Silly season is a hot topic every year, and with the recent switch at AlphaTauri, things look like they're heating up around the paddock. Here's who we think will be in the 2025 driver lineup.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen & Lando Norris
To start off our predictions we see Max and Lando being the two drivers for the team that is currently dominating the sport. As Max is contracted to 2028 and winning championships in succession we see the Dutch driver going absolutely nowhere. Although there are rumours circulating about a pre-contact with the Scuderia we see Norris making a switch from papaya and taking that second red bull seat. There has been high praise for the Brit from the higher-ups within Redbull and his relationship with Max would also work well for the team. The only question is, how will Lando get on in the “cursed” second seat?
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton & George Russell
Whilst nothing has officially been signed yet between the Brackley team and the 7-time Champion, a two-year contract has been rumoured and with his new passion to get the team back to the front of the grid and achieve the seemingly unobtainable 8th championship we predict Lewis won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Russell is contracted with the team until the 26’ and with his current form and the investment that Mercedes has put into the young Brit we don’t see him anywhere else than the Silver Arrows for the foreseeable future.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc & Alex Albon
Whilst Leclerc's contract with the Scarlet team is due to expire at the end of next year, we see him going nowhere and giving the Italian team one last shot to show him that they are capable of giving him the Championship he has always dreamt of. Vasseur has been vocal in prioritising achieving this and ensuring he stays in the team for the future. Alongside the Monegasque we see Albon wearing red, rumours have been circulating since his very strong stint at Williams that the Thai driver is a main target for the team to replace Sainz, if he decides to leave the team.
MCLAREN
Oscar Piastri & Pato O'Ward
Piastri is McLaren’s future, the team has invested too much in getting him in that seat to lose him, we see a long contract extension being signed - especially if Lando Norris decides to leave. O’Ward is driving incredibly well in Indycar and has had multiple tests in F1 cars, if anyone is to put an Indycar driver in an F1 car it can only be Zak Brown. The bridge between Indycar and F1 is strongest with McLaren, with the team having a driver academy that crosses both race series. The teams are very well intertwined with Pato often spending time around the F1 paddock and even having the occasional F1 test.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon & Theo Porchaire
The new and the old for the endstone team in 2025, with the current F2 driver and Ocon making an all French line-up for the French team. Esteban has been a essential driver for the team in making their way back to the front of the sport and see him staying put in the Alpine seat for 2025. Pourchaire has been doing a phenomenal job in F2 and will be keen to get on the grid as soon as possible and the option of driving for a french team will be no donut enticing for the Frenchman who has displayed excellent race-craft and raw speed in his feeder-series career so far.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso & Lance Stroll
No changes at the Silverstone-based team for 2025. Whilst Stroll’s performances have no doubt been lackluster so far this year he will be expected to make a change to that in the coming year or investors may begin to question Lawrence’s aims for the team to get to the top. The way that Fernando Alonso is driving at the minute and the way that that car is performing Alonso will be going absolutely nowhere for the 2025 season, he's showing that age has nothing to do with competitiveness at the minute and outshining his younger teammate. Will this be his last year with the team though? Will Lawrence swap his son out for the new 2026 regulations? Will Fernando still be knocking about?
Sauber
Carlos Sainz & Mick Schumacher
A whole new line-up at Sauber with Sainz and Schumacher making the up soon-to-be Audi team. Sainz will be looking to officially ground himself as the number one driver in a team and with high praise for his technical mind and close relationship with previous team principal and now CEO Andreas Seidl we see him making a perfect fit for the German manufacturer's future in the sport. Mick Schumacher will be the German driver that Audi is looking to make a splash with and will be keen to make a strong impression on the sport after his not-so-graceful stint with the Haas team.
Williams
Frederik Vesti & Franco Colapinto
With Albon exiting the team to head to Ferrari, Vesti will become the number-one driver in the team alongside the current F3 Williams junior driver Franco Colapinto. Vesti would be the perfect driver to replace Sargeant if they decide to part ways at the end of this season. The Mercedes Junior is currently leading the championship in his second season of the feeder series. After a successful season so far for the young Williams junior driver, we only see big things coming for Colapinto. After his maiden season in F2, we see the young driver being swept up by the team that has supported him through his feeder series career to jump into the seat next to Vesti.
Haas
Oli Bearman & Zhou Guanyu
As well as the all-new line-up for Williams we predict that Haas will be looking a little different in 2025 as well. After an admirable stint at Alfa Romeo Sauber Zhou will be a keen target for the newly names Alfa Romeo MoneyGram Haas team. He’s shown a good pace in qualifying even beating Bottas on occasion who has been toe-to-toe with Hamilton as well a decent race pace as well, a good allrounder for the American team. Bearman is part of the Ferrari driver academy and with the link between the Scuderia and Haas, the young driver will be looking to make his way into the sport before hopefully becoming a driver for the team in red. He was also a promising talent behind the wheel in F3 and is showing his worth in F2, making him a great fit for the Haas team.
ALPHATAURI
Liam Lawson & Yuki Tsunoda
A slight (and somewhat expected) change. After showing further improvement in the sister Red Bull team, we see Yuki staying where he currently is for the time being. He’s shown raw pace and a lot of improvement since his rookie season and is a great fit for the AlphaTauri team. Could a change be on the cards for 2026 as Honda re-enters with Aston Martin? Lining up alongside Yuki will be the New-Zealand Born driver, Liam Lawson, who is currently giving Super Formula its most successful rookie debut in decades. He has shown on more than one occasion that he is more than capable of performing in a Formula 1 car and we expect to see him there by 2025 at the latest.
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