Christmas Eve paddock notebook: Verstappen’s ear test, Russell’s reset, Hamilton’s nudge to Norris, and a Schumacher bar that wasn’t supposed to be one
The lights are turning off at the factories, but the storylines aren’t. Here’s what’s been humming around the F1 world as we slide into the holidays.
Verstappen gives RBPT–Ford its first verdict
Max Verstappen has already had a listen to Red Bull Powertrains’ first in-house F1 engine, built in partnership with Ford for the 2026 regulations. His take? Clean, sharp, the kind of note you expect from a unit that’s been sweated over in dynos and sealed rooms all autumn. This isn’t just a new sound for Red Bull; it’s a new era. The world champions have spent years preparing to control their own power story, and Verstappen’s early approval is exactly the kind of quiet tick you want on the eve of the next rulebook.
Russell on 2025: less force, more finesse
George Russell heads into Christmas calling 2025 his best F1 season to date, and the reasoning tracks. With Lewis Hamilton gone to Ferrari, Russell assumed the Mercedes frontman role and recalibrated his approach. He’s been candid that in the Hamilton years he pushed over the edge at times to test himself against the sport’s most decorated driver. This season he dialed it back, found the groove, and the results followed. It’s the sort of subtle leadership shift Mercedes needed—and Russell, now the senior hand, made it without the drama.
Hamilton’s simple message that hit home for Norris
Before Abu Dhabi, with the title on the line, Hamilton reached out to Lando Norris with something basic and, as it turned out, invaluable: keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing. No grand lecture, no heavy guidance—just a reminder to trust the form that got him to the brink. Norris finished the job and banked his first world championship that weekend. Hamilton, ever the competitor, sounded genuinely proud. There’s a certain symmetry in the sport’s past encouraging its present.
Piastri’s near-miss and a winter brief from Johnny Herbert
Oscar Piastri was one of the three still in the title picture heading into the finale, but in the end he landed third in the standings. A six‑race run without a podium mid-season did real damage to an otherwise title-calibre campaign. Johnny Herbert didn’t sugarcoat it, calling it the kind of championship that should’ve been wrapped, and he’s urged Piastri to lean on manager Mark Webber to tighten the mental screws this winter. Harsh? Maybe. Useful? Almost certainly. Piastri’s raw pace isn’t in question; sustaining it when the calendar bites is the next step.
A Schumacher tale from the hotel bar that wasn’t
And for a slice of classic F1 folklore: former Top Gear and Grand Tour producer Andy Wilman recounted the time he accidentally conjured a private bar for Michael Schumacher at an Italian hotel. With the room effectively his, Schumacher reportedly got candid—on Mika Häkkinen’s pace, on that famous clash with Jacques Villeneuve, on the inner workings of a champion’s mind. It reads like a scene from a lost documentary: unguarded, late-night, utterly compelling.
A few final sips before the break
– Red Bull’s first power unit of its own, with Ford logos beside it, is edging from theory to reality—and Verstappen’s reaction is the right kind of early signal.
– Russell’s post-Hamilton evolution at Mercedes looked less like a personality transplant and more like a pilot refining inputs. The lap time noticed.
– Norris got the simplest advice in the book and turned it into the most complicated achievement in motorsport.
– Piastri has the speed. If he returns in March with a steelier rhythm, no one will be surprised.
– And Schumacher stories… they never get old.
Enjoy the quiet while it lasts. Testing whispers aren’t far away, and 2026’s new world is already clearing its throat.
