Lewis Hamilton in red, Max Verstappen under pressure for F1’s 75th anniversary

MELBOURNE – The 2025 Formula One season has all the makings of a white-knuckle 24-race celebration to mark 75 years since the inaugural seven-race championship in 1950, while Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari provides an intriguing storyline.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen appears to have his work cut out to seal a fifth straight title, with Lando Norris poised to knock the Dutchman off his perch.

Here are some talking points before the season gets under way in Australia on March 16.

Verstappen eyeing high five

Verstappen embarks on the 2025 season in pursuit of a fifth successive title, a feat achieved only once before, by the legendary Michael Schumacher.

If he succeeds, it will cement the Dutchman’s place as a titan of the sport.

He hoovered up seven of the first 10 races in his rampaging Red Bull last season, before a 10-race winless run as McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari ran riot.

But Verstappen had the last word, fighting back to win in Brazil and clinch title No. 4 in Las Vegas with two races to spare.

McLaren then prised the constructors’ championship away from Red Bull to seal their long road back to the F1 summit.

The tough task facing Verstappen is underlined by the betting, which has him as only second favourite behind Norris (who ended last season 63 points behind) for the 2025 crown.

Hamilton fired up at Ferrari

Hamilton has said that his move from Mercedes to Ferrari has given him a new lease of life.

He is convinced he can help Ferrari win a first drivers’ championship since 2007 after the seven-time world champion made the move to Italy.

At 40, the Briton seems

full of youthful enthusiasm for the new challenge.

“The passion here is like nothing you’ve ever seen. They’ve got absolutely every ingredient they need to win a world championship and it’s just about putting all the pieces together,” he said.

Class of 2025 rookies

An Italian teenager who passed his driving test only in January is among the six-strong 2025 rookie intake.

Kimi Antonelli is an exciting 18-year-old who will take Hamilton’s seat alongside George Russell at Mercedes.

“I really want to make my own story,” insists Antonelli, brushing off suggestions he is Hamilton’s “replacement” at the Silver Arrows.

New Zealander Liam Lawson, a “veteran” of 11 grands prix already, makes his fully fledged debut as Verstappen’s new wingman at Red Bull.

Ferrari’s academy driver Oliver Bearman was thrown into the F1 deep end when he was called up as a last-minute replacement for Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Grand Prix last season, becoming the youngest driver to compete for the Scuderia. The Briton joins Ferrari-powered Haas this season.

Brazil has a presence on the grid for the first time in eight years in F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto at Kick Sauber.

Australian Jack Doohan will be hoping to enjoy even a small slice of his dad Mick’s success on two wheels in MotoGP as he graduates from reserve driver to become Pierre Gasly’s teammate at Alpine.

Last but not least is Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, the 20-year-old French-Algerian who narrowly missed out to Bortoleto for the F2 title.

FIA in drivers’ cross hairs

In the volatile, unpredictable high-octane bubble that is F1, one thing seems assured in 2025 – renewed tension between the governing body and the drivers. Notably over the

FIA’s crackdown on swearing.

Verstappen and Charles Leclerc fell foul of the rules in 2024 for turning the air blue at press conferences.

The guidelines were strengthened in January, triggering an indignant response from drivers, who took a swipe at FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

“We urge the FIA president to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise,” they wrote.

“Our members are adults. They do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants.”

From Australia to Abu Dhabi

Australia hosts the first of the 24 races with Bahrain moved to April as Ramadan runs throughout March. The season’s six sprints are in Shanghai, Miami, Spa-Francorchamps, Austin, Sao Paulo and Doha.

The FIA is trying to liven up the jewel in the calendar – Monaco – where overtaking is nigh on impossible,

imposing a mandatory two-pit stop strategy.

With the traditional three-week summer break in August, the F1 circus pitches up in the desert of Abu Dhabi for its final show on Dec 7.

“2025 will be a special year as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the FIA Formula One World Championship, and it’s that legacy and experience that allow us to deliver such a strong calendar,” said F1 chief Stefano Domenicali.

Testing times

The times from three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain in February did not tell anyone much.

With fuel loads unknown, and team set-ups kept under wraps, it was hard to pinpoint the winners and losers.

Russell’s Mercedes were top of the pile on the last day, with Sainz’s Williams topping the times on the middle day and Norris’ McLaren taking the first-day honours.

One thing seems certain – the bulk of the teams look closely matched, prompting McLaren chief Zak Brown to predict: “I can see it being super competitive. Last year four teams won multiple races, this year I could see that being even more.” AFP