2025 F1 drivers and teams

Liam Lawson promoted to Red Bull

Updated: Thursday 19^th December. Liam Lawson has been confirmed as Max Verstappen’s team-mate at Red Bull for the 2025 F1 season.

He replaces the outgoing Sergio Pérez following his announcement that he will leave the team after a disappointing campaign in 2024.

Lawson makes the step up from the RB team after impressing decision makers at Red Bull during two stints as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo. He gets the nod ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who misses out on a move to Red Bull, and will remain at the team now known as Racing Bulls for 2025.

“To be announced as an Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver is a lifelong dream for me, this is something I’ve wanted and worked towards since I was eight years old,” said Lawson.

“It’s been an incredible journey so far. I want to say a massive thank you to the whole team at VCARB for their support, the last six races have played a huge part in my preparation for this next step.

“I also want to thank, Christian, Helmut and the whole Red Bull family for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I am super excited to work alongside Max and learn from a World Champion, I have no doubt I will learn from his expertise. I can’t wait to get going!”

Christian Horner, Red Bull Team Principal and CEO added: “Liam’s performances over the course of his two stints with Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top.

“His arrival continues the team’s long history of promoting from within the Red Bull Junior Programme and he follows in the footsteps of championship and race-winning drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and of course, Max Verstappen.

“There’s no doubt that racing alongside Max, a four-time champion and undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers ever seen in F1, is a daunting task, but I’m sure Liam can rise to that challenge and deliver some outstanding results for us next year.”

Sergio Pérez leaves Red Bull Racing

Updated: Wednesday 18^th December 2024. Sergio Pérez has left Red Bull following a dismal campaign in the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship. He leaves the team exactly four years after he joined, having won six races during his tenure compared to Max Verstappen’s 53.

In an announcement on social media, Pérez said “I’m incredibly grateful for the past four years with Red Bull Racing and for the opportunity to race with such an amazing team.

“Driving for Red Bull has been an unforgettable experience, and I’ll always cherish the success we achieved together. We broke records, reached remarkable milestone, and I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people along the way.”

His future with the team had been in doubt for months as he struggled to turn around a run of form that saw him fail to finish on the podium from round six of the season in Miami back at the beginning of May.

He signed a two-year extension to his contract in June, an attempt by managers to provide some stability to his position. But ultimately, it was fruitless; he dropped to eighth in the drivers’ championship and contributed substantially fewer than half the points of Verstappen, as Red Bull lost out on the constructors’ championship to McLaren.

In the end, it felt inevitable that Pérez would be ousted from his seat. As yet, no decision on his replacement has been announced, although it is said to be a straight fight between RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson for the spot alongside Verstappen.

Bortoleto replaces Bottas and Zhou at Sauber F1

Updated: Thursday, 6^th November. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will leave Sauber at the end of the current season, the team has confirmed, as McLaren junior driver Gabriel Bortoleto joins the team.

The futures of both current drivers were in doubt after a disappointing season for the Audi-owned squad, and after Nico Hülkenberg was announced as one of the two Sauber drivers for 2025.

But there had been speculation that at least one of the two would be kept on for the new season, after attempts to bring in several high-profile names to the team failed. Despite the promise of Audi’s arrival in full the year after next, the team was left as the only one on the grid without a full driver line-up.

Now that place has been filled by F2 title contender Bortoleto, who will make his F1 debut next season. The Brazilian has impressed by both winning the F3 crown and then surging into championship contention in F2 in just his first season.

Bottas has been with Sauber for three seasons, joining after he left Mercedes and impressing at times, especially with qualifying pace. Zhou joined as a rookie before the 2023 season, and his two seasons in Formula 1 haven’t reached the heights that perhaps some might have hoped.

F1 2025 drivers and teams 

Jack Doohan to replace Ocon at Alpine F1 in 2025

Updated: Friday 23^rd August. Reserve and junior driver Jack Doohan will step up to a full-time Formula 1 drive with Alpine in 2025, replacing the outgoing Esteban Ocon. The 2021 F3 runner-up and six-time F2 race winner becomes the first Alpine junior driver to be promoted to a full-time F1 driver for the new year after spending 2024 working as the team's reserve and simulator driver. He'll spend the rest of 2024 undertaking a testing programme in the 2022 Alpine A522 to prepare for the upcoming promotion.

Speaking of the move Doohan said: “I am so happy to secure promotion into a full-time race seat in 2025 with BWT Alpine F1 Team. I am very grateful for the trust and belief by the team’s senior management. There is so much work ahead to be prepared and ready and I will give my best in the meantime to absorb as much information and knowledge to be ready for the step up."

Antonelli to replace Hamilton at Mercedes

Andrea Kimi Antonelli will partner George Russell at Mercedes for the 2025 season, replacing Lewis Hamilton as the seven-time world champion departs for Ferrari.

The 18-year-old Antonelli, who had his first taste of driving a Mercedes F1 car during Friday practice at the Italian Grand Prix, joined the Mercedes development programme in 2019, having had great success in karting. Moving up to single-seaters, he won both the ADAC and Italian Formula 4 championships in 2022, before winning the Formula Regional European Championship in 2023.

This season he has competed in F2 with Prema, where he picked up two wins, at Silverstone and Budapest, and joins his Prema team-mate Oliver Bearman in earning a promotion to F1 for 2025.

“It is an amazing feeling to be announced as a Mercedes works driver alongside George for 2025,” said Antonelli. “Reaching F1 is a dream I’ve had since I was a small boy; I want to thank the team for the support they’ve given me in my career so far and the faith they’ve shown in me. I am still learning a lot, but I feel ready for the opportunity.”

Mercedes Team Principal, Toto Wolff, said: “Our 2025 driver line-up combines experience, talent, youth and out-and-out raw speed. We are excited about what George and Kimi bring to the team both as individual drivers, but also as a partnership.

“Our new line-up is perfect to open the next chapter in our story. It is also a testament to the strength of our junior programme and our belief in home-grown talent.

“Kimi has consistently shown the talent and speed needed to compete at the very top of our sport. We know it will be another big step up, but he has impressed us in his F1 testing this year and we will be supporting him every step of the way in the learning process.”

Carlos Sainz Jr. to join Williams in 2025

Updated: Monday 29^th July. Speculation surrounding Carlos Sainz’s Jr.’s future has been swirling ever since it was announced that Lewis Hamilton would be moving to Ferrari for the 2025 season, and finally it has been confirmed that Sainz’s future will be at Williams.

The Spaniard has signed a two-year deal with the British team with the option to extend, and will be partnering Alex Albon, replacing the departing Logan Sargeant. A three-time grand prix winner, Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race in 2023, and most recently won the Australian Grand Prix this season. He makes the move to Williams after spending four seasons at Ferrari, and has also driven for Toro Rosso, Renault, and McLaren in his near-decade long Formula 1 career.

“I am very happy to announce that I will be joining Williams Racing from 2025 onwards," he said. "It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision.

"However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

"The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity... I will give my absolute best to drive Williams forward alongside every single member of the team."

Esteban Ocon to drive for Haas in 2025

Updated: Thursday 25^th July. Haas’ driver line-up has been finalised for next season with the announcement that Esteban Ocon will join the team in 2025. Ocon and his new teammate, the recently announced Oliver Bearman, will replace Nico Hülkenberg – who is moving to Sauber before it transforms into Audi’s first Formula 1 effort, and Kevin Magnussen, who’s departure from Haas was announced last week.

Ocon spent five years with Renault and then Alpine, and secured the Enstone-based team’s only win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. He is yet to score any points this season with struggling Alpine, and has a fraught relationship with teammate Pierre Gasly which came to a head in Monaco.  

Partnering with rookie Bearman will be Ocon’s first time as the more experienced driver in the team, so it will be interesting to see how their dynamic plays out over the course of next season. 

Kevin Magnussen to leave Haas at the end of the season

Updated: Thursday 18^th July. Kevin Magnussen will leave Haas at the end of the 2024 F1 season, bringing to an end the Dane’s second spell at the team.

Magnussen originally joined Haas back in 2017, forming a four-season partnership with team-mate Romain Grosjean until he was replaced for the 2021 season in a wholesale reshuffle that saw youngsters Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin join the team.

He spent 2021 racing in sportscars for Cadillac, but returned to Haas in 2022, scoring a stunning fifth-place finish in his first race back.

Magnussen has been largely outperformed by Nico Hülkenberg since the German joined the team in 2023. With Hülkenberg already leaving to join Sauber in 2025, the Haas team has again decided to completely refresh its driver line-up and replace Magnussen as well.

Oliver Bearman has already been confirmed to join Haas next year, and Alpine outcast Esteban Ocon is heavily favoured to become his team-mate.

Magnussen’s future in F1 is now uncertain, there are still spaces left on the grid at RB, Alpine, Williams and Mercedes, while there is the possibility that he could follow Hülkenberg to Sauber, but for now, there is no word on where the former McLaren and Renault driver could end up.

Oliver Bearman announced as Haas driver for 2025

Updated: Thursday 4^th July. Oliver Bearman will become an F1 driver in 2025 with Haas, having signed a multi-year deal with the team that will see him graduate from Formula 2.

A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Bearman made his F1 debut in 2024, standing in for an ill Carlos Sainz Jr. at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He finished seventh to score his first F1 points, and has been linked with a seat at Haas ever since.

He is currently competing in his second season of F2, so far winning only once – last time out in the Austrian sprint race, and sitting 14^th in the drivers’ standings as his Prema team struggle for form. Despite his F1 cameo, he has been largely outperformed by his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is also heavily linked with a move to Mercedes for next year.

Bearman is the first confirmed driver for Haas in 2025. Nico Hülkenberg will make the move to Sauber next season, and there has been no news yet surrounding Kevin Magnussen’s future at the team.

Which drivers are confirmed for F1 2025?

Aside from Lewis Hamilton’s impending arrival at Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season, Charles Leclerc will remain in Maranello as his team-mate.

Among the other top teams, Red Bull has Max Verstappen locked in with a contract for 2025, although the reigning four-time world champion’s future is still far from clear as rifts within the team continue to cause doubt.

The in-form duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will both remain at McLaren, as will Aston Martin’s two drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. George Russell will also continue his stay at Mercedes, partnered by new team-mate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. 

Elsewhere, Nico Hülkenberg will make the move to Sauber for 2025 ahead of Audi’s arrival for 2026, Yuki Tsunoda will remain at RB, Alex Albon sticks with Williams joined by new teammate Carlos Sainz Jr., and Pierre Gasly remains under contract with Alpine. Gasly’s 2024 team-mate Esteban Ocon will leave the French team at the end of the season to join Haas alongside Oliver Bearman.