F1 half-term report: the story so far in 2025

McLaren (460pts)

Oscar Piastri (234pts) & Lando Norris (226pts)

What a first half for the Woking team, scoring nine wins from 12 races. It seems a certainty that one of its drivers will become World Champion this year, and with just eight points between them it’s too close to call, in what promises to be among the best team-mate title battles in the World Championship’s 75 years.

Oscar Piastri’s ice-cold temperament has served him well, although he had to work harder than usual to cover his obvious anger at Silverstone, when a penalty for hard-braking on Hangar Straight behind the safety car cost him a win. He’s not infallible and the intensity of a title duel is new territory. This will be his biggest test.

That’s also true of Norris, who has played to type by making too many unforced errors. After steering through a tricky opener to win in Melbourne, he couldn’t stop Piastri winning three of the next four races as pressure piled on — and hit boiling point when he crashed into his team-mate in Canada.

Well taken wins in Monaco, Austria and the inherited British Grand Prix success have shown Norris at his exceptional best, and that’s the version of this likeable heart-on-sleeve hero we need to see week in, week out if he is to become Britain’s 11^th F1 World Champion.

Ferrari (222pts)

Charles Leclerc (119pts) & Lewis Hamilton (103pts)

Second in the points, but what a disastrous first half for Ferrari. Given the way in which the red cars finished 2024, hopes were high that World Championship bids were back on the cards, especially with Lewis Hamilton’s high-profile arrival. But the SF-25 has been a tricky beast to tame. Suspension upgrades designed to allow the car to run to its optimum ride height, without causing underfloor wear that led to a humiliating disqualification in China, could be crucial if the second half is to be better than the first.

Both Charles Leclerc and Hamilton have shown their frustration. Leclerc must be wondering if Ferrari is ever going to deliver him the car he deserves, after seven ‘nearly’ seasons at Maranello. As for Hamilton, the 40-year-old is stoically digging in to work his way out of mediocrity and ignore the inevitable media noise.

But are the rumours true that Fred Vasseur’s time as team boss could soon be up? The Frenchman was a big factor in Hamilton’s decision to defect from Mercedes. It’s just the sort of characteristic distraction we expect within Italy’s beloved national team.

Mercedes (210pts)

George Russell (147pts) & Kimi Antonelli (63pts)

This feels like a holding year for Mercedes, before the new powertrain and chassis regulations kick in for 2026. In other words, more of the same in a ruleset era the team just hasn’t been able to nail.

Nevertheless, George Russell has driven consistently well to make the most of what he has been given, and his Canada victory in cool conditions that suit Mercedes was superbly taken. But what happens next? A savvy player not averse to a spot of gamesmanship, he’s spoken publicly about Mercedes courting Max Verstappen as part of his tactics to land a new deal for himself. Russell deserves to keep his seat, but the prospect of signing the mighty Verstappen… That’s a gamechanger.

Russell knows the prospect of Mercedes snapping up the four-time World Champion and also keeping its current number one is slim — and not just because of the competitive tension that has flared between the pair. That’s because rookie Kimi Antonelli is Toto Wolff’s anointed one.

So far, the 18-year-old has done well, scoring a maiden podium in Montréal, although the lap one smash into Verstappen in Austria was a typical rookie black mark. Antonelli is on a steep upward curve of learning, and it appears he is being given the time, space and support he needs to progress.

Red Bull (172pts)

Max Verstappen (165pts) & Yuki Tsunoda (10pts)

What turmoil at a team that has fallen hard from its perch as F1’s dominant pacesetter. After 20 years and more than 400 Grands Prix, Spa will mark Red Bull’s first without Christian Horner at the helm following his sudden sacking. Laurent Mekies steps over from the sister Racing Bulls team with a daunting double task: to rebalance an inevitably unsettled environment and give Verstappen what he needs to express himself in his own unique and special way. What’s really going through the Dutchman’s mind right now?

We’ve seen the very best and worst of the four-time Champion this term. The pole position and win at Suzuka were among his best and he’s worked wonders to at least keep the McLaren duo in sight. Although, the Austria DNF and lowly sixth at Silverstone, following a recovery from a spin behind the safety car now makes a fifth consecutive title a serious long shot.

Verstappen’s ugly side reared up in Spain when he appeared to petulantly drive into Russell on purpose, albeit at slow speed. He sort of admitted he was in the wrong, although reports of it being an actual apology were an overstatement.

As for the second Red Bull… oh dear. No one else seems to be able to drive the car, set up as it is for Verstappen. Choosing Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda as the hapless Sergio Pérez’s replacement was an odd call, rowed back on after just two underwhelming races for the Kiwi. But the spiky promise Tsunoda showed at Racing Bulls has disappeared since his promotion, and he find himself in an increasingly desperate fight to secure his F1 future.

Williams (59pts)

Alex Albon (46pts) & Carlos Sainz Jr. (13pts)

The revival under James Vowles continues. Alex Albon has grabbed a trio of fifth places to consolidate his status as a bankable performer, but Carlos Sainz has so far failed to click at Williams since his ousting from Ferrari by Hamilton.

The Spaniard started badly with an early crash on his debut in Australia and has been easily outscored by his team-mate. Their qualifying battle reads 7-5 in Albon’s favour, which is at least closer.

Williams looks well set for fifth, its best season performance since 2017. But as Vowles has indicated, Sainz needs to start making a bigger contribution to secure that place over the next 12 races.

Sauber (41pts)

Nico Hülkenberg (37pts) & Gabriel Bortoleto (4pts)

The magic moment of Nico Hülkenberg’s first F1 podium, scored at Silverstone at the 239^th time of asking and from the back of the grid, is Sauber’s obvious highlight. But the previous double score in Austria, as Gabriel Bortoleto fought with his mentor Fernando Alonso to get off the mark, is also indicative of Sauber’s progress under new team principal Jonathan Wheatley.

It’s all about regeneration into the new factory Audi team for 2026, and the signs are a decent foundation is being laid. Then again, this is the relatively easy bit. Nailing new regulations and living up to the higher expectations of representing one of the world’s best-known premium car manufacturers will be another challenge entirely.

Racing Bulls (36pts)

Isack Hadjar (21pts) & Liam Lawson (12pts)

Little was expected from French rookie Isack Hadjar, which is why his consistently impressive performances have made him one of F1’s  feelgood stories of 2025. He’s put himself firmly in line for graduation to the senior Red Bull squad.

Meanwhile, Lawson has licked his wounds after that humiliating demotion and scored well at Monaco and in Austria. F1 veteran Alan Permane, so long a fixture at Team Enstone, takes the big job for the first time in place of Mekies. Naturally introverted in character, how he manages the role will be interesting. 

Aston Martin (36pts)

Lance Stroll (20pts) & Fernando Alonso (16pts)

The arrival of a Honda-powered, Adrian Newey-designed Aston Martin built to the new 2026 regs cannot come soon enough for this woefully underperforming squad. It has all the firepower any team should require and has the steady hand of Mercedes veteran Andy Cowell to guide it. But progress this term has been painfully slow.

Heavy doubt lingers over Lance Stroll, protected by his gilded status as the son of controlling shareholder Lawrence Stroll. Although to be fair, the increasingly taciturn Canadian has outscored Fernando Alonso this half-season. Soon to turn 44, the great Spaniard charges on, but he’s been strangely conspicuous by his anonymity on most occasions so far. Will Newey’s Midas touch come too late for him?

Haas (29pts)

Esteban Ocon (23pts) & Oliver Bearman (6pts)

Under Japanese team principal Ayao Komatsu, Haas is undoubtedly more convincing, but the American-owned team hasn’t pressed on in 2025 in the manner perhaps expected.

The arrival of Grand Prix winner Esteban Ocon paired with the hugely promising Ollie Bearman has only resulted in moderate returns so far. Closing down Racing Bulls, Aston Martin and Sauber ahead of it has to be the target for Haas to match or better its seventh-place finish in the 2024 points table.

Alpine (19pts)

Pierre Gasly (19pts) & Franco Colapinto (0pts)

Flavio Briatore has quite a task. The team he managed as both Benetton and Renault is a sorry shadow of its former self and has slipped all the way to backmarker status. A switch to Mercedes power for 2026 is heretical, but probably ‘Team Enstone’s’ best hope for revival.

Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly toils away, with some success at Silverstone, and the hapless Franco Colapinto fails to make any more impression than Jack Doohan, the Aussie rookie so cruelly dropped after just six races. Rumours swirl about this team’s future, with newly unemployed Horner inevitably linked to a quick F1 return. It does feel something has to give, and soon.

Images courtesy of Getty Images.