Who needs to do better in 2025?
LB: Aston Martin admitted they simply didn’t do a good enough job with their 2024 car as they finished a lonely fifth in the constructors’ championship with a points tally that was just over a third of what they managed the previous year. Billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll has invested heavily in the team over the last few years and will be demanding significantly better next season.
CM: There’s a number of candidates here, and a few months ago I was certain I’d have been writing Alpine, but the turnaround in form on Pierre Gasly’s side of the garage suggests they are a team that are already starting to do better. And you might think Sauber, but they do feel like a team in a sort of holding pattern until 2026, while Aston Martin still have to wait for Adrian Newey’s arrival next year. So, I’m going to go with Williams. There was so much potential in this year’s FW46 but it was late and overweight, and then the spare chassis situation caught them out in Australia. But they definitely have the drivers in Sainz – a huge coup – and Alex Albon, to deliver results. Now they need to show further signs of progress. The end result in 2025 is less important, but 2026 could be a real opportunity for Williams to catapult themselves up the grid, and some of the rebuilding work that James Vowles has been doing will need to start to bear fruit next year to provide a platform to take advantage of the new regulations.
END OF YEAR REPORT: Williams – A mid-season driver swap, countless crash dramas and a true test of determination
WB: There isn’t a single team that doesn’t have areas to improve in the off-season, which makes 2025 tantalising in the extreme. The same is true of almost all drivers bar the champion who showed for me the greatest form he has ever displayed. But as he improves his craft week on week, the bar is continually raised for those hoping to beat him. But the big one is Lance Stroll. Aston are throwing everything at fighting for a title and, after a below par 2024, he needs to show a solid improvement next year.
DT: The simple answer is everyone, because that’s how racing works. But I’ll say McLaren, specifically. By their own admission they need to work even harder over the all-too short off-season to make sure that they are in a position to challenge strongly for both the world drivers’ and the world constructors’ championships in 2025. They pushed very hard in the former this year, and achieved the latter for the first time in 26 years, and are better placed than anyone to assess just what they need to do to improve further, ready to fight toe-to-toe with Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. An odd suggestion? Not at all. The moment you are tempted to rest on laurels in this game, having attained a cherished goal, your rivals are already stealing a march. Zak Brown, Andrea Stella and their boffins are far too savvy to fall into that trap.
AJ: The boat driver in Montreal. Also Aston Martin, but luckily they’ve signed Adrian Newey so they will improve quickly after a disappointing campaign.
