2026 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

[OverheatedTurbo]

How did they manage to run those hards to the end?

[SB15]

So it's official Mercedes cannot work with underfloor down force. They can have good aero only when aero and downforce is from the top

No Mercedes doesn't work well with "inconsistent" underfloor downforce. Mercedes are best with the flatter floors as well as every other team, and plus flatter floors are usually better.

Inconsistent engineering, corrected that for ya.

No because even Mclaren and Redbull were having problems getting the floors to work properly, but Mclaren made it work more consistently than others. None of the teams liked the ground effect era and how "narrow" of a window they are needed to work properly.

[venkyhere]

So it's official Mercedes cannot work with underfloor down force. They can have good aero only when aero and downforce is from the top

what are you talking about ? the floor still produces more downforce than either wings. It's not a 'venturi tunnel floor', that's all. Floors have produced downforce on F1 cars probably over the past 50 yrs

[SB15]

So it's official Mercedes cannot work with underfloor down force. They can have good aero only when aero and downforce is from the top

what are you talking about ? the floor still produces more downforce than either wings. It's not a 'venturi tunnel floor', that's all. Floors have produced downforce on F1 cars probably over the past 50 yrs

This!

[Jdn1327]

I think Merc had to really work for this one today. Ferrari were there and thereabouts. Any mistake would've cost them a 1/2. So to people who are saying they are cheating its untrue. They've just built a very good car this year. Either way George kept his head and I'm super impressed with how Kimi came back through the field after a poor start.

[Lasssept]

[nitrotech]

The tiring comments in the past that George cannot manage tyres were so tiring to hear, despite knowing he had an inconsistent car for all those ground effects era. Everytime the car was there to hold up, he has gone on to win, just like today where he had a long stint on hards and was the first one to say, we can do 1 stop. I would like to see Mercedes bringing stronger upgrades and George to dominate the season. It was really tiring to see all the hate towards George, as if other drivers are all saints. I don't have personal affiliation to the drivers, but it's annoying when you see such posts here.

[CjC]

Think you guys are in for an awesome season. Enjoy!

[MB_Racer]

Think you guys are in for an awesome season. Enjoy!

Facts seriously

It could be a very entertaining season on top of it !

[Lasssept]

[WardenOfTheNorth]

Fantastic win!! I agree with those saying it would have been a lot closer had Ferrari also pitted during the VSC though.

How did they manage to line up on the grid with no battery?

Something must have gone wrong on their prep lap surely?

[CjC]

Fantastic win!! I agree with those saying it would have been a lot closer had Ferrari also pitted during the VSC though.

How did they manage to line up on the grid with no battery?

Something must have gone wrong on their prep lap surely?

How did Piastri leave the pits on his reconnaissance lap with no battery either…?

[WardenOfTheNorth]

Fantastic win!! I agree with those saying it would have been a lot closer had Ferrari also pitted during the VSC though.

How did they manage to line up on the grid with no battery?

Something must have gone wrong on their prep lap surely?

How did Piastri leave the pits on his reconnaissance lap with no battery either…?

Can they pre-charge in the pits?

[CjC]

Fantastic win!! I agree with those saying it would have been a lot closer had Ferrari also pitted during the VSC though.

How did they manage to line up on the grid with no battery?

Something must have gone wrong on their prep lap surely?

How did Piastri leave the pits on his reconnaissance lap with no battery either…?

Can they pre-charge in the pits?

I have no idea, it sounded like it was an ‘issue’ ie something Piastri wasn’t expecting when he left the pits today for his reconnaissance lap

[upsidedowntoast]

The tiring comments in the past that George cannot manage tyres were so tiring to hear, despite knowing he had an inconsistent car for all those ground effects era. Everytime the car was there to hold up, he has gone on to win, just like today where he had a long stint on hards and was the first one to say, we can do 1 stop. I would like to see Mercedes bringing stronger upgrades and George to dominate the season. It was really tiring to see all the hate towards George, as if other drivers are all saints. I don't have personal affiliation to the drivers, but it's annoying when you see such posts here.

For real, on the main thread they were complaining that George was arrogant for pointing out Ferrari's start advantages etc. etc. and these same people would have called him arrogant for saying Mercedes has (currently, we don't know how midseason development will go) the fastest car. He acknowledges Max's skill as a driver, he's obsessed. He doesn't say anything, he's a stuck up prick. If he says "yeah we're going to run away with this" he's an arrogant jerk, if he says "well we still have 23 races to go and we don't know how this will end up" he's a terrible actor. He says he's glad he finished the race, he's annoying, even though: yeah with the fastest car the best thing you can do is finish the race -- these are the same people who made fun of him for crashing in the final lap in Singapore 2023.

But every time he's right. Ferrari did get into 1st after a quick start. The real race pace advantage was nowhere near as bad as the qualy advantage made it look. Ferrari gained several tenths fixing their software mapping; the pace gap in Australia was just 0.2s on average and that can be overcome in more energy dense circuits and aero development. Same for RB; Max could have qualified near Kimi if he hadn't crashed and both RB and Mclaren still have many easy tenths left in them as they continue to optimize deployment and shed weight on their chassis.