Welcome one and all, the moment is almost upon us as we approach the opening Grand Prix of the 2025 Formula 1 season, which this year is coming to you from Melbourne Australia. This year, you might notice a few changes to how we are going to do things; firstly, the weekly, or race-wise, reports will be uploaded to our all new website. It's nothing too fancy, just a simply Google site, just to see if this means we get a bit more engagement; the updates will still be posted in the Facebook community group, since this is more of a social hub, and the Facebook messenger chat remains for use throughout the season to throw some jokes around, discuss races, and anything else that takes your fancy. Secondly, we have a brand new league name, which you voted for; we will be flying under the flag of "Ahead At The Apex". If you are unfamiliar with this reference, may I point you to Drive To Survive season 7 on Netflix. Finally, after some upset caused last season, some of which was entirely my doing, I will be encouraging our community admins to be less tolerant on abuse. We all like a good joke at the expense of someone else's favourite team, but it can go too far, and I have been guilty of that myself and will take action to be better, but there is no need to cause upset once the joke has worn off. We can all be better than that.

Right, that's the serious business out of the way, now let's get into why we should be hyped up for 2025, starting with the constructor lineups.

The Grid¶

Let's go in descending order from the 2024 season, starting of course with our champions, McLaren.

McLaren¶

McLaren are keeping their driver lineup going into the new season, since they have one of youngest lineups on the grid, and have committed to the prospect of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to take them into a new generation of Formula 1. Lando is right off the back of his most successful seasons in Formula 1, finishing second to Max Verstappen by season end, and taking 4 Grand Prix victories last season (these are also his first 4 Grand Prix victories in Formula 1). Lando has really got to knuckle down this year if he wants to continue his push for a world championship, but his main competitor it seems is going to be his teammate. McLaren looked strong in Winter Testing and are off the back of a great season for the Woking outfit, and no one is more eager to prove themselves at the top than young Aussie Oscar Piastri. Oscar won in everything he drove on the way to Formula 1 but was sidelined by Alpine, under their junior program, due to a lack of space at the team. Frustrated, he signed with McLaren in 2023, and is therefore going into his third full season in the sport. What's perhaps most interesting about Oscar is that he is managed by former Red Bull, Williams, and Minardi man, Mark Webber. Mark knows a thing or two about becoming the "number 2" driver at a team and will be doing his very best to make sure the same does not happen to Oscar. Oscar has to prove himself this season or he will become Lando's backup very quickly. It could go all so well for McLaren or it could end in a Hamilton/Rosberg disaster, but unlike Mercedes in 2016, it doesn't seem McLaren will have the outright advantage to allow that to happen.

Ferrari¶

Ferrari have perhaps the biggest signing of the 2024 season, with 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton joining the team this season. Lewis, of course, is not the first 7-time champion to drive for Ferrari, and in fact Ferrari is the only team to have both of the most successful drivers to drive for them in the history of the sport. Lewis has never been a driver who copes well with a strong teammate, that's a fair and objective thing to say before you all start in the comments, and I will provide proof. 2007, rookie Lewis vs champion Alonso, the mind games played a huge role all season long, resulting in Lewis throwing it into the gravel trap at the Chinese Grand Prix and losing the championship. 2016, Lewis vs Nico, a fight that ruined a generational friendship and resulted in Nico as the world champion. 2022-2024, Lewis vs George; this one is controversial as the team LH people would argue that Lewis was running tests, weird strategies, and such, but George outperformed Lewis in 2 out of 3 seasons together, and resulted in Lewis leaving the team he won the majority of his world championships with. The question is, will Lewis be able to thrive against Leclerc, or will the pressure of Ferrari be too much for him as it has been for Vettel and Alonso before him? Charles Leclerc remains at the Scuderia for another year, signing a massive extension in the early parts of 2024. Leclerc seems to have had a strong 2024, finally putting to bed some of those mistakes that were creeping into his race craft, and finally shrugging off the Monaco curse. Leclerc won the two most important races of the year for Ferrari, Monaco and Monza, last year and put on a good comeback towards the end of the season to challenge the top two, but it was too little too late. If Ferrari can put to bed some of their recent blunders, Leclerc is a real threat for the title.

Red Bull¶

As their reign of dominance appears to be coming to an end, Red Bull are setting themselves up for the next generation with a little bit of a driver reshuffle. Of course, they are maintaining their contract with 4-time champion Max Verstappen, they'd be mad not to; Max is happy, the team are happy, Jos is unhappy, everyone's a winner. There's no denying the Dutchman has still got what it takes to fight at the top even when the car is not quite where he wants it to be, he's always had that skill to be able to extract more than is there, much like Fernando Alonso. He's very much a threat this year, even without Adrian Newey onboard. But, even though it felt like it took far too long, Red Bull have not extended their contract with Sergio Perez; instead, they have gone in a different direction and signed the Kiwi rookie Liam Lawson. Now, I know what you're thinking, how is Lawson a rookie, he has driven an F1 car before. You're absolutely right, Liam did sub in to RB for Danial Ricciardo when he was injured and replaced Ricciardo towards the end of last season. But, technically speaking, he hasn't completed a full season of F1 and is therefore classed as a rookie. So why have Red Bull signed him instead of Yuki Tsunoda? That's a good question, especially as Helmut Marko has said that he wants VCARB to act as more of a junior team to Red Bull, as it historically did. I really don't have an answer for that, it really should have been Yuki. For Liam, it's make or brake, we have seen what has happened to Red Bull drivers who don't quite have what it takes, they usually end up at Alpine or out of the sport. Fingers crossed he has what it takes.

Mercedes¶

Mercedes were taken aback by the departure of Lewis Hamilton at the start of the 2024 season, there's no denying that. Many questioned whether George Russell was right to fill those shoes or if someone more experienced, or more successful, was a better option. Mercedes themselves considered Verstappen, Sainz, and even Alonso. But, in the end, they decided to promote from within. George takes over the team leader role, and is stepping into those shoes on a good footing with a strong 2024 season, picking up a couple of wins along the way. He's showing a good level of maturity and seems confident that he can be the one to bring Mercedes back to where they believe they belong. However, that job might be hindered by Mercedes' new signing. This, I believe, is the first time Mercedes has signed a rookie since the mid 1950s - alright, that's a bit unfair, they weren't around for many decades, but the point stands. They're completely promoting from within, with junior academy driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli joining the squad in 2025. Toto is absolutely convinced that Kimi is the next Senna, Schumacher, or Verstappen - yes this is a direct quote from Drive To Survive, and I noted too that he left Lewis' name out of that conversation, very interesting indeed. Kimi has only driven the 2024 Mercedes in two practice sessions, one of which he crashed in, and then testing, which went ok for the rookie. Interestingly, Mercedes signed Valtteri Bottas as a reserve driver, spoiler alert, for 2025, which may be an indication that they don't have full faith in the rookie.

Aston Martin¶

Aston Martin are sticking firm with their driver lineup, given their signing of Adrian Newey last year, I think the only way they were going to get Fernando Alonso out of the car was kicking and screaming. Fernando has waited to driver a Newey car for his entire racing career, and he's finally going to get the chance. Well he will in 2026 anyway, just as the regulations switch to an engine-focused formula, the irony (or rather, the story of Fernando's life). Regardless, Adrian is now officially at the team, and he can start working on the car development, so expect to see a strong return of Aston Martin towards the end of the season. Fernando is, of course, partnered by Lance Stroll, who is seemingly never going to lose that seat. A terrible year for Lance last year, but with absolutely no punishment, there is absolutely no reason for him to try harder. So expect more of the same.

Alpine¶

The biggest news out of Alpine over the winter break is that no one major has been sacked. The team has been spiralling through turmoil for the entire 2024 season with major names walking out the door every other week. Things really started to settle down when Briatore came back, however, which is definitely their biggest signing of 2024. For those who don't remember Flavio, he is the guy who took that team to success with Schumacher and Alonso in the last 30 years; to be fair, he's also the one who was accused of race fixing at the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, but that's just who he is, a fierce competitor with a desire to win at any cost. He's going to have a hard time with Alpine however, as they started last year firmly at the back. The car did improve throughout the season, but have they really dedicated any time to their 2025 car, or are they full focus on 2026 and beyond? Pierre Gasly remains at the team, who seem to be putting their entire focus into the Frenchman of late. Rightly so too, Pierre is a solid racer who has shown he has what it takes to win a race in an uncompetitive car, there's not many drivers who can say that. The second seat, however, is something of a hot potato at the moment. It is currently occupied by Alpine's former reserve driver, Jack Doohan, who took the final race of 2024 with the team. Jack, however, is relatively unproven, and is already under threat. In the off-season, Alpine signed Franco Colapinto to the team as a reserve driver, on a supposed 5-year deal. There are rumours circulating that Jack has five races to prove himself, or Franco is in. That's some serious pressure on the new boy.

Haas¶

For the second time since they joined the F1 grid in 2016, Haas have had a complete change to their driver lineup. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg have moved on, after getting Haas through their restructure, it's time for the team to focus on the future, or at least that's what they're telling us. Kevin was always going to be the one to depart, despite his raw speed, he hasn't wowed as much as other drivers in F1, and he's cost the team a lot in terms of damage recently. Nico, however, has got his sights set elsewhere. With that in mind, Haas have gone for a safe pair of hands in Esteban Ocon, a driver renowned for never colliding with anyone, especially teammates.... right! It's an interesting choice for sure, and my only guess is that Haas are the only team that are used to dealing with really tall drivers, so they've signed two of them. Joining Esteban at Haas for 2025, is rookie, and Ferrari-super-sub Oliver Bearman. You might remember Bearman stepping in for Carlos Sainz at the start of 2024 and doing exactly what was asked of him. He also stood in for Magnussen at Haas last year when the Dane received his race ban. Bearman has impressed, but is he ready for a full time drive? Only time will tell. I'm not expecting much from Haas this year, but I think multiple points finishes are certainly an option.

VCARB¶

Before cars hit the track in 2025, VCARB impressed with the best livery of the year. That white, Red Bull lookalike, is a thing of beauty. It didn't perform too badly either, given the year VCARB had last year. They have been left with Yuki Tsunoda after Red Bull had their pick of the litter, and that's not a dig at Yuki, who seems to finally be maturing into that role and dropping some of the hot-headed behaviour that is supposedly the reason he never made it to the big team. Yuki is perhaps the best driver in the Red Bull junior program at the moment, and that's why it's such a shame he hasn't been picked for the main team. Hopefully, a strong year this year could perhaps open the door at other teams so that he can finally show what he's got to offer this sport. With the departure of Daniel Ricciardo midway through last year, rookie Isack Hadjar is joining the team as his replacement. There's not an awful lot to say about Isack as he is a relatively unknown figure in the sport. He's definitely got one of the hardest rookie roles though, since he will be under constant comparison to Yuki and Liam.

Williams¶

Williams are perhaps the team to watch over the next few seasons. They are finally out of their money-driven phase where they are desperately scrabbling around trying to find as much money as they possibly can just to go racing, and it seems that they are in their rebuilding phase. The team maintain Alex Albon for another year, and why shouldn't they? Alex has done nothing but score them points over the last few years, in races where it didn't seem like it was possible for that car to score points. Yes, he's had some big crashes as well, but mostly it's positive. But their big signing is ex-Ferrari man Carlos Sainz, who they managed to steal away from Alpine and Kick Sauber at the last moment. Sainz is taking his time adjusting to life in the UK instead of sunny Spain or Italy, but I'm sure he is 100% focused on building that team up around him. It's got to be his main priority right? Or is it? Carlos has ties to Audi, Williams has ties to Mercedes. Mercedes have just signed an untested rookie. Could Carlos be hoping that things don't work out too well with Antonelli and he is asked to swap mid-season? Could he be staying there until Audi build themselves up and then moving in for the seat? Who knows. But Williams are making huge promises that they are going to need to start cashing in on soon.

Kick Sauber¶

Last but by no means least, we have the final season for Kick Sauber before they become Audi. Kick have come a long way from their early days of 20+ second pit stops, but last year was almost a completely pointless season for them right up until Zhou Guanyu scored some points in Qatar. As such, they have had a complete reshuffle of their driver lineup in preparation for the move to Audi. Nico Hulkenberg joins the team as the experienced hand on deck, but Nico is by far the least successful most-successful driver of all time in the sport. Nico has never finished a race on the podium, and he has driven for Force India, Williams, Haas, Renault, and Aston Martin. It seems like every time he is about to have some success, something goes wrong. Is he the right man to deliver some performance to a new team? Probably not. Was he a safe pair of hands that won't cost them any of their development budget for the 2026 challenger? Yes. Current F2 champion, Gabriel Bortoleto joins the team in 2025, and that is quite something. This is Audi pushing their new generation of drivers for the future of their team, but Bortoleto was part of the McLaren academy, so that also tells me McLaren are committed to their driver lineup for at least 5 years. For those who don't know, Bortoleto is the first Brazilian to come through the sport since Felipe Massa, and he is managed by Fernando Alonso. Bortoleto won back to back F3 and F2 championships and went straight to F1, something that hasn't really happened in the feeder series in a very long time, since we have had quite the stagnation in the driver market. Gabriel has perhaps the easiest job of the season, because no one expects Sauber to be anywhere this year, so all he has to do is be close to Hulkenberg, and not put the car in a wall every race weekend, and he should be fine. It's a learning year for sure.

Fantasy League¶

The 2025 Fantasy League, known now as Ahead At The Apex is now live. The fantasy league can be joined using the official F1 app and selecting the Fantasy tab. Create your teams and join using the code C3PDRG9CF06. This year, as well, I will be running a for-pride-only F1 predict league, under the same tab. This can be joined using the code C8MHGLRKE01. The fantasy league has associated with it some prizes, and these can be accessed by paying into the pot. No profits are taken from this pot. So let's start by seeing what you guys are competing for this year.

Prizes¶

Rules¶

To qualify for a prize you must have paid into the pot. There is a £5 registration fee per email, so up to 3 teams, and the details can be requested from the league owner. The fee should be paid before Australia, but exceptional circumstances can be made on request. You may compete without payment, but you can only draw from the pot if you pay into the pot.

Penalties taken on spot prize race weekends will result in forfeit of the prize. We like to play fair here, so for the spot prize lowest scores, you will not be counted if you take penalty points. For season-long achievements, this will be extended to no more than 5 penalties. But again, that's not really in the spirit of things, so let's play fair.

For reference, penalties are awarded by the app for more than you alloted team substitutes in a race weekend.

Prizes are awarded as a percentage of the total pot, no profit is taken by the league owner or admins.

NOTE THE FOLLOWING EXCLUSIONS AND RESTRICTIONS:

• Using unlimited in the final race will punish your points per value as I will default you to the $100m cost cap.
• 5 penalties or more disqualifies you from the most substitutions award.
• Penalties exclude you from lowest weekly score prizes.
• Half a season is defined as the summer break, not equally splitting the number of races.
• Average points per value is taken by your total points and your total value for all races.
• Team value is calculated from the 5 drivers and 2 constructors, perks do not increase value.
• The Golf League is a term used to describe a subset of players who attempt to score the lowest score in the season.
  • Penalty restrictions apply.
  • DNS, DNF, and inactive drivers are all fair game.
  • Perks are encouraged.

Championship Prizes¶

Season Achievements¶

Spot Prizes¶

Prize money is awarded at the end of the season.

Managers and Teams¶

Welcome to all old and new managers this year. For your safety, I try to keep full names out of all reports and produced figures. I will use your first name and surname initial in all future writing. Let's start by taking a look at the managers that are joining this year.

• Chloe B
  • Miss Fritter is Back
  • No Keys - Push To Start
  • Mickeys Roadster Racers
• Alfie CJ
  • I Call Patrick Subaru
  • Corona Wing Corn
  • Cucumberpotatolamborghini
• Sam CJ
  • Grand Prix Princesses F1
  • Total F1 Performance
  • Silverstone Is Red 2025!!
• Pete J
  • Monaco Barrier Testers
  • Ford Nintendo Racing
  • Seagiant F1 Online
• Patrick L
  • Coming in Haast Place
  • You Hadjar Chance Racing
• Jake M
  • Kick Sauber In The Audi
  • Red Bull, Whats That? 2nd
  • I Am Stupid Rookie
• Josh M
  • HSBC Jaguar Racing
  • Expensify APX GP
  • Kingfisher Force India F1
• Phil M
  • BMW FTW
  • BMW Motorrad
  • BMW Should Be Here
• Seb M
  • Bridgestone Toro Rosso F1
  • Allianz BMW Williams
  • BWT Racing Point F1
• Val M
  • Its "odinge"
  • No U Turn
  • Limoncello44
• Valerie M
  • Stroll To The 18th
  • Perez For World Champion
  • What Arrrgh Ya Doohan?
• Madlen P
  • Wet Tyres Are Blue
  • Soft Tires Are Red
  • Push, Push - Box Now Too
• Finn R
  • Ro@d R@ge
• James R
  • Bwoah OnlyFans UPS Racing
  • Bwoah OnlyFans McD Racing
  • Bwoah Schweppes Puma Golf
• Will R
  • Dinoco Piston Cup Champs
  • Axelrods Allinol Allstars
  • The Big One(TM)
• Stuart S
  • Taylormade To Lose
  • Murder on Zidane's Floor
  • Andres Inyasista
• Stefanus W
  • Gelael
  • Haryanto
  • Syahrul