The 2025 Formula 1 Grid

Image Courtesy of Formula 1

By Angelina Splendido

The Formula 1 2024 season passed the halfway point with the Belgium Grand Prix (GP), and all ten of Formula 1’s teams are preparing for the next season. Out of the ten teams, eight have both their drivers for the 2025 season. The first is Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT, more commonly known as Red Bull. 

Reigning champion Max Verstappen will continue to race with Red Bull until his contract expires at the end of the 2028 season. His teammate Sergio Perez will continue driving for the team until the end of the 2026 season. Another prominent team this season is Mclaren Mercedes, often referred to as Mclaren, who has Lando Norris returning to the team for another season. Even though Norris debuted in 2019 and Piastri in 2022, McLaren will have them locked in for the next two seasons together because of their contracts. 

Mercedes will have two significant changes for the 2025 season. The first will be Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the eighteen-year-old Mercedes Protégé from Formula 2. Antonelli rose quickly in his junior career and skipped Formula 3 to race immediately for Formula 2. He had two race wins under his belt, placing him sixth in the Formula 2 championship. He will race alongside George Russell, who is entering his fourth year with Mercedes and has a contract until the end of the 2025 season. The second most significant change Mercedes will face in 2025 is losing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari. Hamilton has raced for Mercedes since 2013, and although he showed success with the team, he is ready to move on.

Ferrari holds the record for most GP victories at 246 races, leading to why Hamilton would sign a contract with the team. Hamilton will be stepping into Carlos Sainz’s seat, whose contract ends after the 2024 season. Although Sainz will not be racing for Ferrari, he will still be on the 2025 grid. Sainz’s teammate, Charles LeClerc, will continue to race for Ferrari after extending his contract for the next few seasons. 

Williams Mercedes, usually called Williams, received a decent amount of attention when they dismissed Logan Sargeant halfway through this season due to his disastrous crash at the Dutch GP. Fortunately, they became successful in their search for a driver. Even though Sainz looked into multiple offers from teams, he ultimately signed with Williams until the end of the 2026 season. His new teammate will be Alex Albon, who has been driving for four years with Williams. 

Aston Martin Armaco Mercedes, known as Aston Martin, will keep both drivers from the 2024 season: Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. Stroll is confirmed to have a seat for the 2025 season, and Alonso will race for Aston Martin until the end of 2026. 

Alpine Renault currently has both seats filled by Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan. Gasly is on a multi-year contract and just started racing for Alpine in the 2023 season. Esteban Ocon raced for Alpine for five years and is moving to another team. To take his place, Doohan will step in. He was a reserve driver for the team starting in 2023 and will now be an official driver.

The final team to have both drivers contracted is Haas Ferrari. As mentioned above, Ocon will be joining Haas with a multi-year contract. Furthermore, Haas is the second team to gain a new Formula 1 driver: Oliver Bearman. 19-year-old Bearman made his race debut in Saudi Arabia when Sainz was ill and caught the attention of the team. He placed seventh and scored six points for himself already, putting him in a decent position. The final confirmed move for the 2025 season is Nico Hulkenberg to Kick Sauber.

Kick Sauber Ferrari only has one confirmed driver: Hulkenberg. He had raced for two seasons for Haas and will now join Kick Sauber in the 2025 season. His teammate is still up in the air, which makes the seat TBC.

The last and final team is RB Honda RBPT. The first seat will be held by Yuki Tsnoda, who raced for RB for the last four seasons. The second seat was held by Daniel Ricciardo in the 2024 season, but fans are not sure if he can keep his seat. He is not yet locked in for the seat, so it is TBC.

Currently, there are three seats TBC across the Formula 1 grid. Not including Ricciardo, there are still a few drivers who have not been contracted for next season: Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas. Guanuya and Bottas are currently teammates on Kick Sauber, but neither has been contracted yet. While fans anxiously await the news for the confirmation of the final three seats, they can kick back and enjoy the fourteen remaining GP of the 2024 season.