FIA Steward Reveals 'Perfect' 2025 Scenario Amid McLaren Resurgence

FIA steward and former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has opened up about a "perfect scenario" in the 2025 season, admitting that he would like seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to win his eighth championship title, especially after his Ferrari arrival.
However, the former F1 driver predicts McLaren Racing to be the winner this year, considering its dominant form from last year when it won the Constructors' Championship for the first time since 1998.
The 2024 season saw Red Bull begin on a high note with Max Verstappen winning 7 out of the first 10 Grands Prix. However, the team's RB20 F1 car began to show balance problems mid-season, which coincided with McLaren's resurgence in the ground effect era.
Despite the Dutchman managing to win his fourth F1 title due to the initial dominance, McLaren surpassed Red Bull to win the championship. While Herbert doesn't expect any team to start with such superiority, he thinks the Woking outfit could repeat 2024 all over again. He told Casinoutanspelpaus.io, as quoted by Motorsportweek:
“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.”
Speaking on his predictions for the 2025 season, Herbert said:
“Yes, I think Lewis Hamilton winning the championship this year would be the perfect scenario.
“But I tell you what, the one I think who has earned it over the last couple of years is McLaren.
“With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, it’s going to be a tough one for both of those two drivers up against each other.”
Addressing the Constructors' Championship, Herbert acknowledged that Ferrari winning the title would benefit the sport greatly, but he would like to see McLaren win again. He added:
“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.
"I think Ferrari winning the championship would be brilliant for the sport.
“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.”