Formula 1: Predictions for the upcoming 2025 season

There will be six Sprints held in 2025: Shanghai, Miami, Spa, Austin, Sao Paulo and Qatar.

BHPian Scarlet_Rider recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Below is the calendar for the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship - which will mark the series’ 75th anniversary!.

Some excerpts from Formula1.com

• Australia returns to its familiar slot as the season-opener.
• Hungary and Belgium have swapped round, with Hungary moving back to its traditional slot as the final race before the four-week summer break.
• That double-header follows a new extended break in July, with three weeks between the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and Belgium.
• The two-week mandatory factory closure for teams which is enforced by the regulations remains in August, between Hungary and the Netherlands.
• The extended breaks we have this year in October and November have disappeared, with the run of races from Azerbaijan in September through to Abu Dhabi in December spaced out more evenly.
• There will be six Sprints held in 2025: Shanghai, Miami, Spa, Austin, Sao Paulo and Qatar.
• Changes made to the calendar in 2024 to create a better geographical flow of races have been carried over to 2025, with Japan in April following Australia and China, followed predominantly by the European races over the summer and the Americas during the Autumn, before Qatar and Abu Dhabi finish the season back-to-back.

Source: 1, 2

 Here's what BHPian PetrolHead2272 replied:

I’m rooting for Kimi, that kid is R-A-P-I-D. The crash in Monza during FP1 just reminded me of max during his early days. He made mistakes no doubt but at the same time no driver on the grid could’ve ever matched the pace he had with a car which by the way was inferior to the 2020 Mercedes (the fastest f1 car ever.)
I see in Kimi what I saw in Max back in 2015. With a little bit of seasoning and experience, we could be looking at our next world champion.

P.S. - Someone tell Lance to stop hogging the seat he doesn’t deserve. No one can be that dumb to drive a car with virtually no ground clearance over wet sand and then expect not to get beached.

 Here's what BHPian Chasing_Dreams replied:

I've been a huge fan of Alonso and Hamilton for years, and I would love to see them win again! That said, Alonso is in the twilight of his career, and Hamilton is approaching a similar stage. It might be best for them to step away while they are still celebrated and valued, leaving the sport with grace.

I’d love to see Leclerc win a championship with Ferrari—he truly deserves it. Hoping Ferrari delivers a competitive car next season. For now, though, my bet remains on Max and Red Bull continuing their dominance. And honestly, I’m not complaining about Max’s wins—he absolutely deserves them too!

 Here's what BHPian StarrySky replied:

There was a rumour that RedBull would try to get Sainz released from the Williams contract, but it seems to have died down. Now it seems their interest in Colapinto has also cooled.

RedBull have been reluctant to promote Yuki, but Yuki has been getting the better of whoever they put in the other VCARB seat to audition for Perez's seat. He is going to test with RedBull after the Abu Dhabi race, going head-to-head with Lawson again. So it should be between them for the 2nd RedBull seat.

If RedBull are not satisfied with either and still want to get rid of Perez, they could go for Bottas or Magnussen. Both will be ready to play second fiddle to Max from the outset, which I doubt Sainz will be ready to do. Will Bottas/Magnussen be any better than Perez? I am not sure. But I guess at this point, it doesn't matter for RedBull. They have been ridiculed for keeping Perez this long (even renewing the contract mid-season). After losing millions in prize money due to finishing third in WCC, I doubt if the RedBull employees will be too thrilled with Perez either.

 Here's what BHPian volkman10 replied:

Developments in the regulations for the DRS. With this they try to prevent what happened to McLaren again this year.

These measures come after a controversy generated by the flexibility of McLaren's rear wing during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This design allowed it to deform and increase top speed, even without DRS activated. Following consultations between the FIA and the teams, the new rules seek to close any regulatory gaps.

- The changes include that the DRS flap will have to comply with greater restrictions even at rest.

-Another notable update states that there must be a minimum separation of between 9.4mm and 13mm between the rear wing elements when DRS is disabled. This distance will be measured with a spherical gauge and seeks to prevent teams from taking advantage of an advantage against the nature of the regulations.

-In addition to these adjustments, the FIA will also introduce specific procedures for events with high temperatures with which it seeks to protect the safety of drivers. If the heat index exceeds 30.5°C during a session, the race director may declare a "Heat Hazard". In this case, teams will need to install additional cooling systems for pilots. Likewise, the minimum weight of the single seaters will be increased by 5 kg, reaching 805 kg.

-In terms of tyre testing, from now on, teams will be able to use "mule" cars during post-season testing to evaluate new tyre sizes. In addition, greater freedom will be granted in the management of energy reserves during periods of factory closures.

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 Here's what BHPian motorworks replied:

First up, Perez moving out of Red Bull is no surprise ! He has had an absolutely terrible season and simply does not deserve a drive at a top team like Red Bull. In fact, im not sure why Red Bull actually extended his contract by 2 years! They must have thought that he will continue to be the perfect wingman to Max!

Anyway, i do not think Liam Lawson is the right choice to be honest. He hasnt won F2 or F3 ( agree that not all great drivers win the lower series), but he seems to not have had a stellar series anywhere else too. And he also seems a bit hot-headed to me, banging wheels and taking unnecessary risks. I could be wrong, but the second seat should have ideally gone to Sainz. Some of the decisions at Red Bull always baffle me. In fact, i think they should have probably given Alex Albon a bit more time. He would have done far better than Perez. Anyway, Lawson has a task on hand, Red Bull may just be patient with him for the whole of next year, simply because they now lack serious options.

Just a quick question to all you guys, with 6
Rookies next year, do you foresee more incidents? Cause all of these guys would want to make a mark and Im guessing they are going to be aggressive right off the blocks. This is once in a decade kind of a situation; with 6 new drivers, and I really hope we see some exciting talent come up!

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