Five under-the-radar stories to look out for in F1 2025

What to look out for in F1 2025 season away from the top four teams

The year of the rookie

After a season devoid of new faces, 2025 sees five rookies arrive on the grid and each is a story to watch out for.

At Haas, you have Oliver Bearman with the Ferrari Driver Academy driver tipped to be racing in red one day in the future. The 19-year-old Briton has already impressed in his cameo appearances last season but a full year behind the wheel should see his talents grow exponentially.

Down at Alpine, you have Jack Doohan who, if you believe reports, is already facing a fight to keep his seats. The signing of Franco Colapinto as reserve driver has not gone unnoticed but for now, both team and driver are insisting Doohan will be given a fair crack of the whip.

Reigning F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto joins Sauber and has a chance to learn his trade alongside the experienced Nico Hulkenberg. The team finished last by a long distance in 2024 so it may be a barren year for the Brazilian, but he can use this time to settle into the sport before Audi arrives next season.

Isack Hadjar is the latest name to be promoted up the Red Bull academy ladder and his reputation as, let’s say, a loud talker over the radio will be noticeable in the first few races. But he perhaps has the perfect template to learn from in Yuki Tsunoda, who too began F1 with a number of outbursts but has – mostly – toned it down since then.

And then you have Kimi Antonelli who undoubtedly has the biggest spotlight on him of all the rookies. Filling the shoes of Lewis Hamilton would have been an overwhelming task for even the most experienced driver but handing the Mercedes seat to an 18-year-old who has never driven in F1 is an almighty gamble.

Toto Wolff is hoping his Italian wünderkid is the next Max Verstappen but it is time for Antonelli to sink or swim after many years of hype.

Will Ayao Komatsu’s Haas continue making steps forward?

For a team that was so often scraping at the bottom of the table, Haas are only looking one way now as Ayao Komatsu’s revolution heads into its second year.

Under his guidance, Haas shook off their tyre-shredding issues of 2023 and went from strength to strength last year, finishing on 58 points, the most they have scored since 2018.

But it was not just on track where progress was made. Back at base, Haas secured the partnership of motoring giant Toyota, a perfect collaboration for how this particular F1 team goes about their business.

Without the bank balance of the big teams, Haas’ approach is a collaborative one and Toyota will work alongside Ferrari, who provide chassis parts and the engine, and Dallara, who build the chassis, to push Haas further up the grid.

Following the announcement of the agreement, Komatsu admitted Haas were “lacking certain resources and hardware capabilities to understand certain things” but with the might of Toyota onside, that is unlikely to be a barrier going forwards.

Toyota’s arrival will be a long-term benefit but in the short team, Komatsu must navigate the driver duo of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman. A rookie alongside one of the more volatile members of the paddock could prove to be a tough task for the 49-year-old to deal with in what is only his second year as a team principal.

Can Adrian Newey correct Aston Martin’s course?

There was plenty of optimism in the air when Adrian Newey, dressed in a duck egg blue suit, was unveiled to the world at Aston Martin’s HQ.

The worst kept secret in F1 became official in September last year but it came in a season of standing still for the Silverstone squad.

Unable to recapture the magic of early 2023, Aston Martin found themselves slipping further away from the top four and starting to have a nervous look over their shoulder.

Heads did roll, Dan Fallows moved off to another department and Mike Krack was relieved of his team principal role but Lawrence Stroll’s significant investment comes with the demand of progress.

Newey does not arrive at Silverstone until March, meaning the first version of the 2025 car at least will be free of his input, but Stroll Snr is betting on the legendary designer to get his project back on track.

The looming spectre of Franco Colapinto at Alpine

You don’t spend a reported €10+ million for a driver to sit on the bench, right? That was the first question everyone thought of when Alpine announced they had signed the Williams academy graduate as reserve driver following his impressive stint at Grove.

With the likes of Red Bull turning away from Colapinto, Alpine successfully persisted in their pursuit of the 21-year-old and if there was one man who has more right to be concerned than most, it’s Jack Doohan.

The mould of Doohan’s seat had just barely dried when reports of Colapinto arriving first emerged and even after the Australian was given the seat, reports soon emerged that it was for only six races and his future was very much up for debate.

Even if that number is a made up one, Colapinto’s presence means Doohan cannot afford a slow start to his F1 career.

More on the upcoming F1 2025 season

The ultimate F1 2025 guide: Everything you need to know about the 2025 season

F1 schedule: When is the next race and where is it being held?

The most competitive midfield of all time?

If the title race is shaping up to be an almighty tussle, the same could be said of the midfield.

Right now, it is hard to pick between Williams, Racing Bulls, Haas and Alpine for who will be the lead midfield contender and if last season is anything to go by, supremacy will swing from one race to the next.

Each of those four teams have their positives with Williams welcoming Carlos Sainz while, as we mentioned earlier, Komatsu continues to do good work at Banbury. For Alpine, they showed plenty of promise at the end of 2024 and Racing Bulls are moving closer to their Red Bull owners in a bid to improve their performance.

Of the other six teams, it is only perhaps Sauber who are predicted to have another difficult season but the combination of Mattia Binotto, Jonathan Wheatley and Nico Hülkenberg means it will not be for the lack of experienced figures.

Aston Martin too could be pulled in should they fail to hit the ground running.