Hamilton a title contender, eight different winners… Brown makes his predictions for 2025

Zak Brown is like all of us: excited about a 2024 season that is much more uncertain than we would have anticipated, with seven (multiple) different Grand Prix winners, the American manager has only one thing on his mind: that the 2025 campaign of F1 begins! The boss of Mclaren racing and his team are going to defend their world title this year, facing a more intense and substantial competition than ever. The only team (with Aston Martin) to have kept its place for 2025, with the talented Lando Norris et Oscar piastri, the Woking team will have to face high-level opponents who have each welcomed a new face into their crew.

For Zak Brown, McLaren's main rival will naturally be Ferrari, 2nd in the Constructors' Championship in 2024, and which begins 2025 with strong ambitions and a seven-time world champion at the wheel of the SF-25, Lewis Hamilton. "I fully expect Lewis to be a title contender. We finished neck and neck with Ferrari last year and I think that will continue, predicts the American leader. Mercedes was very close [in 2024] and still won four races, so I consider them as well. And, of course, there is Red Bull, [who had] a very impressive first half of the season, a little less so in the middle of the year, then finished the year very strongly."

According to the CEO of McLaren Racing, for the Constructors' Championship, his team and Ferrari start with the advantage of experience, while Mercedes and Red Bull could be handicapped by the arrival of these young talents in their ranks. “Obviously, with Kimi [Antonelli] being a rookie and Liam [Lawson] being, let’s say, inexperienced, I think from a constructors’ point of view it’s probably going to be a bit of a bigger challenge over 24 races. They’ll inevitably have ‘rookie weekends’, but I think they’re both extremely quick drivers and I expect them both to win races.”

Brown sees more than four teams winning in 2025

Among his predictions, Zak Brown also sees a convergence of performances between the four Top Teams and the best midfield teams, with new candidates for victory. "I think this season should be epic and even closer than last year, estimates the Californian. I predict eight different winners. I wouldn't be surprised to see how competitive this season is. Every weekend last year, when the top four teams were always at the front, there seemed to be another team that was able to challenge them. I expect that to happen again. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more than four teams that win.

Aston Martin, Alpine and others will be able to fulfill Zak Brown's prediction? In any case, the McLaren Racing director wants to be very ambitious for 2025: after winning the Constructors' title last year, the American wants to sweep it all this season... and why not, do the double in the Drivers' championship? “We would like to aim for the Constructors’ and Drivers’ World Championship. Why not be greedy and make sure we do the double [in the championship] and let Lando [Norris] and Oscar [Piastri] decide who is first and who is second? That is our collective objective.” Bold, but not impossible…

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