Lewis Hamilton is "itching to get going" ahead of his Ferrari debut, as the 2025 Formula One season gets under way with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. (More Motorsport News)
The Albert Park event will open an F1 campaign for the first time since 2019,🐠 with many predicting one of tꦅhe most open seasons in recent memory.
While Max Verstappen landed his fourth consecutive drivers' championship in 2024, seven drivers posted race wins and the Dutchman 🌼was pushed hard by McLaren's Lando Norris.
And after pre-season testing, Verstappen expressed doubts about Red Bull's new RB21 car and said Norris and fell♊ow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri were title favourites in 2025.
But Verstappen's old rival Hamilton is also hoping to be in the ༺mix following his move from Mercedes to Ferrari, who have not had an F1 drivers' champion since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
Hamilton will be the 98th driver to contest at least one Grand Prix for Ferrari, and the team's first British driver since Eddie Irvine in𓆉 1999.
He cannot wait to get started,𓂃 telling reporters in Melbourne: "I've been just itching to get going.
"ཧIt's been a long time coming, and to think that this is my first Grand Prix, one of those firsts with the team, I feel very honoured and grateful to 𒐪have the opportunity.
"I live in my own little bubble there. I'm back at square one. I've been giving absolutely everything to trainiꦇng, to push my mind and my body further than I have before, trying to see if I can excel and just squeeze more juice out of this."
Hamilton is expecting a tight battle at the top of the standings this year, but he says Ferrari's goal must always be to win championship𝄹s.
"It's difficul⛦t to꧙ know who's where. It looks really close between us all," he said, reflecting on pre-season testing.
"Joining a new team, the sooner you can 🍒get to performing at a high level and getting results, the better.
&qu🐭ot;It's not something you just step into. Trust and respect; while respect is ⭕given, trust is something that is built over time. Of course, the goal is to win. The goal is to take the team forwards."
McLa﷽ren begin the season as the defending constructors' champions and will be looking to retain that crown for the first time since enjoying a four-year streak between 1988 and 1991.
While Norris is many onlookers' favourite f꧃or the drivers' title, team-mate Piastri is targeting glory on home soil this weekend, and he is relꦿishing the pressure of a championship race.
✃"This year, I think we're as confident as we have been since I've joined the team, that we can start the ꧑year off on a good note", Piastri said earlier this week.
"A lot of things have changed since෴ last year, but hopefully the success can still be the same.
"I enjoy 🌄being the hunted. It normally means you're doing something right if you're in that spot."
Piastri believes the title race could feature as many as eight drivers this year, withꦬ Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Mercedes' George Russell among the others harbouring high hopes.
"There's probably eight drivers that can realistically achieve that this year," Piastri said. "Normally it's one or two or maybe three, so I think we're iꦅn for an exciting season."
DRIVERS TO WATCH
Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
Hamilton's long-awaited Scuderia bow comes at a race where he has enjoyed plenty of success previously, taking pole eight times at the Australian Grand Prix. Only in Hungary (nine) h♌as he managed more pole positions.
The seven-time world champion also achieved pole when this race last served as the season cuꦏrtain-raiser in 2019, but he has only taken one pole position in his last 69 races (in Hungary in 2023).
This will be Hamilton's 19th season in F1, drawing him level with🎃 Ruben♛s Barrichello, Michael Schumacher and Raikkonen, with only Fernando Alonso contesting more (22).
Ferrari's 28 podium finishes at the Australian Gran✱d Prix are also more than any other team in the event's history, while they also boast the joint-most victories at the race (11, alongside McLaren).
Hamilton will hope Sunday's race will be the start of a speci⭕al period sporting the team's iconic red livery.
Oscar Piastri – McLaren
No Australian has ever won the Australian Grand Prix – or even started on pole – since the race was first conꦦtested as part of the F1 calendar in 1985.
The limit of the achievements of home drivers at this race has been thr♔ee fastest laps – by Mark Webber in 2010 and D🍬aniel Ricciardo in both 2016 and 2018.
Piastri narrowly missed out on a podium finish to McLaren team-🥀⛎mate Norris at the 2024 edition, but he will hope to fare better after recording his first two race wins last season.
Piastri, who is being tou🌊ted as a serious title contender in 2025, has finished each of his last 28 races contested.
Should he make it 29 here♑, he will go joint-eighth for the longest such streak in F1 history, alongside Fernando Alon🅷so's run between China 2013 and Belgium 2014.
