Countdown to Melbourne
There are just over two months until the first race of the 2025 F1 World Championship, which returns to Albert Park in Australia as the season opener after recent years where Bahrain hosted the opening round (it remains the venue for winter testing in late February). This will be the final year of the current regulatory cycle that began in 2022 with the return of ground-effect cars, and it will also mark the last season for the current power units. The 2026 overhaul looms, but there’s no rush to reach it—particularly as the final year of a regulatory era often reveals true equilibrium among top teams. Here’s why the 2025 F1 season is so highly anticipated, especially in Italy.
1) Lewis Hamilton debuts with Ferrari
The most successful driver in F1 history (statistically) in the most iconic and prestigious car: “What else?” as George Clooney might say—though not about coffee this time. What once seemed an impossible pairing is about to happen. Hamilton’s goal is to clinch his eighth world title, making him the undisputed most successful driver in history. If he succeeds, he would surpass Michael Schumacher’s final record, achieving this feat behind the wheel of the very Ferrari that turned Schumacher into a legend. Adding spice is the direct rivalry with Charles Leclerc, who has long awaited the chance to match his peer Max Verstappen and join the exclusive club of F1 World Champions. Make no mistake: the Hamilton-Ferrari duo will be the centerpiece of the 2025 F1 season, not just in Italian media.
2) Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s F1 debut
Hamilton’s move to Ferrari left a vacancy at Mercedes, and Toto Wolff made a bold choice. Unlike George Russell, who spent three years at Williams before earning a Mercedes seat, Andrea Kimi Antonelli will step directly into F1 as a rookie at 18 years old. Unable to sign the real Max Verstappen, Wolff has opted for an in-house “Max 2.0.” For Italy, Antonelli’s arrival on the grid is momentous, and unlike Antonio Giovinazzi, he’ll have a car from a team that won four races in 2024. Taking over from Hamilton is a monumental task, and even Helmut Marko remarked that he wouldn’t have dared to place Verstappen straight into a Red Bull. We wish Antonelli the very best of luck.
3) The Norris-Piastri rivalry
McLaren defied all expectations to win the Constructors’ Championship, dethroning Red Bull and outperforming their engine supplier, Mercedes. Zak Brown and Andrea Stella delivered a masterstroke, reconnecting McLaren with its 1998 Constructors’ title glory. Now, the goal is the ultimate double—Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles—in 2025. The question is: if a McLaren driver becomes World Champion, will it be Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri?
4) Can Lawson survive Red Bull and Max Verstappen?
After four years, Sergio Perez’s tenure at Red Bull has ended—not due to performance but thanks to a lucrative payout following underwhelming results. Red Bull’s leadership, Marko and Horner, chose to gamble on Liam Lawson rather than give Yuki Tsunoda a farewell tour alongside Honda. The New Zealander has only 11 F1 starts but has already shown fearlessness, earning both criticism and praise online. Facing Max Verstappen is an immense challenge, and a Red Bull far from its 2023 dominance makes Liam Lawson’s task even harder. We also wish Lawson the best of luck.
5) Can Carlos Sainz replicate his McLaren success at Williams?
Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari and Red Bull’s and Mercedes’ “company-line” driver decisions left Carlos Sainz without a seat at a top team. After failing to secure a Ferrari renewal or a Red Bull spot, Sainz found a home at Williams—a team steeped in tradition but unlikely to be competitive in the short term. Sainz previously helped revive McLaren, which ended 2024 as a technical benchmark, and now faces the challenge of doing the same for Williams.
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