F1 notebook: Ford’s first laps with Red Bull loom, Verstappen tops bosses’ vote, and Bearman plays the long game
The factories are quiet, the dynos aren’t. With 2026 creeping into view, Ford has offered a steady-as-she-goes update on its first Formula 1 power unit with Red Bull, Max Verstappen has been handed a familiar off-season accolade by his rivals’ bosses, and Oliver Bearman is keeping his Ferrari hopes tidy as he heads toward the new ruleset. Plus, a reflective note on Heinz-Harald Frentzen and a moment of pause for Michael Schumacher.
Red Bull–Ford: calm voices before the first roar
Ford Racing’s global director Mark Rushbrook says the Red Bull–Ford project is where it needs to be as the first full track running for 2026 spec hardware draws near. The message: confidence without chest-beating.
“We are to plan, so where we need to be, but it all comes together when it’s actually in the car and on track,” Rushbrook said, stressing that the first proper test will be the real audit of three years’ graft. The labs and sims can take you only so far; it’s the out-lap that tells the truth. “Until you get it all together on an actual racetrack, you haven’t seen everything. And it’s a question of what are you going to see on track that you didn’t see in the lab.”
No scare stories, no guarantees either. In other words: exactly the tone you want to hear from an engine partner on the brink of a new rules era.
Verstappen voted best by the bosses — again
He didn’t win the 2025 title — that went to Lando Norris, as confirmed in the 2025 Formula One World Championship standings — but Verstappen did win the esteem of his peers’ leaders. Formula 1’s annual team principals’ poll has crowned the Dutchman the best driver of the season for the fifth year running, with Norris second.
These votes tend to prize raw execution and relentless speed over the arithmetic that decides the championship. It’s a reminder that inside the paddock, respect is measured in margins, not medals — even if Norris took the big one in ’25.
Bearman keeps Ferrari talk cool, eyes 2026
Oliver Bearman’s rookie season with Haas in 2025 put him squarely on the Scuderia radar, but he’s not dressing it up. There’s no grand reveal to sell because there’s no decision to reveal.
“No positive or negative feedback,” he said of Ferrari’s internal assessments. “It’s an open discussion. We talk about what challenges I face. Also the future, you know, the next regulations are important. I have the same engine as what they will have.”
That last bit matters. With 2026 ushering in fresh power unit and chassis regulations, staying inside the Ferrari hardware ecosystem is Bearman’s most valuable currency. His stance is pragmatic: there are areas to improve, they’ll come with mileage, and the rest will take care of itself. For a 20-year-old angling at Maranello, it’s the right kind of boring.
Frentzen on burnout: the weight behind the visor
Heinz-Harald Frentzen, once the polished spearhead of Jordan’s 1999 title tilt, offered a strikingly candid look back at 2003, when his return to Sauber left him “burnt out” and, in his words, “overpaid.” The German says the motivation tank ran dry that year — a lesson in how quickly the sport can consume even the sharpest racers when the spark fades.
It’s timely perspective as everyone stares down another seismic regulation shift. The spreadsheets show tenths; the human side still decides outcomes.
Twelve years on: a quiet moment for Michael Schumacher
December 29 marks 12 years since Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident. The seven-time World Champion’s health remains a private matter, as his family has always insisted. That privacy deserves respect. What endures publicly is his sporting legacy — the standard he set, and the competitors he inspired who still line up today.
What’s next
Launch season will be here before the jet lag fades, and the first 2026 runs will finally give shape to all the noise. Ford and Red Bull know that day will speak louder than any factory confidence. Verstappen and Norris will resume their duel with very different targets on their backs. And somewhere in the midfield garage, Bearman will keep his head down, learning, waiting — the long game that sometimes, in F1, turns fast.
