F1 pre-season talking points: Hamilton's major move, the most competitive season in 15 years?

F1 is back!

After a fairly short off-season by many other sports’ standards, the best motor racing spectacle on the planet is only days away from returning in anger as the 20 best drivers in the world hit the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne.

As always, there’s been plenty of off-season excitement and drama since we last saw the cars at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December, and it is time to unpack the key talking points ahead of Round 1 of the 2025 Formula One Season.

2025 could be the most competitive season since 2010

2025 is an interesting season on many levels.

It’s the last season of the current regulations ahead of the significant changes we’re set to see in 2026. It’s also the last season we’ll see with ten teams on the grid, with Cadillac joining as the 11th team next year.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect is that we are heading into what could be the most competitive season in a decade and a half.

In 2010, there were three teams that on a constant basis were challenging for wins. That all translated into arguably the most open and competitive season we have seen this millennium, culminating in the only time in F1 history the Drivers’ Championship went down to the final race with four different drivers in the running.

Fast forward to 2025 when it seems we have four teams all in the running for race wins, and four teams that are capable of challenging for the title.

Given the limited changes in regulations between last season and this season, that bodes extremely well for F1 fans who enjoyed the second half of 2024 that saw McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes all enjoy wins.

In fact, across the entire 2024 season, no team enjoyed more than two consecutive wins in the entire year.

With such openness heading into a new year, and the fact that four teams each weekend will be in the hunt for the victory, it sets the bar extremely high in what is shaping up to be not only the most competitive season in quite some time, but also the most unpredictable. That can only mean more positives for F1 fans as we reach the halfway point of the decade.

Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari hype train

I have to admit, seeing Lewis Hamilton in red was almost a transient experience.

Taking my unbiased journalist hat off for a moment, as a Ferrari fan it was always a dream to see Lewis wear the famous Scuderia colours, and seeing it finally happen has made me a very happy man.

But will the excitement live up to the hype?

The last time Hamilton made a move, it did. 2013 he switched McLaren silver for Mercedes silver, and while it didn’t bring the dominant success in the first year, we still saw a consistent Hamilton build his way up in the team to deliver consistent podiums and victories in a team that at the time wasn’t considered a front runner.

This time around he enters a team with Championship aspirations, and is alongside a teammate who is beloved by all the Tifosi and everyone at Ferrari alike.

There is real confidence it seems with Hamilton too, who let’s be honest, was in need of a change of scenery given his demeanour in the last couple of seasons with Mercedes was slipping down a slope that we weren’t used to seeing.

It will be a season of pressure unlike any he has ever experienced before, but it could also turn out to be the best marriage we have ever seen in F1 with the most successful driver and successful team coming together to bring Ferrari fans the success they have so desperately been craving.

It’s 17 years since a Constructors’ Championship and 18 years since a Drivers’ Championship. But hey, who’s counting…

Has Carlos Sainz made a genius move?

All the talk around the driver market in 2024 once Hamilton dropped his Ferrari bombshell was where would Carlos Sainz end up.

The speculation finally came to an end when he signed with Williams, with many questioning that decision over other teams such as Alpine or Kick Sauber who were positioned higher up the grid or have bigger futures with bigger teams taking over them soon.

But after pre-season testing, it’s safe to say that maybe Sainz saw some different tea leaves.

Sainz left the three-day test as the fastest driver overall, setting a time of 1.29.348 on day two. This time was faster than both the Ferraris, George Russell in the Mercedes and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, with Sainz’s teammate Alex Albon also impressing in sixth.

Williams by far were the standout team of the test, with many predicting them as now the lead team in the midfield behind the big four.

Of course testing is always tricky to read. There are many elements to consider such as fuel levels, tyre setup, track conditions and how the teams are setting their cars to suit these. Many teams have often gone out to impress and faded off pretty quickly once the season has started or others have sandbagged their way to hid their true pace to not get expectations up too high.

No matter which category Williams falls into in 2025, it’s safe to say that Sainz could have his decision backed up sooner rather than later.

How long will Jack Doohan last?

While Australian F1 fans mourned the loss of Daniel Ricciardo from the F1 grid in 2024, they were soon able to celebrate the addition of another Aussie with Jack Doohan announced as Alpine’s second driver for 2025.

Doohan was then vaulted into that seat at the final race in Abu Dhabi, getting a head start ahead of his full F1 season debut.

But before he could get to Melbourne, his seat was already under pressure, with Argentinian super-sub Franco Colapinto signed as Alpine’s test and reserve driver in the off-season, prompting many to speculate that he was there ready to replace Doohan at some point during 2025.

It really comes as no surprise from a team like Alpine that such a move would take place, with the team having a very long history around questionable driver and staff decisions at very questionable times.

However it’s also a damning assessment of Doohan before he has even really shown what he is capable of to have someone like Colapinto appear at the team breathing down his neck.

The jury is still out on Doohan and just what he is capable of. He has had a respectable but not outstanding junior career, which has always left questions hanging over his true potential in Formula 1.

But the beauty of the sport is that it now is in the hands of Jack to show just how much he deserves a spot on the grid. Remember that it wasn’t too long ago that many questioned why Colapinto was signed as Logan Sargeant’s replacement at Williams last year ahead of many other more experienced candidates, a question that was promptly cancelled out with several impressive performances.

Will Doohan last the season? We will have to wait and see.

Swearing, extra pitstops and all the fun of the bogus F1 rule train

Oh, Formula One. It’s the sport that keeps on giving with some incredibly weird, silly and over the top rules.

For starters, no swearing anymore? What? A sport that is filled with some unique characters that are beloved by fans alike are now going to be censored for being themselves in a sport that usually celebrates them being themselves?

Verstappen certainly had some fun around this once he was pulled up last year for swearing, and other drivers have constantly towed a line when it comes to swearing a lot and trying to censor themselves for the sake of the rules.

But an actual swearing ban that has the potential to ban drivers from races if they go too far? Come on. That is just a joke.

Speaking of jokes, two mandatory pit stops in Monaco to “spice up racing”?

I wrote last year in one of my talking points that if you don’t like Monaco as a race, you aren’t a true F1 fan. It’s an event that is important to the sport more than any other, and the fact that cars still race around this prestigious track all these years later is a sight to behold. The beauty of the race is also the strategy. The skill and dedication it involves from the drivers.

And just the celebration of history that it also contributes.

To add a second mandatory stop is just a farce beyond farces. It creates artificial excitement to a race that is appreciated and acknowledged by all the true fans out there for what it is. If the Netflix generation of fans doesn’t like it based on the ‘excitement’ level, then it’s a harsh wake up call for them in terms of what the sport is, has been, and always will be.

And don’t even get me started on the F1 launch event in London. Let’s just hope that they got that out of their system and we never ever have to deal with that again.

But once again, this is Formula One. You have to expect some of the farcical with the amazing right? Just like any sport out there, there is no way of pleasing every single fan. Perhaps both rules I mentioned will turn out to be amazing, and I will be here in 12 months’ time standing corrected.

Perhaps we get another launch event and I turn into the screaming teen fanboy that they’re hoping to appease. You never know what can happen in the future.

No matter what, I am still excited for another season of F1 and to spend the next 10 months glued to my screen and at the track watching the best sport on the planet and covering it here for The Roar.

This article was originally written for The Roar. You can read the published version here