The Contenders for the 2025 Formula 1® Championships

The 2025 Formula 1® season is on the horizon, and fans are eager to see how their favourite driver will perform when the five lights go out. Today we will delve into the contenders for the 2025 Championship and discuss who may have what it takes to go all the way.  

Oscar Piastri 

We begin with Oscar Piastri, a driver who is no stranger to Championship-winning form. The young Aussie driver showed his potential in 2020, when he clinched the FIA Formula 3 Championship as a rookie driver with Prema Racing. The following year brought riches for Piastri as he was crowned the FIA Formula 2 Champion, again as a rookie driver.  

In 2023, McLaren acquired the services of Oscar Piastri and he partnered Lando Norris in the MCL60. Since joining the team, Piastri proved his worth as a racing winner with impressive performances at the 2024 Hungary and Azerbaijan Grands Prix. These impressive performances helped the McLaren team to clinch their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998. Will we see the first Australian World Champion since Alan Jones in 1980?  

Check out Oscar Piastri product here!  

George Russell  

George Russell’s racing career is a testament to dedication and skill. The British driver won the GP3 Series Championship in 2017 and followed it up with the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2018, both with ART Grand Prix.  

Russell continued to prove his worth when he joined the Williams Racing team in 2019 and became a mainstay until the end of the 2021 season. George Russell then joined Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes-AMG Petronas and secured his maiden F1® victory at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix.  

Russell added two Grand Prix wins to his belt in 2024, taking home the Austrian and Las Vegas first-place trophies.  

Now George Russell has become the number one driver at Mercedes, can he go all the way? Check out pieces of George Russell’s story here!  

Charles Leclerc 

Charles Leclerc’s journey to Scuderia Ferrari was written long before he joined Formula 1®. After winning the GP3 Series Championship in 2016, the Monaco-born driver went on to dominate the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017 with Prema Racing, becoming the then-youngest Champion at just 19.  

In 2019, Charles Leclerc was promoted from the Sauber Formula 1® team and signed for Ferrari. Leclerc’s 2024 season showcased his elite performance in an F1® car as he became the first home driver to win the prestigious Monaco race since Louis Chiron in 1931. With multiple race wins and pole positions, he has established himself as a key contender in the F1® Championship, aiming to bring Ferrari its first title since 2008.   

Celebrate every moment which has brought Leclerc to where he is today.  

Lando Norris  

Lando Norris began his racing career in karting, where he won the CIK-FIA KF World Championship in 2014, making him the youngest karting World Champion at that time.  

Norris began his Formula 1® career with McLaren in 2019 and has since become one of the grid’s most consistent performers. In 2023, Norris finished sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, achieving his highest points tally in a season and setting up for what was to come the following season.  

The 2024 season was the best so far for the British driver, achieving his maiden Grand Prix victory at the Miami GP. Lando Norris went on to win three more Grands Prix and finished second, closely behind the Champion Max Verstappen in the Driver Standings. 

Celebrate Lando Norris’ performances to help McLaren win the Constructors’ Championship today!  

Max Verstappen 

Max Verstappen’s rise in Formula 1® has been meteoric. Skipping the traditional route of F2 and F3, he made his F1® debut at just 17 with Toro Rosso in 2015. A year later, he won the Spanish Grand Prix on his debut for Red Bull Racing, becoming the youngest race winner in Formula 1® history.  

In 2021, Max Verstappen won his first World Championship as he crossed the line in first position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Since then, the Dutch superstar has gone on to come first in the following three seasons to become a four-time World Champion.  

Celebrate each of Max Verstappen’s championship winning seasons here.  

Lewis Hamilton 

Lewis Hamilton’s illustrious career is adored by fans across the world, and the numbers and records speak for themselves. Hamilton won the GP2 Championship (now FIA Formula 2) in 2006 before making a sensational F1® debut with McLaren in 2007, narrowly missing out on the Championship by one point. Hamilton went on to clinch his first world title in 2008 with McLaren.  

Following his move to Mercedes in 2013, Hamilton dominated the turbo-hybrid era, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven World Championships.  

In 2025, Lewis Hamilton embarks on a new challenge with Scuderia Ferrari, aiming to achieve an unprecedented eighth title, a move that has left fans on tenterhooks.  

Check out Lewis Hamilton collection here!  

The 2025 Formula 1® season will see an influx of new rookie drivers, partnered with a field of cars which are extremely competitive. This perfect mix means that we are in for an unpredictable season, with any driver on the grid hopeful of comepting for the championship.

For fans who wish to own a piece of Formula 1® history, F1® Authentics offers an exclusive range of memorabilia from these iconic drivers. Explore our entire collection today!