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.
Not to mention the complete lack of deg from Mercedes, even if they didn't battle as much as us, their lap times didn't drop at all.. they must have had way more power on reserve than expected.Emag wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 10:40They overpushed the car trying to keep up with the Mercs and the tires dropped off hard. I expected it to be closer, but I guess this was a reality check. It's highly unlikely anyone else takes it away from Mercedes this year.
Glad Lewis finally got the podium though.
The power is a known factor but there's more to it than just that. You have to give them credit for having a good car as well. They're not marginally ahead, they are miles ahead. Would have been interesting to see the pace of at least one McLaren as that would have given us a bit more information on how much of it is PU related.ScuderiaLeo wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 10:42Not to mention the complete lack of deg from Mercedes, even if they didn't battle as much as us, their lap times didn't drop at all.. they must have had way more power on reserve than expected.Emag wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 10:40They overpushed the car trying to keep up with the Mercs and the tires dropped off hard. I expected it to be closer, but I guess this was a reality check. It's highly unlikely anyone else takes it away from Mercedes this year.
Glad Lewis finally got the podium though.
The engineer in me wants to commend them, but Ferrari would need a miracle to compete...
Because of superior engine and deployment. They can then nurse their car to save the tyres which Ferrari cannot do it until they get equally potent engine.ScuderiaLeo wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 10:42Not to mention the complete lack of deg from Mercedes, even if they didn't battle as much as us, their lap times didn't drop at all.. they must have had way more power on reserve than expected.Emag wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 10:40They overpushed the car trying to keep up with the Mercs and the tires dropped off hard. I expected it to be closer, but I guess this was a reality check. It's highly unlikely anyone else takes it away from Mercedes this year.
Glad Lewis finally got the podium though.
The engineer in me wants to commend them, but Ferrari would need a miracle to compete...
I'm not expecting warmer temps to bring better fortunes...the SF-26 is such a tail happy weapon I would guess it puts more heat into its tires. But I have no scientific basis; just my hunch.Luscion wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 10:51I'm curious to see how Merc perform in the heat against Ferrari given how good Charles looked in Bahrain on that one long run where track temps were extremely hot, every race we've had so far the temps havent been hot and Japan is expected to be chilly too, so will have to wait until the 5 week break to see that.
ferrari need to start politiking...ScuderiaLeo wrote: ↑15 Mar 2026, 11:03What would need to happen for Ferrari to be able to bring a new engine mid season?
