Off-track, the 2024-25 F1 season has been truly wild. Huge moves and big changes have changed the face of the championship for the new season with plenty of new drivers itching to prove they’re among the best of the 20 best drivers in the world. With new technical regulations going into place in 2026, it’s a key year for the future of the sport. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

Alpine - Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly - They might not be fighting at the front but Alpine have probably the most impact on Aussie fans thanks to their signing of Jack Doohan (R), who will partner Pierre Gasly this season. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

The 22-year-old Doohan is the son of Aussie motorsport legend Mick Doohan, who was a five-time MotoGP world champion. Mick signed a one-year deal at the back end of last year and debuted in the final race of the season, replacing Estaban Ocon. Photo: Aaron Francis Photography

But while he’ll join the grid in a full-time capacity in Melbourne, the question is for how long with rumours he has a matter of races to prove himself or be replaced. In the latest season of the F1’s Drive to Survive documentary, Alpine boss Flavio Briatore told the Aussie “I control you every millimetre”. Photo: Alpine

The way Alpine has shown Doohan that he better hit the ground running is by signing Argentina’s Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver. Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP

Colapinto joined Williams mid last season, replacing American Logan Sargeant, immediately scoring points and leaving pundits suggesting he was too good to be left out of the sport. Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images/AFP

Alpine’s other reserve drivers - Estonian Paul Aron (L), and Japanese Ryo Hirakawa (C) - are also waiting in the wings for their chance. Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP

At 29, Gasly is a veteran of the F1 grid, having been at Red Bull and AlphaTauri before heading to Alpine in 2023. This will be the Frenchman’s ninth year in F1 and third year with Alphine. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes is the second youngest to take the role in the sport’s history. A former driver himself, Oakes took the role in last season’s summer break. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

McLaren - Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri - As for Australia’s other driver Oscar Piastri, things are very stable with the constructor’s champions McLaren. Alongside teammate Lando Norris, the pair will be striving for a driver’s world title in 2025. Photo by HAMAD I MOHAMMED / POOL / AFP

At 25, Brit Lando Norris is in the prime of his career as he enters his seventh season in the sport. After finishing second in the driver’s championship and finally putting a bit of pressure on Max Verstappen for the world championship, Norris wants to go to the next level. Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP

But if the McLaren is as good as last year, then Norris may have his work cut out with Piastri proving he belongs at the very top of the sport. Widely tipped to be a future world champion, Piastri is entering his third season in the sport. While Norris took until first win just last season (he finished the year with four), Piastri tallied two in just his second year, finishing fourth on the drivers championship. Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images

He’s been widely tipped as a target for other teams, with McLaren taking action and locking him in on a new multi-year extension to keep him at the team “for the long term”. It means he will at least be at the team until the end of the 2028 season. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

Andreas Stella has been McLaren’s team principal since December 2022, having previously been a race engineer. He’s now a constructor’s championship winning team principal after the team won its first crown since 1998 last year. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

While there are just two Aussies left on the grid, the shadow of Aussie Daniel Ricciardo also looms large. After he was axed last year, Ricciardo promised that he was in fact done with the sport and was ready to move on to the next stage of life. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

But after it was announced that US giant GM would enter the F1 as the first new team since Haas in 2026 under the Cadillac banner, the rumour mill has been in overdrive over whether Ricciardo could be back. Could be bring back his famous quote from his last win at Monza in 2021: “And for anyone who thought I had left, I never left.” Photo by Dan Istitene - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

After a disastrous stint at McLaren and being unable to unseat Sergio Perez after being given a shot at VCARB, Ricciardo was dumped mid-last season for New Zealand rookie Liam Lawson. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

However, his popularity in the US and the fact that he’s still one of the most loved drivers the sport has seen in recent memory has plenty speculating GM could open the cheque book and convince the Aussie to have one last shot at the elusive world championship. I mean, the sport doesn't just trot anyone out to go on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Photo: YouTube

The other drivers believed to be considered for the seat are Red Bull reject Sergio Perez, 10-time race winner Valtteri Bottas, American IndyCar veteran Colton Herta and Alfa Romeo discard Zhou Guanyu. Photo: Getty Images

Ferrari - Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (Out: Carlos Sainz) - The biggest change in the F1 this season will be at Ferrari with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton joining the team. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

While it was announced early last year, it will take a lot of getting used to seeing Hamilton in red after his utter dominance in Mercedes. Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images

The move will see him partner with Leclerc, who is now in his eighth season in the sport and seventh with the Prancing Horse. It will see the most successful team in F1 history try to break what has become an 18-year drought since their last drivers championship winner, and 17 years since their last constructors. Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

But the earth-shattering move saw Carlos Sainz cut loose, with the Spaniard ending up at Williams. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Fred Vasseur has been the Ferrari team principal since Mattia Binotto left the role at the end of the 2022 season. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Mercedes - George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Out: Lewis Hamilton) - Hamilton’s move is also set to destabilise Mercedes as he leaves a giant hole in the team. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

While George Russell has proven to be a reliable driver for the team, finishing sixth last season, it will be a brave new world as he becomes the number one driver with three race wins now under his belt including two last season. Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP

However, it’s his partner which has raised more than a few eyebrows. 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be upgraded from test driver into the seat of one of the greatest ever to drive in the sport. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Antonelli didn’t even have a super license last year when he was announced but had done enough to impress Mercedes supremo Toto Wolff. Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP

Antonelli finished F2 in sixth place last year with two wins and three podiums. But he had a less than auspicious start in F1 when he filled in in FP1 in Monza. Just 10 minutes into his debut, he spun into the wall at 52Gs after losing control - let’s hope he gets better from there. Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP

If he doesn’t Mercedes have also bolstered their reserve driver list with 10-time race winner and former Mercedes star Valtteri Bottas returning to the team. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Toto Wolff will continue as the Mercedes team principal, a role he’s held since 2013. He’s also the team’s CEO. Photo by Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP

Red Bull - Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson (Out: Sergio Perez) - Max Verstappen is chasing Michael Schumacher’s record of five straight world championships in 2025, but he’ll be partnered with a new teammate after the team cut Sergio Perez loose at the end of last year. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

But if you go off what Red Bull are saying, a fifth world championship might be difficult, with belief that it could be Verstappen’s last season at the team as he tries to find a car the can win him a title. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

After the final day of pre-season, Red Bull Racing technical director Pierre Wache said: “It was not as smooth a test as we expected and the team expected. I am not as happy as I could be because the car did not respond how we wanted at times. It is going in the right direction, just maybe the magnitude of the direction was not as big as we expected, and it’s something we need to work on for the first race and future development.” Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Verstappen will also be paired with Liam Lawson, the New Zealander who pushed Aussie Daniel Ricciardo into retirement. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Lawson impressed enough - or was considered the next one up - at the end of last season after taking four points in his first six races in F1. When Red Bull cut Sergio Perez, Lawson was placed in the seat. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

However, he will have to impress or be set for the scrapheap. As the likes of Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon could attest, Red Bull don’t have much patience. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner is easily the longest tenured team principal, having been in charge since the team joined in 2005. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

Racing Bulls - Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar (Out: Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson) - Daniel Ricciardo’s former team will have yet another change since the Aussie’s ousting. Lawson’s elevation above Yuki Tsunoda means second place F2 finisher Isack Hadjar will earn his debut in F1. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Hadjar impressed in F2 last year, leading for a long stretch of the year before he was caught by eventual champion Gabriel Borteloto. The 20-year-old Frenchman is the son of Algerian physicists and physicians, and will debut in Melbourne. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

As for Hadjar’s teammate Tsunoda, the Japanese star will have a chip on his shoulder. Widely tipped to join Aston Martin in the near future with Honda joining the team under the 2026 technical regulation changes, Tsunoda is the company’s man. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

But despite dominating Ricciardo, Tsunoda was overlooked and never really seemed in the hunt for the Red Bull top team seat. How long he’ll want to stick around at a team that’s not giving him a go remains to be seen. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

While he’s been criticised for his brashness, inconsistency and anger on the track, he has developed in recent seasons and finished with 30 points for the Red Bull sister team. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

Laurent Mekies, the team principal of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls joined the team in 2024, replacing long-serving boss Franz Tost. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Williams - Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz (Out: Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto) - The British-based team is set to have its strongest line up in many years with four-time race winner Carlos Sainz joining Alexander Albon at the team. With new naming sponsor Atlassian owner Mike Cannon-Brookes. Picture: Supplied.

Sainz lost his seat to Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari despite a fifth placed finish in the championship (Hamilton finished seventh). But he was the unlucky one to be booted for the seven-time world champion. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

While Sainz was expected to go to a top team, he chose perennial strugglers Williams as they look to break back into the mid-field. It was a bombshell decision and is the 30-year-old’s fifth team in his 11th season in F1. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

James Vowles was the chief strategist behind Brawn’s shock F1 championship success in 2009 and now he’s the Williams team principal, a role he’s held since 2023. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

He will partner Alexander Albon, who impressed last year despite finishing equal with Daniel Ricciardo in 16th in the driver’s championship with 12 points. This will be Albon’s sixth season in F1 and fourth with Williams. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Haas - Estaban Ocon and Oliver Bearman (Out: Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg) - With the exit of its highest placed driver in Nico Hulkenberg and the axing of Kevin Magnussen, Haas have gone for a completely new look in 2025. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Former Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who has 190 races under his belt, will partner rookie Oliver Bearman. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

Bearman had a first taste of F1 last year, claiming a seventh placed finished on debut in Carlos Sainz’ Ferrari after he was sidelined with appendicitis, before claiming a point on his Haas debut later in the season. It made him the first driver in history to score points for two different teams in his first two races. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

The highly-touted 19-year-old Brit will partner the 28-year-old Ocon. The Frenchman, who has a race win from the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, left his old team a race early in order to do pre-season testing with Haas. Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP

Another former engineer, Ayao Komatsu replaced Guenther Steiner last year as the Haas team principal. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Kick Sauber - Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto (Out: Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu) - Another team with a brand new look is Kick Sauber. After finishing last in the constructor’s championship, the team has cleared house with veteran Nico Hulkenberg and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto coming into the team. With team principal Mattias Binotto. Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP

The 20-year-old Brazillian Bortoleto was named the FIA Rookie of the Year and has risen quickly through the ranks, joining Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri as the fourth champion to win the F3 and F2 in successive years. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

He is joined by veteran Nico Hulkenberg. The German, who holds the record for most career starts without a podium finish and most starts without a win, will kick off his 14th season in the sport. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

He hasn’t started yet (he starts April 1) but long time Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will take over the team principal role at Kick Sauber, replacing Mattia Binotto. Binotto will continue at the team as the chief operating and chief technical officer. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Aston Martin - Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll - The Lawrence Stroll-backed team have kept their driver line up for yet another season. Photo by ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP

Two-time world champion Alonso has been the spoiler in recent seasons and will look to continue to do the same as the 43-year-old continues to be impress even in his 22nd season in the sport. Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images

He’ll be again joined by Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence, as he looks to crack the top 10 in the driver’s championship for the second time in his ninth season in F1. Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP

Andy Cowell has become the Aston Martin team principal as well as acting CEO. He took over from the team’s previous CEO Martin Whitmarsh in October las year but will have the dual role in 2025 - at least for now. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

Aston Martin’s not-so secret weapon however is technical genius Adrian Newey, who joined the team from Red Bull. While he reportedly didn’t have much of a role in this year’ s car, he will be tasked with taking the team from the middle of the pack to the top in 2026. Photo by Andrew Ferraro/Getty Images for Aston Martin