The Current F1 Teams: F1 75 at the Festival of Speed

But each brings with it its own brand of passion, spearheading technological advancements that showcase the pinnacle of modern F1 and this is something we’ll be celebrating at the 2025 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard.

Goodwood’s celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the Formula 1 World Championship is set to be the grandest in the history of the Festival of Speed. It’ll sit at the centre of all four days of activity both on and around the famous Goodwood Hill. As part of that showcase, we want to take a look at the current teams that make up the F1 grid, charting their path to 2025 and beyond.

Ferrari

The longest-serving team in the sport’s history, Ferrari is synonymous with Formula 1, having competed in every World Championship season since the first in 1950. And commitment brings silverware – Ferrari is also F1’s most successful team, achieving 15 Drivers’ Championships and 16 Constructors’ titles across six decades. From Ascari’s double in 1952 and ’53, Fangio’s third title in 1956 and Mike Hawthorn’s triumph in 1958, the Scuderia delivered drivers into the history books. It won its first Constructors’ Championship at the third attempt, picking up the first of its record 16 trophies in 1961 with Phil Hill behind the wheel.

A true spell of dominance at the turn of the century cemented Ferrari’s credentials as the sport’s most prolific team, securing Championship doubles with the great Michael Schumacher from 2000-2004, as well as the Constructors’ crown in 1999 and a further Drivers’ triumph with Kimi Räikkönen’s in 2007. The 2010s were a relative dry spell for Ferrari, but after pushing McLaren to the very end last season, and the arrival of Sir Lewis Hamilton to partner Charles Leclerc, fortunes may be changing for the Prancing Horse ahead of 2025.

Mercedes

While the Mercedes team we see today has only competed in F1 since 2010, Mercedes-Benz first appeared in F1 in 1954 at the French Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio had his head turned by the Silver Arrows and jumped ship from Maserati mid-season, a bold move, but one which delivered him consecutive Drivers’ Championships in ‘54 and ‘55.

Mercedes withdrew from motorsport activities following the Le Mans disaster in the summer of 1955, and didn’t return to F1 until 1994, when it became an engine supplier for Sauber and later McLaren, for what would become a hugely successful and ultimately Championship-winning partnership.

The marque returned to the sport as a manufacturer in 2010 when it acquired the Brawn GP team – itself a team with a championship-winning history from its days as the Tyrrell Racing Organisation with Jackie Stewart in the 1970s. After unsuccessful stints as BAR and Honda, the team that originated as Tyrrell was bought for £1 by Ross Brawn ahead of that fairytale season in 2009, and became a record-breaking machine for the next decade as Mercedes-AMG Petronas. 

The arrival of Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff in 2013 kickstarted an unprecedented era of dominance that delivered eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships as Mercedes mastered the turbo-hybrid era with Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton’s departure marks the beginning of a fresh chapter for the team, as rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli steps in to partner George Russell, hoping to write his own name into the history of the Silver Arrows.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin is another team with an interrupted history in F1. First competing in the 1959 season, its DBR4 made its debut at the Dutch Grand Prix but was already out of date on account of it being built two years prior. Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori could only qualify tenth and 15^th respectively, both ultimately retired on that initial outing and the remainder of the season produced no points-scoring results.

The DBR5 that followed yielded little improvement. Its front-engined configuration was outclassed by the revolutionary rear-engined machines, and Aston Martin abandoned the sport after five race starts without a single Championship point to its name. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that thoughts of a return to F1 emerged. 

Today’s Aston Martin team is the latest incarnation of the Jordan outfit that won four Grands Prix between 1991 and 2005. When Eddie Jordan sold up, the team transitioned through seasons as the ill-fated Midland and Spyker in 2006 and ‘07, before finding stability in 2008 as Force India. In this guise the team were regularly heralded as F1’s perennial overachievers, until Force India’s assets were purchased by a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll.

As Racing Point, the Silverstone based team won its fifth F1 race at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix with Sergio Pérez. But this was only the start of Stroll’s ambitious new project. Following his investment in the Aston Martin brand, the name returned to the paddock in 2021. With two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso now on board, and the monumental acquisitions of the services of mastermind designer Adrian Newey, Aston Martin has big ambitions ahead of the 2026 changes.

McLaren

The second-longest serving constructor in F1, Bruce McLaren founded his racing team in 1963 and was behind the wheel of the M2B for its debut Grand Prix in Monaco three years later. He also scored McLaren’s first victory at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix, which marked the first stepping stone towards the team’s first World Championship triumphs in 1974 with Emerson Fittipaldi and the Ford-powered M23. Further success with James Hunt in 1976 confirmed McLaren’s long-term future at the front of the field.

Accolades flooded in throughout the 1980s. A merger with Ron Dennis’ Project Four Formula 2 team brought with it ideas of a new carbon-fibre chassis and the financial support to bring it to life, in the form of the MP4. McLaren won four Constructors’ Championships that decade, while Niki Lauda (1984), Alain Prost (1985, ‘86 and ’89), and Ayrton Senna (1988) all won Drivers’ Championships. The 1990s delivered another three Constructors’ triumphs alongside a pair of titles for both Senna and Mika Häkkinen.

Success this century has been hard to come by, however. Lewis Hamilton’s first title was achieved with the team in 2008, but it wasn’t until 2024 that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ended McLaren’s 26-year wait for a ninth Constructors’ Championship. No doubt the pair will be fighting it out for individual glory in 2025, as McLaren embark on the challenge of defending the title it worked so hard to recover.

Williams

After struggling to find success with earlier F1 projects through the late 1960s and early '70s, Frank Williams founded Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited in 1977, its first race being that year’s Spanish Grand Prix, though it would be another eight months before Williams made its debut as a constructor in 1978 with the FW06. There would be another short wait for Williams’ first win, which came on home soil at the 1979 British Grand Prix with Clay Regazzoni, but after that the floodgates were open.

The FW07, Williams' first ground effect car, went on to win four of the remaining six races that season to finish second to Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship. But the following two decades would see Williams cement its place as one of the greatest teams in F1 history. Nine Championships were won during in a 17-year spell, which also delivered Drivers’ Titles for Alan Jones (1980), Nigel Mansell (1992), Damon Hill (1996) and Jacques Villeneuve (1997), as well as a third crown for Nelson Piquet in 1987 and a fourth for Alain Prost in his final season in 1993.  

Williams is one of only five constructors to have won over 100 Grands Prix, though those halcyon days now seem very distant. Pastor Maldonado’s win from pole at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix is its most recent victory, which itself broke an eight-year drought following Juan Pablo Montoya’s triumph in Brazil in 2004. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas delivered consecutive third place finishes in the 2014 and ’15 Constructors’ Championships, but lowly bottom three finishes have become the norm since 2018. Hopes lie on Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. to buck the trend in 2025.

Alpine

Alpine is best recognised as the current incarnation of Team Enstone, owned by Renault, it’s the latest name in a lineage made up (so far) of five constructors. Toleman was the first, founded by Ted Toleman and Alex Hawkridge, which first appeared at the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix. Though not particularly successful, it is best remembered for giving Ayrton Senna his chance in F1 and for his remarkable display at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. After an initial sponsorship deal in 1985, the team took on the Benetton name ahead of the 1986 season.

After a period of gentle progress, the winning formula came together with the arrival of Michael Schumacher in 1991, and the German won his first two World Championships with Benetton in 1994 and ’95, as the team picked up the Constructors’ Title the latter year. The new Millennium saw the team sold to Renault, with the French manufacturer providing engines to what was a poor-performing B201 the following year. Renault took over the team as a full manufacturer in 2002, and with Fernando Alonso it secured consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in 2005 and ’06 to end an era of Ferrari/Schumacher dominance.

Renault took a step back from the sport in 2011 and the team took on the Lotus name for the 2012 season. Kimi Räikkönen delivered two race victories, at the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix in 2013, until the Renault name returned for a five-year spell from 2016-2020, following which came the name change to Alpine. 

The high point of Alpine’s time in F1 thus far came when Esteban Ocon picked up the pieces to win a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021. A double podium for Ocon and Pierre Gasly in Brazil last season helped the team secure a lucrative sixth place finish in the Constructors’ Championship, and Gasly will partner rookie Jack Doohan for the 2025 campaign.

Racing Bulls

The line from which Red Bull Racing’s junior outfit descends actually predates its sister team by more than a decade. Racing Bulls has its roots in Minardi, which first competed in F1 in 1985. Minardi enjoyed minimal success over a 20-year period – fourth was the best finish it could register – and was cemented at the back of the grid for much of its time in the sport with a miniscule budget but a passionate fanbase. Minardi was bought by Red Bull, which was looking to set up a second team to support its young driver programme, in 2005, and introduced the Scuderia Toro Rosso name for the following season.

Though Toro Rosso never placed higher than sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, it did provide a pathway for future four-time World Champion drivers Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen – the former earning the team it’s only race victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, while Verstappen became the youngest driver to compete in F1 when he made his debut for the team at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

The team was rebranded as AlphaTauri from 2020-2023, during which time Pierre Gasly scored the team’s second Grand Prix victory at Monza in 2020, until the somewhat unpopular VCARB acronym came into use last season. In 2025, Racing Bulls seems a much simpler name for Yuki Tsunoda and rookie Isack Hadjar to race for, as the team looks ahead to its final year in partnership with Honda before a switch to Ford powertrains in 2026. 

Sauber

Competing in numerous racing series since the 1970s, it wasn’t until 1993 that Sauber turned its hand to F1. Its first Grand Prix appearance came in South Africa, where JJ Lehto scored a fifth-place finish in the Mercedes-partnered C12. While results were never spectacular, points continued to flow in the following years, with 1995 marking the start of a two-year partnership with Ford as engine supplier, until Ferrari took over the role from 1997 – future Ferrari World Champion driver Kimi Räikkönen made his debut with the team in 2001.

BMW became a title partner in 2006, beginning an era which bought the team its only race victory courtesy of Robert Kubica’s drive in Canada in 2008. Sauber were competitive in that seasons’ Championship until it was decided development would be focused on the changing regulations of the 2009 campaign. Ambitions stalled, however, and BMW decided to withdraw at the end of that year. Peter Sauber returned to rescue the team he founded, and it raced under his name for the next eight seasons.  

The latest in the line of partners, Alfa Romeo got on board in 2018, with the team assuming the name for the following year. Alfa Romeo’s best Championship finish was sixth in 2022 thanks to the efforts of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas, both of whom departed the team now called Kick Sauber in 2024. Kick’s partnership followed Alfa’s withdrawal after the confirmation Sauber is to become the Audi factory team from 2026. Nico Hülkenberg is already confirmed for the future project, and he will partner F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto for Sauber’s final year in 2025. 

Red Bull

The dominant force of the modern era, Red Bull began life as Stewart Racing, founded by three-time World Champion Jackie Stewart in 1996. Only around for three seasons, Johnny Herbert recorded Stewart’s only F1 win at the 1999 European Grand Prix. Stewart was bought by Ford later that year, which badged its new works venture as Jaguar Racing, but despite substantial investment, success never came. In five seasons Jaguar failed to finish higher than seventh in the Constructors’ Championship and never won a Grand Prix, and as Ford’s interest dwindled in 2005, the team was purchased by Red Bull.

Red Bull Racing’s arrival into F1 coincided with a gradual upturn in results, with the services of design genius Adrian Newey secured ahead of the 2006 season. The first four years featured a mix of Cosworth, Ferrari and Renault engines, and it was the latter, paired with the arrival of Sebastian Vettel that would see in the team’s first era of dominance. Vettel earned Red Bull its first Grand Prix win at the Chinese Grand Prix in 2009, then swifty delivered four consecutive Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships from 2010-’13, during which time it entered a full works partnership with Renault from 2011.

The 2016 season marked the swift ascent of Max Verstappen from the junior ranks. After replacing Daniil Kvyat prior to that season’s Spanish Grand Prix, his victory there made him F1’s youngest ever race winner. With Red Bull now in partnership with Honda, Verstappen fought against Lewis Hamilton in what was one of the most fraught Championship battles in F1 history, his last lap overtake at Abu Dhabi securing him his maiden Drivers’ Title in 2021 in dramatic and controversial fashion. The Dutchman’s own era of supremacy would follow, himself becoming a four-time Drivers’ Champion and leading Red Bull to a sixth Constructors’ crown in 2023 – that season’s RB19 is considered the most dominant car ever to have raced, winning 21 out of 22 races that year.

Red Bull’s grip on the Constructors’ Championship slipped in 2024, and as challengers continue to catch up, it’s down to Verstappen and new team-mate Liam Lawson to regain the prize in 2025. 

Haas

F1’s youngest constructor, Haas joined the paddock in 2016 as the first American team to join the paddock since the 1980s, making use of the infrastructure of the collapsed Marussia team and a close collaboration with Ferrari to make a running start. Though yet to win a race, Haas’ best result was recorded at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix where Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen came fourth and fifth, respectively.

It’s perhaps not a shock that the team has been limited to the lower end of the Constructors’ Championship – a best finish of fifth was achieved in 2018. The upcoming 2025 season marks only the second time in nine years that Haas’ driver line-up will feature neither Grosjean nor Magnussen, as Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman are set to race next year.

Ferrari Academy driver Bearman is already familiar with F1 competition after his super-sub performances in 2024. His graduation aligns with Haas’ long-standing relationship with Ferrari, who have provided the team with engines and comprehensive technical support since its debut. As Grand Prix winner Ocon partners Bearman, his new race engineer, Laura Müller, is F1’s first female race engineer, and as the team embarks on a new chapter, hopes will be pinned on climbing up the Constructors’ table in 2025. 

These are the teams that will deliver all the thrills and spills to come on track in 2025, and it's remarkable to consider the varying paths each has taken to arrive here, driven by a passion to compete in the sport we all love, and we’ll be celebrating that as part of our F1 75 celebrations at the 2025 Festival of Speed.

The Festival of Speed takes place from Thursday 10^th-Sunday 13^th July 2025. Tickets are on sale now, and you can save by completing your order before the early bird window closes.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.