Who were the biggest winners and losers from the 2025 F1 season?

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked the tip of a gruelling 24-round season that additionally waved goodbye to the present technology of F1 automobiles.

Now the mud has settled on a pulsating marketing campaign that concluded with a three-way title showdown which went all the way down to the wire, we’ve assessed which drivers and groups will be pleased with their efforts, and who shall be grateful to get away for the winter break.

Listed below are our greatest winners and losers from the 2025 F1 season…

Winner – Norris and McLaren

It most likely received’t come as a shock to see Lando Norris and McLaren sitting high of our 2025 winners and losers choice.

Norris clinched his maiden world championship however he wasn’t the very best driver of the season. After an ideal begin, Norris’s title bid faltered throughout a scrappy interval the place he made too many errors in a automotive that was the dominant drive at that time of the yr.

However, Norris demonstrated his psychological energy and resilience in his restoration from a number of setbacks, together with a devastating retirement at Zandvoort, to place collectively a powerful run of type when it mattered most.

The 26-year-old capitalised on a perplexing rut suffered by McLaren teammate and long-time championship chief Oscar Piastri, whose late-season drop-off blew his possibilities of a primary world title, and noticed Norris emerge because the favorite.

McLaren efficiently defended their constructors’ championship, and likewise landed their first drivers’ world title since 2008, all whereas sustaining concord inside the crew regardless of dealing with loads of critics.

Loser – Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton

This was unquestionably Lewis Hamilton’s worst season in F1, and never simply statistically talking.

Hamilton’s dream transfer to Ferrari shortly was a nightmare as he ended a vastly disappointing debut marketing campaign and not using a grand prix podium for the primary time in a season, and suffered three consecutive Q1 exits.

The seven-time world champion completed almost 100 factors adrift of teammate Charles Leclerc, who nonetheless turned in a powerful yr regardless of Ferrari’s aggressive woes of their first winless marketing campaign since 2021.

Even taking into consideration the actual fact Hamilton needed to adapt to a brand new crew, tradition and automotive, 2025 fell approach beneath the lofty requirements the 40-year-old Briton holds himself to. Even contemplating how unhealthy Ferrari’s SF-25 was, Hamilton suffered the bottom low of his F1 profession so far with repeated poor performances.

The one actual optimistic got here on the second spherical of the season in China, the place Hamilton produced a classic efficiency to take pole place and win the dash race. However that appears like a really very long time in the past.

Winner – Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen delivered what was certainly the very best season by a driver to not win a world championship, having come simply two factors shy of pulling off  an unthinkable comeback that might have gone down in F1 historical past.

The four-time world champion wrote off his title probabilities a number of instances all through 2025, significantly as Purple Bull suffered a wretched mid-season, leaving him 104 factors adrift of the championship summit with simply 9 rounds to go.

However Verstappen by no means gave up. He was remarkably constant and a mixture of a sensational turnaround from Purple Bull, driver errors and crew errors from McLaren, introduced the Dutchman again into unlikely title competition.

Extremely, Verstappen stayed within the hunt all the way in which till the chequered flag within the Abu Dhabi finale, and might come away with few regrets from a season during which he squeezed each ounce of efficiency from and ended with probably the most pole positions and wins (eight for each) of any driver.

Think about what he would have executed had he been driving the McLaren…

Loser – Purple Bull’s second drivers

It was a woeful yr to be in Purple Bull’s second seat. Liam Lawson’s stint alongside Verstappen lasted two disastrous races earlier than he was changed by Yuki Tsunoda, who fared little higher.

Tsunoda’s lows weren’t as horrendous as Lawson’s however he nonetheless struggled to make any sort of impression alongside Verstappen, who as soon as once more did the heavy lifting at Purple Bull.

There have been moments of promise, but it surely was by no means constant and Tsunoda finally blew his likelihood and has subsequently turned the most recent sufferer of the Purple Bull second seat ‘curse’.

Tsunoda managed a measly 30 level in comparison with Verstappen’s haul of 421, marking the most important factors hole to a teammate in F1 historical past.

Whereas Lawson not less than bounced again with a respectful efficiency throughout the rest of 2025 upon his humiliating demotion to sister crew Racing Bulls, Tsunoda’s repute has taken what might be an unsalvageable hit.

Winner – F1’s rookie crop

Isack Hadjar ended 2025 as the highest rookie and subsequently earned a Purple Bull drive. The Frenchman’s seasons began terribly along with his formation-lap crash in Australia, however the method during which he bounced again was vastly spectacular.

Hadjar was speedy over one lap, tremendous constant and loved the very best excessive of any rookie in phrases out outright outcomes, claiming a surprising maiden podium with a third-place end at Zandvoort.

It was a rollercoaster season of highs and lows for Kimi Antonelli, however the 19-year-old rookie impressively recovered from a dreadful mid-season stoop and confirmed flashes of the potential Mercedes noticed in him within the first place.

Very like Antonelli, Ollie Bearman’s season was blended and at instances messy. However his uncooked outright pace was by no means in query. The Briton produced some searing qualifying laps and eventually mixed that with a string of constant points-scoring shows in direction of the tip of the yr, capped off with an impressive fourth in Mexico Metropolis.

On paper, Gabriel Bortoleto had the least spectacular season out of the rookies, however that’s not a completely truthful reflection given he was within the worst automotive out of the lot. Getting into F1 as on the reigning F2 champion, Bortoleto underlined his potential with a number of stand out drives, together with his run to P6 in Hungary.

The Brazilian held his personal towards highly-rated teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying. A pair of brutal crashes throughout a nightmare weekend on dwelling soil in Brazil, and different notable errors, don’t take away from what was finally a robust introduction to F1.

Loser – Alpine

Alpine endured a dreadful 2025 season they are going to wish to overlook in a rush.

The season began poorly for Alpine and their struggles solely acquired worse, with the A525 proving to be the slowest in the complete discipline.

Alpine solely scored factors on 5 events and completed the yr all-time low of the constructors’ championship and a whopping 48 factors behind ninth-placed Sauber.

Pierre Gasly’s robust performances have been the one spotlight. The Frenchman bagged all of Alpine’s factors, together with a superb drive to sixth at Silverstone, and likewise dragged his automotive to Q3 on 10 occassions.

Having taken the choice to desert 2025 early to prioritise F1’s guidelines reset, and with Mercedes engines coming onboard, they’ve to enhance subsequent yr. It will probably’t get any worse, can it?

Winner – Williams

McLaren apart, Williams have been the standout success story of 2025 as they ended the season as better of the remaining behind the highest 4 groups.

Williams secured their finest championship end since 2017 with an surprising rise to fifth place. The good acquisition of Carlos Sainz proved to be a masterstroke, boosting the British squad to their first triple-digit factors haul since 2016.

Sainz and Alex Albon type some of the formidable driver pairings on the complete grid and Williams will head into F1’s new daybreak not solely on the rise, however rightfully stuffed with confidence in regards to the future.

Loser – Aston Martin

Disappointing could be one of the best ways to explain Aston Martin’s 2025 season.

Aston Martin’s latest struggles continued and the crew largely had Fernando Alonso to thank for ending as excessive as seventh within the constructors’ championship. The 2-time world champion scored 56 factors to teammate Lance Stroll’s 33 and claimed Aston Martin’s finest results of fifth place in Hungary.

With expectations at an all-time excessive because of a brand new engine partnership with Honda, and Adrian Newey designing the automotive, Aston Martin could have no hiding place in 2026. 

Winner – Racing Bulls

For Racing Bulls, the 2025 season was an enormous success, regardless of adjustments to their driver line up and crew administration throughout the yr.

Racing Bulls produced their highest factors haul since 2021 with 92 factors as they clinched sixth place within the constructors’ championship.

Hadjar was the star of the season for Racing Bulls to offer the crew their greatest spotlight of the yr along with his podium at Zandvoort. 

The one draw back is shedding Hadjar to Purple Bull on account of his spectacular rookie marketing campaign. Racing Bulls will hope Purple Bull’s subsequent protege Arvid Lindblad will be as profitable.

Loser – Jack Doohan

It’s straightforward to overlook Jack Doohan raced in F1 this season, such was the impression he made at Alpine.

The 22-year-old Australian was changed after six underwhelming races as Alpine drafted in Franco Colapinto.

Doohan scored no factors and was outperformed by teammate Gasly. His temporary Alpine stint will probably remembered for 2 massive crashes.

He misplaced management within the moist on the primary lap of his debut on the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, earlier than struggling a heavy crash in follow on the Japanese Grand Prix two races later.

Doohan’s crash at Suzuka was the results of him failing to shut the DRS overtaking help earlier than turning into the high-speed Flip 1.