Following each Grand Prix, racer Jeroen Bleekemolen shares his insights about the past race weekend in an exclusive column. Who or what caught his attention, what went well, and what needs to change? This time: how 2025 is already casting its shadow, why immediate testing with Williams is good for Carlos Sainz, and how highlighting Lewis Hamilton may not have been such a bad idea.
So, that’s it, a season with 24 races. Twenty-four! A lot, but it actually went by quite quickly. It’s a shame it’s over, but before you know it, Formula 1 will be back. Depending on when you read this column, it’s only about two and a half months away. Less than eighty days. Not too bad, really. And for teams and (some) drivers, it’s even less. Because in certain cases, the 2025 season ‘simply’ starts on the Tuesday after Abu Dhabi.
Is that strange? For someone like Carlos Sainz, for example? On Sunday, he was on the podium with a well-performing Ferrari, and a few days later, he’s suddenly driving a Williams that didn’t make much of an impression this season. It will take some getting used to. And yet, for him and the team, the testing work is immediately very useful. It gives both the new driver and the team the opportunity to gain impressions, to learn things from each other right away. So, it’s not such a crazy idea to move straight from your farewell at one team to your new adventure with another.
You could also say: take a break, go on a nice vacation, and come back with new energy. Like Max Verstappen does, for example. That works for him. But if you’re moving to a new team, immediate testing is quite nice. Don’t forget that a new year may start on January 1st, but a new racing year starts right after the season that’s just ended. I always found it nice to test for, say, the 24 hours of Daytona right now. Then you’re not waiting for the start of the new calendar year.
Exciting Times Ahead
While we can often look forward to 2025, let’s consider this: seeing how thrilling the 2024 season ended… It promises a lot. Every team can and wants to make a ‘statement’ in the coming months. But rest assured, the competition is now so close that there won’t be a team that suddenly becomes half a second faster than the rest at the first race.
So, it’s going to be an exciting year. Look at McLaren: a deserving champion among the constructors, as they generally had the fastest car. But not always. Sometimes Mercedes was suddenly faster in cooler conditions, Ferrari performed well, or Max Verstappen suddenly rose to the occasion with a victory in Qatar. So, anything can happen in 2025.
Hamilton: End of an Era
And that also includes Lewis Hamilton. Yes, I admit: it was exaggerated how he was highlighted after the finish in Abu Dhabi. As if he was going to retire. But let me add: it is indeed the end of an era. The combination of Mercedes (both engine and team) with Hamilton is the most successful ever, even more so than Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. So, the departure of a seven-time world champion from Mercedes is not a trivial matter.
And what can he achieve at Ferrari? We will certainly be looking forward to that quite often. But his excellent race in Abu Dhabi on Sunday already showed that you should definitely not rule him out for 2025.