2026 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka, March 27 - 29

[AR3-GP]

maybe, yeah, but 20% would only roughly be what we had last year, so not much to play with for overtake mode

It's not the power split that makes the overtake mode possible. It's actual power ramp down of engine power above 290km/h for the normal mode that is written in the regulations. Then overtake mode stays at full power until 330km/h or something like that. This is completely independent of the power split of ICE vs Electric which is causing the problems in qualifying.

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Something is confusing me. Did Antonelli do the pole time with all yellow sectors? I don't think I've ever seen that before?

https://i.postimg.cc/hPWLxt6B/image.png

must be some kind of mistake, he was green-purple-purple during live coverage

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maybe, yeah, but 20% would only roughly be what we had last year, so not much to play with for overtake mode

It's not the power split that makes the overtake mode possible. It's actual power ramp down of engine power above 290km/h for the normal mode that is written in the regulations. Then overtake mode stays at full power until 330km/h or something like that. This is completely independent of the power split of ICE vs Electric which is causing the problems in qualifying.

okay, I think I understand. But wouldn't this additional power still need to be generated somehow?

[AR3-GP]

maybe, yeah, but 20% would only roughly be what we had last year, so not much to play with for overtake mode

It's not the power split that makes the overtake mode possible. It's actual power ramp down of engine power above 290km/h for the normal mode that is written in the regulations. Then overtake mode stays at full power until 330km/h or something like that. This is completely independent of the power split of ICE vs Electric which is causing the problems in qualifying.

okay, I think I understand. But wouldn't this additional power still need to be generated somehow?

Yes but in this case, more of the PU's power comes from the ICE itself if you have a 70/30 split (for example). So it would then only be in overtake mode where it's possible to drain the battery and get compromised for a short time, rather than on literally every single lap of every session like now. This would make overtaking similar to now (maybe a lower speed delta), while making laps where they are driving by themselves (qualy, alone in race) sane for the drivers instead of just being a full-time energy harvesting side quest.

[AR3-GP]

Predictions for the race. I believe that there are 2 opportunities to use the overtake mode. Once on the run from spoon to 130R and another time on the run to T1. It clearly makes the most sense to do the overtake on the front straight, so you can harvest and defend much more easily by lifting through the esses of S1. It's not a free pass though. By harvesting instead of trying to drive as fast as possible, you won't escape the 1 second barrier. So then you could be vulnerable to a repass into T1 on the next lap. So we might have to wait the full lap before they switch places again unlike in China.



That's my theory anyway. It doesn't make sense to use boost mode or overtake mode anywhere that you are in corner mode. Consumes too much energy so I don't think we will see overtakes heading to spoon unless the leading car derates much earlier than the attacking car.

[AR3-GP]

Another question. It was pointed out that due to the ability to charge for free while riding along the pitlane, you could afford to deploy a bit more energy on your in-lap and outlap. Did undercuts work in Australia or China? iirc pits were mostly done under VSC and SC which denied us the proof of concept. In theory they should be very powerful although the lack of tire deg compromises the undercut concept a little bit.

[PlatinumZealot]

Every thead you re so focused on Hamilton! Wow

Just like you. The only difference is that you mainly post just to hype him while I express my reservations concerning his driving ability.

Have I ever told you to stop downplaying Verstappen or Alonso, for instance? You love to downplay Hamilton´s rivals and hype him as hell, can´t I do sort of the opposite ?!

If Hadjar manages to keep outqualifying Verstappen, I think you should bring that up and point it out here(mock him or his fans or whatever). Nothing wrong with that. Why can´t others do the same with Lord Lewis ?

Been following Alonso from schumacher era so you won't find a post where I bash Alonso.

I have extremely high respect for Max's abilities. Haven't bashed him at all.

I just been noticing you keep throwing baits a lot recently on the same driver. It's called flame baiting and is against the forum rules. And as a senior poster you know exactly what you're doing...

[Rodak]

Personally, I'm curious about what will happen in a wet race. Could be really interesting.....

[purestpurist]

I'm betting 5 internet points on Bearman getting an incredible start off the line that ends in a shunt

[Chuckjr]

Watching the outboard shots there is no way you can tell what is happening in the PU deployments.

You can hear the power units "dying" after the 130R in the offboard shots and at the track.

No biggie. Power units are already dead to me since the swtich from V10.

Honestly, that's just sad. No biggie? Engines are the heart of this sport and experiencing it. My god. No biggie? The power units are single handedly ruining the reputation and integrity of F1, and it's only just starting. The batteries are stacking drivers based entirely on recharge gimmicks and NOTHING to do with driver skill. High speed corners don't exist anymore. Terminal speed no longer exists. Braking hardly matters anymore. This situation is downright shameful and embarrassing. The FIA is literally trying to cover over evidence of how bad the situation is by cutting cameras and not showing proper telemetry while talking major change we know will not happen for AT LEAST 3 years. If they don't seriously force change, we could have Russell become a 4 time champion. Would anyone like that or even think that is true to the skill sets of drivers currently in the sport? I mean, it's 2014-2019 all over again. To me, it's downright tragic.

Anyway, Merc will again show the field what a globe wrapping industrial empire can develop over small town options.

[erudite450]

I was pleasantly delighted after Q2. Who says these rules make qualifying boring?! Very close racing. Good job I think the Audi engine is stronger than the RedBull Engine. Hadjar is the real deal!

About to watch Q3 now.

PZ the ultimate --- stirrer! You'd Christian Horner a run for his money

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race start delayed by 10 minutes due to repairs to a barrier

[erudite450]

Can we have a dedicated thread going forward for all the complaining about the current regs?

I miss these threads actually being more about the event. I get the fact that some other folks miss Verstappen winning 19 out of 22 races in 2023 - a banner year for excitement and close racing in F1.

Zibby!

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Tires look unlikely to matter much today, but just in case, here's what's left:

[erudite450]

Tires look unlikely to matter much today, but just in case, here's what's left:

https://i.ibb.co/zTLvLScz/suz.png

Mercedes' extra new mediums and Verstappen' softs might come in handy in case of a late-ish safety car.