But while thousands of fans snapped up £58-£113 tickets for the F1 75 Live event as soon as they went on sale, and many more are expected to watch live, they are unlikely to get much more than a glimpse of each team’s updated paint scheme, as the show is billed as a livery reveal.
The full details of 2025 cars are likely to emerge in several further stages. Individual teams look set to host additional events where they unveil the physical 2025 cars, with Ferrari already confirming that it will do so on February 19, the day after the O2 show. Others may just release images. Teams will also usually hold a shakedown — a handful of laps to ensure that their new cars’ critical systems are working as expected, with images often provided.
Even these may only be a teaser of the new bodywork we’ll see on track: teams will typically hide or disguise innovative features until the first day of pre-season testing, which takes place on February 26 in Bahrain this year. More significant changes may also take place before the first races of the year in Australia on March 16.
It’s a drawn-out process that lasts almost a month but, from the evening of F1 75 Live to the moment the lights go out in Melbourne, you can expect every scrap of information to be scrutinised, debated and speculated upon. Scroll down for all the key dates that make up the 2025 F1 launch season.
Launch dates for 2025 F1 cars
Click on any team to jump to more information
| Team | Livery launch date | Car launch date | Shakedown date |
| Ferrari | February 18, 8pm GMT | February 19 | TBC |
| Williams | TBC | TBC | |
| Stake F1 | TBC | TBC | |
| Alpine | TBC | TBC | |
| Visa Cash App RB | TBC | TBC | |
| Aston Martin | TBC | TBC | |
| Haas | TBC | TBC | |
| Mercedes | TBC | TBC | |
| McLaren | TBC | TBC | |
| Red Bull | TBC | TBC |
What to expect from 2025 F1 cars
Next season is the last under the current set of technical rules so, while no team will turn down the chance to win the world championship, each has a greater prize in sight: the opportunity to dominate the new 2026 era, when new regulations for both the cars and engines come into force. Any team with an advantage in 2026 could find themselves at the front for several seasons to come — as Red Bull did in 2022, following Mercedes in 2014.
That means that teams designed their 2024 cars to last two seasons, with major updates expected for 2025, but no all-new designs. Resources can then be focused on developing the best possible concept for the following year.
While the launch event may yield few clues as to the 2025 changes, more is sometimes revealed during the shakedowns that most cars undergo. These are likely to take place close to the 18 February launch date and ahead of pre-season testing to ensure the cars perform as expected. Testing is restricted so teams use one of their “filming days”, where they are allowed to run for a strictly limited distance, allowing promotional footage to be recorded.
2025 F1 launch schedule
| 18 Feb | 19-25 Feb | 26-28 Feb | 14-16 Mar |
| F1 75 Live | Car launch events and shakedowns | Pre-season testing in Bahrain | Australian GP |
F1 car launch dates 2025
Ferrari
Car launch date: February 19
Lewis Hamilton joins Charles Leclerc in 2025 at a Ferrari team that seems to be improving gradually. Three wins in the past six races has put the Scuderia in contention for the 2024 constructors’ championship, which would be the perfect springboard for a double title challenge in 2025.
Which driver takes the lead will be fascinating to see, but the team will need to iron out performance inconsistencies where the car has race-winning pace one weekend, but is out of contention the next.
Haas
Car launch date: TBC
Haas will have high hopes for its 2025 F1 car, given the progress it has made during the 2024 season in developing its car. A run of five consecutive points finishes was only brought to an end by the chaotic, wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix. With a new line-up made up of the experienced Esteban Ocon and impressive Oliver Bearman, the team will be looking to maintain in spot alongside Alpine and RB in the midfield.
Williams
Car launch date: TBC
Williams is aiming to put a turbulent 2024 season behind it, as Carlos Sainz joins Alex Albon in place of Franco Colapinto.
Nine appearances in the final Q3 stage of qualifying pointed to the car’s pace this year, but the poor form of Logan Sargeant – before being replaced by Colapinto – and a series of crashes for Albon, often down to bad luck, has left the team languishing in ninth place.
However, its solid line-up and development in 2024 points to the prospect of a more successful 2025.
Sauber
Car launch date: TBC
The final year of the Sauber F1 team looks unlikely to be one of its finest, considering the complete lack of points so far in 2024.
Its transition to the Audi F1 team has been far from smooth, with whispers of a lack of progress before CEO Andreas Seidl was replaced by Mattia Binotto in the summer.
There’s also continuing doubt over Audi’s commitment, given the factory closures announced by its parent company, the Volkswagen Group.
It could make 2025 a difficult year for new recruits Nico Hülkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, with no certainty that the situation will improve in 2026 when the team will rebrand and use a new Audi power unit.
Alpine
Car launch date: TBC
Can Alpine’s A524 lift it up the grid?
Alpine
A largely dismal 2024 season may well end on a high note for Alpine, after an upturn in pace was followed by a 2-3 finish in Brazil – aided by the wet weather and a red flag during the Grand Prix. More points finishes would indicate optimism for 2025, which is the final year that the car will be running the in-house power unit.
Parent company Renault is disbanding its F1 engine operation, and the team will switch to Mercedes power in 2026.
Jack Doohan will join Pierre Gasly at the team next year, with midfield leaders Aston Martin the target to beat.
Visa Cash App RB
Car launch date: TBC
RB is the only team left to confirm its full driver line-up for 2025 (Yuki Tsunoda will take one seat) as it remains locked in a battle for sixth place in the 2024 contest.
Despite frequently showing point-scoring pace, the team will need to find big gains over the winter if it wants to move into the top five.
If not, then it wouldn’t be a great surprise if attention turns early to 2026.
Aston Martin
Car launch date: TBC
2023 was the start of a new era for Aston Martin, and the sizeable investment made by owner Lawrence Stroll ultimately paid off big time. The addition of new technical staff, a new base of operations at Silverstone, continued work on a new wind tunnel and a new driver in Fernando Alonso all combined to score eight podium finishes and secure fifth in the constructors’ standings.
But results slipped at the end of last year, and that decline has continued in 2024. While it is now in a relatively comfortable fifth position in the constructors’ championship once more, as the next-best team after the big four of Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, it has struggled to score points in recent races.
Upgrades have failed to improve the situation and, in some cases, made it worse, which may be linked to the recent announcement that technical director Dan Fallows will be leaving his post.
Its ambition is to be in a position to compete for race wins and championships from 2026, so that may impact on the effort it puts into 2025.
Mercedes
Car launch date: TBC
18-year-old Kimi Antonelli joins Mercedes alongside George Russell in 2025, replacing Lewis Hamilton, and the youngster will be eager to discover which Silver Arrows will turn up.
Will it be the machine that won in Austria, Britain and Belgium, during a sensational, if somewhat fortunate, run of victories? Or will it be the car that Hamilton has at time dubbed “undriveable” and “the worst I’ve ever driven” at other events this year?
The team isn’t far from front-running pace, but does have a dilemma when it comes to resource, and how much to allocate to development in 2025.
Its 2026 power unit is much anticipated, given how dominant the last all-new one was in 2014, but it will need a car to match. The factory team won’t want to be outraced by any of its power unit customers in 2026 — McLaren, Alpine and Williams.
Antonelli could also bring fireworks. Team boss Toto Wolff believes that he is the next Max Verstappen. Where will that leave George Russell?
McLaren
Car launch date: TBC
It’s had, on average, the fastest car on the F1 grid since the Miami Grand Prix, but McLaren could still walk away from 2024 without a world championship.
That means the pressure is on for 2025 — to maintain its position in the pack and to succeed, in the knowledge that it may not find itself in the same position in 2026.
A policy of carefully testing upgrades before adding them to the car has served the team well this year, and it will be looking to hit the ground running in 2025, with developments that put it in a position to win.
Much like Ferrari and Mercedes, though, the battle between its two drivers will be fascinating to see. Early season form gave Lando Norris an early points lead over Oscar Piastri in 2024, but both drivers have won races this year, and each will have visions of claiming the 2025 title.
Red Bull
Car launch date: TBC
2024 started amid rumour and scandal for Red Bull and then the team lost its dominant form, as rivals brought upgrades. Its headstart and Max Verstappen’s determined driving looks to have secured him a fourth drivers’ title, but the constructors’ championship looks to be slipping away, with Sergio Perez failing to deliver the points needed to fight McLaren and Ferrari.
Whether Perez will be in the seat next year – despite having a contract – is one question yet to be fully answered, but Red Bull looks to have a fight on its hands in 2025, having been out-developed by rivals. It will need to turn that tide over the winter if Verstappen wants to defend his title.