2026 Pre-Season Testing

[dia6olo]

Guys someone posted a video i think in this thread that was showing 4 cars from above like slot cars with the virtual laps of Hamilton, Norris, Verstapen and Antonelli or Russell that you was able to see who brakes better, who accelerates better etc. i cannot seem to find it and i want it, can anyone help?

Is this the one?
https://x.com/gurt___yo_ah/status/2024214245974360465

[bluechris]

Guys someone posted a video i think in this thread that was showing 4 cars from above like slot cars with the virtual laps of Hamilton, Norris, Verstapen and Antonelli or Russell that you was able to see who brakes better, who accelerates better etc. i cannot seem to find it and i want it, can anyone help?

Is this the one?
https://x.com/gurt___yo_ah/status/2024214245974360465

Thank you, that was it.

[Seanspeed]

Here are the race sims from today. Audi is impressive in the mid pack.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HBnKn3pXUAA ... name=large

That's almost frontrunning pace by the Audi !

1.5s off the pace is pretty far from front-running, but also seems decent enough for Sauber.

[upsidedowntoast]

Some more fun facts that could be actually be totally irrelevant, who knows:
https://www.gpblog.com/en/general/major ... on-testing

Ordered from highest to lowest improvement:

1.  Pierre Gasly        Alpine         -3.344
2.  Arvid Lindblad      VCARB          -3.321
3.  Gabriel Bortoleto   Audi           -2.915
4.  Carlos Sainz        Williams       -2.844
5.  Nico Hulkenberg     Audi           -2.304
6.  Charles Leclerc     Ferrari        -2.281
7.  Liam Lawson         VCARB          -2.276
8.  Alex Albon          Williams       -2.238
9.  Lance Stroll        Aston Martin   -2.191
10. Sergio Perez        Cadillac       -1.996
11. Franco Colapinto    Alpine         -1.988
12. Ollie Bearman       Haas           -1.907
13. Lando Norris        Mclaren        -1.798
14. Fernando Alonso     Aston Martin   -1.712
15. Max Verstappen      Red Bull       -1.689
16. Oscar Piastri       Mclaren        -1.688
17. Valtteri Bottas     Cadillac       -1.534
18. Esteban Ocon        Haas           -1.377
19. Isack Hadjar        Red Bull       -1.350
20. Kimi Antonelli      Mercedes       -0.866
21. Lewis Hamilton      Ferrari        -0.801
22. George Russell      Mercedes       -0.721

I know I said "sandbagging is meaningless and gets thrown around to satisfy whoever's confirmation bias" earlier, but that very low improvement from Merc is extremely sus. Possibilities
1. They already showed their hand in Bahrain 1
2. Their reliability issues over Bahrain 1+2 messed them up so bad that they could only test setup and didn't have time to test anything else
3. They are hiding more relative to the other teams

[catent]

Some more fun facts that could be actually be totally irrelevant, who knows:
https://www.gpblog.com/en/general/major ... on-testing

Ordered from highest to lowest improvement:

1.  Pierre Gasly        Alpine         -3.344
2.  Arvid Lindblad      VCARB          -3.321
3.  Gabriel Bortoleto   Audi           -2.915
4.  Carlos Sainz        Williams       -2.844
5.  Nico Hulkenberg     Audi           -2.304
6.  Charles Leclerc     Ferrari        -2.281
7.  Liam Lawson         VCARB          -2.276
8.  Alex Albon          Williams       -2.238
9.  Lance Stroll        Aston Martin   -2.191
10. Sergio Perez        Cadillac       -1.996
11. Franco Colapinto    Alpine         -1.988
12. Ollie Bearman       Haas           -1.907
13. Lando Norris        Mclaren        -1.798
14. Fernando Alonso     Aston Martin   -1.712
15. Max Verstappen      Red Bull       -1.689
16. Oscar Piastri       Mclaren        -1.688
17. Valtteri Bottas     Cadillac       -1.534
18. Esteban Ocon        Haas           -1.377
19. Isack Hadjar        Red Bull       -1.350
20. Kimi Antonelli      Mercedes       -0.866
21. Lewis Hamilton      Ferrari        -0.801
22. George Russell      Mercedes       -0.721

I know I said "sandbagging is meaningless and gets thrown around to satisfy whoever's confirmation bias" earlier, but that very low improvement from Merc is extremely sus. Possibilities
1. They already showed their hand in Bahrain 1
2. Their reliability issues over Bahrain 1+2 messed them up so bad that they could only test setup and didn't have time to test anything else
3. They are hiding more relative to the other teams

Your prior caveat - that there is no way to accurately parse the extent to which teams are sandbagging and it's subjective speculation, often used as confirmation bias - pretty well captures/describes your theorizing which follows.

[upsidedowntoast]

Some more fun facts that could be actually be totally irrelevant, who knows:
https://www.gpblog.com/en/general/major ... on-testing

Ordered from highest to lowest improvement:

1.  Pierre Gasly        Alpine         -3.344
2.  Arvid Lindblad      VCARB          -3.321
3.  Gabriel Bortoleto   Audi           -2.915
4.  Carlos Sainz        Williams       -2.844
5.  Nico Hulkenberg     Audi           -2.304
6.  Charles Leclerc     Ferrari        -2.281
7.  Liam Lawson         VCARB          -2.276
8.  Alex Albon          Williams       -2.238
9.  Lance Stroll        Aston Martin   -2.191
10. Sergio Perez        Cadillac       -1.996
11. Franco Colapinto    Alpine         -1.988
12. Ollie Bearman       Haas           -1.907
13. Lando Norris        Mclaren        -1.798
14. Fernando Alonso     Aston Martin   -1.712
15. Max Verstappen      Red Bull       -1.689
16. Oscar Piastri       Mclaren        -1.688
17. Valtteri Bottas     Cadillac       -1.534
18. Esteban Ocon        Haas           -1.377
19. Isack Hadjar        Red Bull       -1.350
20. Kimi Antonelli      Mercedes       -0.866
21. Lewis Hamilton      Ferrari        -0.801
22. George Russell      Mercedes       -0.721

I know I said "sandbagging is meaningless and gets thrown around to satisfy whoever's confirmation bias" earlier, but that very low improvement from Merc is extremely sus. Possibilities
1. They already showed their hand in Bahrain 1
2. Their reliability issues over Bahrain 1+2 messed them up so bad that they could only test setup and didn't have time to test anything else
3. They are hiding more relative to the other teams

Your prior caveat - that there is no way to accurately parse the extent to which teams are sandbagging and it's subjective speculation, often used as confirmation bias - pretty well captures/describes your theorizing which follows.

Which is why I put in the caveat. All this is tea leaf reading and numerology just for fun. Still cool to look at though and it would be interesting to compare across the years.

[TeamKoolGreen]

Guys someone posted a video i think in this thread that was showing 4 cars from above like slot cars with the virtual laps of Hamilton, Norris, Verstapen and Antonelli or Russell that you was able to see who brakes better, who accelerates better etc. i cannot seem to find it and i want it, can anyone help?

Is this the one?
https://x.com/gurt___yo_ah/status/2024214245974360465

How is the Mercedes works engine so much stronger out of the corners than the McLaren Mercedes ? And no, that isn't a difference in drag.

[haza]

Guys someone posted a video i think in this thread that was showing 4 cars from above like slot cars with the virtual laps of Hamilton, Norris, Verstapen and Antonelli or Russell that you was able to see who brakes better, who accelerates better etc. i cannot seem to find it and i want it, can anyone help?

Is this the one?
https://x.com/gurt___yo_ah/status/2024214245974360465

How is the Mercedes works engine so much stronger out of the corners than the McLaren Mercedes ? And no, that isn't a difference in drag.

McLaren were running an older less powerful version of the pu now confirmed my guess Mercedes were running the newer engine as a test bed before dishing out the rest

[ali623]

Guys someone posted a video i think in this thread that was showing 4 cars from above like slot cars with the virtual laps of Hamilton, Norris, Verstapen and Antonelli or Russell that you was able to see who brakes better, who accelerates better etc. i cannot seem to find it and i want it, can anyone help?

Is this the one?
https://x.com/gurt___yo_ah/status/2024214245974360465

How is the Mercedes works engine so much stronger out of the corners than the McLaren Mercedes ? And no, that isn't a difference in drag.

If the video is in any way accurate, looks like Antonelli is simply braking earlier hence getting a better exit than the others.

[bluechris]

Is this the one?
https://x.com/gurt___yo_ah/status/2024214245974360465

How is the Mercedes works engine so much stronger out of the corners than the McLaren Mercedes ? And no, that isn't a difference in drag.

If the video is in any way accurate, looks like Antonelli is simply braking earlier hence getting a better exit than the others.

It's different driving styles and electric power delivery from what i see. All teams trying different things to find the optimal.

[chrisc90]

Does anyone know what the difference is between the merc engines?

They must have a massive pool if they are planning on bringing new engines to everyone on Australia than testing.

4 customer teams 2 cars each

8 engines on the limit. Even if each team has 1 spare engine, that’s a minimum of 12 engines and likely a spare engine for each car. So 16 engines for testing and Australia.

If they have 2 revisions that’s 32 engines they have got currently made up. And they haven’t decided which one to homologate yet!

[toraabe]

I think that FIA if dangerous situations occurs because of clipping needs to re introduce the MGU H. All the providers except Audi have them in stock so it would be a minor job to bolt it on. Audi could buy it from one of the other providers...........

Also, Renault will have a few old PUs from last year lying about as well- maybe they could fire that program back up and start supplying a few teams on the grid as well?

Yes. They are built...

[langedweil]

I think that FIA if dangerous situations occurs because of clipping needs to re introduce the MGU H. All the providers except Audi have them in stock so it would be a minor job to bolt it on. Audi could buy it from one of the other providers...........

Also, Renault will have a few old PUs from last year lying about as well- maybe they could fire that program back up and start supplying a few teams on the grid as well?

Yes. They are built...

Would not be feasible I'd say ...

[FrukostScones]

does someone have the link or the data for an Alpine race sim from Thursday or Friday? Colapinto or Gasly.

[LM10]

does someone have the link or the data for an Alpine race sim from Thursday or Friday? Colapinto or Gasly.

https://f1insightshub.com/analysis

Search for Bahrain Test 2, the desired day + driver and scroll down to Driver Stints.