Australia opens the Formula 1 calendar again in what promises to be one of the most balanced seasons in the category before the profound changes planned for 2026. Without a favorite Franco as in recent years, a fierce dispute between McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes from Saturday at Albert Park-Band transmits classifying training at 2h; The race will be at dawn from Sunday to 1h. There are other attractions to F1 fans. To Brazilians, he has the return of a country representative on the grid after eight years, with Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber. In the world, the longed for two motorsport icons: the heptacal champion Lewis Hamilton and the most victorious Italian shield.
Pilots Season 2025 from F1 – Photo: Art editorial
Gabriel Bortoleto, 20, will have the difficult mission of piloting Sauber, in the return of a Brazilian to the grid starting since Felipe Massa’s retirement in 2017, when he said goodbye to Williams.
Current F2 champion, the São Paulo pilot arrives at F1 for his own merits, but will have to prove his value in the team that has the worst car among the 10 teams. His main reference will be the experienced companion Nico Hulkenberg, 37. Not to mention that the team is already thinking about 2026, when it will be the factory team of Audi.
The title won at the base is also no guarantee of success. Of the 31 F2 champions throughout history, only one won a championship at F1 – Australian Jack Brabham, three -time champion in the 1950s and 1960s, according to a survey of the site Torcedores.com.
– Brazil is entering the right foot. Gabriel is an excellent pilot who deserves this opportunity. Our flag is back in the grid, ”said Felipe Massa, who believes in Bortoleto’s potential even in a smaller team. “Sauber is the first experience of many young people, like me, who were later successful in Formula1. The team does not have a competitive car, but I hope it can evolve. Hulkenberg is very fast, but if Gabriel has a competitive year, it will be very important for his future.
One of the most awaited moments of the season is the first start of the heptacous champion Lewis Hamilton riding Ferrari. Since the advertisement of the Heptac -Champion trip to the Italian team, the fans have been expecting each unpublished moment: the first photo in Maranello, the image with the red jumpsuit, the first lap on board the car, which had a gigantic audience.
The meeting has the dimension of what both represent for motor racing. Hamilton arrives as a multi -champion, and one of the most important pilots in Formula 1 in many ways, to the most beloved team in the world. But it has not won a title of builders since 2008 – the last achievement of a pilot was with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
– Hamilton and Ferrari is a hell of a wedding. I would compare Schumacher and Ferrari, but at the end of the Schumacher era, when he was already a live world champion. Hamilton arrives with the weight of being the record holder of victories, title record holder with Schumacher. I hope for him a lot, but it won’t be easy. Beside him, he has Leclerc. Young pilot, super motivated, Veloz, who knows the team, speaks Italian…-says Luciano Burti, former pilot and commentator of GE.
Current four -time world champion Max Verstappen won the last title in the arm. Last year, Redbull was behind the second half of the season, and apparently lost its hegemonic post. Especially with the departure of the designer Adrian Newey, now from Aston Martin, directly responsible for the success of the Austrian team.
Despite the setbacks, the Dutch is still considered the most complete pilot today.
– Verstappen himself has already stated that he should not fight for victory in this first race. But I believe there will always be days when he will surprise, that he will take that extra that only he gets in Red Bull’s car – said Felipe Giaffone, a Band commentator.
The second half of last season surprised everyone with the growth of McLaren and Ferrari, who left Redbull behind – Verstappen won many races on the arm to win the fourth title followed. There were seven distinct winners throughout 2024.
The English team is expected to maintain the slight favoritism at the beginning of the season, especially Lando Norris, who even played the trophy with the Dutch. Therefore, Norris’s companion, Oscar Pistri, Leclerc and even George Russel, now the first Mercedes pilot George.
The season also features two debutants on the grid, as well as Bortoleto: Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls). In addition to three riders who will make their first full year: Liam Lawson (Redbull), Jack Doohan (Alpine), Oliver Bearman (Haas).
F1 Changes – Photo: Art Editorial
The big news of the regulation were for 2026. This year, the main change is the end of the extra back point faster, as well as modifications to wing adjustments and total pilot weight. The Monaco GP will also have two mandatory pit stops.
