Where to watch Formula 1 in 2025 + season preview & key information

Jonathan Victoria • 05 Mar 2025 Features

Has there ever been more excitement for a season?

The cars have been revealed, the pre-season testing is done and all that’s left is for the 2025 Formula 1 season to get underway - and it’s finally coming!

Albert Park Circuit will be prepared to introduce us back to the F1 circus, and given how the track is a magnet for excitement and how this season is expected to be the most hotly-contested of all time, it is sure to be an opener for the ages.

As the season draws closer, check out where to watch Formula 1 in 2025, plus other key information and our season preview.

Formula 1 on Sky Sports

As has been the case since 2012 (and will be the case until 2029), Sky Sports is the place to watch every single moment of this season for those in the UK and Ireland.

The dedicated Sky Sports F1 channel will show round-the-clock Formula 1 content - from race weekends and supporting series coverage to the F1 Show and Classic F1, there is no end to racing!

Sky has retained their presentation team for another season, with fan-favourites David “Crofty” Croft and former driver Martin Brundle remaining in the commentary box for the majority of the season.

Other more permanent and popular faces such as Ted Kravitz,  Naomi Schiff, Natalie Pinkham and Rachel Brookes will be present, as will be former World Champions Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg, who will appear at various races throughout the year.

If you’re interested in watching (which you definitely should be), you’ll need to have or get an applicable Sky Sports package.

New customers can obtain this via a pre-made package that puts together Sky TV and Sky Sports, sometimes with other services such as broadband, although you can choose the package with the inclusions you want/need.

You can also simply add it on to a different package, with the option of a 31 day rolling contract (£27 a month*) or a 24 month contract (£20 a month*). 

As for existing customers without Sky Sports, it can be added to your Sky TV package via the add ons, with the same choice shown above available.

*Prices correct as of 05/03/25.

Channel 4 Formula 1 coverage

For those who choose not to purchase Sky Sports, Channel 4 has a sub-licence from Sky so you can watch the highlights of all races and qualifying throughout the year plus full live coverage of the British Grand Prix for free without having to purchase Sky Sports.

Formula 1 2025: Schedule

Another long 24 race season is coming for this year, and aside from a few races swapping positions, not too much has changed.

The final race of the year remains in Abu Dhabi, but the season opener will be returning to Melbourne. As such, the circus will stay in that vicinity of the world, moving north to China and Japan before then moving to the previous opener, Bahrain.

Sprint weekends are also still in play. The races which will feature them have been marked.

Here is the full schedule for the Formula 1 2025 season: 

• Round 1 | 16th March: Australian Grand Prix
• Round 2 | 23rd March: Chinese Grand Prix (Sprint)
• Round 3 | 6th April: Japanese Grand Prix
• Round 4 | 13th April: Bahrain Grand Prix
• Round 5 | 20th April: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 
• Round 6 | 4th May: Miami Grand Prix (Sprint)
• Round 7 | 18th May: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
• Round 8 | 25h May: Monaco Grand Prix
• Round 9 | 1st June: SpanishGrand Prix
• Round 10 | 15th June: Canadian Grand Prix
• Round 11 | 29th June: Austrian Grand Prix 
• Round 12 | 6th July: Great Britain Grand Prix
• Round 13 | 27th July: Belgian Grand Prix (Sprint)
• Round 14 | 3rd August: Hungarian Grand Prix
• Round 15 | 31st August: Dutch Grand Prix
• Round 16 | 7th September: Italian Grand Prix
• Round 17 | 21st September: Azerbaijan Grand Prix
• Round 18 | 5th October: Singapore Grand Prix
• Round 19 | 19th October: United States Grand Prix (Sprint)
• Round 20 | 26th October: Mexican Grand Prix 
• Round 21 | 9th November: Brazilian Grand Prix (Sprint)
• Round 22 | 23rd November: Las Vegas Grand Prix
• Round 23 | 30th November: Qatar Grand Prix (Sprint)
• Round 24 | 7th December: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 

Formula 1 2025: Driver line-ups & teams

2024 had a silly season for the ages - it practically lasted all year!

As such, the grid for 2025 is vastly different to last year, with five full-season rookies ready to welcome themselves to the F1 world, plus various other drivers in new outfits - highlighted by the most decorated driver in history now driving for the most decorated team in history.

It’s also nice to see drivers from Italy and Brazil back on the grid. Both nations hold a lot of F1 heritage from success in the past, and it feels right to have them represented once more.

Check out the full grid for the year plus our brief thoughts on the teams, drivers and their car.

McLaren

The team from Woking finally reached the mountaintop once again last season, claiming their first Constructors' Championship title since 1998.

They’re aiming for one step further this year, however, with the goals to be to retain the title and claim the Drivers’ Championship, most likely for last year’s runner-up Lando Norris, although his teammate for the third season running, Oscar Piastri, is sure to think he has a strong chance as well.

McLaren has one of the strongest lineups on the grid. Norris is the pre-season favourite for the title this year and should be ready for the challenge. But if the McLaren is in a winning place from the get-go, Piastri will be thinking he has as much a chance. The Aussie may still be young to the sport, but heading into his third year he seems more than ready for the fight.

Ferrari

Excitement among the Tifosi and the team alike for this season has been immense over the past 12 months, and it’s only been amplified since the drivers checked back in to work for the first time in February.

Seeing Hamilton in red for the first time was a sight to behold. It still didn’t quite feel real when he took to the track for the first time in testing, and now we all eagerly await his first official race with the team.

The legendary battle of Ferrari vs McLaren is sure to add a new chapter this year as the pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s golden child Charles Leclerc is sure to deliver at every opportunity when it arises to them.

Red Bull

Failure to retain the Constructors’ Championship last season cost Sergio Perez his seat, but Max Verstappen’s impressive feat in successfully defending his Drivers’ title means Red Bull remain a threat this season.

The side will most definitely have most of their focus on 2026 and the development of their car for then, but with Verstappen in the prime of his career, we should expect him to pop up with a few wins and maybe even challenge for the title, even if the car isn’t quite up to standard like it was at times last season.

Alongside him this year will be newcomer Liam Lawson, who has featured for the sister team multiple times over the last two seasons. His permanent part on the grid for the second half of last season means he comes into the main team with great experience, although if they aren’t challenging for the title, he’ll likely be given more leeway for development still.

Mercedes

With Hamilton’s departure from the team, George Russell will be elevated into the leader role, particularly as his new teammate is a young promising Italian by the name of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

This era hasn’t been particularly kind to the German outfit. There have been points of promise and a handful of wins, but nothing compared to the success they saw the decade prior.

With this being the last season under these regulations, Mercedes will no doubt put all their focus into development for the 2026 car, so wins and podiums may not be the aim for the campaign. Developing Antonelli will also be a priority, as will keeping hold of Russell past, with the Britons contract due to expire at the end of the year.

Aston Martin

The Adrian Newey effect will likely not come into play this year so don’t expect too much from the Silverstone-based outfit. 

In fact, we’re expecting some troubles to be heading to the side over the course of the year, mainly centered around Lance Stroll. His attitude towards the category and general unwillingness to better himself on and off the track in an F1 capacity might finally catch up to him as his father and team owner Lawrence is pressured to step his son down.

His veteran teammate, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, is in a fairly innocuous spot. He has two years remaining on his contract and is hinting at retirement at the end of it. This year will no doubt be a write-off for him, then he will be the focal point in what Aston Martin expects to be a title push from 2026. Simply put, he has all the cards in his hands as to his career.

Alpine

Alpine’s struggles over the last few years has seen them abandon their status as a works team as they become a Mercedes customer team in 2026. So with that, we’re not expecting much from them this year.

Pierre Gasly remains with the team but they Enstone outfit declared former driver Esteban Ocon would leave at the end of the year, replaced by rookie Jack Doohan - although how long he’ll last is the question.

Signing Franco Colapinto as their ‘reserve driver’ for the season seemed more of an early death note to Doohan’s F1 career, although we’ll have to wait and see how things play out over the course of the year.

Haas

Heading into their 10th year in F1, Haas are proudly waving the American flag before the new Cadillac Andretti team comes along from 2026. While they likely won’t make many waves on the track this year, we’re expecting some big theatrics from the side during the three American races.

It’s an all-new driver lineup for the team, and one that admittedly excites us a bit - although more so for one driver than the other.

Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman made three impressive features last season and that was enough to give him a seat for this year. He will be partnered by former Alpine driver and notorious bad teammate Esteban Ocon. In our rookies pre-assessment, we had Bearman leading the class, and many others are predicting him to outperform the one-time race winner on the other side of the garage this year, so be sure to keep an eye on the Bear.

Racing Bulls

A new name and the most drop-dead gorgeous livery on the grid adorns the Red Bull junior team, though we are wary of how things may fall for Racing Bulls behind the scenes this season.

Yuki Tsunoda remains with the side after being overlooked for the senior team once again, despite showing the class to make the jump for the past two seasons. He will be joined by another Red Bull junior graduate Isack Hadjar.

While the car should certainly be there to lead the midfield pack, we’re expecting some turmoil for the team surrounding Tsunoda’s place and his spite at being constantly passed over by the senior team. It may not be Racing Bull’s fault, but the team may be the one who pays the price for Red Bull’s decisions.

Williams

As one of F1’s most legendary outfits, it has been a shame to see what the side has become over the past 10 years. However, since James Vowles took the helm, he has been steering the ship onto a new, brighter course, which has led them to a major acquisition this year.

After Hamilton signed with Ferrari, Carlos Sainz didn’t have many options for a seat. Williams had one open alongside Alex Albon and he had to take it, despite their lowly ninth-place finish last season.

This season may be another one full of struggles, but their strong driver lineup is sure to bring success on the weekends when things do come together.

Kick Sauber

One final year for Sauber in F1 and it will likely be another of struggles. An all-new driver lineup may spruce things up, but it surely won’t change things that much.

Former Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg makes the move over, with his future employers Audi most likely having a big say in that one. He’ll be the team leader and guidance for the newcomer, reigning Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto - champion at the first time of asking, it should be mentioned, and one of the brightest talents on the grid.

This year will likely see Sauber trundling along at the back again as they make their preparations to become Audi from 2026.

Formula 1 2025: Rule changes

2025 will see some new rules introduced, although unsurprisingly there’s nothing major given that 2026 and the new regs are right around the corner.

Technical regulations

The minimum driver weight allowance has been increased from 80kg to 82kg, assisting in the well-being of taller and/or heavier drivers. As such, the cars minimum weight has also been increased by 2kg, going from 798kg to 800kg before fuel is added.

A driver cooling kit has been introduced as a way to combat the hotter races. It is an FIA mandated system so isn’t applicable whenever a team or driver would like as the kit, which adds a cooling system to the cars, will raise the minimum car weight by 5kg.

Some of the teams’ inventive interpretation of the rear wing DRS slots has caused the FIA to introduce tighter rules, reducing the minimum gap when closed (remains the same when opened) and stating there must only be two modes - open and closed.

That may sound silly, but after McLaren’s cheeky mini-DRS trick from last year, the clarification is necessary. As the FIA puts it, ending the application of DRS must return the wing exactly as defined to the initial mode.

So there will be more stringent deflection tests on the rear wing from the opening round of the year, and from Round 9 (Spanish Grand Prix), there will also be more stringent deflection tests on the front wing, again thanks to concerns raised by teams about McLaren and Mercedes’ designs last year. 

Finally, the limit on the number of gearboxes used during a season has been scrapped, owing to the reliability of current designs.

Sporting regulations

There’s quite a few of these so we won’t go into full detail for each.

The most controversial rule introduction the FIA has made sweeps across all categories they oversee, not just F1, so has had a fair bit of backlash from many corners of motor racing. There are to be more stringent regulations and stricter punishments for drivers’ comments and actions.

Essentially, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to drive racers like children, not allowing them to do things like swear during press conferences or make rude/insulting gestures. There has already been some pushback, but we’re expecting things to come to a head at some point during the year because of this rule.

The bonus point for the fastest lap has been eradicated. Previously, it was only given to a driver if they finished with the fastest lap and were in the top 10.

It came under fire last year during the Singapore Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo, who was racing for Red Bull junior team RB, was running 18th and pitted to set the fastest lap, taking it away from race leader and Verstappen’s main title challenger Lando Norris, a tactic to prevent Norris from picking up an extra point and making more ground on Verstappen.

There are tighter restrictions on the testing of previous cars (TPC), with limits imposed on where the tests can be run and how much testing can be done.

There is a new process for qualifying contingencies in the unlikely event that qualifying is cancelled (starting grid to be set according to drivers’ championship standings).

The starting grid for races will now be finalised 75 minutes before the start of the race. Any cars withdrawn between that time will not be included on the grid and cars behind will be moved up (if applicable).

Finally, in an effort to provide a more exciting Monaco Grand Prix, the FIA is imposing a mandatory two-stop for the race, regardless of if it is dry or wet conditions. This means each team must make at least two stops and will be mandated to use at least three sets of tyres during the race, with the standard two compounds required in dry conditions.