Great debate: Who will be the 2025 Formula 1 world champion?

Let’s assume, for this thought experiment, that we’re going to have four teams that are all pretty evenly matched at the sharp end of the grid: McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. If that is indeed the case, then let’s also assume an equal split of wins: six each for all four teams. In that regard, it’s going to come to this: which drivers from each team will win the lion’s share of races, and how they perform on weekends where they don’t have the fastest car.

These are conditions that reward two things: a driver’s skill, and their superiority over a team-mate. At McLaren, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri should be evenly matched, as the Australian continues his progress in F1. Ferrari has its box-office duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, while Mercedes’ results might swing towards the more experienced George Russell early on, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli grows into the season.