Loving the Porsche livery, the “Sketchy” version of Rexy is ace too 👍
BBC.COM V8s will be back if Ben has his way!!! 🎉🎉🥳🥳
Not sure where this leaves Cadillac though - seems pointless to develop their engine to only run it for two seasons. May as well stick with the Ferrari unit...
THE-RACE.COM I don't see that as a positive. F1 has always claimed to be the sport of innovation. How is 'it sounds better" innovative?
I think the reasoning is road cars are moving rapidly to full electric. F1 can’t (due to Formula E having rights to it) and doesn’t want to.
it can tick the eco box with fully synthetic fuels.
And the big fuel user isn’t the cars in F1 it’s the transport.
Good race that!
Mercedes decision to sideline Lewis in favour of Antonelli is looking inspired!
Antonelli is doing a great job and driving really well, especially given his age. I really like and rate him.
There was enough other stuff going on as well to make the race a decent one.
Very good race, Antonelli is doing a great job
Mercedes decision to sideline Lewis in favour of Antonelli is looking inspired!
Err i think you will find Lewis wasn't sidelined for Antonelli but left for Ferrari of his own accord, Toto has done well in nurturing and bringing Antonelli into Merc
On a side note i thought F1 banned military flights during the F1 build up, I'm sure i saw a stealth bomber fly over the start finish straight
Mercedes decision to sideline Lewis in favour of Antonelli is looking inspired!
Lewis surprised everyone leaving Mercedes, their hand was forced into promoting Antonelli
They were offering Lewis a one year extention deal and no ambassador role - he was basically forced out.
He left a year earlier than he would have otherwise done as he could no longer see a place for him at Mercedes.
Lewis negotiated a better retirement package at Ferrari.
On a side note i thought F1 banned military flights during the F1 build up, I'm sure i saw a stealth bomber fly over the start finish straight
pretty sure it’s illegal to hold a sporting event in the USA without some kind of military involvement
On a side note i thought F1 banned military flights during the F1 build up, I'm sure i saw a stealth bomber fly over the start finish straight
pretty sure it’s illegal to hold a sporting event in the USA without some kind of military involvement
Generally, the more hardware the US put on show, the more they like the event. A B2 is a serious thumbs up! Previously it’s been black hawks and apaches, iirc.
I'm sure i saw a stealth bomber fly over the start finish straight
Not very stealthy if you can see it.
Bet Russell is feeling a little nervous atm, all it needs is the Verstappen leaving Red Bull rumours to start up again for a full coronary.
Re. the move to v8s, WRC are also going "non-hybrid" next year.
WRC are already non-hybrid aren’t they? After the “no you can’t hit the reset button, you need to send the kit back to us to check at £40,000 a time” debacle
Bet Russell is feeling a little nervous atm, all it needs is the Verstappen leaving Red Bull rumours to start up again for a full coronary.
I bet he is. His chance of a wdc is disappearing and he will be second driver again soon
WRC are already non-hybrid aren’t they?
Oops, as you were. Yes hybrid units were removed for the 2025 season. In fact the 2027 regs appear to suggest aa potential return to hybrid and also possible all electric solutions in the future.
I was skeptical of the return to NA V8 story, sounded like wishful thinking from MBS, but apparently Merc and Red Bull are supportive and I assume Ferrari will be too - hybrid V6s aren't really what they're in the business of selling. However, Merc seem to be in favour of keeping a pretty decent component of electrical power - 800 hp ICE plus 400 hp electric.
A knee jerk reaction? Couldn't have seen that coming
These regs were only due to run for 5 years anyway so they need to decide what the next PU regs will be with sufficient lead time for development. The current PU regs were first agreed in 2022 and obviously were being discussed before that, so chatter about the 2031 PUs is actually about on schedule rather than a knee jerk reaction.
Just caught up on the race. Well done Kimi, I think he's got George a little bit rattled 😀
Overall less bad than the sprint. Shite officiating again, why is all this stuff happening hours after the race? Ridiculous. It spoils the result.
Also Verstappen getting away with driving like an absolute belm once again was quite irritating.
Kimi is doing remarkably well. Still lots of mistakes but he seems to get away with them. Terrible weekend for Hamilton, back to being well shy of Leclerc’s pace and he seemed to be anything but Lewis Hamilton in wheel-to-wheel battles. Never really defended a position under braking, and the only noticeable pass he attempted outside of the starts was an ill-judged one that cost him a barge board and ruined his race.
I think the Ferrari flatters to deceive with its rocket starts. It's still quite a bit off the pace of the Mercedes and now Maclaren, it finished a minute down and half a second slower on lap pace from Antonelli. Feel for Hamilton, I don't think he was driving a great car after the wallop with Colapinto, but at least he didn't bin it against the barrier I guess.
Antonelli's team mate was 44 seconds back!
Monaco will be interesting in that it should play more to Ferrari’s strengths. They have a better chance of getting onto the front row, and if they don’t then maybe even the second row could be enough to make Ste Devote a bit of a spectacle. I don’t see them doing too well in Montreal unless it rains, in which case we have no idea who’s good and who’s not.
I'm not a Ferrari fan but they've been ****ed over a little by the reg changes.
They saw the start problems, told the FIA (who did nothing), therefore developed their engine in such a way to avoid the issue but which cost them top end power. Then the FIA came along and basically eliminated the original problem leaving Ferrari with a compromised engine with no start line benefit.
ETA this is one of the Verstappen incidents that he got away with, total joke. I can't stand the brown nosing that he gets about being the best driver of all time.
Btw this is the video. They either want us to share F1 content or not - this ain't pick and mix counter.
From the takedown notice: "This is a serious matter causing, or likely to cause, significant loss to our client." In what way? Showing lack of finesse from your champion?
— Simon Dau (@there_is_no_if) May 4, 2026
T.CO
Antonelli's team mate was 44 seconds back!
Sure, but at one point Leclerc was leading the race, so had the advantage of clear air (in the same way that Antonelli and Norris had) both of them managed a 1.31.9 ish lap, Leclerc in the same position only managed a 1.32.5. The Ferrari hasn't got the pace.
I'm not a Ferrari fan but they've been ****ed over a little by the reg changes.
They used a smaller turbo knowing that it would be more responsive but limit top-end power. That decision is on them. AIUI, Audi went the other way and have the biggest turbo, but it's too laggy. All the engine manufacturers knew that they would have to find a compromise between responsiveness and maximum power. Ferrari and Audi got that decision wrong, Merc got it right.
They used a smaller turbo knowing that it would be more responsive but limit top-end power. That decision is on them. AIUI, Audi went the other way and have the biggest turbo, but it's too laggy. All the engine manufacturers knew that they would have to find a compromise between responsiveness and maximum power. Ferrari and Audi got that decision wrong, Merc got it right.
Ferrari are the only PU to correctly predict and deal with the start-line turbo issue.
The other PU manufacturers all messed it up to greater or lesser extent.
The PU manufacturers that did a bad job, particularly Mercedes, then went crying to the FIA under the guise of safety, to have the disadvantage from their failure mitigated with rule changes.
So the FIA changed the rules mid-season, despite having been warned about this scenario months earlier by Ferrari who were told it was for the teams to deal with.
Total joke.
The PU manufacturers that did a bad job then went crying to the FIA under the guise of safety, to have the disadvantage from their failure mitigated with rule changes.
...and they introduced the stupid pre-start procedure so teams that screwed up can sit there and rev their engines for five seconds before the start lights come on!
Merc build the PU with the best race performance, Ferrari the PU with the best start performance. In every race this year, Merc have started from pole, lost the lead at the start, but then came back to win the race. Ferrari have the best starts but struggle badly on race pace. As it turns out, getting a good start doesn't matter that much if your whole race is compromised by lack of power because passing is much easier. Audi have the worst start performance, much worse than Merc, because they have a bigger turbo with more lag. Their car isn't competitive so they aren't able to regain the lost places the way Merc can. Merc did the best job, Ferrari screwed up with their small turbo.
This
Merc build the PU with the best race performance, Ferrari the PU with the best start performance. In every race this year, Merc have started from pole, lost the lead at the start, but then came back to win the race. Ferrari have the best starts but struggle badly on race pace. As it turns out, getting a good start doesn't matter that much if your whole race is compromised by lack of power
and this
So the FIA changed the rules mid-season, despite having been warned about this scenario months earlier by Ferrari who were told it was for the teams to deal with.
are both true. Even if the FIA hadn't changed rules, Mercedes would have still been winning the races.
The changes really help the lower orders and do improve the safety.
are both true. Even if the FIA hadn't changed rules, Mercedes would have still been winning the races.
The changes really help the lower orders and do improve the safety.
You never saw how much advantage Ferrari truly had at the start, because the FIA changed the rules before the very first race to give 5 seconds extra spool up time.
Who knows? With the original start procedure Ferrari could easily have been a second or more up the road which would have kept them out of the start line chaos, and given them a much easier job managing the tyres for the first stint.
You never saw how much advantage Ferrari truly had at the start, because the FIA changed the rules before the very first race to give 5 seconds extra spool up time.
True, but Mercedes seem to have about a half second a lap advantage in the races. This would suggest they'd probably catch up reasonably quickly assuming they didn't get caught up in the start line fun
I see Sky have kept the rights to F1 for another 8 years....not really a surprise. Wonder if C4 will still get highlights...
I see Sky have kept the rights to F1 for another 8 years....not really a surprise. Wonder if C4 will still get highlights...
Oh FFS - no hope of F1 TV in the UK then!! 👎
Dammit I was hoping apple would get it. Not because I'm an apple fan, far from it, but I refuse to pay a penny to sky on principle.
Pitpass are thrilled too : "We're sure fans throughout the world that get the Sky feed will be delighted to hear that they face several more years of out-and-out pro-British driver bias, not to mention the screaming, shouting and faux excitement of 'Crofty' and his team"
Merc build the PU with the best race performance, Ferrari the PU with the best start performance. … Merc did the best job, Ferrari screwed up with their small turbo.
As it currently stands, that’s the case, although clearly the rule changes are a result of everyone other than Ferrari screwing up the requirements for standing starts. That may have been a conscious compromise (most likely); it may have been an inadvertent result (less likely); or—even less likely—it may have been banking on (in the event that anyone produced a small turbo and nailed the that starts) being able to convince the FIA that starts with such an offset would be dangerous and get the rules changed to remove the advantage of a small turbo.
Equally, there may be development path considerations. I don’t know what’s locked in and what’s not, but perhaps the regulations (particularly the ADUO, not that I’m clued-up on the details of that) lean more to allowing additional power via other means than increasing the size of the turbo, and if so then maybe Ferrari chose that direction knowing they’d be initially underpowered but better able to catch up while retaining the start advantage.
It’s also going to play out differently by circuit. The Ferrari ought to run well in Monaco and Hungary, in theory. Though of course it would a daft team that actually optimised their PU for those circuits.
I think you’re right: if the reduced peak power is an inevitable result of the smaller turbo then it doesn’t look like a great decision. I don’t know ICUs in enough detail to do more than speculate.
perhaps the regulations (particularly the ADUO, not that I’m clued-up on the details of that) lean more to allowing additional power via other means than increasing the size of the turbo, and if so then maybe Ferrari chose that direction knowing they’d be initially underpowered but better able to catch up while retaining the start advantage.
I was wondering that too.
if the reduced peak power is an inevitable result of the smaller turbo then it doesn’t look like a great decision.
Now they're talking about a 10% increase in fuel flow, which will require everyone to revamp their PUs, plus, either modify the chassis to fit a larger fuel tank, or have shorter races. I assume they will all think about the optimum turbo size for the higher gas flow.
Another idea is to only allow the higher fuel flow rate for qualifying. If that happened, it would be interesting to see if the manufacturers optimized the PUs for qualifying or for the race. My guess is they will optimize for the race, but obviously, just a guess.
