2026 Scuderia Ferrari HP F1 Team

[Farnborough]

"One of the difficulties of driving with the lower gears is the gear ratios. Ferrari and Mclaren have a very short first gear. It probably helps them to keep the revs up at the starts, but then it's harder to shift down into first during a lap without locking the rears. So that would be a hardware limitation. They are allowed 1 in-season update to the ratios."

Not necessarily.

This can be blended with throttle modulation during that downshift period I believe. There appears at least some scope within control regulation to achieve this.

Failing that, a strategy of taking 2nd gear earlier than conventional approach will likely bring gains too.

What I mean is that engine RPM is tied to the wheel speed. So if 1st gear is shorter, you have to wait longer before you can use it. The engine is not a "free-revving" device. It has a rev limit. Therefore teams with shorter gears cannot enter it until the synchronized RPM is below the engine's rev limit. iirc, the gearbox would just reject the downshift if it's too early.

Also, I would assume that Ferrari is already maximizing the 2nd gear entry point.

That's exactly that, an assumption. And needs more data to appreciate and offer valid comment.

We'll see more this weekend.

But so far, Ferrari seem to be on point with that ratio for starting easily usurping all around them in spite of Q positions.
At first run, it did what they wanted, and maximized their apparent turbo config, to the significant detriment of their competitors.

Was anyone using 1st for recharge in Aus, would be pertinent detail.

[AR3-GP]

Was anyone using 1st for recharge in Aus, would be pertinent detail.

Australia has a very high average speed and few if any slow corners (T3, T13?), so 1st gear is not frequently used. We saw more of it in Bahrain, and we'll see more in China.

[Farnborough]

Was anyone using 1st for recharge in Aus, would be pertinent detail.

Australia has a very high average speed and few if any slow corners (T3, T13?), so 1st gear is not frequently used. We saw more of it in Bahrain, and we'll see more in China.

I know what leverage does, and effect in running against engine compression etc.

Opening the throttle slightly, however that's accomplished, will mitigate risk though. It can be a part of how the strategy is run.

Its a big part of corner entry in Moto-GP for example. Absolutely routine in how they use PU "brsking" to dynamical affect chassis attributes.

[AR3-GP]

I know what leverage does, and effect in running against engine compression etc.

Opening the throttle slightly, however that's accomplished, will mitigate risk though. It can be a part of how the strategy is run.

It's true that they can open the throttle, but that burns fuel. In an ideal world you will seek to exhaust the non-fuel burning harvesting techniques before implementing the fuel burning techniques (I know that you know this, just restating).

[Farnborough]

I know what leverage does, and effect in running against engine compression etc.

Opening the throttle slightly, however that's accomplished, will mitigate risk though. It can be a part of how the strategy is run.

It's true that they can open the throttle, but that burns fuel. In an ideal world you will seek to exhaust the non-fuel burning harvesting techniques before implementing the fuel burning techniques (I know that you know this, just restating).

And super clipping doesn't ? At wide open throttle and absolute flat-max torque load.

Bringing up ICE base idle for short period as the driver blends the chassis response will be parsimonious in its fuel usage by comparison, and also produce recharge through the ratio used. Its not a waste if it grabs net gain from kinetic via that low ratio. There's opportunity in each consideration, to look at it with closed view can't leverage that potential.

Every one of these things are a blend, in reality.

That graph also shows a maximum of 8% in graphic of differential for the first gear ratios. That's not unsurmountable a gap.

[CRazyLemon]

I've trying to work out the "power" advantage Mercedes has but I'm missing some sort of fundamental knowledge I hope someone can fill in.

ICE has max power of 400kw, mgu-k has 350kw max. We have 4mj of battery. Do we thing Ferrari is not achieving all of these maximums or they're unable to harvest the maximum per track and Mercedes can? Or is Mercedes use their battery in a way that their 4mj can sustain the maximums for longer?

[AR3-GP]

I've trying to work out the "power" advantage Mercedes has but I'm missing some sort of fundamental knowledge I hope someone can fill in.

ICE has max power of 400kw, mgu-k has 350kw max. We have 4mj of battery. Do we thing Ferrari is not achieving all of these maximums or they're unable to harvest the maximum per track and Mercedes can? Or is Mercedes use their battery in a way that their 4mj can sustain the maximums for longer?

ICE doesn't have a max power. It's simply energy flow limited. 3000MJ/hr fuel flow. Teams who can extract more PV-work from that energy content will have more ICE power. That is achieved by combustion optimization, compression ratio, and minimizing the friction inside the engine.

[CRazyLemon]

I've trying to work out the "power" advantage Mercedes has but I'm missing some sort of fundamental knowledge I hope someone can fill in.

ICE has max power of 400kw, mgu-k has 350kw max. We have 4mj of battery. Do we thing Ferrari is not achieving all of these maximums or they're unable to harvest the maximum per track and Mercedes can? Or is Mercedes use their battery in a way that their 4mj can sustain the maximums for longer?

ICE doesn't have a max power. It's simply energy flow limited. 3000MJ/hr fuel flow. Teams who can extract more PV-work from that energy content will have more ICE power. That is achieved by combustion optimization, compression ratio, and minimizing the friction inside the engine.

Thank you, makes sense now.

[deadhead]

Trying to reduce drag in all sorts of ways but how is this structurally sound?

[Muramasa666]

Autoracer said that in China the SF-26 has a small modification to the rear suspension, has anyone managed to spot it?

[f1Follower]

What is this procedure

https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/2032033 ... 76330?s=20

[FW17]

Trying to reduce drag in all sorts of ways but how is this structurally sound?


https://postimages.org/

Wasn't aero devices in front of driver banned after Monaco 2001?

[dans79]

I think what the article was trying to suggest is Ferrari would like to come up with a way of supper clipping in the turns, something the press said Mercedes was doing.

I can't find anything in the rules that says super clipping is limited to the straits. Honestly I cant find anything about supper clipping in the rules. Everything I've found has been published by the press, and just claims its limited to when the driver is at 100% throttle and that it's limited to 250kW.

If the above is true, then on corners where you are aero and/or traction limited , and have a decent amount of cornering time, you could supper clip. basically mid speed to low high speed corners. The hard part would be determining what gears and turns (on a per track basis) it would be beneficial on.

Assuming supper clipping is allowed to continue across multiple gears as long as the throttle is at 100% the team would have to come up with some kind of algorithm to ramp up the harvesting rate and then back down, so as not to unsettle the car and the driver while cornering. Maybe even a way to set the maximum harvesting rate on a per turn basis.

I'd assume the FIA has some rules related to timing and automation restrictions, so it can't be used as traction control or some other form of driver aide, so it would be nice if they published them.

[sucof]

I think what the article was trying to suggest is Ferrari would like to come up with a way of supper clipping in the turns, something the press said Mercedes was doing.

I can't find anything in the rules that says super clipping is limited to the straits. Honestly I cant find anything about supper clipping in the rules. Everything I've found has been published by the press, and just claims its limited to when the driver is at 100% throttle and that it's limited to 250kW.

If the above is true, then on corners where you are aero and/or traction limited , and have a decent amount of cornering time, you could supper clip. basically mid speed to low high speed corners. The hard part would be determining what gears and turns (on a per track basis) it would be beneficial on.

Assuming supper clipping is allowed to continue across multiple gears as long as the throttle is at 100% the team would have to come up with some kind of algorithm to ramp up the harvesting rate and then back down, so as not to unsettle the car and the driver while cornering. Maybe even a way to set the maximum harvesting rate on a per turn basis.

I'd assume the FIA has some rules related to timing and automation restrictions, so it can't be used as traction control or some other form of driver aide, so it would be nice if they published them.

Yes, these are exactly the areas others can catch up quite quickly to Mercedes.
Sadly, I feel its very hard to speculate about the details without very detailed telemetry, with data on charging and deployment. What you are suggesting is something one might think would have been obvious to all the teams, but maybe it was not.

[f1Follower]

Is it the engine of Mercedes is very good or McLaren and others don't have clear understanding of using it

If this is the case where Mercedes is running away with Championship with their engine will Formula 1 give ADUO to other engine manufacturers otherwise it's not worth watching any of races further.

Formula 1 changes the rules on tyre just to punish Ferrari and Bridgestone as it was running away with the championship for consecutive seasons. They have to do something quickly otherwise it has become quite boring as there is no chance of upgrades in engine side