nitrotech wrote: ↑19 Feb 2026, 19:39
AR3-GP wrote: ↑19 Feb 2026, 18:27
Not necessarily. Teams might even adapt to one another in real time. So driver could also change the deployment between qualifying runs and then they'll show yellow sectors where they stopped using energy. Drivers could show as many as two yellow sectors and then still put it on pole. Another driver can put in two purple sectors and then finish 1 second off without making any errors in the final sector. This is what I feared. A driver could run perfect lines and be far off just because of energy deployment.
The commentators will struggle to adapt to this. You will never know who is on a good lap since slightly different deployment will cause yellows. The traditional lap time build-up that we know from the previous-gen PU is gone because the lap time is so sensitive to the energy deployment.
What a crappy formula we have ended up with.
This is awful. I can't wait for a time when they get back to normally aspirated engines with sustainable fuel. Junk the turbo and electric power.
F1 should be fuel limited. It's the best compromise between sustainability and manufacturer appeal. A turbo formula is the only option if you want low fuel loads (light cars) and high power, barring the reintroduction of refueling. Just pair it with a small, spec MGU-H and you will have no turbo lag. Then pick a desired fuel flow that caps out at 15 000 RPM (100 kg/hr should get 800+ BHP). Then limit the cars to 7 gears. This would produce light engines that rev like V8s and put out almost V10 power, while car weight would likely end up at 650-700kg. If you use a V8 or V10 you would lose out on power and would have to haul around more fuel during the races, making the cars bulkier and less nimble compared to a V6 turbo.
But realistically we will have to deal with these engines until at least 2027, when the FIA might be forced to adjust the MGU-K deployment down and fuel flow up a bit. Realistically you can't make a call on this during testing though. First you need to see how these cars race in order to make a call. If it turns out they do actually race well this discussion during testing has been all for nothing. In 2031 we might get a clean-sheet engine formula, but you can be sure that it will include a turbo.
So in conclusion. Let these cars race before deciding whether you hate the engine formula or not, since it's ultimately the excitement produced by the racing that decides whether it's a success or not. Testing says nothing about how these cars race.
For what it's worth I'm at least extremely excited about the aero regs and these tests. Active aero in action is really cool and I'm super excited over the very different interpretations of them, especially the innovations from Ferrari.
On the other hand, RB was very smart to get rid of them right on time
