2026 Formula One Season Thread

[JustinePaula]

There is one thing that bugs me.. Astom Martin made representations that they would withdraw the cars from the race, Stroll never set a time less than 107% of pole, AM then plead for Stroll to start, knowing they were going to withdraw the cars.. Why did the FIA allow the start of Alonso and Stroll? If you cannot meet the 107%, and Sky F1 claim it was per team, not per car.. Stroll got in cause Alonso.. [Make that make sense...]

I don't know, but the math ain't mathing very well... The confusing chaos of the start, then the super clipping, sweets from a sweet shop?? George using super clipping instead of brakes.. Fast on the slow bits, slow on the fast bits, I know it is the land down under...

You should go fast on the fast bits, slow in the slow bits... What we have is strange in 2026... It is very odd..

 

[Herdfan]

I’m not sure where these folks on the Apple version come from but it is clear that they are rank amateurs compared with Sky.

I don't know how many times a notice from Race Control was displayed at the top of the screen and they didn't even mention it.

 

[CWallace]

How the hell did you get the F1 on Apple TV?

If you have an AppleTV subscription, you also have an F1TV Premium subscription. You just need to link your AppleTV subscription to F1TV (either in the F1TV app or the F1TV website).

AppleTV only carries F1 races, so everything else (F2, F3, F1 Academy, Porsche SuperCup, technical podcasts, etc.) are all on the F1TV app/webpage.

The F1TV app did show the F1 races, but I watched them via AppleTV.

There is one thing that bugs me.. Astom Martin made representations that they would withdraw the cars from the race, Stroll never set a time less than 107% of pole, AM then plead for Stroll to start, knowing they were going to withdraw the cars.. Why did the FIA allow the start of Alonso and Stroll? If you cannot meet the 107%, and Sky F1 claim it was per team, not per car.. Stroll got in cause Alonso.. [Make that make sense...]

I presume the real reason was the FIA and FOM wanted a full field to take the start, but since the 107% rule was implemented, there has been a mechanism for the teams to appeal an exclusion to the race stewards, usually based on Free Practice times. So with Alonso within 107%, the stewards decided the car was quick enough to compete and let Lance in.

 

[CWallace]

While the Shanghai International Circuit is expected to be one of the tracks least-affected by energy management concerns (with Melbourne being one of the most-affected), FOM, the FIA and the teams are looking ahead and are discussing multiple changes to the regulations before the Japanese Grand Prix and, should the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds be cancelled, in the break between Japan and Miami.

These include raising the current 250kW recovery cap from super clipping as well as reducing the output of the MGU-K below the current 350kW to allow it to operate longer before it exhausts the battery charge and there are discussions about increasing the performance of the ICE (returning to an 18:1 compression ratio, anyone?) to compensate for the lower MGU-K performance.

F1 could change 2026 rules after next race

F1 will hold talks after the Chinese GP on tweaks to the 2026 rules package that could ease elements many drivers have criticised

www.the-race.com

 

[pachyderm]

I don't know how many times a notice from Race Control was displayed at the top of the screen and they didn't even mention it.

It felt like every time.

 

[pachyderm]

I quite enjoyed the season opener and more than I thought I would. Russell is feisty and showing the commitment I hoped he would. Those Ferrari's are quick off the mark too! Charles gave a good battle and isn't it great to see Lewis Hamilton back?!! We are definitely going to see Ferrari wins this year for sure, but Mercedes have done the best job it seems. Ferrari just need to let their drivers decide when to pit as the strategy department cost them dearly yesterday. Antonelli had a decent race and I have no doubt he'll get his first win this season.

Aston Martin looked fast briefly.

I really wish Ferrari had sorted out their strategy issues from last season already.

They need to learn to make decisions on the fly.

 

[Paul1964]

It felt like every time.

Do we really need the commentators to read out the race control messages that are displayed on screen? I can read them myself. I'm sure they mention them when they are going to affect the sharp end of the race. If they're not affecting points paying places then they're not that important.

 

[Paul1964]

I really wish Ferrari had sorted out their strategy issues from last season already.

They need to learn to make decisions on the fly.

Yes, Ferrari will be Ferrari. They need to get their shizzle together when it comes to strategy. 😕

 

[pachyderm]

Do we really need the commentators to read out the race control messages that are displayed on screen? I can read them myself. I'm sure they mention them when they are going to affect the sharp end of the race. If they're not affecting points paying places then they're not that important.

Maybe not but I do feel like they are not paying attention if they don't at least acknowledge them to some degree. I felt like they weren't aware of their surroundings the whole race.

 

[Pezimak]

If you have an AppleTV subscription, you also have an F1TV Premium subscription. You just need to link your AppleTV subscription to F1TV (either in the F1TV app or the F1TV website).

AppleTV only carries F1 races, so everything else (F2, F3, F1 Academy, Porsche SuperCup, technical podcasts, etc.) are all on the F1TV app/webpage.

The F1TV app did show the F1 races, but I watched them via AppleTV.

Ah doesn't work for me. I use a CPN and TV F1TV app, I need to setup a different address in another country on my Apple account believe to do this, doesn't work in the UK. I'll stick to what I have as it works well enough.

 

[Glideslope]

While the Shanghai International Circuit is expected to be one of the tracks least-affected by energy management concerns (with Melbourne being one of the most-affected), FOM, the FIA and the teams are looking ahead and are discussing multiple changes to the regulations before the Japanese Grand Prix and, should the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds be cancelled, in the break between Japan and Miami.

These include raising the current 250kW recovery cap from super clipping as well as reducing the output of the MGU-K below the current 350kW to allow it to operate longer before it exhausts the battery charge and there are discussions about increasing the performance of the ICE (returning to an 18:1 compression ratio, anyone?) to compensate for the lower MGU-K performance.

F1 could change 2026 rules after next race

F1 will hold talks after the Chinese GP on tweaks to the 2026 rules package that could ease elements many drivers have criticised

www.the-race.com

I'd imagine it's easier to increase the compression than punish Mercedes for being innovative. I'm on board with that.
The more this race is dissected the more I'm thinking allot of the Mercedes advantage is from their software mapping.

I'd like to know what Mercedes is sharing with Williams as Williams is a factory team as opposed to simply a customer. It's obvious that McLaren is extremely frustrated with the lack of sharing from Mercedes HPP. It's really up to McLaren to figure out the software they are given as a customer team. I really think Mercedes has found some secret mapping sauce in optimizing their PU and MGU-K balance.

When you watch in car side by sides it's obvious the Mercedes is recovering over greater areas, and has more to deploy from the battery. I'd like to know just what their rear diff is doing in turns. Maybe a little bit of regeneration through mapping even if it's completely spec mechanically?

 

[CWallace]

I'd imagine it's easier to increase the compression than punish Mercedes for being innovative. I'm on board with that.
The more this race is dissected the more I'm thinking allot of the Mercedes advantage is from their software mapping.

If the speculation is to be believed, some of the other PU suppliers could run their current engines at a higher compression ratio than they do, but they would fail the "cold test" because they would have a CR higher than 16:1 at that point, with the CR then dropping to 16:1 once the engine was at operating temperature (as opposed to closer to 15:1 with a 16:1 ambient ratio).

I'd like to know what Mercedes is sharing with Williams as Williams is a factory team as opposed to simply a customer. It's obvious that McLaren is extremely frustrated with the lack of sharing from Mercedes HPP. It's really up to McLaren to figure out the software they are given as a customer team. I really think Mercedes has found some secret mapping sauce in optimizing their PU and MGU-K balance.

Could be. Could also be just that Mercedes having the "race spec" version of the M17 PU for many weeks before they made it available to the teams means their integration is much stronger in the early season.

 

[CWallace]

I'd like to know what Mercedes is sharing with Williams as Williams is a factory team as opposed to simply a customer.

Evidently not enough for James Vowels. 😛

Williams surprised by what Mercedes can extract from 2026 engine

Williams was "caught off guard" by what the works Mercedes F1 team has been able to extract from its engine, compared to its customers

www.the-race.com

Vowles has no doubt that Mercedes is supplying it with equal equipment and opportunity.

However, he suggested that there is not a free flow of information being made available to customers like his squad when it comes to extracting as much out of the Mercedes engine as the works team is.

"It is not an open door, as you would imagine, because that's where the performance is found," he said. "So it is down to us to try and work around it.

The above being said, he does agree with you that it is up to the customer teams to figure out what Mercedes knows about the M17 PU that they do not.

"We have to acknowledge that we, as Williams, do not have the sophistication that they have in other technologies, and definitely that's on us.

"I would say the converse is that there's some inherent knowledge they have which we don't. And that's down to us to figure out."

 

[CWallace]

So looks like Isack Hadjar has indirectly confirmed the cancellation of the Grands Prix of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in April. He was overheard talking to Kimi Antonelli on their flight to Shanghai and he mentioned "well, that is two less races you will be beating us". 😛

 

[JustinePaula]

So no races in April? 3 then crickets...
Pretty sure if you said to Japan, you can have 3 races back to back to back, they would sell all 3 out in about 13 minutes, and still have a 10 000% over demand list..

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It sounds like F1 are not looking to replace any races on the calendar as the logistics are too much. It was a bit different in covid as crowds were not attending. So it looks like Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will likely not feature this year. Abu Dhabi is obviously a long way off, so if you're optimistic....

 

[CWallace]

So remember that 6% stake in the AMG Mercedes team Toto Wolff sold?

Reports are indicating he is using it to bid on Otro Capital's 24% stake in the Alpine F1 team.

Wolff joins several other bidders, including Christian Horner. Alpine is currently valued at around GBP 2.5 billion, meaning Otro's stake is worth around GBP 600 million.

There is speculation that Wolff may be looking to turn Alpine into a "sister team" for Mercedes like Racing Bulls is for Red Bull. Renault has veto power over any sale until September 2026, but with the team now running Mercedes PUs and gearboxes and long-running rumors that Renault is considering existing F1, Wolff might be seen as the safer bet long-term over Horner.

Toto Wolff joining Christian Horner in race for Alpine? Why the stake is so attractive

After earlier interest from Christian Horner, it now appears Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is also in the market for the Otro Capital stake in Alpine. But what makes these shares so attractive to both?

www.motorsport.com

 

[Herdfan]

Do we really need the commentators to read out the race control messages that are displayed on screen? I can read them myself. I'm sure they mention them when they are going to affect the sharp end of the race. If they're not affecting points paying places then they're not that important.

I will agree that the one for Colapinto was irrelevant, but the one where they looked at the Leclerc/Russell incident was relevant and they never mentioned it.

 

[burgman]

It sounds like F1 are not looking to replace any races on the calendar as the logistics are too much. It was a bit different in covid as crowds were not attending. So it looks like Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will likely not feature this year. Abu Dhabi is obviously a long way off, so if you're optimistic....

That punches FIA right in their money balls, on several levels given their financial ties to all the teams.

 

[KaliYoni]

Apple CEO Tim Cook Takes a Pit Stop in New Video to Promote F1

Apple CEO Tim Cook today shared a short promotional video on social media highlighting Apple's new role as the U.S. home of Formula One. The clip takes place around Apple Park and shows Cook driving a small campus buggy along the ring road before pulling up beside Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen.

www.macrumors.com

I'm sure a lot of us have seen all the "advice" posted on MacRumors for Tim Cook (build this, don't build this, copy Steve Jobs more, retire now). So now that we know he follows instructions given over the radio, MR people should hack into his team's transmitter...

MR
Current status: P4. You are behind Google, Meta, ChatGPT and Anthropic in AI.

Tim
I know what I want to do. Leave me to it!

MR
We recommend mode push on releasing Apple TV and HomePod before Lap 2027.

Tim
Mate! I have no pace. And Siri keeps cutting me off.

MR
Team orders: Box, box, box. Confirm.

Tim
No! There's nothing to discuss.

MR
OK. Switch off your iPhone now and retire.​

 

[pachyderm]

That punches FIA right in their money balls, on several levels given their financial ties to all the teams.

My favorite Bradd Pitt film.

 

[pachyderm]

Evidently not enough for James Vowels. 😛

Williams surprised by what Mercedes can extract from 2026 engine

Williams was "caught off guard" by what the works Mercedes F1 team has been able to extract from its engine, compared to its customers

www.the-race.com

The above being said, he does agree with you that it is up to the customer teams to figure out what Mercedes knows about the M17 PU that they do not.

So, does Williams need to hire a computer hacker?

 

[CWallace]

Nice chart from The Race showing how much energy can be recovered during a qualifying lap (9MJ is the maximum).

Source:

 

[CWallace]

AutoSport is now reporting that it is the Mercedes F1 team that wants to buy into Alpine.

Even if it is a minority stake, Mercedes can leverage Alpine to help in developing, testing and setting-up their own car, just as Red Bull does with Racing Bulls (and is assuredly one of the reasons why Racing Bulls has been moved into Milton Keynes).

Why it's Mercedes, not Wolff, that wants to acquire Alpine F1 team shares

Rumours spread that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was planning to buy the 24% stake in Alpine currently owned by a consortium of celebrity investors – but the story has taken a bizarre turn

www.autosport.com

 

[Glideslope]

AutoSport is now reporting that it is the Mercedes F1 team that wants to buy into Alpine.

Even if it is a minority stake, Mercedes can leverage Alpine to help in developing, testing and setting-up their own car, just as Red Bull does with Racing Bulls (and is assuredly one of the reasons why Racing Bulls has been moved into Milton Keynes).

Why it's Mercedes, not Wolff, that wants to acquire Alpine F1 team shares

Rumours spread that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was planning to buy the 24% stake in Alpine currently owned by a consortium of celebrity investors – but the story has taken a bizarre turn

www.autosport.com

Smart move. I doubt Horner will be able to leverage against Mercedes.