PlanetF1.com’s 10 most popular articles of 2025

Oliver Harden 25 Dec 2025 10:00 AM

Max Verstappen looks on angrily as he wipes his face with a towel

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen wipes his face at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix

From Lando Norris’s maiden title, Lewis Hamilton’s struggles at Ferrari, Christian Horner’s Red Bull exit and Max Verstappen’s meltdown in Barcelona, the F1 2025 season delivered a host of big storylines.

But what have you read most this year? In the spirit of our daily news roundups, here are our 10 most popular articles from 2025…

10: Jeremy Clarkson the latest to poke fun at Lewis Hamilton over Ferrari post

Lewis Hamilton produced the most ‘liked’ F1-related Instagram of all time in January when he posed outside Enzo Ferrari’s former office on his first official day at Maranello.

The post resulted in a number of spoofs with Kurt Klaus, the 91-year-old watchmaker of Mercedes sponsor IWC, even getting in on the act.

None were better that featuring Jeremy Clarkson, who posed on his farm with the caption: “Lewis Clarkilton.”

9: McLaren make withdrawal decision with major announcement expected – report

McLaren announced ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in April that it will enter the hypercar class World Endurance Championship from 2027.

A few weeks later it emerged that the Woking-based operation would be pulling out of the all-electric Formula E series at the end of the 2024/25 season.

The news was officially announced the following day.

8: Spanish GP conclusions: Verstappen ban threat, McLaren secret, wildcard Tsunoda solution

The post-race conclusions feature, published the morning after each race, is one of the most popular articles on PlanetF1.com.

Couple that with one of the most dramatic races of the season in Barcelona, where Max Verstappen’s ugly clash with George Russell put him on the brink of a race ban, and you have a winner.

Verstappen picked up a post-race penalty for the incident, dropping him from fifth to 10th in the final classification and costing him nine points. He went on to miss out on the F1 2025 title by just two.

7: F1 World Champion loses driving licence as Ferrari called for help

Ferrari went 21 years without a drivers’ title following Jody Scheckter’s triumph in 1979.

The South African was left without a driving licence after moving from the United Kingdom to Italy.

Scheckter’s “very poor Italian” left him struggling to pass the driving test in his new surroundings, with the 75-year-old approaching his old team for help.

6: Lewis Hamilton issues fresh Ferrari plea after sudden retirement decision teased

It became clear early on in 2025 that Lewis Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari would be a challenging one.

Appearing at a fan event between the Saudi Arabian and Miami grands prix on late April, Hamilton insisted that he would not give up.

Hamilton failed to register a podium finish across the season for the first time in his F1 career in 2025

5: Franco Colapinto and Sergio Perez lead tributes to popular F1 figure after heartbreaking news

Formula 1 lost a popular figure in March when long-serving cameraman Ulises Panizza died suddenly.

Panizza worked for the likes of Fox and ESPN Latin America died just days before he was due to travel to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and new Cadillac F1 2026 signing Sergio Perez were among those to pay tribute to Panizza.

4: FIA impose further Max Verstappen penalty after Russell Spain GP crash

Max Verstappen had three penalty points added to his superlicence for his collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The decision put Verstappen just one penalty point away from triggering a one-race ban, forcing the Red Bull driver to play nicely at the following rounds in Canada and Austria before his tally began to decrease.

The four-time world champion will start the F1 2026 season on just three penalty points, with Haas driver Oliver Bearman currently the closest to a race ban with 12 penalty points.

3: Lando Norris leads tributes as popular F1 presenter retires

Former ITV F1 presenter Steve Rider retired following the Oulton Park round of the British Touring Car Championship in June.

Rider’s decision to step away came after 75-year-old was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023.

Lando Norris, the McLaren driver and 2025 world champion, was among those to pay tribute to the popular presenter in a video montage.

2: Ferrari breach triggers immediate Le Mans disqualification

The Spanish Grand Prix was billed as a pivotal moment in the F1 2025 season as a new FIA technical directive, aimed at clamping down on so-called flexi wings, was introduced.

A couple of weeks later, the Ferrari factory car of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen was disqualified from the Le Mans 24 Hours over a flexi-wing breach.

It transpired that four bolts were missing from the rear-wing support mechanism of the 499P hypercar, resulting in the car failing deflection tests.

1: Prince William tipped for surprise Sky F1 gridwalk appearance after Brundle receives OBE

Martin Brundle was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the New Year’s Honours List.

The Sky F1 pundit was handed his gong in a ceremony at Windsor Castle in May, with Prince William doing the honours.

William’s appearance led fellow Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok to quip that the Prince of Wales could appear on Brundle’s gridwalk at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Red Bull Lando Norris Martin Brundle Max Verstappen Popular