It’s the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas, but taking a look back at just how right (or wrong) the PlanetF1.com team was in its pre-season predictions.
Henry Valantine beat Thomas Maher in a nail-biting tie-breaker question last season, but while we have already mocked ourselves for some of our predictions which went awry quite early on, how many of us have managed a turnaround come season’s end? It’s time to find out who our 2025 PF1 predictions champion will be.
F1 2025 predictions revisited: Who is PlanetF1.com champion this year?
Who will be Drivers’ World Champion? (1 point)
Michelle Foster: Charles Leclerc.
Mark Scott: Lando Norris.
Henry Valantine: Max Verstappen.
Sam Cooper: Charles Leclerc.
Thomas Maher: Max Verstappen.
Oliver Harden: Max Verstappen.
Jamie Woodhouse: Lewis Hamilton.
Verdict: Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and many of us boarded the Ferrari hype train a little bit too soon, it would seem. Mark is the only one to score a point for his faith in Lando Norris, who will no doubt be giving himself a pat on the back for his faith in the McLaren driver. Still early days yet, though.
Scores: Mark 1, Michelle 0, Henry 0, Sam 0, Thomas 0, Oliver 0, Jamie 0.
And who will finish in second and third place in the Drivers’ Championship? (1 point for each)
Michelle: Lando Norris P2, Max Verstappen P3.
Mark: Max Verstappen will finish second, and Charles Leclerc will finish third.
Henry: Charles Leclerc will take P2, with Lewis Hamilton in P3.
Sam: Max second, Lando in third.
Thomas: George Russell second, Lando Norris third.
Oliver: Lando Norris second, Oscar Piastri third.
Jamie: Lando Norris P2, Charles Leclerc P3.
Verdict: Not many points scored here either, with Mark and Sam correct in their prediction of Max Verstappen to take second, while Oliver gets on the board for having Oscar Piastri in third. Again, Ferrari gave too much pre-season hope.
Scores: Mark 2, Sam 1, Oliver 1, Michelle 0, Henry 0, Thomas 0, Jamie 0.
Who will be the Constructors’ World Champion? (1 point)
Michelle: Ferrari.
Mark: McLaren.
Henry: Ferrari.
Sam: McLaren.
Thomas: McLaren.
Oliver: McLaren.
Jamie: Ferrari.
Verdict: Mark, Thomas, Sam and Oliver all saw sense in backing McLaren. Michelle, Henry and Jamie still yet to score.
Scores: Mark 2, Oliver 2, Sam 2, Thomas 1, Michelle 0, Henry 0, Jamie 0.
Who will finish with the wooden spoon in the Constructors’ Championship? (1 point)
Michelle: Sauber.
Mark: Sauber.
Henry: Sauber.
Sam: Sauber
Thomas: Sauber.
Oliver: Sauber.
Jamie: Sauber.
Verdict: Our first collective apology of the season. To everyone at Sauber, in our defence, Alpine’s significant drop in form was not on many radars ahead of the season. Even though Sauber finished P9, its points tally of 70 would normally be enough for a comfortable mid-table finish, but not this year. No more points for now.
Scores: Mark 2, Oliver 2, Sam 2, Thomas 1, Michelle 0, Henry 0, Jamie 0.
Now for your full 2025 Constructors’ pecking order from first to last… (1 point for each correct place)
Michelle: Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Williams, Alpine, Haas, Racing Bulls, Sauber.
Mark: McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Haas, Alpine, Racing Bulls, Williams, Sauber.
Henry: Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Alpine, Aston Martin, Haas, Williams, Racing Bulls, Sauber.
Sam: McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, Aston Martin, Alpine, Williams, Haas, Racing Bulls, Sauber.
Thomas: McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams, Alpine, Aston Martin, Haas, Racing Bulls, Sauber.
Oliver: McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Alpine, Williams, Haas, Aston Martin, Racing Bulls, Sauber.
Jamie: Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams, Alpine, Haas, Racing Bulls, Aston Martin, Sauber.
Verdict: Here’s where things get a little bit more complicated, but we have plenty of points on the board for Red Bull in P3, as well as a good shout from Jamie and Thomas to put Williams in P5, with several others putting Haas P8. Everyone is finally off the mark, five questions in, with Sam now in the lead.
Scores: Sam 5, Mark 4, Thomas 4, Oliver 3, Michelle 2, Jamie 2, Henry 1.
Watch our drifting finale with V14
Onto some of the big driver battles…who will score more points: Hamilton or Leclerc? (1 point)
Michelle: Leclerc.
Mark: Leclerc.
Henry: Leclerc.
Sam: Leclerc.
Thomas: Leclerc.
Oliver: Hamilton.
Jamie: Hamilton.
Verdict: A mixed bag here, but a majority Leclerc verdict has allowed Mark, Sam and Thomas to open up a two-point lead, with Henry able to catch the back of the pack.
Scores: Sam 6, Mark 5, Thomas 5, Oliver 3, Michelle 3, Jamie 2, Henry 2.
Norris or Piastri? (1 point)
Michelle: Norris.
Mark: Norris.
Henry: Piastri.
Sam: Norris.
Thomas: Norris.
Oliver: Norris.
Jamie: Norris.
Verdict: Henry will be feeling the pain of being the only one to back Piastri, especially with the Australian having led for so much of the year. However, everyone else ticks over nicely with another point.
Scores: Sam 7, Mark 6, Thomas 6, Oliver 4, Michelle 4, Jamie 3, Henry 2.
Russell or Antonelli? (1 point)
Michelle: Russell.
Mark: Russell.
Henry: Russell.
Sam: Russell.
Thomas: Russell.
Oliver: Russell.
Jamie: Russell.
Verdict: A clean sweep for George on this occasion, and everyone gets another point on the board.
Scores: Sam 8, Mark 7, Thomas 7, Oliver 5, Michelle 5, Jamie 4, Henry 3.
And your one word answers for the rest of the driver battles at Red Bull, Racing Bulls, Stake F1, Aston Martin, Haas, Alpine and Williams (1 point each)
Michelle: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Ocon, Gasly, Sainz.
Mark: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Ocon, Gasly, Sainz.
Henry: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Alonso, Bearman, Gasly, Sainz.
Sam: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Bearman, Gasly, Sainz.
Thomas: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Bearman, Colapinto, Sainz.
Oliver: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Ocon, Gasly, Sainz.
Jamie: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Alonso, Bearman, Gasly, Sainz.
Verdict: Yuki Tsunoda’s early move to Red Bull ruled out one point, and our second collective apology goes to Alex Albon. We clearly felt Carlos Sainz would be the driver to beat at Williams and, while the gap came down to nine points in the end, Albono scuppered us all.
Several people’s backing of Ollie Bearman paid off, while the early faith in Gabriel Bortoleto perhaps came too soon. Thomas’ shout of Colapinto at Alpine – before he even had a race seat, remember – also did not pay off.
With five out of seven here, Sam nudges into a two-point lead.
Scores: Sam 13, Mark 11, Thomas 11, Oliver 9, Michelle 9, Jamie 8, Henry 7.
Predict a driver move for the F1 2026 season… (3 points)
Michelle: The obvious one is Yuki Tsunoda is out of Racing Bulls (as the team has already hinted at) and Arvid Lindblad is in. And if Franco doesn’t replace Doohan during the season, then that move is on in F1 2026.
Mark: Sergio Perez to Cadillac.
Henry: After being moved aside for Arvid Lindblad, we’ll see Yuki Tsunoda pop up at Aston Martin as reserve driver, if another race seat is unavailable.
Sam: My prediction is there will be two different drivers starting the opening race in 2026 as there will be in 2025. I think Yuki Tsunoda’s time at Racing Bulls will (harshly) come to an end with Arvid Lindblad replacing him while I reckon Jack Doohan gets the boot for Franco Colapinto at some point in the 2025 season.
Thomas: Arvid Lindblad to replace Yuki Tsunoda, with Doohan ousted from Alpine at some point during 2025 to be replaced by Colapinto – who secures the seat full-time for 2026.
Oliver: Just can’t shake the suspicion that Verstappen will end up at Mercedes sooner than later. Max to become the first world champion since Jenson Button in 2009 to win the title and switch teams to keep his dominance rolling into 2026 and beyond.
Jamie: Hear, hear on Arvid Lindblad in for Yuki Tsunoda. But to try steal some points, let’s go Oliver Bearman to Ferrari.
Verdict: Technically, Yuki Tsunoda did leave Racing Bulls and Arvid Lindblad is stepping up, so that will count (albeit in a roundabout way), but Henry’s prediction was for Tsunoda to become Aston Martin reserve, so that doesn’t quite meet the criteria. Likewise with Jamie, who agreed with others in predicting Lindblad’s rise, but ultimately opted for Bearman to Ferrari.
All the speculation around Verstappen to Mercedes did not come to fruition for Oliver’s sake, while Mark scored a banker with Checo Perez returning to the grid. Michelle, Sam and Thomas all had two predictions worthy of the points, too, with Colapinto having replaced Doohan early in the season.
Scores: Sam 16, Mark 14, Thomas 14, Michelle 12, Oliver 9, Jamie 8, Henry 7.
And what’s your big, bold prediction for the F1 2025 season? (5 points)
Michelle: Buying into the Sainz hype, let’s go with a podium for Williams. Too far? Yeah, I agree. So here goes: Jack Doohan will rise to the occasion and will not be dropped by Alpine mid-season. But he’ll still lose the seat at the end of the year to Colapinto.
Mark: We will have at least eight different race winners this season.
Henry: With their Toyota partnership and gradual improvements, how about Haas to score their first ever podium?
Sam: Hamilton won’t win a race before the summer break.
Thomas: I reckon a World Champion will leave F1 at the end of 2025 at the conclusion of these regulations. Which one? I don’t know, I wouldn’t be surprised by any of them to be honest.
Oliver: Keep an eye on Enrico Cardile at Aston Martin, signed a couple of months before Adrian Newey’s move was announced.
Once he arrives, my guess is that Cardile’s stay at Silverstone will be quite brief.
Jamie: Hamilton wins his eighth World Championship and quickly announces his F1 retirement, clearing the way for Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman to step up from Haas as his replacement.
Verdict: Some mixed results here, but Michelle catapults forward with both predictions coming true. Have you got tonight’s lottery numbers, Michelle?
Bombshell retirement predictions did not come to fruition, Mark’s prediction of eight winners proved wildly over-optimistic, and despite Henry willing Ollie Bearman on in Mexico knowing this prediction was in place, there was no Haas podium.
But after his prediction, we don’t need our tie-breaker question this time around as it is Sam who is our PlanetF1.com predictions champion for 2025!
Michelle takes the runner-up spot, and there’s a tie for third place between Mark and Thomas. At the bottom, Henry goes from being 2024 champion to holding this year’s wooden spoon.
Scores: Sam 21, Michelle 17, Mark 14, Thomas 14, Oliver 9, Jamie 8, Henry 7.
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