Hamilton with Ferrari, three French people in , Fourmaux at Hyundai… 10 reasons to be enthusiastic for 2025!

– Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, the marriage of the century

© Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

This is THE most anticipated transfer of the year 2025: since January 1, Lewis Hamilton is officially a Scuderia Ferrari driver! After a long and glorious adventure with Mercedes, crowned with six world titles between 2013 and 2024, the Briton will realize every driver's dream: representing the Prancing Horse in Formula 1. With, at stake, an eighth world title?

F1 – Six rookies in 2025, youth takes power

© Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

This is a first since 2010: next year, no less than six drivers will compete in their first full season in Formula 1. Liam Lawson (Red Bull), Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Jack Doohan (Alpine), Oliver Bearman ( Haas), Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) will make their big debut as starting drivers within a strongly renewed but above all rejuvenated grid, since the average The age of the rookies in the 2025 class will be 20.75 years old at the start of the Australian Grand Prix on March 16!

F1 – Isack Hadjar, third Frenchman on the grid

© Red Bull Content Pool

Among these six rookies, we will notably find a new Frenchman: Isack Hadjar. The Formula 2 vice-champion in 2024 was promoted to Racing Bulls by the Red Bull fold and will become the third Habs on the grid alongside Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. A new Frenchman on the grid has not happened since Pierre Gasly, who arrived in F1 at the end of 2017.

WRC – Adrien Fourmaux, a new adventure at Hyundai

Fourmaux

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

If Lewis Hamilton is the transfer of the year in F1, the arrival of Adrien Fourmaux at Hyundai is certainly the transfer of the year in WRC. After a successful season with M-Sport in 2024, where he obtained his first five WRC podiums, the Northerner joined a major manufacturer with the objective of achieving a first victory in the premier category. The Frenchman now has all the cards in hand to succeed Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier…

WRC – New scale, end of hybrid… the rally is going backwards

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

The WRC will experience a small revolution in 2025: if the Rally1s will still be used, they will be relieved of the hybrid system, criticized since its introduction in 2022. Less powerful but lighter, they will remain very impressive to follow. The Rally1s will now be equipped with Hankook tires, a first in the premier category. In terms of sporting regulations, the points scale used in 2024 has already been modified: if the three-scale system is retained, points will no longer be awarded on Saturday evening but with the classification at the end of the rally, in order to reward the winner more justly. The principle of Super Sunday is retained, with a reduced distribution of points. In total, a driver can score up to 35 points in the event of a perfect score. Finally, some rallies will see their length vary in 2025: some will be longer than the required 305 km, and others will adopt a “Sprint” format with fewer special stages and a reduced event over two and a half days.

WRC – The return of Kalle Rovanperä full-time

© Nikos Katikis / DPPI

In 2024, the WRC was orphaned by its reigning champion, Kalle Rovanperä, who had decided to take a step back from rallying to test himself on the circuit. After a part-time season, the Finn returned with Toyota to try to recover his property and win a third world title. Faced with a liberated Thierry Neuville with his first title, a hungry Ott Tänak after an up-and-down 2024 season and a vengeful Elfyn Evans, the fight for the world crown promises to be intense!

Endurance – Aston Martin’s debut in Hypercar

© IMSA Media

This will be the big attraction of 2025: Aston Martin will make its debut in the premier category of Endurance, in WEC and IMSA, with the sublime Valkyrie LMH and its naturally aspirated V12! The Gaydon brand, associated with Heart of Racing, thus joins an already well-stocked Hypercar category in the World Endurance Championship, despite the departure of Lamborghini. If the British manufacturer has announced its first two drivers in the WEC – Alex Riberas and Harry Tincknell – the rest of the crew remains to be confirmed… with any surprises to come?

Rally-Raid – Dacia taking on the Dakar

Dakar 2025 Program Calendar Committed Steps

© Frédéric Le Floc'h / DPPI

Another discipline, another arrival: that of Dacia in rally-raid and the Dakar in 2025! After a successful debut at the Rallye du Maroc last October (victory for Al-Attiyah and double with Loeb), the Roman manufacturer will make its big debut in the most legendary of rally-raid races in January in Saudi Arabia. With the Sandrider – a major technical and aesthetic evolution of the old Prodrive Hunter – Dacia intends to play the leading roles on this Dakar with its elite crews. Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb will act as favorites while Cristina Gutierrez will be an outsider to watch.

MotoGP – Marquez / Bagnaia, shock duo at Ducati

Marquez

© Ducati Media

Big transfers won't just happen in motorsport! In MotoGP, the transfer of the century is the arrival of Marc Marquez within the official Ducati team! After years of struggle with Honda, the Spaniard made a thunderous return to the highest level in 2024 with Gresini. Associated with Francesco Bagnaia, the “Tonerre de Cervera” will be one of the favorites of the 2025 season with the Ducati Desmosedici GP 25!

IndyCar – PREMA, the American dream

Prema Indycar

© According to

Finally, in IndyCar, the big news of the 2025 season will obviously be the arrival of PREMA on the grid! The Italian team, a true reference in promotional formulas, will try to live the American dream in single-seaters with a Dallara-Chevrolet in the colors of Italy. Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott will compete for the entire season with the new team, determined to shake up the grid in 2025!

READ ALSO > The big retro 2024 AUTOhebdo: the highlights of the season (1/3)

-

-

PREV WTA AUCKLAND – Naomi Osaka wins in the 2nd round and continues her path
NEXT Formula 1 | The Safety Car in F1: Mayländer or the driver who 'does not have the right to go fast'