after just 11 starts, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a highly rated but very young rookie at 18 who has taken over the Mercedes cockpit of the most successful driver in history.
George Russell should have the measure of him in this first season but Antonelli’s career will probably end up eclipsing Russell’s.
All-time greats Hamilton and Verstappen face the biggest challenges of their careers this season, which may serve to define both men’s legacies. Yet I have a feeling we will see a first-time champion by the end of this 24-race season.
Russell and Piastri might spring a surprise but my money’s on Norris and Leclerc thrashing this one out, and it should be spectacular.
