Despite a strong revival under new boss Laurent Mekies, Red Bull remains a 'one-car team' reliant on Max Verstappen, a critical flaw that Sam Bird says will continue to prevent a constructors' title challenge unless development philosophy changes or rookie Isack Hadjar dramatically outperforms expectations.
Max Verstappen has won the Crypto.com Overtake of the Year award for 2025 for his outside pass on Oscar Piastri at the start of the Emilia-Romagna GP. The award adds to his Action of the Year honor, highlighting his standout racecraft in a season where the championship went to Lando Norris. The selection process sparked debate after a panelist named Piastri the season's best performer, despite his third-place finish.
Isack Hadjar, set to join Red Bull Racing in 2026, is adopting a strategy of radical acceptance, publicly preparing to be slower than Max Verstappen initially to avoid the psychological pitfalls that have undone previous drivers in that seat.
Ferrari's Fred Vasseur predicts the 2026 F1 title fight will hinge on strategic upgrade timing and cost-cap management, not just development speed. With freight costs now included in the budget, he warns that rushing parts to early flyaway races could be financially reckless, making patience and logistics key competitive advantages.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton's frustrated media demeanor during a tough 2025 season doesn't reflect his positive, collaborative work within the team, where he is a key motivational figure focused on solving problems.
Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur is taking a subdued, internal focus for 2026 after a disappointing fourth-place finish in 2025. He aims to avoid public hype and instead concentrate on car development and the new Hamilton-Leclerc partnership, marking a strategic shift from previous seasons.
Xavier Marcos Padros, the former Ferrari race engineer for Charles Leclerc, has been named chief race engineer for the new Cadillac F1 team. He brings championship-winning experience to the American constructor as it prepares for its 2026 debut, having already been involved in its first on-track F1 test.
A new video provides an inside look at the technical leadership and engineering culture at Red Bull Racing, showcasing the team behind the team that has crafted its dominant Formula 1 cars.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has criticized former Red Bull rival Christian Horner, claiming his "sense of entitlement" led to his ousting and that he would have reacted poorly if the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi GP had gone against Max Verstappen.
Red Bull F1 boss Laurent Mekies says the team's strong late-season form provides a crucial confidence boost in its technical methods, which is vital as it prepares to develop its first in-house power unit for the 2026 regulation overhaul.
Kimi Antonelli hopes Mercedes can repeat its 2014 mastery of new regulations when F1's next major rule change arrives in 2026. The junior driver, who has seen the team's development progress, calls it a "dream" scenario but acknowledges the scale of the challenge and the unknown efforts of rival teams.
F1 pundit Bernie Collins says Cadillac's primary goal for its 2026 debut should be simply getting its car to the grid in Australia, calling that alone a 'victory'. She compares the challenge to Haas's difficult entry in 2016, highlighting the immense operational hurdles of starting a team from scratch.
