Why Mercedes went from F1 dominator to four years of failure
Mercedes is tipped by many to be back on top in Formula 1 for the start of the new regulations era in 2026. There are good reasons for this, given the team’s illustrious history, the quality of its personnel, top-notch facilities, spectacular success last time the engine regulations were overhauled in 2014, and it being at the centre of an early potential 2026 loophole. However, there are also dou...
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Mercedes is tipped by many to be back on top in Formula 1 for the start of the new regulations era in 2026. There are good reasons for this, given the team’s illustrious history, the quality of its personnel, top-notch facilities, spectacular success last time the engine regulations were overhauled in 2014, and it being at the centre of an early potential 2026 loophole. However, there are also dou...
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Why Mercedes went from F1 dominator to four years of failure
Four mistakes Mercedes made in the ground effect era that it can't afford to repeat in this new cycle
The FIA says it will step in and take action to ensure that overtaking in Formula 1 is neither too difficult nor too hard with the new 2026 rules.A total revamp of the regulations for the new season has thrown up a lot of uncertainty about just what the wheel-to-wheel racing is going to be like. While the FIA and F1 are hopeful that a combination of active aero and an engine overtake mode will spi...
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Presented by ShellShell’s partnership with Scuderia Ferrari HP in the Formula 1 World Championship stretches all the way back to the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. The latest step in its remarkable journey of technology and innovation is the introduction of Advanced Sustainable race fuels in 2026.History of Race Fuels from 1950 to todaySo what exactly are Advanced Sustainable race fuels and how big a cha...
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No other country even comes close to matching the level of success the UK has enjoyed in the Formula 1 world championship, with Lando Norris becoming the 11th different driver from a cold, wet island in the North Sea to claim motorsport’s biggest prize.It was only a blown tyre that prevented a Brit from being crowned champ during every decade of the world championship era, and with yet another hig...
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Formula 1’s (joint-) longest season ever produced plenty of news, from shock sackings to driver market drama to a surprise title fight. Below you’ll find the 10 F1 stories you engaged with the most on The Race in 2025. 10 - Red Bull makes its 2026 F1 driver call 
The 2025 Formula 1 season comprised 594 race drives, if you include the sprints and account for occasions where cars did not start, with 20 drivers on the grid and a total of 30 races.We’ve picked out the best and the worst by each driver.This factors in their performance and execution relative to the machinery, as well as myriad other considerations, including mistakes or the lack thereof. And re...
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Alpine was a dismal, distant last in Formula 1 in 2025, with some small consolation in that it is the best worst team in F1 history.No team has ever finished last while scoring as many points as Alpine, even though it finished 48 points behind the next-lowest team, Sauber.And while its car was just about the slowest on average, the Alpine wasn't irredeemably bad, as its qualifying results show.Pie...
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Every now and then, a Formula 1 season produces a rookie crop that goes on to have a profound impact on grand prix racing. Based on the evidence so far, 2025 could be one of those. It’s far too early for bold declarations about it matching up to some of the great rookie fields in history, such as 2001 when Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso were among the newcomers, or 2007, wh...
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Formula 1’s ground effect regulations of 2022 to 2025 were the most thoroughly researched, systematically-written and well-conceived in the history of grand prix racing. But the cars it created ultimately became exactly what the rules set out to avoid, extremely difficult to race thanks to how difficult it became to follow.They produced enormous levels of downforce and were seriously fast, and wer...
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Just under a couple of years ago, I posited the question: how can anyone really be confident that Ferrari's marquee signing, Lewis Hamilton, will be a definite upgrade on Carlos Sainz when time rolls around to make the switch?The argument against this was laid out in the column was, in truth, a slightly detuned version of itself, just out of a worry of coming off as contrarianism-for-clicks amid t...
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Max Verstappen’s long-time race engineer and friend Gianpiero Lambiase is being targeted by Aston Martin for a senior role, The Race can reveal. Lambiase’s future at Red Bull had been the source of speculation after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, following an emotional exchange on the team radio with Verstappen post-race.With Verstappen’s victory not quite enough to secure him the title, Lambiase said:...
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As Formula 1 heads into the new regulations in 2026, we reflect on how well each of the 10 teams performed across the ground-effect rules era that finished this year. It's a results-based business, so the numbers carry the most weight when it comes to this ranking. However, we also factor in the overall progress made and the quality of a team's execution.10th SauberBest drivers’ championship: 10th...
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When it comes to reviewing a long, hard Formula 1 season fairly, you must avoid falling into the trap of the final part of the year being so fresh in your memory. It’s the points scored over all 24 events, sprint races and all, that matter, so to avoid that recency bias, it’s important to remember that the numbers don’t lie and allow you to see the real shape of the season for the 10 teams.To put ...
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Formula 1's ground effect cars are on their way out just four years after their introduction, as the championship has pivoted with a massive chassis/engine reset.The final campaign of this abandoned ruleset, 2025, was marked by ever-increased convergence but a continued decline in the cars' raceability.Like in any rules era, there have been highs and lows - but what is the overall verdict on the 2...
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The flaring up of a dispute between manufacturers over Formula 1’s 2026 engine rules has inevitably triggered doomsday fears about its potential impact on next season.There has been hype that the start of the year could be overshadowed by a protest lodged against Mercedes and even Red Bull at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.Another outcome that has been mentioned, with sources suggesting ...
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Five engine manufacturers will provide power units for the Formula 1's next rules cycle, which begins in 2026 and will run until the end of the 20230 season.That's an increase of one compared to the current list of providers, with Audi and a Ford-supported Red Bull Powertrains programme joining Ferrari, Mercedes and Honda - somewhat off-setting the loss of Renault at the end of 2025. Here's the co...
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The FIA has cut off another avenue of potential exploitation with the new Formula 1 engine rules for 2026, offering further evidence that manufacturers have been probing grey areas.While a major controversy has blown up about potential exploitation of compression ratio limits, a recent change to F1's technical regulations has highlighted that this is not the only place where there has been some un...
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The more tightly any set of regulations is defined, the more it tempts people to search for solutions to gain an advantage - or, as those who don't come up with such ideas would call it, exploit "grey areas". It's a bit like if you tell a kid not to do something - it's offering them an invitation to do something they would never otherwise have thought of.This new controversy over Mercedes and Red ...
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Unreliability always adds a frisson of excitement to a race. It’s a feeling that’s become increasingly uncommon in Formula 1 in the 21st century, to the point where mechanical failures are vanishingly rare. But the introduction of the 2026 engines might change that, albeit only temporarily, with Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin suggesting there will be “more jeopardy” thanks ...
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Alpine had a terrible 2025 Formula 1 season on track, but the true extent of its failure can only be fairly judged next year.There's a chance - and so lacking in credibility has the team become in recent years thanks to its poor performances and revolving-door leadership that this cannot be taken on trust - that 2025 might even go down as a success when you consider the big picture.Seeking the pos...
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