2026 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka, March 27 - 29

[Waz]

Another 1 stop race, but the lateral energy in the tires is very high. I've been thinking since we are in this anything goes era, why not allow the cars that stop more than once to have a higher recovery limit from then onwards? So they can go faster to make up the pitstop delta. It's a way to diversify strategies when you can't increase the speed limit of the pitlane. This is assuming that a higher recovery limit allows you to go faster.

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

Tires are the limiting factor, always were since Pirelli.

[AR3-GP]

Recovery limit has been dropped from 9MJ to 8MJ in qualifying in order to prevent excessive harvesting.

[CHT]

This is big news. Glad FIA made the move

[AR3-GP]

1MJ reduction will eliminate 4 seconds of super clipping at 250kW. So teams would either remove this from one part of the track (after the 130R or through the esses), or they evenly distribute the reduction across the esses, approach to spoon, and casio triangle.

I'm confused about something else though. Normally the qualifying recovery limit is 1MJ lower than race trim (based on China and Australia). Was the race recovery limit originally planned to be 10MJ here? That would have been...interesting.

[AR3-GP]

[langedweil]

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

It almost reads as a Chernobyl manual ...
8MJ or 9MJ .. it will make no difference at all. This fabrication of things will only get worse and worse; kinda feels like a Honda 2015 development path.

[BorisTheBlade]

Together with the huge exception zones (basically through all the esses, T8-9 and spoon) there should be almost no additional need for super-clipping on the straights. Obviously, lots of sub-peak cornering as well as normal clipping will take place.

[kalinka]

oh jeez...why so complicated...I would want to see an Indycar-like approach. Small an d light battery...harvest as much as you want, deploy as much as you want. Have a turbo boost for xx seconds / race or DRS-like 1sec gap boost ...and that's it.

[Ferry]

So now the cars will be quicker under race conditions than under Q? Skewed by tire deg and fuel load of course. But if there is a late SC and the teams bolt on soft tires, fastest lap in the race could be quicker than Q. Maybe nothing special about that, but it sounds a bit dull.

[SiLo]

I really need someone to explain to me how being able to harvest less energy means is good here, I just can't get my head around it. Does this just mean they spend more time leaning on the engine rather than the battery?

[basti313]

I really need someone to explain to me how being able to harvest less energy means is good here, I just can't get my head around it. Does this just mean they spend more time leaning on the engine rather than the battery?

In easy words: They reduce the amount of electrical energy they can use.

This is the flaw currently....too small recovery potential with too much possible use of energy. They reduce on the too much energy side.

[FrukostScones]

Together with the huge exception zones (basically through all the esses, T8-9 and spoon) there should be almost no additional need for super-clipping on the straights. Obviously, lots of sub-peak cornering as well as normal clipping will take place.

+1 top value posts, as usually.

[Ferry]

I really need someone to explain to me how being able to harvest less energy means is good here, I just can't get my head around it.

It's the new purism of racing. Go slower

[Ferry]

So now the cars will be quicker under race conditions than under Q?

Correcting myself here. During a Q lap you empty the battery. Under race conditions you don't. So Q will be quicker, just not as quick as it could have been.

[dren]

oh jeez...why so complicated...I would want to see an Indycar-like approach. Small an d light battery...harvest as much as you want, deploy as much as you want. Have a turbo boost for xx seconds / race or DRS-like 1sec gap boost ...and that's it.

I'd like it if the rules just stated how much fuel you can use for a race, and that's it. Maintain reliability rules. Let them do whatever they want during qualifying as long as they meet the reliability requirements.