Giedo van der Garde predicts 32-time race winner to be the ‘biggest disappointment’ of the 2025 F1 season

As the curtain on the 2024 season shuts, the attention quickly draws to 2025 and the exciting year in store in Formula 1.

In theory, Max Verstappen is the man to beat after securing his fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Dutchman – who won nine races in 2024 – beat Lando Norris to the title by 63 points.

But Red Bull suffered a significant drop in performance around the halfway point of the season. While the drivers’ title was retained by the Milton Keynes-based outfit, the team lost the Constructors’ Championship – finishing third behind Ferrari and champions McLaren.

After dominating the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it is clear that Lando Norris and McLaren are the ones to beat in 2025. Martin Brundle says Norris is his favourite to win the Drivers’ Championship next season as he now has the confidence to challenge at the front of the field – the Brit won four races and grabbed eight pole positions in 2024.

While the excitement is certainly on the battle between McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and potentially Mercedes next season, there is also some conversation around who will struggle in 2025, and Giedo van der Garde has offered his verdict.

Giedo van der Garde thinks Fernando Alonso will be the ‘biggest disappointment’ of 2025

The 2024 season was a major step back for Aston Martin from the year prior. The Silverstone-based outfit enjoyed their best season under the Aston Martin name in 2023 as Fernando Alonso grabbed eight podiums and guided the team to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

The Spaniard scored 206 points compared to teammate Lance Stroll’s 74 as the two-time champion registered his best finish in the drivers’ standings since 2013 with fourth.

But in 2024, Aston Martin fell far behind the top four teams as they finished in the top five once all season – coming from Alonso at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The 43-year-old finished ninth in the championship with 70 points, while Stroll faired even worse with 24 points from six points finishes all year. Aston Martin finished fifth in the constructors’ standings behind Mercedes in fourth by a staggering 374 points.

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The Silverstone-based outfit’s decline in performance was clear to see in the final few races of the season as they looked to have the second-slowest package on the grid. While Alonso will be hopeful their fortunes can turn around, van der Garde is not so confident as he named the Spaniard as his prediction for the ‘biggest disappointment’ of the 2025 season.

Speaking on his DRS: De Race Show YouTube channel, the former F1 driver also named Aston Martin as the team he believes will have the ‘biggest setback’ in 2025.

Can Aston Martin turn things around with Adrian Newey on board?

Aston Martin have made a huge coup for the 2025 season with the addition of Adrian Newey from Red Bull. The legendary engineer will be looking to continue his incredible track record of building teams up from the midfield to the front of the grid – as he did with the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Newey will join Aston Martin in the second quarter of 2025, so it is not entirely clear as to what impact he will have on the team for their car next season. The 65-year-old will have his attention closely on the new technical regulations when they come into effect in 2026.

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Alonso says it was destiny that Adrian Newey moved to Aston Martin as the Spaniard, who has won 32 races in his illustrious F1 career, is optimistic about the future and hopes to return to the top step of the podium.

But Aston Martin’s form this season will be a concern heading into 2025 and there will be a lot of work to do over the winter to get to the heights they were at in 2023.