Brown: I’m anticipating Hamilton being a championship contender

McLaren won the 2024 F1 constructors' championship from Ferrari by only 14 points, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris to the drivers' crown.

And while Red Bull and McLaren were the teams to beat last season, Ferrari emerged as a serious threat towards the end of the year that saw Mercedes as well in the mix on some occasions.

This has led to expectations of an enthralling 2025 F1 season where the top four teams are expected to be battling it out for wins, while Norris went even further, claiming some midfield teams will also have a chance at the odd win.

As for Brown, speaking at the F1 75 Launch event at the London O2 arena last Tuesday, he weighed in on the challenges his team will tackle in 2025; he said: "I’m definitely anticipating Lewis being a championship contender.

"We and Ferrari ended last year with nothing between us, and I think that will continue," he added. "Mercedes were very close [in 2024] and still won four races, so I put them in there.

"And, of course, Red Bull, [who had] a super strong first half of the year, a little bit less strong middle of the year, then ended very strong."

Ferrari and McLaren will arguably have the best driver lineup in 2025 with Hamilton joining Charles Leclerc at the former, Norris alongside Oscar Piastri at the latter.

Red Bull, on the other hand, have Liam Lawson as Verstappen's teammate; the Kiwi yet to prove his worth, while Mercedes have Kimi Antonelli, the fast-tracked rookie, alongside George Russell.

This should affect the dynamics of the 2025 F1 constructors' championship; Brown commented: “Obviously Kimi and Liam being… Kimi being a rookie and Liam being, let’s call it, inexperienced, as opposed to a rookie, I think from a constructors’ point of view that will probably present a bit more of a challenge over 24 races.

“They’ll inevitably have some rookie weekends, if you like, but I think they’re both extremely quick drivers, and I anticipate both of them winning races.”

Nevertheless, the McLaren CEO predicts that the 2025 F1 season will be an exciting one; he added: "I think this season should be epic and even closer than last year. I’m anticipating eight different winners. I wouldn’t be surprised with how competitive it is.

“Every weekend last year, while the top four teams were always at the front, there seemed to be someone that was able to kind of disrupt," he recalled. "I expect that to be happening again. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than four teams that won."

As for the targets McLaren has to achieve in 2025, Brown stated: "We’d like to go for the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ World Championship.

"Why not be greedy and have that be 1-2 and let Lando and Oscar decide who’s one and who’s two? So, that’s our collective goal," he concluded.

McLaren, aside from the external challenges, will have an internal one to deal with, and that is how to manage Piastri and Norris as both drivers are making noise about winning races and titles.

The team did not execute that well in 2024. Will they do better in 2025?