Christian Horner announces an ultra-tight 2025 season
With stabilized regulations and tightened performances, the gaps between teams have never been so close. Christian Horner anticipates up to eight different winners, a first in the history of the championship.
The 2025 Formula 1 season promises to be a real battleground! Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal, predicts a very tight fight: “I think it will be extremely competitive throughout the season, from the first race to the last,” he shares with the media.
The regulations in place since 2022 are maturing, and the teams have exploited every detail to maximize performance. The result: a grid that has tightened to a level not seen in recent years. “The cars all look incredibly similar today,” highlights Horner. In 2024, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull have all won races. And in 2025, the trend might intensify.
Max Verstappen against the whole world
Quadruple world champion, Max Verstappen has only one goal: to win a fifth. But for the first time in years, Red Bull no longer dominates. After a 2024 season where the team finished third in the championship, the RB21 will have to prove itself against fierce competition. “We simply need to improve some of the characteristics of last year’s car,” admits Horner. “The team has worked very hard on this during the off-season.”
In 2024, McLaren clinched the constructors’ title, while Ferrari finished as world vice-champion. Red Bull, once untouchable, now has to become a hunter again rather than the hunted champion. “Let’s not forget that we still won nine races and four sprint races with this car last year,” Horner points out. But will that be enough?
If the majority of the teams have converged towards similar concepts, Ferrari seems to have taken a different path. A point that hasn’t escaped Horner: “I think Ferrari is probably a differentiating factor,” he analyzes. With the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion, alongside Charles Leclerc, the Scuderia clearly displays its ambitions. After narrowly missing the title in 2024, Ferrari wants to cross the final hurdle.
But this bet could be a double-edged sword: if the concept works, Ferrari could dominate the season. If not, the Scuderia might, on the contrary, find itself falling behind. This is what will make the races so tight this year, as some cars will be better suited to certain circuits than others, predicts Horner. It will be a matter of extracting the maximum from your platform from your package and ensuring everything goes smoothly on the day.
A dream cast for an explosive season
Close cars, reduced gaps, and hungry drivers: the 2025 season might very well be the most unpredictable season in years. Zak Brown, the McLaren boss, shares Horner’s optimism and expects a record diversity among winners: « We could very well have eight different winners this year, and you know, there are surprises in the race… », he said.
When you look at the grid, it’s hard not to agree. Everything will depend on the teams’ ability to optimize every detail. Horner knows it: All the surfaces of our car are different from last year, but they look similar because the philosophy is the same. And you can see that the other cars have converged towards that. The fans, on the other hand, have only to enjoy themselves: I think the biggest winners will be the fans and the followers of this sport, concludes Horner.
