The coming Formula 1 season could be even more competitive than last year’s championship, Mercedes’ technical director James Allison believes.
Seven different drivers won races for four teams last year. But as the current generation of rules enters its fourth and final season, Allison believes the chasing pack will be closer to the ‘big four’ teams this year.“It will be a fiercely fought championship from the off,” said Allison. “At this stage of the regulations, the cars are converging in terms of performance.
“There will be multiple winners, and it’s possible that we will see even more teams than the four that scored victories last year taking to the top step of the podium.”
Having four different race-winning teams across a season is not highly unusual – it previously happened in 2021. What made last season special was that all four teams were consistently competitive, taking at least four victories apiece.
F1 last had more than four different race-winning teams in 2012. On that occasion six teams won races, but half of those took just one victory each.
Mercedes endured a mixed season last year but scored four victories. Allison says the team has focused on addressing the weaknesses of their previous car with the new W16, which it revealed today.
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“Being the fourth year of these regulations on the chassis side, the cars are in the more mature phase,” he said. “Big gains in lap time are harder to come by but we’ve been concentrating on making improvements in the areas that held us back last year.
“Our primary focus has been on dialling out the W15’s slight reluctance to turn in slow corners, along with the imbalance in tyre temperatures that made the car inconsistent from session to session.”
However with a significant change in regulations coming next year, including new power units, Allison said Mercedes will have an eye on preparing for the opportunity to steal a march on the competition in 2026.
“It’s one of the largest regulation changes in the sport’s history. Every team must decide where to spend their resource to both compete on track this year and set themselves up for 2026 and beyond.
“We’re excited for that challenge and working hand-in-hand between Brackley and Brixworth to be as competitive as we can be this year and build for success next year.”
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BasCB (@bascb)
24th February 2025, 15:16
Hm, well sure, they COULD have more (let me think, Max is clear, Lando, Oscar, then let’s say Russel and Kimi both win a race too, then both Lewis and Charles, but I am somewhat lost for ideas who can be the next one to win, or do we think Aston will give Alonso a car he can win in? ), but to me it’s rather more likely to be slightly less or the same.
Jere (@jerejj)
24th February 2025, 15:43
You didn’t mention Liam, even though he’s theoretically in the best position to become the next new GP winner.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th February 2025, 19:40
Sorry, but I see no reason to expect him to be able to win really. First of all, the Red Bull is not expected to be ahead of the field, and Liam will probably qualify about 3-4 tenths behind Max, which is quite likely to be somewhere around the 3-5th row of the grid. And Red Bull will focus on getting Max the win, or at least a podium, not on having Liam get there from further back.
MichaelN
24th February 2025, 16:58
At this point everyone is just projecting 2024 forward.
Truth is, nobody knows. Red Bull might not win a single race. Mercedes might drop behind Aston Martin and struggle to get on the podium. Nobody knows.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th February 2025, 19:41
If Mercedes drops behind AM, it will just mean that we are very unlikely to have more than 3 teams getting wins.
Craig
24th February 2025, 15:17
“Could” is very much the main word in that statement and we’ll have to see. If 2025 picks up where 2024 left off then we should have 4 teams all capable of winning but we shall see.
Jere (@jerejj)
24th February 2025, 15:45
Realistically, still only McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, & Mercedes drivers under normal circumstances without any of the eight drivers suffering anything that prevents them from finishing or maximizing the car’s outright performance level.
Frank
24th February 2025, 16:30
I agree except with the word only. Four F1 teams able to win in normal circumstances is a lot. More is good, but if it becomes too many, then people might get a feeling that winning is the luck of the draw rather than on merit of the speed of car+driver.
Edvaldo
24th February 2025, 16:57
I doubt it will happen. There are 2 guys in the top teams that i’ll be surprised if they manage to win at least one race, Lawson and Antonelli.
We’re too deep in these regs for a midfield team to pull a Aston Martin 2023 and come with a car capable of beating the top 4 on pace. If it happens it will be for other reasons.
RH
24th February 2025, 19:27
Press X for doubt.
I somehow have a strong feeling McLaren will have a car like last year except they’ll actually be serious and Lando will be crowned champion.
Red Bull I’m not so sure, not because Newey left but because it takes a while to recover. Ferrari are interesting but I don’t trust them to make a car that works all around the year. Mercedes could be a surprise. Maybe Norris versus Russell could be interesting for the title.
Curious to see what happens. Would prefer if all 4 cars are close enough to have drivers make a difference but doubt that’ll happen.
Coventry Climax
24th February 2025, 19:43
Yep; could have…
Or, also possible: Even less than in ’63, ’88 or ’23.
Let’s just wait and see what happens?