Revealed: One area each F1 team needs to improve for the 2025 season

It’s the start of a brand new year so we are taking a look at all 10 Formula 1 teams and what should be top of their priority list for the new season.

Teams will already be well underway in their car design but given that is kept secret, we are speculating on just what they will be putting their biggest focus on.

How each team can improve for F1 2025 season

McLaren – Strategy

From a car building perspective, McLaren were near faultless in 2024 and deservedly won the Constructors’ but it was what they did with that car that made it go to the final race.

The strength of a title winner is not just having the fastest car but maximising your advantage and looking back on 2024, it is hard to say McLaren did that.

Their main issue was strategy whether that be ‘papaya rules’ or being too slow to make decisive decisions and the result was their drivers being left in compromising positions more often than they would have liked.

If McLaren want to continue winning, they need to be ruthlessly efficient when it comes to strategy. The examples of Red Bull and Mercedes before them show that skill is key to budding a dynasty.

Ferrari – Upgrades

Fred Vasseur has stated that the Scuderia still need to “improve everywhere” entering into 2025 but to boil it down further, the main area of improvement is their upgrades.

Ferrari started the season as the team closest to Red Bull but their upgrades left a lot to be desired. The high of a Charles Leclerc home Monaco win was followed by a run of poor form that saw them leapfrogged by McLaren.

They bounced back to end the year with one of the quickest cars but that only served to leave a bigger question of what if. Had Ferrari nailed the upgrades, easier said than done, then they would have been serious contenders for the title.

Ferrari were not the only team to suffer from upgrades failing to improve their car but they should take a leaf out of McLaren’s book if they hope to topple the Woking side in 2025.

Red Bull – Balance

One word that appeared more than most in Max Verstappen’s complaints of the RB20 was balance.

The first sign came in Monaco where Verstappen bounced his way round the bumpy Monte Carlo circuit to sixth, a year on from where he had produced one of the most stunning qualifying sectors in F1 history. At Monaco, it was a death sentence but there was little reprieve as the year went on.

With an unbalanced car, adding improvement elsewhere became a fool’s errand, almost like setting the table on a table missing a leg. The Red Bull team pulled back modifications until they righted some of their wrongs but there is still a feeling the car is not where Verstappen wants it to be.

Verstappen likes a car that oversteers and finding that is crucial to a happy driver in 2025.

Mercedes – Increase the optimal operating window (but prepare for a year of hurt for later rewards)

Mercedes success in 2024 can be summed up by one question – was it cold?

The team were surprisingly strong at circuits with low temperatures like Silverstone and the nighttime Las Vegas but given the locations F1 races at, planning for a chilly grand prix is no way to win a World Championship.

Looking at where the Mercedes team is, the smart move is to put full focus into 2026. Since 2022, Mercedes have always been a step behind their rivals and with just one season to go before new regulations, it is doubtful they will be able to close that gap and then move ahead.

It would be in their best interest to treat 2025 as a preparation year. Give Kimi Antonelli time in the car ahead of 2026 while allowing the mechanics to focus on the next season and starting the new regulation cycle in front.

Of course, doing that with such a big brand is a very tough task but if Mercedes are determined to compete in 2025, they need to increase the car’s optimal operating window.

A myriad of problems meant that finding the right setup was as easy as stapling jelly to a wall and too many times the strong pace on Friday was gone by Saturday afternoon. Having a car that the drivers feel comfortable with, regardless of speed, is key to consistently strong performances.

Aston Martin – Implement Adrian Newey ideas as quickly as possible

Like Mercedes, it is tempting to suggest Aston Martin should write off 2025. Their plodding pace last season resulted in technical director Dan Fallows being shuffled elsewhere but even if they lured Adrian Newey to the team, he can only start in March so his work on the 2025 car will be minimal.

What would make most sense then is to treat 2025 as an experimental year and if there is anything the legendary designer wants to test on the track, Aston Martin would be wise to produce it even if it does not result in immediate gains.

Looking upwards, the gap to the top four seems too large without a regulation change so it would make sense to maximise the mind of Newey ahead of 2026.

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Alpine – Sustain the momentum of 2024’s climax

If I was writing this list midway through the 2024 season, it would likely have said rip everything up and start again but the pace shown by Pierre Gasly in particular towards the end of the year was the light at the end of the tunnel for the Enstone team.

Their underperforming engine, the last time a Renault will be used in F1, will still be an issue in 2025 but their chassis worked improved enough to make Gasly not only a points scorer but one high up the order.

In 2025, they have the rookie Jack Doohan who will most likely need time to settle in so they may well be a one-man team for the start of the season, but if they can keep doing what they did since Oliver Oakes took over, they could easily catch Aston Martin in fifth.

Haas – Continue improvements but be ready for a drop in points

They say the table doesn’t lie in but in Haas’ case, perhaps it does. Their performance over the 2024 season was worthy of P6 but a remarkable Sao Paulo race for Alpine saw them leapfrog Haas and up into that sixth spot.

But even if the loss of money hurts, it was still a success of a season and 2025’s goal is to continue that improvement.

With 300 employees at their Banbury base, Haas are punching above their weight but Ayao Komatsu’s astute leadership pushed the team and helped eliminate persistent issues such as tyre degradation.

Losing Nico Hulkenberg will be a big factor and rookie Oliver Bearman alongside Esteban Ocon are unlikely to be able to repeat the German’s quali heroics so Haas should be ready for a points drop off.

However, with Toyota behind them, Haas should continue on their impressive upwards trajectory.

Racing Bulls – Strategy

Pre-season hype proved to be unfounded for the new look at Faenza team but they failed to maximise what pace they did have with a number of questionable strategy calls throughout the year.

While McLaren’s blunders garnered more attention, VCARB were just as guilty as opting for poor strategies that cost places and given how tight the midfield is, that can be the difference between finishing P10 and P17.

From a car perspective, there were a number of reliability issues whilst also their development path did little to raise them up the order.

Williams – Weight (but also stop crashing)

Williams started 2024 with a self-inflicted anchor as their car came in much heavier than the 798kg minimum limit.

Improving the FW46 coupled with taking weight off proved a difficult challenge and not one they achieved properly until Zandvoort but in trying to build a more balanced car than 2023’s, Williams lost their points-scoring straight line speed.

Another issue was the crash bill. Logan Sargeant, Franco Colapinto and even Alex Albon were all guilty of damaging their car meaning Williams were looking seriously at their bank balance come the end of the year.

Carlos Sainz should put an end to the unnecessary crashes but he will want a car that is at least capable of challenging for the points.

Sauber – One lap pace

When starting at rock bottom, it is easy to look at a car and say the whole thing needs improving and while that is the case with Sauber, the most beneficial improvement would come with their one-lap pace.

With average qualifying positions of 15.29 for Valtteri Bottas and 18.17 for Zhou Guanyu, Sauber were giving themselves a mountain to climb before the grand prix even began and if their race pace was very marginally better, it made little difference when they started so far back.

New arrival Nico Hulkenberg has proved a master at qualifying since returning with Haas and the best way Sauber can utilise his talent is by building a better car for Saturday and hoping the driving skill of the German can see him hold onto points on Sunday.

Of course, that is easier said than done.

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