Red Bull established themselves as the early-season frontrunners, but have since fallen behind the likes of McLaren and Ferrari in terms of performance.
The Dutchman is now without a win in eight, and both he and his Red Bull team are struggling to retain their crowns.
This adds to the general sentiment that the 2025 season will also live long in the memory, with Lewis Hamilton set to make his Ferrari debut, Adrian Newey joining Aston Martin, and a plethora of other driver moves taking place up and down the grid.
FIA confirm pre-season testing plan
Red Bull's RB20 has provided its drivers with all kinds of problems, despite looking good during pre-season testing and, indeed, during the first few race weekends of the season.
Pre-season testing can be a hugely important barometer for how teams are shaping up ahead of the new season, and has taken place at the Bahrain International Circuit for the past four seasons.
Now, the FIA have revealed that it will host pre-season testing in 2025 as well, despite the 2025 season kicking off with the Australian Grand Prix, rather than the Bahrain GP as it has since 2021.
In a statement, the FIA confirmed it would occur two weeks before the first race of the season: "FIA and Formula 1 have confirmed that Bahrain International Circuit will host three days of pre-season testing on 26, 27 and 28 February 2025 ahead of the FIA Formula One World Championship season, which will begin in Melbourne from 14-16 March," they said.
"The 2025 Formula 1 season, the 75th anniversary year for the sport, will kick off in Australia, followed by China and Japan, and as part of the continued drive in sustainability with the sport on track to become Net Zero by 2030, a significant percentage of freight will remain at the Bahrain International Circuit for when F1 returns for the Bahrain Grand Prix for round four on 11-13 April."