Ex-F1 champion warns teams from being ‘stupid’ in 2025

Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve urged teams to have a cautious approach for the upcoming season.

Ex-F1 champion warns teams from being ‘stupid’ in 2025

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

2025 is anticipated to be one of the closest seasons in F1’s recent history. After an almost three-way fight last year, fans expect all four top teams to be in the mix for the title. However, former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has given a stern warning to all teams ahead of the start of the new season.

The upcoming season is the final year with the current power units which trace all the way back to 2014. In 2026, Formula 1 will undergo a major shakeup with radical new cars and revamped power units. As such, teams will need to wisely decide how to focus on next year without compromising this year’s campaign.

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Jacques Villeneuve asserted that if a team wins the 2025 world title, they can afford to have a weaker campaign next year. However, the Canadian warned that a team cannot be stupid enough to pour all its resources in the upcoming season while the rest of the grid prepares for the new regulations. Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull and Lando Norris‘ McLaren might be the two title favorites for this year.

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If you win in 2025 you can afford to have a weak season in 2026. We still have a World Championship this year, and you wouldn’t be stupid to put everything on 2025 when everyone else is only thinking about 2026. Why wouldn’t you?

Jacques Villeneuve told The Action Network

F1 teams not ‘reinventing the wheel’ for 2025

The 1997 F1 champion expected the 2024 pecking order to carry into this season. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had fought tooth and nail for the championship last year, with the Dutchman managing to defend the title. Villeneuve reckoned that no team will focus on reinventing the wheel for 2025 which would be the last year of the current rules.

Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and Helmut Marko
Christian Horner, Max Verstappen, and Helmut Marko (via IMAGO)

2025 will be an evolution of 2024, no one will reinvent the wheel just for one season.

Jacques Villeneuve stated

Teams will be cautious in dividing resources for the upcoming season. With the cost cap in place, every session of wind tunnel testing or CFD matters, especially for top teams with reduced permissible limits than the midfield. As such, fans can brace for an interesting battle over the course of the coming months.