F1 icon 'seriously worried' over Ferrari future

Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari

F1 icon 'seriously worried' over Ferrari future

Jean Alesi raced for Ferrari between 1991-1995.

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 5 January 2026 10:57

Former Ferrari F1 driver Jean Alesi has slammed 'weak' excuses by Ferrari for their 2025 performance, revealing he is worried about the team's future.

Alesi raced for the Scuderia between 1991 and 1995, claiming one victory and 16 podiums in that time during a period of struggle for the Maranello-based outfit.

Now, the team are experiencing a similar slump, not having claimed a world championship of any kind since 2008 and having had three winless seasons in the last seven.

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In 2025, the team finished down in fourth in the constructors' championship, with new seven-time world champion signing Lewis Hamilton not even able to get himself up onto a grand prix podium.

Ferrari are hoping for improved performance in 2026, when new regulations sweep into the sport, potentially yielding a shake up of the competitive order in F1.

The Scuderia's 2025 performance was partly put down to the fact the team stopped developing their SF-25 in order to focus more closely on the upcoming regulation changes, something that team principal Fred Vasseur admitted pretty early on.

However, Alesi is not accepting that as an excuse for the team's 2025 woes, saying he is worried about the outfit moving forward.

"I am seriously worried about the future," Alesi said, in comments reported by Sport.de. "To say that all development has been stopped in order to prepare the car for next year seems to me to be a very weak excuse."

Can Ferrari bounce back in 2026?

2026 is the final year of Hamilton's current contract, and he will be hoping that Ferrari's 2026 challenger offers him more performance, as well as hoping that the new generation of cars are better suited to his talents.

Hamilton's team-mate Charles Leclerc did make the most of the previous car, claiming seven podiums and finishing 86 points ahead of Hamilton, but even he was frustrated by Ferrari's performance levels throughout the year.

It remains to be seen whether or not Ferrari can provide their drivers with a more consistent car this year, but if they don't, they could face the prospect of having to find two new drivers for 2027.

Neither Hamilton nor Leclerc are likely to want to stick around to race for a team competing in the midfield in F1.

F1 Ferrari Jean Alesi