F1 2026: Chinese GP - Shanghai (Mar 15)

[3798j]

Here's Ollie...speaking his mind.
“It was a great race, we couldn’t have asked for more, and I just want to keep pushing like this now. On lap one, I was very unlucky with Hadjar spinning in front of me and I thought our race was over, I was put back to P12 at that time. Luckily, the safety car came out at the right point for us when we needed to have that pace. We took that luck, and the car was very quick today, I’m super happy.”

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by 3798j

Meanwhile, Leclerc said he enjoyed his race.

Lets see what he says mid season. When he realizes his only chance to win is maybe Monaco or Singapore.

Ferrari choice to go with small turbo could likely haunt them until 2030.

Tifosi is not going to enjoy Monza.

Originally Posted by 3798j

Here's Ollie...speaking his mind.
“It was a great race, we couldn’t have asked for more, and I just want to keep pushing like this now. On lap one, I was very unlucky with Hadjar spinning in front of me and I thought our race was over, I was put back to P12 at that time. Luckily, the safety car came out at the right point for us when we needed to have that pace. We took that luck, and the car was very quick today, I’m super happy.”

He should be in a Ferrari next year.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Not only that, but Max is the only driver on the grid that dares to speak his mind and doesn't let himself get silenced by the FIA's/F1 group agenda.
Remember Vegas 2023 with that freak sewerlid incident Sainz had for which he even got a penalty!
Max was the only one that dared to speak in the media how ridiculous that was. All other drivers and teams were urged not to say any bad words about the Vegas GP because it was F1's pinnacle for maximize profit.
Same goes for the situation that paid(!!!) spectators were denied entrance to their seats on the stand. I don't know how expensive Vegas F1 tickets were, but those fans got like a $200 voucher for the official giftshop there for missing out. (you probably can't even get a T-shirt for that as prices are ridiculous...)
Again, ONLY Max dared to say something in the media about that (he couldn't believe his ears and would've destroyed the place if that was him).
No one else in the paddock said anything in fear of the FIA/F1 group.
And apparently members here also don't like to hear this. Says a lot about such persons.

I for one rather like to see the drivers speak their minds (which Max only does, even Martin Brundle likes that about him) instead of being a good MBS/Domenicali puppet....But I was raised with the notion that openness and honesty are good virtues. Maybe that's different on where one lives.

Spot on (!)

[M3WC]

AVERAGE RACE PACE IN CHINA 2026

1 - Mercedes: 1:36.493
2 - Ferrari: 1:37.073 (+0.580s)
3 - Alpine: 1:37.752 (+1.259s)
4 - Haas: 1:37.853 (+1.360s)
5 - Red Bull: 1:38.098 (+1.605s)
6 - Racing Bulls: 1:38.272 (+1.779s)
7 - Audi: 1:38.304 (+1.811s)
8 - Williams: 1:38.921 (+2.427s)
9 - Cadillac: 1:40.004 (+3.511s)

[3798j]

Originally Posted by M3WC

Lets see what he says mid season. When he realizes his only chance to win is maybe Monaco or Singapore.

Ferrari choice to go with small turbo could likely haunt them until 2030.

Tifosi is not going to enjoy Monza.


He should be a in a Ferrari next year.

I'm no crystal ball reader so you may be correct. I just like that these two put in great drives and were pleased.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M3WC

Lets see what he says mid season When he realizes his only chance to win is maybe Monaco or Singapore.

Ferrari choice to go with small turbo could likely haunt them until 2030.

Tifosi is not going to enjoy Monza.


He should be in a Ferrari next year.

It won't even take that long before they both crash in a Ferrari teammate fight.

Note (!)
As I said : Hopefully I'm wrong ..

[M3WC]

Rumor has it Audi is using the largest turbo on the grid. They will have the most potential from upgrades.

If they are granted upgrade under ADUO, Audi thinks their ICE could surpass Merc.

Supposedly they are already finalizing a major upgrade and are just waiting for green light from FIA.

[3798j]

Pierre Gasley...another driver pleased.
"At the restart, for whatever reason, I didn’t have the power when I went on power out of the last corner. So, Ollie passed me very easily. Lost the position there."
“And then the mid-race and all the fighting with the Haas, with Max and all of that, I kind of lost ground a bit on Bearman."
“Once I managed to clear all of them, I think I was a bit more than five seconds behind Max and eight seconds behind Bearman."
"It was quali lap after quali lap. So, on this side it was really enjoyable.”
"I managed to catch up, but I put in my mind ‘I’m getting them no matter where I was’… And in the end I just came short by two seconds. But still a very good day for the team.”

[G30M]

Originally Posted by Marcoose

Michael Masi has entered the chat.

I’m a simple person. I bring out the calculator and add up the points in December, whoever has more points is the worthy winner. I don’t remember the second place drivers. Sure most of them gain advantage here or cheat there or whatever illegal stuff they do in some way, but at the end of the day they just add up the points and life goes on, at least for me.

With Masi the FIA didn’t say anything. Whatever the FIA says stands. Life’s not fair esp if you’re in F1 and someone hits you out of nowhere inc Masi.

[Car-Addicted]

As a guy that attended my first Formula One race at Watkins Glen in 1973, shared my sorrow on a conference call with my Formula One buddies at the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, survived thorough the stupid narrow grooved tires of the 2000's, I have enjoyed the skills of the bravest and the stupidity of the ride buyers. I wouldnt give up on Formula One so easy but lets be honest at the cancer behind this, Formula One is fighting the green tyrants for it's net zero life. If the fans enjoyed this EV crap then Formula E would be suffering declining viewership and manufacturer departures. If there is a sword through the heart of Formula One it will be a globalist with their arrogant self serving hands on the hilt.

[G30M]

Someone was watching all the cars getting weighed and calculated that the Red Bull is 17kg over weight… apparently that’s 0.7s a lap..

[3798j]

"Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur believes his team will be allowed to introduce an upgraded power unit this year as part of Formula 1’s regulations aimed at closing the field up."...Under the Additional Design and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO).
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...upgrade-boost/

[3798j]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

As a guy that attended my first Formula One race at Watkins Glen in 1973...

I was there too...that Saturday, one of the saddest days ever in racing to be sure.
My first was the 1965 USGP, won by Graham Hill.
Here's a photo of Gurney (on his way to 2nd place) in his Brabham about to pass Bandini in his Ferrari.
Where I'm going with this, I've followed F1 since 1963. Some of the formulas and some of the rules and the way they were administered were never to my liking but I'm a fan...I'm not stopping now.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by G30M

Someone was watching all the cars getting weighed and calculated that the Red Bull is 17kg over weight… apparently that’s 0.7s a lap..

The 17 KG are the suitcases on the luggage carrier of the Red Bull RB22 wheelchair.

[Car-Addicted]

Originally Posted by 3798j

I was there too...that Saturday, one of the saddest days ever in racing to be sure.

It's a long time ago but I do remember the tone of the event changed dramatically with the death of Francois Cevert, the stupid frivolity of the bog gave way to quiet contemplation for a least a couple hours. I heard the Cosworth V8 and the Ferrari and BRM 12's for the first time and despite the death of a rising star I came away from that race hooked on Formula one and auto racing in general. Looking back I really wish I would have had a interest in photography back then.

[3798j]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

Looking back I really wish I would have had a interest in photography back then.

The photo I posted is the only one left from that GP...because it was enlarged and framed. Unfortunately the rest were destroyed by the flood of '72.

[Car-Addicted]

I was at our local pistol club last year and one of the guys had the book, Hurricane Agnes in the Wyoming Valley. Amazing pictures and a lot of memories good and bad. Again wish I had a camera as we were on the Black Forest Trail on the Pine Creek Gorge area of Lycoming County. Not ideal

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

As a guy that attended my first Formula One race at Watkins Glen in 1973, shared my sorrow on a conference call with my Formula One buddies at the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, survived thorough the stupid narrow grooved tires of the 2000's, I have enjoyed the skills of the bravest and the stupidity of the ride buyers.

Originally Posted by 3798j

I was there too...that Saturday, one of the saddest days ever in racing to be sure.
My first was the 1965 USGP, won by Graham Hill.
Here's a photo of Gurney (on his way to 2nd place) in his Brabham about to pass Bandini in his Ferrari.
Where I'm going with this, I've followed F1 since 1963. Some of the formulas and some of the rules and the way they were administered were never to my liking but I'm a fan...I'm not stopping now.

Watched it live too on TV: Senna crash, ambulance helicopter, camera that kept rolling, Érik Comas storming towards the accident scene, Senna, clinically dead, getting airlifted. Tragedy.

"In the past, two colleagues died each season. It was generally accepted this could happen." and "The fact that I am still alive after 100,000 laps is my championship." (Jacky Ickx aka Monsieur Le Mans)

DNF (Did Not Finish) and DNS (Did Not Start) at the F1 2026 Chinese GP ? Back in the day, too often "Did Not Survive" happened, unfortunately.

Bandini (1935-1967) and Ickx (1945 and still roaming around at some F1 paddocks, occasionally co-commenting F1 races for Belgian TV): both were Ferrari factory drivers. Bandini tragically died in 1967 following multiple injuries sustained during a crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, while Ickx really came to prominence with Ferrari shortly after, in 1968 and then during his premier Ferrari years from 1970 to 1973. For Ickx, Bandini was a very special person in a "sad list" of drivers lost.

10 minutes worth watching, featuring Ickx making a safety statement at the 1969 Le Mans race, triggering a change:

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by 3798j

"Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur believes his team will be allowed to introduce an upgraded power unit this year as part of Formula 1’s regulations aimed at closing the field up."...Under the Additional Design and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO).
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...upgrade-boost/

From those quotes...Fred seems to know the compression ratio test is likely going to be a nothing-burger. He knows what is ahead, it will be on them to reduce the over .5sec gap.

I hope the FIA is transparent about ADUO and power outputs. Even if an ADUO upgrade is approved, teams cannot just retroactively apply upgrades to current engine(it is sealed). They have to wait until PU2, total of 4 for the year. Races 1-5 FIA would evaluate engine performance, races 5-6 ADUO eligibility is decided. Earliest a team could apply upgrade would be race 7, if they already had an upgrade ready(that would be a gamble with cap cost).

I still have doubts with Ferrari small turbo choice. There will be less headroom, making upgrades to ICE not as impactful. Larger turbo reduces severity of super-clipping, the #1 issue with these regs. Packaging constraints will prevent them from increasing turbo size until next year with a new car.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Watched it live too on TV: Senna crash, ambulance helicopter, camera that kept rolling, Érik Comas storming towards the accident scene, Senna, clinically dead, getting airlifted. Tragedy.

"In the past, two colleagues died each season. It was generally accepted this could happen." and "The fact that I am still alive after 100,000 laps is my championship." (Jacky Ickx aka Monsieur Le Mans)

DNF (Did Not Finish) and DNS (Did Not Start) at the F1 2026 Chinese GP ? Back in the day, too often "Did Not Survive" happened, unfortunately.

Bandini (1935-1967) and Ickx (1945 and still roaming around at some F1 paddocks, occasionally co-commenting F1 races for Belgian TV): both were Ferrari factory drivers. Bandini tragically died in 1967 following multiple injuries sustained during a crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, while Ickx really came to prominence with Ferrari shortly after, in 1968 and then during his premier Ferrari years from 1970 to 1973. For Ickx, Bandini was a very special person in a "sad list" of drivers lost.

10 minutes worth watching, featuring Ickx making a safety statement at the 1969 Le Mans race, triggering a change:

Attachment 3923721

Ickx: ''I'm very grateful to my Guardian Angel''.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

The 17 KG are the suitcases on the luggage carrier of the Red Bull RB22 wheelchair.

Also the leather straps to buckle them down

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Artemis

Watched it live too on TV: Senna crash, ambulance helicopter, camera that kept rolling, Érik Comas storming towards the accident scene, Senna, clinically dead, getting airlifted. Tragedy.

"In the past, two colleagues died each season. It was generally accepted this could happen." and "The fact that I am still alive after 100,000 laps is my championship." (Jacky Ickx aka Monsieur Le Mans)

DNF (Did Not Finish) and DNS (Did Not Start) at the F1 2026 Chinese GP ? Back in the day, too often "Did Not Survive" happened, unfortunately.

Bandini (1935-1967) and Ickx (1945 and still roaming around at some F1 paddocks, occasionally co-commenting F1 races for Belgian TV): both were Ferrari factory drivers. Bandini tragically died in 1967 following multiple injuries sustained during a crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, while Ickx really came to prominence with Ferrari shortly after, in 1968 and then during his premier Ferrari years from 1970 to 1973. For Ickx, Bandini was a very special person in a "sad list" of drivers lost.

10 minutes worth watching, featuring Ickx making a safety statement at the 1969 Le Mans race, triggering a change:

Attachment 3923721

The Belgian Jacky Ickx is a living legend (!)

Wonder what he thinks about the 2026 F1 cars ...