Posted on 08/05/2009 7:57:45 PM PDT by Chode
This will be a general purpose thread for F1 news and pings that really don't require a thread of their own.
Re Mabarker:
Not heard anything or seen him for a while.
I’m afraid I didn’t interact with him much so I’ll abstain in favor of those who knew him better.
Ferrari are now in danger of repeating one of Mercedes’ biggest mistakes with Oliver Bearman
Ferrari can’t afford to leave Oliver Bearman at Haas for a third consecutive season
The last time a British driver had this much potential outside of a top team in Formula 1 was when George Russell joined Williams on loan from Mercedes.
Russell spent three seasons with the Grove-based team, albeit they were in a far worse position than Haas currently are.
Toto Wolff said leaving Russell at Williams for three years was his biggest ‘regret’, and Ferrari will want to avoid Bearman falling into the same trap.
Unfortunately, Bearman’s options elsewhere on the grid are very limited if he wants to maintain his relationship with Ferrari.
Haas could easily finish fifth in the constructors’ championship this year, but no team sitting above them in the standings will take a Ferrari driver on loan.
This could force Vasseur into an incredibly awkward position where he might have to sacrifice one of his incredible talents to promote Bearman, or let Ferrari’s best young driver go to avoid losing patience with the Scuderia.
https://www.f1oversteer.com/features/ferrari-are-now-in-danger-of-repeating-one-of-mercedes-biggest-mistakes-with-oliver-bearman/
My prediction:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2309318/posts?q=1&;page=6901#6922
But I was a bit off point speculating that Bearman might not have the Ferrari bug ...
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2309318/posts?q=1&;page=6951#6962
A very good synopsis on the skulduggery the other teams are undertaking to get the FIA to allow them an ADUO adjustment to account for the fact that Mercedes was the only team that showed up for the gunfight with an actual gun.
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/the-f1-rules-tensions-rivals-could-use-to-peg-mercedes-back/
This is where I point out that according to the FIA, Mercedes already has had the "hot engine" compression test administered and IT STILL PASSED. So there's no catching up for the other teams when the hot engine test is adopted after the summer break.
... Hamilton would not be human if he did not glance to his right on the podium in Shanghai, see the Mercedes drivers celebrating a second consecutive one-two finish in 2026 and ask if it was all worth it.
There was a suspicion back in 2024 that his move to Ferrari was, at least in part, an emotional spasm, a decision rooted in the raw frustration of his consecutive winless seasons at Mercedes in 2022/23.
With whispers of a significant Mercedes advantage for 2026 even back then, though, would he not have been better to keep calm, stick it out and wait patiently for the rules to swing back his way?
It is not a question he would take kindly to – see how he would flatly dismiss any suggestion that he might regret his decision to join Ferrari in 2024/25 – but surely there would be some pain if the team he walked away from ended up dominating this season.
It made for one of the great F1 moments in Shanghai when Hamilton joined his successor at Mercedes on the podium on the day he achieved a landmark result with Ferrari.
There was something almost paternal about the pride he took from Antonelli’s pole and victory, as though Kimi’s success had elevated his own sense of achievement.
Yet, deep down, Lewis must wonder if it should have been him in that Mercedes – him just starting to dream of the 2026 title – instead.
https://www.planetf1.com/features/lewis-hamilton-ferrari-mercedes-chinese-grand-prix-2026-regret
Think Lewis Hamilton regrets his move to Ferrari? Just wait until 2026
https://www.planetf1.com/features/lewis-hamilton-ferrari-mercedes-f1-2026-regret
Looks like we got the best of both worlds:
A photo of a McLaren with an inset of a photo of Chode:
See post #64
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4370613/posts?page=64#64
Thanks to silent_jonny!
Peace to all.
Ferrari allegedly is retooling the Macarena wing for another go at Suzuka.
https://www.f1technical.net/news/28341
At last year’s Suzuka event, highest trap speed was shared by three divers at 299.4 kph, a hair more than 186 mph. So it’s a circuit that mitigates Ferrari’s lack of top speed but also would seem to mitigate the benefit of the Macarena wing.
They’re supposedly considering taking a “filming day” at Monza that will allow them to do 120 miles of testing. They want to use Monza because it has long straights and limited recovery opportunities.
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/ferrari-seeks-an-advantage-over-mercedes-with-a-secret-test-at-monza
In the 2025 race there, there were 14 drivers who bested 340 kph (211 mph) so this definitely gives them opportunity to try to overcome that 340 kph barrier they’ve demonstrated so far this season.
My bad, that should have been 330 kph.
Super Clipping?
I’m finding differences of opinion among the F1 press over the meaning of “super-clipping.” Some of the press thinks it just an exaggerated case of last season’s garden-variety “clipping.” Which begs the question, if the battery was already drained by “clipping,” how much emptier could “super-clipping” get it?
The other faction thinks “super-clipping” is cornering in an unusually low gear, resulting in higher ICE rpms, making more power from the ICE available directly for re-filling the Energy Store.
I know which one makes more sense to me, but that doesn’t mean it’s the correct one.
This article says Red Bull’s problems are lack of downforce and squirrely balance (which is an offshoot of the balance problems).
Last year Red Bull chased away the greatest aerodynamicist this sport as ever seen and this season their aerodynamics suck. Who couldn’t see that one coming?
Previously, Verstappen had said their cars also are 10 kg (22 lbs) over minimum spec weight. Rule of thumb, each excess kilo is thought to cost 0.03-0.04 secs/lap, so 10 kg is worth 0.3-0.4 secs.
It’s confirmed that Ferrari will be taking advantage of the unscheduled break caused by cancellations of Saudi and Bahrain races to take a filming day at Monza. The apparent goal of this testing is to figure out how Mercedes is managing their battery deployment and recovery to so thoroughly outpace the Ferraris on the long straights.
The FIA’s original plan was to have Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunity (ADUO) after each six races but owing to the cancellation of Saudi and Bahrain, and Mercedes’ clear advantage, they’re considering still having the first adjustment after Miami even though it now is only the fourth race of the season (which obviously is to the advantage of the slower teams).
https://www.sportbible.com/f1/fia-ferrari-mercedes-f1-rule-change-614943-20260318
Why F1 2026 has killed qualifying, and why Sprint races are the future
https://www.planetf1.com/features/f1-qualifying-sprint-races-2026-grid-format
I do not consider this a good plan for one simple reason.
Over the three decades following Y2K, the average pole conversion rate has been than better than 50%. And as time passes, the advantage to the pole-sitter continues to increase. Thus far in the 2020s, the pole sitter has won 54% of races. In 2025, the pole-sitter won 16 of 24 races, a PCR of 67%.
Replacing knock-out race qualification with Sprint Race finishing order likely will dramatically increase the PCR, possibly so much so that the race itself will be largely redundant.
If Ferrari really thinks they’re on the verge of mounting a credible challenge against Mercedes, why did Hambone complain over race radio that he was down on power EIGHT TIMES at China?
Lewis Hamilton repeated the same complaint to Ferrari eight times during the Chinese Grand Prix
And of course an equally valid question is, what does that say about Buttboi’s relationship with his team that he felt it necessary to make the same complaint, airing the team’s dirty laundry for all the world to hear, eight times?
Remember Milli Vanilli? Or maybe I should ask if you're old enough to remember them.
Milli Vanilli was a pop singing duo who rocketed to stardom --- before they were caught lip-syncing their live performances to the recorded voices of studio singers. And come to find out, it wasn't even the duo's voices on their studio recordings. Those were professional studio singers, too.
Now if you paid money for Milli Vanilli recordings or bought tickets to their live shows, AND YOU ENJOYED THEM, should you be upset that it wasn't them doing the performing?
When I was reading the opinions/complaints of Carlos Sainz (below) regarding F1's current "formula," it occurred to me that's exactly what's going on in F1 today.
What they're selling us is not how it's billed. It's not a driver's superior skill that determines race outcome. It's not even the car on the whole. It's primarily about the drivers' decisions on when to deploy their battery power, and the efficiency of their cars in replacing that power once it's used.
And apart from the lights on the tails of the cars that flash when they're in energy-harvesting mode -- which the fans rarely ever get a glimpse of -- there's NOTHING outwardly visible to tell you this is going on. The fans never know whether a given driver is faster because he's won in a head-to-head competition, or whether second place simply ran low on battery power and couldn't keep up.
So if you enjoy the "racing" anyway, good for you. But don't kid yourself that there's a legitimate competitive process underpinning it.
And if the fans don't complain about it, we have no cause to expect it ever will change.
Carlos Sainz implores F1 to ‘rethink’ new rules with scathing verdict
"...Sainz has now called the sport out for 'trying to do their best to sell something' that the fans don’t want.
'When you look at what they are doing with graphics and everything, they are trying to do their best to sell something that I think we all know is not the right formula for Formula 1,' he told media including Motorsport Week...."
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/03/17/carlos-sainz-implores-f1-to-rethink-new-rules-with-scathing-verdict/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milli_Vanilli
I didn't go so far as posting this to Sir Chode's F1 ping list but if you think it's a worthwhile read, please let your fellow F1-fan Freepers know.
Max Verstappen’s 2026 Formula 1 Criticism Is Correct — and Completely Unconvincing
Max Verstappen has called Formula 1’s 2026 regulations ” like playing Mario Kart,” declared them “fundamentally flawed,” and told anyone who actually enjoys the yo-yo racing that they “really don’t know what racing is about” — and the maddening part is that he’s not wrong.
The 2026 technical overhaul created something genuinely strange. The new power units run on nearly a 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine and electrical energy, which means battery management now drives the race as much as driving talent does. The Overtake Mode button gives a driver a power surge to pass — but burns through the charge doing it, leaving them a sitting duck on the very next straight. Positions swap. The battles continue. The lap counter ticks down and nobody has actually gone anywhere.
Verstappen described it bluntly this week.
“You boost past, then you run out of battery the next straight, and they boost past you again,” Verstappen said. That’s not a hot take. That’s a mechanical description of what viewers watched happen in Melbourne and Shanghai. The Australian opener logged 75 more overtakes than last year’s race at the same circuit. Impressive number. Almost meaningless in context.
An overtake that gets reversed two corners later isn’t an overtake. It’s a position exchange, powered by a button. And dressing that up as close racing is exactly the kind of thing F1’s marketing department loves and race engineers quietly despise.
So yes — the critique has merit. The problem is that Max Verstappen is the single least credible person in the paddock to be making it.
https://sportsnaut.com/f1/verstappen-f1-2026-regulations-criticism
Adrian Newey has been directed to select his replacement.
I don’t think there’s a timeframe yet, and it was said from the start that his tenure as TP was temporary, but somehow this feels like you mom sending you to select the switch she’ll then whip you with.
https://www.planetf1.com/news/adrian-newey-aston-martin-team-principal-search
Asked directly about switching from Haas to Ferrari at the end of the 2026 season, Ollie Bearman says ... nothing.
I’m only here to help the team, focusing on the here and now, yadda, yadda, yadda.
He’s also well-coached on PR matters, you gotta give him that.
Fixed it.
It's easy to accuse Verstappen of "sour grapes" since he's reduced from a WDC threat to a mid-packer, but that is entirely an ad hominem attack. The accusation has nothing to do with the facts and entirely boils down to naysayers projecting how they would feel if they were in his shoes. They're not addressing what he says, simply attacking him for saying it.
Interesting remarks from former Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto (who now runs the Audi F1 Project) regarding the key difference between the culture at Scuderia Ferrari and the culture at Audi.
Ferrari, he says, has a Latin culture. “You could say there were no processes: we just gave things a go. You didn’t need a plan to get there...”
Which brings to mind the image of an Italian ‘Nonna’ throwing pasta against the refrigerator door to see if it sticks.
“...Whereas at Audi, with a more German, more Swiss culture, it’s all about the plans first. Without a plan, we don’t act.
“The Germans always have a plan. And having a Latin background allows me, in a way, to bring this difference, which can be useful.”
Ferrari’s former chief brutally trolls F1 team
Mattia Binotto is now a key player within the Audi project
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/1079139/ferrari-f1-mattia-binotto-audi-trolls-team/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.