Australia is set to host the opening race of a brand new, highly anticipated Formula 1 season.
All 10 teams are back in Melbourne to kick off the year for the first time since 2019 and an awful lot has changed since then.
With so many questions ahead of a new season, we decided to compile our four biggest predictions for one of the biggest weekends on the F1 calendar.
Prediction 1 - Both Drivers in the points for Williams
Williams enter the 2025 season with renewed expectations. Their decision to sign former Ferrari driver, and last year's Australian Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz, should point to a new sense of ambition.ย
Team principal James Vowles recently said he wants the Williams car to be a โcommonplaceโ in the top 10, with all the โingredientsโ for a possible podium in 2025.
We predict Williams to not only have one driver sneak into the top half, but we believe both drivers will finish Sunday in the points.ย
Williams have two quick, established drivers with proven experience, who should be challenging for points. Sainz's CV speaks for itself, a three-time race winner, he's enjoyed a pleasant start to his new team, topping the time-charts for the second day of pre-season testing.
Alex Albon also had a strong 2024 season, cracking the top eight multiple times throughout the year.
With six rookies entering the grid in Melbourne, this is the perfect chance for the Williams drivers to show their experience. Of course there are obvious question marks surrounding the car, but we believe the strength of the drivers will push them through for a successful weekend.
Prediction 2 - Red Bull to Struggle
Red Bull Racing enters 2025 as one of the great mysteries of Formula 1. Max Verstappen remains, quite clearly, the best driver on the grid - but will it stay the same if the RB21 struggles to keep up with the McLaren and the Ferrari.ย
It's really impossible to know how fast the Red Bull car is compared to the other teams until this weekend, but if we have to make a prediction then we believe the team from Milton Keynes will struggle.
If Verstappen has made one thing clear in 2025, it's that the Red Bull is not an easy car to drive. Through testing, the reigning world champion described it as โhorribleโ and โun-driveable.โ
Unless Red Bull have somehow fixed their issues from testing, then handling will remain an issue at Albert Park.
The other big question remains the quality of Liam Lawson. Being Max Verstappen's teammate is not easy - ask Sergio Perez - particularly for a young driver with less than 12 race starts.
With Ferrari and McLaren's driver lineup filled to the brim with experienced drivers, Red Bull should expect moments of inconsistency from Lawson.ย
Expect Verstappen to continue pushing for first, but if Lawson can't tame the โun-drivable monster,โ then this could prove to be a very challenging weekend for the Red Bull team.ย
Prediction 3 - Ferrari to Impress
Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari colours still feels odd, but the 40-year-old arrives in Melbourne with a team brimming with optimism.
While 2024 could be considered a down season for the seven-time world champion, Hamilton still showed enough moments of brilliance, particularly at the British Grand Prix where he drove a flawless race.
Leaving Mercedes could potentially be the best thing for his F1 career, with a freshly motivated Hamilton, in a potential championship-quality car, a scary prospect for the rest of the grid.
However, partnering with arguably the second-best driver on the grid in Charles Leclerc won't be an easy task for Hamilton and he will likely struggle to match the raw pace of Leclerc in the early rounds, particularly in qualifying.ย
The other question mark on Ferrari is the true pace of their car. Judging from testing, the car seems well-balanced but its top-end speed compared to McLaren is still a question.
If we had to predict, the strengths of this Ferrari team lie in their qualifying performance. Hamilton has taken the most pole positions of any driver at Albert Park (8), while Leclerc previously snatched pole in 2022.ย
We expect both drivers to be fighting for pole position on Sunday, setting the Ferrari team up for a brilliant weekend to kickstart the Hamilton era.
Prediction 4 - Lando Norris to Win
2025 feels like the year Lando Norris makes the jump.ย
He has always had the raw talent, but finally he seemingly has the car to match.
The 25-year-old has admitted he made costly mistakes in 2024 which opened the door for a Verstappen championship, with McLaren hoping he can more consistently replicate the form last season which saw him take four Grand Prix victories.
His strengths continue to lie in qualifying, at his best Norris is simply one of the best one-lap drivers on the grid.ย
What should also give Norris confidence, is how strong McLaren looked through testing. The Woking outfit were undoubtedly the standout performers - with impressive long-distance pace and tyre management throughout the three days.
Although McLaren do have a notably pitiful track record in Melbourne, we believe Norris will be too strong in the all-improved MCL39 and will take his debut victory down under.
