The 2025 F1 season is over, but that doesn’t mean the news has stopped.
If there was any doubt that the FIA is corrupt, the “news” that Mohammed Ben Sulayem (MBS) was re-elected as president with 91.5% of the vote… but if it sounds a lot like an authoritarian regime, that’s because a “quirk” of the FIA election rules meant three potential candidates could not stand against him: the BBC explained “Presidential candidates must submit a list of their prospective vice-presidents for sport, which must be selected from each of the FIA’s six global regions” but there’s only one candidate from South America and they’re already on MBS’ team, so no-one else can propose a VP and therefore are excluded from standing. Complicated but effective; evil, some might say.
But did you spot the anomaly? Even though he was the only candidate, 8.5% of the clubs eligible to vote didn’t do so. I wonder if MBS will introduce a new rule that makes voting mandatory so next time he can claim 100% support?
It might not be over yet, although I suspect it is; one of the three potential candidates, Swiss racing driver Laura Villars, tried to get the election postponed but the first hearing isn’t scheduled until February. I hope she’s successful but I have very little faith in the FIA changing its ways, unfortunately.
The best post-season news is that Helmut Marko is finally leaving Red Bull. He and Whiny Spice (Christian Horner) are responsible for the toxic environment that has resulted in a team that values despicable behaviour, not just pushing the rules (which all teams do) but blatantly exceeding them and acting surprised when they get penalised.
On a lighter note, there’s a short animated video of the 2025 season, the “wildest qualifying moments“, and F1’s pick of the “Top 23 Dramatic Moments Of The 2025 F1 Season“.
Getting ready for 2026
The schedule for the new season sees Imola replaced by a second race in Spain, but sadly there’s still three GP in USA. Why not drop a US race instead of Imola? (We all know it’s about money, not about which is the better circuit.)
Cadillac has joined as the 11th team, with their engines supplied by Ferrari; Sergio Perez and Valterri Bottas return to F1 as their drivers. As for the other driver changes, they’re within the two Red Bull teams: TSU has been dropped, replaced by HAD, and Arvid Lindblad takes that seat in the junior team. Oh, and Stake F1 (aka Sauber) is now Audi; they retain HUL and BOR.
The biggest unknowns, however, relate to the new specifications and regulations:
- Overtake mode replaces DRS (Drag Reduction System); it’s a power boost that will be enabled if they’re within 1sec of a car, same as DRS.
- Similar but brand new, boost mode is an energy deployment that can be used at any time by the driver.
- Active aero is the new technology to enable dynamic changes to the wing configuration; the ability to reduce the rear wing (“Straight line mode”, SLM) looks a bit like DRS but it’s not restricted by how close you are to another car.
- The power units will still be 1.6 litre hybrid engines but the electric motor output has been tripled so there will be an almost 50:50 split between the two power sources. Recharging has been doubled and can be harvested in more ways, not just under braking.
- Overall, the cars will be 200mm shorter, 100mm narrower, and 30kg lighter; that should help overtaking. There will also be a reduction in downforce and the width of the tyres will be 5% smaller; will that make them less stable?
Sources: [F1 article] [F1 video] [Kym Illman] [Williams]
