Last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix closed off one of the most exciting seasons of Formula 1 in recent years, boasting the tightest driver’s championship battle since 2021 as well as one of McLaren’s most dominant seasons. 

McLaren came into the 2025 season with an extreme amount of confidence, and their car proved to be extremely fast from the start.  The team managed to gain enough points to clutch onto their 10th Constructors’ Championship during the Singapore Grand Prix back in October.  This win is their second championship win during the most recent set of regulations.  

McLaren’s rise to the top is a unique one. Since 2021, Red Bull Racing has dominantly held onto both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships.  In contrast, McLaren started off the new decade struggling, consistently landing 4th or lower in the standings the past 5 years. Yet, with new developments and changes in strategy, McLaren developed a record-breaking car this season.  

“I mean, they (McLaren) easily had the best car throughout the year.  It wasn’t even that close in comparison to other teams,” said Paul Avett, junior. 

Along with a strong car, McLaren had the added benefit of boasting two world-class drivers.  Oscar Piastri led the championship until the Mexican Grand Prix, when his teammate Lando Norris took the slight edge above him to go on and win the drivers’ championship by the end of the season.

As teammates, Norris and Piastri’s championship battle was marked by controversy.  McLaren has their own set of so-called “Papaya rules,” vowing not to prioritize either driver in the case of a championship battle.  Tensions began to grow between the drivers, with clashes such as their crash at the Canadian Grand Prix raising questions about bias leaning towards Lando Norris 

However, both Lando and Piastri’s championship dreams were under nearly constant pressure from Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen. 

Verstappen, a reigning four-time world champion, fought hard to win his fifth title this season.  Despite Red Bull’s best efforts, his car continued to underperform throughout the season, with Verstappen complaining about understeer and balance issues.  

Even with a problematic car, Verstappen still managed to put in an insane amount of effort.  Managing to get 8 wins and 10 podiums throughout the 24-race season, he overtook Piastri in the championship standings during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. “I think Max could’ve done better.  The Red Bull has been really, really slow this season.  He tried really hard, I think that’s one of the biggest factors (in his loss of the title),” said Henry Haddle, a Junior.

The tight-knit championship battle came to a close during the season finale race in Abu Dhabi.  Verstappen won the race but lost out on the championship to Norris by just two points. 

This is the first year since 2021 that Max Verstappen will not be the reigning world champion.  He will have to change his racing number from #1 back to #33, thereby allowing Lando Norris to receive #1.

The 2025 season was also a season of drastic change.  2024 saw no new drivers enter the grid or change teams, while the 2025 season saw 6 rookie drivers kickstart their F1 careers with their respective teams.  

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes F1 team’s newest addition to the grid, had a particularly notable rookie season.  He started the season off at only 18 years old, being one of the youngest people to ever sit in an F1 car. 

His season was also strong, securing two podium finishes and finishing the season in 7th place on the world championship leaderboard.  He also got his own Netflix short movie titled ‘The Seat,” following his journey into F1.

Kimi Antonelli also had big shoes to fill at Mercedes, as he was replacing Lewis Hamilton, the most decorated driver in Formula 1 history. 

Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari’s F1 team was a significant deal, and one of the biggest pieces of news to come out of the season. 

The change follows seasons of consecutive poor performance by Mercedes, leading to Lewis Hamilton’s departure.  A team where Lewis Hamilton managed to win 6 World Drivers’ championships, cementing him as the most successful Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport.  

Yet his performance at Ferrari has been disappointing at best, and a far cry from his glory days, barely securing sixth in the championship.  “(His performance) was not something that I felt reflected what he could do based on him being a 7-time world champion… I think he’s having a hard time with the car and with the team, it’s not going the way I wish it would,” said Avery Peterson, senior. 

2025 has proven to be an extremely exciting and unpredictable season of Formula 1, and the stakes are high going into the new year.