Just getting in there to make sure the thread title is proper and correct! 🤣
I'm not going to predict anything for next season - far too many variables!
yes, going to be interesting. wonder how safe Merc are going to play it after their ground effect debarcle?
bet all the big teams are nervous as they try to continue their domination of the top of the leader board. hoping chevy are close enough to be at least competitive from the off
I thought with the new aero rules the cars will not contain spoilers.
A car spoiler is an aerodynamic device designed to improve a vehicle's performance by disrupting airflow to increase traction and stability, especially at high speeds.
...so pretty much every surface of an F1 car is a spoiler!
I saw this after I'd posted!
Gripping stuff was a better title though 😉
Will contain movable spoilers?
The only prediction I'll make is that someone will get it all wrong and look like clowns, quite likely Audi but Ferrari wouldn't really be a surprise either.
Gripping stuff was a better title though
It was a good title, I'll give you that - but tradition is tradition! And if I recall you started the WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS one! 😀
The only prediction I'll make is that someone will get it all wrong and look like clowns, quite likely Audi but Ferrari wouldn't really be a surprise either.
With that in mind we could have Max, Oscar and Charles fighting over a 2027 seat with whoever nails the new regulations. Who would you pick if all three where available!?
You know that won't be Ferrari though despite their early start on development! 🤣
Who would you pick if all three where available!?
I'm pretty sure that every team boss would have Max at the top of their list.
How bad are we expecting Cadillac to be? Off the pace, way off the pace or F2 off the pace? At least Bottas should give us some good entertainment.
How bad are we expecting Cadillac to be?
I expect them to finish last in the constructor's championship. Even if they turn up at the first race with a mid-field car, I doubt that they will be able to develop it fast enough to stay there. I'm expecting a very high rate of development through the season given how much the regs have changed.
He's baaaaaaaack...
And centre stage for the final Mercedes team photo!... 🤣🤣
There are lots of rumours that Mercedes already have 2026 sewn up as they are so far ahead with *engine development, but given how badly they dropped the ball the last time the regs changed, I'll probably take that with a pinch of salt.
*Powertrain development is probably more accurate as with the removal of the MGU-H the key thing in getting these cars to perform will be electrical energy storage, harvesting and deployment.
Merc may be ahead with the PU but they're also supplying McLaren who beat them with their own PU this year and Aston who should have a bit of a lift from Newey. Given the lousy performance of Mercs chassis and aero for most of the past rules cycle I wouldn't be remotely surprised if they're not the best Merc powered team.
Aston are Honda powered in 2026.
Doh! Well maybe Williams will beat Merc too. Alpine? Not so much.
Merc may be ahead with the PU but they're also supplying McLaren who beat them with their own PU this year and Aston who should have a bit of a lift from Newey. Given the lousy performance of Mercs chassis and aero for most of the past rules cycle I wouldn't be remotely surprised if they're not the best Merc powered team.
From what I read, they got led down a blind alley by incorrect data from their wind tunnel, then persisting with and subsequently scrapping that concept put them so far back they never caught up with the leaders.
There is so much changing next year that I can't even take a guess.
Will be interesting to see if anybody has found a Brawn 2009 type loophole in the regs...
From what I read, they got led down a blind alley by incorrect data from their wind tunnel,
I think the problem was that they got fantastic downforce figures in the wind tunnel, but that required the car to be run very low to the ground. The wind tunnel data was correct, it just wasn't possible to recreate it on real circuits with bumps.
It’s hard to see how Lewis can have a worse season next year. Not impossible unless Ferrari really make an appalling car that neither can drive
From what I read, they got led down a blind alley by incorrect data from their wind tunnel,
I think the problem was that they got fantastic downforce figures in the wind tunnel, but that required the car to be run very low to the ground. The wind tunnel data was correct, it just wasn't possible to recreate it on real circuits with bumps.
That's true as well but not what I was thinking of, they had correlation issues from some kind of misconfiguration.
Not sure if Merc ever revealed what really caused it, but the rumour was the rolling road surface was too smooth or too rough. Something like that.
On Valteri - anyone see his farewell video to Mercedes? Sorry I don't have it to link to, but it was very funny - worth looking out for
scrapping that concept put them so far back
With the benefit of hindsight, the W13 a car that everyone remembers as being woeful, Lewis scored Three 3rd places and five 2nd place finishes and they ended up second in constructors with 515 points. No other Mercedes car of this regulation has been as successful, despite the fact that Hamilton and Russell both won in the W15.
The drivetrain manager at Brixworth has gone on record saying that they hadn't realised when they agreed the engine spec that it was in fact going to mean an entirely new engine. Most of the things that made the PU106 series of engines so monstrous have either been banned or are regulated black boxes controlled by FIA.
Doh! Well maybe Williams will beat Merc too.
Honda.... The engines that powered RB to 4 consecutive world championships.
On Valteri - anyone see his farewell video to Mercedes? Sorry I don't have it to link to, but it was very funny - worth looking out for
https://youtube.com/shorts/579GgLZo7nY?si=9yiBpEDP6heUDTln
Honda.... The engines that powered RB to 4 consecutive world championships.
Honda basically shut down their engine development department and reassigned all the engineers to other projects when they decided to quit a few years back and Red Bull took over the engine program. Next year's engines will be clean sheet designs so Honda have had to start everything from scratch.
My only prediction is Ferrari build an absolute pig of a car, Fred will be sacked by Australia, Lewis walks after Monza.
Obviously not officially confirmed, but I'll be glad to see the last of Marko.
https://twitter.com/ChrisMedlandF1/status/1998335957418836127
Can't say i'll be sorry to see him go, part of a pretty awful management culture that was allowed to develop at RB.
More RB news. It would appear that Gianpeiro Lambaise is retiring as Max's race engineer. Still in the team, just doesn't want to have to travel to the GPs anymore "personal reasons"
Helmut has officially left...
More RB news. It would appear that Gianpeiro Lambaise is retiring as Max's race engineer. Still in the team, just doesn't want to have to travel to the GPs anymore "personal reasons"
Now being reported as he is staying as Max's race engineer next year
https://racingnews365.com/max-verstappen-set-to-retain-gianpiero-lambiase-as-race-engineer
Despite the popularity of this thread I can't understand the hype around F1.
Stringent rules. Rich kids. Monaco. Tax avoidance. Gulf states.
A massive ****athon in all aspects of what is wrong with the world.
Despite the popularity of this thread I can't understand the hype around F1.
It's like a soap opera that's been running for decades. The action on track is usually not that exciting, but the unfolding of a season often is, 2025 being a prime example. There are villains (Bernie and Flav and Helmut) and heroes and you have to know the history of the teams to understand what is actually happening. The drivers get the headlines, but if you look at the records of the engineers like Ross Brawn, Adrian Newey, and James Allison, there is a handful who have dominated the last few decades.
Despite the popularity of this thread I can't understand the hype around F1.
Stringent rules. Rich kids. Monaco. Tax avoidance. Gulf states.
A massive ****athon in all aspects of what is wrong with the world.
I feel the same about football, but I don't feel the need to post that on the football thread
How would you then be seen to disapprove? How would people know it's you that you that is against it?
You need to think this through.
Despite the popularity of this thread I can't understand the hype around F1.
Stringent rules. Rich kids. Monaco. Tax avoidance. Gulf states.
A massive ****athon in all aspects of what is wrong with the world.
Cars going fast innit. They look and sound cool. It's a life I can only dream of, bit like love island, but dreaming of driving fast cars and living the high life is cooler than hours oiling yerself up and having butt implants!
Cars going fast innit.
Yeah, but.... There's no feeling of speed when you watch them....
Went to a rally last year in Italy. That was impressive.... Seeing cars hammering along tiny roads going sideways just a few meters away.
Yeah, but.... There's no feeling of speed when you watch them....
F1 is so much more than what you see on the telly box.
Rallying is great but so, so hard to get to the fans and TV viewers - stages are hard to view unless you are in the know for the best vantage spots. It's like a secret sport. And WRC is in a bit of a crisis at the minute with top drivers leaving and only three factory teams.
Ask people on the street who won this years WRC title and who won the F1 title. Only motorsport fans will know the WRC winner.
TBH I couldn't name the current WRC champ! Its a shame as I grew up watching group A in the 90s and it was awesome, all the major manufacturers had teams, same with the supertouring BTCC era.
TBH I couldn't name the current WRC champ!
It's Seb Ogier (again!) - and he didn't even do a full season!
I'm going to say kali rovenpera(sp)? (Edit: I was wrong.)
I'd like to go a rally as it is impressive. Time trials get a bit dull though, seeing one car doing the same thing round the same bend over and over.... I went to Spa last year and although actually watching the full race would be better on telly the atmoshpere was amazing. I've been to other big sporting events, Rugby at Twickenham, England Cricket various formats, football matches but the F1 was just different. I couldn't get my head around how big it was.
The sound of the cars was rediculous* and seeing a load of cars coming past at the same(ish) time and oevrtakes going into the bend was great.
*Although they do sound like they're going to break down any minute when they just trundling round and not turned up to 11!
Cars going fast innit.
Yeah, but.... There's no feeling of speed when you watch them....
Went to a rally last year in Italy. That was impressive.... Seeing cars hammering along tiny roads going sideways just a few meters away.
go to Silverstone, get yourself down at track level, and watch an f1 car come down the straight and round Copse.....
Cars going fast innit.
Yeah, but.... There's no feeling of speed when you watch them....
Went to a rally last year in Italy. That was impressive.... Seeing cars hammering along tiny roads going sideways just a few meters away.
go to Silverstone, get yourself down at track level, and watch an f1 car come down the straight and round Copse.....
This. We were sat there for qualifying this year, unreal speed.
kali rovenpera
He's left WRC now and is competing in Super Formula in Japan next season with the aim of trying to get into F1.
It's sad that drivers of his calibre can't see a long term WRC future.
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/first-look-at-movable-front-wing-prototype-on-f1-2026-mule-cars/
Are these the Pepsi tubes as part of next years branding🤣
Shock news! MBS has been elected for another 4 years as FIA president.
Anyway - who's gonna win the championship!!?
I'm gonna say Leclerc. Ferrari stopped developing their car pretty early to focus on 2026, plus they will have more wind tunnel time. Pretty much nothing will carry over from this year's cars so the key thing will be how quickly teams can develop their cars next year. I'm sure Ferrari will find a way to blow it, but the new regs are their best chance to leapfrog back to the front.
The romantic in me wants a smaller team to hit a development breakthrough (a la Brawn) and a driver like Gasly or Stroll Jnr to be in with a shout. Alternatively; Hamilton regains his mojo and suddenly he's back dicing for podiums. Or Cadillac defies the pundits and storms to the front and we get a season of Bottas and Perez fighting for first corners. With the cost cap and wind tunnel testing regime genuinely starting to close the gaps, and a new regulations era, anything is possible.
The romantic in me wants a smaller team to hit a development breakthrough
Williams would be the obvious candidate. They stopped developing last year's car very early on and have a lot more wind tunnel time than the other Mercedes powered teams. If the Merc engine is as far ahead as last time, they might be contenders.
Williams would be the obvious candidate. They stopped developing last year's car very early on and have a lot more wind tunnel time than the other Mercedes powered teams. If the Merc engine is as far ahead as last time, they might be contenders.
As a Williams fan, if they could finish the constructors top 4 I'd be very happy (ideally pushing out RBR 😁).
I suppose Audi/Sauber are the big unknown. They've got a lot of smart people working there but PU and chassis is a big ask.
I'm sure Ferrari will find a way to blow it
This I can agree with!
Portimao is coming back for two years to replace Zandvoort ('27 and '28)
I'm sure Ferrari will find a way to blow it
This I can agree with
Interestingly, Sky Bets has Leclerc a long way down the list in terms of odds for the drivers world champs, behind Alonso and Kimi Antonelli. 25/1! They clearly have no faith in Ferrari at all
Portimao is coming back for two years to replace Zandvoort ('27 and '28)
I’ve got good memories of this track in ‘21 and ‘22
Car nerds : good video here showing how the regulation boxes are used for the 26 cars
Cars going fast innit.
Yeah, but.... There's no feeling of speed when you watch them....
Went to a rally last year in Italy. That was impressive.... Seeing cars hammering along tiny roads going sideways just a few meters away.
go to Silverstone, get yourself down at track level, and watch an f1 car come down the straight and round Copse.....
This. We were sat there for qualifying this year, unreal speed.
The single most impressive thing I ever saw a racing car do was Schumacher in qualifying, about '96 or '97, sitting on the outside of Copse looking back down the old start straight, full chat towards you and BAM! Just the speed and precision of the turn in, absolute commitment, zero margin for error - it was breathtaking, visibly a different level to everyone else.
To be fair, I haven't seen a contemporary WRC car driven in anger since Lancia Stratosses were bashing through Sutton Park at night, a long time ago. 🙂
This was breaking on Twitter yesterday…
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/trick-at-centre-of-2026-f1-engine-loophole-controversy/
Been thinking what they’ve been up to since yesterday - my brain still hurts
Im not sure what the fuss about this is. From my understanding the way the compression ratio is measured for compliance hasn’t changed from the previous rules cycle. Therefore presumably teams have been exploiting this for the whole of the last rules cycle for the same reasons
I’m sure someone clever will be along to explain and I may have completely misunderstood.
How would you safely measure the exact compression ratio when the engine is at operating temperature? Given the EGT (exhaust gas temperature) would, I assume be well north of 800c.
How would you safely measure the exact compression ratio when the engine is at operating temperature?
I don't think it would be possible to measure it with the combustion chamber at the actual operating temperature (which will vary during the operating cycle anyway), and I also don't see this as a problem anyway. It just sounds like the typical whining from teams who want to penalize rivals for doing a better job.
The rules say that cars should be in compliance with all the rules during the race, so any team that exploits this will be cheating 🤷♂️
There are sonic devices that are sometimes used - I think NASCAR use a device that measures the volume of the combustion chamber while engines are hot (but not at operating temp), but I don't think the FIA could use that because the rules say - at ambient temp.
any team that exploits this will be cheating
If the rules specify the CR at ambient temperature, any engine that complies with that is legal.
If the rules specify the CR at ambient temperature, any engine that complies with that is legal
Sure, but this is F1
The rules say that cars should be in compliance with all the rules during the race, so any team that exploits this will be cheating
Wings comply with the static load tests when tested.
Teams design them to flex when on track - so any team playing the 'must comply at all times' card is hypocritical.
Here's another potential loophole.
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/another-f1-2026-engine-rules-loophole-closed-fia/
Im not sure what the fuss about this is. From my understanding the way the compression ratio is measured for compliance hasn’t changed from the previous rules cycle. Therefore presumably teams have been exploiting this for the whole of the last rules cycle for the same reasons
I don't know when they thought of it, or the technology made it possible, but the engines have been fixed for a few years haven't they? (Much to Renault's annoyance) So they've probably been working in it for a while, waiting for an opportunity to actually use it
@multi21, really liked that explainer video, thanks for sharing.
You're welcome, it's a great channel, he's really good at explaining the finer points without making the videos too long.
He said recently these 26 regs have been written in a naive way that leaves lots of loopholes open. He's just put a video up explaining how the inwash bargeboard can legally be turned into an outwashing one.
There is also a vid with his take on the compression ratio thing (which is basically as surmised in the posts above, basically the text of the rule has been written badly, opening the loophole which didn't exist in the previous ruleset).
the text of the rule has been written badly, opening the loophole which didn't exist in the previous ruleset
AIUI, the rules about the compression ratio haven't changed, apart from a lower CR due to the sustainable fuels. The CR is measured at ambient temperature, which is really the only practical way to do it.
All engines will have a different CR when they are running than the static CR measured when they are cold because the pistons, conrods, cylinder block, and cylinder head all expand. I think F1 conrods are titanium, which expands less than steel and aluminium, but, if an aluminium rod could handle the stresses, that would bump up the CR at operating temperature, especially if you could control the heating of the conrod by squirting hot oil on it, for example. However, if one team can make that work, the others can too so it's up to them to do a better job.