Last Updated on January 23 2025, 12:00 pm

The big question on the lips of Formula One fans and pundits alike is, which of Ferrari and McLaren will deliver the best car for the start of the 2025 campaign? Strangely Red Bull Racing are no longer considered in this conversation, yet one thing is for certain Max Verstappen will maximise the performance of whatever his Milton Keynes based team delivers in the shape of a racing car.

The lesson to be learned from last season, is both Ferrari and McLaren must be primed and ready to go from there off in Australia. In 2004, Verstappen won the opening two rounds with ease and would have equalled his record of ten consecutive straight wins in Melbourne but for brake failure causing him to retire after leading the race.

Whilst his seven wins from the first ten races may give the impression the Red Bull car was the quickest early doors, as early as the Emilia-Romagne Grand Prix the data suggests otherwise. Only a stunning final lap in Q3 propelled Max onto pole position which at the circuit called Imola is almost as vital as in Monaco. For there Max’s defensive driving in the Grand Prix ensured Lando Norris could find no way past and the pair took the chequered flag with less than a second between them.

 

 

Verstappen Max’d underperforming car

Yet it was Max’s ability to be consistent even when the RB20 was not, which saw him finish never worse than P6 while his rivals were taking wins and podiums from each other.

Late upgrades improved the RB20 and in the penultimate round of the year in Qatar both Max and Red Bull were back to their imposing best. Of course the RB21 for this seasons challenge will be the first car produced by Red Bull for eighteen years which has no input from their guru designer Adrian Newey.

This in itself will provide sufficient motivation for the design team in Milton Keynes to deliver something special to prove to the world that Christian Horner’s assertions about them are correct. His claims the design team were primarily responsible for recent Red Bull success sowed the seeds of doubt in Newey’s mind, and if his wife is believed was the ultimate reason he chose to leave.

Yet as Verstappen proved when he was in the fourth quickest car across the middle of the 2024 European summer, he is capable of grinding out results when the win is out of reach. Across Max’s Max Verstappen’s ten race win drought where he finished no lower than P6, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had two races where they scored no points, Lando Norris, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton all failed to score in one Grand Prix while Oscar Piastri could only manage two P8’s and a P10 in the final five outings of the year.

RB boss warns Tsunoda

 

 

 

McLaren & Ferrari drivers fail to Max their chances

The Ferrari and McLaren drivers were clearly in quicker cars, yet their race management obvious requires further attention to detail.

Verstappen’s driving attracted attention over the closing rounds of 2024 all beginning with a coming together in Austin Texas with Lando Norris. Next time out the pair dulled on track once more, but this time it was Verstappen who was hit by the stewards with twenty seconds of race time penalties.

The current world champions fighting mentality was forged in furness of the epic duel he encountered with Lewis Hamilton back in 2021. Yet matters didn’t remain in the stewards room as Verstappen accused George Russell of trying to get him punished, whilst the Mercedes driver responded calling Verstappen a “bully” who must be opposed.

Yet now ex-F1 racing driver and Channel 4 F1 presenter claims his experience of Verstappen is quite different from the media portrayals. “He is a very straightforward person, privately. Of course that does not mean that he automatically has the right to always be the character that he is, outspoken, very direct,” says David Coulthard.

Adrian Newey demands Lance Stroll exit

 

 

 

Coulthard backs Verstappen attitude

When asked about the bitter feud in Abu Dhabi between Russell and Verstappen, Coulthard was relaxed. “Some people will love him for that, others will not, in the same way, that Lewis’ behaviour can also be divisive, his behaviour also has a divisive effect.

“Because when you win, you fall into those two camps. Ultimately, these guys just have to be themselves. They will change as life goes on.”

Yet the season ahead threatens more ‘direct’ talking from Max given the latest set of stewarding guidelines published today. Max famously refused to answer questions in the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix FIA press conference having been issued a penalty from the stewards designed to make an example of him.

He later conducted his own press conference away from the eyes of the FIA officials. However a change in the regulations now means even more of the drivers and team buses moments and opinions may fall foul of the catch all clause.

Haas bold rejection of Ferrari sparks drama

 

 

 

FIA new catch all regulations

An all new penalty structure now applies to “any public incitement to violence or hatred” as well as “any misconduct” as defined by Article 20 (“Definitions’) of the ISC. This will include but is not limited to, “the general use of language that is offensive, insulting, coarse, rude or abusive” and acts of “assaulting” and “incitement” to acts that fall into either of the two previous categories.

Unfortunately, offensive is in the eye of the beholder and how the FIA believe they can police this will provide for much interesting copy going forward. Further, the minimum fines have been quadrupled for such offences and should a driver receive three admonishments during the coming season, they will serve a draconian ONE MONTH BAN from F1.

Verstappen has proven the master of understanding the rules and whilst pushing the boundaries boundaries, in terms of sanctions he mostly remains the right side of the line. To push the limits of the FIA’s new morality code proved for interesting watching and will almost inevitably be defined by some particular incident during the early part of the season.

Massive increase in F1 driver punishments

 

 

 

Ferrari solve problem for Hamilton, Mercedes couldn’t fathom

Ferrari address long-standing issue that frustrated Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes – Ferrari have taken a significant step forward in their relationship with Lewis Hamilton by addressing a technical issue that was a persistent frustration for the seven-time world champion during his final years with Mercedes.

The adjustment, which centres on the positioning of the cockpit, marks a conscious effort by the Italian team to accommodate Hamilton’s unique driving preferences and maximise his performance potential… READ MORE