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My Season 65 Winners and Disappointments (F1)

26.05.2026 - Based on the Formula 1 forum and inspired by torbar4life's Press Release, here are my “winners and disappointments” of Season 65. Due to my English not being perfect I apologise for using Deepl Translator:

*** Winner: Michаel Novikov (5th)
After winning four Drivers’ World Championships with Ferrari and briefly racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing, Russian driver Michael Novikov decided to make a fresh start and begin a new chapter at Senna Racing F1. At the age of 39, a time when many successful drivers (un)like him are already moving on to veterans’ series before hanging up their helmets, Novikov has shown he can defy the passage of time by being the only non-Red Bull/Porsche driver to have won races this season. He has also secured two further podium finishes, doubling his team-mate’s points tally, and propelled the fifth car on the grid into the top five of the Drivers’ Championship.

*** Disappointment: Bernardo Reckziegell (10th)
Expectations were high for the slightly less experienced Reckziegell, who was facing his first challenge with a top-tier team after having convincingly beaten his teammates at Lotus, WRT Spyker and Aston Martin. However, despite what appeared to be a promising start, Reckziegell has suffered the biggest relative setback of the season, with just two top-five finishes and scoring less than half the points of his team-mate Starostachev. It is worth noting that Reckziegell has not managed to improve on his starting position in any of the 24 races in the Formula 1 championship. Let’s hope a second season at Toyota Gazoo Racing goes better for him.

** Winner: Andrej Vidmar (1st)
Even though the Porsche was the strongest car this season (by a narrow margin), Andrej Vidmar has managed to outperform the two Red Bull drivers through consistency and hard work. With just four wins – the same as his team-mate – he has scored 18 podium finishes out of 24 and picked up points in every race, a feat that also highlights the reliability of his car. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Clunker on his first Drivers’ Championship victory.

** Disappointment: Robert Kubica IV (9th)
In this case, my lack of experience in Formula 1 means I cannot say whether this is down to ‘the rookie driver syndrome’, bad luck or his manager’s shortcomings, but it is clear that Robert Kubica IV has had a rather tough time this season against the aforementioned Novikov, and given the circumstances mentioned earlier, I believe his performance has fallen short of what might be expected. Nevertheless, he has delivered on the performance of his car, and that has helped Senna finish ahead of Toyota this season.

* Winner: Aleksey Romadov (15th)
It seems Russian MRC drivers age like fine wine. At 39 years old and with a clear lack of skill, Aleksey Romadov’s manager has capitalised on the competitive Jordan car, guiding it to Q3 in Barcelona and securing points on four occasions. At the same time, he has outperformed his teammate Michalovič, who is the same age and a curious two-wheeled specialist.

* Disappointment: Luka Zakrajšek (4th)
Last but not least, the main reason why Porsche didn't win their fourth Constructors' Championship and first in the last 13 seasons. Leading the Drivers' Championship early on, the Slovenian driver retired four times between races 5 and 12, and added two more retirements in the second half of the season, 4 of them caused by its own mistakes. Even if Luka still scored points in all races he finished and scored 15 podiums, it was definitely not enough to stop the Red Bull pair. Hopefully next season will be his chance to effectively contend his second Drivers' World Championship.