The Formula 1 season is upon us again, and here are five predictions for the year ahead.

1. Max does it again – Verstappen is a four-time champion now, though late last season it appeared McLaren’s Lando Norris might seize his crown. This coming season, there are even higher expectations on McLaren, with both Norris and Australian teammate Oscar Piastri bullish about challenging for the Driver’s Championship. Throw in a likely competitive Ferrari with their all-star pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc and there should be no shortage of competition.

There is, however, some distinct advantages Verstappen might leverage to retain his championship for a fifth consecutive campaign.

Firstly, he won’t be embroiled in the kind of mess McLaren found themselves in last season with teammates fighting one another on track and team orders muddying the waters – expect Ferrari to encounter similar issues this season with two motivated challengers.

Verstappen’s teammate Liam Lawson isn’t one to back down easily, but in his first full season in the sport and with Red Bull’s ruthless team principal Christian Horner laying down the law, Max will be their clear number one.

Max Verstappen wins yet again. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Secondly, there is pedigree and experience in winning championships. We saw last year that even when McLaren had the fastest car for much of the season, they still left a mountain of points on the table in both Drivers and Constructors Championships.

Having a driver, support team and executive decision makers that have successfully won titles means less mistakes are made, and pressure only separates them from their rivals. Just look at Verstappen’s dominant win from the back of the grid in Sao Paulo last season.

It’s not to say McLaren and Ferrari won’t come prepared, and Lewis is certainly no stranger to winning championships, but this Red Bull unit built around Verstappen is seasoned and won’t make many mistakes.

2. Sergio Perez returns – Daniel Ricciardo does not – It’s no secret that there are a few ousted veterans eyeing off the racing seats at new-comers Cadillac next season. Much has been made about who the team will hire to kickstart their ambitious entry into F1, and drivers with both experience and the ability to raise the team’s profile are surely at the front of the queue.

In the absence of any American stars proven at the level, it would then surely not be a surprise to hear rumours they’re looking at the immensely popular Ricciardo, and the marketing juggernaut from Mexico, Sergio Perez.

The team would have doubts over the abilities of both drivers given the way both crashed out of the sport last season – Perez was a shadow of the reliable veteran and Verstappen sidekick he’d been for years.

There was no more ‘Minister of Defence’ holding Red Bull’s rivals at bay and racking up key points for the constructor’s title; Perez looked void of confidence and unable to wrangle the Verstappen tailored car and found himself replaced by Lawson in the off-season.

Ricciardo too went out largely with a whimper – he was always under pressure, Red Bull wouldn’t keep a 35-year-old in their junior team long – it was about demanding Perez’s seat or nothing, and the charismatic Australian left empty handed. Both men, however, have shown immense quality at their best, and are hugely profitable athletes who would bring much needed attention and sponsorships to the F1’s new disruptor.

In addition, their experience across numerous teams would put them in a strong position to advise on elements of the car and development, and give the team a strong gauge on where they can improve.

Ultimately, however, it’s likely Cadillac will only require one of them – both are short term hires in their mid-30s and the grid grows younger each season. Cadillac would likely pair a veteran with a younger driver, perhaps even Ricciardo’s former teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who was overlooked for promotion by Red Bull.

The sheer weight of Perez’s marketability in North America is likely to be a dealbreaker, especially with the continent hosting four Grand Prix in 2026, while Ricciardo seems more content with the two to drift into a long and happy retirement from the sport.

Sergio Perez. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

3. New venues announced and old favourites on the chopping block – It’s no secret that F1 is going through a period of rapid expansion and change. The USA has added two Grand Prix in the last few years in Miami and Las Vegas, while the Middle East now hosts four races including the decider in Abu Dhabi. There is a strong interest from Saudi Arabia to add a second race and endlessly deep pockets to fund it.

In F1, money talks loudest and this means a likely shift away from many beloved circuits in favour of those most lucrative offers. There is a limit to the amount of races in a season that the organisers can convince drivers and teams to agree to – many are already frustrated by the 24-race season’s length. Before this season began, we saw the first signs that even the most iconic venues aren’t entirely safe.

Spa-Francochamps in Belgium is a long time iconic track, with its undulating track, iconic turns and stunning forested backdrop a favourite amongst both drivers and fans. From 2027, the circuit will only appear every second year in a compromise to keep the Belgian GP somewhat present on the calendar.

At risk too is the Circuit de Catalunya, a track often used for testing due to the balance of the circuit – a Madrid street circuit will host soon and it is unlikely organisers will accept two races in Spain. Imola too is likely to suffer from the same fate, as more countries bid to host – Monza will forever be Italy’s primary race and so the natural expectation is that the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix gets axed or rotated.

It’s not out of the equation that F1 organisers hike hosting fees to weed out other less profitable circuits, though it seems Monaco may stay exempt from these tribulations, but there may come a breaking point for organisers in Australia, Japan or some of the smaller European hosts.

There is a storm coming for many of the sport’s hosts, and only time will tell who can survive and who will be cast aside or left behind.

4. 2025 will be absolute box office – It’s the last year of the current regulations. Red Bull were the dominant team of this era, while Mercedes had the largest drop-off after the Silver Arrows and Lewis Hamilton’s untouchable domination during the previous set.

Now, with teams shifting more of their cost-capped resources towards the new regulations and developing their 2026 cars, the field is tighter than ever. In 2024, seven different drivers won multiple races, representing four different teams, something never before seen in F1. Even the battlers of the grid like Haas became points contenders while Alpine will remember their Brazil double podium for a long time to come.

The upcoming season should be tighter still – the teams with the deepest pockets and most ambition will be jostling to gain the crucial development ascendency in 2026 – getting it right can unlock years of competitive advantage and getting it wrong can be a disastrous outcome that haunts a team for years.

Don’t expect front runners McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull to pour time and money into extensive upgrades this season – it’s more likely they tinker with key components and trust their drivers to bring it home.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

There are, however, teams who aren’t flush with the fastest car, largest budgets and championship ambitions. There are teams who can’t afford not to aggressively hunt points and prize money this year that will ultimately continue to close the gaps.

It’s not to say Williams will rediscover their 90s heyday – team principal James Vowles has been vocal about focusing on the 2026 regulations – but the middle of the pack will all sniff a chance to rocket up the standings.

Alpine will be determined to capitalise on a miraculous sixth place, Aston Martin will be fuming after a disappointing 2024, while the often cash-strapped Haas and swansong season for outgoing Sauber will see both want to finish this regulation era on a high.

Don’t expect the middle of the pack to suddenly contend for regular podiums but do expect them to gather more points and engage in more wheel-to-wheel combat with the big boys, especially towards the end of the season.

5. But 2026 will not – New Regulations bring about huge changes to the pecking order. Just look at what happened after the last change of regulations and the implications it had for the top teams. Mercedes went from undisputed top dog to arguably fourth in the championship hierarchy, and their struggle to rediscover their magic was arduous enough that Lewis Hamilton ended their legendary partnership.

Red Bull went from clawing their way to competitiveness against Mercedes to utterly dominating the field when they nailed the shift in regulations – as recently as 2023, they won all but one solitary race. It would be wrong to expect any of the sport’s biggest four teams to drop dramatically into the midfield throng, but the current evenness that saw four teams claim multiple wins won’t carry over.

It’s no secret too that many of the struggling teams and those with more cash and ambition than actual results will be aiming to hit the ground running too. Aston Martin hired the architect behind Red Bull’s dominance, Adrian Newey, to spearhead their 2026 development, while Audi and Cadillac will hope to upset the apple cart coming in fresh.

Williams too have had their sights set on 2026 and have the strongest pairing of drivers in the midfield in multiple race winner Carlos Sainz and veteran tyre-whisperer Alex Albon.

It’s hard to pick who will float and who will flounder under the new regulations, it won’t be until pre-season testing for 2026 where we will get our first glimpse of the new F1 era. All we know from history is that not everyone gets it right, and that it can take years for the pack to close in on those who hit the ground running. Will Mercedes return to their heyday?

Will Red Bull manage to stay at the top without Newey? If they don’t, Toto Wolff will come fast and hard to bring Verstappen to Mercedes.

Could Aston Martin deliver Fernando Alonso the championship-calibre car he’s been hunting for nearly twenty years? There are more questions than answers, and that alone will make 2026 an intriguing season, even if it’s almost certainly unlikely to hit the heights expected from 2025.