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Everything you need to know about the 2025 F1 season: Driver line-up and calendar


The 2024 F1 season is hotting up, with seven different winners in the first 13 races of the year and four in the last four races. Max Verstappen currently leads the championship with 265 points, ahead of Lando Norris in second with 189 points.

Over half of the grid’s contracts are set to expire at the end of the year and it looks likely that the summer break will be packed full of negotiations. The driver market was sent into chaos at the start of the year when Lewis Hamilton announced he would be leaving Mercedes – the team he’s been with since 2013 – to join Ferrari, leaving Carlos Sainz out of the Italian outfit.

2025 F1 driver line-up

Hamilton’s announcement of his move to Ferrari meant that contract negotiations began earlier in the season than anticipated, as teams looked to secure their driver line-ups for the next season. The move left Sainz without a seat and he had been described as “the cork in the bottle” byKevin Magnussen, as the grid tried to solidify their seats for next year.

Sainz has announced at the start of the summer break that he will be joining Williams in 2025. The Spaniard has signed a two-year deal with the option to extend past 2026. Team principal James Vowles has said: “Carlos brings not just experience and performance, but also a fierce drive to extract every millisecond out of the team and car; the fit is perfect.”

This move from Hamilton also leaves the second Mercedes seat available, with speculation that the place could be given to F2’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Following the 17-year-old’s maiden feature race win in Hungary, the Italian said “I don’t know if I will be ready” for a move into F1 next year.

Antonelli’s Prema team-mate Oliver Bearman announced in July that he would be joining Haas in 2025. The Chelmsford-born driver had an impressive debut for Ferrari at the Saudi Arabian GP after he was called to stand in for an unwell Sainz. Following the announcement of his move into F1, Bearman said: “It’s hard to put into words just how much this means to me. To say out loud that I will be a Formula 1 driver for MoneyGram Haas F1 Team makes me so immensely proud.”

Oliver Bearman, Reserve Driver, Ferrari and Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Nico Hulkenberg will return to Sauber 12 years after previously racing for the team. The German will leave Haas at the end of 2024 after rejoining the team last season to replace Mick Schumacher. Hulkenberg will work with Sauber as they become Audi in 2026, with former Audi F1 CEO Andreas Seidl saying at the time: “With his speed, his experience and his commitment to teamwork, he will be an important part of the transformation of our team – and of Audi’s F1 project.”

Esteban Ocon will part ways with Alpine at the end of the year and has opted to join the Haas line-up alongside Oliver Bearman. The news followed his controversial collision with team-mate Pierre Gasly at the Monaco GP which left the team’s management upset and threatening to replace him for the following Canadian GP. Ocon has spent five years with the Enstone-based team after joining Renault in 2020 which rebranded to Alpine in 2021.

Here is the current 2025 grid and when their contracts are set to expire:

TeamDriverContract deadlineDriverContract deadline
Red BullMax VerstappenEnd 2028Sergio PerezEnd 2026
MercedesGeorge RussellEnd 2025TBCTBC
FerrariCharles LeclercBeyond 2025Lewis HamiltonMulti-year
Aston MartinFernando AlonsoMulti-year until at least the end of 2026Lance StrollBeyond 2025
McLarenLando NorrisMulti-year beyond 2025Oscar PiastriEnd 2026
AlpinePierre GaslyEnd 2026TBCTBC
WilliamsAlex AlbonEnd 2026Carlos SainzEnd 2026
HaasOliver BearmanMulti-year until at least the end of 2026Esteban OconMulti-year deal
SauberNico HulkenbergMulti-year until at least the end of 2026TBCTBC
RBYuki TsunodaEnd 2025TBCTBC

This shuffle has left several drivers without confirmed seats for 2025, with just four seats left for the taking. The following drivers are yet to announce their plans for the next season and are currently out of a seat going into next year:

Daniel Ricciardo
• Kevin Magnussen
Logan Sargeant
Valtteri Bottas
Zhou Guanyu

2025 F1 calendar

Formula 1 and the FIA have revealed another 24-round season for 2025, which also marks the championship’s 75th anniversary.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20 the field at the race start

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20 the field at the race start

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

The season opener will return to Melbourne for the first time since 2019. The Australian GP will take the season-opener spot from the Bahrain GP which had hosted the opening race for the last four years. The race in Sakhir will now move to the fourth race of the season, followed by the Saudi Arabian GP which have both been moved due to Ramadan taking place in March.

The Hungarian GP will mark the start of the summer break, swapping places with the Belgian GP which is closing the first half of the 2024 season. Once again the Dutch GP will make the end of the summer break, with F1 returning on 29-31 August for the final 10 races of the year.

The 2024 calendar saw several big changes, which bunched countries together for a better geographical flow in hopes of reducing the carbon footprint of the series. The changes will continue in 2025 including the season openers of Australia, China and Japan scheduled together and the Middle East races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi closing the season.

Here is the full 2025 F1 calendar:

DateGrand PrixLocationTrack
14-16 MarchAustralian GPMelbourne, AustraliaAlbert Park Circuit
21-23 MarchChinese GPShanghai, ChinaShanghai International Circuit
4-6 AprilJapanese GPSuzuka, JapanSuzuka International Racing Course
11-13 AprilBahrain GPSakhir, BahrainBahrain International Circuit
18-20 AprilSaudi Arabian GPJeddah, Saudi ArabiaJeddah Corniche Circuit
2-4 MayMiami GPMiami, Florida, United StatesMiami International Autodrome
16-18 MayEmilia Romagna GPImola, ItalyAutodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola)
23-25 MayMonaco GPMonte Carlo, MonacoCircuit de Monaco
30 May-1 JuneSpanish GPBarcelona, SpainCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
13-15 JuneCanadian GPMontreal, CanadaCircuit Gilles Villeneuve
27-29 JuneAustrian GPSpielberg, AustriaRed Bull Ring
4-6 JulyBritish GPSilverstone, United KingdomSilverstone Circuit
25-27 JulyBelgian GPSpa, BelgiumCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps
1-3 AugustHungarian GPBudapest, HungaryHungaroring
29-31 AugustDutch GPZandvoort, NetherlandsCircuit Zandvoort
5-7 SeptemberItalian GPMonza, ItalyAutodromo Nazionale Monza
19-21 SeptemberAzerbaijan GPBaku, AzerbaijanBaku City Circuit
3-5 OctoberSingapore GPMarina Bay, SingaporeMarina Bay Street Circuit
17-19 OctoberUnited States GPAustin, Texas, United StatesCircuit of the Americas
24-26 OctoberMexican GPMexico City, MexicoAutodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
7-9 NovemberBrazilian GPInterlagos, BrazilAutodromo Jose Carlos Pace (Interlagos)
20-22 NovemberLas Vegas GPLas Vegas, Nevada, United StatesLas Vegas Street Circuit
28-30 NovemberQatar GPLusail, QatarLusail International Circuit
5-7 DecemberAbu Dhabi GPYas Marina, Abu DhabiYas Marina Circuit

What is the F1 sprint race schedule for 2025?

Once again there will be six sprint races for the 2025 season. Shanghai will be the first sprint race of the year, followed by Miami, as was the case at the start of the 2024 season.

Spa will host its first sprint for the first time since 2023, replacing Austria which hosted a 2024 sprint. Events will also be held in the US and Qatar for the third time. Interlagos is the only venue returning to the calendar which has hosted a sprint race every year since 2021, and will mark the fifth sprint race at the Sao Paulo-based track.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start of the Sprint

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

There are no announced changes to the 2025 sprint race format, following some significant changes in 2024. A new format was introduced this year which replaced the Friday race qualifying session with sprint qualifying.

Saturday then begins with the sprint race before qualifying for the main race taking place later in the day. These changes allowed for cars to be released from parc ferme conditions after Saturday’s sprint, allowing for teams to make set-up changes before qualifying.

Here is the full 2025 F1 sprint calendar:

DateGrand PrixCountryTrack
21 – 23 MarchChinese GPShanghai, ChinaShanghai International Circuit
2 – 4 MayMiami GPMiami, Florida, United StatesMiami International Autodrome
25 – 27 JulyBelgian GPSpa, BelgiumCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps
17 – 19 OctoberUnited States GPAustin, Texas, United StatesCircuit of the Americas
7 – 9 NovemberBrazilian GPInterlagos, BrazilAutodromo Jose Carlos Pace (Interlagos)
28 – 30 NovemberQatar GPLusail, QatarLusail International Circuit

2025 F1 regulation changes

The FIA is considering acting on aero changes in 2025 to combat the significant drop in the ability of cars to be able to follow each other. It follows a number of complaints in 2023 by drivers that the current cars are struggling to race close to each other, with an analysis of performance showing a 50% drop in the ground effect machinery.

The FIA did not make the changes heading into the 2024 season as it felt it would be unfair given teams had already put a lot of resources into this year’s cars. The FIA’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said: “We are studying solutions for 2025. We have identified some parts of the cars to act on, such as the endplate of the front wing, the side of the floor and the fins inside the wheels (around the brake ducts). We could lay down somewhat more restrictive rules in these areas.

“It is clear we no longer have the advantage of 2022 and, therefore, we know that there is work to be done.”

Red Bull Racing RB19, Power Unit

Red Bull Racing RB19, Power Unit

Photo by: Erik Junius

The 2025 season will be the 12th and final year of the V6 hybrid turbo power unit. It comes as part of the regulation changes which will see the end of the MGU-H unit for the more powerful MGU-K. F1 will also scrap DRS in 2026, opting for a push-to-pass system known as ‘X-mode’ which will put the front and rear wings into a low-drag setting on the straights.

The minimum weight for the driver will be increased from 80kg to 82kg and, as a result, the minimum weight of car, without fuel, will be increased from 798kg to 800kg for 2025.

But the FIA also plans to introduce new chassis rules for the 2026 season which will make cars around 40-50kg lighter.



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