Formula 1

[Peter Mugridge]

The issue of starts has seen a new idea trialled with a blue light shown to enable drivers to rev the engines up to get the turbo & other systems working

That sounds like a recipe for:

a) A higher number of false starts.

b) More shunts right at the start.

 

[JD2168]

That sounds like a recipe for:

a) A higher number of false starts.

b) More shunts right at the start.

It is one of the main concerns for the start of the season along with the amount of lifting & coasting on straight’s, running out of electrical energy particularly when trying to overtake & at the end of straight’s, overtaking being more difficult than previously.

One other issue I have is that fans might find these new regulations quite confusing as the do take some time to understand for people

 

[DelW]

There seem to be conflicting reports about whether the war in the Middle East will affect this weekend's Australian GP. The official line is that it won't, as charter flights have been arranged to take team members from Britain and other parts of Europe to Australia via other routes. However various YouTube channels claim that key personnel are stranded in Bahrain after the aborted tyre testing sessions that were to be held there.

BBC is currently in the "no problem" camp:

Australian Grand Prix organisers say they are "really confident" the travel chaos caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East will not impact the opening race of the Formula 1 season this weekend.

Close to 1,000 members of staff have been forced to rearrange flights, with an estimated 500 of them reportedly set to be flown from Europe on charter planes.

Australian Grand Prix: Formula 1 season-opener to feel 'no impact' of travel chaos caused by Middle East conflict

Australian Grand Prix organisers are "really confident" the travel chaos caused by the conflict in the Middle East will not impact the opening Formula 1 race of the season.

www.bbc.co.uk

Others suggest more issues:

More than 100 McLaren, Mercedes, and Pirelli staff members remain stranded in Bahrain as escalating Middle East conflict disrupts global airspace — just days before the 2026 Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne. While officials insist the Australian Grand Prix is not under threat, behind the scenes an urgent “exit strategy” is unfolding.

We'll find out in due course, along with the fate of the Bahrain and Saudi races scheduled for April.

 

[JD2168]

The teams & staff should be ok, cars will have been shipped already, main issue is the McLaren & Mercedes staff who were in Bahrain for the cancelled wet tyre test but other members can be called up. Most will probably reroute via Singapore & Hong Kong.

On a similar note the World Endurance 1812km race at Qatar has been postponed until later in the season, this race was due in the middle of March.

It is probably wise for the FIA/F1 to see what happens next although possible substitute tracks are: Portimao, Imola & Fuji if stuck in Japan

 

[EYFanatic]

They haven't cancelled meetings during previous attacks in the area before, it should be noted... Fairly sure there was some explosion during a race a few years ago

 

[DarloRich]

They haven't cancelled meetings during previous attacks in the area before, it should be noted... Fairly sure there was some explosion during a race a few years ago

Agreed - but this is a bit of a different situation though.

 

[DelW]

Now we know what the new F1 looks like. Lots of overtaking early on, but each one undone a lap or two later. Drivers having to play energy management games. Cars being driven slowly to top up batteries. Strategists being as influential as drivers. If I want to watch that sort of stuff I could watch Formula E - but I don't. It's far too artificial and video-gamey.

F1 should be about getting the car round the track as fast as possible. It's been too artificial for years, and this is worse.

My solution would be something like 2.5 litre V8s with light turbo boost, and, to help overtaking, a time-limited allowance of higher boost pressure. At least they'd sound good, and not like a washing machine on steroids.

 

[DarloRich]

New cars, new engines, new tires, new fuels - same old Ferrari!

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Now we know what the new F1 looks like. Lots of overtaking early on, but each one undone a lap or two later. Drivers having to play energy management games. Cars being driven slowly to top up batteries. Strategists being as influential as drivers. If I want to watch that sort of stuff I could watch Formula E - but I don't. It's far too artificial and video-gamey.

F1 should be about getting the car round the track as fast as possible. It's been too artificial for years, and this is worse.

My solution would be something like 2.5 litre V8s with light turbo boost, and, to help overtaking, a time-limited allowance of higher boost pressure. At least they'd sound good, and not like a washing machine on steroids.

Drivers learning a new craft of energy management and each circuit will needs its own strategy but makes for far more action and the potential for chaos. For decades we've been circulating around as a procession with only a cock up the pits or weather to liven things up. Im sure FIA will finesse the regs as the year progresses and team/driver feedback is accumulated.

 

[D365]

Strategists being as influential as drivers.

As above; not a positive in Ferrari’s case.

 

[Mogster]

Now we know what the new F1 looks like. Lots of overtaking early on, but each one undone a lap or two later. Drivers having to play energy management games. Cars being driven slowly to top up batteries. Strategists being as influential as drivers. If I want to watch that sort of stuff I could watch Formula E - but I don't. It's far too artificial and video-gamey.

F1 should be about getting the car round the track as fast as possible. It's been too artificial for years, and this is worse.

My solution would be something like 2.5 litre V8s with light turbo boost, and, to help overtaking, a time-limited allowance of higher boost pressure. At least they'd sound good, and not like a washing machine on steroids.

No OEM motor manufacturer wants to build a gas guzzling 2.5L V8T. The board members would have an aneurism at the optics, the OEMs would all leave. What you’d be left with is F1.5 with a spec engine made by Mecachrome or some such.

I actually don’t think “the show” this morning wasn’t that bad. The first half of the race showcased that energy deployment strategy can produce decent looking wheel to wheel racing. The cars look good and appear more driveable on the limit, the cars look rapid in and out of slow corners. The problem is the backing off on the straights to engage the dynamo, It’s, not great... it’s worse because it’s occurring in the fast corners, so these corners are being neutered by the cars running a full 40kph slower.

Over at “The Race“ website there’s a short podcast by Mark Hughes, unfortunately paywalled. He says the problem is the 50:50 energy split. Solutions, he suggests removing the MGU-H was a huge error, it could have harvested more energy, re-instate it. Increase energy allowed from the ICE, this would probably mean increasing fuel flow. Allow energy recovery from the front axle, Hughes is against this as he thinks it would allow stability control by the back door. There is a PU supplier meeting after China apparently, it’s now being referred to as a “crisis meeting”.

 

[Leyland Bus]

No OEM motor manufacturer wants to build a gas guzzling 2.5L V8T. The board members would have an aneurism at the optics, the OEMs would all leave. What you’d be left with is F1.5 with a spec engine made by Mecachrome or some such.

I actually don’t think “the show” this morning wasn’t that bad. The first half of the race showcased that energy deployment strategy can produce decent looking wheel to wheel racing. The cars look good and appear more driveable on the limit, the cars look rapid in and out of slow corners. The problem is the backing off on the straights to engage the dynamo, It’s, not great... it’s worse because it’s occurring in the fast corners, so these corners are being neutered by the cars running a full 40kph slower.

Over at “The Race“ website there’s a short podcast by Mark Hughes, unfortunately paywalled. He says the problem is the 50:50 energy split. Solutions, he suggests removing the MGU-H was a huge error, it could have harvested more energy, re-instate it. Increase energy allowed from the ICE, this would probably mean increasing fuel flow. Allow energy recovery from the front axle, Hughes is against this as he thinks it would allow stability control by the back door. There is a PU supplier meeting after China apparently, it’s now being referred to as a “crisis meeting”.

SPOILERS CONTAINED BELOW:





To add to your thoughts, I was up at 3.30am to watch it and was thorougly entertained. Piastri going off was an absolute shocker first thing. The start was great (Ferrari and Lindblad especially) although Lawson bogging down on the line meant he was nearly rear ended by (I think) Colapinto whose cat like reactions saved the pair of them!

It did settle down by about half distance, not sure how much better Ferrari would have done had they not made the usual meal of their own strategy... But Aus is 1 of about 4 similar tracks with few big braking zones and long straights. I'm tempted to see how China pans out before throwing the baby out with the bath water, a completely different type of circuit might make for a completely different race...

 

[yoyothehobo]

I would say tweaking is definitely needed, but coming off the back of last season which was a very very dull season with regards to actual racing i will take the change up.

Time will tell how things change.

 

[JohnMcL7]

No OEM motor manufacturer wants to build a gas guzzling 2.5L V8T. The board members would have an aneurism at the optics, the OEMs would all leave. What you’d be left with is F1.5 with a spec engine made by Mecachrome or some such.

In FIA WEC, the manufacturers have a more open choice of engine and hybrid system which easily disproves that no OEM would want to build a V8 turbo because given an open choice (including an F1 style engine if they wanted), BMW built a gas guzzling turbo V8:

BMW M Hybrid V8 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So did Porsche who previously ran a more F1 style engine in their older hybrid prototype era:

Porsche 963 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hyundai went with a turbo V8 as well and there's a spread of bigger turbo V6's but despite the choice of a small F1 style engine, no manufacturer chose that. Cadillac went with a straight V8 and Aston Martin who were clearly concerned about the optics went for a 6.5 litre V12. The optics are the exact opposite of what you claim, while the F1 engines have long been criticised by fans and the new engines even more so the Cadillac V8 in particular has been a fan favourite (there's compilations of the car leaving pits under electrical power following by the massive roar as the V8 is fired up) and the Aston V12 has also been met with enthusiasm.

The further problem with the optics of the current F1 engines is that it makes the electric part and efficiency look completely laughable - all this talk about recovery and problems getting energy takes away from the actual racing and doesn't promote the hybrids as something desirable at all. They could used to the electric element to improve the cars which in turn makes it look more desirable whereas instead they've just made the whole concept look bad. I don't buy the argument that they can't have a front recovery system because it allows back door traction control, other racing series have implemented such a system and had much closer racing than F1 plus there's other high profile sports that have explicit traction control (MotoGP bikes have traction control and other aids like an anti-wheelie system) without the issues Hughes claims.

No-one wants to buy a Mercedes car because they have a great F1 hybrid engine nor do people want that type of engine either. Mercedes made the controversial choice to replace their 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 in the C63 with a two litre four cylinder engine hybrid instead and it's been a complete sales disaster forcing Mercedes to abandon the idea completely to return to bigger engines.

 

[Leyland Bus]

The further problem with the optics of the current F1 engines is that it makes the electric part and efficiency look completely laughable - all this talk about recovery and problems getting energy takes away from the actual racing and doesn't promote the hybrids as something desirable at all. They could used to the electric element to improve the cars which in turn makes it look more desirable whereas instead they've just made the whole concept look bad. I don't buy the argument that they can't have a front recovery system because it allows back door traction control, other racing series have implemented such a system and had much closer racing than F1 plus there's other high profile sports that have explicit traction control (MotoGP bikes have traction control and other aids like an anti-wheelie system) without the issues Hughes claims.

I was under the impression that the reason the teams baulked at front harvesting axles was because Audi have aced the concept in another racing series and they were all worried that they'd steal a march on them??

 

[D365]

In FIA WEC, the manufacturers have a more open choice of engine and hybrid system which easily disproves that no OEM would want to build a V8 turbo because given an open choice (including an F1 style engine if they wanted), BMW built a gas guzzling turbo V8:

BMW M Hybrid V8 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So did Porsche who previously ran a more F1 style engine in their older hybrid prototype era:

Porsche 963 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hyundai went with a turbo V8 as well and there's a spread of bigger turbo V6's but despite the choice of a small F1 style engine, no manufacturer chose that. Cadillac went with a straight V8 and Aston Martin who were clearly concerned about the optics went for a 6.5 litre V12. The optics are the exact opposite of what you claim…

I’m not sure what you are getting at, as none of those manufacturers are currently producing F1 engines.

When the 2026 regulations were being developed, it was widely stated that Mercedes, Honda and Audi would not be continuing with or entering into F1 if large and/or naturally aspirated engines were to be mandated

 

[Mogster]

In FIA WEC, the manufacturers have a more open choice of engine and hybrid system which easily disproves that no OEM would want to build a V8 turbo because given an open choice (including an F1 style engine if they wanted), BMW built a gas guzzling turbo V8:

BMW M Hybrid V8 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So did Porsche who previously ran a more F1 style engine in their older hybrid prototype era:

Porsche 963 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hyundai went with a turbo V8 as well and there's a spread of bigger turbo V6's but despite the choice of a small F1 style engine, no manufacturer chose that. Cadillac went with a straight V8 and Aston Martin who were clearly concerned about the optics went for a 6.5 litre V12. The optics are the exact opposite of what you claim, while the F1 engines have long been criticised by fans and the new engines even more so the Cadillac V8 in particular has been a fan favourite (there's compilations of the car leaving pits under electrical power following by the massive roar as the V8 is fired up) and the Aston V12 has also been met with enthusiasm.

The further problem with the optics of the current F1 engines is that it makes the electric part and efficiency look completely laughable - all this talk about recovery and problems getting energy takes away from the actual racing and doesn't promote the hybrids as something desirable at all. They could used to the electric element to improve the cars which in turn makes it look more desirable whereas instead they've just made the whole concept look bad. I don't buy the argument that they can't have a front recovery system because it allows back door traction control, other racing series have implemented such a system and had much closer racing than F1 plus there's other high profile sports that have explicit traction control (MotoGP bikes have traction control and other aids like an anti-wheelie system) without the issues Hughes claims.

No-one wants to buy a Mercedes car because they have a great F1 hybrid engine nor do people want that type of engine either. Mercedes made the controversial choice to replace their 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 in the C63 with a two litre four cylinder engine hybrid instead and it's been a complete sales disaster forcing Mercedes to abandon the idea completely to return to bigger engines.

That’s FIA WEC not F1. As I understand it those engines are either commercially available, used by other series F2, Indycar, or engines that the OEMs use in their road cars. Theres also a hybrid component so electrification provides the greenwash and the use of off the shelf components makes the financial outlay much less painful. There’s also the marketing difference between WEC and F1 which is huge. As the poster above says the OEMs were asked what they wanted to build for F1 and a bespoke 3.5L NA V10 wasn’t it.

WEC has front axle recovery and traction control and their use is loosely defined. As such they can be applied differently across all 4 wheels, so although AWD at low speeds isn’t allowed, stability control isn’t specifically outlawed. WEC is endurance racing so the demands are different. I can understand the concerns about these sort of assistance systems in F1. This has been raised by Nikolas Tombazis as well as Hughes.

 

[JD2168]

The things I didn’t like were:
The slowing down particularly on the run to the back chicane was awful particularly on the onboard footage & reduced the challenge of this complex when driven quickly.
The very slow up to the line to start a lap, some of the closing speeds from cars finishing their laps was a bit alarming.
The starts, if Colapinto hadn’t reacted in the way he did we could have had a similar result to was happened on the grid at Imola in 1994.

Things I liked:
The cars looked more tricky to drive & not quite as stuck to the ground as before.
The cars look better, the last cars we’re getting too big, the reduction in size is a definite improvement.
The cars did seem to be able to follow better which is good for racing.

With regards the power unit, I would reserve judgement until at least after Japan. Plenty were saying that the layout of Albert Park is one of the worst for these cars

 

[JohnMcL7]

Deleted

 

[DelW]

Hardly surprising, but the BBC is reporting that the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races will be announced this weekend. Equipment would need to be shipped imminently, and that's obviously problematic with both shipping and aviation disrupted in the region. There won't be any replacements as there's too little time to organise any.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs to be cancelled amid Middle East war

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the Middle East war.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.

Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.

 

[najaB]

Hardly surprising, but the BBC is reporting that the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races will be announced this weekend. Equipment would need to be shipped imminently, and that's obviously problematic with both shipping and aviation disrupted in the region. There won't be any replacements as there's too little time to organise any.

I wonder if perhaps a double weekend might appear at one of the European circuits later in the year? A return of Imola after Spain?

 

[EYFanatic]

I wonder if perhaps a double weekend might appear at one of the European circuits later in the year? A return of Imola after Spain?

Double Monaco

Only, to make it more interesting, the second week its driving the course the other way round

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Antonelli has become the youngest ever pole sitter, for tomorrow's 07.00 race in China.

 

[EYFanatic]

Antonelli has become the youngest ever pole sitter, for tomorrow's 07.00 race in China.

Oh, thats a record I never thought would be broken to be honest

 

[D365]

Oh, thats a record I never thought would be broken to be honest

Vettel was 21 years, two months, 11 days old when he set the previous youngest polesitter record. Bear in mind that Verstappen didn’t manage to break the youngest polesitter (or youngest world champion) records.

 

[75A]

After another farcical attempt at finishing a Grand Prix (2 races, 2 cars, no finishes) would you buy a car with a Honda engine?

 

[SynthD]

Brilliant race. Hamilton and Leclerc were trading places often, not because they were all boost overtakes, but because Hamilton was easily regaining the place with racecraft. He could defend and advance where battery wasn’t used.

It’s a shame about the four non-starters (four different electrical and hydraulic issues), and three retirements (gearbox, Aston Martins), but I do like a constant reminder of being on the cutting edge of engineering.

 

[Cloud Strife]

I wonder if perhaps a double weekend might appear at one of the European circuits later in the year? A return of Imola after Spain?

Probably too late to organise, but Fuji Speedway is a Grade 1 track and would fit in nicely straight after Suzuka. Alternatively, there's Hockenheim and the Nürburgring that could fit in there before Zandvoort.

None of them are ideal for these cars due to the long straights, but it's better than nothing.

 

[DarloRich]

After another farcical attempt at finishing a Grand Prix (2 races, 2 cars, no finishes) would you buy a car with a Honda engine?

I wouldn't buy a Honda F1 engine and I can't believe Aston did. Stroll Snr looks ready to kill someone. All that coin, wasted. Alonso will be spitting feathers. Honda. AGAIN!

but it's better than nothing.

It will be nothing and I think several teams will be happy with the break to try and sort out a few problems. I could do them an F1 race in MK if they fancy

Brilliant race. Hamilton and Leclerc were trading places often, not because they were all boost overtakes, but because Hamilton was easily regaining the place with racecraft. He could defend and advance where battery wasn’t used.

It’s a shame about the four non-starters (four different electrical and hydraulic issues), and three retirements (gearbox, Aston Martins), but I do like a constant reminder of being on the cutting edge of engineering.

The three way battle with Russell was good but it was a bit mario kart at times. It was boost/overtake mode enhanced. Good fun though. Decent race.

 

[SynthD]

Q: As you say, you spent quite a lot of time amongst the Ferraris. What did you learn about their pace and where they were fast?
GR: Well, I was just waiting for the two of them to collide and somehow they didn’t. It was some of the most aggressive racing I’ve seen for a while. If I wasn’t trying to win the race, I’d have been enjoying the battle, but obviously watching Kimi pull away during those points it was a little bit annoying. But Ferrari definitely very quick. They’re quicker in the corners than us, slower than us on the straight, so it just made it a little bit challenging. [snip]

Q: George referenced it a moment ago, the battle you had with Charles. How on edge was it? How much did you enjoy it? And is it easier to follow in this year’s cars than last year?
LH: Yeah, the cars are easier to follow, much better than past years. You can get very close. There’s not a bad wake where you’re losing too much downforce. I think it’s the best racing that I’ve ever experienced in Formula 1. Of course, these guys are pulling past us at crazy speeds, but to be able to all be so close… It’s great that we have the good start at the moment and hopefully that stays the same through the year. Given that they’ve gone for a different option where they have more power, we’ve got to figure out how we can improve our straight-line speed. But hopefully it was an exciting race to watch for you guys because it was awesome in the car. It felt like go-karting, back and forth, back and forth, and you could really position your car in a nice way where there was a thin piece of paper between us sometimes, but we didn’t exchange any paint. I think that’s down to great drivers and respect.

F1 - 2026 Chinese Grand Prix Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

DRIVERS 1 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes)2 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes)3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari) TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by David Coulthard) Q: Kimi Antonelli, congratulations on your first Grand Prix victory.Kimi ANTONELLI: Thank you so much. Yeah, I’m speechless. I’m about to cry, to be...

www.fia.com

I hope Max will have an on track battle soon, it may lift his mood on the changes.