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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.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... q0MB7oSr8vRather than focussing the exhaust flow upon the diffuser and rear wing, within its more restricted space Mercedes have instead created winglet extensions of the rear wing support pillars and used the FTM exhaust to enhance the effect of those winglets.
The dimensional regulations mean that, unlike the FTM flap of the Ferrari with its more rearward differential, the Mercedes upper flap cannot sit this far back in free air. Instead, Mercedes have made it legal by physically connecting it to the wing support pillars. The whole pillars/winglets/flap assembly are defined as one component and in that way comply with the regulations.
However, the device was removed after second practice and the car reverted to the version used at Monza. Mercedes reported that while the downforce increase was measurable, the penalty it imposed on power unit performance was greater than the upside.
Without the extra effective length of the diffuser ramp that the Ferrari layout makes possible, the downforce boost of the FTM alone was evidently not enough on the Mercedes to make the PU power reduction worthwhile.
By blocking part of the exhaust outlet, the back pressure of the exhaust will increase. This is especially the case on a turbocharged engine. The turbo is spun by the pressure differential between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust outlet.
If you increase the back pressure of the outlet by blocking part of it, then there is less pressure differential to spin the turbo. It should still be able to reach its boost targets but will have to spin faster to do so.
There will also be more turbo lag, making the engine less driveable and consistent. The effect is amplified at high altitudes and the Madring is one of the highest altitude circuits on the calendar, roughly equal with the Red Bull Ring, though way lower than Mexico City.
I am pretty sure Ferrari is not that amateurish not to have a precise measurement and calculation if their solution gives them laptime or not.AR3-GP wrote: ↑22 Sep 2026, 19:19https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... q0MB7oSr8vRather than focussing the exhaust flow upon the diffuser and rear wing, within its more restricted space Mercedes have instead created winglet extensions of the rear wing support pillars and used the FTM exhaust to enhance the effect of those winglets.
The dimensional regulations mean that, unlike the FTM flap of the Ferrari with its more rearward differential, the Mercedes upper flap cannot sit this far back in free air. Instead, Mercedes have made it legal by physically connecting it to the wing support pillars. The whole pillars/winglets/flap assembly are defined as one component and in that way comply with the regulations.
However, the device was removed after second practice and the car reverted to the version used at Monza. Mercedes reported that while the downforce increase was measurable, the penalty it imposed on power unit performance was greater than the upside.
Without the extra effective length of the diffuser ramp that the Ferrari layout makes possible, the downforce boost of the FTM alone was evidently not enough on the Mercedes to make the PU power reduction worthwhile.
By blocking part of the exhaust outlet, the back pressure of the exhaust will increase. This is especially the case on a turbocharged engine. The turbo is spun by the pressure differential between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust outlet.
If you increase the back pressure of the outlet by blocking part of it, then there is less pressure differential to spin the turbo. It should still be able to reach its boost targets but will have to spin faster to do so.
There will also be more turbo lag, making the engine less driveable and consistent. The effect is amplified at high altitudes and the Madring is one of the highest altitude circuits on the calendar, roughly equal with the Red Bull Ring, though way lower than Mexico City.
He should definitely take the penalty here.
That's a very strange take. It claims that Ferrari, with their extra downforce coming from FTM, has decided to "crank the aero surfaces a bit harder" and because of that the car became "peaky" and needed to be made stiffer.
