Charles Leclerc claimed his seventh podium for Ferrari this season last time out in Mexico, but his second place may have been saved by a late Virtual Safety Car. Max Verstappen on an alternative tyre strategy had closed a twelve second gap after his pit stop to the Ferrari driver and was battling with Leclerc as Carlos Sainz car came to a halt in the stadium section.
Ferrari are in a tight battle for second place in the constructor’s championship, just a point ahead of Mercedes and ten ahead of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. With Lewis Hamilton scoring just 146 points this year, Leclerc’s 210 have not been enough to see of their main two rivals.
Yet Leclerc is dismissive of the importance of finishing second or lower, given the massive points differential to McLaren who won the team trophy with six race weekends remaining.
Ferrari “not good enough”
“It’s not good enough, no,” said the Monegasque driver. “I think when you drive for such a team, the only thing that is good enough is to win. But it’s also true to say that we are against a very, very strong competition and also teams that have a lot of history in the sport and that are very special in their own way. So, it’s not easy.
“But I think, as Ferrari, when you work for such an incredible brand, it’s not good enough and you’ve got to target winning.”
Hopes were high for Ferrari coming into 2025 given across the final six races they had closed a 74 point gap to the leaders to just fourteen come the curtain falling in Abu Dhabi. Yet a strange decision to build an “all new car,” as team boss Fred Vasseur described the SF-25, in the final year of this set of technical regulations has the the team nowhere again in terms of a title fight.
Ferrari have now surpassed their previous longest drought without a constructors’ title which was sixteen long seasons between between 1984-1999. It was 2008 when the championship last went to the Maranello based team, with drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Mekies facing Red Bull internal battle
In other paddock news, Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies may be about to suffer similar internal political wrangling that did his predecessor as the Red Bull and Racing Bull’s lineups for 2026 are to be decided. At the US Grand Prix in Texas, Dr. Helmut Marko had declared this would be revealed after the Mexican Grand Prix, yet this failed to come to pass.
When Mekies joined Red Bull it was envisioned his role would be more narrow than his predecessor Christian Horner, who had a broad remit across all aspects of the Milton Keynes based team. After much talk of Arvid Lindblad joining the Racing Bulls in 2026 back in September, Mekies was asked about the potential driver lineup for the two teams next season, he refused to be drawn on the matter stating, “its a question for Helmut [Marko].”
It now appears Laurent is taking a different position on the matter and reports from Autoweb have suggested the Austrian owners wish to expand his role having recognised his broad skill set. From his comments Dr. Marko has implied that Yuki Tsunoda would be replaced by Isack Hadjar, and Arvid Lindblad would join the Racing Bulls alongside Liam Lawson.
A team insider has revealed there is a disagreement between Mekies and Marko over Tsunoda, who suffered a lack of pre-season testing in the RB21 and has frequently not had the upgrades of his team mate for a number of weeks. Its believed that Dr. Helmut Marko pressed for Liam Lawson to replace the outgoing Sergio Perez, a decision which stood for just two race weekends at the start of this season.
Vettel changes 2025 F1 champion prediction
Red Bull boss believed to favour Tsunoda
With a massive technical regulation change coming in 2026, Mekies is circumspect about blooding the 18 year old rookie driver Lindblad, whose form in F2 has been variable this season. Tsunoda too has been much closer to Max Verstappen since he has received the same upgrades. The Japanese driver has scored more points for the team in the last four race weekends than during the rest of the season and his qualifying time in Mexico Q2 was less than three tenths of a second behind Verstappen’s.
A poor pit stop from the Red Bull team saw Yuki fall out of the points paying position in Mexico. Team boss Mekies talked up the performance of his Japanese driver. “I think Yuki had his best weekend in a long time,” he told assembled media. “So, we have said that a few times, but it is true. It was very, very close in quali to Max. I think it was two-tenths in Q2. And the first hint was very, very strong as well, two-tenths, three-tenths from Max, on the same very long first stint on the medium.”
“Then after, fair enough, I think after, I think it’s on our side, we left him out a little bit longer because there was an advantage for us to do that. And we had a slight pit stop [issue]. So, we killed a few points that you could have scored on merit,” concluded Mekies.
Verstappen questions McLaren’s treatment of Piastri as Norris takes control
Marko sidelined?
Marko may well be sidelined as the future structures of the Red Bull team takes shape. He has made previously disastrous decisions on the driver line ups for the teams. Just prior to the mid season sacking of Nyck de Vries, Marko was asked on the Inside Line podcast if he and Horner often disagreed over signings. “Basically it’s AlphaTauri, but we’re a big family and we get opinions. He [Horner] was not a fan of De Vries. I would say at the moment it looks like he was right.”
With Jack Doohan announcing he was off to Japanese Super Formula this week, it seems probable Alpine will retain the services of Franco Colapinto. This would mean should Marko get his way and Lindblad join the F1q grid, then only the Red Bull would be blooding new drivers in their teams, something not ideal with the potential chaos of the new technical regulations.
[Join the debate in the comments section below]
Late F1 rule changes being debated for 2026
Formula One is embarking on the biggest experiment in its 75 year history for next season. There will be radical changes to the technical regulations for both engines and chassis but there remain concerns over how the new higher powered hybrids will actually work.
The FIA earlier this year held a pow wow in Bahrain in an attempt to persuade the manufacturers to agree to a reduction in the 50/50 split between the electrical power and that fro the internal combustion engine. At least two refused to countenance the matter.
Both the FIA and FOM’s CEO Stefan Domenicali responded in unison, talking down the incoming power units as “complex” and highly “expensive.” It could even see the FIA shorten the cycle of the 2026 powertrains to introduce something simpler and more economic as early as 2030…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
