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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
A common theme of any modern F1 season appears to be Red Bull making important driver decisions over a period of months, and while there was plenty of interest over the Yuki Tsunoda/Liam Lawson swap in late March, it was beaten in reader interest by Red Bull making its 2026 decision.
9 - McLaren Abu Dhabi team-mates overtake wasn't what it seemed
http://the-race.com/formula-1/mclaren-abu-dhabi-team-mates-overtake-wasnt-what-it-seemed/
When the Sunday night heat of the title fight had faded, The Race picked over the key events that led to Lando Norris’s title win and, combined with something we’d heard from McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, we realised the opening-lap overtake between Oscar Piastri and Norris wasn’t what it seemed.
8 - Horner’s shock exit
http://the-race.com/formula-1/what-we-learned-christian-horner-red-bull-f1-exit-how-it-happened/
Few foresaw F1’s longest-serving team boss being removed mid-season, but that’s exactly what happened in July when Christian Horner was suddenly axed from his role as Red Bull team principal.
Our story revealed the reasons behind the shock move and how it happened.
7 - Why Verstappen didn’t play games in Abu Dhabi
http://the-race.com/formula-1/why-max-verstappen-did-not-play-games-steal-f1-title-lando-norris/
Some wondered what lengths Max Verstappen would go to secure the 2025 title, given sim winning the Abu Dhabi GP wasn’t going to be enough.
But Verstappen didn’t try anything like Lewis Hamilton did in 2016 for a variety of reasons, explained in one of numerous post-race analysis pieces.
6 - British GP classic cars damaged
http://the-race.com/formula-1/thousands-of-pounds-of-damage-done-to-british-gp-classic-cars/
The British Grand Prix produced plenty of on-track headlines this year but a bizarre off-track story caught the most eyes, as “several thousands of pounds of damage” was done to classic cars on display at Silverstone on the Friday before the race.
5 - Russell takes aim at McLaren team order stance
Thankfully for McLaren it never had to answer the uncomfortable question of how team orders would have looked in the Abu Dhabi finale.
But the team’s suggestion that it could before the weekend prompted criticism from George Russell on Thursday.
4 - McLaren's 'clever' brake design
http://the-race.com/formula-1/clues-emerging-from-clever-mclaren-brake-design/
Much of McLaren’s early-season advantage came from a clever brake design that had its rivals scratching their heads.
We were able to get some clues of exactly what it entailed, with some help from technical illustrator Rosario Giuliana and ex-F1 technical director Gary Anderson.
3 - How to improve overtaking at Monaco
After F1’s attempt to spice up the Monaco GP with a mandatory two stop fell flat, Grand Prix Drivers' Association chairman Alex Wurz outlined three alternative ways to improve overtaking.
2 - A 2026 engine loophole controversy
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/trick-at-centre-of-2026-f1-engine-loophole-controversy/
The second most read story of this year was one all about next year and the first hint of a manufacturer (or two in this case) gaining an advantage.
We explained how Mercedes and Red Bull Powertrains had found a loophole that could be worth up to four tenths per lap at some circuits.
1 - Verstappen's angry reaction to a press conference question
http://the-race.com/formula-1/max-verstappen-angry-reaction-to-george-russell-regret-question/
The most read news story of the year proved to be one of the final ones as Verstappen was irritated by a question in the post-race press conference in Abu Dhabi.
He was probed about his red mist moment in Barcelona and whether the lost points there had cost him the title.
