Insider tip says Ferrari now ahead of McLaren – Formula One is a fickle sport and one which does not always rewards the talent and efforts of those who compete. Since the turn of the millennium, being with the right team and in the right car has been an important factor as to whether a driver can eve win Grand Prix, never mind consider becoming champion for the season.

Formula One over the past two and half decades has become a sport dominated by a team and a driver more so than in its previous fifty years of history. By the end of 2005 Ferrari had racked up six consecutive constructor titles and Schumacher five WDC’s on the run. McLaren should have dominated the neater, but ructions between Hamilton and Alonso as team mates allowed Kimi Raikkonen to sneak through in 2007 and beat the McLaren pair both by a single point to the title.

2008 was Hamilton’s first WDC, but McLaren lost again again by fine margins to the Scuderia in the WCC. Brawn GP then delivered a once in a lifetime season wining both titles with Jensen button in 2009 and then it was the turn of Red Bull and Vettel to dominate from 2010-2013.

 

 

 

Modern F1 era of dominance

Then came the biggest change in F1 regulations history as the new V6 turbo hybrids became the sport’s powertrain of choice and Mercedes smashed it out of the park, wining a unprecedented eight consecutive team championships together with seven driver titles from 2014-2021. The it was the changing of the guard, with Red Bull the top team across the 2022-2025 regulation era.

Fernando Alonso is widely accepted as one of the best F1 drivers of all time, yet against the greats, his two world titles feel the Spaniard has underdelivered on his talent. His move to McLaren was the right call in 2007, but favouritism from Ron Dennis towards his protege Lewis Hamilton soured the relationships within the garage and Fernando returned to Renault somewhat with his tail between his legs.

There should have been another two championships for Alonso as his move to Ferrari coincided with a resurgence in their engineering prowess. He led the 2010 championship going into the final round, but a stubborn drive from Vitaly Petrov, ironically in a Renault,  frustrated the Spaniard for the final 40 laps meaning Vettel who won the race, was now leading the championship for the first time that season and by just three points – and of course when it mattered most.

Fans of Ferrari are similar to those who support the likes of English Premier League top team, Tottenham Hotspur. They have an appearance of flair, their budget is up there with the top teams, the stadium is state of the art in England and expectations each year are high for success. Yet year after year, Spurs never fail to disappoint. Always the bridesmaid and never the bride.

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Ferrari won the final quarter of 2024

Well Ferrari fans maybe in for a treat in 2025, as the cycle which sees F1 teams rise and fall appears to be in their favour. Whilst the headline from Abu Dhabi 2024 was McLaren claiming their first constructors championship since 1998, Ferrari were the team on form and fell just short at the last hurdle.

As the teams entered the final two triple header weekends of the season, McLaren were leading the constructors title race, Red Bull were second and Ferrari were 75 points behind the papa liveried team. As the chequered flag fell in Abu Dhabi, the gap was down to just 14 points, and whilst McLaren received al the glory, Ferrari engineers knew their car had been the better machine for the last quarter of the year.

Lewis Hamilton decided to leave McLaren in 2012 when the Mercedes team were nothing to write home about and at that time McLaren, whilst not at their best were always a challenger for race wins and pushing Red Bull. The year Lewis gave his cards in to Ron Dennis, Mercedes finished the seasons nowhere, in the Aston Martin spot down in fifth.

Yet Hamilton caught the silver arrows team on the up, and the rest is history. Ferrari’s end of year charge for glory in 2024 would suggest given the stable regulations they will be fighting at the very front this year with Hamilton and Leclerc hungry for success. There is true momentum in Maranello presently.

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Brundle suggests inside info in Maranello

Martin Brundle appears to claim some inside knowledge as to how the teams have been progressing over the winter in his latest report for Sky F1. “At the moment, the feeling is Ferrari might have improved their car a little bit more than, say, McLaren or others.

“What I do know is that the regulations are very mature and so, we’re not expecting one team to suddenly jump ahead, because they’re reaching the peak, in their last season with these regulations, how the cars can perform,” explained the former team mate of Michael Schumacher.

Brundle makes the point that with the regulations now in their fourth consecutive year, the improvements will be more marginal and hence the top three teams of 2024, should be even more closely matched this year. He clearly has an in with McLaren given he claims, “We know McLaren are confident in their data as well, of what their new car looks like.”

“It should be one of the greatest seasons in Formula 1 history. It should be so close, and whoever wins it will win a great championship,” the ex-McLaren driver opines.

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Hamilton catches Ferrari on the up

In terms of Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes who have been in the doldrums for three years looks a good one, although as most of his critics point out, his qualifying pace will need to improve given his team mate has already racked up 26 pole positions in his short career.

“Let’s imagine Silverstone last year,” Brundle said. “When he had a chance to win the British GP, he won it. He won in Spa but that was a little bit lucky because George got disqualified. Lewis was extraordinary all through practice in Las Vegas and then fluffed it in qualifying, something he didn’t used to do much, and then was extraordinary in the race.”

Yet Brundle admits Hamilton is past his prime, “I think it’s behind him,” admits the Sky F1 presenter. “I think he’s lost an edge with age, as you do. Sometimes he gets in scuffles that he used to emerge out of, but he doesn’t now, or he’ll make a mistake in qualifying.”

It is these concerns that will define Hamilton’s time with Ferrari. Track position will be ever more important at the start of this year’s Grand Prix and whilst Hamilton may have the better race craft than his team mate, Leclerc just needs to improve his consistency by a point or two and it will be incredibly difficult for Lewis to beat him.

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Hamilton now speaks about the “risk” of Ferrari

Any Formula One driver worth his salt would like th opportunity to drive for the sports most iconic team. Yet any F1 driver wanting to win something big, should note Ferrari haven’t been at the races in that respect since Kimi Raikkonen pipped both McLaren drivers by one point to the 2007 championship.

Yet Ferrari are on the longest run in their history since winning a constructors’ championship with Michael Schumacher back in 2004. That year was the team’s six consecutive team title but prior to the win in 1999, Ferrari suffered their second longest drought without a trophy since 1950.

Choosing Ferrari has proven to be a risk for a number of F1’s top performers. Fernando Alonso joined the red team for the 2010 season and completed five years in Italy without adding to his two drivers championships. Yet the talks could have been so different… READ MORE