Lights Out and Away the LLMs Go! Can AI Predict the 2025 F1 Champion? Deep Research Puts AI Chatbots to the Test
- Chris Howell
- Mar 15
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
Artificial Intelligence isn't just helping big businesses make smarter decisions; it can also make life easier for you—whether you're a small business owner, a sports fan, or simply curious about the future. One of the most useful capabilities of AI is something called "Deep Research" (DR).
Deep Research (DR) involves AI chatbots gathering extensive, reliable information from many online sources, analyzing that data, and summarizing it clearly and quickly. To showcase how practical and valuable DR can be, we put four of today's top AI chatbots— ChatGPT (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), Grok 3 (xAI), and Perplexity (urm, Perplexity). —to the ultimate test: predicting the winner of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship. Because we love F1 at Mercia AI. 🏎️
What Exactly is AI Deep Research?
Imagine assigning an assistant the task of sifting through thousands of articles, statistics, news reports, and technical data to find key insights for you. AI-powered Deep Research does exactly that, efficiently compiling accurate and actionable insights. It eliminates hours of manual research, letting you focus on decisions and actions. Whether you're researching your competitors, identifying market trends, exploring investments, or simply trying to stay informed, DR offers a quick, clear path to the insights you need.
Introducing the AI Competitors
We tasked four leading AI chatbots—ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity—with analyzing extensive data about Formula 1, including teams, drivers, car technology, and regulatory changes. Here’s how they stacked up:
ChatGPT: Analyzed 43 sources over approximately 11 minutes, producing a highly detailed report of approximately 9180 words (including detailed citations).
Gemini: Analyzed 146 sources in about 8 minutes, presenting a structured and detailed 4323-word summary.
Grok: Provided insights from 54 sources in just 2.5 minutes, delivering a concise 614-word overview.
Perplexity: Consulted 34 sources in a rapid 2-minute analysis, offering an easily digestible ~730-word report.
Detailed Breakdown of AI Chatbot Analyses
Teams
ChatGPT: Presented an extremely detailed analysis of every team's historical context, strategic planning, performance trends, and significant personnel moves. Particularly strong in providing insights on each team's competitive position and overall outlook.
Gemini: Delivered structured summaries, clearly identifying key strengths and weaknesses across teams, though slightly less comprehensive than ChatGPT.
Perplexity: Focused primarily on top teams, offering moderate detail useful for a general understanding of the competitive landscape.
Grok: Kept team analysis brief and high-level, best for quick-reference needs rather than detailed strategic insights.
Drivers
ChatGPT: Offered extensive coverage, exploring each driver from championship contenders to rookies, highlighting their performance history, strengths, weaknesses, and their likely impact on the championship.
Gemini: Strongly detailed, especially on top drivers like Norris, Verstappen, and Hamilton, though less comprehensive on rookies and less prominent drivers.
Perplexity: Provided a balanced perspective clearly distinguishing main contenders from potential surprise challengers, making it accessible yet detailed.
Grok: Delivered succinct analysis, briefly covering only the leading drivers.
Cars and Technical Innovations
ChatGPT: Presented extensive and meticulous detail on each team’s technical innovations, clearly explaining aerodynamic updates, engine optimizations, and chassis improvements.
Gemini: Provided structured, easy-to-follow insights on technical innovations and specific team developments clearly and concisely.
Perplexity: Gave moderate depth on car developments, adequately touching upon significant technical aspects.
Grok: Offered minimal technical information, limiting the analysis to brief highlights of notable technical updates.
Regulatory Changes
ChatGPT: Provided exhaustive coverage, clearly and thoroughly outlining all significant regulatory updates and connecting them thoughtfully to strategies teams might adopt in response.
Gemini: Delivered clear summaries of regulatory changes, highlighting key changes and potential impacts on racing dynamics effectively.
Perplexity: Presented a solid overview but with less depth than ChatGPT and Gemini.
Grok: Provided quick, brief mentions of the main regulatory changes, suitable only for high-level insights.
AI’s Prediction: Who Will Win in 2025?
In a fascinating convergence, all four chatbots predicted Lando Norris (McLaren) to claim the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship. Despite their differences in depth and methodology, all four analyses aligned in their ultimate prediction, underscoring Norris's standout performance and McLaren's promising package.
How Can Deep Research Benefit You?
AI-powered Deep Research isn't just for sports predictions. Small business owners, for example, can use DR to rapidly analyze competitors, market conditions, or technology trends, significantly reducing the time spent manually researching and allowing quicker, smarter decision-making.
For Formula 1 fans, Deep Research enriches your understanding, revealing subtle strategic nuances and helping you appreciate the complexities of your favorite sport even more deeply. Whether you're a fantasy league participant, interested in sports betting, or simply want to enhance your fan experience, DR quickly provides data-driven, unbiased insights.
Can you try Deep Research yourself?
Not all AI chatbots offer Deep Research for free. For example:
ChatGPT requires a paid subscription (ChatGPT Plus or above) to access its advanced Deep Research capabilities, including current web browsing and inline citations.
Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity currently offer limited Deep Research features free of charge, though the depth of research, citations, and number of accessible sources vary and may differ from paid platforms.
Final Thoughts: Which AI Delivered the Best Deep Research?
Each AI chatbot had strengths that suited different needs:
For exhaustive, detailed analysis, ChatGPT is unparalleled.
For structured clarity and ease of navigation, Gemini excels.
For quick, concise insights ideal for brief overviews, Grok and Perplexity are very effective.
This comparison demonstrates how AI Deep Research tools can equip anyone—from business owners to sports fans—to confidently predict outcomes, make informed decisions, and better understand complex topics.
Curious to explore these reports in more depth? Let us know, and we’ll provide links for a closer look at each AI chatbot's predictions.
Interested in applying AI Deep Research to your business or personal interests? Contact Mercia AI to find out how AI insights can give you the competitive edge.
🏁 (c'mon Lewis!)
