Well, it's perfectly flat.
But it's seriously hot with mostly high speed corners.
And then the unknown effects of the limit of 25 laps per tire set.
Lots of Pros and cons. Gonna be interesting
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Following his sensational lap in Saturday's qualifying which saw Charles Leclerc claim a shock pole position for Ferrari, the Monegasque endured a heartbreaking result at the Hungarian Grand Prix despite his impressive pace during his first two stints of the race. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo delivers his latest analysis in his column branded as F1MATHS.
That's true now that you mention it. Lots of pros and cons.
Andi76 wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025, 21:38Injured Hamilton fan? No, I am a Mercedes Fan - An old Brawn fan - once a Honda Racing fan - who started it all out supporting Tyrrell Racing and carried on following BAR and following and following till today, who would have thought that....... Please.....Mosin123 wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025, 14:35An injured Hamilton fan, obviously... because emotion seems to make it impossible to read correctly. What does his performance as a development driver have to do with the fact that he was able to keep up with a two-time world champion? Nothing. Nor does Spygate or the split from Mercedes have anything to do with how he is as a development driver. As for Mercedes, when Hamilton arrived, you were obviously unable to see through the same emotions that the technical and personnel decisions had already been made years in advance... as is actually known... whether Haug and Brawn's decision to start with the new engine well ahead of everyone else, to recruit the right people and put them in the right positions, to focus on 2014, and to try out and prepare a lot with the 2013 car, which laid the technical foundation for this earlier (incidentally the fact you mention that Hamilton was a title contender in his first year at Mercedes – you are aware that the car and technology of the 2013 car were developed in 2012? Hamilton had nothing to do with that). Ultimately, we are seeing a long-prepared dominance that in many ways had the advantage of long-term preparation and planning, which did not require any major, costly development, compared to the years at McLaren 2009-2012, Mercedes 2022-2024, and Ferrari 2025, where real, immense development was/is necessary. And here, no one can claim that Hamilton has ever stood out as a strong development driver. Even if it may hurt as a fan, one should accept these very clear facts. And not grasp at straws (that he was a title contender in a car developed before his time, or that he was able to keep up with a two-time world champion, or the fallout from a scandal) that have nothing to do with it.Andi76 wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025, 09:01
Sorry, but that's not the case. On the contrary. He came into F1 and got into the best car, which was still the best the following year. And then things went downhill... and Hamilton was unable to improve either the car or the team over several years. Then he went to Mercedes, where they had spent several years developing the team, procedures, and technology with a view to 2014, and where many developments were tested in 2013. I think the "Mercedes advantage" is well known, so in terms of development, it won't really be relevant again until 2022 – and here we didn't see any real leaps in development. Just as they are lacking at Ferrari. And it is precisely in times like these that good "development drivers" show their quality. Not when the team puts out a car that is already good, but when it is not so good. And in these times, the teams Hamilton was in, whether McLaren, Mercedes, or Ferrari, have not made any leaps in development.
To say that drivers do not develop a car, as one response to your post says, is wrong. Of course, it is increasingly the engineers and the simulations and data, but even today, a driver still contributes a lot. The importance of the driver in this regard lies in identifying the areas that need improvement and that have the most potential for improvement. Here, the driver is still of immense importance today, and having a driver who is good at this determines whether you are competing for victories and titles or, at best, only for podiums or even less.
Unfortunately, Hamilton is not good in this regard, as history has sadly proven. Whenever the team he was in did not build a good car from the outset, it did not improve significantly. His behavior, characterized by constant complaints, whining, and criticism, is also the exact opposite of what you would call motivating a team, and in fact, it does not promote team spirit. It destroys it.
But anyway - sorry, Hamilton definitely does not have a strong track record in improving car performance. In fact, he has the opposite. Whenever it was necessary for the car to significantly improve its performance, nothing moved forward. Whether at McLaren from 2009 to 2012, at Mercedes from 2022 to 2024, or at Ferrari in 2025.
That is a bit of a fried take on things, He did start in a good car, he also had to go against a 2 time world champion, and was a match for the champion. Then you forget about the fall out from spygate, which seriously damaged Mclaren, it caused the split with the Mercedes engine partnership and was the main driver in Mercedes buying Brawn to begin with.
Also dont remember Mercedes being a title challenger in LH first season either, They became champions after LH joined the team. Infact, Every body in the world was saying he had made a mistake signing for Mercedes, blah blah blah..... The W11 was also the best f1 car Mercedes ever made, Some say it is the best F1 car ever made, 6 years after LH joined, But lets just pretend it didnt happen yes?.
Michael Schumacher did the work in his bed while in a coma apparently..
you can say all you want, But a quick google can show the real facts in interviews, Team mate interviews, you know people that ACTUALLY worked with him - Not some one on a forum that thinks they know more than alot of the F1 grid, its funny.
Best ever f1 racing car was one LH was lead driver for and had been involved in, year after year after year of continued improvements from his first app as a Mercedes driver in 2013 and all the way untill 2020 in which the best ever f1 car was born, Records was broken, and Mercedes won title after title after title..... must hurt so much.
Mosin123 wrote: ↑27 Nov 2025, 20:37I don't think broken records hurt anyone. It's the natural order of things that records are broken. And what's much more important is how and under what circumstances they are achieved anyway.Andi76 wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025, 21:38Injured Hamilton fan? No, I am a Mercedes Fan - An old Brawn fan - once a Honda Racing fan - who started it all out supporting Tyrrell Racing and carried on following BAR and following and following till today, who would have thought that....... Please.....Mosin123 wrote: ↑26 Nov 2025, 14:35
An injured Hamilton fan, obviously... because emotion seems to make it impossible to read correctly. What does his performance as a development driver have to do with the fact that he was able to keep up with a two-time world champion? Nothing. Nor does Spygate or the split from Mercedes have anything to do with how he is as a development driver. As for Mercedes, when Hamilton arrived, you were obviously unable to see through the same emotions that the technical and personnel decisions had already been made years in advance... as is actually known... whether Haug and Brawn's decision to start with the new engine well ahead of everyone else, to recruit the right people and put them in the right positions, to focus on 2014, and to try out and prepare a lot with the 2013 car, which laid the technical foundation for this earlier (incidentally the fact you mention that Hamilton was a title contender in his first year at Mercedes – you are aware that the car and technology of the 2013 car were developed in 2012? Hamilton had nothing to do with that). Ultimately, we are seeing a long-prepared dominance that in many ways had the advantage of long-term preparation and planning, which did not require any major, costly development, compared to the years at McLaren 2009-2012, Mercedes 2022-2024, and Ferrari 2025, where real, immense development was/is necessary. And here, no one can claim that Hamilton has ever stood out as a strong development driver. Even if it may hurt as a fan, one should accept these very clear facts. And not grasp at straws (that he was a title contender in a car developed before his time, or that he was able to keep up with a two-time world champion, or the fallout from a scandal) that have nothing to do with it.
you can say all you want, But a quick google can show the real facts in interviews, Team mate interviews, you know people that ACTUALLY worked with him - Not some one on a forum that thinks they know more than alot of the F1 grid, its funny
Best ever f1 racing car was one LH was lead driver for and had been involved in, year after year after year of continued improvements from his first app as a Mercedes driver in 2013 and all the way untill 2020 in which the best ever f1 car was born, Records was broken, and Mercedes won title after title after title..... must hurt so much.
Incidentally, I just did a Google search—even with Chat GPT—and couldn't find a single source that actually names Hamilton as a strong development driver. Not from one Single engineer or driver who worked with him. So sorry... the reality is obviously not what you would like it to be and say. Especially since, as has been said many times, the McLaren era, the Mercedes era after they could no longer capitalize on their dominance and carry on a lead acquired without Hamilton, and Ferrari 2025 are facts that speak for themselves. Good development drivers don't even move the car forward, and never again before or after. The Definition of a strong development driver is definetely something else.
I really hope we'll turn the situation in our favor in 2026, but to be completely honest, I'm not sure. There are so many changes between this year and next. Of course, our goal is to get everything right, but there are so many little details that can make the difference in terms of competitiveness that we'll have to do everything perfectly. For now, that's what we're focusing on.
This year, we've sacrificed the end of the season to focus fully on next year. So all the elements lead me to believe that we're working in the right direction and in an appropriate way. However, every team probably shares that feeling, and only time will tell next year. I don't think much about the outcome; I think more about the process and what we can do to be as well-prepared as possible.
2026? I like the challenge of having to think differently about driving. I think that first very strange session on the simulator raised a lot of questions in everyone's mind at the factory. The process of thinking as a group about the smart ways we can find to solve certain problems we'll have with the 2026 car has been very interesting, and I think that's also been the case for the drivers, because it involves a lot of our sensations and the tools we need to manage different types of situations, like the battling that will be quite critical with the other cars during the race. As for the pleasure of driving, I'll have to wait until I've driven the real car to give my verdict. On the simulator, it's hard to really feel those sensations, but there will certainly be a lot more to think about while driving and especially during the race to manage the energy we'll have added next year.
They think they can match Mclaren or is he just saying Mclaren > RBR > Ferrari or RBR > Mclaren = Ferrari?ScuderiaLeo wrote: ↑27 Nov 2025, 22:17
Anyways, Hamilton said in today's press interviews the team is expecting Qatar to be much better than the last few tracks, and that they think it suits the car. However, still not on the level of RBR.