LionsHeart wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 07:10
Leon Kennedy wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 01:04
LionsHeart wrote: ↑10 Feb 2026, 18:43
Well, on one fast lap, yes, this year's cars will be faster. But in a race? So far, I'm getting the feeling the race pace will be significantly closer to the 2016 cars. But that's just a feeling.
I did a quick calculation to understand how much the chicane on the Barcelona circuit was worth in terms of time. Consider that in the 2022 tests we went very close to the limit (perhaps due to also to the use of a softer tyre than that given in the Grand Prix) with a time of 1.19.1, pole time that year 1.18.7. Pole time the following year 1.12.2 (without chicanes). The performance leap from 2022 to 2023 was approximately 1.1 second per lap (Miami 1.8 because it had been resurfaced), between 23 and 24 0.8 seconds. But let's keep 1.1 as an approximate reference threshold. In essence in 2022 the pole would have been 1.13.3 which subtracted from 1.18.7, gives a difference of 5.4 seconds (this is the value of the chicane). The fastest time of the 2026 tests was Hamilton's in 16.3, so only about 3 seconds off the virtual pole time of 2022. And in my opinion they weren't even close to the limit, neither as a car configuration nor as an engine configuration.
My personal opinion: 3 seconds difference considering they didn't push in the tests, is really little and can be made up, I wouldn't be surprised if we were in line with the 22 times.
Welcome newcomer to the forum!
Fine. So be it. That might not be far from the truth. At the moment, with so little data, it's really hard to calculate all the possibilities. Admittedly, I'm not too concerned about the pace of a single fast lap. I'm more interested in how quickly the new cars can cover the race distance. And that directly depends on race pace. Naturally, we're not taking the safety car and rain into account.
Hi! Thank you so much!
I agree with you that there will be less difference on the flying lap than on the race distance. There are factors that make you believe they can be faster: such as the more powerful engine, the active aerodynamics, the lack of venturi (more stability and less tyre degradation) and the possibility of rake setup. At the same time, other factors say the opposite: battery management during the race, the tyres which are narrower and degrade more quickly and also the cars which are narrower. Furthermore, the lack of a venturi also gives you less downforce at the "ideal" load (we know that in fact this doesn't translate 100% on the track). We'll see, it will be interesting!
This is Max, vs Oscar, vs George.
