After what has seemed an interminable wait, the 2025 Formula 1 season finally gets underway with this weekend's Australian Grand Prix. No fewer than eight of the ten teams have changed their driver lineups from 2024, and with some vastly different technical regulations to come in next year, the teams face an awkward balancing act between developing their 2025 mounts and shifting focus to next year and beyond. Ahead of what could be the most unpredictable F1 season in years, Xinhua runs the rule over each of the ten teams.

McLaren

A first Constructors' Championship since 1998 was just reward for the way Zak Brown, Andrea Stella and company have transformed the fortunes of the Woking squad in recent years. McLaren also showed well in pre-season testing, with its formidable long-run pace just about seeing the papaya outfit installed as favorite ahead of Melbourne's season opener.

Fresh from his first Grand Prix wins last year, Lando Norris clearly has the pace to be a champion in waiting, but needs to add a dash of consistency if he is to ascend to the ranks of F1's truly great drivers. Teammate Oscar Piastri, with no taste for losing, will be eager to show that he too is capable of challenging for top honors, and team boss Stella will have to manage the pair more effectively than in 2024, when McLaren left too many decisions up to the drivers.

Ferrari

The news cycle coming out of Maranello for the past year was dominated by Lewis Hamilton's impending arrival at Ferrari following 12 trophy-laden years with Mercedes. The Briton seemed revitalized by his move to the Scuderia before even turning a wheel, staying next to the factory during pre-season in order to better integrate into his new environment.

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton reacts during a parade before the Race of the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix 2023 at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium, July 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

However, the seven-time world champion will need to arrest his late-2024 slump in order to best his very quick and fully assimilated teammate Charles Leclerc. The fanfare around Hamilton's arrival has put the Monegasque somewhat in the shade, and Leclerc will be hungrier than ever to prove that he remains Ferrari's golden boy. With arguably the strongest driver pairing on the grid, can either end the Scuderia's 17-year wait for a championship title? And how effectively will team boss Fred Vasseur manage intra-team harmony between two ultra-competitive individuals?

Red Bull

In a car that slipped back alarmingly in competitiveness as 2024 wore on, Max Verstappen frequently transcended the limits of his mount to score his fourth - and perhaps his finest - world title. However, the Dutchman has been downbeat about his 2025 prospects, and technical director Pierre Wache has acknowledged that RB21 still needs some work. The loss of Wache's influential predecessor Adrian Newey will be keenly felt in Milton Keynes, and 2025 might prove a year too far for even Verstappen's generational talent.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen in action during pre-season testing in Bahrain, February 26, 2025 (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)

The Dutchman has a new teammate this year, after Red Bull lost patience with Sergio Perez's loss of form and elected to replace the Mexican with Liam Lawson, fresh from two promising part-seasons with the team now known as Racing Bulls. With number two status guaranteed, the New Zealander will be tasked with backing up Verstappen and scoring good points for the Constructors' championship. However, many a second driver has floundered alongside Verstappen, and Lawson will need to get up to speed quickly if he is not to suffer a chastening demotion back to Racing Bulls.

Mercedes

With Hamilton having flown the Mercedes nest, George Russell now steps into the lead driver role, and will need to show a continuation of the form he often displayed in 2024, when he beat Hamilton 19-5 in qualifying and frequently outraced his illustrious teammate. The Briton seemed happy with the W16 during pre-season testing, with the Silver Arrows seemingly behind only McLaren in the early season pecking order.

Mercedes' George Russell in action during pre-season testing in Bahrain, February 26, 2025 (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)

The identity of Hamilton's replacement was the subject of much conjecture throughout 2024, but it was ultimately confirmed that Mercedes would eschew an experienced head and instead throw its weight behind rookie Kimi Antonelli, who has long been groomed for a Mercedes F1 seat. The 17-year-old is clearly a special talent, but his promotion has come earlier than he and Mercedes would have expected, and the Italian will have to avoid throwing his W16 into the barriers as he seeks to impress.

Aston Martin

A fifth-placed finish in the 2024 championship masked the fact that Aston Martin slipped back as the season wore on, and early signs are that the Silverstone squad is set to continue with that disappointing form into 2025. A managerial reshuffle has seen the highly-rated Andy Cowell take over as team principal, but of greater significance is the imminent arrival of designer extraordinaire Adrian Newey - the mastermind behind title-winning cars at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.

However, Newey's focus will be solely on producing a competitive mount for the new regs in 2026, suggesting that this year will be one of treading water for drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll - neither of whom appeared to have a great deal of confidence in the AMR25 in pre-season. Both drivers appear to be goal-hanging for a Newey-inspired title tilt in 2026, with Alonso still clinging onto his hopes of a third title some 20 years after his second.

Alpine

A dreadful start to 2024 was arrested by a late-season surge that vaulted Alpine from ninth to sixth in the Constructors' standings, with Pierre Gasly notably giving a good account of himself and establishing himself as the team's lead driver as the season wore on. Pre-season testing went a lot more smoothly than in 2024, and Alpine look to be competing with Williams at the head of F1's midfield this year.

In the other car, former test driver Jack Doohan has been promoted to a full-time race seat for 2025 - but rumors suggest the Australian's Alpine future is already looking shaky. Influential team advisor Flavio Briatore is said to want newly-signed reserve driver Franco Colapinto in the car instead, and Doohan could be facing a mid-season axe if he is not at least close to Gasly's pace.

Haas

Haas punched above its weight in 2024, and can consider itself unlucky not to finish higher than seventh in the Constructors' standings. F1's only American outfit elected to focus on long-run pace during 2025's pre-season tests, making it difficult to assess where Haas will stack up once the lights go green in Melbourne.

On the driving strength, Esteban Ocon has jumped ship from the aggro-ridden Alpine outfit to join Haas as lead driver, and will be eager to reverse the loss of form that emerged once it became clear he was seeking pastures new.

In the other car, Oliver Bearman gets his first full-time F1 ride after a couple of cameo appearances last year. The talented Briton clearly has a good turn of speed, and it will be interesting to see how well he meshes with Ocon - who has had his fair share of run-ins with teammates in the past.

Racing Bulls

Another year, another name change for the team most recently known as RB. Starting his fifth season at Red Bull's junior outfit, Yuki Tsunoda has a point to prove and will want to show that the senior team made the wrong decision in choosing the less experienced Lawson over him to replace the ousted Sergio Perez.

Lawson's promotion meant Isack Hadjar has been called up at relatively short notice to make his F1 debut in the other car, but the Frenchman has limited experience in F1 machinery compared to some of the other rookies, and faces an uphill battle to get up to speed quickly and show well against Tsunoda, whom Red Bull appears content to keep as a bellwether for young drivers to measure up against.

Williams

Following a disappointing 2024, Williams looks much better placed to impress in 2025. Team boss James Vowles is reshaping the team in his own image, and the Grove squad's much-publicised organisational and inventory issues seem to have been ironed out. Williams scored a coup by persuading Ferrari refugee Carlos Sainz to throw in his lot with the ambitious outfit, and the early signs are that the Spaniard may be in for a pleasant surprise at his new team's competitiveness.

Both Sainz and teammate Alex Albon showed well in pre-season testing, suggesting that Williams may initially be in contention for regular points. With a stronger driver pairing than last year, and a promising pre-season under its belt, Williams may well be 2025's dark horses - as long as its drivers avoid crashing as much as in 2024.

Sauber

After having propped up the Constructors' Championship in 2024, Sauber looks set to begin this year at the bottom of the pile once again, despite wholesale changes on the driving front. During pre-season testing, Nico Hulkenberg was evasive about the team's prospects, but the experienced German seems to recognize that he and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto will be getting well acquainted with the rear of the grid.

Reigning Formula 2 champion Bortoleto will relish being Brazil's first F1 race driver since Felipe Massa in 2017, but there remains a sense that Sauber is treading water until the new regulations in 2026, by which time the team will have completed its metamorphosis into the Audi works outfit.