Off-Topic F1 26

[Can't think of a gimmick]

Ive never been so excited for the start of a new season.
So many changes.

- Perez and Bottas back for the new 11th team Cadillac.
-Audi replaces Sauber team.
-DRS gone but replaced with new Rear and Front wing system.
-Hybrid electrical energy storage doubled ,the new boost these cars get will be lethal.

Can get why Cadillac went with Perez and Bottas - experience means feedback to the team will be invaluable, but I'd have thought they'd have gone one vet, one younger driver for the longer term. Guessing they accept they won't be competitive for a few seasons.

Audi? Shrug.

The new wing system seems good so far, end of the ground effect era. Since the aim is to make overtaking more likely, the cars being shortened in length is a good step.

Sod hybrid. Bring back the v10s.

 

[Jimmytaff]

Making me look like a genius…

That's an insult not a compliment

 

[Major Clanger]

Anyone into F1 here?

Change in the regulations this year, major changes.

Ferrari have a wing that turns upside down, Aston Martin can’t even recharge their battery without their engine blowing up, Mercedes are the favourites, Audi and Cadillac join the grid and the return of Bottas

Hopeful of a change to be honest and hopefully some drama which results in a new world champion.

For what it’s worth, I think that a lot of F1’s current dullness stems from its having become strangled by technical regulations; long gone are the days of fascinating innovation and competition from the likes of Chapman, Murray and Head.

Also, Verstappen’s candid feedback about the 2026 cars (from testing) does not bode well for the coming season.

If F1’s owners really want to have both unlimited racing and a drive for efficiency, then they should throw away all of the technical rules, except: a) four open wheels, b) open cockpit, c) 70kg of fuel per race, and d) a standard budget cap per team. Other than those, let the teams do whatever they wish and may the best one win.

 

[Snoops]

For what it’s worth, I think that a lot of F1’s current dullness stems from its having become strangled by technical regulations; long gone are the days of fascinating innovation and competition from the likes of Chapman, Murray and Head.

Also, Verstappen’s candid feedback about the 2026 cars (from testing) does not bode well for the coming season.

If F1’s owners really want to have both unlimited racing and a drive for efficiency, then they should throw away all of the technical rules, except: a) four open wheels, b) open cockpit, c) 70kg of fuel per race, and d) a standard budget cap per team. Other than those, let the teams do whatever they wish and may the best one win.

But by doing that you open it back up to cheating, I remember Ferrari’s trick of putting a moving part in with the turbo that would move under load then drop back in for compliance giving them more power.

Yes the technical regs are overboard in certain respects and do need to be looked at properly for it to remain competitive.

The other problem that opens up even with a budget cap is the smaller teams will always struggle.

What would be better is if they took the approach of F2/F3/F4 and give them all the same cars with same engines etc and allow minor modifications to the wings then let’s see who wins lol

 

[Can't think of a gimmick]

Every formula has technical regulations for a reason. it's not competitive racing when there are 6-7s gaps from back to front.

 

[Major Clanger]

But by doing that you open it back up to cheating, I remember Ferrari’s trick of putting a moving part in with the turbo that would move under load then drop back in for compliance giving them more power.

Yes the technical regs are overboard in certain respects and do need to be looked at properly for it to remain competitive.

The other problem that opens up even with a budget cap is the smaller teams will always struggle.

What would be better is if they took the approach of F2/F3/F4 and give them all the same cars with same engines etc and allow minor modifications to the wings then let’s see who wins lol

It may be a very personal viewpoint - as the technical innovations were something that I would look forward to - but if you were to have very few rules then the concept of cheating would effectively become non-existent (as teams could legitimately do whatever they wish). The budget cap and 70kg fuel limit per race would become the overall controlling factors.

Regarding that budget cap; teams which were originally small - such as Lotus and Williams - were able to overcome the might of much bigger teams via their innovation and creative thinking; the variety of championship winning constructors was far greater in the 60s, 70s & 80s than it is today and opening up the rule book could level the playing field and allow that to happen again.

Today's system is evidently not allowing the the smaller teams to win, given that Red Bull & Mercedes went on a fourteen year winning streak which has only recently been broken by McLaren (another huge team). The only glimmer of hope in recent times was Brawn GP who - coincidentally - won the constructors championship via innovation.

 

[Can't think of a gimmick]

So allowing free rein doesn't help those bigger teams with more money?

 

[Nugent]

Can get why Cadillac went with Perez and Bottas - experience means feedback to the team will be invaluable, but I'd have thought they'd have gone one vet, one younger driver for the longer term. Guessing they accept they won't be competitive for a few seasons.

Audi? Shrug.

The new wing system seems good so far, end of the ground effect era. Since the aim is to make overtaking more likely, the cars being shortened in length is a good step.

Sod hybrid. Bring back the v10s.

Unless you had or driven an electric car then you wouldn't be saying that.
Put your foot down in an electric car bud, the power is immense and instant.
The electric these cars can store per lap now is twice as much as last season, theyll get to top speed quicker than any v10

 

[Can't think of a gimmick]

Unless you had or driven an electric car then you wouldn't be saying that.
Put your foot down in an electric car bud, the power is immense and instant.
The electric these cars can store per lap now is twice as much as last season, theyll get to top speed quicker than any v10

And remind us how they recharge - oh yeah, way more lift and coast into corners.

Managing fuel, tyres, fine. Now need to manage the battery more as well? It's not racing.

 

[Nugent]

And remind us how they recharge - oh yeah, way more lift and coast into corners.

Managing fuel, tyres, fine. Now need to manage the battery more as well? It's not racing.

Nope.
The electric is topped up capturing the wasted energy from braking.
So the harder you brake into corners now, then the more electric harvested.

Lift and coast wasn't used much for energy management, that was used for when the engineers work out how much to underfuel the car to make it lighter.
Obviously they work it out so the car finishes on the right amount of fuel to get into the pit lane at the end of the race.

If you underfuel and lift and coast, then you yes, it would have an impact on YOUR lap time, but your lap time at the early stages of the race would be the same as someone who fueled accordingly so they can fly round the corner every lap cos your lighter and they are heavier.

 

[Major Clanger]

So allowing free rein doesn't help those bigger teams with more money?

You are right that big teams would have the same technical opportunities as small but, given that today’s formula is all about money, it would at least provide smaller teams an opportunity to win which is not currently open to them and which the fans should value.

Smaller teams tend to be hungrier and have fresher-thinking talent than the fat cats, so an open rule book could give their imaginations free rein. Even if the big teams continued to win, we would not be any worse off as viewers, but would likely have the benefit of more variety and technical interest, plus a greater range of trickle-down technology for road cars.

F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport and surely contains one of the greatest talent pools in the engineering world, so why do its owners put a rope around their necks and tie them to the ground?

Anyway, that’s enough of my preaching on this topic. I am probably sending everyone else to sleep.

 

[bluethrough™]

You are right that big teams would have the same technical opportunities as small but, given that today’s formula is all about money, it would at least provide smaller teams an opportunity to win which is not currently open to them and which the fans should value.

Smaller teams tend to be hungrier and have fresher-thinking talent than the fat cats, so an open rule book could give their imaginations free rein. Even if the big teams continued to win, we would not be any worse off as viewers, but would likely have the benefit of more variety and technical interest, plus a greater range of trickle-down technology for road cars.

F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport and surely contains one of the greatest talent pools in the engineering world, so why do its owners put a rope around their necks and tie them to the ground?

Anyway, that’s enough of my preaching on this topic. I am probably sending everyone else to sleep.

Nice preaching but I tend to agree with you.

Innovation was always what F1 used to be about, things were tried, discarded or banned. Many of the innovations from F1 can be seen in the cars we drive today. Yes you want fairly equal cars as a starting point but then let engineers push the boundaries and try things.

 

[Can't think of a gimmick]

Nope.
The electric is topped up capturing the wasted energy from braking.
So the harder you brake into corners now, then the more electric harvested.

Lift and coast wasn't used much for energy management, that was used for when the engineers work out how much to underfuel the car to make it lighter.
Obviously they work it out so the car finishes on the right amount of fuel to get into the pit lane at the end of the race.

If you underfuel and lift and coast, then you yes, it would have an impact on YOUR lap time, but your lap time at the early stages of the race would be the same as someone who fueled accordingly so they can fly round the corner every lap cos your lighter and they are heavier.

And the key is to keep the charge level as high as possible to use the boost as much as possible on straight, in conjunction with overtake mode when needed, to attack; also need the boost to defend.

Lift and coast is a significant way to recharge, which is why the prospect of lift and coast being used in qualifying laps has been mooted - and was notable in uali simulation runs in Bahrain. Drivers were openly talking about it.

 

[Can't think of a gimmick]

Now, I like the IndyCar system - you've a max of X seconds per race "push to pass" energy boost. X seconds and no more, how, when you use it is up to you.

Granted they've started going down the hybrid route, but it's a cleaner solution.

 

[Nugent]

And the key is to keep the charge level as high as possible to use the boost as much as possible on straight, in conjunction with overtake mode when needed, to attack; also need the boost to defend.

Lift and coast is a significant way to recharge, which is why the prospect of lift and coast being used in qualifying laps has been mooted - and was notable in uali simulation runs in Bahrain. Drivers were openly talking about it.

Good luck qualifying if you are introducing lift and coast into your lap lol

 

[MaestegBlue]

Just give them all a base model fiat 500, allow them to modify it with a budget of 200 quid, and have at it.

There’s always going to be issues with the regs, that’s just how it is these days.

Anything even remotely innovative such as the Mercedes steering wheel which you could pull back to get the wheels to move inwards towards each other for more top end speed on straights will be banned.

The Ferrari wing will probably be banned too.

 

[Nugent]

Just give them all a base model fiat 500, allow them to modify it with a budget of 200 quid, and have at it.

There’s always going to be issues with the regs, that’s just how it is these days.

Anything even remotely innovative such as the Mercedes steering wheel which you could pull back to get the wheels to move inwards towards each other for more top end speed on straights will be banned.

The Ferrari wing will probably be banned too.

On a more practical note.
When top gear used to have the F1 boys do a lap in a reasonable priced car , and this is after Hamilton and all them done it. There was one clear winner...
Daniel Ricciardo

When drivers had a proper equal car

 

[Can't think of a gimmick]

Good luck qualifying if you are introducing lift and coast into your lap lol

Drivers have literally stated that, to maximise battery charge. They were doing it in Bahrain...

 

[Can't think of a gimmick]

Just give them all a base model fiat 500, allow them to modify it with a budget of 200 quid, and have at it.

There’s always going to be issues with the regs, that’s just how it is these days.

Anything even remotely innovative such as the Mercedes steering wheel which you could pull back to get the wheels to move inwards towards each other for more top end speed on straights will be banned.

The Ferrari wing will probably be banned too.

Ferrari wing was used in one testing run only.

 

[MaestegBlue]

Ferrari wing was used in one testing run only.

But they were testing it for a reason, if it makes an appearance over a race weekend then you’d imagine it would be banned