Motorsports
F1 season pause: +80 for Verstappen, Ferrari crisis, Mercedes progress
The first part of the current Formula 1 season has come to an end. This is the first championship after a major technical adjustment and we can say that everything has been going well so far. It is worth remembering that the regulation changes in 2010 led to the dominance of Red Bull and from 2014 the new rules established the dominance of Mercedes.
Fortunately, there is no talk of superiority despite Max Verstappen’s overall standing advantage.
Ferrari and Red Bull
Yes, Verstappen has an incredible 80-point lead against Leclerc and it’s hard to remember when someone gained such an advantage during Mercedes’ summer break dominance. But even Verstappen recently admitted that such a gap does not reflect the strength of the cars. Ferrari and Red Bull have the same fast cars with pros and cons on certain tracks. What is the reason for this situation in the overall standings and the Constructors’ Championship?
The problem is the reliability of Scuderia cars. If the Bulls have technical problems in the first place, then Ferraris always have these problems. First of all, with the engine. Ferrari has the most powerful engine among its competitors, but it often breaks down. Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said I prefer a fast and unreliable car over the opposite. The team will work with confidence. We saw Leclerc’s departure in Baku and Sainz’s failure in Austria, which are the last examples of “credibility”. Also, Ferrari engines regularly fail in Haas and Alfa Romeo cars. This leads not only to loss of points, but also to fines for replacing engine elements. There is no doubt that Ferrari drivers will be forced to at least once again be penalized in qualifying for a power plant replacement. Red Bull’s situation isn’t all that bad, but only three engines per season for the driver are of course limiting the Bulls.
Ferrari’s next problem is the errors of its drivers. As we saw at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Verstappen also allows for crashes and turns, but such mistakes from Leclerc cost him much more. Charles calculated that he had lost at least 32 points because of his eliminations. It’s good that the pilot just blames himself and always admits his problems. Besides engines and errors, Ferrari’s position is getting worse due to strategy. Again, one need not look far: the Scuderia strategists’ decision to give Leclerc hard tires at the Hungarian Grand Prix. None of the leaders acted harshly, but it was given to Charles, which led to a failure at the track and another pit stop. At the same time, Alpine riders bought hard tires before, which allowed them to lose speed and pass everyone. He had an example before him, but Ferrari decided otherwise. A similar situation occurred in France, where Carlos Sainz openly took the podium at the end of the race, but Ferrari decided to make an additional pit stop and the Spaniard finished 5th.
It’s paradoxical that Verstappen is 80 points ahead with more or less equal cars and Red Bull is almost 100 points ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors from such major and minor mistakes of the drivers and the Ferrari team. Championship.
What’s wrong with Mercedes?
Both Lewis Hamilton and team management acknowledged that the transition to the new technical regulation was not as successful as that of the competitors. Mercedes finished third fastest and was significantly behind Red Bull and Ferrari at the start of the season. However, the team shows its champion character. Mercedes didn’t panic, got to work. As a result, the team managed to close the gap with the leaders and the same Hamilton has scored more points than Leclerc and Sainz in the last 5 races. The Briton finished 3rd three times and 2nd twice during this stretch. Of course, this won’t get Hamilton back into the title race, but the team’s progress is evident.
There are no victories yet, but the drivers are constantly on the podium, and George Russell in Hungary recorded the first pole of the season. While Ferrari says they still believe in their chance to win the title, Mercedes is only 30 points behind Scuderia in the Constructors’ Championship. Given Mercedes’ ability to work with the car, Ferrari may have a lot more work to do after the summer break.
Other commands
The transition to new regulations has yet to allow McLaren to make a breakthrough. In recent seasons, the team has even approached a third power status, but now Alpine is losing and not far ahead of Alfa Romeo. The positive moment remains Lando Norris. Despite the problems with the car, the young Briton puts McLaren ahead and ranks 7th overall. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo is of course disappointing as he is only 12th.
Alpin is performing well, but the team is unable to fight for the podium. Alfa Romeo and Haas have made significant progress with the new rules, but Alfa Tauri and Aston Martin lost their place last season.
Source: Sport UA
Hi, my name is Jayden James. I am a writer at Sportish, and I mostly cover sports news. I have been writing since high school and have been published in various magazines and newspapers. I also write book reviews for a website. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and basketball.
The FIA has officially confirmed a significant increase in the cost of filing protests, appeals and requests for review in Formula 1 from the 2026 season. According to the new regulations, the contribution fee will increase from 2,000 Euros to 20,000 Euros and will be included in the teams’ budget limit.
The decision follows a wave of criticism after Red Bull made several protests against Mercedes driver George Russell during the 2025 season. After the Miami and Canadian Grand Prix both cases were dismissed by the stewards but caused delays and chaos in the paddock.
Russell and McLaren management have repeatedly emphasized that the upfront deposit is too low for teams with multimillion-dollar budgets. In their view, this encouraged speculative and tactical protests.
The FIA says the new rules retain the right to appeal in the case of genuine infringements, but significantly increase financial liability for false complaints. This is expected to reduce the number of post-race disputes and make the protest procedure more balanced.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Mercedes driver George Russell said he was sincerely pleased with Lando Norris’ first Formula 1 championship, which he won in Abu Dhabi on the final stage of the season. According to Russell, he may have been jealous of his compatriot’s success at a younger age, but his views have now changed.
Norris became world champion, just two points ahead of Max Verstappen, despite a strong comeback from the Red Bull driver, who was looking to capture his fifth consecutive title.
Russell and Norris have known each other well since the teenage series; In particular, they fought for the Formula 2 championship won by Russell in 2018. Both made their Formula 1 debuts in 2019, but it was Norris who was first to top the championship.
Russell emphasized that he did not feel any jealousy after the McLaren driver’s victory.
“I’m very happy for him. Maybe when I was younger and less mature, I would have been jealous of my rival and compatriot winning the championship.
But as you get older, you realize how difficult it is to maintain a high level in this sport.”
Both Britons have become leaders of their teams over the years; Russell is at Mercedes, Norris is at McLaren. At the same time, while the Brackley team has been in decline in recent seasons, it was McLaren who were able to offer a car that could fight for the championship before Mercedes.
Russell also noted the importance of not missing a rare chance to compete for the championship and praised Norris for withstanding the pressure.
“We never know when our chance will come. I’m sure he didn’t know that opportunity would come this year.”
He showed an incredible performance, especially in the second half of the season. I’m happy for him, he deserves it,” Russell concluded.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Max Verstappen received his fifth consecutive Formula 1 Driver of the Year award despite being one step away from his fifth consecutive championship title in the 2025 season.
All but four riders participated in the anonymous survey, traditionally conducted among peloton pilots. According to the results, the Red Bull driver was ahead of the new world champion Lando Norris.
Drivers compiled their own top 10 using the standard Formula 1 points system. Verstappen secured first place with 25 points in six different votes.
Norris, who won his first championship after a difficult season, came second in the referee voting for the second time in a row.
McLaren secured the drivers’ title by enduring serious pressure from Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri in one of the most interesting seasons of recent years.
Third in the rankings was George Russell, up one place from last year. The Mercedes driver had a strong season, claiming two wins and seven podium finishes.
Piastri improved his position by one place and finished fourth, although his championship ambitions diminished in the autumn. At one point in the season the Australian was 34 points ahead of his rivals.
Rounding out the top 5 was Charles Leclerc, who dropped two places despite getting the most out of the Ferrari SF-25. The Monegasque achieved seven podiums and the Scuderia finished the season in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Carlos Sainz retained sixth place after an impressive recovery for Williams. Despite a difficult start for Grovey, the Spaniard managed to reach the podium twice in the second half of the season.
Fernando Alonso rose two places to seventh with his strong performance behind the wheel of the Aston Martin AMR25.
The eighth place was taken by Alex Albon, who had his best season at Williams. The top ten is rounded out by newcomers Oliver Berman and Isak Hajjar, who are known for their strong debut seasons.
It is noteworthy that Lewis Hamilton was not included in the voting for the first time since the beginning of this rating, which reflects the British pilot’s difficult first season with Ferrari.
Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda also did not participate in the survey.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
-
Ligue 13 years agoRenato Sanchez signed in Paris for five years
-
Europa League4 years agoIn transfer alert at Olympiakos for additions and concessions
-
Europa League4 years agoFenerbahce – Eintracht 1: 1: The Germans took 1st place in the Olympiacos group
-
Europa League4 years agoWithout Nainggolan and Samata, the 11th team from Antwerp
-
Europa League4 years agoEuropa League
-
Europa League4 years agoAtalanta announced the acquisition of Boga
-
Europa League4 years agoFears that Zapata will be out for 4 months
-
Premier League4 years agoExcept for the rest of January, Sean was injured