2026 Formula One Season Thread

[Glideslope]

And will this throw the Championship even more in Mercedes' favor since they have the most powerful ICE on the grid right now?

It would be helpful if there were a way to Map for reducing their power just in overtake mode. Might be effective. Probably wouldn’t be. I’m still convinced there is a lot more going on with the Mercedes-AMG F1 M17 EP than compression. They are miles ahead on the Mapping for MGU-K/PU harmony.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It would be helpful if there were a way to Map for reducing their power just in overtake mode. Might be effective. Probably wouldn’t be. I’m still convinced there is a lot more going on with the Mercedes-AMG F1 M17 EP than compression. They are miles ahead on the Mapping for MGU-K/PU harmony.

Or the Brits are just damned good at building a good engine as we've seen many times in the past 😛

 

[headlessmike]

Or the Brits are just damned good at building a good engine as we've seen many times in the past 😛

Mater [in Cars 2]:
And then I remembered what they say about old British engines. If there ain't no oil under 'em, there ain't no oil in 'em.

 

[JustinePaula]

A VIP was allowed into the post race weight station and took pictures of the weights without fuel. The RB22 is 19kg overweight empty. This explains a little bit.

I’ll wager that’s going to be it for VIP Weigh Station access for the remainder of time. TBF, it’s looks like they were taking a picture of the car and sharp eyes saw the weight.

I see nothing wrong, it should be public accessible information, as the public cannot be accommodated, we send a proxy to represent the public, we call them commentators, they are journalists, that report for our benefit.. They need factual data to present to the client, the subscriber, or reader of a newspaper/blog...

If the FIA hinder access, then that is a story worth investigating.. Which donkey kart is heavier or lighter is important information..

 

[Glideslope]

I see nothing wrong, it should be public accessible information, as the public cannot be accommodated, we send a proxy to represent the public, we call them commentators, they are journalists, that report for our benefit.. They need factual data to present to the client, the subscriber, or reader of a newspaper/blog...

If the FIA hinder access, then that is a story worth investigating.. Which donkey kart is heavier or lighter is important information..

Valid points. The variable being the FIA and political pressure from the teams. He who has the gold makes the rules. That’s the Liberty Media mantra. As I stated in my comment, I don’t believe the person was trying to record the weight. I was anticipating the reaction.

 

[JustinePaula]

Yeah, pretty sure someone with twisted panties is going to be throwing their weight around and bans incoming...

 

[Glideslope]

Yeah, pretty sure someone with twisted panties is going to be throwing their weight around and bans incoming...

It’s always the panties. On a side note it was helpful to see the RB22 is almost 20kg overweight. That explains the issues Max is having with balance and deg. Probably holding him back up to .6 per lap on most circuits. 😉

Edit: Color

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

It’s always the panties. On a side note it was helpful to see the RB22 is almost 20kg overweight. That explains the issues Max is having with balance and deg. Probably holding him back up to .6 per lap on most circuits. 😉

Edit: Color

It is also not an easy issue to solve. 20kg is huge in F1 terms. When you consider drivers are not allowed to race wearing a wrist watch due to the weight disadvange. Losing something comparable to a sack of potatoes or 20 litres of water is not something that can be easily shaved off the design.

 

[JustinePaula]

Reminds me of the "Silver Arrows" kart was heavy, so scratch off the paint, car is light.. Maybe try reducing parts, like the battery.. A simple 2 litre engine from a road car.. Manual gears.. 3 pedals, loud, stopping, and change gears.. Old school..

But this idea of mobile server racks with a turbo.. Nah.. Sexy on the bedroom wall as a poster, but in real life, old school works.. cars are cars, servers are servers.. driving servers is something a PHD in Comp Science from MIT, not Lewis, Max or Kimi A.. ALthough Kimi A might have done high school comp scie..

 

[Madonepro]

Just watched the race, well done Kimi!! Man that is going to get confusing having TWO Kimi’s in F1 lol. As for the Ferrari’s…. ??????? Wwhhhhhyyyyyyyy?? Like why did thy choose to fight for half the Grand Prix? They could have stopped squabbling, caught up to the Mercedes and used tactics to overtake them. Instead they bickered and ended up miles behind Kimi and allowed George to take second.

Also a THIRD of the field failed to finish or even start due to reliability issues..

What? There was no chance that Ferrari could catch up with Mercedes. Other than some tyre issues, for the first 10 laps when changed, Mercedes were at least 3/4 tenths faster. When the compression ratio rule change takes place, we'll see a closer battle. Mercedes had a 6 race opportunity to make hay, but with 2 races canned, that opportunity is less, so we should start to see a more competitive season.

 

[Pezimak]

What? There was no chance that Ferrari could catch up with Mercedes. Other than some tyre issues, for the first 10 laps when changed, Mercedes were at least 3/4 tenths faster. When the compression ratio rule change takes place, we'll see a closer battle. Mercedes had a 6 race opportunity to make hay, but with 2 races canned, that opportunity is less, so we should start to see a more competitive season.

Down the straights Ferrari were faster.. they COULD have caught up if they had a strategy, but this is Ferrari so they don't believe in strategies lol.

Anyway, as said by others I've seen in videos, when the car are side by side round corners they are going about 40MPH slower then they usually do, because they have no battery... this whole 50 /50 split is ridiculous. Yes I hope the changes will make it better, they need at least a 60 / 40 split and the compression ratio mess sorted out.

 

[Madonepro]

When you consider drivers are not allowed to race wearing a wrist watch due to the weight disadvange.

FIA regulations do not permit watches to be worn during races.

 

[Madonepro]

Down the straights Ferrari were faster.. they COULD have caught up if they had a strategy, but this is Ferrari so they don't believe in strategies lol.

Nope.

 

[Glideslope]

It is also not an easy issue to solve. 20kg is huge in F1 terms. When you consider drivers are not allowed to race wearing a wrist watch due to the weight disadvange. Losing something comparable to a sack of potatoes or 20 litres of water is not something that can be easily shaved off the design.

Not being an ME, I would assume the most difficult aspect is reducing the weight while finding a balance? I have experience with moving CG's in aircraft but not in any design aspect. Is it similar to moving a CG?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

FIA regulations do not permit watches to be worn during races.

I know yeah, but drivers had long since stopped wearing them in the 1990's due to weight saving. The FIA tried to stop earrings and other jewellery but that didn't seem to last.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Not being an ME, I would assume the most difficult aspect is reducing the weight while finding a balance? I have experience with moving CG's in aircraft but not in any design aspect. Is it similar to moving a CG?

The CoG is always factored in and weight distribution will be calculated across the entire length of the car. Its absolutely vital in fact, which is why designers always try and get it is as low to the ground as possible, within the regs. Probably similar to an aircraft as an F1 car essensially works like an upsidedown aircraft. I am not sure what the ballast limits are currently, but I doubt it would be something as simple as adjusting that. Imagine Red Bull going through what Ferrari had last season, not knowing how to balance the car lol.

 

[Glideslope]

The CoG is always factored in and weight distribution will be calculated across the entire length of the car. Its absolutely vital in fact, which is why designers always try and get it is as low to the ground as possible, within the regs. Probably similar to an aircraft as an F1 car essensially works like an upsidedown aircraft. I am not sure what the ballast limits are currently, but I doubt it would be something as simple as adjusting that. Imagine Red Bull going through what Ferrari had last season, not knowing how to balance the car lol.

Right. I’ve thought of the upside down analogy before . 👍

 

[CWallace]

It is also not an easy issue to solve. 20kg is huge in F1 terms. When you consider drivers are not allowed to race wearing a wrist watch due to the weight disadvange. Losing something comparable to a sack of potatoes or 20 litres of water is not something that can be easily shaved off the design.

Now we know why Max and the senior technical staff cancelled all media events and immediately jumped onto his private plane and flew back to Milton Keynes. When the RB22 makes the RB21 look like a stable and forgiving chassis... I mean the thing eats tires like the Haas of a couple years back.

And it is not just the chassis. The cooling system is evidently not fully up to the task, which is why Max had to retire the car in China or risk cooking the engine and control electronics. And it looks like they may not have a good handle on the energy management software as Max reported difficulties charging and discharging the battery during the race. And the location of the MGU-K on top of the airbox might be hampering its effectiveness as Max has noted the car bogs down at the start.

 

[pachyderm]

I'm literally watching the races just to see how well Carlos does.

meh!

 

[Glideslope]

Now we know why Max and the senior technical staff cancelled all media events and immediately jumped onto his private plane and flew back to Milton Keynes. When the RB22 makes the RB21 look like a stable and forgiving chassis... I mean the thing eats tires like the Haas of a couple years back.

And it is not just the chassis. The cooling system is evidently not fully up to the task, which is why Max had to retire the car in China or risk cooking the engine and control electronics. And it looks like they may not have a good handle on the energy management software as Max reported difficulties charging and discharging the battery during the race. And the location of the MGU-K on top of the airbox might be hampering its effectiveness as Max has noted the car bogs down at the start.

And here I thought he just wanted to get early laps at the Nürburgring. /s 😉

This Software Mapping for the MGU-K/PU synchronization is the Holy Grail at this point.

 

[bjf123]

If they’re that concerned with weight, shouldn’t each driver shave his head? That would be a few ounces!

Many years ago after the British Grand Prix, I got to tour the BAR factory. The chief mechanic was our tour guide. He talked about how they had been trying to shave a few ounces off some part by redesigning it. Then they figured out that change was going to end up costing 7 figures by the time they were done, so they abandoned that project.

 

[CWallace]

Many years ago after the British Grand Prix, I got to tour the BAR factory. The chief mechanic was our tour guide. He talked about how they had been trying to shave a few ounces off some part by redesigning it. Then they figured out that change was going to end up costing 7 figures by the time they were done, so they abandoned that project.

This is one of the reasons why Williams has said it will take until Summer to shed the weight because they have to work within the cost cap so they can only change so many parts at a time to stay within their spending path, whereas in the past they would just drop, say, 30 million Pounds in one go to shed those 30 kilograms.

 

[avro707]

Now we know why Max and the senior technical staff cancelled all media events and immediately jumped onto his private plane and flew back to Milton Keynes. When the RB22 makes the RB21 look like a stable and forgiving chassis... I mean the thing eats tires like the Haas of a couple years back.

Speaking of Verstappen, according to certain parts of the media the holy grail of F1 expertise (Juan Pablo Montoya) believes Verstappen should be booted from F1 because of his disgruntled comments. Apparently no driver should be able to criticise the sport…

Uhhh sorry JPM, you didn’t win any F1 championships in your career, maybe it’s you who needs to be leaving instead of being an over-opinionated pundit?

If we continue on that path, legends of the sport like Sir Jackie Stewart would never have been able to campaign for safety improvements that folks like Juan Montoya benefited from. Additionally the campaigning after the terrible 1994 season to really improve safety wouldn’t have occurred.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Speaking of Verstappen, according to certain parts of the media the holy grail of F1 expertise (Juan Pablo Montoya) believes Verstappen should be booted from F1 because of his disgruntled comments. Apparently no driver should be able to criticise the sport…

Uhhh sorry JPM, you didn’t win any F1 championships in your career, maybe it’s you who needs to be leaving instead of being an over-opinionated pundit?

If we continue on that path, legends of the sport like Sir Jackie Stewart would never have been able to campaign for safety improvements that folks like Juan Montoya benefited from. Additionally the campaigning after the terrible 1994 season to really improve safety wouldn’t have occurred.

To be honest, whenever I see a clickbait article headline with a ridiculous opinion, I just know it's either going to be Ralf Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve or Juan Pablo Montoya. Ralf is having a bit of a hard time at the moment as Lewis is driving rather well and its putting a bit of a dampener on Ralf's boisterous campaign to protect his brothers legacy and discredit Lewis at all costs. Montoya was tapped before, but has never been the same since he 'broke his head' on that camera in the paddock.

 

[Glideslope]

Speaking of Verstappen, according to certain parts of the media the holy grail of F1 expertise (Juan Pablo Montoya) believes Verstappen should be booted from F1 because of his disgruntled comments. Apparently no driver should be able to criticise the sport…

Uhhh sorry JPM, you didn’t win any F1 championships in your career, maybe it’s you who needs to be leaving instead of being an over-opinionated pundit?

If we continue on that path, legends of the sport like Sir Jackie Stewart would never have been able to campaign for safety improvements that folks like Juan Montoya benefited from. Additionally the campaigning after the terrible 1994 season to really improve safety wouldn’t have occurred.

Montoya and Massa are eternal complainers. Both have chips on their shoulders the size of an MGU-H.