After months of speculation about the 2025 grid would be completed, today it is finally ready.
The announcement of F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar going to Racing Bulls was the last piece to complete the F1 lineup puzzle.
After a year without any changes on the grid from 2023 at the beginning of the year and two departures in the middle of the season, only F1 teams McLaren and Aston Martin will have the same two drivers of this year’s.
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Four announcements in only one week
Only during the last week, we got three important news about changes on the grid.
The first one came on Wednesday, when Red Bull announced that Sergio “Checo” Pérez parted ways with the team based on Milton Keynes.
His replacement was announced the next day. Liam Lawson, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo in the last races of the 2024 season, will become Max Verstappen’s new teammate after being promoted from Racing Bulls.
The only one left space was in Racing Bulls, with a seat alongside Yuki Tsunoda. This is the one that will be occupied by Hadjar.
Valtteri Bottas was also announced as reserve driver for Mercedes, where he had a very successful time between 2017 and 2021 alongside Lewis Hamilton.
“Silly Season” Started Before 2024 First Race
The first movement for 2025 announced between F1 drivers was one of the most important during the last years.
Even before the first race in Bahrain, Ferrari announced the arrival of Lewis Hamilton to Maranello and the departure of Carlos Sainz, who joined Williams Racing a few months later.
Other F1 2024 drivers that changed team for next year are Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon.
The first one is leaving Haas to join the Audi project for 2026, including a first season with Kick Sauber.
Ocon, by the way, left Alpine and joined Haas. Jack Doohan, who was Alpine’s reserve driver, will take his place.
The promising youngster Andrea Kimi Antonelli, coming from F2, will be the replacement of Lewis Hamilton at just 18 years old.
He’s, one of four F2 drivers coming to Formula One. The other one’s are Oliver Bearman, who raced in F1 this year with Ferrari and his new team Haas, Isack Hadjar and the champion, Felipe Bortoleto.
The Brazilian driver will join Nico Hulkenberg in Sauber/Audi after winning the F2 trophy.
Apart from Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), there are other drivers that will remain the same as in 2024.
Those are:
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Four-times World Champion, Max Verstappen (Red Bull).
Some drivers are leaving F1 too
The F1 2025 lineup will also see some drivers leaving F1 as main drivers.
Franco Colapinto will remain in Williams as reserve driver, while Valtteri Bottas is back at Mercedes as reserve driver too after leaving Sauber.
Kevin Magnussen will join BMW M Motorsport in Le Mans Hypercar category after leaving Haas. This means he’s leaving F1 at all to start a new chapter in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Finally, Zhou Guanyu and Checo Pérez future is completely unknown, even when Zhou has been linked with Ferrari to become their reserve driver.
Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls) left F1 in the middle of 2024 Formula 1 season.
Sargeant is set to compete in the European Le Mans Series, while Ricciardo doesn’t seem to compete again in any Motorsports category for now.