McLaren: Lando Norris [4] GBR, Oscar Piastri [81] AUS
Fresh off the back of a first constructors’ title in 26 years, McLaren’s goal is simple: Repeat the trick, but win the drivers’ crown, too. Max Verstappen taught Lando Norris some harsh lessons in ruthlessness last year. He’ll need to put them into practice, especially if Oscar Piastri ups the ante again.
Success is giving Zak Brown another reason to visit the tattoo parlor
Failure is running out of ideas when flexi wings are banned
Prediction: 2nd place
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc [16] MON, Lewis Hamilton [44] GBR
Ferrari just missed out on glory last season, so if hiring the most successful driver in F1 history doesn’t work, what will? With two bona fide megastars in the garage, there’s literally no excuse this time. Unless the intern is left in charge of strategy again. Which could very well happen.
Success is not pitting for slicks when it’s pouring with rain
Failure is anything less than first place with the most expensive pairing ever
Prediction: 1st place
Red Bull: Max Verstappen [1] NED, Liam Lawson [30] NZL
Verstappen ended 2024 with the third-fastest car and still won his fourth title—easily. Can he do it again without a head start? Hmm. He’ll need Liam Lawson, a veteran of 11 races, to do a better job than the last guy. And the driver before that. And the driver before him…
Success is recreating Adrian Newey’s massive brain using AI
Failure is crushing yet another promising junior career in its infancy
Prediction: 3rd place
ALSO READ:
Watch: Lewis Hamilton makes a cameo in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’
2025 Formula 1 primer: All the key rule changes for the upcoming season
Mercedes: George Russell [63] GBR, Andrea Kimi Antonelli [12] ITA
For the first time ever, the Mercedes team starts an F1 season without one of Fangio, Schumacher, or Hamilton in it. Wow. Picking up the mantle of history are George Russell, who has yet to sample a championship-capable car, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, yet to sample a beard. Presumably, the dude’s 18 years old.
Success is the W16 handling like a race car, not a deer on rollerskates
Failure is cracking ground effect the moment F1 shelves it
Prediction: 4th place
Aston Martin: Lance Stroll [18] CAN, Fernando Alonso [14] ESP
Aston stunned the F1 multiverse by hiring Adrian Newey, a fully paid-up employee as of March. The AMR25 won’t have his fingerprints on it yet, so the thing to watch out for is the aero updates that follow. Witness the lap times tumble...and Nando’s grin get bigger and bigger.
Success is making a car fast enough to flatter the boss’s son
Failure is pleading with F1’s design GOAT to stop tinkering with the Valkyrie
Prediction: 5th place
Alpine: Pierre Gasly [10] FRA, Jack Doohan [7] AUS
Flavio Briatore gave Jack Doohan an early debut in Abu Dhabi, and a month later, he paid off Williams to hire Franco Colapinto as Alpine’s back-up driver. Does this project inspire confidence in the Aussie? No. Will this soothe a team still reeling from the demise of its engine program? Also no.
Success is going the whole year without firing the team principal
Failure is not making enough headlines to help flog the A290
Prediction: 8th place
Haas: Esteban Ocon [31] FRA, Oliver Bearman [87] GBR
Haas punched above its weight last season, as it does every year it doesn’t finish stone dead last. Ocon is a known entity, but 19-year-old Bearman is a gamble. He did fine as a Ferrari super-sub, though, remember? If the design team can keep up, he might be 2025’s breakout star.
Success is finally getting that first podium after 10 years of trying
Failure is losing all of its American fans to Cadillac
Prediction: 6th
Racing Bulls: Yuki Tsunoda [22] JAP, Isack Hadjar [6] FRA
What’s the point of the Red Bull junior squad these days? Every graduate since Verstappen has been chewed up and spat out by the mothership. Tsunoda still hasn’t had that, er, privilege, and Hadjar, at 20 years old, is next up. Those of you about to be promoted prematurely, we salute you.
Success is convincing one person to say ‘Visa Cash App Racing Bulls’
Failure is… having to send an SOS to Daniel Ricciardo again
Prediction: 9th place
Williams: Alex Albon [23] THA, Carlos Sainz [55] SPA
Williams embarrassed itself by not having enough spares to field both cars in Australia last year. It was a PR nightmare that could’ve been avoided by having two drivers who could keep it together. With Sainz arriving from Ferrari, that wrong has been righted. Just need the FW47 to be faster now.
Success is not having to write off a chassis every other week
Failure is giving up to focus on the 2026 car by April
Prediction: 7th place
Sauber: Nico Hulkenberg [27] GER, Gabriel Bartoleto [5] BRA
Sauber is in stasis. Next year, it will be Audi, but all sorts of rumors about the transition are swirling, and in the meantime, it can’t really fix its (many) fundamental problems. So instead it’s hired F1’s most experienced non-podium finisher and an untested F2 champion. At least things can’t get worse.
Success is being competitive enough not to scare Audi off for 2026
Failure is somehow scoring even fewer points than last year
Prediction: 10th place
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
