bigblue wrote: ↑23 Aug 2026, 12:52This is an interesting point. Without wanting to start a flame war here, whilst the bulk of straight-line performance is probably due to the PU, it's worth pondering how draggy/how much downforce the car is running relative to others. I'm not sure how this can be determined. Presumably if you know your horsepower, you can look at your acceleration curve and work things out, but then have to start guessing about the opposition's horsepower and work out their drag based on that guess.ispano6 wrote: ↑23 Aug 2026, 10:19Japanese technical analysis (notably from outlets monitoring Honda's RA626H integration) highlights that while the wing elements flatten effectively, the AMR26's base chassis, sidepod undercut profiles, and exposed suspension architecture carry higher baseline induced drag than leaner rival setups. When transitioning to Straight Mode, the reduction in wing drag is substantial, but the remaining parasitic drag from the bodywork is still relatively high.
That’s like saying if I stick my arm out of my car window at 100km/h, make my hand flat like a wing, and keep it horizontal, it will create more drag than if I turn my hand vertically. Yes, the suspension arms will create more drag than if they weren’t exposed, but the drag created by not exposing them will be higher by whatever is preventing them from being exposed.
Plus you need the rear suspension exposed cause that's what makes the diffuser work. The more air that goes over the top of the diffuser, the more low drag Downforce that is created.
For me, if there is an argument for not to go with what AMR are doing vs other teams using a bigger frontal area to deflect dirty air away from the diffuser. That might be more difficult to do with what AMR are doing.