After passing the quarter-way mark of the 2025 F1 season, certain narratives are coming to the fore: it’s clearly going to be a thrilling season for McLaren and Oscar Piastri; the era of Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s supremacy is certainly being challenged; Lewis Hamilton’s struggles with Ferrari somehow feel both predictable and surprising; we have rising stars like Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto.
There are plenty of talking points, suggesting enough drama for fans to get excited about. Yet, it will be of interest to see whether we get a true battle for the F1 Drivers’ Championship. Oscar Piastri is in a commanding position, sure, but it feels a lot more open than the previous years that were dominated by Max Verstappen. In the past few seasons, it seemed almost certain by the summer that Verstappen would run away with the Championship. Going by the F1 odds for the 2025 season, it’s all up for grabs.
A competitive fight will turn the heads of casual fans
Arguably, a competitive fight for the Drivers’ Championship will be good for the sport. Indeed, it’s key to bringing in casual fans. While there have been exceptions, including the thrilling finale of the 2021 season when Verstappen narrowly pipped Hamilton to the title in the final Grand Prix, the majority of campaigns have been wrapped up with room to spare. As a consequence, F1 fans tend to focus on each individual race rather than the Championship as a whole. It doesn’t quite work that way with casual fans.
Interest in sports tends to rise when there is a story behind the action. Think of Rory McIlroy’s recent win at the Masters and how it was built upon years of agonizing near victories. McIlroy’s ‘story’ broke through the boundaries of traditional golf media and into the mainstream. A story can be told when there is a confrontation between two or more drivers at the top of the F1 standings, particularly when it lasts all season.
F1 history is dominated by fantastic rivalries
We won’t speculate whether it will be Lando Norris or Max Verstappen who rises up to rein in Piastri, but it’s enough to say that it is very possible that one of them does, and that story will filter through to the casual fans of F1. It will allow everyone to focus on the season as a whole, increasing broadcasting viewership and the general buzz around the sport. Of course, you may argue that it does not matter, but F1 history – from Prost/Senna to Hamilton/Rosberg – is signposted by great Championship battles.
Importantly, there are reasons to be concerned about this that go beyond fans wanting to see a dramatic conclusion to the season. Viewership figures saw marked declines across the 2024 season, especially for US audiences. Every sport on the planet is vying for eyeballs on the action they provide, and it would be foolish to say that F1’s legions of fans will be loyal forever. Championship battles are not the only solution to bringing in new and reluctant viewers, but it does help. We will have to see how this season pans out to test the theory of how much it could bolster the spectacle of Formula One as a global product.