Well yes, it's been 12 seasons since 2014, when power units took over. At the end of this regulatory era, governed by the most complicated engines in Formula 1 history, the time has come to take stock and give credit to the queens of this era.
Mercedes undisputed queen
The undisputed queen is definitely Mercedes. Thanks to the work done at Brixworth, the Stuttgart-based manufacturer has become dominant since the early stages of this era, winning 8 constructors' world titles and 7 consecutive drivers' titles (6 for Hamilton and 1 for Rosberg). The first few years were truly incredible. The competition seemed really light years away from her. Anyone who remembers 2014, 2015, and even 2016 knows what we're talking about. But then he also managed to win with McLaren (2024 and 2025) after Honda's great recovery.
By 2017, Ferrari had begun to re-emerge. With Vettel's arrival first in the team and Binotto's subsequent move as team principal, the Cavallino Rampante looked set to become a strong title contender. Hopes remained alive until the end of 2019, when the Italian team found itself reaching an agreement with the FIA to be informed of some engine specifications (at the time, Ferrari was supposed to make unauthorized use of the flowmeter, storing more fuel at low revs, and then using it during acceleration). Hence the collapse of the Maranello team in 2020 with subsequent recovery in the following years.
The Golden Years Honda
With Ferrari out of contention, Mercedes could have had even more carte blanche and in its place came an unexpected driver: Honda. People were so eager to join the Japanese in 2015, the season they decided to enter F1, a year behind the competition.
The time gap was immediately felt and McLaren, the team with which they had an exclusive partnership at the time, paid the price. Honda and McLaren spent the years 2015 to 2017 as world championship taillights. In 2018, the Woking team switched to the Renault engine and in 2019 announced that it would return to the Mercedes engine in 2021, as it had done before 2014.
The surprising thing is that Honda, abandoning McLaren and joining Red Bull, managed to regain its balance by climbing from last place in terms of performance in the constructors' championship, to allow Verstappen to win the drivers' title in 2021 and then Red Bull to win the constructors' and drivers' titles in 2022-2023.
Mercedes returns to the top of the world thanks to McLaren
In 2024 he triumphed again with Max, while he had to sell the constructors' championship to McLaren, who returned to winning ways with the Mercedes engine. McLaren team repeated the title in 2025, while still waiting to win the drivers' championship with one of his drivers between Norris and Piastri.
In the end, we saw 12 years in which we had, at least among engine manufacturers, only two rulers: Mercedes and Honda. It's really curious that to find ourselves at the top of the standings, in addition to the more than dominant Mercedes, we only had Honda as our engine manufacturer, the manufacturer with the longest delay in 2015, and then instead, looking at teams more generally, McLaren. A team that had completely lost its way at the beginning of the regulatory era. This should make other teams think a lot about the work they do internally.
Renault instead takes the title of worst driver of the decade. He never managed to allow either his team or his clients to fight for the title. That's why (maybe) he decided to step aside. In fact, starting in 2026, the Alpine will be powered by engines built by the Stuttgart-based manufacturer.
12 years under the aegis of Mercedes and Honda. Now, however, a new intense challenge awaits us, enriched by many more train drivers and simplified regulation. At first we may have a 2014-style performance disparity, but then we believe and hope that, thanks to the commitment of six manufacturers (Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda, Audi, Ford-Red Bull and Cadillac engines from 2027), the situation could be very different in the next regulatory era. We, we hope so.
Photo: Red Bull
Read also in italian language: Honda e Mercedes regine della F1: la storia degli ultimi 12 anni
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