The 2025 Formula 1 2025 season is shaping up to be one of the most thrilling and competitive ones in recent memory.
Over the last three years, Max Verstappen has ruled over the rest of the grid with an iron fist, dominating all before him and sweeping the latter three of four straight championships. However, this year, there’s a whole host of drivers hunting him down.
McLaren won the constructors championship last season, halting Red Bull’s streak of titles at three. While Lando Norris’ driver’s title challenge never truly materialized, his team has built him a rocket ship, and he will be on the hunt for Super Max.
Meanwhile over at Ferrari, the G.O.A.T. (aka Sir Lewis Hamilton) has joined forces with Charles Leclerc and both men will feel like they can take the fight to the Flying Dutchman.
Online sports betting sites certainly feel like Verstappen could be in for the biggest challenge of his career. They have not made the reigning champion an outright favourite for the title for the first time in what feels like an eternity.
For those who gamble on sports at Bovada and similar platforms, they’ll remember that before last season got underway, the 27-year-old was a huge odds-on betting favourite. This year, however, he’s a modest +190 joint favourite, level in the betting with his closest challenger last season, the aforementioned Norris.
It’s making things much more interesting for those who like to gamble on sports as a way of bringing themselves closer to the action!
And that is just one of numerous interesting subplots heading into the 2025 season. Here are two other topics you should keep your eyes out for.
McLaren’s civil war…
McLaren’s garage may be gleaming with its first FIOA Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship in over a quarter of a century, but beneath the surface, things are heating up between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Both are young, hungry, and immensely talented, and these two young teammates are without a doubt two of the brightest stars on the grid. But throughout last season, their rivalry threatened to spill out of control.
On the outside looking in, many saw Norris as the team leader. The Brit has been with McLaren since 2019 and has grown with the team through thick and thin, establishing himself as someone capable of brilliance on race days.
But last term, his team didn’t back him, repeatedly stating that they had no lead driver and even favouring his rookie-turned-sophomore teammate on numerous occasions. Things came to a head in Hungary when the team practically guilt-tripped Norris into handing Piastri his first race victory at the expense of their should-be lead driver’s championship challenge.
Ever since that moment, Norris looked rattled. He started seven races from pole position and he lost the lead on the first lap in seven of them. Piastri inherited that lead on a couple of occasions, taking the fight to his more experienced teammate, and the Aussie’s performances in 2024 were so impressive that he’s no longer seen as just Norris’ understudy.
The tension between the two stems from this very dynamic. Both drivers are eager to prove they are the natural number one in the team, and the clashes, both on and off the track, are starting to bubble. The 2025 season could see a dramatic escalation if both fight tooth-and-nail for victories and the championship.
For McLaren, this infighting might derail their ambitions of taking the fight to Max Verstappen. Managing the egos of two ambitious young drivers without jeopardizing team harmony will be a Herculean task for team boss Andrea Stella.
The question is straightforward, will McLaren harness this rivalry to push themselves forward, or will it implode in disastrous fashion?
Charles Leclerc gives Lewis Hamilton a rude awakening at Ferrari
When Lewis Hamilton announced his shock move to Ferrari, fans dreamed of a Hamilton-Leclerc super team ready to dominate the grid. But as the 2025 season kicks into gear, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Charles Leclerc is not about to roll out the welcome mat for his seven-time World Champion teammate.
The Monegasque star has grown into the heart and soul of Maranello. Signed by Ferrari in 2019, he has endured the team’s ups and downs, always extracting more from the car than seemed possible. Last season, he secured emotional wins in his home country of Monaco – breaking a curse in the process – as well as his team’s home of Monza. Now in his prime, Leclerc looks ready to lead Ferrari into a new golden era.
For Hamilton, joining the Scuderia may not be the fairy tale story some may have imagined. The car’s unique characteristics, paired with the immense pressure of representing the Prancing Horse, present significant challenges for the F1 legend.
While the seven-time champion’s experience is undeniable, adapting to Ferrari’s subtle nuances, particularly after years of comfort at Mercedes, could leave him battling to match Leclerc’s pace.
2025 could see Leclerc not only outperforming Hamilton on sheer speed but also forcing the veteran into uncomfortable strategic positions where Ferrari’s loyalties are tested. If Leclerc continues to assert dominance, it might not just be Ferrari’s car giving Hamilton a rude awakening; it could be his resilient teammate too.
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