Look away Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull as F1's winners and losers verdict is in

With more than half of the 2025 F1 season completed, we consider who has impressed during the opening 14 races, and who has improvements to make heading into the second half of the campaign.

The three-week F1 summer break is the perfect chance to take stock and reset before a run of 10 races across a frantic four months that will determine the destiny of both world championships.

Here are our biggest winners and losers from F1 2025 so far…

Winner - McLaren

Starting with the most obvious pick - and biggest winner - it’s McLaren.

Entering into 2025 off the back of a first championship success in 26 years last season, things couldn’t have gone much better for McLaren, who have dominated the campaign.

McLaren hold a comfortable advantage in the constructors’ championship, having scored an incredible 559 points, to sit a whopping 299 clear of second-placed Ferrari.

McLaren have won 11 of 14 races, racked up seven 1-2 finishes, claimed eight pole positions and have expertly managed a potentially fractious intra-team rivalry between championship protagonists Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

With 10 races remaining, it’s hard to imagine anything stopping McLaren’s current purple patch of form which is on course to land them both world titles.

Loser - Red Bull

In sharp contrast, 2025 has been a hugely turbulent and challenging year for Red Bull.

The Milton Keynes outfit have slipped to fourth place in the constructors’ championship and are a massive 365 points adrift of leaders McLaren.

Red Bull’s ongoing performance woes that have plagued the RB21 have effectively forced the team to rule out any hope of winning a world championship this year.

Even Max Verstappen’s brilliance can’t save Red Bull this time. The Dutchman has already admitted his chances of defending his world title are over following a miserable first half of the season.

Verstappen has still managed to secure two excellent and unlikely victories, but he finds himself nearly 100 points down on Piastri.

Red Bull are still having trouble with their second driver despite swapping in Yuki Tsunoda for Liam Lawson, who was brutally axed, while Christian Horner lost his job as team principal.

It is quickly turning into a season to forget for Red Bull.

Winner - Oscar Piastri

Many had labelled Norris as the early title favourite, but it is Piastri who has emerged as the stronger McLaren driver - so far at least.

Norris lived up to his pre-season favourite tag by kicking off the season with victory in Australia while Piastri faltered, but the Australian’s bounce back has been remarkable.

Since then, Piastri has been error-free and capitalised on critical mistakes of Norris to assume a championship lead he has held since winning the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in April.

Norris has clawed some crucial momentum back in recent weeks, but the seemingly-unfazed Piastri has six victories to his teammate’s five, and still holds the edge - albeit by a slender margin - heading into the business end of the season.

Loser - Lewis Hamilton

What started as a dream has quickly turned into a nightmare for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

Hamilton is enduring a dire first campaign with Ferrari. The seven-time world champion has struggled to adapt to Ferrari’s SF-25, is without a grand prix podium after 14 races, and has been outclassed by teammate Charles Leclerc.

During a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix weekend last time out, Hamilton could only qualify and finish 12th. A despondent Hamilton labelled himself “useless” and suggested Ferrari should “probably change driver”.

The summer break could not come at a better time for Hamilton, who is in need of a reset as he looks to recapture the form that saw him take sprint pole and victory at the second round in China, which remains his best moment and a rare high point of the season.

Hamilton needs to put an end to his poor performances sooner rather than later but if anyone can turn things around, it’s him.

Winner - Williams

Williams are one of the big, and unexpected, winners of 2025.

The British squad are enjoying the best start to a season they have had in a decade, scoring points in 10 of the 14 races so far to occupy fifth place in the constructors’ championship with 70 points.

P5 in the constructors’ championship come the end of the year would exceed Williams’ expectations heading into 2025. Although their grasp on fifth is not as comfortable as it once was after rueing some missed opportunities, Williams are still in a fantastic position.

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz are forming a strong partnership and have maximised the team’s results more often than not, helping Williams to lead the midfield pack for most of the campaign to date.

Loser - Kimi Antonelli

After a flying start to life in F1 with an impressive fourth in Melbourne, a first pole position in the Miami sprint race, and maiden grand prix podium in Canada, Kimi Antonelli is enduring a rough patch.

The 18-year-old Italian has gone through a tough European run of races starting at his home race at Imola and scored just a single point in the continent last time out in Hungary.

Antonelli is currently lagging behind teammate George Russell and is still searching for the key to unlock what he feels will be his “full potential”. Qualifying has proved to be Antonelli’s biggest weakness so far, and the teenager has admitted to being too cautious in his approach.

But this is all part of the steep learning curve for Antonelli in his rookie season. Mercedes have also not been as competitive as they hoped, and the weaknesses of the W16 have been exposed by hot weather, as well as going down the wrong development avenue.

Winner - Sauber

Sauber started the year with the slowest car on the grid but have taken a great leap forward in recent months under the direction of new team principal Jonathan Wheatley.

Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have taken full advantage of Sauber’s improving car and combined to claim several eye-catching results that have lifted the Swiss squad up to seventh in the constructors’ championship.

Hulkenberg scored a memorable first podium at Silverstone with a sublime drive in treacherous conditions, while F1 rookie Bortoleto has scored points in three of the past four races, including a career-best P6 last time out as he continues to shine.

Loser - Alpine and Franco Colapinto 

Alpine hoped for much more coming into 2025 but their season has been one of huge disappointment.

The Anglo-French outfit are anchored to the very bottom of the constructors’ championship, 35 points behind Haas, and have been overtaken by their rivals in terms of competitiveness.

Only some excellent drives from Pierre Gasly have spared Alpine's blushes amid management and driver drama.

Franco Colapinto, brought in to replace the underperforming Jack Doohan after seven races, has struggled much like his predecessor and is yet to score a point.

The Argentine already finds himself under pressure to retain his seat amid ongoing uncertainty, with a huge crash during a Pirelli tyre test on the eve of the summer break doing little to help his cause.

Notable mentions

Isack Hadjar is enjoying a standout rookie campaign for Racing Bulls that will only boost his aspirations of earning a promotion to the Red Bull senior team in 2026. On the other side of the coin, Oliver Bearman has had a mixed, and often scrappy, start to full-time life in F1, despite showing flashes of his undeniable raw talent.