The season opened against a backdrop of sweeping driver market changes and a series-wide pre-season celebration. On 18 February 2025, all ten teams took part in an event called F1 75 Live at The O2 Arena in London to mark the sport's 75th anniversary. Car liveries were unveiled in front of a live audience with over 1.1 million concurrent viewers on YouTube, a record for a Formula One live stream. A single pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in late February preceded the racing calendar.
The most consequential off-season move saw Lewis Hamilton leave Mercedes after twelve seasons — ending his record streak of consecutive seasons with one constructor — to join Ferrari. He replaced Carlos Sainz Jr., who signed a multi-year deal with Williams. Kimi Antonelli, a Mercedes junior, was elevated to replace Hamilton. Franco Colapinto departed Williams to serve as an Alpine reserve driver.
Haas entered 2025 with an entirely new lineup: Oliver Bearman stepped up from Formula 2 to replace Nico Hulkenberg, who moved to Sauber, while Esteban Ocon joined from Alpine to replace Kevin Magnussen. At Sauber, Hulkenberg was paired with reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto. Red Bull replaced the dropped Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson, who was promoted from the junior Racing Bulls squad; Isack Hadjar in turn moved up to Racing Bulls. The team formerly known as RB also rebranded as Racing Bulls.
Mid-season adjustments were significant. After just two rounds, Lawson was demoted back to Racing Bulls and Yuki Tsunoda made his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix. At Alpine, Jack Doohan was replaced by Colapinto starting at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix; Colapinto ultimately retained the seat for the remainder of the year.
Norris took pole at the season opener in Australia and won in changeable conditions, with Verstappen second and George Russell third. Piastri recovered from a mid-race excursion to ninth. The Chinese Grand Prix saw Hamilton score Ferrari's first sprint victory of the year; Piastri won the main race with Norris second. Japan brought Verstappen's first win of the season. In Saudi Arabia, Piastri took the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time, becoming the first Australian to lead the standings since Mark Webber in 2010.
Through the middle of the season Piastri held the championship lead for 15 consecutive rounds, with Norris and Verstappen applying constant pressure. Norris eventually recaptured the lead and entered the Abu Dhabi season finale 12 points ahead of Verstappen, who had closed a deficit that had once stood at 104 points. Norris finished third in the finale while Verstappen won the race; that margin was enough for Norris to clinch the title, finishing just two points clear of Verstappen. Piastri ended the season third, 13 points behind Norris.
McLaren wrapped up the Constructors' Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix, accumulating ten titles in total and moving to second on the all-time list behind Ferrari and ahead of Williams.
Technical rules raised the minimum driver weight allowance from 80 to 82 kilograms, with a corresponding increase to the overall car minimum weight. A driver cooling kit became mandatory when ambient temperatures exceeded 30.5 degrees Celsius, adding 5 kilograms to the minimum car weight on those occasions. Stricter rear wing deflection tests were applied to counter teams' use of a so-called mini-DRS.
Sporting rules abolished the championship point for the fastest lap, which had been reintroduced in 2019. Conduct rules were tightened considerably: driver language, gestures, and political statements became subject to a graduated fine and suspension scale. Teams were also required to field a rookie driver during free practice sessions twice per car per season, up from once. A new rule allowed race directors to require damaged cars to retire at the nearest safe location rather than return to the pits.
Norris became the 35th driver to win the World Drivers' Championship and the eighth to do so in a McLaren. His title ended a four-year run of dominance by Verstappen. McLaren's Constructors' double was the team's first since the era of Mika Hakkinen, underlining a resurgence that began with the previous season's championship triumph.
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