Predicting the 2025 F1 World Championship Drivers' Standings

• Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso to break into the top 10

• Max Verstappen's four-year winning streak to come to an end

• Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris for the world title?

With just a handful of races left to go, Ladbrokes has a punt at predicting the final 2025 F1 World Championship Drivers' Standings.

It finally looks as though serial winner Max Verstappen is going to relinquish his crown, and with the likes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton barely threatening the top, it seems destined that it will be one of the McLaren men who will get their hands on the trophy.

Oscar Piastri has led the way since the opening month of the season, with his teammate Lando Norris constantly knocking on the door - but which of the talented young drivers is Ladbrokes backing to claim their first world title? Let's get into our predictions...

Coming in at 10th, we're predicting that Carlos Sainz will continue his recent run of good form and sneak into the top half of the Drivers' Standings. Back-to-back top-10 finishes in Azerbaijan and Singapore secured him a strong number of points after a run of six straight races without one, and we think he will climb up the standings in the final few races.

The Spaniard hasn't finished lower than 10th in the final standings since 2016, when he finished 12th, so will be keen to maintain that impressive record this year. He currently finds himself in a cluster of drivers, but Ladbrokes is backing Sainz to break out of it and end 2025 in the top half.

Currently the oldest driver on the grid, 44-year-old Fernando Alonso also has some work to do to break into the top 10, with the likes of Nico Hulkenberg and Isack Hadjar needing to be displaced - but we're backing him to sneak into ninth.

The two-time Formula One world champion (2005 & 2006) knows exactly what it takes to climb up the Drivers' Standings, and his wealth of experience will be crucial in what is now the decisive - and most pressurised - period of the season. He has been quite inconsistent throughout 2025, struggling to maintain any real form, but with just a handful of races to go, we think Alonso will deliver.

With a comfortable lead over the rest of the chasing pack, Alex Albon can focus solely on what's in front of him as we head into the final stages of the 2025 F1 season, with a straight shootout between him and Kimi Antonelli for seventh. However, we think he will stay in eighth for the remainder of the year.

The 29-year-old's point scoring hasn't been consistent enough to trouble the leaders this season - but Albon and Williams will still be satisfied with his position in a season where McLaren have run away with the Constructors' Championship.

Kimi Antonelli has had a debut Formula One season to remember for Mercedes, achieving his first F1 podium in Canada, qualifying in pole at the Miami GP Sprint, and sitting comfortably inside the top half of the 2025 Drivers' Standings.

He will feel the pressure from Albon in the last few races, but with his good run of form and his impressive displays to date, Ladbrokes is tipping Antonelli to secure seventh in a promising maiden F1 season. The teenage rookie has more than made his mark this season, and will have his sights set on the world title in years to come.

Lewis Hamilton perhaps hasn't had the impact he would've wanted at Ferrari, failing to even make a single podium so far in 2025, but he still finds himself towards the top end of the Drivers' Standings thanks to his consistent point scoring - and he's not going to be budging from sixth.

We've predicted that the seven-time world champion will end up on a podium before the season is out, and he is guaranteed to have his seat at Ferrari for the 2026 season, so there may well be some more glory for him yet. But for now, Hamilton will have to settle for sixth in our 2025 F1 Drivers' Standings predictions.

Breaking into the top five now, and it's Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who we think will sit just one place above his legendary teammate. At the time of writing, it seems highly unlikely that Leclerc will be caught by Hamilton, but equally as unlikely that he will reach Russell in fourth, so the Monegasque driver's position looks set.

Leclerc has featured on a number of podiums this year, but has only finished higher than third on one occasion, coming second in his home race at the Monaco Grand Prix. It's a step backwards from finishing third in the 2024 F1 Drivers' Standings, but another solid season should see Leclerc finish inside the top five for the fourth consecutive year.

George Russell will still have his sights set on third, but Ladbrokes is predicting that the Brit will be forced to settle for fourth in the final standings of this year's F1 World Championship - despite anticipating a strong finish to the season.

A couple of race wins and a good haul of podiums have set Russell up to achieve his joint-highest finish in an F1 season (also finishing fourth in 2022), which is almost as good as he could've hoped for considering the three drivers we have finishing ahead of him. It's been a decent year for Mercedes and for Russell, with the future looking very bright.

Having won the previous four Formula One World Championships, seeing Max Verstappen down in third isn't something we're used to - but the Red Bull car simply hasn't been able to compete at the very top this year. Verstappen has still had his fair share of race wins though, as you would always expect.

The serial winner's Red Bull future had been in doubt going into 2026, but after confirming his loyalty in the summer, the Dutchman will be desperate to get back on track next year. The car will have to improve, but if it does, then it would be a surprise to see Verstappen as low as third again next season.

The battle at the top continues to roll on as the Formula One season slowly draws to a close, but we're predicting that Lando Norris will be forced to settle for silver for the second year in a row. He has been closing the gap gradually since August, but we think there is just too much to do in the final few races.

After finishing second behind Verstappen in 2024, the 25-year-old saw this year as the one to finally get his name on the exclusive list of F1 world champions - but he might not have anticipated his teammate being so strong. There's still a long way to go in the grand scheme of things, but Ladbrokes is expecting Norris to be disappointed come December.

And with that, we round off our 2025 Drivers' Standings predictions with our champion - Oscar Piastri. After finishing ninth in his debut season and fourth last time out, Piastri has been getting better and better every year, and we think 2025 will see him earn his first ever F1 world title.

The Aussie has led the way for the majority of the season, so it would be hard for anyone to begrudge him the crown, but he can't take his foot off the gas just yet. His disaster in Azerbaijan blew the race wide open, and with Norris determined to oust his teammate from top spot, the battle for gold is one you really can't take your eyes off - but we're backing Piastri to hold on.

• 1st - Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

• 2nd - Lando Norris (McLaren)

• 3rd - Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

• 4th - George Russell (Mercedes)

• 5th - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

• 6th - Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

• 7th - Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

• 8th - Alex Albon (Williams)

• 9th - Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

• 10th - Carlos Sainz (Williams)

• 11th - Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)

• 12th - Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber)

• 13th - Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

• 14th - Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

• 15th - Esteban Ocon (Haas)

• 16th - Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

• 17th - Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

• 18th - Oliver Bearman (Haas)

• 19th - Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber)

• 20th - Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

For more Formula One content, be sure to check out our range of pieces, including a look at the favourites ahead of every race, an overview of the F1 Sprint, and even a 'memorable F1 moments' series - starting with the Singapore GP.

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All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.