It’s a cliche, but no less true for being oft repeated, to say that “it’s the hope that kills you.” In Formula 1 terms, this old adage will be most familiar to Ferrari fans: as the 2026 season begins, it's a little over 18 years and four months since Kimi Raikkonen claimed the drivers’ title with victory in the final round of the 2007 season at Interlagos.
No other team in Formula 1 is so cloaked in myth and mystique as Ferrari. Having contested every year since the world champion began, it enjoys a massive global fanbase – as well as a quasi-religious status in its native Italy.
