The 2025 Formula 1 season is set to be a close battle between all of the teams now they have converged at the end of a regulation cycle.
This will be the last year F1 sees the current ground effect cars before a switch in 2026 to lighter cars with active aerodynamics and brand-new power units designed to run on more efficient fuel.
This means that many of the teams have brought evolutions to their 2024 machines, which should make the racing even closer based on the margins between the top four teams.
Pre-season testing in Bahrain showed a limited competitive overview, with McLaren the team to beat after Lando Norris put in some impressive race runs on the second day.
GPS data puts Mercedes as second-best over a lap, but Ferrari appears to be closer to McLaren on race runs along with Red Bull. It means Max Verstappen could face his most difficult title defence since he started his run of four titles in a row in 2021.
Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde thinks there is only one way Verstappen will be able to compete with Norris and Oscar Piastri when speaking on Racexpress.
Red Bull must bring continual upgrades to RB21 to fight for title says Giedo van der Garde
It is anticipated that a lot of teams will bring minimal upgrades to their car this season, largely down to how sensitive they can be but also because many teams have now switched focus to 2026.
Teams could begin to work on their chassis for 2026 in January, having all agreed in the F1 Commission to start work simultaneously.
While teams have yet to reach a development ceiling for their current cars, Van Der Garde thinks Red Bull must provide continual upgrades to the RB21 for Verstappen to compete with pacesetters McLaren.
“McLaren made a lot of mistakes last year, Max is super consistent,” said Van Der Garde.
“If he has the car he can compete for podiums and maybe a few victories, and it just depends very much on how much progress is going to be made by the team itself on how they improve their car and then I think he can just compete for the title.”
Helmut Marko thinks Lando Norris ‘even more dangerous’ this year
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has the team behind McLaren in the 2025 pecking order, after what he saw in Bahrain testing.
Marko sees Norris ‘even more dangerous’ to Verstappen’s title defence after he emerged as a title contender in 2024.
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Norris made a lot of mistakes when competing with Verstappen, while the pair also had their fair share of controversial moments on track.
Zak Brown says Norris has learned a lot from his mistakes and will challenge Verstappen better, which could set us up for similar battle the Dutchman had with Lewis Hamilton in 2021.
