Ferrari’s fourth place in the final Constructors’ standings has now raised demands for explanations from the team’s leadership: “They started in grand style…”
In a season that was expected to mark Ferrari’s long-awaited resurgence, the team instead finds itself closing the year in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, a result that has created more questions than answers. But what does this outcome really mean for the Scuderia, and how might it impact the 2026 season?
The final stretch of this championship has revealed a side of Formula 1 that few anticipated at the beginning of the year. As the Abu Dhabi finale approaches, the Championship seems to have already delivered several verdicts, not all of them in the direction many fans had imagined. The battle for the Drivers’ title turned into a complex puzzle where mistakes, missed strategic calls and sudden twists reshaped the competitive landscape, exposing the weaknesses of teams that only a few months earlier appeared unstoppable.
McLaren, brilliant and incisive for much of the season, showed unexpected limits precisely when the pressure reached its peak. A series of questionable decisions, combined with a lack of clarity in key moments, ultimately paved the way for a once again relentless Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver, in a form seemingly carved for the toughest challenges, capitalized on every moment of weakness from his rivals, reaffirming himself as the defining reference point of this era.
When ambition collides with reality: the moment everything began to crumble
The most complex picture, however, concerns Ferrari, trapped in a cycle of inconsistent results and unfulfilled expectations. It is here that the contradictions between the team’s initial ambitions and what the track ultimately revealed become most evident, creating the impression of an opportunity slowly turning into a burden increasingly difficult to bear. A sharper analysis comes from Pino Allievi’s podcast, where the journalist summarized Maranello’s situation.
“Then there’s Ferrari, which somehow managed to secure fourth place among the Constructors, when a year ago it finished second, just 14 points behind McLaren. An incredible step backward that revives old nightmares and requires a proper discussion with someone at the top who must draw conclusions. They started in grand style, promising big things and announcing both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles. Fred Vasseur and the top management, who had spread excessive optimism before the cars even touched the track, must now explain why the miracle never materialized.”
“Now it’s crucial to prevent this disaster from carrying over into 2026, a season planned by the same working group. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are stuck in the middle. Both protagonists and witnesses of a collapse that was not even remotely foreseeable. On one side you have Charles, with his limitless courage, determination and commitment. On the other, Lewis, with the weight of seven world championships, his immense experience and the disbelief of a failed adventure. Will someone at least be able to explain to them what actually happened?”
With the same leadership steering the crucial 2026 project, the questions hanging over Maranello are bigger than ever. Fourth place is not just a disappointing result – it is a betrayal of the promises made at the start of the year, and the people at the very top now owe everyone an honest reckoning.
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