2026 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, March 06 - 08

[avantman]

Awful. Seeing cars harvest 250m from a corner just isn’t peak f1 on a quali lap (let alone a race). Now it’s looking after tyres and your charge. Where is the knife edge??

Ow tires are gonna be looking after themselves automatically. Superclipping will look after them in high speed corners, drivers have just to keep wheel straight

[MB_Racer]

Frankenstein regulations which are neither pushing exciting technology nor providing good racing, specifically crafted for the benefit of one single manufacturer which has immense political and media influence.

How do you know about the racing since the race hasn’t happened yet?

I am not sure I understand your point ?

[morefirejules08]

Every single active F1 champion said these regulations are bad (Verstappen, Norris, Hamilton, Alonso). the FIA cannot continue like this.

there is a simple solution to mitigate all the problems we have now. Allow everybody to run 2025 ICE and plug them into 2026 eletrical engines. That way, everybody would easily generate enough energy to the batteries (even on the 350 kw limit) and would not only solve the problem of energy management and clipping on the straight but also make Aston Martin instantly competitive. It would also solve the problem of Mercedes being ahead due to "cheating" or exploiting loopholes, if you will.

If it stays the way it is for years to come, it will hinder the sport commercially

How’s that going to work for Audi, Redbull or alpine?

[bauc]

Worst quail session in a while (last decade or more?) This new cars, what a shame....all of the drivers do the lift and coast 100 meters before the braking zone, its ridiculous and it is counter intuitive, as a driver you want to attack every corner to maximize late entry and early exit.... but this new cars are just wrong, an insult to the F1 world and to motorsport in general, what a disaster.

[Madhouse]

RIP F1

I think we need to see what playing 4D chess at 300kph looks like, before we declare F1 dead.

Watching lift and coast into corners in Qualy... Turns 8/9 at Melbourne should be amazing to watch but they were so slow... Thats not the pinacle of motorsport.

[djos]

RIP F1

I think we need to see what playing 4D chess at 300kph looks like, before we declare F1 dead.

Watching lift and coast into corners in Qualy... Turns 8/9 at Melbourne should be amazing to watch but they were so slow... Thats not the pinacle of motorsport.

I don't disagree, but I still want to see a real race before I cast my final judgement.

[DGP123]

I think we need to see what playing 4D chess at 300kph looks like, before we declare F1 dead.

Watching lift and coast into corners in Qualy... Turns 8/9 at Melbourne should be amazing to watch but they were so slow... Thats not the pinacle of motorsport.

I don't disagree, but I still want to see a real race before I cast my final judgement.

Merc will run away and then in behind we’ve just got to wait to see who clips last on the straights to get the unskilled, uncontested overtakes done. Can’t wait.

Abysmal regulation. A total embarrassment. FIA will come under some serious pressure to change, with top drivers slating their product

[djos]

Watching lift and coast into corners in Qualy... Turns 8/9 at Melbourne should be amazing to watch but they were so slow... Thats not the pinacle of motorsport.

I don't disagree, but I still want to see a real race before I cast my final judgement.

Merc will run away and then in behind we’ve just got to wait to see who clips last on the straights to get the unskilled, uncontested overtakes done. Can’t wait.

Abysmal regulation. A total embarrassment. FIA will come under some serious pressure to change, with top drivers slating their product

This is highly probable, unfortunately.

[search]

is there anything that can be done during the season, though, or even during this rule cycle? I mean, of course they could reduce the impact of electrical power, but wouldn't the cars just be super slow then?

[renault rs26]

If Russell has any shred of self-respect or credibility, he should sincerely apologise for accusing Red Bull of sandbagging , when Mercedes were obviously doing it the whole time.

Mercedes was always the worst sandbagger, when they're half a second faster they pretend there's cpmpetition. In 2023 when Max had poor q he was saying that he doesn't worry because he'll have pace in the race.

[astracrazy]

RIP F1

I think we need to see what playing 4D chess at 300kph looks like, before we declare F1 dead.

Not sure what you are expecting by "4D chess" to be honest.

You're expecting 4D chess, you'll be lucky to get checkers. They sold the idea these batteries could be used strategically, yet they can't even get to the end of a straight.

[djos]

RIP F1

I think we need to see what playing 4D chess at 300kph looks like, before we declare F1 dead.

Not sure what you are expecting by "4D chess" to be honest.

You're expecting 4D chess, you'll be lucky to get checkers. They sold the idea these batteries could be used strategically, yet they can't even get to the end of a straight.

By 4D chess, I mean the cognitive workload on the drivers.

[ToffeeTyres]

We don’t know how reliability will turn out yet. Mercedes may be fastest and yes testing they were good but in a race we don’t know especially with engine turned up gremlins can still play a part for the race. Let’s see after 6 races. It’s far too early teams still learning software changes etc etc. I’m no fan of these engines at all awful and silly decision making them but it’s what we have for now let’s hope it gets better

[Badger]

Feels relevant to bring out some quotes from a couple of years ago. All of this was foreseen, and ignored by those with ulterior motives.

Newey

The FIA appears to be heavily influenced by one or two manufacturers, in the hope they will appease those manufacturers but also perhaps attract others in. I suppose since Audi are coming in for 2026 there has been a partial success in this regard, but I’m not sure it’s worth the overall compromise of what could be achieved. The reality is manufacturers come and go, with the exception of Ferrari.

“It’s the teams that are core to the business and then of course the big actual core is the viewing public. So it’s essential we provide a good show and as part of that variety is proven to be well rewarded.”

Horner

[It’s] probably one that even the FIA would acknowledge,” Horner said, “that only the engine manufacturers wanted this kind of 50/50 combustion engine with electric.

“I guess it is what their marketing people said that we should be doing and I understand that: it’s potentially interesting because F1 can be a fast-track developer of technology.

“The other problem is the battery. What we need, or what the F1 regulations need out of the batteries in terms of power density and energy density, is quite different to what a normal road car needs. And that in itself means that the battery chemistry, and possibly battery construction is different. So, there’s a risk that it won’t be directly road-relevant.

“But perhaps that’s not the key aspect anyway. The key aspect, certainly for the manufacturers although they will never admit it, is the perception of relevance in the show room.”

Wolff

That is an exciting project to aim for,”. “How does the modern Formula 1 car of 2026 look like? How can we make it aerodynamically so efficient and capable that it can compensate for the lack of combustion engine [output]?

“That should all excite us because we will come up with new concepts of Formula 1 cars that will be great.

“I think what frightens him [Horner] more maybe is that his engine programme is not coming along and maybe he wants to kill it that way.”

Verstappen

“With the engine regulation that they went into, they kind of need to do that [use active aero] to create the top speed where the battery stops deploying and stuff.

“It looks very bad, from all the numbers and what I see from the data already. It’s not something I am very excited about at the moment.”

Sainz

“I think it’s all a consequence of the engine regulations,” “In the end, if you have a lot more energy requested from the electric powertrain, you’re going to need to have, in a way, active aerodynamics to compensate.

“And this is where it all starts to get messy with the overtaking and the active aero, and how you can do that to help the car to go quicker on the straight and spend less time full throttle.

Tombazis

A significant part of these regulations has involved thinking about the fans.

These regulations mark a significant moment in the future of our sport as we look forward to a new generation of car and power unit that aims to give our fans closer and exciting racing. The new sustainably fuelled hybrid power unit presents a huge opportunity for the global automotive industry, the drop in fuel has the potential to be used by cars around the world and dramatically cut emissions. Its potential is one of the key reasons why we will have a record number of engine suppliers in Formula 1 in 2026.

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/arti ... es-so-far/

[Sergej]

Feels relevant to bring out some quotes from a couple of years ago. All of this was foreseen, and ignored by those with ulterior motives.

Newey

The FIA appears to be heavily influenced by one or two manufacturers, in the hope they will appease those manufacturers but also perhaps attract others in. I suppose since Audi are coming in for 2026 there has been a partial success in this regard, but I’m not sure it’s worth the overall compromise of what could be achieved. The reality is manufacturers come and go, with the exception of Ferrari.

“It’s the teams that are core to the business and then of course the big actual core is the viewing public. So it’s essential we provide a good show and as part of that variety is proven to be well rewarded.”

Horner

[It’s] probably one that even the FIA would acknowledge,” Horner said, “that only the engine manufacturers wanted this kind of 50/50 combustion engine with electric.

“I guess it is what their marketing people said that we should be doing and I understand that: it’s potentially interesting because F1 can be a fast-track developer of technology.

“The other problem is the battery. What we need, or what the F1 regulations need out of the batteries in terms of power density and energy density, is quite different to what a normal road car needs. And that in itself means that the battery chemistry, and possibly battery construction is different. So, there’s a risk that it won’t be directly road-relevant.

“But perhaps that’s not the key aspect anyway. The key aspect, certainly for the manufacturers although they will never admit it, is the perception of relevance in the show room.”

Wolff

That is an exciting project to aim for,”. “How does the modern Formula 1 car of 2026 look like? How can we make it aerodynamically so efficient and capable that it can compensate for the lack of combustion engine [output]?

“That should all excite us because we will come up with new concepts of Formula 1 cars that will be great.

“I think what frightens him [Horner] more maybe is that his engine programme is not coming along and maybe he wants to kill it that way.”

Verstappen

“With the engine regulation that they went into, they kind of need to do that [use active aero] to create the top speed where the battery stops deploying and stuff.

“It looks very bad, from all the numbers and what I see from the data already. It’s not something I am very excited about at the moment.”

Sainz

“I think it’s all a consequence of the engine regulations,” “In the end, if you have a lot more energy requested from the electric powertrain, you’re going to need to have, in a way, active aerodynamics to compensate.

“And this is where it all starts to get messy with the overtaking and the active aero, and how you can do that to help the car to go quicker on the straight and spend less time full throttle.

Tombazis

A significant part of these regulations has involved thinking about the fans.

These regulations mark a significant moment in the future of our sport as we look forward to a new generation of car and power unit that aims to give our fans closer and exciting racing. The new sustainably fuelled hybrid power unit presents a huge opportunity for the global automotive industry, the drop in fuel has the potential to be used by cars around the world and dramatically cut emissions. Its potential is one of the key reasons why we will have a record number of engine suppliers in Formula 1 in 2026.

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/arti ... es-so-far/

Horner and Max's claims were ignored on the assumption they were on the backfoot with their own engine, turns out not only they were right, but they have 2nd best PU. Time always delivers.