FIA steward Johnny Herbert expects McLaren to triumph in 2025, but he has admitted he would like to see Lewis Hamilton win the Formula 1 championship with Ferrari.
Mclaren and Ferrari battled for the Constructors’ Championship right until the last race, with the Woking-based squad coming out on top to end its prolonged title drought.
Red Bull’s domination earlier in the campaign had given Max Verstappen a sizeable enough advantage, though, to retain his crown despite the team’s mid-season slump.
Heading into a 2025 season that appears well poised, Herbert is anticipating McLaren to start stronger than the rest, but he concedes there could be a repeat of last term.
Speaking with Casinoutanspelpaus.io, Herbert said: “Do I expect a particular team to start off strong like Red Bull and Max Verstappen did last year? Probably not.
“I would expect it to be McLaren but I do remember the beginning of last year where they ended the year before quite strong, but they didn’t quite carry it through.
“And Red Bull got the jump on them, which is why Max and Red Bull won the championship eventually because they started very, very strong even with a weak sort of middle of the season.
“It didn’t matter though because they already gained a big point advantage and then McLaren were chasing after that.”
When asked for his predictions for the 2025 F1 season, the 60-year-old said he would like to see Hamilton win a record eighth World Championship with Ferrari.
“Yes, I think Lewis Hamilton winning the championship this year would be the perfect scenario,” he added.
Herbert wants McLaren to start strong
Norris and Piastri together won six races for McLaren in 2024 as the British driver finished second in the Drivers’ Standings, with his Australian team-mate in fourth.
The Papaya duo enjoyed a successful mid-season run, but its aspirations for the Drivers’ title were undone by another slow start to the season – similar to that of 2023.
Continuing his predictions for 2025, Herbert stated that McLaren deserves to win next season as the fight between its drivers could get interesting.
“But I tell you what, the one I think who has earned it over the last couple of years is McLaren,” he highlighted.
“With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, it’s going to be a tough one for both of those two drivers up against each other.”
He also professed how he would love for the Woking-based outfit to build on a successful start and continue that throughout the year.
“It’d be lovely to see McLaren come out strong at the beginning but then carry that the whole way through with this momentum that they’ve been able to generate over the last couple of years,” he said.
Whilst Herbert admitted he could see the similarities between the successes of both teams as of late, he conveyed how he would like to see McLaren come out on top in 2025.
”Yes, I think Ferrari winning the championship would be brilliant for the sport,” Herbert continued.
“But I think for me, it would be nice to see McLaren win again.
“Like Ferrari, they’ve been around for such a long time and been so successful for many, many years.
“But we haven’t seen that in recent times, a little bit like Ferrari.”
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