Yep, agree with Lando. Sooner or later I can see a big accident coming. F1 has been warned. If people die as a result, is this what they need to see their folly?
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As said, the phrase doing the rounds by the drivers is âartificial â. It might look a great spectacle with overtaking and re-overtaking the drivers are having to manage the computer all the time back off, press boost yah yah, hence the big differentials in speed and power. Maybe very exiting for the neutral but not real and dangerous. Are the V8s coming back?
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I donât agree. It still look like F1 to me and an interesting opener.
F1 is and always has been a controlled formula. Itâs a big change this year but the difference in times between teams is not unusual in F1 history. In the 90s we saw most of the field lapped into the lower points many times. It is normal that with reg changes the field is stretched out but as time goes on and the regs stabalise the teams get closer and faster. People have short memories in the times I remember big reg changes many cry fowl and racing ruined yearning for a return to what was but as time goes on a new norm is made and enjoyed. People made a lot of fuss when early ground effect cars and active suspension was outlawed but it was OK in the end.
Overtaking has been a challenge to get right since the inception of downforce cars and more and more artificial since the introduction of DRS nothing purist about that. The new cars will require new strategy and tactics to overtake and make it stick.
I thought the fear that several of the teams lower in the order would DNF was dispelled and although 5 or so cars didnât finish teams like Williams did against what pundits had predicted. The new teams were OK too.
Although the cars presently are slower than 2025 they will catch up. The regs also have to keep the cars within the safe speed of the tracks they race on. Those with longer memories remember what happened when this was less controlled with people dying like Ratzenberger and Senna in â94. Development will speed the cars up again but ultimate mph is not that important it is the relative speed and racing that makes it all work.
We need more than one race to get good a picture of how it good or bad it will be but on the evidence of this weekend I thought it showed promise and some good moments.
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No V8s on the horizon and DRS was artificial from 2011-2025.
Will 4 middle east races be cancelled. Nobody knows
There are 4 races on the Arabian Peninsula which has a relatively small population (80m?). They are poorly attended. Not sad to loose a couple of them imho.
No races in France or Germany with their history of racing seems crazy to me. But it is all about money I guess.
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I agree, do not wish to see that kind of crashes again. And yet, listening to the 12 cilinder whine of the old days, or even the V10, gives me goosbumps, while the noise of these cars is just that.
The overall picture looks ok-ish, but the long stretches where the deceleration starts way before the corner, that kills it for me during onboards. And i fear the Chinese grand prix, with an even longer straight. In some circuits this formula might work very well (Zandvoort, Monaco, Barcelona, Redbull ring), in others (China, Bakoo, Miami) it will probably not work in favour of the drivers or spectators. But like you said, it is only early days.
I agree, DRS was false too, surely a better idea if cars can follow without false intervention.
This from Peter Windsor sums up what I think perfectly. Very experienced in F1.
I donât know how enthusiastic the French are about F1 but I understood that surprisingly, & post Schumacher, the German public lost interest in it, despite their huge car manufacturing industry. There was therefore no effort made to retain a GP.
Whether any extra races in Europe can be arranged at short notice to replace any middle east ones that could be cancelled, remains to be seen.
Finances will be an issue. Many circuits wonât be ready for F1. And even if they are, organising everything on such short notice? Probably itâs only feasible to have circuits already scheduled to host one, host another one back-to-back. Possibly with a different layout.
But why not have them race GT cars on those weekends? Like the M1 Pro Car of old. (I know it wonât happen, but one can dream)
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Is it 6/7 years ago now when Ross Brawn said they were changing the rules, as so many were complaining that cars couldnât follow each other due to aero-spoil, which pretty much killed any overtaking. They then developed rules for even bigger aero-dominated cars, using DRS, tyres, pit-stops, any number of VSC/race controls, as a means to make the sport entertaining (more a processional show IMHO). Now, we have cars with erratic speed capabilities, which is one of the biggest danger points in any motorsport. PW is right, in that these cars shouldnât be games consoles â I can just about tolerate âpush to passâ as it has built-in boundaries, but removing 100% of the car control from a driver seems very dangerous to me.
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This has now been confirmed. Verstappen will participate in NLS2 and the 2026 24h Nurburgring with his Verstappen.com team fielding a Mercedes AMG-GT3.
Currently Bahrain clashes with NLS3 and the Saudi GP clashes with the qualifiers for the 24h (the other drivers can qualify, so not a problem for the race), so there is potential for more races being added depending on the F1 situation.
Portimau maybe? They stepped up during the pandemic to host F1, and they are on next years F1 calendar, so maybe they could be ready to go a year early?
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Not funnyâŚ
I read somewhere that F1 have no plan to replace any GPâs that they have to cancel due to the ongoing issues in the Middle East.
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If the conflict shows signs of continuing throughout the year then the Azerbaijan, Qatar & Abu Dhabi races could well be cancelled as well & I would think F1 would not wish to lose 5 races & would have contingency plans in place for this eventuality.
They have contingency plans.
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No surprise there!
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