I just pulled up the Wikipedia page on the 2026 F1 season. This is the first thing I saw:
I don't think he shaves yet.
And he's leading the in the WDC.
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.
"...[I]t’s difficult to say anything other than that the power unit regulations are fundamentally flawed in their execution. Peak performance may be impressive, but the compromises needed to achieve the potency within are far too great and, as Suzuka proved, are actively dangerous given the potential for a deploying car to encounter one that isn’t and, worse, one that could slow down due to harvesting at unexpected parts of the track.
"After all, who didn’t think George Russell was breaking down when he suddenly slowed approaching Spoon in the closing stages of the race? That dramatic loss of speed was down to nothing more than a moment of unexpected superclipping while trying to save energy…
"F1 is very lucky that Oliver Bearman was largely unscathed on this occasion, but it would be unwise to ignore the warning signs that his huge crash represents. It only took two and a half races for the first major incident. How long will it be until the next? And let there be no doubt: there will be a next, unless fundamental changes are made.
"The artificial back-and-forth nature of the hollow racing battles that we’ve seen across the opening weekends is perfect fodder for social media feeds, which lends itself well to presenting F1 as incredibly entertaining excitement, which resulted in a small quietening of discontent after a relatively engaging Chinese Grand Prix.
"But, despite the showbiz aspect, and against the backdrop of an incredible amount of online and social negativity as well as driver criticism, it’s also important that the sport’s broadcasters and media shine a light, responsibly, on the negative aspects these regulations have introduced.
"Bizarrely, the UK broadcaster Sky F1 and its crew have elected against doing this and, instead, suggest that every pass is a display of breathtaking skill, and that lifting off to go faster is, in fact, a new and interesting way to go racing.
"It is not. While the back-and-forth may make for somewhat entertaining viewing, the sport has changed fundamentally to little more than an inane spectacle, and sources have suggested to PlanetF1.com that the deeper-rooted issues are playing a secondary role of importance when it comes to commercial considerations between the rights holder and broadcasters – something that was borne out by the prominent promotion of the Mario Kart movie on the grid at Suzuka, a move that seems utterly juvenile at a time when the sport is struggling to be taken seriously.
"It’s an interesting editorial choice Sky has taken, made all the more intriguing by the wealth of experienced former racing drivers on its presenting panel, enthusing about the regulations in ways that the active racing drivers are decidedly not.
"It’s an inane spectacle that not only risks hemorrhaging viewers as the hollowness of it all strips the sport of its prestige and sense of importance, but also risks big crashes for the unhappy drivers.
"Never one to be cowed from speaking his mind, GPDA chairman Carlos Sainz was forthright in calling for change – and making it fast.
"'These kinds of accidents were always going to happen, and I’m not very happy with what we’ve had up until now,' he said.
"'Hopefully, we come up with a better solution that doesn’t create these massive closing speeds and a safer way of racing.'
https://www.planetf1.com/news/oliver-bearman-crash-f1-2026-backlash-driver-criticism
My first thought on this is about accidents on the highly elevated section:
1) How do the Marshalls get there? (Likely from the inside???)
2) There is a great scene in the movie Grand Prix when one of the GP cars goes sailing over the banking at the old Monza track.
3) To quote J. Russell Finch: ‘He just went sailing out there!’
Thanks for the posts!
Okay, I’m pretty sure this one IS an april fools prank because there’s no indication where the news came from, and it’s been online for about two hours and no one else is reporting the same news:
Max Verstappen announces immediate retirement from F1
Verstappen calls time on a successful career on April 1
By John Smith - 1 April 2026 - 16:08
Max Verstappen announces his immediate retirement from Formula 1 as the four-time world champion calls time on his successful career, becoming disgruntled with the new regulations and walking away from Red Bull....
https://www.total-motorsport.com/max-verstappen-announces-immediate-retirement-from-f1/
This is slightly stale news but the reason Russell couldn’t fend off Leclerc at Japan was a software glitch.
When George commanded a gear shift and pressed a control button at the same time, the software glitch turned on the “super-clipping” mode, which means it puts the KERS into energy harvesting mode, which means it’s converting ICE horsepower to electric current and storing it instead of it driving the rear wheels, which slows the car down.
They don’t give much detail, like it doesn’t say if it was a certain button or any old button. Or if it was upshifts or downshifts, or if it was just one particular gear or any old shift.
And I don’t know what has to be done to get OUT of super-clip mode but apparently it took long enough that Russell couldn’t get it done before being overtaken.
But you can add this to the list of defects that should have been sorted if FIA hadn’t mandated development be such a rush job.
Laurent Mekies says Red Bull’s problems now are a consequence of doing everything they could to support Verstappen’s 2025 late season title charge.
What they spent from the budget limit, the wind tunnel limit and the CFD supercomputer limit in support of 2025 might have been spent on the 2026 car but “Nobody wanted to give up.”
They came up two points short on WDC so it’s hard to argue they shouldn’t have given Max a chance. In the end, when Max finally retires — which might be sooner rather than later — 2025 could be his Magnum Opus. The only 2nd place finish I can think of in F1 history that comes close is Niki Lauda in 1976.
I lump Martin Brundle in with David Coulthard and Karun Chandok. They’re not F1 commentators, they’re F1 cheerleaders. So maybe the FIA will wake up and smell the bacon when Brundle says they need to do something about the rules NOW.
But Brundle’s objection isn’t that they’ve turned the racing into crap, it’s because Lando Norris’ car overtook Hambones car when Lando didn’t mean to. Like it had a mind of its own.
“...[P]ower delivery must be proportional to what the driver is doing with the throttle. That’s a fundamental. It has to be linear”
That’s his objection in toto. Because Lando said this:
“I didn’t even want to overtake Lewis, it’s just about the battery deploys, and I don’t want it to deploy, but I can’t control it. So I overtake him, and then I have no battery, so he just flies past.”
The part about Hambone retaking the position is of no nevermind to Brundle, he’s just upset that Norris overtook without meaning to.
https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-2026-rules-martin-brundle-fia-fix-lando-norris-lewis-hamilton
The weights of every F1 car in 2026 Team Kg above 768 kg minumum weight Mercedes Under the limit Ferrari Under the limit Audi Under the limit McLaren Right on the limit Haas + 1 kg Alpine + 2/ kg Racing Bulls + 4/5 kg Cadillac + 6/7 kg Red Bull + 9/10 kg Aston Martin +9/10 kg Williams + 26 kg
Each kilo is worth 0.03-0.04 seconds per lap.
10 kilos costs 0.3-0.4 seconds/lap.
26 kilos costs a week and a half.
Underweight cars use tungsten ballast to bring them up to spec, usually positioned exactly where they wan the CG to be, bolted to the chassis.
https://racingnews365.com/the-weights-of-every-f1-car-in-2026
768 kg is absurd. The original Lotus 7 weighed 500 kg. A Lotus Europa S1 weighed 610 kg. An Ariel Atom is about the same.
I just pulled up the Wikipedia page on the 2026 F1 season. This is the first thing I saw:
I don't think he shaves yet.
And he's leading the in the WDC.
You think we should tell him that Mercedes also has engine updates in the works, or just let it be a surprise?
31 F1 podiums, 14 wins and 3 WDCs.
He died from liver disease in 2014, aged 88.
Happy birthday, Sir Jack.
Aussie Aussie Aussie
Oi Oi Oi
* Except it's already tomorrow on Oz, so this is a day late.
Toni Cuquerella is a former F1 engineer. He worked for various teams from 2006-2012 and the Scuderia 2015-16. He says he's run simulations to figured out how F1 can tweak the equipment they're now running so there's NO SUPER-CLIPPING and all it costs them is 6 mph in top speed.
His formula is:
#1. Lower the maximum battery output from 350 kW to 200 kW
#2. Lower the max storage charge from 9 mJ to 6 mJ
#3. Lower the slew rate from 100 kW/s to 50 kW/s
* Slew rate is how long it takes the battery to go from zero to hero.
With a slew rate of 100 kW/s and 350 kW max output, it takes the battery 3.5 seconds to go from 0 kW to 350.
With a slew rate of 50 with 200 max, it will take four seconds to go from 0 kW to 200.
There's less power stored in the battery, and there's less peak power to be had from the battery, but the rate at which battery power can be applied is halved.
This changes power contributions from 50/50 (electric/ICE) to 36/64 but, according to his simulations, will only cost 10 kph/6 mph in top speed but it will take longer to reach it.
Super-clipping is primarily used when cornering. Eliminating it increases cornering speed, which reduces the impact on lap times of the slower acceleration in the straights.
Sorry if you don't 'habla' but Toni is Espanish.
According to his simulations, these numbers are the tweaking sweet spot for preserving speed and minimizing 'clipping' while eliminating the need for 'super-clipping' altogether, and all it costs is more leisurely acceleration (which is somewhat offset for reasons I mentioned above) and about 6 mph in top speed.
Sorry if I'm sounding like a broken record but why didn't the FIA come up with this BEFORE even forcing the teams to switch to such a compromised Frankencar.
I forgot the link
Now comes a report that Red Bull will be accepting the whuppin’ they’re receiving in 2026 rather than chasing the championship like they did in 2025 for the sake of their competitiveness in 2027.
Gee, ain’t budget caps wunnerful?
Red Bull do not have the budget to fix Max Verstappen’s 2026 car without sacrificing 2027
There will be no serious overhauls to F1’s engine rules this season because Mercedes and Ferrari won’t allow it, and two of the five engine providers voting NO is enough to veto any proposed change.
Toto Wolff asks why change it, the racing it “beautiful” as is. He even makes a preemptive Ad Hominem attack against those who think the racing SUCKS.
Of course Mercedes’ objection has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the fact that they have the most powerful ICE on the grid. Nor does the fact that Ferrari dreams that they could be just that fast, too, if they only could smooth out a few rough edges.
https://www.grandprix.com/news/mercedes-ferrari-to-block-2026-rule-changes-despite-backlash.html
The FIA’s guide on how to apply socialism to motor racing:
F1 EXPLAINED: Things to know about convergence-assisting ADUO system
https://www.f1technical.net/news/28418
It shows that the FIA knew in advance that their new rule structure was inadequate that they left themselves a golden parachute to fix their screw-ups (=ADUO).
This is effectively punishing Mercedes for showing up at Melbourne with a substantially faster car than anyone else. It’s anti-competitive and just not cricket.
Other sports also have processes for creating better parity and leveling the quality of competition but they make the changes in the off-season. They don’t go fiddling with the rules once the competition has begun just because somebody’s getting their butt whupped.
Kimi Antonelli has told Sky Sports Italia that Ferrari will be granted an ADUO upgrade after Myjammy.
Asked about the comment that Vasseur (and others) have made that it will be a “new season” after (the presumed ADUO updates) after Myjammy, Antonelli replied:
“I know that there will be big changes: even the Aduo that has been granted to Ferrari for example that will allow him to develop the engine...”*
*Firefox translation from Itey to English
Presuming this is genuine, it raises lots of interesting questions, like who leaked this news to Antonelli? And why didn’t the FIA make the announcement themselves? And how could it do anything but reflect poorly on the FIA that news of such an important development should leak from an unofficial source before they can announce it formally?
It sounds like the inmates are running the asylum.
https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/1080959/mercedes-f1-kimi-antonelli-ferrari-fia-lifeline-aduo/
https://sport.sky.it/formula-1/2026/04/03/kimi-antonelli-f1-mercedes-intervista
Every Adrian Newey car that won a constructors’ title including the Red Bull he is ‘very proud of’
This might interest you if you’d like some F1 news with no controversy attached.
However, they left off what might have been his most significant car of all because it never won a race, much less a championship,* the Leyton House March 881. Newey had given the car an exhaust-blown diffuser (a first for F1), which his way of saying, ‘This is my world, but I’ll let you live in it ... if you ask nicely.’
* 1988 was the season when McLaren/Honda (Senna/Prost) won 15 of the 16 races, And Leyton House had 14 DNFs, so it’s not like you can put all the blame on Newey.
Clark shoots Colin Chapman his 'Whatchootalkinbout, Willis?' look
In 72 starts, Clark won two world championships, 25 races, took 33 poles and set 28 fastest laps. He remains the only driver ever to have won the World Drivers Championship and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year. Chapman always maintained he was in a different league from all the other drivers.
I draw your attention to the hand-lettered sign on the front of the bus. F1 certainly has come up in the world.
On this day, 7 April, 2009, McLaren was called before the FIA over what would become known as the "Lie-gate" Scandal, involving Lewis Hamilton.
...FIA race director Charlie Whiting later revealed the extent of Hamilton's denial: "When asked very clearly, 'Did you consciously let him past, did you pull over to let him past?' he said, 'No'. The question was asked more than once."
Hamilton was disqualified, with Trulli reinstated. Ryan, a 35-year McLaren veteran, was fired....
https://racingnews365.com/lewis-hamilton-scandal-leaves-reputation-in-tatters-otd
Hambone's little fanbois have removed any reference to Lie-Gate from his Wikipedia page, but they remain on the Wiki pages for the 2009 season and the 2009 Aussie GP (but the page for the season only mentions the disqualification in passing and makes no reference to "Lie-Gate").
In a YouTube podcast, F1 journalist Julianne Cerasoli spoke of talking with Stefano Domenicali, CEO and president of the Formula One Group, about the state of racing with the new 50/50 hybrid engines. The highlights of what he told her is detailed on the F1 Oversteer website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WNilT7nU-U
Domenicali’s remarks BEFORE Japan were (to the effect) ‘[T]he racing is fine. There are no issues with the racing. “We are only going to address qualifying because qualifying is absolutely ridiculous. For racing, we just need people to be more adjusted to the regulations, and all the stuff that you’re seeing that maybe isn’t right. It’s because of that nobody is optimising anything. So let’s wait until Hungary.’
But Hungary isn’t until July 26th.
So straight off you know Domenicali has his head stuck squarely up his arse because he genuinely believes it’s possible for the the qualies to be so out of whack yet ‘the racing is fine.’
His remark about needing the fans to adjust to the new regs is a pure case of p1zzing down our leg and trying to convince us it’s raining.
But after Ollie Bearman’s Japan crash, Cerasoli thinks Domenicali has changed his mind and would like to have some sort of adjustment ready before Miami.
However, the same article states that ESPN reporter Nate Saunders is saying the FIA already took their best guess at fixing the qualifying with tweaks to the regs on harvesting and deployment but when they tested it in simulation, the difference was negligible.
Saunders says the basic problem is that the new power unit was only intended to provide the odd electrical boost now and again, not to be used continuously corner after corner and lap after lap, which is what the drivers are attempting to do.
They are, after all, racers, who get paid for going as fast as they can.
The article concludes, “...But even the FIA’s attempts to tweak the rules to improve the driving experience haven’t worked out, and they may have to wait beyond the Miami Grand Prix for any improvement.”
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