Every August, Formula One enters a mandated four-week summer break. This means the factories are closed, and no development can happen to the cars, allowing both the teams and drivers to rest from traveling around the world for weeks on end. For some drivers, this break is an important chance to reset, train, recharge and prepare for the second half of the season with fresh eyes. Others are hoping their momentum from the first half of the season doesn’t dissolve during the time off. Now, all the report cards have been signed and delivered, so instead of looking at the past, let’s look ahead to what the rest of the season has in store.
McLaren has dominated 2025 so far, with the team winning eleven of the fourteen races. Their drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, fight every weekend and are locked in what is an extremely tight battle for the Driver’s Championship. The team has come a long way from the beginning of 2023, when they were the clear backmarkers of the field. Now, McLaren has the opportunity to win the Constructors’ title as early as Azerbaijan, coming up in late September. However, the Drivers’ Championship, given how close it is, could easily stretch to the final race of the season.
One person looking forward to a change of pace after the break is Charles Leclerc from Ferrari. His 2025 campaign has been one of his most frustrating seasons with DNFs, strategy missteps and near misses that have left him visibly deflated, even though he’s stood on the podium a few times. However, Leclerc has been able to turn around a poor season before. In 2023, arguably a horrible season for Ferrari, he finished inside the top five of all races completed after the summer break.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is dealing with a difficult debut season with Ferrari. Monza is up after Zandvoort, and the Tifosi will expect fireworks. Hamilton, podium-less in red despite a China sprint win, will want one badly on home turf.
George Russell has quietly been one of the most consistent drivers this year, taking more podiums than anyone outside of the McLaren duo. However, Mercedes could afford to find some extra pace over the next few races to keep challenging up front. Kimi Antonelli, the Italian rookie, earned his first podium in Formula One at the Canadian Grand Prix, but since then, he has only been able to score one point. If the Silver Arrows want to challenge McLaren, they will need more consistent and strong performances from both drivers.
Now this weekend, the grid has arrived in Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s home race. Historically, a win from Verstappen was nearly certain, but his 2025 outing so far has been rather abysmal, with only two wins and a myriad of drama within the team behind the scenes. Liam Lawson was replaced after two races by Yuki Tsunoda from Racing Bulls, Christian Horner was fired and rumors circled about Verstappen breaking his contract early to move to Mercedes. The new team principal, Laurent Mekies, has started to steady the Red Bull garage, and if history has taught us anything, it’s to never count Max out of a title fight.
While McLaren has pulled out ahead of the competition, the midfield battle is wide open. With millions of dollars on the line in the Constructors’ standings, every point matters. Among the rookies, Isack Hadjar has impressed with a stellar and consistent performance for Racing Bulls. Nico Hulkenberg earned his first-ever F1 podium after twelve years, and rocketed his team, Kick Sauber, higher in the table.
Williams sits fifth in the standings, comfortably ahead of Aston Martin but well behind Red Bull Racing. However, their talented lineup, Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz, has been plagued by unlucky weekends that have been heartbreaking to watch. If they can’t string together more consistency, teams like Aston Martin, capable of the odd haymaker result, could close the gap.
In the back of the grid, Haas has a strong driver pairing, but has been under a spell of bad luck that they are looking to put to rest. Alpine, after a second driver swap early in the season, is also facing development issues that need to be sorted if it wants to rise from P10 in the standings.
Looking ahead as the summer ends, all eyes are on Zandvoort. It’s Verstappen’s home race, but last year he was dethroned in front of his home crowd by Lando Norris. McLaren may look unstoppable, but Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull all have a chance to shake things up.
Up front, it’s Norris versus Piastri. In the middle, it’s a dogfight for millions on the line. At the back of the grid, it’s teams hoping for an upgrade in the right direction. While Zandvoort won’t settle the season, it will tell us who used the break the best.