This forum contains threads to discuss teams themselves. Anything not technical about the cars, including restructuring, performances etc belongs here.
Stories that Verstappen can no longer leave, if he is in the top 4 after the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of June, can be dismissed as nonsense.
But the same article confirms that there is a performance clause but doesn't go into details
the performance clause in his contract, which concerns his position in the battle for the world championship around the summer break
Basically article says toto is waiting around for max to make up his mind about 2026 / for the clause to potentially activate
Toto simply needs to show Mercedes can make a good chassis again. McLaren have Mercedes engine next year and as it stands, I'd expect them to nail the regulations, not Mercedes. And they also got some clause signed regarding engines as well to their benefit.
Switching teams for 2026 is likely going to be a fool's errand unless there's conclusively good evidence that Mercedes has fantastic chassis.
We are also assuming Red Bull will be a complete dud of an engine but I'll maintain that it's unlikely that they'd be complete ass. I think they'll be more like Honda in 2019 relative to Mercedes but chassis side of things, as it stands today I'll trust Red Bull much more than Mercedes.
Erik van haren's latest article says that there will be upgrades/new parts on the car at Canada.
Most probably it will be the rear corner update number 2.
It will be interesting to see the post TD cars in Barcelona, then Canada, how they behave in two different type of tracks.
Erik van haren's latest article says that there will be upgrades/new parts on the car at Canada.
Most probably it will be the rear corner update number 2.
It will be interesting to see the post TD cars in Barcelona, then Canada, how they behave in two different type of tracks.
Red Bull was not bad in Canada last year. They were still curb and ride limited but won. Interestingly, Mercedes was quickest that weekend and Mclaren were not anything close to how quick they were in Imola and Spain.
They will have to use the C6 again, but I think the weather is usually cooler in Canada.
Erik van haren's latest article says that there will be upgrades/new parts on the car at Canada.
Most probably it will be the rear corner update number 2.
It will be interesting to see the post TD cars in Barcelona, then Canada, how they behave in two different type of tracks.
That's what I'm thinking too. Considering the tyre degradation has already substantially improved, another improvement in that area would be impressive
Why Verstappen and Tsunoda are not driving the same package in Barcelona
Yuki Tsunoda appears to be heading for an extremely difficult qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. This weekend, the Japanese driver is not using the same specification of the RB21 as Max Verstappen, and according to Helmut Marko, this could prove challenging.
It seems we can expect an extremely exciting qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix. The field is currently incredibly close together, making anything possible on Saturday afternoon. Red Bull is hopeful for a positive outcome. The top teams are incredibly matched and might just make for an interesting combination.
At Red Bull, there is a lot of optimism on one side of the garage. Marko believes Verstappen could do well. But the Austrian is significantly less optimistic about Tsunoda. "Yuki doesn't have the same specifications as Max," Marko confirmed after FP2 to the media in Barcelona, including GPblog.
“That's due to the accident in Imola. It was a massive damage. And how far he can make a distance to Max in time is hard to say. But he is certainly handicapped in this respect,” the chief advisor added. Will Q3 on Thursday be within reach? Marko considers the chance extremely small.
"[That] will be difficult," he emphasized. "He had a lot of sliding, so also depends if they can do it (fix it)." Marko explained that the problems arose because the team, given the triple header, had no time to make new parts.
"But because of the accident in this short time, we couldn't make the parts. Hopefully we can do it in Canada." Yet, he does not want to give up hope for Tsunoda just yet. "It's so tight together, but his long run speed was okay," said Marko.
Just saw Horner saying that they want Yuki to improve if he has to keep his seat. So far I see no improvement anyways in him over Lawson as getting 1 point over 0 doesn't help Max in any way. This year more than ever they need a good second driver to back Max up.
Just saw Horner saying that they want Yuki to improve if he has to keep his seat. So far I see no improvement anyways in him over Lawson as getting 1 point over 0 doesn't help Max in any way. This year more than ever they need a good second driver to back Max up.
