Ranking of Formula 1 driver pairs for 2025
After an unusual repetition of the total grid of Formula 1 For 2024 compared to the end of 2023, for next season there will be a radical transformation, because only two teams will maintain the lineup they had in the campaign that just concluded, while in the other eight garages there will be new features.
In some teams, such as Haas or Sauberboth drivers will be new and the rest will have a newcomer, with the appearance of up to four rookies and two more who will live their first experience as regular drivers since the beginning of the calendar; That is, almost a third of the protagonists will have little experience.
The movements began in February 2024, when the British Lewis Hamilton announced that he would join Ferrari The following year was followed by the premature dismissals of American Logan Sargeant at Williams and from the Australian Daniel Ricciardo in R.B.until the signing of the Spanish Carlos Sainz with the British squadron caused a succession of events.
Thus, facing 2026 when there will be a revolution in the serial rules, the factories want to consolidate their formations as the dates pass, put them to the test and, as always happens, see how they are capable of making the other better, without putting at risk the cars and, above all, the points for the group.
Looking ahead to this new start, the combinations have different expectations among the 10 participants, with a couple very solid, while the rest brings together an experienced rider with someone who will only take his first laps at the highest level. This is the couples ranking for 2025:
The Japanese Yuki Tsunoda has already promised that he will continue “destroying” his teammates in the second squad. Red Bulldespite never being considered to be together with Max Verstappen and that its future is at risk because it is the last year of the link between the energy drinks company and Honda engines.
The Asian, who has surpassed in statistics Liam LawsonDaniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries, will welcome the 20-year-old Frenchman Isack Hadjar to the Great Circus, who will make his debut in Australia, after being second in Formula 2 and becoming the new promise of an Austrian Academy that seems to dry out.
The other team that changed its duo is Kick Sauberwho after adding four points in all of 2024 let the Chinese go Guanyu Zhou and to finnish Valtteri Bottasto attract the German Hülkenberg, in anticipation of Audi’s landing by 2026, and promote an F3 and F2 champion, the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto.
The South American left the development program McLaren And at 20 years old he will debut in the top category alongside one of the most experienced, Hulk, 37, who has 227 races at this level and is still waiting for his first podium, although it seems that he will have to keep waiting.
The driver who closed the campaign best after Verstappen was the Frenchman Pierre Gaslywho was third in Sao Paulo, for the fifth podium on his resume, fifth in Qatar and seventh in Abu Dhabi to give Alpine sixth place in the championship and the millions of dollars that that means.
Now he will have the Australian rookie at his side Jack Doohanwho competed in Yas Marina to close 2024, where he was 15th and who at 21 years old has the history of having been second in Formula 3 and third in F2, but before starting he already has the pressure of the Argentine Franco Colapinto as a reserve, so it seems a matter of time for the change and for the South American to return to the grid to try to shine as in his first appearances with Williams.
One of the two organizations that completely changes its lineup is Haas, which dispensed with veterans Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen to replace them with the Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who already knows what it is to win in F1 (in Hungary 2021 with Alpine) and who was second in Sao Paulo 2024, although his aggressive style makes most of his colleagues uncomfortable.
Next to him will be the British Oliver Bearman, who left good feelings as a replacement for Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Saudi Arabia and Magnussen for Haas in Azerbaijan, with points on both occasions, but now he will have the responsibility of competing during the 24 dates and confirming himself as one of the great promises of the serial.
The Aston Martin duo occupies this position in the ranking only because it has one of the three active monarchs of the category, the Spanish Fernando Alonso, who in this part of his career has stood out for obtaining the maximum possible performance from a car that sometimes he has less than what the Asturian gets.
His partner will once again be the Canadian Stroll, son of the owner and who was once again clearly surpassed by the Iberian, who provides the necessary points to keep the team in the middle table and the talent to never rule him out if it comes to doing something. feat.
All of 2025 will serve to evaluate the risky bet of Toto Wolff and the Mercedes board, which chose the 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton, without having done any work in F1, hoping to find in the Italian the new Verstappen of the silver arrows.
This will cause Russell to make the leap to being the reference in the garage, a position he claimed in two of the three years he shared with Lewis, when he surpassed him in the table; more discreet than the defending champion, who Lando Norris either Charles LeclercGeorge also has the quality to fight for the title if the conditions exist.
4- Williams: Alex Albon / Carlos Sainz
The legendary team will have an interesting combination for 2025, with the Thai Alex Albon, who has been the garage’s number one driver in the three previous campaigns, in which he shone by obtaining points when the slightest opportunity presented itself and in the face of the low level of his teammates.
Now Sainz lands, the most sought after during the market and who chose the Grove project with the hope that progress will be maintained until 2026, for this he will put all his capacity because in Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren and Ferrari The Spaniard proved to be one of the best in the current squad.
3- Red Bull: Max Verstappen / Liam Lawson
The director of Red Bull, Christian Horner He clearly expressed what it means to be Verstappen’s teammate: “the worst job in F1” and the person who will now have that responsibility is the New Zealander Liam Lawson, after the Mexican Sergio Pérez fulfilled that role for four seasons.
The best driver today will be escorted by someone with 11 events of experience, whose best result has been ninth on three occasions, although with RB; Now he will have to contribute points to be on par with McLaren and Ferrari, score podiums and even win on occasion.
2- McLaren: Lando Norris / Oscar Piastri
In Woking they would have the best line-up in the paddock, but neither of them has been champion, the British Lando Norris finally won a Grand Prix (in four) and had a car to aspire to glory, but when the time came to fighting with Verstappen he made mistakes that left him empty-handed.
On the other side is the Australian Oscar Piastri who in his second year confirmed all expectations and although his two victories were marred (by Norris’ tantrum in Hungary and the virtual safety car in Azerbaijan) he demonstrated all his talent to even open an internal debate for the future if the most experienced makes mistakes again at decisive moments.
1- Ferrari: Charles Leclerc / Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari already had one of the best duos in the top category with Leclerc and Sainz, but it strengthened it with one of the legends of the Great Circus, a seven-time champion and the highest race and pole winner in history, Lewis Hamilton, who For the first time in his career he will not have a Mercedes engine at his service.
However, the Monegasque will be difficult to overcome, because when he arrived at the Scuderia in 2019 he was not intimidated and surpassed the four-time champion Sebastian Vettel in the two seasons they shared and also prevailed over Sainz, who never felt like the number two of the red cars.
The only doubt is what the atmosphere will be like inside if Ferrari maintains its progress and both drivers reach the final stretch with title hopes, faced with the decision of whether to seek the first championship for the home-made youngster or the eighth for the Englishman. separate from the German Michael Schumacher.
