San Francisco Frontiers - Hamilton in red, Verstappen under pressure for F1's 75th anniversary

Red Bull's Max Verstappen appears to have his work cut out to seal a fifth straight title with Lando Norris poised to knock the Dutchman off his perch. Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari is just one of numerous intriguing subplots in a season that gets underway in Australia next Sunday with six rookies gracing the grid.

Here AFP Sport looks at five talking points before lights go out in Melbourne.

Fifth title for Verstappen?

Seventy-five years after Giuseppe Farina claimed the first F1 world championship at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Max Verstappen embarks on the 2025 season in pursuit of a fifth successive title, a feat only achieved once before, by Michael Schumacher. If he succeeds it will cement the Dutchman's place as a titan of the sport. He hoovered up seven of the first 10 races in his rampaging Red Bull last year, before a 10-race winless run as McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari ran riot. But Verstappen had the last word, fighting back to win in Brazil and clinch title number four in Las Vegas with two races to spare. McLaren prised the constructors championship away from Red Bull to seal their long road back to the F1 summit. The tough task facing Verstappen is underlined by the betting, which has him as only second favourite behind Norris (who ended 2024 63 points behind) for the 2025 crown, with Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Hamilton leading the rest of the pack.

Class of 2025 rookies

An Italian teenager who only passed his driving test in January is among the six-strong 2025 season's rookie intake. Kimi Antonelli is an exciting 18-year-old who uses the nickname of his uncle who was a fan of Ferrari's last world champion, Finn Kimi Raikkonen, takes Lewis Hamilton's seat alongside George Russell at Mercedes. "I really want to make my own story" insists last year's multiple Formula 2 winner, brushing off suggestions he is the seven-time world champion's 'replacement' at the Silver Arrows. Kiwi Liam Lawson, a 'veteran' of 11 grand prix already, makes his fully fledged debut as Verstappen's new wingman at Red Bull. Ferrari's British academy driver Ollie Bearman was thrown into the F1 deep end when he was called up as a last minute replacement for appendicitis-victim Carlos Sainz at the Saudi Grand Prix last year, becoming the youngest ever driver to compete for the Scuderia. He seized his chance, holding off Hamilton and Norris to finish seventh. He joins Ferrari-powered Haas. Brazil has a presence on the grid for the first time in five years in F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto at Sauber. Aussie Jack Doohan will be hoping to enjoy even a small slice of his dad Mick's success on two-wheels in MotoGP as he graduates from reserve driver to become Pierre Gasly's teammate at Alpine. Last but not least is RB's Isack Hadjar, the 20-year-old French-Algerian who narrowly missed out to Bortoleto for the F2 title.

FIA in drivers' crosshairs

In the volatile unpredictable high-octane bubble that is F1, one thing seems assured in 2025: renewed tension between the governing body and the drivers. Notably over the FIA's crack down on swearing. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc fell foul of the rules in 2024 for turning the air blue at press conferences. The guidelines were strengthened in January, triggering an indignant response from drivers, who took a swipe at FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. "We urge the FIA president to also consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise," they wrote, adding: "Our members are adults. They do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants".

From Australia to Abu Dhabi

Australia hosts the first of the 24 races next weekend with Bahrain moved to April as Ramadan runs throughout March. 2025's six sprints are at Shanghai, Miami, Belgium, Austin, Sao Paulo and Qatar. The FIA trying to liven up the jewel in the calendar - Monaco - where overtaking is nigh-on impossible, imposing a mandatory two-pit stop strategy. With the traditional three-week summer break in August the F1 circus pitches up in the desert of Abu Dhabi for its final show on December 7. "2025 will be a special year as we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the FIA Formula One World Championship, and it's that legacy and experience that allows us to deliver such a strong calendar," said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

Testing times

Even celebrated WW2 codebreaker Alan Turing would have a hard job deciphering the times from three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain last month. With fuel loads unknown, and team set ups kept under wraps, it was hard if not impossible to pinpoint the winners and losers. Russell's Mercedes was top of the pile on the last day, with Sainz's Williams topping the times on the middle day and Norris's McLaren taking the first day honours. Ferrari were bang in the thick of it, and Verstappen will have been pleased with his final-day showing. One thing seems certain - the bulk of the teams look closely matched, prompting McLaren CEO Zak Brown to predict: "I can see it being super competitive. Last year four teams won multiple races, this year I could see that being even more. I'm more excited than nervous."

Q.Nelson--SFF