The year 2025 will have two races. Firstly, on the track, for the championship. Second would be the race to nail the new regulations and rule the next era of Formula 1. The upcoming regulations will be the biggest change in F1’s history with both engine and chassis regulations happening in the same year.
Teams have finally started working toward them as the FIA had imposed a ban on working on new regulations until the start of this year. On the other hand, teams also have to manage a season that is being deemed the ‘most competitive’. George Russell also believes that teams have their work cut out for this season as they will have to find the right balance between focusing on this year and the 2026 car.
“Everyone is just building off what they did in 2024. The big changes coming next year. A lot of teams are focusing their efforts on 2026, and that’s why this year I think will be pretty close,” said Russell to TalkSport.
But teams with short-term success vision can indeed win this championship by hardly working on the 2026 car. But that could be detrimental to any team’s future, as not only time is limited but under the budget cap, teams have to adjust within $135 million if they have to work on next year’s project in 2025.
“It’s going to be really interesting because you’ve only got so much money you’re allowed to spend and you have to decide if you spend it on 2025 or on 2026. So if you spend more on 2025, you can probably go out and win the championship, but then you’ll feel the pain in 2026,” said Russell.
Mercedes’ 2025 driver pairing #F1 #F175 pic.twitter.com/dB9Ubf5Cbh
— Phillip Horton (@PHortonF1) February 18, 2025
Russell added it depends on how a team’s season is going. If they aren’t competing as good they would have hoped, they are likely to work more on next year.
Mercedes might have a plan
Mercedes didn’t have a great 2024 season despite multiple wins. They weren’t even in contention against McLaren, Ferrari, or even Red Bull.
In this regulation, the Silver Arrows have struggled with the downforce and balance and it’s likely to continue. Though, Russell has been successful despite the challenges.
Meanwhile, Mercedes is also known for its proficiency in building great engines. That’s what made them dominate the sport for eight years.
Many expect the Brackley-based team to do well with new engines, and as the reports state, they are on a positive track. But only time will tell how right they are.
