George Russell claimed his first Formula One sprint race win at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, maintaining his perfect start to the season after a closely fought contest that highlighted both Mercedes’ strengths and the evolving competitive order under the 2026 regulations.
This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
So, are we sure Ferrari will qualify for the ADUO?
I mean, the Macarena when it arrives in the complete spec (assume Miami) will help with the straight line efficiency, I reckon based on that, Ferrari could win a few races on high downforce circuits, but the PU upgrade on the ICE will still be needed for the rest.
Not sure how it relates to the discussion about Hamilton potentially being down on power, but I noticed Leclerc looked rapid through the hairpin and 'Spoon' all race long (generally, and compared to Hamilton, and to a lesser extent Russell).
He had that patented aggressive front-end driving style, really pitching the nose in on entry and shortening the corner. I would have halfway expected this might cost him recharge/deployment, but perhaps that wasn't the case (or he was able to find it back elsewhere).
mate... did you even watch the race?
Are you familiar with terms such as ‘overcut’ and ‘undercut’?
how about Oscar? driving in 1st place, in the free air, did he have to change the tyres because they were worn out?
no!
please stop this nonsense
Im not sure i'm understanding your post. Oscar had graining on the tyres meaning he had to pit. Ham was still doing consistent lap times until the safety car. Everyone has the same opportunity...
Piastri pitted to keep track position. Pitting early hardly helps his second stint if graining was an issue. His discussion with the race engineer just before the pit stop window was all about maintaining track position on George and avoiding being undercut. He essentially communicated he could win as long as he had track position.
Just correcting that point, I have no horse in the Lec vs Hamilton wars.
Hamilton's pace was slower due to a poor setup or an underperforming battery. The people he was racing all pitted early in the pit window, LEC, Nor and Piastri, so staying out and trying something different (hoping for a safety car) was a straightforward option. I don't think he kept his tyres alive any better or worse than anyone else, I think most pitted because track position was key in Japan. Shown by George's inability to get past Charles, even with a 0.3-0.5 second car delta.
That’s exactly why I asked if he’d even watched the race. He (Oscar) had even discussed it with his engineer. It was purely a strategic decision.
Per Federico Albano, Leclerc hired some engineers for a personal team to examine everything they get from the power units and how to optimize the battery and regeneration, separate from Ferrari's own research and their team for him.
Really shows how he's trying hard to adapt to these regulations even though he's had a lot of complaints about the battery. I'm impressed.
According to Julianne Cerasoli, a Brazilian journalist living in the UK, Ferrari is expected to qualify for at least 2% ADUO - unsure about 4%.
Noteworthy is that she thinks the FIA will announce who qualifies for ADUO after the Miami GP. So teams can bring upgraded engines to Canada if they have them available.
According to Julianne Cerasoli, a Brazilian journalist living in the UK, Ferrari is expected to qualify for at least 2% ADUO - unsure about 4%.
Noteworthy is that she thinks the FIA will announce who qualifies for ADUO after the Miami GP. So teams can bring upgraded engines to Canada if they have them available.
To add to that Daniele Sparisci from Corriere.it is saying Ferrari plan to introduce their new engine around mid-june in Spain. Also talks about work going on to upgrade the software and algorithms of the battery, (which im assuming is what Lewis meant when he said he hoped for the new engine by miami) and that Ferrari went for slightly larger batteries, convinced that the choice will pay off in the long run
So, are we sure Ferrari will qualify for the ADUO?
I mean, the Macarena when it arrives in the complete spec (assume Miami) will help with the straight line efficiency, I reckon based on that, Ferrari could win a few races on high downforce circuits, but the PU upgrade on the ICE will still be needed for the rest.
ADUO is not related to efficiency but to the ICE power, so Macarena will not change noting in that aspect.
So, are we sure Ferrari will qualify for the ADUO?
I mean, the Macarena when it arrives in the complete spec (assume Miami) will help with the straight line efficiency, I reckon based on that, Ferrari could win a few races on high downforce circuits, but the PU upgrade on the ICE will still be needed for the rest.
ADUO is not related to efficiency but to the ICE power, so Macarena will not change noting in that aspect.
They weren't saying otherwise. Just that they think Macarena wing can still potentially help Ferrari win a race here or there on certain tracks, but lack of ICE power is gonna hurt them elsewhere until that improves via ADUO.
DRS open is already shedding a crap tonne of drag, marginal gains... so macarena wing would be more of a downforce adder IMO.
The DRS opening on Ferrari’s conventional rear wing is minuscule compared to that on the macarena wing. Not to mention other possible effects like lift or synergies with the blown plate.
DRS open is already shedding a crap tonne of drag, marginal gains... so macarena wing would be more of a downforce adder IMO.
The drag reduction of the macarena is supposedly much better than the wing used now. It might also allow a higher downforce wing because of that, so there's multiple benefits.
"Lewis didn’t have any engine issues during the race, but his hard tyres degraded more significantly than Charles’, which led to higher energy consumption due to wheel spin. This also accelerated tyre wear.
Coming out of corners, a driver with a good set-up gains a significant advantage in energy deployment over the lap. This can represent a 1–2% energy saving with every acceleration. It also depends on tyre condition and driving style.
In Hamilton’s case, for example, Carlo Santi asked him at one point to reduce acceleration by 15% coming out of corners, to slow down in order to have more overall energy and improve lap times. The data shows that Leclerc had more speed by slowing down in a way that Vasseur describes as ‘counter-intuitive’".
Not sure how it relates to the discussion about Hamilton potentially being down on power, but I noticed Leclerc looked rapid through the hairpin and 'Spoon' all race long (generally, and compared to Hamilton, and to a lesser extent Russell).
He had that patented aggressive front-end driving style, really pitching the nose in on entry and shortening the corner. I would have halfway expected this might cost him recharge/deployment, but perhaps that wasn't the case (or he was able to find it back elsewhere).
Hamilton didn't seem to have enough front wing for the race. he asked for two more clicks on the front wing during his stop. In the second stint he was complaining that the car wouldn't turn, and had lots of understeer. From the onboards it was very noticeable at the hairpin.
"Lewis didn’t have any engine issues during the race, but his hard tyres degraded more significantly than Charles’, which led to higher energy consumption due to wheel spin. This also accelerated tyre wear.
Coming out of corners, a driver with a good set-up gains a significant advantage in energy deployment over the lap. This can represent a 1–2% energy saving with every acceleration. It also depends on tyre condition and driving style.
In Hamilton’s case, for example, Carlo Santi asked him at one point to reduce acceleration by 15% coming out of corners, to slow down in order to have more overall energy and improve lap times. The data shows that Leclerc had more speed by slowing down in a way that Vasseur describes as ‘counter-intuitive’".
These cars pose some really “interesting” challenges for the drivers.