From huge off-track drama to fierce battles on it – The key moments of an unforgettable 2025 season - Formula 1

McLarenMercedesRed Bull RacingFrom huge off-track drama to fierce battles on it – The key moments of an unforgettable 2025 seasonThe 2025 championship has certainly provided us will lots of unforgettable moments.Dec 31, 2025 8:46am UTCAnticipation was high ahead of the 2025 F1 season – and the campaign that followed more than matched up to those expectations. A title fight that went down to wire, surprise podiums and numerous dramatic battles kept us entertained on track, while plenty of huge stories unfolded off it, from shock personnel changes through to intriguing driver market developments. Join us as we take a look back at all of the key moments from an unforgettable year…F1 75 Live kicks off the season To celebrate F1’s 75th anniversary, the season kicked off with the spectacular F1 75 Live launch event held at London’s The O2 in February, where all 10 teams and their respective drivers unveiled their liveries for the season ahead. It memorably marked Lewis Hamilton’s first appearance as a Ferrari driver, while the new batch of rookies made their debuts. Comedian Jack Whitehall hosted proceedings, and there were also performances from musical guests including Kane Brown and Take That.Norris victorious before Piastri takes momentum The Australian Grand Prix was the first race of a 24-round calendar and it proved to be a chaotic affair, with Lando Norris emerging as the winner following an event that featured changing weather conditions, Safety Cars and numerous crashes. Team mate Oscar Piastri was amongst those to slide off track – but the Australian bounced back with victory in China one week later, kickstarting an early run of momentum that would see the 24-year-old take the championship lead at Round 5 in Saudi Arabia. Ferrari go from Sprint win to double DSQ Speaking of China, Round 2 of the championship proved to be one of highs and lows for Ferrari. Hamilton returned to winning ways in the first Sprint of the campaign, converting pole position into P1 as the Briton gave the Scuderia’s fans something to smile about. However, Sunday’s race proved to be much tougher. Charles Leclerc and Hamilton initially crossed the line in fifth and sixth respectively – but both were later disqualified, with the former’s car found to be underweight in post-race checks while the rear skid block on Hamilton’s SF-25 was found to be under the minimum thickness required in the technical regulations.A delighted Hamilton celebrated with his team after winning the Sprint at the Chinese Grand PrixLawson and Tsunoda swap seats After being promoted to Red Bull from the team’s sister squad for 2025, Liam Lawson faced a tricky start during the first two rounds of the campaign, recording a DNF in Australia before finishing outside of the points in China. It was subsequently announced that the New Zealander would return to Racing Bulls as of Round 3 in Japan, marking a direct swap with Yuki Tsunoda as the Japanese racer became the latest to step up as Max Verstappen’s team mate. Doohan replaced, Colapinto returns and Oakes leaves Alpine Another driver change took place at Alpine in May. Speculation had long been swirling over Jack Doohan’s position at the team – and it was confirmed in the days after the Miami Grand Prix that he would be replaced by Franco Colapinto going forwards, with the Australian becoming first-choice reserve. This was just one personnel change at the Enstone-based squad within a short space of time; it was announced only one day earlier that Team Principal Oliver Oakes had resigned with immediate effect.Alpine's best and worst moments from 2025McLaren come to blows in Canada as Russell wins and Antonelli scores a podium Amid a dominant showing from McLaren during the early stages of the season – with Piastri and Norris responsible for seven wins in nine races, the other two victories belonging to Verstappen – Norris admitted that it was perhaps only a matter of time until he and his team mate came to blows on track. Such an incident finally occurred at Round 10 in Canada. As they battled for P4 in the closing stages, Norris made contact with Piastri and suffered race-ending damage to his car, with the Briton later taking responsibility for what happened. George Russell, meanwhile, claimed a debut win of the season for Mercedes, while rookie team mate Kimi Antonelli scored his first F1 podium in third.F1 The Movie is released Formula 1 arrived on the big screen in June as F1 The Movie was released in cinemas. Filming of the motion picture – starring Brad Pitt as former driver Sonny Hayes, who makes a comeback to partner rookie Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) at the fictional APXGP team – took place during actual Grand Prix weekends throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The drivers and teams got a first glimpse of the movie after attending a private screening in Monaco a few weeks earlier, with many voicing their approval of the film afterwards. Norris wins at home while Hulkenberg takes first podium In terms of feel-good moments of the season, the British Grand Prix certainly provided some standout memories. After winning in Monaco for the first time earlier in the campaign, Norris added another iconic victory to his list by triumphing in front of his home crowd at Silverstone for the first time. Joining him on the podium was Nico Hulkenberg, the Kick Sauber driver finally achieving a maiden top-three finish on his 239th attempt. It was a hugely popular result and one that the German hailed as “quite incredible”.Hulkenberg's long-awaited first podium made for a popular result at SilverstoneHorner leaves Red Bull Just days after F1’s visit to Silverstone, Red Bull announced that Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner would leave the team with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to his long period in charge of the outfit. With Horner exiting after some 20 years in the role, Racing Bulls’ Laurent Mekies made the step up to replace him, while Alan Permane moved from Racing Director to