Excitement is building up for F1’s 75th-anniversary launch. On February 18th, we will see a first-ever all-team launch event at London’s O2 Arena featuring the entire grid of 20 drivers. This will be followed by individual teams’ pre-season launches.
There are 24 race weekends lined up this season, where we’ll see Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari red for the first time, and Max Verstappen and Lando Norris reigniting their rivalry.
Below, we tell you more about the 2025 F1 season launch and the key dates that should be on your calendar.
14 February: Williams Launch
Drivers
Alex Albon (#23)
Carlos Sainz (#55)
Williams is launching before the F1 special event that will introduce all 20 drivers. Their launch will feature a special one-off livery (colour scheme and design of their cars) before the official race livery debuts on the 18th.
Williams finished ninth in the Constructors’ Championship in the 2024 season. The team secured points in only a few races, with a 10-point haul in Azerbaijan being the highlight of their season. They had 17 major crashes throughout the season. However, despite these setbacks, rookie driver Franco Colapinto, who replaced Logan Sargeant mid-season, delivered an impressive performance. Logan was axed mid-season after he crashed into the barriers at the Dutch Grand Prix.
This season, we’ll see two new drivers as Franco has moved to Alpine as a reserve. First, is Ferrari race winner Carlos Sainz. He took his maiden pole position and won at the British Grand Prix in 2022. He also won for Ferrari in Singapore in 2023, and Australia and Mexico City in 2024.
The second driver is Alex Albon, previously a reserve driver for Red Bull. He won the Rookie of the Year at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in December 2019. He has entered 105 GPs and has had 4 podium finishes.
18 February: F1 Special Event
The special event will mark the start of Formula 1’s 75th anniversary and will be held at the iconic London venue, the O2. All 20 drivers will be present at the event.
19 February: Ferrari Launch
Drivers
Charles Leclerc (#16)
Lewis Hamilton (#44)
Ferrari will unveil their 2025 Formula 1 car, the SF-25, on February 19 at their Fiorano test track in Italy. This is a significant chapter for Ferrari with the signing of veteran Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton holds a joint world record of seven F1 Championship titles along with Michael Schumacher.
In preparation for the upcoming season, Hamilton has already completed a testing session with Ferrari’s 2024 car, the SF-24, during Pirelli tyre tests in Barcelona. He completed 161 laps over two days (equivalent to two Spanish GPs).
Ferrari’s second driver is Charles Leclerc, who was also present in Barcelona for the testing session. He carried out 74 laps on 2nd February, setting a best time of 1:14.971 among all racers. Leclerc has been with Ferrari since 2019 and has claimed three wins, 11 podiums, and nine pole positions.
Their 2024 season driver, Carlos Sainz, was pushed out with the signing of Hamilton.
Ferrari narrowly missed clinching the Constructors’ Championship title in the 2024 season. The team finished just behind McLaren with 652 points. They ended the season with five wins, just one less than McLaren. It is a number that Ferrari will clearly be hoping to build on in 2025.
23 February: Aston Martin Launch
Drivers
Fernando Alonso (#14)
Lance Stroll (#18)
Aston Martin is doing an online launch of its AMR25 on 23 February. This will be just a day before the car gets its first on-track run in Bahrain. The team’s livery will be revealed at the London O2 Arena on 18 February.
Their first driver is Fernando Alonso, who joined Aston Martin at the start of the 2023 season. He has signed a new contract that will extend his contract until 2026.
Alonso was a trailblazer with Renault, becoming the youngest polesitter, race winner, world champion, and double world champion. After this, he had spells at McLaren, Ferrari and Alpine. He secured eight podiums in his first season with Aston Martin and has reached 400 Grand Prix starts. The Spanish veteran has had 106 podium finishes in his career.
The second driver is the 26-year-old Canadian Lance Stroll. He was a teenage sensation when he joined Williams at 18 and became the youngest rookie to finish on the podium. Stroll has entered 167 Grand Pris and secured three podium finishes.
Aston Martin had a weak 2024 campaign, finishing 5th in the Constructors’ Championship. The same two drivers were behind the wheel in 2024, although Alonso’s performance vastly overshadowed Stroll’s. Neither of them had a podium finish last season.
24 February: Mercedes Launch
Drivers
Andrea Kimi Antonelli (#12)
George Russell (#63)
Mercedes will launch its AMG F1 W16 E Performance on 24th February at the Silverstone Circuit in the UK. Just ahead of the launch, their drivers unveiled a new team wear, as a part of Mercedes’ first official Adidas collection.
This year, they are fielding a rookie driver – 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli. This will be Antonelli’s maiden F1 season. He made his F4 championships debut in 2022 at the age of 15, and the Formula Regional Middle East and European categories a year later. He swiftly earned a promotion to F2 and skipped F3. He consistently scored points in F2 but never made it to the podium. He finally had breakthrough victories at Silverstone, Hungaroring, and Spa-Francorchamps. His big F1 break came as Lewis Hamilton left the team, and a spot opened up.
Mercedes’ second driver is 26-year-old George Russell. He also broke into F1 as a one-off replacement for Lewis Hamilton at Sakhir 2020, when the reigning champion was struck down by Covid-19.
He won the 2022 race in Brazil and had two podium finishes in 2024.
Team Mercedes finished 4th in the Constructor’s Championship last year with 468 points.
McLaren Launch
Drivers
Lando Norris (#4)
Oscar Piastri (#81)
McLaren has not announced a launch date but CEO Zak Brown has hinted that his team is taking a “brave risk” with their F1 2025 car, the MCL39.
Last year, McLaren clinched its first F1 Constructors’ Championship title since 1998 (before its current drivers Norris and Piastri were even born!).
Lando Norris made his debut for McLaren in 2019 and secured his maiden podium in 2020. 2024 was a breakthrough season for Norris as he had 13 podium finishes and 4 wins. He finished second in the World Drivers’ Championship with 374 points, just 63 points short of winner Max Verstappen.
McLaren’s second driver, Oscar Piastri, finished fourth last season in the World Drivers’ Championship with 292 points. He clinched 8 podium finishes and 2 wins in 2024.
Red Bull
Drivers
Max Verstappen (#1)
Liam Lawson (#30)
Max Verstappen, the 2024 Driver’s Championship winner, is the star of Red Bull. He has held this title for four years now. The 27-year-old Dutch had an amazing 14 podium finishes with 9 victories last season. However, that was not enough for the team, as Red Bull finished third in the Constructor’s Championship. Verstappen has 112 podium finishes in 209 GPs.
Red Bull’s second driver is Liam Lawson, replacing Sergio Pérez this season. Perez was removed for a weak performance, as he managed to finish on the podium only four times, and didn’t win any race.
22-year-old Lawson has been with Red Bull since 2019. The rookie has entered only 11 GPs and has yet to have a podium finish.
Alpine
Drivers
Jack Doohan (#7)
Pierre Gasly (#10)
Alpine was 6th in the Constructors’ Championship last year. This year, they will be fielding Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly (replacement for Esteban Ocon).
22-year-old Jack Doohan has been Alpine’s F1 reserve since 2023 and was given a Grand Prix debut for the team at 2024’s season finale. He already has plenty of F3 and F2 wins to his name.
Their second driver, Pierre Gasly is slightly more experienced. He became a Toro Rosso driver in 2018 and moved to Alpine in 2022. He has 5 podium finishes in 154 GPs.
Haas
Drivers
Esteban Ocon (#31)
Oliver Bearman (#87)
Haas F1 team is yet to announce the unveiling of their 2025 car, the VF-26. The team finished 7th in the Constructors’ Championship last year as their drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen couldn’t produce a single podium finish.
This year, they have been replaced by Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman. 28-year-old Ocon has left Alpine to join Haas. He has only one F1 win to his name.
Rookie Oliver Bearman is the second driver for Haas. the 19-year-old made his F1 race debut in Saudi Arabia 2024 for Ferrari in place of the ill Carlos Sainz. He debuted for Haas in Azerbaijan ’24, as Kevin Magnussen served out a one-race ban.
Racing Bulls
Drivers
Isack Hadjar (#6)
Yuki Tsunoda (#22)
Racing Bulls has had a rebranding twice. It was known as Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2006 to 2019 and Scuderia AlphaTauri from 2020 to 2023. Now it’s called Racing Bulls, or Visa Cash App RB.
They finished 8th last season as their drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo failed to secure even one podium finish.
This year, Yuki Tsunoda returns to RB, while Daniel has been replaced by rookie Isack Hadjar. This will be 19-year-old Hadjar’s F1 debut.
Kick Sauber
Drivers
Gabriel Bortoleto (#5)
Nico Hulkenberg (#27)
Sauber finished at the bottom of the table last season with just four points. In comparison, winner McLaren had 666 points.
Their drivers Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas have been released after a lacklustre performance. This season, we’ll see two new faces at Sauber – Gabriel Bortoleto and
Nico Hulkenberg. This will be 20-year-old Gabriel’s first full-time F1 race.
He will be joined by racing veteran Nico Hulkenberg, who has driven for Williams, Force India, Sauber, Renault, Racing Point, Aston Martin, Haas, and Kick Sauber during a career spanning back to 2010. However, he has had zero podium finishes in his career.
F1 Preview: Meet the Drivers
| Name | Team | Age | Podiums | Points | GPs entered |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 27 | 112 | 3023.5 | 209 |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | 25 | 26 | 1007 | 128 |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 27 | 43 | 1430 | 149 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 39 | 202 | 4862.5 | 356 |
| Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 23 | 10 | 389 | 46 |
| Carlos Sainz | Williams | 20 | 27 | 1272.5 | 208 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber | 37 | 0 | 571 | 230 |
| Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 26 | 3 | 292 | 167 |
| George Russell | Mercedes | 26 | 15 | 714 | 128 |
| Liam Lawson | Red Bull | 23 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
| Jack Doohan | Alpine | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Alexander Albon | Williams | 28 | 2 | 240 | 105 |
| Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 43 | 106 | 2337 | 404 |
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oliver Bearman | Haas | 19 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 31 | 5 | 436 | 154 |
| Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 24 | 0 | 91 | 90 |
| Esteban Ocon | Haas | 29 | 4 | 445 | 156 |
F1 2025: Complete Schedule
- Mar 14–16: Australian GP
- Mar 21–23: Chinese GP
- Apr 4–6: Japanese GP
- Apr 11–13: Bahrain GP
- Apr 18–21: Saudi Arabian GP
- May 2–5: Miami GP
- May 16–18: Emilia Romagna GP
- May 23–25: Monaco GP
- May 30–Jun 1: Spanish GP
- Jun 14–16: Canadian GP
- Jun 27–29: Austrian GP
- Jul 4–6: British GP
- Jul 25–27: Belgian GP
- Aug 1–3: Hungarian GP
- Aug 29–31: Dutch GP
- Sep 5–7: Italian GP
- Sep 19–21: Azerbaijan GP
- Oct 3–5: Singapore GP
- Oct 18–20: United States GP
- Oct 25–27: Mexico City GP
- Nov 7–10: São Paulo GP
- Nov 21–23: Las Vegas GP
- Nov 28–30: Qatar GP
- Dec 5–7: Abu Dhabi GP
FAQs
Which rookies are participating in the F1 2025 season?
Oliver Bearman (Haas), Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber), and Jack Doohan (Alpine) are some new faces joining as full time drivers this season.
When is the F1 pre-season testing?
Pre-season testing will happen at the Bahrain International Circuit from February 26-28.
When is the first F1 race?
Melbourne will host the opening race from March 14-16, with the next race scheduled at China from March 21-23.
Formula 1 Odds
It looks to be a close race between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen for the Drivers’ Championship crown. Whereas, McLaren and Ferrari will be in the running for the top spot at the F1 World Constructors’ Championship. Make sure to do your research on driver and team performance before placing your bets.
RELATED: How Allocation of Points for Formula 1 Works: A Beginner’s Guide
READ NEXT: All the Formula 1 News
Betting is only available to participants aged 18 years and over. Please bet responsibly. BeGambleAware.org