Formula 1 2026 Season

JWBlue · 01-14-2026, 12:02 PM

Winter testing coming up in a few days.

Already a significant controversy with Mercedes discovering a loophole in the new regulations that gives their power units an advantage. Any team that is a customer of Mercedes power units would have the advantage as well. It is too late for other teams to catch up with development. Other teams are protesting.

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...#disqus_thread

BonVoyage · 01-28-2026, 08:53 AM

Aston Martin not quite ready to test, Williams not ready to test at all yet, Hadjar already crashing... should be a fun 2026!

JWBlue · 01-28-2026, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonVoyage

Aston Martin not quite ready to test, Williams not ready to test at all yet, Hadjar already crashing... should be a fun 2026!

Williams is fooked. Their car was 30 kg overweight AND couldn't pass the crash tests. How is that possible considering they were working on the 2026 car last season earlier than most? Was someone's calculator malfunctioning? Their season is over before it started.

ajlaxmn · 01-28-2026, 06:04 PM

Cars look really cool, and noticeably smaller (which was part of the changes I know). Hopefully this makes some of the tracks that have minimal passing zones more entertaining. Really interesting to see how the strategic batter reserve (or whatever it was that replace DSR) plays into driving style.

hotcalsun · 01-29-2026, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajlaxmn

Cars look really cool, and noticeably smaller (which was part of the changes I know). Hopefully this makes some of the tracks that have minimal passing zones more entertaining. Really interesting to see how the strategic batter reserve (or whatever it was that replace DSR) plays into driving style.

Yes, it would be great for Monaco to be an actual race rather than a 78 lap parade.

I am excited about the active aero as well as it is another thing that a driver needs to focus on and perform while racing that'll separate good from great drivers.

JWBlue · 02-10-2026, 06:08 PM

The Mercedes power Unit is a big topic coming up to Bahrain Winter Testing.

It is a no win situation for FIA.

They either ban the Mercedes PU which sets back all teams that use the engine or they allow it which puts all the other teams at a severe disadvantage.

JWBlue · 02-14-2026, 12:00 AM

Watching the F1 movie.

What a steaming pile of hot garbage. Half way though. Someone convince me to continue watching. This is painful.

hotcalsun · 02-14-2026, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWBlue

Watching the F1 movie.

What a steaming pile of hot garbage. Half way though. Someone convince me to continue watching. This is painful.

You just have to appreciate it for what it is. Days of Thunder.

What is impressive is how they mixed real-life racing footage with a movie and how they integrated that into the story. There are several issues, for example a lead car having DRS in a race — but you just have to enjoy it for the empty calories it is.

ajlaxmn · 02-22-2026, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWBlue

Watching the F1 movie.

What a steaming pile of hot garbage. Half way though. Someone convince me to continue watching. This is painful.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, even as someone who follows/watches F1. The cinematography was great.

Yes, totally unrealistic to continually wreck people to bring out yellow flags to help the second car for starters, but all in all, still a great movie.

hotcalsun · 02-24-2026, 08:05 PM

Drive to Survive Season 8 is out on Friday and Australian GP kicks off on March 8th (7th stateside), the new season is here!

JWBlue · 02-27-2026, 01:37 PM

Free month of Apple TV+, plus 7 extra days for new subscribers. Sign up the day of the first race to get the most out of the offer.

https://redeem.services.apple/f1_202...2-4183581d6a25

jbabz84 · 02-27-2026, 06:08 PM

Can't wait. I'll be there next weekend for the first race in Melbourne!! Hopefully a home win for Oscar
Although looking forward to seeing how the Ferraris go. Hearing they are very quick

hotcalsun · 03-02-2026, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbabz84

Can't wait. I'll be there next weekend for the first race in Melbourne!! Hopefully a home win for Oscar
Although looking forward to seeing how the Ferraris go. Hearing they are very quick

Yes, very exciting -- and great you will be there!

On the Ferrari front have seen several pundits are pick Leclerc as the WDC this year. Most I have seen have picked Leclerc, Russell, or Verstappen -- shocked at the disrespect the McLaren drivers are getting.

JWBlue · 03-05-2026, 08:37 PM

This is comedy.

Watching FP1. A few minutes in and four teams are having reliability issues.

JRX · 03-07-2026, 05:45 AM

Hope you all love Mercedes, Toto, and George. This season may already be over. Def not paying for apple tv to watch 1 team lap all the others on race day.

22emmittfan · 03-07-2026, 09:12 AM

F1 screwed up putting coverage only on Apple TV. If wanted to kill momentum that will surely help as a good part of the USA doesn’t subscribe to that. 12$ a month to watch , I’ll just now see highlights. Major mistake leaving espn

JWBlue · 03-07-2026, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRX

Hope you all love Mercedes, Toto, and George. This season may already be over. Def not paying for apple tv to watch 1 team lap all the others on race day.

Season is already over pretty much. Although Melbourne definitely favors Mercedes. Analysts were saying the car is 20 KM faster on straights. This is going to be Mecrdes 2014-2020 all over again. I don't mind Geroge as a person though. He seems pretty modest.

Car is clearly illegal and doesn't fit within the rule in the regs that cars must be within specifications at all times. I give Mercedes credit though for finding the loophole that nobody else did.

Pretty amazing that Mercedes was able to put to gether Antonelli's car so quickly after his SP3 crash.

hotcalsun · 03-07-2026, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 22emmittfan

F1 screwed up putting coverage only on Apple TV. If wanted to kill momentum that will surely help as a good part of the USA doesn’t subscribe to that. 12$ a month to watch , I’ll just now see highlights. Major mistake leaving espn

The coverage on Apple TV is much better than ESPN. 4K plus you get all of the driver cams and a podium channel. Did not cost us anything additional as Apple TV+ is covered by one of the credit cards we use.

Season may or may not be interesting. Mercedes clearly has the one-lap pace, will be interesting to see how it plays out over the race. 3 other teams including McLaren use the Merc engines, so do not expect the gap to remain all season.

JRX · 03-07-2026, 10:56 PM

I'll likely just watch more indy car this year. No point in buying apple tv to watch one team lap all the others. I do like how indy has a mix of track, street, oval. I used to think oval was boring and while the coverage sucks it does add some randomness to everything. Besides, its no more boring than f1 procession races.

BonVoyage · 03-08-2026, 03:28 PM

The first half (maybe first third) was very exciting. Something like 7 lead changes in the first 10 laps? Then it got boring af.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

blackandgold · 03-09-2026, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRX

I'll likely just watch more indy car this year. No point in buying apple tv to watch one team lap all the others. I do like how indy has a mix of track, street, oval. I used to think oval was boring and while the coverage sucks it does add some randomness to everything. Besides, its no more boring than f1 procession races.

The Phoenix race was nice! Newgarden coming back to win with 10 laps to go!

JRX · 03-09-2026, 01:41 PM

Maybe F1 should consider making the tires worse and force more pit stops.

hotcalsun · 03-09-2026, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonVoyage

The first half (maybe first third) was very exciting. Something like 7 lead changes in the first 10 laps? Then it got boring af.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed, at least up front. The Mercedes is in a class of its own at least for now and maybe the entire season.

It was more interesting in the midfield and way more cars finished than I was expecting.

JRX · 03-13-2026, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotcalsun

Agreed, at least up front. The Mercedes is in a class of its own at least for now and maybe the entire season.

It was more interesting in the midfield and way more cars finished than I was expecting.

Going to be interesting to see what kind of crowds they get throughout the year especially if all the titles are decided early.

JRX · 03-14-2026, 03:08 PM

The track they built in Arlington for indy is pretty awesome. Way better than the Miami one f1 does. Super long straight.

01-14-2026, 12:02 PM	#1
JWBlue Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 10,319	Formula 1 2026 Season Winter testing coming up in a few days. Already a significant controversy with Mercedes discovering a loophole in the new regulations that gives their power units an advantage. Any team that is a customer of Mercedes power units would have the advantage as well. It is too late for other teams to catch up with development. Other teams are protesting. https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...#disqus_thread __________________ Hobby favorites : Redemptions, Black /1 cards, Baseball : Topps flagship

01-28-2026, 06:04 PM	#4
ajlaxmn Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Turner, ME Posts: 7,307 ajohnbarker	Cars look really cool, and noticeably smaller (which was part of the changes I know). Hopefully this makes some of the tracks that have minimal passing zones more entertaining. Really interesting to see how the strategic batter reserve (or whatever it was that replace DSR) plays into driving style. __________________ Die hard Chargers Fan from the State of Maine. "Always with them negative waves"- Oddball "Uh-uh, I don't tip"- Mr. Pink

02-10-2026, 06:08 PM	#6
JWBlue Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 10,319	The Mercedes power Unit is a big topic coming up to Bahrain Winter Testing. It is a no win situation for FIA. They either ban the Mercedes PU which sets back all teams that use the engine or they allow it which puts all the other teams at a severe disadvantage. __________________ Hobby favorites : Redemptions, Black /1 cards, Baseball : Topps flagship

02-14-2026, 12:00 AM	#7
JWBlue Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 10,319	Watching the F1 movie. What a steaming pile of hot garbage. Half way though. Someone convince me to continue watching. This is painful. __________________ Hobby favorites : Redemptions, Black /1 cards, Baseball : Topps flagship

02-27-2026, 01:37 PM	#11
JWBlue Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 10,319	Free month of Apple TV+, plus 7 extra days for new subscribers. Sign up the day of the first race to get the most out of the offer. https://redeem.services.apple/f1_202...2-4183581d6a25 __________________ Hobby favorites : Redemptions, Black /1 cards, Baseball : Topps flagship

01-28-2026, 08:53 AM	#2
BonVoyage Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 2,068	Aston Martin not quite ready to test, Williams not ready to test at all yet, Hadjar already crashing... should be a fun 2026!

02-24-2026, 08:05 PM	#10
hotcalsun Member Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 1,214	Drive to Survive Season 8 is out on Friday and Australian GP kicks off on March 8th (7th stateside), the new season is here!

02-27-2026, 06:08 PM	#12
jbabz84 Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 260	Can't wait. I'll be there next weekend for the first race in Melbourne!! Hopefully a home win for Oscar Although looking forward to seeing how the Ferraris go. Hearing they are very quick

03-05-2026, 08:37 PM	#14
JWBlue Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 10,319	This is comedy. Watching FP1. A few minutes in and four teams are having reliability issues. __________________ Hobby favorites : Redemptions, Black /1 cards, Baseball : Topps flagship

03-07-2026, 05:45 AM	#15
JRX Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 16,166	Hope you all love Mercedes, Toto, and George. This season may already be over. Def not paying for apple tv to watch 1 team lap all the others on race day.

03-07-2026, 09:12 AM	#16
22emmittfan Member Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 2,574 22emmittfan	F1 screwed up putting coverage only on Apple TV. If wanted to kill momentum that will surely help as a good part of the USA doesn’t subscribe to that. 12$ a month to watch , I’ll just now see highlights. Major mistake leaving espn

03-07-2026, 10:56 PM	#19
JRX Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 16,166	I'll likely just watch more indy car this year. No point in buying apple tv to watch one team lap all the others. I do like how indy has a mix of track, street, oval. I used to think oval was boring and while the coverage sucks it does add some randomness to everything. Besides, its no more boring than f1 procession races.

03-08-2026, 03:28 PM	#20
BonVoyage Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 2,068	The first half (maybe first third) was very exciting. Something like 7 lead changes in the first 10 laps? Then it got boring af. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

03-09-2026, 01:41 PM	#22
JRX Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 16,166	Maybe F1 should consider making the tires worse and force more pit stops.

03-14-2026, 03:08 PM	#25
JRX Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 16,166	The track they built in Arlington for indy is pretty awesome. Way better than the Miami one f1 does. Super long straight.