Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2026Formula 1

[Bram Turismo]

shady engine.

 

[ScottPuss20]

Antonelli's win is huge for Italy because they've had to wait 20 years for a new winner in F1. We Aussies have been spoilt with 3 winners in that time. I find it quite extraordinary that a country soo close to F1 would have a smaller talent pool than a country on the other side of the planet. Another crazy thing is that Italy hasn't had a CHAMPION since 1953. If Antonelli wins the championship, he will break a bigger drought than that of Australia's. Imagine the scenes.

 

[VillaJ100]

Antonelli's win is huge for Italy because they've had to wait 20 years for a new winner in F1. We Aussies have been spoilt with 3 winners in that time. I find it quite extraordinary that a country soo close to F1 would have a smaller talent pool than a country on the other side of the planet. Another crazy thing is that Italy hasn't had a CHAMPION since 1953. If Antonelli wins the championship, he will break a bigger drought than that of Australia's. Imagine the scenes.

Irony of the best Italian driver in a generation and Ferrari didn't sign them

View attachment 1520761

It's funny but it can't really be denied. Ferrari would gain half a second in the corners and lose 0.8secs in one effing straight.

 

[Grayfox]

Antonelli's win is huge for Italy because they've had to wait 20 years for a new winner in F1. We Aussies have been spoilt with 3 winners in that time. I find it quite extraordinary that a country soo close to F1 would have a smaller talent pool than a country on the other side of the planet. Another crazy thing is that Italy hasn't had a CHAMPION since 1953. If Antonelli wins the championship, he will break a bigger drought than that of Australia's. Imagine the scenes.

But we've also been waiting ages for an Aussie to take out the WDC.

 

[United6694]

Not enjoying the new regs at all tbh, it's removed the element of the driver skill making a difference. The way Russel blasted past one of the Ferrari's, how are you meant to defend that?

I think Merc are running within the % margin that avoids giving other teams development time (which of course they should, they clearly have done a good job assuming its not related to the engine compression ratio) but it writes of the season and we will just have a repeat of 2014-2020, if Russel gets pole after pole and wins nearly all those titles like Hamilton did will people start saying he's the best ever?

I think all this proves is it always is the car and luck of the draw for the drivers, and when you have 2 close cars the driver can make the difference, e.g Max last year and Lewis in 2017.

I hope i'm proven wrong, I'm going to the GP this year at Silverstone.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Irony of the best Italian driver in a generation and Ferrari didn't sign them



It's funny but it can't really be denied. Ferrari would gain half a second in the corners and lose 0.8secs in one effing straight.

Yes, the deficit is very apparent. If the Ferrari is better in the corners, then Mercedes must have a good chunk of power over them to pull gaps in the races. I don't know if Mercedes optimized for power deployment or if they can still improve in the cornering.

My main question is will the other Mercedes powered teams catch on to the party mode.

Not enjoying the new regs at all tbh, it's removed the element of the driver skill making a difference. The way Russel blasted past one of the Ferrari's, how are you meant to defend that?

I think Merc are running within the % margin that avoids giving other teams development time (which of course they should, they clearly have done a good job assuming its not related to the engine compression ratio) but it writes of the season and we will just have a repeat of 2014-2020, if Russel gets pole after pole and wins nearly all those titles like Hamilton did will people start saying he's the best ever?

I think all this proves is it always is the car and luck of the draw for the drivers, and when you have 2 close cars the driver can make the difference, e.g Max last year and Lewis in 2017.

I hope i'm proven wrong, I'm going to the GP this year at Silverstone.

It's not much different when 2 generations ago, Mercedes had the best engine and car and was able to run in the front almost every race.

I'm okay with the current set-up, but will wait a bit more as it still seems teams are figuring things out. I would've preferred a more engine reliant split like 60/40.

 

[AshenGraey]

Not enjoying the new regs at all tbh, it's removed the element of the driver skill making a difference. The way Russel blasted past one of the Ferrari's, how are you meant to defend that?

I think Merc are running within the % margin that avoids giving other teams development time (which of course they should, they clearly have done a good job assuming its not related to the engine compression ratio) but it writes of the season and we will just have a repeat of 2014-2020, if Russel gets pole after pole and wins nearly all those titles like Hamilton did will people start saying he's the best ever?

I think all this proves is it always is the car and luck of the draw for the drivers, and when you have 2 close cars the driver can make the difference, e.g Max last year and Lewis in 2017.

I hope i'm proven wrong, I'm going to the GP this year at Silverstone.

Saying that the new regs removed the element of driver skill making the difference is not entirely true because it's more of the same from previous regs too. New regs always bring with them some form of dominance and that's about the team nailing their cars for those regs. Russell passing the Ferrari to me is just a matter of having the more powerful engine and probably a better car compared to the Ferraris. That being said, the Ferrari did present him with an albeit "easy" challenge considering the pace difference but the driver is and will always be a factor.

Looking back at the history of this sport, it's always been about teams having the best car and the best driver pairing. No driver will ever be a world champion without having at least a competitive car and no team will ever win without having a great driver. Neither Max or Lewis can win a championship in a non complete/competitive car and I'm positive that's been proven.

2 races in so far this season and neither have been procedural where drivers finished where they started either because it was hard to overtake or they couldn't handle dirty air or whatever problems that the previous regs had. So I think the regs are OK for the racing but from an engine perspective, maybe not quite 50/50 like they currently have it but otherwise, it's looking positive to me. I just hope the other teams can catch up quickly so that Mercedes doesn't just cruise to victory every race like Red Bull did in 2023.

 

[VillaJ100]

Yes, the deficit is very apparent. If the Ferrari is better in the corners, then Mercedes must have a good chunk of power over them to pull gaps in the races. I don't know if Mercedes optimized for power deployment or if they can still improve in the cornering.

My main question is will the other Mercedes powered teams catch on to the party mode.

It's not much different when 2 generations ago, Mercedes had the best engine and car and was able to run in the front almost every race.

I'm okay with the current set-up, but will wait a bit more as it still seems teams are figuring things out. I would've preferred a more engine reliant split like 60/40.

Yeah I think the power difference must be monstrous and partly to do with compression but also another yet unknown factor. Also the Merc isn't a bad car either, I think the Ferrari probably shades it in the low and mid-speed as has likely more mechanical grip (say indexed 90/100 Merc to Ferrari, but the engine is like 100/70 to Merc)

 

[Dreadmed]

Not enjoying the new regs at all tbh, it's removed the element of the driver skill making a difference. The way Russel blasted past one of the Ferrari's, how are you meant to defend that?

You could also argue that was the case for 9 out of every 10 DRS overtakes that occurred...

Yes, it doesn't look great when someone boosts past someone who ran out of energy (Russell ghosting past Hamilton at the start of lap 4) but again, the most unbalanced iterations of DRS also had similar levels of overspeed. Considering we're only 2 races in and the amount of wheel-to-wheel action we've had so far, I'm quite happy to see how it develops... in the same breath I'm just hoping it doesn't take too long before they can run a full quali lap in maximum attack mode throughout the calendar.

 

[AshenGraey]

Yeah I think the power difference must be monstrous and partly to do with compression but also another yet unknown factor. Also the Merc isn't a bad car either, I think the Ferrari probably shades it in the low and mid-speed as has likely more mechanical grip (say indexed 90/100 Merc to Ferrari, but the engine is like 100/70 to Merc)

Do you reckon the Ferrari would be faster on tracks that doesn't have long straights?

 

[toastet]

The driver skill is even more important in these regs because of the electrical energy management while managing opening wings, fuel, tires, braking + balance + regen, apexes and corner entries + exits. Way more mental load managing electric energy on top of everything else in attacking and defending while not just thinking about the next corner/straight as in DRS times but next 2-3 laps of energy management.

 

[Pie O My]

So they finally made cars that can follow each other.

 

[EngieDiesel]

The driver skill is even more important in these regs because of the electrical energy management while managing opening wings, fuel, tires, braking + balance + regen, apexes and corner entries + exits. Way more mental load managing electric energy on top of everything else in attacking and defending while not just thinking about the next corner/straight as in DRS times but next 2-3 laps of energy management.

So really just a somewhat less complex version of managing fuel maps, which means anyone who was driving in F1 when that was still a thing a few years ago shouldn't have too much trouble adapting.

 

[05XR8]

Maybe that's right up the alley of young drivers today. All those complexities keep them busy. I guess?

 

[United6694]

Yes, the deficit is very apparent. If the Ferrari is better in the corners, then Mercedes must have a good chunk of power over them to pull gaps in the races. I don't know if Mercedes optimized for power deployment or if they can still improve in the cornering.

My main question is will the other Mercedes powered teams catch on to the party mode.

It's not much different when 2 generations ago, Mercedes had the best engine and car and was able to run in the front almost every race.

I'm okay with the current set-up, but will wait a bit more as it still seems teams are figuring things out. I would've preferred a more engine reliant split like 60/40.

It's fine for 1 team to have a advantage, they have done a better job, what kills the sport is the lack of opportunity for the other teams to catch up, 2014 Bahrain was a joke, was it 20 odd seconds ahead after 7 laps while fighting each other... I don't think many people want a repeat of that but I fear that's what we have, the Mercs haven't had to go full out in a race yet, the qualifying gap tells you all you need to know, they are running within whatever the % is that doesn't trigger the extra development for others.

Saying that the new regs removed the element of driver skill making the difference is not entirely true because it's more of the same from previous regs too. New regs always bring with them some form of dominance and that's about the team nailing their cars for those regs. Russell passing the Ferrari to me is just a matter of having the more powerful engine and probably a better car compared to the Ferraris. That being said, the Ferrari did present him with an albeit "easy" challenge considering the pace difference but the driver is and will always be a factor.

Looking back at the history of this sport, it's always been about teams having the best car and the best driver pairing. No driver will ever be a world champion without having at least a competitive car and no team will ever win without having a great driver. Neither Max or Lewis can win a championship in a non complete/competitive car and I'm positive that's been proven.

2 races in so far this season and neither have been procedural where drivers finished where they started either because it was hard to overtake or they couldn't handle dirty air or whatever problems that the previous regs had. So I think the regs are OK for the racing but from an engine perspective, maybe not quite 50/50 like they currently have it but otherwise, it's looking positive to me. I just hope the other teams can catch up quickly so that Mercedes doesn't just cruise to victory every race like Red Bull did in 2023.

I think it's removing the element of driver skill with regard to how fast the best drivers can get round the track, you're at the mercy of the Battery and more evident in the first race admittedly, but the clipping into turn 9 / 10 chicane, they were shifting down early on the straight and just turning in, that's not driver skill. Of course, there is usually always 1 team who nail a reg change, that's fine, I think the problem is the electrical side of the regs is rubbish and not suited to F1. When Russell passed Hamilton (as the poster I've quoted below said), that wasn't engine, that was purely electrical the way he caught and blasted pass, that's not F1, it almost looked like Hamilton had a problem.

It has always been about teams having the best car, but there has been times where a car not quite as good such as Red Bull last year or a car that clearly shouldn't have been in with a shout such as Ferrari 2012 have been, I think with these new regs we won't get that, you saw the way that after passing the Ferraris George just walked away from them.

I'd disagree the regs are good for racing, remember the start of 2022, the first few races had good battles but as the season progressed it got harder and harder for cars to follow, I think what is masking that is the extra energy the driver behind gets, it's like DRS x10, at least with DRS the defending driver knew where to save their battery for to make it difficult, which possibly created chances elsewhere on track for the attacking driver, but with the extra energy, you have no chance to defend, you are a sitting duck.

You could also argue that was the case for 9 out of every 10 DRS overtakes that occurred...

Yes, it doesn't look great when someone boosts past someone who ran out of energy (Russell ghosting past Hamilton at the start of lap 4) but again, the most unbalanced iterations of DRS also had similar levels of overspeed. Considering we're only 2 races in and the amount of wheel-to-wheel action we've had so far, I'm quite happy to see how it develops... in the same breath I'm just hoping it doesn't take too long before they can run a full quali lap in maximum attack mode throughout the calendar.

That last comment perfectly captures the issue, this is F1, it should be the pinnacle of outright speed in qualifying, but it isn't. How many times have we seen a driver stick it on pole when the car wasn't looking as fast as a rivals, or someone sneaks into Q3 who shouldn't really be there, that was the driver making the difference, imo, that is gone with these regs and it's a shame.

 

[MagpieRacer]

The driver skill is even more important in these regs because of the electrical energy management while managing opening wings, fuel, tires, braking + balance + regen, apexes and corner entries + exits. Way more mental load managing electric energy on top of everything else in attacking and defending while not just thinking about the next corner/straight as in DRS times but next 2-3 laps of energy management.

I think with this gen it's more to do with the cars, skinnier tyres, lighter, more nimble, narrower, more powerful when everything's working on song, Vs the point and click nature of the previous 2 gens.

The energy stuff, from what the F1 presenters have been saying, is fairly automatic outside of the boost and overtake modes, the system learns the circuit and where to deploy or recharge. The drivers control the boost, overtake and some of the recharge of course in the braking and lico.

 

[VillaJ100]

Do you reckon the Ferrari would be faster on tracks that doesn't have long straights?

It's difficult to say as it also comes down to battery harvest and deployment, if the Mercedes just has more power and can deliver more of it easier then they'll struggle in most places. However Monaco, Singapore will be their best bet. I think the wheelbase of the Ferrari is slightly shorter which might help there as well.

Monza will be a bloodbath. Imagine if we still had old Hockenheim 😂 Merc could lap the field twice

 

[MagpieRacer]

It's difficult to say as it also comes down to battery harvest and deployment, if the Mercedes just has more power and can deliver more of it easier then they'll struggle in most places. However Monaco, Singapore will be their best bet. I think the wheelbase of the Ferrari is slightly shorter which might help there as well.

Monza will be a bloodbath. Imagine if we still had old Hockenheim 😂 Merc could lap the field twice

In theory yes. Monaco and Singapore however will (as it stands) have the max available 9MJ whereas Monza as the weakest energy circuit will be capped at 6MJ, that's a whole 1/3 less to be recovered, so whilst the theoretical advantage will be there, it won't be any greater than it has been as the energy situation scales up and down.

 

[Bosso]

It's fine for 1 team to have a advantage, they have done a better job, what kills the sport is the lack of opportunity for the other teams to catch up, 2014 Bahrain was a joke, was it 20 odd seconds ahead after 7 laps while fighting each other... I don't think many people want a repeat of that but I fear that's what we have, the Mercs haven't had to go full out in a race yet, the qualifying gap tells you all you need to know, they are running within whatever the % is that doesn't trigger the extra development for others.

I think it's removing the element of driver skill with regard to how fast the best drivers can get round the track, you're at the mercy of the Battery and more evident in the first race admittedly, but the clipping into turn 9 / 10 chicane, they were shifting down early on the straight and just turning in, that's not driver skill. Of course, there is usually always 1 team who nail a reg change, that's fine, I think the problem is the electrical side of the regs is rubbish and not suited to F1. When Russell passed Hamilton (as the poster I've quoted below said), that wasn't engine, that was purely electrical the way he caught and blasted pass, that's not F1, it almost looked like Hamilton had a problem.

It has always been about teams having the best car, but there has been times where a car not quite as good such as Red Bull last year or a car that clearly shouldn't have been in with a shout such as Ferrari 2012 have been, I think with these new regs we won't get that, you saw the way that after passing the Ferraris George just walked away from them.

I'd disagree the regs are good for racing, remember the start of 2022, the first few races had good battles but as the season progressed it got harder and harder for cars to follow, I think what is masking that is the extra energy the driver behind gets, it's like DRS x10, at least with DRS the defending driver knew where to save their battery for to make it difficult, which possibly created chances elsewhere on track for the attacking driver, but with the extra energy, you have no chance to defend, you are a sitting duck.

That last comment perfectly captures the issue, this is F1, it should be the pinnacle of outright speed in qualifying, but it isn't. How many times have we seen a driver stick it on pole when the car wasn't looking as fast as a rivals, or someone sneaks into Q3 who shouldn't really be there, that was the driver making the difference, imo, that is gone with these regs and it's a shame.

But I dont understand, Bahrain 2014 was some of the best racing we had since 2010...
we had slippery super hard tyres, car sliding like go karts, lap of lap of cars being able to follow each other, and the loss of the pencil eraser tyres of 2011-2013. Plus Mercedes who actually allowed their drivers to race unlike Red Bull.

Ferrari were not supposed to be in a shout in 2012, the only reason was because both Red Bull drivers supremely underperformed that year compared to Alonso and Hamilton.

The driver element is massive this year compared to the last three years because the cars are no longer on rails, they allow close wheel to wheel battles (which coincides with skill), and they are all an unknow from race to race. Also teams dont tend to favour one driver in an interteam battle during the first year of a new set of regulations which is also a plus.

The cars are less sensitive to set up now too, unlike the last three years which is why you see larger gaps between sessions and drivers in similar cars being close.

 

[lancia delta hf]

Antonelli's win is huge for Italy because they've had to wait 20 years for a new winner in F1. We Aussies have been spoilt with 3 winners in that time. I find it quite extraordinary that a country soo close to F1 would have a smaller talent pool than a country on the other side of the planet. Another crazy thing is that Italy hasn't had a CHAMPION since 1953. If Antonelli wins the championship, he will break a bigger drought than that of Australia's. Imagine the scenes.

My guess is most of the talent over the last 20 years have been going into motorcycling racing .