Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix 2026Formula 1 

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jimlaad43
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Jimlaad43
Some of you have never watched a Formula E race and it shows. This race was different yes, but to call it bad or anti-racing is completely wrong.
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I mean, I've seen FE. There's plenty of reasons why that series is at the bottom of my personal favorites list.

Most of the drivers seem to agree these new rules make the racing too artificial as well. The cars dropping 50 km/h on a straight to harvest energy is just plain sketchy, if someone gets caught off guard at those speeds then they are taking a flight over the barriers.
 
Veinz
The cars dropping 50 km/h on a straight to harvest energy is just plain sketchy, if someone gets caught off guard at those speeds then they are taking a flight over the barriers.
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I second this. That is why I'm having that question about this whole super clipping thing. I know they said the rear light flashes to tell the driver behind at what stage the deployment is for the driver upfront but surely it doesn't happen at the same stretch for all the cars, does it? If not then what if it's more sudden and that drop in speed when they are already going so fast could really be a catastrophe waiting to happen. Also why I'm wondering how this is going to play out on tracks with really long straights.
 
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Jimlaad43

Formula 1 Post in thread 'F1 Caption Game 2026 - MIAMI Grand Prix'

ROUND 1 - Australia
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Before the start of the race, I took a look at all the displays and activations behind the main straight like I normally do. I got up to the Audi hospitality booth near turn 1 before turning around and going back to my spot between turn 13 and 14. As I was going back, I saw someone crash on one of the TV screens but I couldn't identify who it was because the broadcast cut away from the live footage. Sure enough, it was Piastri... typical Aussie luck. I'm like "Oh... Oh dear. The Webber curse is back!". However I wasn't completely devastated and then said "we're in for a thriller!" to my friend Kyle. I got back to my spot as the anticipation and excitement ramped up with the dance music pumping. I was ready for absolute cinema and the start of race delivered it. I've been watching F1 for almost 20 years and that was some of the best racing I've ever seen. Call it "fake", call it "manufactured", but the emotions I felt were real. I don't care how the racing occurs, just that it occurs at all because I've seen some real stinkers in my time that make me ask, why am I even bothering to watch this? If this race is any indication for the season ahead, we're in for a treat.
 
psychoazubi
Monza will not be as difficult as Melbourne/jedda because it has 2 hard braking zones into the first 2 chicanes where they can recharge massively. At least that’s what the teams are predicting so far.
It’s impressive how fast those batteries are charging
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They're only 1.1kWh or 4MJ which is not much.
The bump to 5MJ will take it to 1.38kWh if my math is right

While the braking zones will charge the batteries quick, the long straights will ensure the SOC will not always be high.


Wonder how the SOC will really be on Monza for the pit straight, they will use the battery after turn 10, parabolica wont charge the battery that much, and what is left will be deployed and be spent by the pit straight by the looks.
 
Liquid
Good racing =/= loads of overtaking

DRS solved a lack of overtaking in Formula One in an instant. That doesn't mean that the quality of the racing also increased. The quality of the battle is more important than the quantity of overtakes.
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It'll take two or three races to see how good or how bad this new era will be. Having only watched the 8 minute highlights, it looked okay to begin with and fizzled out towards the end.
 
Liquid
It'll take two or three races to see how good or how bad this new era will be. Having only watched the 8 minute highlights, it looked okay to begin with and fizzled out towards the end.
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Looking at the highlights from the official F1 channel will never let you believe that something is wrong (not saying that it's wrong/bad at the moment, I'm also going to wait and see).
 
ScottPuss20
Before the start of the race, I took a look at all the displays and activations behind the main straight like I normally do. I got up to the Audi hospitality booth near turn 1 before turning around and going back to my spot between turn 13 and 14. As I was going back, I saw someone crash on one of the TV screens but I couldn't identify who it was because the broadcast cut away from the live footage. Sure enough, it was Piastri... typical Aussie luck. I'm like "Oh... Oh dear. The Webber curse is back!". However I wasn't completely devastated and then said "we're in for a thriller!" to my friend Kyle. I got back to my spot as the anticipation and excitement ramped up with the dance music pumping. I was ready for absolute cinema and the start of race delivered it. I've been watching F1 for almost 20 years and that was some of the best racing I've ever seen. Call it "fake", call it "manufactured", but the emotions I felt were real. I don't care how the racing occurs, just that it occurs at all because I've seen some real stinkers in my time that make me ask, why am I even bothering to watch this? If this race is any indication for the season ahead, we're in for a treat.
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Did you make it into the paddock area on Saturday? (might of been Friday) - i'm sure i saw you on TV, very briefly, in the background.
 
Veinz
I mean, I've seen FE. There's plenty of reasons why that series is at the bottom of my personal favorites list.

Most of the drivers seem to agree these new rules make the racing too artificial as well. The cars dropping 50 km/h on a straight to harvest energy is just plain sketchy, if someone gets caught off guard at those speeds then they are taking a flight over the barriers.
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This is basically what Lando Norris has now also said - it seems a bit late in the day to be changing the regs again now though.
 
I suspect strategies will quickly converge once they figure out what is the quickest way to race under the new regs. Best enjoy those early races whilst there's still some discrepancies.

I give it to Miami or Canada (or later depending on what happens with the Bahrain and Saudi rounds) before any differences in deployment/recovery strategy get cancelled out.
 
It'll probably be already much different in China with more braking zones even with a very long straight.

I'm now really curious about Monaco if this will make a difference or everyone will just have enough power all the time and the parade is just quicker.
 
Liquid
It'll take two or three races to see how good or how bad this new era will be. Having only watched the 8 minute highlights, it looked okay to begin with and fizzled out towards the end.
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It really only fizzled out b/c the field spread itself out. We know the cars, for the time being, can follow each other without issue & we're likely to see mechanical failures throw spanners to shake things up after a few years of reliability. Audi looked solid for a new team, Lindblad refused to cede to Max as a sister car, & the Ferrari launches might keep Mercedes on its toes at starts.

There's definitely interesting bits to take from the race that we know will get ironed out & it's also 1 track when we know multiple tracks play better to multiple teams. Personally, I think it went much better than some of the gloom I read elsewhere. The only real thing at the moment, that could "ruin" the season is if Mercedes have absolutely nailed the regulations & can keep everyone at bay. But, Ferrari has optimism (it's reported they are shipping their tricky-little wing to China & will have a 2.0 version in Canada) as does Max, & the Mac/Williams teams are already keen to figure out how to equalize their Merc. powerplants.
 
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TheCracker
Did you make it into the paddock area on Saturday? (might of been Friday) - i'm sure i saw you on TV, very briefly, in the background.
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My brother did the pit walk on Friday night, so that's who you might've seen.
 
OK, it's real racing but is it real Formula 1 racing, as in, the kind we expect and want to see from the pinnacle of motorsports.

The next few races will be critical.
 
Pie O My
OK, it's real racing but is it real Formula 1 racing, as in, the kind we expect and want to see from the pinnacle of motorsports.
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Has the Melbourne Grand Prix on the first year of the last few 'new regulations' (2009, 2014, 2022) been worthy of pinnacle or motorsport? Has it at anytime in the last 10 or 15 years?

Even though the battle at the front fizzled out a bit, it was probably the best race at the circuit for a long time.

There might be hints that we're heading toward similar energy management optimisation that will cancel out soon, and eventually tyre management will still be the most important (and generally boredom causing) factor again in the performance... And Pirelli are still going to bring super durable tyres that result in 1 stop races with less strategic variation and interest.
 

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