2026 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, March 06 - 08

[erudite450]

Guys, does anyone know what happens with F2 Sprint Race with this delay? What time will it start if at all?

[atanatizante]

As someone mentioned here, top speeds, sector times, and even minimum cornering speeds don’t mean much this year. Only the final lap time can be used for comparisons, because energy harvesting and deployment muddy the picture.

Therefore, it’s interesting to see whether there are correlations between deployment and top speeds or sector times—at least for the top teams—in order to gain a clearer understanding.



In addition, the laptimes and tyres they used in this session:

[AR3-GP]

The telemetry is nearly impossible to decipher now because everything that you normally attribute to difference in downforce, braking, and corner exits can be linked to harvesting and deployment. Sometimes a driver goes more slowly through a corner to harvest while another driver doesn't harvest there so he goes faster through the corner. Top speeds differ because of deployment. You can't say if driver got a better exit, or he used more deployment. Can't say if driver braked later or wanted to harvest more.

Am I the only one that can't figure anything out anymore?

[djos]

Just watched the practise starts, the delay from all the cars is crazy, even Ferrari sat there for a seeming eternity with the throttle pinned.

[djos]

The telemetry is nearly impossible to decipher now because everything that you normally attribute to difference in downforce, braking, and corner exits can be linked to harvesting and deployment. Sometimes a driver goes more slowly through a corner to harvest while another driver doesn't harvest there so he goes faster through the corner. Top speeds differ because of deployment. You can't say if driver got a better exit, or he used more deployment. Can't say if driver braked later or wanted to harvest more.

Am I the only one that can't figure anything out anymore?

Nope, and if us hardcore fans are baffled, imagine the regular Joe's!

EDIT: on second thoughts, regular Joe's will just be watching "car go fast" and not care.

[venkyhere]

The telemetry is nearly impossible to decipher now because everything that you normally attribute to difference in downforce, braking, and corner exits can be linked to harvesting and deployment. Sometimes a driver goes more slowly through a corner to harvest while another driver doesn't harvest there so he goes faster through the corner. Top speeds differ because of deployment. You can't say if driver got a better exit, or he used more deployment. Can't say if driver braked later or wanted to harvest more.

Am I the only one that can't figure anything out anymore?

Me too..
Usually I am someone who posts laptime analysis screenshots from FPs, predicting what compromises each driver/team is making in each corner, and then decipher their setup's strength/weakness w.r.t others. This time, I stopped doing it. Because even when watching onboards, I am unable to figure out whether its a Q-lap or an R-lap. So any 'corner analysis' is going to be a waste, because there is no way to distinguish between chassis'/driver's strength/weakness, and engine energy management choice (deploy/recharge).

[AR3-GP]

Is Audi serious?

[Sevach]

Is Audi serious?

Looks like a fairly competent car.

Max with problems on his brakes.

[djos]

Is Audi serious?

They've done a cracking job with their PU! Their fuel smells quite different from the others, reminds me of 2-Stroke fuel.

PS, Max out of Q1, rear axle locked and sent him off at turn 1. Not a driver error.

[search]

Antonelli's car looks almost ready to go. Would have been interesting to see how far a Mercedes could go forward from starting last. Now we gotta hope for Verstappen instead.

[djos]

Antonelli's car looks almost ready to go. Would have been interesting to see how far a Mercedes could go forward from starting last. Now we gotta hope for Verstappen instead.

Looks like Max's front wing + right front suspension are damaged - nothing else hit the tire barrier, so I assume he'll start last.

Kimi's in his car and into pit-lane. Nice work by Merc to get him out.

[atanatizante]

The telemetry is nearly impossible to decipher now because everything that you normally attribute to difference in downforce, braking, and corner exits can be linked to harvesting and deployment. Sometimes a driver goes more slowly through a corner to harvest while another driver doesn't harvest there so he goes faster through the corner. Top speeds differ because of deployment. You can't say if driver got a better exit, or he used more deployment. Can't say if driver braked later or wanted to harvest more.

Am I the only one that can't figure anything out anymore?

I agree with that assessment as well, but I try to put myself in the shoes of a top team analysing the competition. In that scenario, I’d want to see what the fastest driver is actually doing: where and how much energy he’s harvesting, how the deployment is managed, as well as where and to what extent LiCo/super clipping occurs, and so on. Only after that could I assess whether this can be adapted to the optimal strategy of the car, and especially of the PU used by the team I work for. In that context, sector times and top speeds are also relevant—up to a certain point

[Sevach]

The telemetry is nearly impossible to decipher now because everything that you normally attribute to difference in downforce, braking, and corner exits can be linked to harvesting and deployment. Sometimes a driver goes more slowly through a corner to harvest while another driver doesn't harvest there so he goes faster through the corner. Top speeds differ because of deployment. You can't say if driver got a better exit, or he used more deployment. Can't say if driver braked later or wanted to harvest more.

Am I the only one that can't figure anything out anymore?

I'm not a fan either.

[FrukostScones]

Al Pine slow.

[Sevach]

Alpine still bad with Merc super engines.