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F1 2026

Dexter said:
Whey every time Leclerc was on track he was topping the timing charts quite comfortably and Hamilton was right in the pack. I can’t imagine their low fuel qualy runs were that different it was account for that much time between them.

Don’t get me wrong I’d love for Lewis to make me look like a clown but I think the sport has passed him by now. If the Ferrari is a championship winning car he won’t be the one who wins it for them.
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Did Hamilton not top riming sheets in one of the first days of testing ?

Not saying it’s a reliable indicator mind
 

Dexter said:
Hamilton has been nowhere near Leclerc’s pace in testing, I’d be amazed if he’s fighting right at the front unless that Ferrari is an absolute rocket ship.

Ferrari do have a habit of running more glory laps than others during testing, and while the car looks good and reliable I’d be amazed if it’s the outright quickest come Australia.
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I hear you mate, I wasn't particularly looking at the glory laps more the race sims.

I do think its a rocket ship and they've been sandbagging. Vasseur hinted at it, glad the Merc was making all the headlines.

Leclerc the one to beat. Could be his year.

Mercs are quick too, just used a few more engines during practice. Ferrari used what, one? That's impressive with the amount of laps run.
We have 2 weeks to go and only Ferrari can be confident that their start routine is up to scratch.

I'm actually loving the manual nature of the start now. High revs for an extended period of time so the turbos can spool up. 10 seconds man, can you imagine how many drivers are going to fuck that mental count? :lol: cant wait.

I know practice is not an indicator for anything but was funny seeing Hamilton go from P9 to P1 by the 1st corner in one such practice start.

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Imagine leaving Horner's team to run your own because he was a sleaze, but then not only having to answer to Lance Stroll, but also finding out your new team owner is literally in the Epstein Files.
 
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errant said:
cedric michel grosjean, was a lead performance engineer working with Oscar at McLaren. He’s on gardening leave currently and can’t start until partway into the season.
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Charles Leclerc likes this.

"Swap positions Lewis. For the good of the team. We'll talk after"
 
Sorry, I'm new to this years regs. Is there is there any truth to the rumour of Mercs combustion ratio hack?

That they've left a tiny channel open in the chamber which only opens in the heat of the race? Canny loophole that. Forget the legality of it atm, surely that would cause some sort of mechanical unreliability in the long run? I'm no engineer, I hasten to add.
 
Still reckon that Leclerc would absolutely go to pieces in a proper championship tussle. There's only Verstappen and possibly an on-form Norris on the current grid who have more raw speed but you can always count on him to make at least 2 or 3 absolute rookie errors every year.
 
Maravilla said:
Still reckon that Leclerc would absolutely go to pieces in a proper championship tussle. There's only Verstappen and possibly an on-form Norris on the current grid who have more raw speed but you can always count on him to make at least 2 or 3 absolute rookie errors every year.
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There’s no other driver on the current grid who I’d love to see pop their cherry this year more than him. Capable of moments of brilliance but over the full season in a title fight I’m not 100% sure on him like.
 
People are gonna be surprised just how far clear Merc is in Aus IMO. McLaren will be their challengers, Red Bull and Ferrari 3rd and 4th.

Merc refused to do proper long runs they are hiding that much performance, all teams sandbag a bit but it was ridiculous how obvious they were about it this year.

My prediction for Melbourne is a Merc 1/2 - 20s clear of 3rd.
 
L18SFC said:
People are gonna be surprised just how far clear Merc is in Aus IMO. McLaren will be their challengers, Red Bull and Ferrari 3rd and 4th.

Merc refused to do proper long runs they are hiding that much performance, all teams sandbag a bit but it was ridiculous how obvious they were about it this year.

My prediction for Melbourne is a Merc 1/2 - 20s clear of 3rd.
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Aye this is my view as well. I would be absolutely amazed if Ferrari turn up to Australia and they are actually the fastest car.
 
You have to think if that Merc engine really does have a big advantage, they won't have wanted to show that in testing. Risky though, could overheat or push the gearbox...
 
It's possible that Mercedes has an engine advantage and that Ferrari also have an advantage with their turbo / rear wing / exhaust. The first race could be quite dramaticn.
 
Dexter said:
Whey every time Leclerc was on track he was topping the timing charts quite comfortably and Hamilton was right in the pack. I can’t imagine their low fuel qualy runs were that different it was account for that much time between them.

Don’t get me wrong I’d love for Lewis to make me look like a clown but I think the sport has passed him by now. If the Ferrari is a championship winning car he won’t be the one who wins it for them.
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I second you there.

His Ferrari move was the biggest anticlimactic driver move in modern F1 history, along with Schumachers return in 2010.
Dexter said:
It’s going to be class when Aston get their act together in a couple of years just in time for Alonso retiring. Please if there is a god let this happen.
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Hopefully that happens too. Can't stand him. Like a bad smell.

Cheat anarl.

In the words of Neil Warnock, 'that one's for Hungary 2007 and Crashgate!'
 
Alchemist said:
It's possible that Mercedes has an engine advantage and that Ferrari also have an advantage with their turbo / rear wing / exhaust. The first race could be quite dramaticn.
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I think sadly the racing will be severely lacking with these regulations.

Going to be an utter bore fest.

The FIA have managed to actually make the cars worse, again.
 
Toronado said:
Still can’t believe people are warming to him !
Horrible character, stained overrated legacy and not much more than a quick driver, brilliant in the wet but a hypocritical, dangerous man child of a driver
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100%
He's still the same person, and will revert to type if there's a need to do so. Maybe he's a little less "pumped up" by the departures of Wheatlie and Horner?
 
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