Williams enjoy major resurgence as Ferrari sink in final F1 table

Williams enjoyed its best season in F1 since 2016 in 2025 as it rocketed up the standings, earning 120 more points than in '24.

Since 2018, the team had scored a total of 84 points in seven seasons with no podiums in proper races since Lance Stroll bagged P3 at the 2017 Azerbaijan GP. 

But a strong start to the year for Alex Albon, coupled with a rich vein of form at the end from Carlos Sainz, included podiums in Azerbaijan and Qatar plus third in the United States GP Sprint, meant Williams climbed from just 17 points and P9 in the 2024 standings to 137 points and P5 12 months later.

It was not the biggest leap from a team upwards, as McLaren scored 167 more points than it did in 2024 as it retained the constructors', and added the drivers' championship for Lando Norris.

Elsewhere, Stake also enjoyed a massive leap forward in terms of points, with a haul of 70 representing a jump of 66 from just four in 2024. Indeed, in the season-opening Australian GP, Nico Hulkenberg's sixth place earned more points (6) than the four Zhou Guanyu posted the year before as Valtteri Bottas went point-less.

Hulkenberg's long-overdue first podium in F1, at the 239th attempt, was also the first for the 'Sauber' name since Kamui Kobayashi's P3 at the 2012 Japanese GP. 

On the flip side, both Ferrari and Red Bull were the biggest losers.

Ferrari scored 254 fewer points than it did in 2024 as it slipped from 14 points and second place behind McLaren in the standings to fourth place and 435 points behind. 

Red Bull, meanwhile, lost 138 points as Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda struggled alongside Max Verstappen. Lawson did not score at all, whilst Tsunoda grabbed 30 points, a fall from the 152 Sergio Perez scored in 2024. 

This fall of 122 points, when added to the 16 fewer points Max Verstappen scored (437 vs 421), makes up Red Bull's loss of 138.