F1 2025 season: Full calendar, race schedule, driver line-ups, rule changes, how to watch, what’s new | F1 News

Everything you need to know about Formula 1 in 2025 as a new season begins this week, live on Sky Sports F1.

Who is the defending F1 champion?

Max Verstappen is the reigning F1 world champion and is looking for a fifth consecutive drivers’ title, a feat only accomplished by Michael Schumacher.

McLaren won last year’s Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 1998 but Lando Norris will be hoping to add drivers’ glory in 2025, after finishing runner-up to Verstappen last time around.

F1 2025 line-up

Only McLaren and Aston Martin have retained the same driver pairing, with 10 changes compared to the grid 12 months ago.

Lewis Hamilton‘s move to Ferrari is the biggest F1 transfer of all time as he takes over from Carlos Sainz, who has joined Williams.

Teenager Kimi Antonelli has replaced Hamilton at Mercedes and Liam Lawson was confirmed as Verstappen’s new team-mate after Sergio Perez lost his seat.

Britain’s Oliver Bearman will make his full-time season F1 debut at Haas alongside Esteban Ocon, who left Alpine before last season’s final event in Abu Dhabi. Australian Jack Doohan stepped in for Ocon, having already been confirmed as an Alpine driver for 2025.

Last year’s F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar joins the newly-named Racing Bulls alongside Yuki Tsunoda, with Nico Hulkenberg and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto making up Sauber’s brand-new driver pairing.

F1 key team personnel changes

Legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey left Red Bull and joined Aston Martin in early March in a move which could be just as significant as Hamilton joining Ferrari.

Although Aston Martin have not changed their driver line-up, former Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell has been appointed as team principal with Mike Krack demoted to chief trackside officer.

Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will become Sauber team principal from April, ahead of the outfit being taken over by Audi in 2026.

Laura Mueller will make history as the first female race engineer in F1 when she becomes the voice in Ocon’s ear at Haas.

F1 2025 calendar

Australia will host the season-opener for the first time since 2019 on March 14-16 as part of a rejigged 24-race calendar, which does not feature any new events.

Bahrain has hosted the opening race for the last four years, but the timing of Ramadan means the Sakhir race, along with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, has been pushed back to April.

Other minor changes see the Spanish Grand Prix moved to the weekend after Monaco, while the Hungarian Grand Prix will host the final event before the summer break.

Unlike last year, there is no four-week gap following the Singapore Grand Prix as the F1 schedule has been more evenly spaced out in the second half of the season, all the way to the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5-7.

F1 Sprint weekends in 2025

China, Miami, Belgium, Austin, Brazil and Qatar have been selected as the events that will stage the alternative format, which features a shortened 100km race on Saturdays.

The Austrian Grand Prix, which has held a Sprint event since 2022, has been dropped for Belgium next year.

There are set to be no changes to the Sprint format, which has just one practice session followed by Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon, the Sprint on Saturday morning, with Qualifying as usual on Saturday afternoon and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

F1 rule changes for 2025

Very little has changed for this year with the biggest change being the removal of the extra point for fastest lap.

The point for fastest lap – which was awarded if the driver holding it also finished in the top 10 – sometimes added extra drama at the front as drivers would pit late on for new tyres late if there was a big gap to the car behind.

Elsewhere, the minimum driver weight allowance has been increased from 80kg to 82kg and a driver cooling kit has been introduced, while the requirements for inexperienced driver running have also been changed, with teams now needing to field a young driver in their two cars at least four times during the season, compared to two last year.

The technical regulations remain the same, so most teams will have an evolution in car design from 2024, with half an eye on 2026 when the cars and engines will change completely. The teams will progressively increase their efforts with regards to 2026 car projects as the season goes on.

Flexi-wing debate

It would not be an F1 season if a technical debate did not flare up. Already, there has been talk about the FIA’s decision to introduce new load tests for both front and rear wings to limit how much the parts can flex.

The static deflection tests that monitor rear wings on the cars will be expanded from the first race in Australia from March 14-16, before additional front-wing tests are introduced at the ninth round in Spain at the start of June.

McLaren were widely considered to have successfully exploited the leniency of the rules in regard to wing flexing last year, as Norris and Oscar Piastri guided the team to a first constructors’ title since 1998.

In pre-season testing, some teams were alleged to be pushing the limits on the rear wing, with talk of a ‘mini DRS’ which would aid straight-line speed. This will be one to keep an eye on.

How to watch F1 in 2025 on Sky Sports

Sky Sports F1 remains the home of F1 in the UK for 2025, with every session live, plus coverage of F2, F3 and F1 Academy.

On the move? Not near a TV? Not in charge of the remote? If you are a Sky Sports subscriber, you can stream ALL the Sky Sports channels straight from your device on the Sky Sports app – at no extra cost! That includes EVERY F1 Grand Prix.

Find and watch the race

1. Download or Open the Sky Sports app
2. Head to the ‘Watch‘ section
3. Tap the Sky Sports F1 channel
4. Sign in with your Sky iD (*you’ll only need to do this once)

*Sky iD help: How to find or create your Sky iD

F1 fans will also be able to select an onboard live stream of any of the 20 drivers on the Sky Sports app – complete with team radio messages – for every race, Sprint, qualifying and practice session this season.

Sky customers with a Sky Sports F1 subscription just need to download the Sky Sports app and log in to ride with Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, any driver of their choice.

If you prefer to jump onboard through your TV screen, the service is available through Sky Q and Sky Glass.

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime