ITV has officially confirmed its Christmas 2025 schedule—and Emmerdale fans are in for a festive season unlike any other. As the nation prepares for mince pies, family rows, and the comforting glow of holiday television, the Dales are gearing up for an explosive run of episodes that promise to shake the village to its very foundations. With extended episodes, shifting time slots, and storylines that have been simmering all year finally heading toward a boiling point, Emmerdale’s Christmas 2025 looks set to deliver drama with a capital D.

A Festive Shuffle With High Stakes

As every soap fan knows, the holidays usher in a delightful dose of chaos. Seasonal specials, award shows, and packed prime-time lineups push the schedules into a festive free-for-all, forcing our most beloved programmes to dance around the increasingly tight ITV calendar. This year is no different, and as Emmerdale shifts across the week of December 22nd, viewers can expect an unusual—but thrilling—rhythm to their nightly visits to the Dales.

Under normal circumstances, Emmerdale airs each weeknight at 7:30 p.m. on ITV1, with an extended episode on Thursdays. But Christmas week throws tradition aside. The soap will occupy special slots throughout the holiday period, culminating in an extended festive episode—a tradition that has become synonymous with heightened emotion, lavish storytelling, and the kind of simmering tension that makes Christmas in the Dales unforgettable.

And if ever there were a year to unleash a supersized episode, it’s this one.

Celia Daniel’s Reign of Terror Nears Breaking Point

If the schedule is chaotic, the village itself is a powder keg ready to erupt. At the heart of the turbulence is Celia Daniel—a villain whose cold, calculated cruelty has seeped into almost every corner of Emmerdale over the past months. Her modern slavery operation remains one of the most harrowing storylines the soap has tackled in years, and with Bearwolf still trapped in her brutal network, the pressure has been building with every passing episode.

Christmas, it seems, may be the moment everything snaps.

Rumours and hints have been circulating that Bearwolf’s captivity is nearing a decisive turning point, and viewers are braced for a Christmas episode that could deliver the long-awaited uprising. The extended runtime suggests a story arc so intense it simply can’t be contained within a standard installment. Whether it’s a daring escape, a village-wide confrontation, or Celia’s empire finally beginning to crumble, the festive episode is poised to push this storyline into explosive territory.

Charity Dingle’s Secret Comes to a Head

While Celia’s shadow looms over the Dales, another ticking time bomb threatens to detonate: Charity Dingle’s baby secret. For months, the storyline has flickered in and out of the narrative like a warning light—always present, always threatening to flare into crisis.

The emotional weight behind Charity’s secret has been steadily tightening, and for longtime fans, it evokes that familiar dread: Charity’s life has never been simple, and when her truths finally surface, they tend to topple everything around her.

Christmas Day, with all its heightened emotions, forced confrontations, and fragile peace, seems primed for a revelation that could blow apart relationships, test loyalties, and leave the Dingle family once again in emotional disarray. Charity’s secrets have a way of leaving scars—and this time the fallout could extend far beyond her own household.

Kim Tate: Wounded, Dangerous, and Unpredictable

And then there’s Kim Tate—a woman who has weathered more storms than most of the village combined. Headed into the holidays battered and bruised, still recovering from injuries sustained in next week’s episodes, Kim is not entering Christmas quietly.

Historically, a wounded Kim Tate is a volatile Kim Tate. Whenever she walks into a festive episode carrying physical pain or emotional turmoil, the result is fireworks. Her resilience is legendary, but so is her wrath. As she prepares to claw back power and reclaim control, viewers can expect sharp confrontations and decisive moves that could have lasting consequences well into 2026.

Kim rarely lets those who hurt her walk away unscathed—and Christmas may be no exception.

A Village on the Edge

What makes this year’s holiday run particularly intriguing is how the shifting schedule mirrors the atmosphere within the show itself. Beyond the standalone storylines, there’s a palpable sense of impending collision—a feeling that the various tensions simmering across the Dales are heading toward a singular, dramatic convergence.

Every character seems to be carrying something volatile. Secrets. Injuries. Traumas. Loyalties stretched to their limit. The village feels like a pressure cooker ready to blow, and the extended Christmas episode is clearly positioned as the catalyst.

Adding to this atmosphere is the looming crossover with Coronation Street planned for the new year. While details remain tightly under wraps, hints suggest that events during the Christmas period will lay the groundwork for the ambitious storyline. The crossover itself has already sparked massive fan speculation, and the festive episodes may plant the first seeds of connection between Weatherfield and the Dales.

What the Extended Episode Means for Fans

The extended festive episode has become an Emmerdale staple, often delivering the show’s most emotional, daring, or shocking moments of the year. From surprise returns to dramatic exits, from elaborate stunts to devastating confessions, the Christmas special carries hefty narrative weight.

This year, it promises even more.

With several storylines hurtling toward crisis points—Celia’s reign of terror, Charity’s spiraling secret, Kim’s volatile recovery—the additional screen time will allow for deeper character exploration, bigger set pieces, and more intricate emotional payoffs. Expect the tension to build slowly, the drama to erupt spectacularly, and the final scenes to leave viewers stunned as they look toward the new year.

Emmerdale has always excelled at Christmas storytelling, balancing heartbreak with warmth, danger with sentiment, and tradition with bold twists. But 2025 feels bigger, darker, and more unpredictable. It’s a Christmas where the stakes are sky-high, and where every minute of that extended runtime will matter.

A Holiday Season to Remember

As the village shifts around ITV’s festive lineup, one thing is certain: no matter when Emmerdale airs, fans will be glued to their screens. Christmas 2025 is shaping up to be one of the soap’s most dramatic holiday seasons in years, filled with danger, revelations, and emotional upheaval that will ripple through the Dales long after the last bauble is packed away.

If the schedule is chaotic, it’s only because the storylines demand it. Emmerdale is heading into Christmas with explosive intent—and viewers are in for an unforgettable ride.

Now, fans have lashed out at the judges, who they claim ‘manipulated’ the result.

As well as sparking fan fury, an ex-Strictly pro has also waded in, declaring: “I just wish the judges did their jobs. They’re paid the big bucks to sit there and judge.”
Lewis scored 35 points on Saturday (Credit: BBC)

Judges criticise Strictly star Lewis Cope

On Saturday night’s show (December 6), Lewis danced a salsa to The Dance at the Gym from West Side Story with Katya Jones. However, their performance didn’t go as well as many of theirs have in recent weeks. They picked up 35 points for it, their lowest score in weeks.

This meant they were tied for second place with Balvinder and Julian and George and Alexis on the leaderboard. Amber topped it, while Karen was at the bottom.

“It wasn’t your best dance for me by far,” Shirley Ballas said. Anton, meanwhile, told the duo that the partnering part of their dance needed to be more “subtle”, with the routine suffering because of it.

Craig Revel Horwood also had some criticism, branding the salsa a “little bit square”. “Things weren’t finished in this, bizarrely,” he also said.
Lewis and Katya are out (Credit: BBC)

Lewis and Katya eliminated

Last night saw Lewis and Katya land in the bottom two, alongside Amber Davies. After performing their routines again, the judges opted to save Amber, sending Lewis and Katya home the week before the semi-finals.

Fans were stunned and furious. “Strictly used to be a dancing competition, but the best dancer hasn’t won since Jay McGuiness in 2015, and this is the biggest robbery in Strictly history for me. I’ve watched every ep of every series of this show but I’m done for this series. Devastated, honestly,” one fan tweeted.

“One of the biggest shocks in Strictly’s 21-year history. I am gobsmacked!!” another said.  “Wildest dance-off in the history of dance-offs,” a third fumed.

Strictly fans blame judges for Lewis Cope’s elimination

Now, fans have blamed the judges for Lewis’ elimination, arguing that their comments are what led to the star being in the dance-off.

“I also think their needs to be a shakeup on the judging panel next year – the judges obviously attempted to manipulate the voting by scoring 3 of the couples the same score and despite this not being Lewis’s best dance he may have still got though if it weren’t for that,” one fan tweeted.

“Was tonight or Saturday night’s the result which will end Strictly? Weeks of Shirley putting Lewis down then saying it “wasn’t his best dance” – giving him same score as Karen and George… it’s on the judges heads that he went. Public would have thought he was safe,” another said.

“The judges on #Strictly are just as much to blame for tonight’s result as the public. Their all over the place scoring is the reason we’ve ended up with that dance off. If they marked contestants consistently that corresponded with the comments they make then it would be better,” a third wrote.

“Bring back Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli. The #Strictly judges stitched up #Lewis. Terrible show,” another fumed.
Fans have lashed out at the judges (Credit: BBC)

Ola Jordan wades in following Lewis’ exit

Former Strictly pro Ola Jordan has also hit out at the judges today. And, although she stopped short of calling Lewis’ elimination a fix, she did declare: “I wouldn’t call it a fix. But I just wish the judges did their job and marked accordingly. They’re getting paid big bucks to sit there and judge. You’ve got to score it.

“You can’t just go: ‘Oh yeah, all those three were the same, whatever they want.’ Let’s not do that. Let’s score them correctly and put them in the right place on the leaderboard. And then fair enough, if someone goes out who is really good, people didn’t vote,” she added to Mecca Bingo.

She added: “Or if there are ties, they can rank them. If they’re tied on the leaderboard, make them rank them. Get Shirley, the top judge, to rank them, get her to write 1-2-3, this one was better, to make the last decision of where they should be on the leaderboard.

“If there are ties on the leaderboard, I think that’s what should be done. I don’t think they should have ties again because it’s not fair. This is exactly what happened – if Lewis wasn’t tied with other people, he wouldn’t have gone. I’m convinced of that.”

She continued: “In proper dance competitions, you don’t have people tying. You’ve got six couples on the floor, you’ve got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. You’ve got to mark them first, second, third, fourth. You don’t go: ‘Oh, well, they were similar. You don’t. You’ve got to go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, so if they tie, especially this late in the competition, mark them. Mark them accordingly.”

In the high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled world of Formula 1, precision is everything. We often imagine the driver as a machine-like operator, turning the wheel with geometric perfection to slice through corners. But if you look closely—really closely—at the onboard footage of a driver attacking a high-speed corner like Copse at Silverstone, you might spot something bizarre. Something that seems to defy the very logic of racing.

Just fractions of a second before throwing the car into the right-hander, the driver steers slightly to the left.

It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, a tiny input that points the nose away from the apex. To the untrained eye, it looks like a correction, a mistake, or a moment of hesitation. But it is none of those things. This counter-intuitive technique is a deliberate, calculated maneuver used by virtually every driver on the grid. It is the secret sauce that separates a good lap from a great one. But why on earth would you steer away from the corner you are desperate to conquer?

The answer lies in a fascinating blend of simple geometry and complex vehicle dynamics. It turns out that to go fast, sometimes you have to go the long way around.

The Geometry of Speed

At its most basic level, this technique is about making the track wider than it actually is. In racing, the “racing line” is holy scripture: you enter wide, clip the apex, and exit wide. The goal is to maximize the radius of the turn.

Physics dictates that the tighter the corner (the smaller the radius), the more you must slow down to navigate it. Conversely, if you can make the corner wider, you can carry more speed. By steering away from the corner momentarily before turning in, the driver effectively positions the car even further to the outside edge of the track than normally possible.

You are trading a tiny fraction of extra distance for a significant gain in minimum corner speed. By “opening up” the entry, the driver softens the angle of the turn. It’s a geometric hack that allows the car to maintain momentum. However, while geometry explains the “what,” it doesn’t fully explain the “how.” For that, we have to dive into the violent, invisible forces acting on the car’s suspension and tires.

The Art of Preloading

Imagine running full speed and suddenly trying to turn 90 degrees. Your ankles would scream, your shoes might slip, and you’d likely tumble. The same applies to a Formula 1 car.

When a driver approaches a corner, they need to transition the car from traveling straight to turning at high G-forces. If they were to turn the wheel from zero to ten degrees instantly, it would create a violent “spike” in load. The suspension would be shocked, and the tires would be overwhelmed.

This is where the “reverse steer” shines. By turning away first, the driver creates a running start for the steering input. Instead of snapping the wheel from center to right, they flow from left, through the center, and into the right. This increases the time duration of the steering input. It turns a violent spike into a progressive curve.

This technique is all about “preloading” the suspension. It acts as a polite introduction, telling the car, “Hey, we’re about to turn.” This 50 to 100-millisecond window allows the suspension springs and dampers to compress gradually. It settles the platform of the car before the maximum lateral load is applied. If you rush this phase, the car feels unsettled, twitchy, and unpredictable. By smoothing it out, the car feels planted, giving the driver the confidence to push harder.

The Science of Grip: Why 1+1 Doesn’t Equal 2

To truly understand why this makes a car faster, we have to look at the tires. Tire grip is not linear. This is a fundamental rule of vehicle dynamics known as “tire load sensitivity.”

If you double the weight pushing down on a tire, you do not get double the grip. You get slightly less. As the load increases, the tire becomes less efficient.

When a car corners hard, weight transfers from the inside wheels to the outside wheels. If a driver jerks the wheel, this transfer happens violently. The outside tire gets crushed with a massive load, while the inside tire goes light. Because of the non-linear nature of grip, the grip you gain on the loaded outside tire is less than the grip you lose on the unloaded inside tire. The result? Less total grip available to hold the car on the track.

By using the “reverse steer” method to smooth out the transition, the driver keeps the weight distributed more evenly for just a fraction of a second longer. It prevents the outside tire from being instantly overloaded. The data suggests this smoother transfer can unlock around 4% more total grip. In a sport measured in thousandths of a second, 4% is an eternity. It is the difference between pole position and the midfield.

The Contact Patch and Thermal Spikes

The benefits extend all the way down to the rubber meeting the road. An F1 tire is not a solid object; it is a flexible, balloon-like structure. For it to generate maximum turning force, the rubber needs to distort and deform. The contact patch—the footprint of the tire on the track—needs to expand.

If a driver turns in too aggressively, the tire doesn’t have time to deform uniformly. The load gets concentrated in specific spots, usually the shoulders or the center of the tire. This causes “micro-sliding,” where tiny parts of the tire surface tear across the asphalt because they’ve exceeded their grip limit.

This micro-sliding creates friction, which creates heat. A sudden steering input causes a “thermal spike,” essentially cooking specific parts of the tire surface. In modern F1, where tire management is critical, these thermal spikes are disastrous. They degrade the rubber and shorten the tire’s life.

By steering the “wrong way” first, the driver allows the slip angle (the difference between where the wheel points and where the car travels) to build up progressively to the optimal 3-4 degrees. The heat is generated evenly across the whole tire, keeping the rubber in its happy window for longer.

The Human Element

Beyond the physics and the math, there is the feeling. A car that is “shocked” into a corner feels nervous. It snaps. It threatens to break loose. A car that is “introduced” to a corner feels stable.

When the car settles predictably, the driver can commit. They can get back on the throttle earlier and harder. This technique allows the driver to lean into the limit of grip rather than smashing through it. It transforms the violent act of cornering into a fluid dance.

So, the next time you watch an onboard lap and see the driver twitch the wheel left before diving right, you’ll know it’s not a mistake. It’s a masterclass in physics, a subtle manipulation of geometry and load transfer that defines the art of elite racing. They are steering wrong to go right, and in doing so, they are finding speed where the rest of us would only find a barrier.

Chaos on the French Coast: Furious Locals Cross a Dangerous Line as Migrant Boat Crisis Reaches Breaking Point

British vigilantes slash small migrant boats on French coastline

Britons have been filming themselves travelling to beaches in France and ‘destroying’ small   boats – gaining thousands of views in the process

Sanya Burgess is an award-winning journalist whose investigations have included revealing Deliveroo was not paying the living wage to all riders, despite the company’s pledge to do so. She has also tracked disinformation and far right hate speech in the UK during the Southport riots, conspiracy theories about the attempted shooting of Donald Trump and revealed that Elon Musk was paying some of Tommy Robinson’s legal fees. She has also worked on issues relating to Big Tech and underage gambling, as well as uncovering war crimes and human rights abuses in Iran, Myanmar and the UAE – including the ‘hostage’ tapes of the detained Dubai Princess Latifa.

British vigilantes who spearheaded efforts to fly England flags across the country have launched a new anti-migrant protest – attempting to block illegal Channel crossingsUsing the term “Operation Stop The Boats”, members of the group have been filming themselves slashing small boats before they are used by migrants to cross the English Channel from France.

Posts on social media show members calling for other British men to join them in France, including making a direct appeal to football hooligans, saying “we need to make a stand”.

In one video message shared this week by a member of the Raise the Colours group – the grassroots movement that has seen flags fixed to lampposts, motorway bridges and roundabouts across England – two men are seen evoking military language and the spirit of the British fight against the Nazis in the Second World War.

Claiming to be recording from the northern French coast, one said: “Just like in the 1940s, we must take a stand, and it starts with the men of England and Britain.”

Making an appeal to “firms” – a phrase that refers to football hooligan groups – the other man added: “Our country is doing nothing. Weak government, weaker borders.

“They are doing nothing, so we need to make a stand, boys. Get the lads together, get your firms together, get the lads in the pub, get the lads down the bars, if you’re talking about it and you agree with what we are doing, give us a hand.”
The Government is under pressure to act after more than 36,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats (Photo: raisethecolours.org.uk/Instagram)
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The Government is under pressure to tackle the issue of migration amid a record number of asylum applications, surging small   boat crossings and protests at hotels housing asylum seekers.

On Monday, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out a package of reforms to asylum policies aimed at tackling illegal migration, telling MPs the current situation is “out of control and unfair”.

The latest videos shared by those linked to the Raise the Colours group have separately been referred to as “Operation Overlord”.

Earlier clips showed two men saying they were taking matters of illegal migration into their own hands and filming themselves stamping on and smashing a small boat’s engine.

In the clips, they refer to themselves as “patriots” and make a number of claims without evidence, such as that they are stopping “rapists and murderers” from “coming to a town near you”.
One video shared by the group (Photo: raisethecolours.org.uk/nstagram)
The flag-raising group, who have a combined 100,000 followers on X and Instagram, also posted a plea on X for donations last week, writing that they are: “STOPPING The   Boats, whether the migrants or government like it or not!”

Two videos from the group have recently been shared to the 1.7 million X followers of Tommy Robinson. The far-right figure and former leader of the English Defence League, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has previously been accused of mobilising football hooligan firms in an attempt to launch anti-Muslim rallies across the country.

Separately, French media reports that the Dunkirk Public Prosecutor’s office has opened a preliminary investigation into “aggravated violence” against migrants by suspected British far-right figures.

One of the details being examined by the French prosecutor is the claim that in September, four men waving British and UK flags verbally and physically attacked migrants on the French coast. It is alleged that they told the migrants they were not welcome in England and proceeded to steal some of their belongings.

The men are not the first anti-migrant figures to travel to France in a bid to take matters into their own hands.

In September, Ukip, Nigel Farage’s former political party, posted a video to their X account showing what appeared to be sleeping migrants in France being woken by people flashing strobe lights in their faces and shouting at them.

Nick Tenconi, Ukip’s current leader, also posted a video captioned: “In Calais hunting for illegal invaders trying to cross into Britain.”

The Home Office and French authorities were contacted for comment.

The world of Formula 1 stands on the precipice of its most radical transformation in decades, a technical upheaval so profound that it has left even the sport’s most legendary designers admitting to a sense of trepidation. As the grid prepares for the 2026 season, Aston Martin has fired the opening salvo, becoming the first team to officially announce the launch date of their challenger, the AMR26. But behind the glossy announcements and the promise of a “works” partnership with Honda lies a reality of unprecedented complexity, engineering headaches, and a candid admission of vulnerability that has sent shockwaves through the paddock.

The AMR26 is not merely a successor to the current generation of cars; it is a complete reimagining of what a Grand Prix machine can be. Scheduled for a public reveal on February 9, 2026, this car represents a clean break from the past—a machine built for a rulebook that rips up the established order and demands a new philosophy of speed.

The “Slightly Scary” Blueprint

At the heart of this revolution lies a dual overhaul of regulations that is historically unique. Typically, Formula 1 staggers its major changes, introducing new aerodynamic rules one year and new engine formulas in another to maintain some semblance of stability. For 2026, however, everything changes at once.

The new technical regulations, ratified in June 2024, mandate cars that are lighter, smaller, and fundamentally different in how they slice through the air. The AMR26 will be 30 kilograms lighter than its predecessors, bringing the minimum weight down to 768kg. Its wheelbase has been slashed by 200 millimeters, aiming to make the cars more agile and raceable on tight circuits. But the most jarring figures come from the aerodynamic data: a mandated 30% reduction in downforce and a massive 55% cut in drag.

Gone is the Drag Reduction System (DRS), a staple of overtaking for over a decade. In its place rises “active aerodynamics”—a system straight out of science fiction. Drivers will manipulate movable elements on both the front and rear wings, switching between high-downforce “Z-Mode” for corners and low-drag “X-Mode” for straights.

Adrian Newey, the legendary designer spearheading Aston Martin’s technical charge, has not minced words about the scale of the task. He describes the simultaneous collision of chassis and power unit changes as “unprecedented” and “slightly scary.” For a man who has designed championship-winning cars across multiple eras, such an admission underscores the sheer magnitude of the engineering mountain the teams must climb. Newey initially viewed the prescriptive nature of the rules with skepticism but has since found “flexibility for innovation” in the details—a glimmer of hope that Aston Martin can find a magic bullet the others miss.

The Power Shift: A 50/50 Electric Future

If the chassis changes are dramatic, the powertrain revolution is nothing short of explosive. The current turbo-hybrid era, dominated by the internal combustion engine (ICE), is ending. The 2026 regulations enforce a strict 50/50 power split. The ICE will produce approximately 400 kW, while the electrical system must match it with 350 kW.

This represents a staggering 300% increase in electrical output compared to today’s grid. It fundamentally alters the DNA of the sport. Drivers and engineers can no longer rely on the raw grunt of fuel alone; energy management will become the primary strategic battlefield. The car must harvest, deploy, and conserve energy with surgical precision, or risk being left defenseless on the straights.

For Aston Martin, this transition is inextricably linked to their new status as a “works” team. Ending a 17-year customer relationship with Mercedes, the team has forged an exclusive partnership with Honda. The Japanese giant, fresh from powering Red Bull’s dominance, returns with a bespoke power unit for the AMR26, set to be unveiled in Tokyo on January 20, 2026. This integration is critical. In a formula where the engine and chassis must sing in perfect harmony, being a customer team is no longer a viable path to the title. Aston Martin will now control its own destiny, designing its own gearbox for the first time in modern history to ensure seamless integration with the Honda unit.

The $200 Million Gamble and Honest Struggles

To build this future, Aston Martin has constructed a fortress. Their new technology campus near Silverstone is the first all-new F1 headquarters built in the UK since McLaren’s Paragon facility opened two decades ago. Spanning 37,000 square meters and costing an estimated £200 million, the facility is a statement of intent. It houses a state-of-the-art wind tunnel using steel-belt rolling road technology, which finally came online in March 2025.

However, gleaming glass and solar panels do not guarantee lap time. In a sport often shrouded in secrecy and bluffing, Aston Martin has been disarmingly honest about their current limitations. The team’s technical leadership has openly admitted that some of their simulation tools are currently “weak.”

Specifically, the critical “driver-in-the-loop” simulator—the tool used to test setups and train drivers before the car ever hits the tarmac—is failing to correlate with reality. “It is not correlating at all at the moment,” a lead designer confessed, labeling it a potential “two-year project” to fix. While former engine guru Andy Cowell argues the fix will take months, not years, the admission is stark. In an era where track testing is severely limited, a blind simulator is a severe handicap. Furthermore, the transition from the Mercedes wind tunnel to their own new facility has revealed data discrepancies, forcing the team to spend precious time relearning their own aerodynamics.

A Clean Sheet and an Uncertain Horizon

The AMR26 is a “clean sheet” design in the truest sense. Composed of approximately 15,000 individual parts, virtually none are carried over from the disappointing 2025 car. Resources have been aggressively shifted away from the current campaign, sacrificing present results for future glory. This explains the team’s slide to seventh in the championship—a calculated retreat to gather strength for the 2026 offensive.

Yet, despite the investment, the talent of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, and the genius of Newey, the mood is one of humble uncertainty. When asked about the car’s potential, technical leaders offered the most refreshing answer in modern sport: “I have absolutely no idea.”

It is a reminder that 2026 is a journey into the unknown. Historical data is useless. Past success is no guarantee. Every team is starting from zero, grappling with the same “scary” physics and the same punishing demands.

On February 9, 2026, the curtain will fall. We will see if Aston Martin’s gamble—the new factory, the Honda engine, the active aero—has paid off. Until then, the AMR26 remains a ghost in the wind tunnel, a 15,000-piece puzzle that could either crown a new champion or serve as a cautionary tale of ambition colliding with reality. The clock is ticking, and the rivals are watching. The reset has begun.

‘FROM DEATH ROW TO HOPE’: PETE WICKS JOINS RESCUE MISSION SAVING 170 DOGS FROM SOUTH KOREAN MEAT FARM

 

It wasn’t a television storyline, a publicity stunt, or a scripted moment for shock value. When British reality star Pete Wicks stepped onto the grounds of a South Korean dog-meat farm, he found himself face-to-face with one of the most heartbreaking sights of his life — more than 170 dogs awaiting slaughter, many trembling in fear, unaware that their fate was about to change forever.

The former TOWIE star joined international animal welfare groups in a large-scale rescue mission that liberated over 170 dogs from a brutal and long-ignored industry. Though Wicks did not act alone — working instead as part of a coordinated charity effort — his presence brought not only additional support, but a powerful human voice for animals whose suffering is often unseen.

A Scene Too Difficult to Forget

Wicks described the scene as overwhelming: cramped cages, matted fur, and eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and despair. Some dogs were born in captivity, never knowing a gentle touch. Others were former pets, abandoned or stolen.

The mission was not just about relocation — it was about dignity. Volunteers carefully lifted each frightened animal from the wire-floored pens, offering comfort, blankets, and, sometimes for the first time, kindness.

Once removed from the farm, the dogs began a journey across the world — with many flown to the UK, United States, and Canada for rehabilitation and adoption. For the first time, they tasted fresh air, saw open space, and felt safe human hands.

Pete Wicks, visibly moved, helped load carriers and calm distressed animals. His involvement played a key role in drawing public attention to the issue, inspiring supporters and donations that will continue funding future rescues.

A Message Bigger Than Celebrity

Wicks later shared that the experience changed him.

He spoke of compassion rather than fame.
Of responsibility rather than applause.
Of the silent victims who cannot speak for themselves.

The rescue serves as a reminder that cruelty thrives where the world looks away — and that meaningful change begins when individuals choose to look, act, and stand.

A Victory — But Not the End

For the 170 dogs saved, this mission marks the beginning of new lives filled with the possibility of love, adoption, and healing.

For those still trapped in farms across the region, it is a call to action.

And for animal lovers worldwide, it is a testament to what can happen when compassion and courage meet — when public figures use their platform not for self-promotion, but for protection.

Pete Wicks didn’t rescue 170 dogs alone.
He stood with a team.
He lent his hands.
He lent his heart.

And in doing so, he helped give hundreds of animals something they never had before:

What was meant to be the dawn of a glorious new era for the Prancing Horse has seemingly crashed before it could even leave the starting gate. In the quiet, dusty heat of the Yas Marina Circuit, far removed from the glitz of the Grand Prix weekend, Ferrari conducted a discreet end-of-season test that was supposed to validate their roadmap for 2026. Instead, it may have just signaled the beginning of a technical crisis that threatens to derail Lewis Hamilton’s final bid for an eighth world title.

The narrative going into this test was one of optimism. Lewis Hamilton, the sport’s most successful driver, had finally donned the scarlet overalls, ready to steer Ferrari back to the summit of Formula 1. The expectation was a routine evaluation of the SF25—a machine designed to bridge the gap to the upcoming regulatory revolution. However, sources from within the paddock report that the atmosphere in the garage shifted rapidly from contained enthusiasm to a chilled, awkward silence as the seven-time world champion completed his initial runs.

The “Broken” Car: A Rude Awakening

From the moment Hamilton engaged the clutch and rolled out onto the tarmac, the feedback was alarming. This wasn’t a matter of getting used to a new steering wheel or adjusting the seat position. The issues were fundamental. The British driver, renowned for his sensitive feel for vehicle dynamics, reported a car that was not just slow, but inherently unstable.

Hamilton described a machine that was unpredictable at high speeds and erratic upon corner entry. In modern Formula 1, driver confidence is the currency that buys lap time. If a driver cannot trust the rear end to stick, they cannot push. But the SF25 wasn’t just lacking grip; it was lacking logic. It behaved differently from lap to lap, stripping Hamilton of the ability to anticipate its reactions.

This wasn’t a setup issue that could be dialed out with a few clicks of a front wing or a change in ride height. It wasn’t the tires graining or overheating. The problem, as the data would soon confirm, was structural. The car Hamilton was driving did not match the car Ferrari had built in their digital simulations. The correlation—the holy grail of F1 engineering—was broken.

The Technical Autopsy: Why the SF25 Collapsed

To understand the gravity of the situation, one must look at the specific technical failures that were exposed during this secret test. Ferrari’s engineers, utilizing advanced high-frequency analysis tools and additional sensors on the suspension and floor, began to see a picture that no wind tunnel run had predicted.

The first major failure was found in the flat bottom (floor) of the car. In the current ground-effect era, the floor is responsible for generating the vast majority of downforce. It works by accelerating air underneath the car to create a vacuum, sucking the vehicle to the track. However, for this to work, the floor must remain rigid and sealed against the asphalt.

Telemetry from the Abu Dhabi test revealed anomalous flexing in the floor under high-load conditions, such as fast corners like Turns 9 and 12 at Yas Marina. This flexing wasn’t the standard material elasticity; it was an irregular deformation that altered the airflow patterns underneath the car. Instead of a smooth, laminar flow creating consistent downforce, the bending floor created pockets of turbulence and pressure separation.

For Hamilton, this translated to a “light switch” effect. One moment the car had grip, and the next—as the floor flexed and the aerodynamic seal broke—the grip vanished instantly. It is the most terrifying sensation a driver can experience at 200 mph: a car that disconnects from the road without warning.

Suspension Nightmares and “Micro-Separations”

If the aerodynamic instability wasn’t enough, the mechanical platform of the SF25 also showed severe defects. In an attempt to improve straight-line efficiency and load transfer, Ferrari had redesigned the rear suspension geometry for this new iteration. On paper, and in the sterile environment of CAD (Computer-Aided Design), the new layout involving the lower arm and seat stay looked like a masterstroke.

On the track, it was a disaster. The design introduced unexpected lateral twisting under load. When the car leaned into a corner, the rear axle didn’t just compress; it deformed non-linearly. This twisting effectively changed the car’s ride height dynamically and uncontrollably. Since ground-effect cars are incredibly sensitive to ride height (a few millimeters can mean the difference between peak performance and stalling the floor), this mechanical failure exacerbated the aerodynamic problems.

Even more concerning was the discovery of “micro-separations” at the suspension anchor points. These were minute structural gaps opening up under specific G-force combinations—phenomena that the simulators simply couldn’t replicate. It suggests a flaw in the very materials or assembly processes used by the Scuderia, pointing to a foundational rot in their manufacturing or design philosophy.

The Human Cost: Hamilton’s Doubt and Vasseur’s Silence

The reaction in the garage told the true story. Fred Vasseur, the team principal tasked with turning Ferrari around, was seen staring at the telemetry screens, his usual calm demeanor tested as the reports filtered in. Technical meetings that were scheduled for an hour stretched into the early morning, with engineers looking at each other for answers that didn’t exist.

For Lewis Hamilton, the concern was palpable. He didn’t show the petulant frustration of a rookie; he showed the deep, resigned concern of a veteran who knows exactly what he is looking at. He had left Mercedes—a team that had struggled but was on a clear upward trajectory—for this. He came for a legacy-defining challenge, but he may have walked into a technical dead end.

Hamilton knows that problems of this magnitude—structural flexing, correlation failure, suspension geometry errors—are not fixed overnight. They require months, sometimes years, of redesign. With the 2026 regulations looming, Ferrari cannot afford to spend 2025 chasing its own tail trying to fix a broken concept. Every hour spent troubleshooting the SF25 is an hour lost on the 2026 car.

A Systemic Failure at Maranello?

This test has exposed more than just a bad car; it has exposed a fragile culture. The fact that the SF25 passed through every stage of development—design, simulation, wind tunnel, manufacturing—without these flaws being detected suggests that Ferrari’s tools are lying to them. If their digital models say the car is stable, but reality says it is uncontrollable, then they are flying blind.

Ferrari has a history of incomplete cycles—projects that start with hope and end in confusion. The fear now is that the 2026 project, which requires surgical precision in energy management and active aerodynamics, is being built on this same flawed foundation. If the methodology is wrong, the next car will be wrong too.

The Road Ahead

The stakes could not be higher. Lewis Hamilton did not join Ferrari to develop a midfield car; he joined to win. If Ferrari cannot provide him with a machine that at least behaves predictably, the partnership that was dubbed the “transfer of the century” could quickly become a historical footnote of regret.

As the team packs up from Abu Dhabi, the silence from Maranello is deafening. They have a driver ready to win, but they do not have the horse to carry him. The clock is ticking toward the new season, and right now, the lights on the dashboard are flashing red. Ferrari must decide: do they patch up a broken concept, or do they admit failure and start from scratch? Their decision in the coming weeks will determine not just the fate of the 2025 season, but the legacy of Lewis Hamilton and the future of the Scuderia itself.

JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers became parents in time for the Christmas holiday.

“What a whirlwind these last couple of days have been but in the most magical way. Went in for our weekly sonogram this past Tuesday and found out we needed to deliver via emergency c-section that day,” Fletcher, 35, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, December 25. “At 5:37pm on December 23, we met our girl. Romy Blair Rodgers you are our whole world. Cant wait to share more but in the meantime soaking up these moments as a new family of three.”

Fletcher and Rodgers, 37, met and fell in love during season 12 of The Bachelorette in 2016. The couple got engaged during the finale and tied the knot six years later in May 2022.

Before their wedding, Fletcher and Rodgers shared their intentions to start a family in the near future.

“I think we’re at that time in our life where we’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, we’ve got to have a kid tomorrow,’ but also … I don’t think we’ll wait a long time,” Rodgers exclusively told Us Weekly in April 2022. “But that might not be right away.”

“We’re not as scared of it. It’s a big deal. [But] I think it’s going to be one of those things where … we’re just going to wake up one morning and be like, ‘I think we’re ready. Let’s do it,’” she explained. “It could be in the next, like, one [or] two years.”

Three years later, Fletcher opened up exclusively to Us about her and Rodgers’ fertility struggles.

“Jordan and I have been on our own fertility journey — and man, it’s been a journey,” she told Us in an interview published in July 2025. “But I do keep positive about the situation and I know that when it’s meant to be, it will be.”

While Fletcher acknowledged “everybody has a different experience” with family planning, she noted they were “looking forward” to having kids in the future.

“When the time comes and we have a little baby Rodgers, it’ll be a very, very exciting moment,” she added.

In August 2025, Fletcher and Rodgers announced that they were expecting their first baby.

“We love you so much already, our sweet rainbow baby,” the pair captioned a joint Instagram post at the time. “🌈🕊️ Baby Rodgers coming January 2026 🤍.

Ahead of their little one’s arrival, Rodgers paid tribute to Fletcher on her birthday, calling her “the love of my life and future best mom in the world” in a gushing Instagram post.

“It has been such an amazing journey watching you navigate pregnancy,” he wrote in November 2025. “Through the highs and lows you have shown grace and love, resilience and strength. It’s been the honor of my life seeing how you have created a healthy and loving space to grow our future child. Through it all you have continued to run multiple businesses, renovated houses, filmed TV shows, traveled the world, worked long hours without ever complaining, and you continue to put others before yourself.”

He concluded: “You are one of a kind Joelle. I am so lucky to have found you and so lucky that you will be the mother to our future baby ❤️ You’ve never looked better and more beautiful than you do right now! Love you Joelle. Happy last birthday as a family of two ☺️❤️.”

While the rest of the Formula 1 grid sleeps, Max Verstappen is often found awake at 3:00 AM, hurtling around a virtual track in his $35,000 simulator.

Critics have called it reckless. Traditionalists dismiss it as a distraction. But as the sport barrels toward the most radical regulatory overhaul in its history in 2026, team bosses and technical directors are realizing something terrifying: Max Verstappen hasn’t just been playing games—he has been training for a future that nobody else saw coming.

The 2026 Formula 1 season promises a “Day Zero” reset for teams and drivers alike. But hidden within the technical jargon of the new rulebook is a specific set of demands that favors one driver above all others.

The 2026 Revolution: A New Kind of Beast

To understand why Verstappen holds the aces, you have to understand the cars that are coming. The 2026 regulations are not just a tweak; they are a revolution.

The most shocking statistic is the power split. Currently, F1 cars derive about 80% of their power from the internal combustion engine and only 20% from electric systems. In 2026, that ratio flips to a straight 50/50 split.

The internal combustion engine will drop from a monstrous 850 horsepower to around 540 horsepower. To compensate, the electrical power will skyrocket from 160hp to 470hp—a nearly 300% increase.

This isn’t just about raw speed; it’s about management. The MGH (Motor Generator Unit-Heat) is gone. The cars will feature active aerodynamics, with wings that shift shape mid-lap to reduce drag on straights and increase downforce in corners. But the real game-changer is the energy deployment.

The “Chess Match” at 200 MPH

Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has described the 2026 racing style as having a massive “chess component.”

Unlike today, where energy deployment is largely automated or pre-mapped, the 2026 drivers will need to make split-second strategic decisions on every single lap. They will be constantly deciding where to burn that massive 470hp electric boost and where to harvest it back.

Imagine driving at the absolute limit of adhesion while simultaneously calculating an energy budget in your head. If you run out of battery at the wrong moment, you are a sitting duck.

“The driver has to be smart and clever about how to use power,” says Red Bull’s Helmut Marko. “There is one driver who can drive fast and think at the same time.”

That driver is Max Verstappen. And he has been practicing this specific skill for a decade.

The Sim Racing Superpower

Verstappen’s dedication to sim racing is legendary. He doesn’t treat it as a media obligation or a casual hobby; he treats it as a second career. In 2024 alone, he completed a “Triple Crown” of virtual endurance racing, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and the Spa 24 Hours.

Most famously, during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend, he drove a grueling night stint in a virtual 24-hour race, slept for a few hours, and then went out and won the actual Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday.

Why does this matter for 2026? Because sim racing is the ultimate training ground for cognitive adaptation.

In the virtual world, Verstappen constantly hops between different cars, tracks, and physics models. He has forced his brain to adapt instantly to new variables. When the 2026 cars arrive—with their shrinking dimensions, reduced downforce, and complex energy systems—they will feel alien to everyone. But for a driver who spends his free time mastering unfamiliar machines in the digital realm, the learning curve will be a flat line.

Professional sim racers have noted that Verstappen’s ability to adapt is “unlike anything they have witnessed.” He can jump into a virtual car and be quicker than world-ranked esports pros within 50 minutes. This “cognitive muscle” is exactly what will be needed to manage the manual energy deployment of the new era.

The Hamilton Dilemma

This brings us to the uncomfortable question: Where does this leave Lewis Hamilton?

The seven-time World Champion is undeniably one of the greatest to ever hold a steering wheel. His racecraft and “feel” for a car are unmatched in the modern era. However, Hamilton has been openly critical of simulators.

He reportedly drives as few as 20 laps per year in the team simulator, citing that it feels “disorienting” and lacks the physical feedback (G-forces) he relies on to find the limit. Hamilton is an old-school master; he needs to feel the car underneath him to extract its maximum potential.

But 2026 might not reward “feel” as much as it rewards “processing power.”

If the new regulations require a driver to manage complex systems and make strategic energy decisions based on data rather than just physical sensation, Hamilton could be at a severe disadvantage. He is effectively bringing a knife to a gunfight—relying on analog instincts in a digital age.

The Verdict: An Unfair Advantage?

History shows that major rule changes always shuffle the F1 hierarchy. The 2014 turbo-hybrid era birthed the Mercedes dynasty. The 2022 ground-effect era crowned Red Bull.

The 2026 reset is bigger than both. It requires a driver who can function as a computer, a strategist, and a pilot simultaneously.

Verstappen has logged thousands of hours making these exact types of decisions under pressure. He has trained his mind to separate the act of driving from the act of strategizing. While his rivals will be struggling to come to terms with the new energy management systems, Max will simply be playing another game—one he has already mastered in the middle of the night, while the rest of the world was sleeping.

Come 2026, we may not just see Verstappen win. We may see him redefine what it means to be a Formula 1 driver. And for his rivals, that is a terrifying prospect.

Mel Owens and Peg Munson are still going strong more than a month after The Golden Bachelor finale, but even they aren’t immune to an argument here or there. The couple went live on Instagram while spending Christmas Eve in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and they didn’t shy away from documenting a disagreement they had.

This is Owens and Munson’s first Christmas together, and the former football star took his girlfriend to Rio to celebrate with his best friend who lives there. It’s been a tradition for Owens for the last 40 years.

When one IG Live viewer commented on how great Owens looked at his age, he explained, “I went and ran for, like, 25 minutes today on the beach. That’s the key: cardio.” Munson wasn’t quite on-board with that, though. “Is it cardio?” she wondered. “You gotta lift weights, though. Especially women.”

Owens held firm. “If you sacrifice one thing, don’t sacrifice the cardio,” to which Munson responded, “I have to disagree. I’m gonna disagree with the professional athlete.” Owens took it in stride. “You do you, boo,” he told Munson, to which she reiterated, “I’m disagreeing!”

It was all in good fun, though, as the pair went on to document their time soaking up the sun for nearly an hour. In response to a fan who asked what annoyed them about one another, they couldn’t even come up with anything. However, Munson noted that they’re still in the “honeymoon stage” right now, so that could change.

“We’re human beings,” she pointed out. “There’s going to be something that annoys me about him eventually. I’ll let you all know.”

Munson received Owens’ final rose on Season 2 of The Golden Bachelor, and while they didn’t get engaged, he did give her a ring to signify his commitment to her. The lovebirds have been keeping busy since going public with their relationship in mid-November. In addition to their Christmas trip to Rio, they recently celebrated Owens’ birthday in Las Vegas, attended a University of Michigan football game over Thanksgiving weekend, and more.