2025 Formula 1 mid-season review

The Star

10 hours ago

by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two team bosses out the door, a seven-time champion looking increasingly like a ghost in scarlet overalls, and two McLaren hot-shoes battling for supremacy like Prost and Senna with better skincare routines.
Throw in the swirling entropy of Red Bull, the unexpected redemption of Nico Hulkenberg, and the ever-shifting sands of the midfield, and 2025 is fast becoming one of the most arresting Formula 1 seasons in recent memory. As the sport begins its interminable four-week summer shutdown, Xinhua takes a look at how each team has fared so far.
MCLAREN
2025 could hardly have gone better for McLaren, with its drivers locking out first and second in the standings, and a car that manages its tyres better than any other. A second successive Constructors' title is not so much likely as mathematically inevitable, and now the internal battle begins.
Lando Norris has the undeniable edge in raw speed, but his mental fortitude remains questionable, and the Briton has a tendency to spiral into negativity when the going gets tough. Oscar Piastri may lack Norris' outright pace, but the Australian has a relentless consistency reminiscent of Fernando Alonso's mid-2000s pomp, and remains impressively unflappable under pressure.
At the mid-season break, Piastri leads the standings by nine points and edges Norris 6-5 in terms of race wins, but the Briton is the man in form, with three victories from the last four races. With no sign of internecine strife - for now - the stage is set for a fascinating conclusion to 2025, as the world waits to see which papaya pilot will be crowned F1's newest world champion.
FERRARI
After finishing 2024 as McLaren's closest tormentors, hopes were high at Ferrari of a title tilt this year, especially with the much-vaunted arrival of Lewis Hamilton. As things stand, however, 2025 has been a major disappointment, with no wins on the board and the team with less than half of McLaren's points total. Charles Leclerc's Hungary performance typified Ferrari's season, with a brilliant pole position lap undone by balance issues that dropped him to a distant fourth by the flag.
In the other car, Hamilton's switch from Mercedes dominated headlines throughout 2024, but his first season at the Prancing Horse could scarcely have gone worse, with the Briton appearing worryingly disheartened and baffled at his lack of pace. His one consolation is a sprint victory in China - an espresso shot in a season-long hangover. Ferrari's SF-25 won't be heading for museums any time soon, but too many underwhelming weekends risk tarnishing the seven-time world champion's legacy.
Amid Ferrari's underwhelming season, the announcement of a multi-year extension for team boss Fred Vasseur came as something of a surprise. With the Scuderia's propensity to pull the trigger if things aren't going well, the Frenchman's new deal feels less like strategy and more like roulette.
MERCEDES
Rumors over the potential arrival of Max Verstappen clearly unsettled George Russell, but with the Dutchman now set to remain at Red Bull for 2026, a new contract for the Briton should be a formality. Russell showed what he is capable of with an exemplary drive to victory in Canada, backing that up with several strong finishes as he emerges from Lewis Hamilton's elongated shadow.
On the other side of the garage, Kimi Antonelli's rise to F1 came amid much fanfare, but there are signs that the Italian may have been promoted a little early, with the 18-year-old making mistakes and going pointless in six of seven races. Mercedes may have been expecting a certain rawness given his lack of experience, but the Italian needs to add consistency to his undeniable speed in the second half of 2025.
Yet Mercedes' eyes are fixed on 2026. The whispers suggest they've outfoxed their rivals in early development, and the Silver Arrows will be glad to see the back of the 2022-2025 regulation set that has seen the team slip from perennial titles to occasional race wins.
RED BULL
Red Bull's alarming slump in the second half of 2024 has continued into 2025, with the drinks-backed concern languishing only fourth in the standings at the break, and long-serving team principal Christian Horner sensationally being fired for reasons that have yet to be fully explained.
With rumors over his own future now having been put to bed - for 2026 at least - Max Verstappen's enduring brilliance saw him beat the faster McLarens to victory at Suzuka and Imola, but even his matchless skill is often powerless to cure the capricious RB21 of its ride imbalance, and the Dutchman looks set to end the year without a championship title for the first time since 2020.
However, Verstappen's struggles pale in comparison to those of Red Bull's second driver. Liam Lawson fluffed his lines in a two-race audition before being swapped with Yuki Tsunoda, who has arguably fared even worse and looks irretrievably lost and shorn of confidence. With Red Bull's Honda partnership concluding this year, the Japanese will have to undertake a mighty turnaround to convince the drinks-backed squad that he deserves to stay on for 2026.
WILLIAMS
Williams' recent upward trend under the stewardship of the impressive James Vowles has continued in 2025, with the team having its best season in points terms since 2017. The arrival of Ferrari refugee Carlos Sainz was meant to be the catalyst for the Grove outfit's charge up the order, but the Spaniard has so far struggled to adapt to his new surroundings, with incumbent Alex Albon instead leading the charge and scoring the lion's share of the team's 70 points.
Though Williams can be satisfied with its half-season's work, the recent resurgence of Sauber and Aston Martin means the team will have to keep working hard to remain P5 in the Constructors' standings by season's end.
ASTON MARTIN
2025's early races saw Aston Martin looking like they'd turned up with last year's car and this year's excuses, with the team seemingly goal-hanging for F1's rules reset in 2026 and a new car penned by designer extraordinaire Adrian Newey. That changed after the Spanish Grand Prix, with Aston embarking on a run of five points finishes in six races to move up to P6 in the Constructors' standings.
Even at 44 years old, Fernando Alonso remains as cunning and crafty as ever as he makes the most of his limited machinery. Lance Stroll has not disgraced himself either, which is either a compliment or a statistical anomaly. As things stand, it's anyone's guess whether Aston finishes the year fifth or ninth, such is the competitive nature of F1's midfield.
SAUBER
A dismal start to 2025 was arrested by a raft of mid-season updates that transformed the competitiveness of the C45, allowing Nico Hulkenberg to vault himself up into 9th in the points standings and claim a hugely popular and richly-deserved first podium finish with third at Silverstone.
After a difficult start to 2025 with a recalcitrant car and little experience to draw on, rookie Gabriel Bortoleto is looking like the real deal, with the reigning F2 champion starting to outpace Hulkenberg in qualifying and finishing an impressive sixth in Hungary. With Sauber suddenly a force to be reckoned with in F1's congested midfield, the Hinwil outfit remains very much in the hunt for P5 in the Constructors' standings as it prepares to morph into the Audi works team for 2026.
RACING BULLS
A part-season of contrasting fortunes for the young chargers at Red Bull's junior team. Isack Hadjar shrugged off an unfortunate crash on the formation lap in Australia to log several impressive performances, fueling speculation that there may be a promotion in the offing for the rookie Frenchman.
Those rumors dissipated as Hadjar's form subsequently dipped, with Liam Lawson recovering from his own chastening two-race Red Bull stint to lead the Racing Bulls charge, with points in three of the last four races. With Tsunoda's future looking precarious, there may be an opening at Red Bull for 2026 - but would Hadjar or Lawson want to drink from that increasingly poisoned chalice?
HAAS
Alpine's woes have vindicated Esteban Ocon's decision to jump ship and join Haas as its lead driver, and the Frenchman can be satisfied with P10 in the Drivers' standings at the mid-season break, with P5 in China and P7 in Monaco his highlights so far. Rookie teammate Ollie Bearman has proved quick but chaotic, suffering the consequence of several mistakes with damaging grid penalties. The Briton has been closer to Ocon than his points deficit to the Frenchman would suggest, however, having finished agonizingly outside the points in 11th on four consecutive occasions.
One of the smallest operations on the grid, Haas can consider itself slightly unlucky to sit only ninth at the mid-season break, and the American outfit needs to concentrate on finishing races and profiting from others' mistakes in the second half of the season.
ALPINE
Alpine's reputation for disorder and disunity has drawn on apace in 2025, with team principal Oli Oakes departing after less than a year in charge, all but confirming that controversial advisor Flavio Briatore is the true powerbroker at Enstone. Pierre Gasly has at least kept his head amid the chaos behind the scenes, scoring all of Alpine's 20 points and frequently transcending the A525's limitations, especially in qualifying.
The demotion of under-fire Jack Doohan after just six races was as depressing as it was predictable, but though the Australian failed to shine, his replacement Franco Colapinto has done little to suggest that he represents an improvement - though his coterie of South American sponsors may help ensure he keeps his seat for the rest of an increasingly trying year.