How might the 2025 F1 grid look like?

Although there are still 10 round to go this season, preparation for the 2025 F1 season is already underway. F1Technical's lead journalist Balazs Szabo delivers his prediction how the grid might look like next season.

There are six teams that have already announced their driver line-up for the coming season.

Ferrari will compete with a driver pairing which has been one of the strongest of the F1 history. Having joined the Scuderia back in 2019, Charles Leclerc will stay with the team to kick off his extended contract.

However, with the departure of Carlos Sainz, the Monegasque driver, who is believed to be one of the quickest driver in qualifying, will team up with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The Briton, who will leave Mercedes at the end of this year, will chase his eighth F1 world title at the Maranello-based outfit.

With McLaren featuring an extremely competitive driver line-up, it is not surprising that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will stay at Woking. The Briton secured his maiden F1 victory in Miami while the Australian registered his maiden F1 triumph in Budapest a few weeks ago, and they will be definitely eager to mount a title challenge next year, building on McLaren rejuvenated form.

Aston Martin has endured a dip in form despite all the efforts the Silverstone-based outfit has completed in the background. The British squad will field an unchanged driver line-up with Fernando Alonso set to complete his third year with the team in 2025 while Lance Stroll will also stay at the team that is owned by his father Lawrence Stroll.

Williams will field a very competitive driver line-up next season. Alexander Albon will stay with the team, having recently announced the extension of his contract. Compared to a raft of eye-catching performances in 2023, the London-born Thai driver might have endured a slight drop in performance this year, but it is down to Williams's own struggles with its current car rather than Albon's lack of pace.

Albon will be joined by Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. After Ferrari had announced the signing of Lewis Hamilton, Sainz started to look for a new team. While he was believed to have several options, he elected to commit himself to Williams. Although the Grove-based outfit still continue to suffer from a series of issues - lack of development and third chassis at the start of the season, outdated facilities - team boss James Vowles has put a recovery plan in place which might have been enough to convince Sainz about a more brighter future at Williams.

Haas will field an all-new driver line-up next season. Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman will make his full-time debut at the American outfit. Although the Briton is enduring a very challenging campaign in the F2 series, he excelled in Saudi Arabia, claiming a seventh-place finish at his debut race when he stepped in to replace Sainz.

Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of the year to join Haas. It means that the American outfit will field an F1 race winner for the first time in its history.

Having gone through key changes in recent months, Alpine was also facing a big task regarding its driver line-up. Having joined the team last year, Pierre Gasly will race at the Enstone-based outfit following a freshly-signed contract extension.

However, with Esteban Ocon leaving Alpine, the team's new Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore needed to sign a driver to replace the Frenchman. The Italian has recently suggested that Alpine was in no rush to decide about its second driver. However, the French-British outfit has made its final decision ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, confirming its reserve driver Jack Doohan as its second driver for 2025.

Although Red Bull has already sorted out its driver pairing for 2025, there are still question marks. Having been linked to Mercedes in recent months, reigning world champion Max Verstappen has a long-term contract with the Austro-British outfit, and he is expected to stay with Red Bull despite the rumours.

However, Sergio Perez will need to get his act together if he wants to stay with the team that he joined back in 2021. The Mexican secured a contract extension with Red Bull in spring, but he has struggled for performance since then, which has raised questions regarding his future at Milton Keynes.

Mercedes is yet to sort out his driver pairing for next year. George Russell, who has delivered some eye-catching drives so far this season, will stay with the Brackley-based outfit in 2025.

However, team-owner and team boss Toto Wolff will need to make the final call about his second driver who will replace the outgoing Hamilton. Although the Austrian suggested on multiple occasion that he is interested in the services of reigning champion Max Verstappen, he is expected to sign F2 driver and Italian sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

While Kick Sauber is enduring an utterly difficult season this year, it is making preparing its transition into Audi's works team. The Hinwil-based outfit has already announced Nico Hulkenberg as one of its drivers for next year with the German driver set to leave Haas after a two-year stint.

There is a battle shaping up for the second Sauber seat. While the current race drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu still aim to secure the second seat at the Swiss-based outfit, a new candidate has come up recently with McLaren's junior racer Gabriel Bortoleto having emerged as a potential driver to partner Hulkenberg at Sauber.

The Visa Cash RB will also need to find a second driver alongside Yuki Tsunoda. Daniel Ricciardo is currently competing alongside the Japanese driver, but his future in hanging in the balance due to his tough start to the season.

While there is no doubt about the eight-time F1 race winner Australian's talent and he enjoys the support of Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, Ricciardo will need to convince the company's motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko.

Should Ricciardo fail to deliver impressive performances in the coming weeks, New-Zealander Liam Lawson might take over his seat, who has already impressed last year when he replaced the injured Australian driver.