F1 mailbag: Fixing Ferrari and which driver has the edge in the 2025 title fight

New York Times

6 hours ago

Formula One's 2025 Canadian Grand Prix looked set to be a quieter race, up until the final laps when the McLaren cars tangled.
It was a moment that was bound to happen, given how Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are allowed to race by McLaren, but Norris owned up to his mistake — apologizing to his teammate quickly after the race in the media pen. But the ambitious move that led to the collision carried an impact on the driver standings, with Piastri extending his championship lead while Max Verstappen and George Russell closed in.
Advertisement
There was plenty of interest post-race, as it took the FIA stewards more than five hours to confirm Russell won the Canadian GP, after Red Bull lodged protests. It marked Mercedes' first victory of the season and a one-three finish for the team, as Kimi Antonelli secured his first F1 podium finish.
Meanwhile, four midfield teams secured crucial points in the 'best of the rest' battle that Williams currently leads. The biggest surprise here may be that Nico Hülkenberg brought home four more points with his eighth-place finish, increasing Sauber's total for the season to 20 (all of which have come from the German driver). That's already the most from the team since 2022, when Alfa Romeo finished sixth with 55 points.
The paddock is now settling into a non-race week, and reviews of 'F1: The Movie' are dominating headlines. But, there's still sporting action to discuss from Canada, so let's get into your mailbag questions.
Editor's note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
It is pretty clear that McLaren is going to win the team championship, but who do you think will win the drivers' championship? Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, or a surprise appearance for Leclerc or Russell? — Ernesto S
Piastri's consistency and racecraft have been remarkable this season, and it is just his third year on the grid. Before the Canadian GP, he had a streak of eight consecutive podium finishes, five of which were victories. It has helped that McLaren has provided him (and Norris) with an extremely competitive car, but Piastri has consistently delivered across different conditions and track types, with his error frequency being on the lower side.
Historically, you just can't rule Max Verstappen out, though his chances will depend on Red Bull's upgrades more than his driving ability (and if he can avoid a race ban for Austria or Silverstone). I am curious about Russell — if Mercedes unlocks more potential in its car. It's not to McLaren's level yet, but the Briton has been able to capitalize on key moments. Take his Austrian GP win last year, where he was in the right place at the right time and won after Verstappen and Norris collided.
Advertisement
It is fascinating how close the top four drivers are. Sixty-two points cover them, and third-place Verstappen is closer to fourth-place Russell than Norris (though also by just a few points). It is a long season ahead, with 14 race weekends left (four of which include sprint races), and anything could happen. But this is Piastri's to lose. — Madeline Coleman
What steps can Ferrari take to get back to consistently competing with the best teams? — Diana R.
There was a little bit of an awkward moment during the drivers' parade before the race on Sunday involving Lewis Hamilton. After one of his better qualifying performances this season, securing fifth place on the grid, Hamilton was asked about the boost provided by recent upgrades to his Ferrari F1 car.
Off-mic, Hamilton shook his head and quietly told the host there hadn't been any upgrades. He laughed it off, but it did speak to the struggle Ferrari is facing: it still needs a performance boost if it seriously wants to get into the thick of the fight with McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes. Tweaks are, however, predicted for the upcoming Austria and Silverstone races.
Hamilton's hopes of a good result in Canada, one of his favorite races, were ultimately dashed when he picked up damage after hitting a groundhog. Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, was left confused by the team's strategy call — having gone long on the opening stint, but never seemed like a genuine threat to the leaders and lacking the outright pace of Lando Norris on the same strategy.
Ferrari could also do with a tidier operation. The strategy calls and communications have seemed messy at times this year, with Leclerc in Canada just the latest example. Team principal Fred Vasseur explained post-race that doing a 50-lap stint on hards would have been a big ask, although the one-stop strategy was pulled off by Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz, suggesting that it was possible.
Advertisement
Right now, the pace isn't quite there for Ferrari. The team still needs to be quite extreme with car setup to get it into a good window for the drivers. Although it has made progress in recent races, with 2026 looking promising, it may be folly to dwell too much on getting back into contention this year. — Luke Smith
Ending under a safety car is a very underwhelming and anticlimactic finish. What are your thoughts on the FIA adopting a Green/White/Checker style restart so we get two overtime laps under normal racing (including the last lap with DRS enabled)? — Mike Y.
Although I don't think Verstappen stood a chance of catching Russell without the safety car, the fight ending a little early was somewhat disappointing.
But I don't see F1 going down the route of adopting a NASCAR-style green and white checkered to ensure the race finishes with racing action. There are firm regulations in place for the length of grands prix and the number of laps for each race, while it may also leave drivers sweating on fuel if a race does end up going into overtime.
It really would depend on how artificial (for want of a better word) F1 wants to get with the rulebook for restarts. We can't really talk about this topic without referencing Abu Dhabi in 2021, where then-race director Michael Masi's insistence on resuming the race led to him misreading the regulations entirely and wrongly restarting the race, which allowed Verstappen to overtake Hamilton and snatch the title away.
One conversation I've had a few times with people reflecting on that evening in Abu Dhabi is that, if there were such a keenness from race control to ensure we finished the season with actual racing, then a red flag in response to Nicholas Latifi's crash would have been the best course of action. That would have set up the late restart and given a chance to pause.
If F1 and the FIA wanted to write something into the regulations to prevent a race from ending under the safety car, it would need to be some provision that, if the safety car is deployed within X laps of the end, then it's an automatic red flag. But that seems forced for an issue that, while disappointing, is rather rare. — Luke Smith
We are approaching the halfway point of the calendar, and have a clear top four and bottom six. Of the six midfielders, which constructor do you think has the highest potential to shuffle the order? Is it due to their drivers' growth within the team, upgrades, another team's lack of upgrades, or something else entirely? — Mr. M
Williams has surprised me because the team stopped developing its car months ago. Team principal James Vowles said in Montreal that they 'pulled the car out of the (wind) tunnel on January 2nd on purpose' because the regulations change next season. It's essentially 'a clean sheet of paper — you redraw everything. There's no carryover,' he added.
Advertisement
Yet, without developing this year's challenger, Williams leads the 'best of the rest' battle with a 27-point lead over sixth-place Haas. The Grove-based team benefits from its experienced driver lineup of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, a new pairing this year after Ferrari opted to sign Hamilton and not extend Sainz's contract. While this will help the team's future, the bigger question right now is how long Williams can outperform its closest rivals that are still developing the current car.
Haas and Racing Bulls are Williams' big threats this season, and if Liam Lawson were to perform more consistently for Racing Bulls, like rookie Isack Hadjar, I think the team could pose a greater threat to Williams. But given how seven spots in the top 10 are essentially claimed by the drivers of the top four teams, consistent points positions are rare when six teams are vying for those remaining three spots.
Williams' lack of development makes it vulnerable, and Hadjar has been rather quick as of late, although he struggled with the car in Canada. — Madeline Coleman
(Top photo of Carlos Sainz:)