Johnny Herbert exclusive: F1 in 2025 is going to have many exciting stories, Norris has learned how to battle Verstappen and Hamilton will be motivated for his eighth world championship
Speaking to Casinoutanspelpaus.io, F1 legend Johnny Herbert has expressed his excitement for F1 in 2025, predicting many clashes and competitive moments for the new partnerships at most teams.
The Englishman backs Lando Norris to learn from last season and battle Max Verstappen from the start of the season, not letting the Dutchman gain an early advantage.
Herbert also believes that Ferrari will be a force with Lewis Hamilton driving for them now, who will be motivated to win his eighth world championship.
Read the full interview below:
What’s going to happen in 2025?
JH: ”Do I expect a particular team to start off strong like Red Bull and Max Verstappen did last year? Probably not. I would expect it to be McLaren, but I do remember the beginning of last year where they ended the year before quite strong, but they didn’t quite carry it through and Red Bull got the jump on them, which is why Max and Red Bull won the championship eventually, because they started very, very strong even with a weak sort of middle of the season. It didn’t matter though because they already gained a big point advantage and then McLaren were chasing after that.
”But, there’s going to be so many lovely stories that are going to come this year, with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari and the excitement that’s brought, this is the perfect scenario for Lewis. for Fred Vasseur and maybe for Charles Leclerc as well, for everything to come together and then they get back to the championship-winning ways.
”When you’ve got one of the greatest drivers we’ve ever seen in Formula One, as in Lewis Hamilton, let’s hope that it all comes together for him. He’s very motivated. I know we’ve touched on this before, but the motivation of Lewis is always very important. I always remember that the motivation was so, so important to him. To go away in the winter, have a bit of a reboot, come back all fresh up but have that motivation is so important. From what Lewis has been saying so far, his motivation is definitely not lacking.”
Would you like Lewis Hamilton to win the 2025 title?
JH: ”Yes, I think Lewis Hamilton winning the championship this year would be the perfect scenario. But I tell you what, the one I think who has earned it over the last couple of years is McLaren. With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, it’s going to be a tough one for both of those two drivers up against each other. It’d be lovely to see McLaren come out strong at the beginning, but then carry that the whole way through with this momentum that they’ve been able to generate over the last couple of years.
”Yes, I think Ferrari winning the championship would be brilliant for the sport. But I think for me, it would be nice to see McLaren win again. Like Ferrari, they’ve been around for such a long time and been so successful for many, many years. But we haven’t seen that in recent times, a little bit like Ferrari.
”They’ve both been close, but close is not winning. Ferrari have to translate it into success now with one of the best drivers, but also now with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.”
Who will be the surprise this year?
JH: ”The surprise of 2025 some people might say could be Mercedes, who have been successful over the years but they haven’t been of recent times. They’ve been better but it’s still not good enough and out of the rest of the teams, they’re the one who have under-achieved realistically. It’s time for them to achieve what potential that they’ve always had.
”Mercedes and Toto Wolff have George Russell and they’ve got Kimi Antonelli, that dynamic is going to be interesting, to see exactly who is going to come out on top there. I would predict it’s George. George has all the ingredients to be able to lead a team to winning races and winning a championship. Is it the right time for that? Well, not the right time. Is it feasible this year? Well, this is probably the best opportunity that they’re going to have because of how close I think the racing is going to be. Because the racing is close that means that they will have the opportunities to win the races then go towards that championship.”
”Then when we go further 2026, that’s where things are completely different. No one really knows what’s going on that year, that’s the one a team has to grab by the horns and lead the way. Mercedes can do that.”
Who will be the disappointment of 2025
JH: ”Aston Martin have underachieved because they have not been able to quite get it together when they started very strong a couple of years ago and then it all sort of disappeared. Now a lot of things have changed but that’s going to take a little bit of time before we see that come together. Aston Martin are the ones who probably have the biggest pressure on their shoulders because there’s so much expectation with what Lawrence Stroll has done for the team and now they’ve got to be able to deliver.
”Fernando Alonso has been a little bit frustrated at times, which is what you always expect from him. And Lance Stroll has got to raise his game, because I think both of them have got to be able to feed off each other to be able to then push themselves and help the team move forward.
”I think Aston Martin are the ones that are probably going to be the most disappointing in 2025. But there is all that positive stuff with Adrian Newey, the new wind tunnel and all the infrastructure that’s been put into place for it to happen.”
How will the dynamic between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri work?
JH: ”Oscar Piastri is the interesting one just because of his character. His character seems to be ’I don’t give a damn, I would do what I need to do to be able to win that race’. Although there was all the issues that we had last year with the team and strategy calls that they made, I think now he’s going to be let loose, a fresh new season, new start. I think he’s going to come out wanting to dominate and make sure that he is seen as the number one driver at McLaren and I think that is going to be his number one goal.
“His manager Mark Webber has been in that position with Sebastian Vettel, the difficulties he had there, so he knows that you’ve really got to have a bit of an arrogant side, that Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen side. You’ve got to have that little edge and ability to ruffle a couple of feathers within a team and you’ve got to do that. You’ve got to be able to get the best out of yourself but fundamentally you want to get everybody else behind you and the only way you get the team behind you properly is to get out of the blocks quick, dominate, take control of that team and then lead it in a direction where it’s going be going to that World Championship which that’s all he’s going to be thinking about.
“From Lando’s point of view, he finished so strong last year. I’m very impressed with what he was able to do in his qualifying pace, but also what he was doing in the races. But there was so many different elements to last year which are completely now gone. This is a fresh, new season. One driver is able to take control now and McLaren learned from the issues that they had last year. Norris has to put it to Max Verstappen and stop being controlled on track.
“It’s still going to be a mental battle with Verstappen, but it’s also going to be a double mental battle because of his teammate, Piastri, who’s got a similar way about him compared to Verstappen. Norris is going to have to battle two really difficult opponents. Piastri doesn’t seem to get ruffled with all the shenanigans of last year. He just seems to get on with the job that he’s doing.
“Norris really did improve once again, and he’s done this over the last two or three seasons. First time I saw an improvement was when he was with Daniel Ricciardo, when Ricciardo came in, he was the man who was going to take control of McLaren and lead the team to winning ways and that was when Lando went ‘I can’t be friends, I’m not going to be friends and I’m going to do my bit’ and he dominated that partnership.
“Now, it’s that mental battle with Verstappen he needs to focus on, what Verstappen does to everybody else on track, because you’ve got to give some of that back. Maybe not in the same way, but you’ve still got to have a very, very tough mind to be able to bombard him with a lot of on track. A little bit of elbows out, a little bit of pushing. Rules have changed next year with the apex, but everyone was racing for the apex last year, that’s gone. Giving room for a driver on the exit of the corner, that’s gone as well.
“The raw racing is coming back but that’s also a good thing for Verstappen because he’s that little extra cunning.”
Where will McLaren’s loyalties lie?
JH:“Well, from all my experiences, one of those being with Michael Schumacher, Michael Schumacher made sure that he was the dominant force. That was even before you got to the very first race. That’s also what Max Verstappen does, he makes sure that whoever his teammate is, he’s in control of his destiny, just his destiny. Is it Red Bull’s destiny? A little bit, but it’s mainly Verstappen’s.
“That’s what Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have got to do at McLaren. How do McLaren deal with that? Well, they’ve got to let it blossom itself. I think at the beginning of the season, they will allow it to happen because there’s no need for them to dictate the result in Australia, China and a couple more races. It wouldn’t be good if McLaren showed a one-sidedness straight away and that is where that mental battle starts to come into play. Even if it does start to come into play
“I know now that I needed to be stronger than I was with Michael Schumacher so that’s why I say these things, that strength has to be something that I’ve learnt from Michael. I’ve seen it from Verstappen but in a different scenario and that is where they’ve got something in common. It’s all about them and trying to win that World Drivers Championship.
“The mental strength is going to be the biggest battle for those top drivers.”
Will Oscar Piastri move to another team to become the main driver?
JH: “Yeah, I think Oscar Piastri believes in himself and will make a move to another team if he feels he’s not prioritised at McLaren. He doesn’t really care about what people say and I think within a team, that’s the right attitude to have. It’s an attitude that could shift things within McLaren, as Piastri has all the ingredients to be a shining light of a driver. He hasn’t peaked in any shape or form, he’s still going to learn from the experiences he had last year and he’s going to try and use those against whoever he’s racing.”
Will Max Verstappen move to another team if the Red Bull is not the best car anymore?
JH: “The one positive thing for Red Bull after last year was actually how they ended the season. They actually ended the season pretty strong, to be honest, and they were a force to be reckoned with, but as we saw with Lando Norris, he still was able to get the better of Max Verstappen. So going into the new season, Red Bull know what went wrong. I do remember Mercedes talking about this a couple of years ago, ‘We know where we went wrong with the design of our car’ but results have shown that they didn’t quite know what was going on. You can say all that stuff, but the proof would be in the pudding when they actually start rolling those wheels in the tests, but more so when we get to Australia.
“Red Bull still have some good foundations there. I just don’t know if they’ve got the overall strength that the likes of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, who now have Lewis Hamilton. I think there’s a slight little twist coming our way to who’s going to be top dog.”
Could we see Max Verstappen drive more aggressively this season if the Red Bull car isn’t the fastest?
JH: “I don’t think Max Verstappen will drive any more aggressively than he does already, I think the amount of aggression that we see at the moment is probably as much as he will deal out. It’s intimidation Verstappen has with everything he’s done, it was was similar to Michael Schumacher’s intimidation to a degree, same with Ayrton Senna. Alan Prost, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. All these special drivers have an ability to shine even when things are difficult.”
Have the rules changed to improve racing?
JH: “The best drivers will shine more with the new rules. We all saw the crazy apex rules and penalties in Mexico, for example. I think it’ll be a slightly different season. And I think from Max Verstappen’s point of view, yes, aggression is always going to be part of what he does, but he’s still improving his racing skills, qualifying skills and he’s still got plenty in his back pocket if he ever needs it.
“Does Verstappen need a teammate that will push him a little bit more? Well, that’s where Liam Lawson has now got to shine as well, in that very difficult situation of being up against one of the world’s best at the moment, probably one of the greatest ever.
“It will only be a positive thing for Verstappen to have a teammate that will push him and what that will do, unfortunately for everybody else, is move Verstappen to another level. If he does reach that next level, that’s where everything changes.”
As you’re stewarding the first race of the season in Australia, is there anything you’ll be looking out for?
JH: “No, from a stewarding point of view, I don’t expect anything in Australia. It all happens in the moment. There are still going to be incidents, there are still going to be complaints from teams and drivers and we’re going to have to deal with that as normal. The way that the racing rules have gone, it’s made it more as racing was when we were doing karting. I know George Russell mentioned that, it was crazy, this apex stuff and now we’ve given space on the exits. We never did that in karting, that was never part of it. And I never accepted this giving space.
“You have to take that space, that space is for you so you take it and if the other driver is not quite there then he backs out, that’s racing. It’s not a rule that says ‘Oh no, you can’t do that’, you’ve got to earn it. The difference we have from last year to this year with the racing is the racing rules.”
Is Lewis Hamilton too old to win another title now?
JH: “The motivation at Ferrari and with a good car that can give him the speed that he needs to beat everybody else, Lewis Hamilton can definitely win another championship. The motivation is going to be one thing. The motivation he’s going to get from the car is definitely improved with fewer little mistakes. I could probably criticize Hamilton a bit and say there have been more mistakes from him than I’ve seen before, but I think the situation at Mercedes didn’t help.
“Last year, we saw him produce some brilliant racing in the last couple of races, he was really strong. Hamilton is definitely hungry enough for the title now, it’s down to Fred Vasseur to give him the car that he can actually achieve in.
“2025 is a good opportunity for Ferrari to improve from what they had in 2024, and come with a much more competitive package for 2025. It just may be the right timing, but then going further forward for 2026, where it’s the same thing, it’s still about getting the car right.
“The drivers’ comments are still very important. There have been times over the last five years where the simulator and their algorithm are the most important thing and it’s the biggest direction they use for the development of the car. And then as we’ve seen with Mercedes, just for example, where they struggled like hell and then they started listening to the drivers a little bit more and that helped. them as well. There’s always a human element that has to come into play. Someone like Hamilton has that wonderful ability to be able to explain what is going on underneath them in the car and what they’re expecting from the car.
“The man that I always saw do that, probably for the first time, is Michael Schumacher. He made sure that Rory Byrne, Ross Braw and Jean Todt had an understanding and they understood what Michael wanted from the car. That allowed them to go away and for Rory, especially the designer, to give him the tools that he needed.cThat’s the human element that Michael Schumacher gave to a team. That’s still important today and I think Hamilton is one of those who can bring that type of power to the team.
“There’s no reason that Ferrari should not have improved than what they had last year. Yes, I know everybody else is going to improve to a degree, but there’s no reason why they can’t.”
How important is Lewis Hamilton’s profile in F1 and how can it help Ferrari?
JH: “Lewis Hamilton is such a powerful voice and such a unique character. We’re very lucky to have him in our sport. I think F1 itself has used it in a very, positive way. I think Mercedes used it in a massive way. And from what I understand, already with Ferrari, there is a massive change in the mentality of having Lewis Hamilton on board at Ferrari. So yes, the power that he’s always been able to use, and good on him for using that. He could have been a quiet man coming into a team, not really saying much but he doesn’t, he is outspoken in the cockpit and outside the cockpit.
“The power he’s going to bring to F1 this year is going to be very, very good. And I think that’s probably been a very positive thing in many respects for Mercedes.”
Do you expect to see more clashes between George Russell and Max Verstappen?
JH: “What was entertaining about last year was Max Verstappen playing the game and he was intimidating everybody on track with comments that he was making about every single driver. But, they all started to rebel, they all started to push back, they all started to stand up to it and George Russell was one of those that stood up to him.
“I think that is needed in the sport, someone will stand up to another driver because of the comments that he might have about what happened on the racetrack, that’s what they should do. They should have respect for each other and sometimes, they show that respect when you stand up and say ‘no, that’s not the right thing’. As Russell did to the press and I think that’s a good strength, a very, very good strength to have because as much as Verstappen always wants to intimidate everybody, suddenly there’ll be a question mark, can another driver intimidate him at this particular corner? This particular lap? At this particular time in the championship?
“It’s almost like there’s question marks that have started to come in his head at the moment. But, Verstappen is so confident and so in control of everything that’s going on around him. I think Lando Norris is learning how to ask that question and probably sees what everybody else does when standing up to Verstappen.”
Joss said recently that Max had had advice from Schumacher when he was younger, does that sort of thing stick with you?
JH: “I think those types of comments that Michael Schumacher may have spoken to Max Verstappen about would stick with you. But I know Joss Verstappen would still be making sure that he doesn’t forget them at the same time. I think he’s used so much on how Michael worked within a team to make the maximum step in the group that we’ve got today, the strength that he’s got and has had since a very, very young age from when he first got into Formula One. And I always remember when he did his first season in Formula One, he got this horrible reputation of driving people off the circuit, being a hard racer. And he was like, well, hard racing is what it’s all about. You don’t put people in the wall, you push them onto the grass.”
How will the partnership between Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz work?
JH: “This season is a big test for Alex Albon. This is really where, for almost the second time, this is probably the real proper test of where if he doesn’t go quite right, it’s going to make his career that little bit more difficult. Especially if somebody like Carlos Sainz comes in I expect him to be on it straightaway. I know he had his problems initially when he went to Ferrari and it took Sainz a long time before he got his head around how the Ferrari worked. But then once he got his head around it we saw how strong he was. But everybody forgets about those first couple of years that he did struggle quite a lot and openly he said that he was struggling as well. But when he got into Williams in Abu Dhabi he seemed to be very sort of a home straightaway. Very quick.
“As we expect at the moment, Sainz is full of confidence and he’s going to be able to use that to the best of his abilities. It’s a great opportunity for Williams to have someone like him on board. Hopefully, they’re going to be developing that a little bit more. And Albon, I know, has come out and said it’s an important time for Williams to step up and get themselves in a much stronger position, constructors and drivers, but he’s going to be that massive mental battle against Sainz.
“Albon has been able to rebuild his career at Williams and has a great reputation, but now he’s up against a guy that has been really shining brightly of recent times. It’s going to be a test for him. It’s going to be a good thing for Sainz because obviously if he is, and they are both close together, it could push each driver to be better than last year.”
Has Liam Lawson proven himself to deserve that Red Bull seat?
JH: “I don’t think Liam Lawson has proven himself 100 per cent worthy of the Red Bull seat because, in my old ways, it’s always about how you do against your teammates and in his time at RB, he didn’t blow away Yuki Tsunoda.
“Tsunoda was always mighty quick when he came down to qualify. He had his days. There was a nice synergy between the two, I suppose. You had a good backup, whichever way around it wasn’t one particular weekend. They had a very good backup of one of those two drivers. But the dominant force is always someone who can jump into a team and lead that team and then by leading that team that puts you in a position that Liam is in at the moment, going up against Max Verstappen but, he’s just that another level or two probably above someone like Tsunoda for example so it’s now down to how he can go from the level he had in 2024 to a much stronger 2025 level.
“Lawson has to come out of the blocks quickly because as soon as Verstappen feels he’s in control of the on-track activities, the speed that he has, but also then going down to the teeth, he’s going to start to struggle and the mental battles will start to come into play. Has he got the ingredients to race up against Verstappen? I think he has. But now we’ve just got to see it, I suppose. You’ve got to prove it. It’s always that. You’re always under pressure to prove.”
Is Jack Doohan already under pressure from Franco Colapinto as the Alpine reserve driver?
JH: “I think Jack Doohan will believe he’s on borrowed time already, when I’m speaking to people, they feel exactly the same thing. Doohan has got to deliver, and if he doesn’t deliver against Pierre Gasly, I know Flavio Briatore very well, Doohan will be out. He’ll be out as quick as he blinks. So pressure’s on his shoulders now for him to perform.
“That’s part of the sport, unfortunately, especially in Formula 1, it’s not always full of budding roses. It’s a massive amount of pressure for Doohan, but that’s what the deal is. You have to get in the car and you have to perform. And Gasly is a driver that is very comfortable in the team at the present time. There’s a lot of support for him in that team, obviously being a Frenchman. But now it’s up to Doohan. He’s got a massive amount of pressure on his shoulders because Franco Colapinto will be there in the back of the garage. He’ll be there on TV with him sort of over the shoulder of Briatore and wherever it may be. And that’s where all those little elements of doubt start to come into play. And doubt is something you definitely do not want.”
Which of the young F1 drivers will have the biggest impact in 2025?
JH: “I like Gabriel Bortoleto because I like what he did in F2. I like his grit and determination to get himself into that position that he got himself into when he won the championship. Now obviously getting himself into racing up against Nico Hulkenberg, though which is a good opportunity for him to actually go up against Hulkenberg as we saw with Oliver Bearman, he pushed him sometimes Bearman was quicker than Hulkenberg.
“The driver that’s going to be very, very interesting to see what he can do is Kimi Antonelli. Because his first showing wasn’t great in Monza. Now he’s got to a reputation to repair and get people supporting him because that wasn’t the perfect scenario for him. He’s also up against George Russell and he’s a very confident, smart young man that I think he’s going to be very tough to break.
“I think Bearman is one to look out for too, for me, he will be the one who’s probably going to get the best out of the young bunch. And then Isack Hadjar. Hadjar I did like what he did in F2 as well.
“There’s a lot of good young talent that is now coming through after we saw Lando Norris, Russell and Alex Albon come through. Now we’ve got the next bunch that are coming through and the elder statesmen of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton where they’re definitely on their last hurrah. We’ve seen it with Alonso only a couple of years ago, he’s still got it and his race craft is still brilliant. It’s good for those young drivers to see that and maybe learn a few tricks.”
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