2026 F1...

[ZRX61]

In related news, this was Richard Hammond's daughter:

[Felix]

I presume that is her in black standing next to the car.

[ZRX61]

[mangocrazy]

But still nearly three seconds off the front runner, George Russell, who clocked a fastest lap of 1m33.459s. Lance stroll actually went faster than Alonso, clocking a 1m35.974s.

[ZRX61]

But still nearly three seconds off the front runner, George Russell, who clocked a fastest lap of 1m33.459s. Lance stroll actually went faster than Alonso, clocking a 1m35.974s.

On the top speed charts it had Bottas in 1st place.

[mangocrazy]

But still nearly three seconds off the front runner, George Russell, who clocked a fastest lap of 1m33.459s. Lance stroll actually went faster than Alonso, clocking a 1m35.974s.

On the top speed charts it had Bottas in 1st place.

Not seen any discussion of top speeds; do you have a link for that?

[ZRX61]

I saw it yesterday & now can't find it.. and altho Bottas was fastest (213mph), Sergio's Caddy was 2nd slowest (200mph)...

in other news..

[mangocrazy]

From what I've read, teams have the choice of where they deploy the electrical power, but they also have find the best place to harvest that power as well, and it's leading to drivers effectively coasting on the straights so they can use the power elsewhere. Sounds like a proper fiasco to me.

They should junk all the electrical bollox, go to 2.5 litre V10s running sustainable fuel and dramatically reduce the size and weight of the bloody things. IMHO, of course...

[mboy]

From what I've read, teams have the choice of where they deploy the electrical power, but they also have find the best place to harvest that power as well, and it's leading to drivers effectively coasting on the straights so they can use the power elsewhere. Sounds like a proper fiasco to me.

They should junk all the electrical bollox, go to 2.5 litre V10s running sustainable fuel and dramatically reduce the size and weight of the bloody things. IMHO, of course...

The thing is, F1 has been allowed a lengthy stay of execution compared to many other forms of motorsport, by virtue of it being sold as a development ground for technology and it needing to have some kind of relevance to the road cars being sold every day... Hence the hybridisation a decade or so ago, electronic aids etc etc...

They're already going to 100% sustainable fuel this year I understand...

From an enthusiasts point of view, they killed off the spectacle of F1 decades ago, when the sponsorship potential became more important than the actual racing... I'm not going to blame Michael Schumacher for that, but it was certainly during his pantheon that this transition became irreversible... Brawn briefly bucked this trend in 2009 and made the racing interesting again, but the money men made sure that never happened again... As a result, I gave up caring a long time ago...

[mangocrazy]

In which case, what is the point of Formula E? I'd like to see F1 get rid of all the MGU stuff, along with KERS and other band-aids and get back to a purer form of racing. It will never happen though, because of all the vested interests, foremost of which is Liberty Media. F1's heyday was when the teams were all the brainchild of one person; Colin Chapman, Ken Tyrrell, Jack Brabham, Enzo Ferrari, Bruce McLaren etc. But that was also the era when F1 drivers were getting killed on a regular basis, so I guess you should be careful what you wish for.

[ZRX61]

[ZRX61]

[ZRX61]

Aston used up all their spare parts...

[mangocrazy]

Aston Martin have always been the perennial underachievers, but this year they've surpassed themselves. It's not beyond the bounds of probability that they will be last and behind newbies Cadillac at the first race of the year. They have a dog slow and horribly unreliable car; a great start to the Adrian Newey era (not).

[Bigjawa]

Aston Martin have always been the perennial underachievers, but this year they've surpassed themselves. It's not beyond the bounds of probability that they will be last and behind newbies Cadillac at the first race of the year. They have a dog slow and horribly unreliable car; a great start to the Adrian Newey era (not).

It'll be interesting to see how much money Papa Stroll is prepared to keep throwing at it. Alonso won't want to be doing the donkey work and carrying the team at his age, and I can see him heading off sooner than planned. Lance is as much use as a ventilated durex and the whole Honda thing strikes me as "Size zero" all over again.

I'm sure a lot of the sponsorship money comes from the illusion that Newey = Success. If the thing grenades itself or limps round at the back, they'll be away too.

On a lighter note, Toto's quip that Mercedes were probably in the Epstein files was pure comedy gold.

[Count Steer]

Aston Martin have always been the perennial underachievers, but this year they've surpassed themselves. It's not beyond the bounds of probability that they will be last and behind newbies Cadillac at the first race of the year. They have a dog slow and horribly unreliable car; a great start to the Adrian Newey era (not).

It'll be interesting to see how much money Papa Stroll is prepared to keep throwing at it. Alonso won't want to be doing the donkey work and carrying the team at his age, and I can see him heading off sooner than planned. Lance is as much use as a ventilated durex and the whole Honda thing strikes me as "Size zero" all over again.

I'm sure a lot of the sponsorship money comes from the illusion that Newey = Success. If the thing grenades itself or limps round at the back, they'll be away too.

On a lighter note, Toto's quip that Mercedes were probably in the Epstein files was pure comedy gold.

The Newey thing is one of the more interesting things about the new season. Is he really an alchemist that can turn base metal into gold or has he just been able to turn 9ct gold into 24ct gold?

That just about sums up my level of interest in F1 in the modern era.

I'd rather go to Brands and watch Legends, MX5s and the juniors in Ginettas on the club circuit. The last time I was at F1 (at Silverstone) a 6-wheel Tyrrell P34 was competing.

[Bigjawa]

We used to have a race series here for old Metros. It was absolute carnage and was much more interesting than F1 after about 1990.

The Newey thing isn't really a shock though, his last car, the RB20, really could only be driven by Max, who is like Senna in that he can nullify a huge amount of car deficiencies, it seems that the new car has fundamental problems and that other designers have grasped the new regulations better and he doesn't have Max to act as the great equaliser.

[ZRX61]

[ZRX61]

Odd, it was in English on my feed...
Translated from Spanish
**OFFICIAL!!**
**FORMULA 1 HAS CHANGED THE START PROCEDURE!**

**NEW OFFICIAL PROCEDURE:**

There will be an additional 5 seconds before the five red lights, with blue LED panels, so drivers can rev the engine up to 13,000 RPM and “spool” the turbo before releasing the clutch.
The “X” mode (low aerodynamic drag) is **PROHIBITED** at the start, to prevent dangerous speed differences in the first few metres.
The “Z” mode (high aerodynamic downforce) is **MANDATORY** from the grid until the first corner, to guarantee more stability, more traction and less risk during the launch.

**WHY IS EVERYTHING CHANGING?**

In 2026 the MGU-H disappears. That was what helped keep the turbo “ready” even before accelerating.
Without that system, the turbo now depends much more on the regular engine (the combustion one).
And what happens when you rely only on the traditional turbo?
It takes time to respond. That’s the famous TURBO LAG.
In addition, the MGU-K (electric motor) now only **ENGAGES** after 50 km/h.
In other words… in the first few metres the driver is basically alone with the internal combustion engine.

**Result from the tests?**

Cars that were suffocating off the line.
Others that were spinning the wheels too much.
Brutal differences from one car to another.
Starts that looked more like luck than talent.

[mangocrazy]

So the FIA have moved to largely nullify Ferrari's fast starts? From what I can make out, Ferrari chose to use a smaller turbo, which has much less urbo lag, so they gain an advantage at the start, but are compromised on the faster sections of the course - swings and roundabouts. So if I read this correctly (not always the case) the FIA have taken away the benefits of a design choice that was available to all the teams and handicapped Ferrari.