What do Formula 1 drivers do in the off-season?
Many people consider F1 drivers lucky because they drive extremely fast cars, make a lot of money, and travel to elite locations worldwide. But how do they spend their time between seasons?
The answer has two parts. Drivers do have time off, but they also have mandatory F1-related post-season and pre-season obligations. This year, for example, there will be an unprecedented 2025 season kick-off event on February 18 at the O2 Arena in London.
Mandatory F1 team events for drivers
The 2024 Formula 1 season ended with a final awards ceremony after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 8. The first race event of the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship calendar is March 14-16 in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix.
Between the 24th race of the 2024 season and the first 2025 Grand Prix, F1 drivers and teams attended an awards ceremony. Then, they spent time on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, testing tires for Pirelli, the official F1 tire supplier for all teams.
Even the smallest Formula 1 teams have hundreds of engineers, designers, developers, mechanics, and other personnel working to develop cars for the next season. Car development never totally stops, but teams launch new cars each year, so the time between seasons is especially busy.
Drivers can spend a limited amount of time with previous season race cars but cannot drive the new cars between the official Pre-Season Testing event, which takes place in Bahrain from February 26 to 28 this year. However, drivers spend many hours in simulators to practice their skills, experience new car features virtually, and provide feedback to the development teams.
When 2024’s top drivers got to choose
One way to see how F1 drivers spend their free time is to follow their Instagram accounts. Here’s a sampling of what the top seven drivers have been up to since December.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull: Four-time World Champion Max has posted photos with pregnant partner Kelly Piquet. He also frequently appears in Red Bull’s Instagram posts driving other types of fast cars and vehicles.
Lando Norris, McLaren: Lando keeps busy with various activities, such as skiing, driving dune buggies in the Dubai desert, and hanging with friends.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari: Charles lives in Monaco and has posted shots of playing golf in Mexico and skiing in Italy.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren: At home in Australia, Oscar has posted photos of himself attending cricket matches in Melbourne and enjoying family and friends.
Carlos Sainz, Ferrari: Carlos, who left Ferrari to drive for Williams this season, has been vacationing and training in the Maldives.
George Russell, Mercedes: George posted that he went asking for the first time in Sweden and spent time in the Cayman Islands.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes: The seven-time World Champion shocked the world with last year’s pre-season announcement that he would leave Mercedes to drive for Ferarri in 2025. In the past two weeks, Lewis has been the center of attention when he drove Ferrari F1 cars for the first and second times.
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