On February 18 2026 05:00 Excludos wrote: Yeah, the new regs isn't looking extremely promising. Everyone is having to lift and coast into corners to save battery for the lap. There's also some weird oddities like the cars having to sit on the grid just revving the absolute fuck out of the engines to generate battery before the start.
But I suppose we'll have to wait and see how the racing ends up before grabbing the pitchforks
Well if the net result of the new regulations is that verstappen quits for sim racing or wecc and mercedes wins the championship due to another engine loophole then I would call it a failure.
As usual Ferrari looks promising before the season starts....but lets see how the season goes.
Pre season was interesting but with the amount of sandbagging going around it always feels rather pointless to speculate. And also from the teams, we end up in the usual "oh no, not us, team X are clearly ahead".
After watching FP1 and 2, I'm guessing Alonso will be driving Le Mans, Indy and WEC this season
Yeah I was betting on Verstappen being the next guy out due to hating the new F1 but I did not take into consideration how terrible it seems current state Honda powered AM is right now.
According to Adrian Newey, the drivers are claiming they can't do moe than 25 laps in that car in fear of getting nerve damage from the shaky Honda engine. Going to be interesting to see if they can't even finish a full race in that thing
On March 07 2026 00:45 Excludos wrote: According to Adrian Newey, the drivers are claiming they can't do moe than 25 laps in that car in fear of getting nerve damage from the shaky Honda engine. Going to be interesting to see if they can't even finish a full race in that thing
Everyone agrees the Honda is really bad and has vibration issues. There's probably some element of gamesmanship to make it seem more severe in order to try and get additional leeway to modify the engine for performance alongside resolving the vibration issues.
Unfortunate that the FIA decided to change the start procedure for everyone but Ferrari though, I would've loved to see how much they could rocket ahead on every start, would've made it super exciting.
This looks ominous indeed. Hopefully we'll get a Maxterclass tomorrow at least, the Red Bull looks pretty good comparatively to the rest of the field apart from the Mercs.
Hate these regulations btw. To have cornering speeds not be limited by downforce level and driver skill but by battery management is F1 unworthy. It's supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport.
On March 07 2026 21:47 Penev wrote: Hate these regulations btw. To have cornering speeds not be limited by downforce level and driver skill but by battery management is F1 unworthy. It's supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport.
Funniest part is that pole this year was almost 4 seconds slower than last year.
Yeah I was betting on Verstappen being the next guy out due to hating the new F1 but I did not take into consideration how terrible it seems current state Honda powered AM is right now.
Honda seems to be better than expected. Although Im not sure if they are only focusing on 1 ICE now.
Alonso has "issues".... and he's back and 11 laps beind!? AMR are doing the same for Stroll. Retiring and coming back after a while to run to gain more data.
Ferrari strategies masterclass, once more. This is why they have 16 WCCs /s
Not pitting during VSC may have cost them a 2/3. Instead they get a 3/4
Well, that's the first race with the new regs done. It's fun that the Ferrari's start better than the rest, it made the opening act of the race interesting and I have to assume we'll be getting this dynamic in the next races as well so that is nice. I don't think that the outcome would've been different had the Ferrari's come in earlier under the VSC but it could've prevented the boring 1 stop of the top 4 perhaps.
It wasn't the worse race I've seen, mainly due to the first stint, but I'm not optimistic for this season. And of course qualifying is ruined by these regs.
On March 08 2026 21:05 Penev wrote: Well, that's the first race with the new regs done. It's fun that the Ferrari's start better than the rest, it made the opening act of the race interesting and I have to assume we'll be getting this dynamic in the next races as well so that is nice. I don't think that the outcome would've been different had the Ferrari's come in earlier under the VSC but it could've prevented the boring 1 stop of the top 4 perhaps.
It wasn't the worse race I've seen, mainly due to the first stint, but I'm not optimistic for this season. And of course qualifying is ruined by these regs.
Where does the optimism come from?
You have 2 cars one second faster than the rest. The potential engine shenenigans will only have a decision in the summer. Unless mercedes decides to pull a papaya and have the 2 drivers trade blows, the championship will be decided by then.
It might not be as bad as the first year of the Merc wins in the Ham/Ros days, but its bad enough that I don't think this season matters at all in terms of racing.
Watch people now claiming Russel is an out of this world driver.
On March 08 2026 21:05 Penev wrote: Well, that's the first race with the new regs done. It's fun that the Ferrari's start better than the rest, it made the opening act of the race interesting and I have to assume we'll be getting this dynamic in the next races as well so that is nice. I don't think that the outcome would've been different had the Ferrari's come in earlier under the VSC but it could've prevented the boring 1 stop of the top 4 perhaps.
It wasn't the worse race I've seen, mainly due to the first stint, but I'm not optimistic for this season. And of course qualifying is ruined by these regs.
Where does the optimism come from?
You have 2 cars one second faster than the rest. The potential engine shenenigans will only have a decision in the summer. Unless mercedes decides to pull a papaya and have the 2 drivers trade blows, the championship will be decided by then.
It might not be as bad as the first year of the Merc wins in the Ham/Ros days, but its bad enough that I don't think this season matters at all in terms of racing.
Watch people now claiming Russel is an out of this world driver.
What optimism? Read my post again, mainly the last sentence, and get some sleep Kobra.
Yeah I was betting on Verstappen being the next guy out due to hating the new F1 but I did not take into consideration how terrible it seems current state Honda powered AM is right now.
Honda seems to be better than expected. Although Im not sure if they are only focusing on 1 ICE now.
Alonso has "issues".... and he's back and 11 laps beind!? AMR are doing the same for Stroll. Retiring and coming back after a while to run to gain more data.
Ferrari strategies masterclass, once more. This is why they have 16 WCCs /s
Not pitting during VSC may have cost them a 2/3. Instead they get a 3/4
Merc still have sandbags.... Hello 2014
wym? The only team on the grid using the Honda engine is AM. Alonso couldn't finish the race, and Stroll went in and out of pits, leaving him 15 laps behind at the end. How is that "better than expected"?
Yeah I was betting on Verstappen being the next guy out due to hating the new F1 but I did not take into consideration how terrible it seems current state Honda powered AM is right now.
Honda seems to be better than expected. Although Im not sure if they are only focusing on 1 ICE now.
Alonso has "issues".... and he's back and 11 laps beind!? AMR are doing the same for Stroll. Retiring and coming back after a while to run to gain more data.
Ferrari strategies masterclass, once more. This is why they have 16 WCCs /s
Not pitting during VSC may have cost them a 2/3. Instead they get a 3/4
Merc still have sandbags.... Hello 2014
wym? The only team on the grid using the Honda engine is AM. Alonso couldn't finish the race, and Stroll went in and out of pits, leaving him 15 laps behind at the end. How is that "better than expected"?
From my understanding, AMR were planning to run the formation lap and retire after the race start. Seeing them run for a while, about half the race distance, with somewhat reasonable pace such as Alonso getting to 10th and slowly dropping down the places instead of immediately, and not like the McHonda of 2014 was to me better than expected.
I don't understand why there is a general revolt against the current state of affairs; I for one found the race thrilling; now I understand that watching and driving is a completely different experience; so I get why some or even most drivers have a problem with deployment and having to brake in non natural places to recharge; But for those watching, isn't overtakes exactly what people wanted to see?
EPT
