LEWIS HAMILTON'S "WORST SEASON": FERRARI'S REAR-END PROBLEM NEEDS WINTER FIX
Lewis Hamilton finished his debut season at Ferrari without a single podium, a record loss blamed on the car's "terrible rear end problem" and excessive, confidence-killing oversteer.
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari probably don’t have fond memories of their first F1 season together. This winter break is critical to avoid repeating the seven-time world champion’s most disappointing year.
Since his debut with McLaren in 2007, this was the first time Hamilton didn't get a single Grand Prix podium finish.
He now holds a record previously held by Louis Rosier: most races for Ferrari without a top-three finish, excluding sprint events.
Charles Leclerc easily beat his new teammate in the championship. But Leclerc also didn't win a race. This shows the problem wasn't just Hamilton.
Ferrari is already planning changes to Hamilton’s car for 2026, when new regulations will likely shake up the grid order.
Former F1 driver Robert Doornbos talked about the problems facing Hamilton and Ferrari.
Looking at onboard footage of both Ferrari drivers, he thinks the team has a serious problem they need to fix.
Doornbos said Ferrari has a terrible rear-end problem that they must solve before next season on The Pit Talk Podcast at the end of the 2025 season.
Talking about Ferrari’s year, he noted the car is hard to manage. “I watched some onboard footage with Lewis and Charles. The amount of power oversteer is just too much. The rear end is unstable.
Finish the sentence: In 2027, the Ferrari driver line-up will be…
“Understeer is when you turn in, and the car doesn't respond; it goes straight. Oversteer is when you turn in, and the rear end slides out. That doesn’t give drivers confidence.
“Not many drivers can handle a car with oversteer at high speed. Max Verstappen is one of them.
“He likes the car to be precise at the front. He uses his talent to control the rear.
“I think both Lewis and Charles have quick reactions, but this car looks difficult to handle. Ferrari didn’t do a good job.”
There’s talk about the future for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after Ferrari's disappointing season.
They are at different points in their careers; there’s still speculation about what the next few seasons will look like for them.
Hamilton denied rumours that he might leave Ferrari at the end of the season, even though he often looked unhappy after disappointing races.
He hopes Ferrari’s focus on the 2026 car will give him a chance to win again.
Leclerc’s position is more complicated, as he knows he’s entering his prime as an F1 driver.
With rumours that rival teams are watching Leclerc’s situation, he’s made it clear to his manager what he wants to happen next.
McLaren is reportedly interested in Leclerc if Oscar Piastri leaves. It might be hard for Leclerc to turn down their interest if Ferrari doesn’t fix their car problems from last season.
F1 BOMBSHELL: HELMUT MARKO ACCUSES CHRISTIAN HORNER OF "LIES," "DIRTY GAMES" AT RED BULL
Helmut Marko has launched a shocking attack on Christian Horner, alleging the former team principal lied, orchestrated a power grab after Mateschitz’s death, and played "dirty games."
Helmut Marko has made some shocking accusations against former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, claiming Horner lied and played dirty games.
This all comes after Red Bull GmbH said earlier this week that Marko would be stepping down as senior advisor after 20 years, which followed Horner's exit.
Horner was let go by Red Bull after this year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, ending his time leading the team.
His last years were filled with controversy, including being cleared twice after allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a Red Bull staff member.
There were also rumors of a power struggle after the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz in 2022. Horner also reportedly didn't get along well with Jos Verstappen, father of Red Bull's star driver Max Verstappen.
In an interview with De Limburger, Marko said that Horner began trying to get close to Chalerm Yoovidhya, the Thai businessman and majority shareholder of Red Bull GmbH, before Mateschitz’s death in 2022.
When asked if Horner's departure meant the end of their power struggle, Marko said it wasn't personal and explained that he and Mateschitz founded Red Bull Racing in 2005 and appointed Horner as team principal. Marko said the power was mainly in Austria, where they made the decisions.
Marko recalled a party in 2022 before the Austrian Grand Prix where Horner allegedly told him that Mateschitz wouldn't live to the end of the year. Marko then claims Horner started trying to get close to Yoovidhya and, after Mateschitz passed away, did everything he could to take over with Yoovidhya's support. Marko claims he tried to prevent this on behalf of Austria.
Marko also said that there were dirty games played at Red Bull during Horner's time there.
He brought up an incident where he was quoted as saying that Mexicans are less focused than the Dutch or Germans, which he claims was made up, possibly by Horner's team.
Marko was referring to a comment he made at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, where he said Perez has problems in qualifying and isn't as focused as Max Verstappen or Sebastian Vettel.
He apologized for those comments, saying that he doesn't believe in generalizing about people from any country or ethnicity and that it was wrong to attribute Perez's performance to his background.
Marko also mentioned another alleged fabrication, claiming that Horner wanted to suspend him for supposedly spreading rumors that the engine development was behind schedule and that Red Bull would lose Ford as a sponsor. He claims he never said that, but Max Verstappen stepped in to prevent the suspension.
Rumors of a possible suspension surfaced early in the 2024 season, reportedly related to an investigation into the leaking of information about the internal investigation into Horner's behavior.
Marko acknowledged the possibility of action being taken against him before the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but he wasn't suspended after talks.
Verstappen spoke about the rumors, saying that Marko's departure would not be good for my situation as well.
Marko also claimed that Horner lost Yoovidhya's support before leaving in mid-2025 because Red Bull was able to prove that Horner was lying about things.
Marko suggested that the press release from Red Bull GmbH, stating that he had decided to leave on his own, was full of nonsense. He said that he had to quickly call Max Verstappen to tell him about his departure, implying that he had little control over the timing of the announcement.
OSCAR PIASTRI VS LANDO NORRIS: MCLAREN EXTENDS EQUAL RACING POLICY DESPITE F1 CRITICISM
Despite past criticism, McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirms the "papaya rules" of driver equality will remain for F1 2026, backing the policy that secured their double title.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown hinted that the team will keep its papaya rules between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for the F1 2026 season.
This season, McLaren got their first drivers' and constructors' title double since 1998, keeping the teams' championship with six races left.
The team had to wait until the final race in Abu Dhabi to get the drivers' title, with Norris beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen by two points.
Norris's win made him the 11th British world champion and the first McLaren driver to win the title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
McLaren had a policy of total fairness during the F1 2025 season, not supporting one driver over the other, even though Norris and Piastri both had good point advantages during the season.
The team's approach was often criticised, especially after the race in Qatar, where Piastri and Norris didn't pit under an early safety car.
At the time, Piastri and Norris were in first and third place, but they ended up finishing second and fourth after missing a free pit stop, while Verstappen won the race.
At the FIA's prize-giving gala on Friday, Brown said he was happy about Qatar and how McLaren won both titles by being fair to Norris and Piastri.
He also said that the policy would continue next season, saying it’s exactly what we plan to do in F1 2026.
He said, “A great season.
“Everyone at McLaren has done a great job, led by our two drivers.
“And thanks to the job Andrea has done leading our team.
“To go into the final race with two drivers fighting for the world championship, when everyone said that it was impossible, I’m just very proud of how McLaren went racing, and that’s what we plan to do next year.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said, “The drivers are the ones who do the job.
“They are the ones that deliver the results, the points, the wins, and the podiums, which made us the constructors’ champions.
“We are also very aware of how the drivers acted, allowing McLaren to go racing.
“That’s what we do—we go racing—and we did it with equality and fairness, so thank you to Lando and Oscar.”