Jacques Villeneuve unveils bold 2025 F1 predictions, highlighting unexpected twists, key team performances, and potential driver departures.
Jacques Villeneuve shared his predictions for the 2025 F1 season, covering potential surprises, upcoming disappointments, and drivers who might lose their seats during or at the end of the year.
“Who will surprise us in 2025? I’m curious to see Sainz at Williams. His initial tests were impressive because the car performed faster than it had before,” Villeneuve told The Action Network.
“And he’s generally been a team builder everywhere he’s gone. So, in a team that really needs it, let’s see how it goes. It could be an extraordinary breakthrough and the biggest surprise of the year.”
“I’d say Aston Martin will be the biggest disappointment of 2025, not because they’ll do a bad job, but because people expect them to start winning with Adrian Newey. But he hasn’t had time yet to make an impact on the team.”
“People’s expectations from the outside and fans will be misplaced. The results will be disappointing, not because they’ll be bad, but because they won’t match what people want and hope to see with Newey. It takes time.”
“Tsunoda will be the first driver to leave the grid. He’s only there because of Honda. At some point, that will end. And it’s pretty clear this is his last season with the Red Bull family anyway. I don’t see any team wanting him unless there’s strong backing from Honda.”
The Canadian also shared his thoughts on what lies ahead for Liam Lawson at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen: “It’s a big chance for Liam Lawson, a great opportunity, but we’ve already seen drivers brought into the main team collapse very quickly.”
“We’ll see if he’s mentally strong and truly good, because we don’t know yet. You can’t use his F2 season, his Japanese season, or his races against Tsunoda as a reference.”
“Contractually, Lawson is there to support Verstappen. But in his mind, he isn’t. In his mind, he’s there to replace Max. So, he’ll try to be tough and fast. Hopefully, that puts Max under pressure and pushes him to drive even better. That’s how the team improves.”
The New Zealander’s objectives will be simple, according to him: “If it’s not a winning car, then it’s second place or nothing, and if they don’t win the championship, then a good finish for Lawson would be one spot behind Verstappen or two spots behind him, that’s all.”
“If you win races, you rack up big points. From first to second place, the gap is significant. But if you finish third, fourth, or fifth, the points difference is minimal.”
The 1997 world champion admits uncertainty about rookie drivers, particularly due to F2: “I have no idea what to expect from [Gabriel] Bortoleto. No idea. Formula 2 has never been a good judge of drivers. It’s irrelevant until they get to F1. But for now, they arrive in F1 with so little experience.”
“It’s very hard to understand how someone can reach the highest level of the world’s greatest sport so quickly, at such a young age, and with so little experience. I find it quite surprising. They spend a lot of time in the simulator, which helps them be fast, but we also saw what happened with Antonelli at Monza.”
On the other hand, Villeneuve is not impressed by Franco Colapinto and his accidents: “Franco Colapinto wasted his chances. If you’re given a golden opportunity, it’s up to you to make the most of it. He can’t cry about his situation.”
“He managed to get a few races in F1, which not everyone gets. That’s already impressive that he had the chance. I don’t know what his future holds. He remains a fast driver. But what he has shown is that he didn’t evaluate the situation well.”
- Discover More>Albon: Sainz’s Ferrari Experience a Key Asset for Williams
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Aston Martin and Williams: Villeneuve’s 2025 F1 Forecast Aston Martin and Williams: Villeneuve’s 2025 F1 Forecast .2025 Aston Martin and Williams: Villeneuve’s 2025 F1 Forecast
