2026 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, March 06 - 08

[ScottB]

I have to say, I tuned in expecting to hear the Sky F1 crew, specifically Brundle, be, let's say, very negative, about these new rules. 2014, he in particular, went on at length about not liking those engines, not liking the noise etc.

Instead, all positive, even framing the super clipping with things like 'oh he's down shifting now so he can really rocket out the next corner!'

Now, I do think the moaning in 2014 was a bit much, and it makes sense not to have one of your primary broadcasters talking the sport down, but I am left wondering if they've been told, whether by Sky, Liberty or both, that they aren't allowed to moan, essentially...

In general, my view so far is I like the new cars, look good, smaller, more nimble etc, but they need to do something about the super clipping.

[Sofa King]

My autopilot can't wait to drive a car with this new sustainable fuel in 2060. The good news is Honda has a head start on the next formula, which will be 50/50 solar panels and hydropower.

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/

[FittingMechanics]

I have to say, I tuned in expecting to hear the Sky F1 crew, specifically Brundle, be, let's say, very negative, about these new rules. 2014, he in particular, went on at length about not liking those engines, not liking the noise etc.

Instead, all positive, even framing the super clipping with things like 'oh he's down shifting now so he can really rocket out the next corner!'

Now, I do think the moaning in 2014 was a bit much, and it makes sense not to have one of your primary broadcasters talking the sport down, but I am left wondering if they've been told, whether by Sky, Liberty or both, that they aren't allowed to moan, essentially...

In general, my view so far is I like the new cars, look good, smaller, more nimble etc, but they need to do something about the super clipping.

There was a meeting with broadcasters where they were told/talked how to approach commenting about this formula, I assume "don't be super negative" was one of main points. I've heard this on one of The Race podcasts where they brought on a Dutch commentator.

[vorticism]

Let the double standard reactions to 2014 commence. “Aw, 2014-2020, now that was the real racing! Those were the days! None of this kooky environmental green electric cars nonsense. Just man and machine!” Lol. It’s not that these regs are a joke, though, it’s that they’re a joke on top of a joke--but this will be lost upon the bandwagon & the DTS influx. George will get no comparable pats on the head. In sport as in our failed states. He’ll be the better for it though. Doesn’t need vanity nor pity.

[FrukostScones]

Gosh OT , but what was this F3 crash about.
like attemted manslaughter.

[Frank73]

This is 2014 but with Bottas instead of Rosberg. That might even be a compliment for Antonelli, what a crappy performance but yet P2. That says it all really

It´s a shame Toto didn´t put Sainz in that seat. At least we would have a fight for P1

At the very least, people will be spared the neverending annoying whines of Mr. Whine-a-lot.

[Matt2725]

This is 2014 but with Bottas instead of Rosberg. That might even be a compliment for Antonelli, what a crappy performance but yet P2. That says it all really

It´s a shame Toto didn´t put Sainz in that seat. At least we would have a fight for P1

At the very least, people will be spared the neverending annoying whines of Mr. Whine-a-lot.

He was out in the wall in Q1 though.

[chrisc90]

It´s a shame Toto didn´t put Sainz in that seat. At least we would have a fight for P1

At the very least, people will be spared the neverending annoying whines of Mr. Whine-a-lot.

He was out in the wall in Q1 though.

That was Kimi not George

[Mezger]

I've been watching F1 for over 45 years and I've never been so disappointed with the start of a new season.
These new regulations just go to show what is wrong with the world these days. It's so fake and full of jokery and wokery. Everyone has to do as they're told and toe the line. No one can be honest as it might hurt someone's feelings... commentators have to pretend everything is fantastic when it really isn't.
Electric vehicles should stay on the road for those who think they are saving the world from imminent environmental destruction.
I just want pure racing where there are basic dynamics and ultimately it comes down to driver skill.... go-karts are where that is and where the greatest basic skill lies. F1 was always that but with extreme horsepower thrown in.
I do not know what it is now, i genuinely do not understand it, my brain cannot compute WTF is going on.
The DTS crowd will love it because now it is just a show and not a sport.
Rant over.... Ban me or remove the post... I don't care.

I just want racing back in F1

[IntrinsicVoid]

The only way a software would be that detrimental in performance is when you download the latest release of F1 game and modify the game files of your favorite car to make it go faster.

[Artur Craft]

Mercedes is much faster on all corners

[F1Sara]

I've been watching F1 for over 45 years and I've never been so disappointed with the start of a new season.
These new regulations just go to show what is wrong with the world these days. It's so fake and full of jokery and wokery. Everyone has to do as they're told and toe the line. No one can be honest as it might hurt someone's feelings... commentators have to pretend everything is fantastic when it really isn't.
Electric vehicles should stay on the road for those who think they are saving the world from imminent environmental destruction.
I just want pure racing where there are basic dynamics and ultimately it comes down to driver skill.... go-karts are where that is and where the greatest basic skill lies. F1 was always that but with extreme horsepower thrown in.
I do not know what it is now, i genuinely do not understand it, my brain cannot compute WTF is going on.
The DTS crowd will love it because now it is just a show and not a sport.
Rant over.... Ban me or remove the post... I don't care.

I just want racing back in F1

I feel the same

[Rodak]

A pair of soft tyres might legitimately last entire races if the teams get the MGU-K deployment right. Regardless, the fronts will just straight up not degrade in race trim given how much they back off in fast corners.

This is really interesting. If the tire changes were much slower, we might have seen a team change the rears only. Since they are allowed so many people over the wall, teams will just want to change all 4 tires anyway.

I don't think you can change just the rears, the tires are matched sets with bar coded numbers and the FIA check that they stay together. It's all or none.

[AR3-GP]

A pair of soft tyres might legitimately last entire races if the teams get the MGU-K deployment right. Regardless, the fronts will just straight up not degrade in race trim given how much they back off in fast corners.

This is really interesting. If the tire changes were much slower, we might have seen a team change the rears only. Since they are allowed so many people over the wall, teams will just want to change all 4 tires anyway.

I don't think you can change just the rears, the tires are matched sets with bar coded numbers and the FIA check that they stay together. It's all or none.

I thought I saw a team change 1 tire for a puncture at some point, but maybe I made that up.

[hollus]

Awesome!

I want to lay alternative markers for immature cars at the beginning of the last regulation cycle. In 2022 Malbourne was the 3rd race, so the cars were a bit less green, but 1st race, 3rd race... same same enough.

Pole lap in 2022: 1:17:868 by Leclerc.
Fastest lap in the race: 1:20:268 by Leclerc.

In my opinion, Melbourne 2025 should be compared to Melbourne 2029 or at least 2028, after everyone has had 2 cycles of re-designing their cars including the successful tricks from the other teams.

I know I often see things a bit different than most, but wow. A lot of poeple look very upset and very dissapointed! And not only in this site: https://www.racefans.net/2026/03/07/the ... to-fix-it/

I'll wait a bit longer before judging the reg set too much.
In the mean time, an update to the marker:

Pole lap in 2022: 1:17:868 by Leclerc. ---> Pole lap in 2026: 1:18:518 by russell.

That ain't too bad, but I can see how losing corner speed (apex speed is more to aero losses than to the PU) and losing top speed while gaining acceleration in the slow, not traction limited parts of the straights is... un-sexy.

Still, watching the quali highlights looked quite normal to me, but it was all small clips.
Looking and hearing Russell's pole lap without cuts... yeah, it felt much slower. That car was also MEGA stable!

Still I wonder how much of this is the sound playing tricks on us? Would it look that much different without sound? Could you tell that the car went from 300km/h to 270 km/h before the braking phase instead of going from 300 km/h to 320 km/h, without sound?

It feels like the car is working less hard, but the driver skill needed is essentially unchanged with two small exceptions.
They are still braking as late as they can, and modulatig that braking pressure, only from 270 km/h instead of from 320 km/h. Yeah, that is a small show and skill loss.
But the cornering skills are exactly the same, they still go faster by maximizing cornering speed and fight the same old limit of adhesion.
Are we also seeing a loss in said limit of adhesion and blaming that on the PU strategies? With less ground effect, downforce levels must be down accross the board. The regs also favor lower drag wings, so again less downforce.

And, if PUs were equal and AFTER harvesting strategies converge, which clearly hasn't happened yet, the differentiator would still be the same old driver skill exploiting the limit of adhesion better than the others. But we all know that THAT is tipically only 3/10 of a second, so it will only matter once the cars start to converge.

Just my opinion, veeeeeeeeery different? Yes. Muuuuuuuuuch worse? A bit, I am not so sure about the much part.

I would love to see a telemetry comparison of today's pole lap with the pole laps in Melbourne on 2022 or 2025.