Lando top of times now*
*times still irrelevant but...
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40 laps, last update from 20 min ago
Lando did 57/58 laps. Not a lot but they spend the first 2 hours doing static speed runs for aero. And then most of the later runs were just setup experimentations.
Exactly. I forgot about the tires. They've gotten narrower, which means they'll overheat a little faster and wear out more quickly. I checked the life-time report. Lando did two slow laps between his fast laps. It's possible the tires are overheating, or two laps are needed to fully charge the battery. This is interesting, as qualifying will be more competitive. Any mistake by the driver will have a very serious impact. Every fast lap in qualifying will be more important. Considering the new cars slide more and the rear end is more likely to spin out, it's going to be very interesting.Leon Kennedy wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 16:37Hi! Thank you so much!LionsHeart wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 07:10Leon Kennedy wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 01:04
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.
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!
The tire difference is correct. The sectors are quite drastically different for multiple reasons. In S1 Max is way faster partly because he deploys more at the start of the lap and partly because he is way faster at T4 (by 2 tenths).LionsHeart wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 18:25We discussed rake earlier. After watching the last hour of testing, I got the impression that Williams' rear end is higher than the rest.
Regarding the McLaren, the car looks fast in sectors 2 and 3. Max, in his last fast attempt, was 0.5 seconds faster in sector 1, but then lost ground in sectors 2 and 3, ending up 0.129 seconds behind. The loss in sectors 2 and 3 is 0.33 seconds. According to the infographic, Lando showed his time on C2 tires, while Max on C3 tires.
https://i.ibb.co/TMvkMBmg/576892-C7-EEB ... AF6-D2.jpg
I agree. The programs varied greatly throughout the day. But these two fast times are comparable. It's interesting to see how energy can be distributed more effectively throughout the circuit.Emag wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 18:29The tire difference is correct. The sectors are quite drastically different for multiple reasons. In S1 Max is way faster partly because he deploys more at the start of the lap and partly because he is way faster at T4 (by 2 tenths).LionsHeart wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 18:25We discussed rake earlier. After watching the last hour of testing, I got the impression that Williams' rear end is higher than the rest.
Regarding the McLaren, the car looks fast in sectors 2 and 3. Max, in his last fast attempt, was 0.5 seconds faster in sector 1, but then lost ground in sectors 2 and 3, ending up 0.129 seconds behind. The loss in sectors 2 and 3 is 0.33 seconds. According to the infographic, Lando showed his time on C2 tires, while Max on C3 tires.
https://i.ibb.co/TMvkMBmg/576892-C7-EEB ... AF6-D2.jpg
The thing is Max has done a lot of long runs inbetween today. Whereas Lando has just been experimenting a lot. Quite a bit of time was spent in the garages.
Perhaps a more "normal" session can give us some better insights.
Mate, thank you so much for this graphics!SilviuAgo wrote: ↑11 Feb 2026, 18:29https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HA4p60BawAA ... =4096x4096
Norris sets the fastest time and Leclerc improves on the final runs. It's clear how power delivery makes a huge difference, even more so than the deltas in the corners at the moment.
Verstappen starts off strong in the lap, Lando makes a mistake in T4, Leclerc makes a great LiCo right at 4. Then McLaren comes out in S2 with great acceleration up to 9. Ferrari is like RedBull in the middle sector. Then Max pushes hard at 12, but Lando gains a 14-point lead on him and Charles on the final straight and takes P1. Who knows if this direct dependence on power strategies will continue or if they will gradually become more aligned and we'll be talking about cornering speed again. Let's see