F1 2026 - Watchalong Thread

[Brazilianadventure]

Happy New Year.

This is going to be an interesting year with the regulation change.

Rumours are Mercedes and RB engines are exploiting a loophole and so may have the most powerful engines.

AM will have a car with significant input from Adrian Newey.

Sauber becomes Audi and we have an 11th team, Cadillac.

Christian Horner seems very keen to get back into F1, preferably Alpine with Flávio - they deserve each other.

There is closed door testing in Barcelona then open testing from 11 February at Sakhir.

Edited for typo and thread title.

Urghhh....yawn....morning!

McLarens have made it to the grid....🙏

Loving Jack Black

See I’m finding Jack Black irritating. It feels like a performance rather than genuine. To much “look at me, I’m cookie” for me.

That was a hard wake up!

Oh yeah I agree - i didn't set that alarm to watch Jack Black!!

I know he isn’t popular on here but I was rooting for George here and that was bad timing,

Ollie is limping so I hope he is ok. At least there is a long break for recovery.

Unlucky for OP as well , he had a good start

Aston Martin finished a race!

That was an enjoyable race, didn’t become a precession and there was racing til the end all the way down the grid.

No champers for Kimi! 🤭

Boring race but encouraging to see three different teams on the podium. Still not a fan of the new power units and boost set ups.
I'm not sure george is going to like playing second fiddle to a teenager though.
Nice to see a bit of orange back on the podium.
And Alonso finished a race!

Ollie's accident has really unsettled me. The drivers were already twitchy about the new regulations and now this happens. I don't like it.

I think over the weekend quite a few of the drivers have voiced their concerns. Maybe time for the FIA to step in and do some about it.
Not sure how true maxs comments were, but when he says the cars aren't drivable and it's no longer racing- then there's something wrong.

The problem is Max always says the car is undriveable. Start of last year he said it a lot when the set up wasn’t right.

The crash does need looking into - there shouldn’t be such a speed differential and on a street circuit the outcome would be a lot worse as there isn’t a run off area.

I disagree it was a boring race - they was actual racing right to the end through out the grid, so it didn’t become a precession. The new cars are definitely more agile and there is less of a dirty air issue so they can follow much closer.

Boost button isn’t pure racing but neither was DRS, at least the defending driver also gets to use the button so it becomes more of a strategic battle.

So, for a few races into a major reg change the car looks good, there needs to be a change with the battery charging/deployment - which I think will come out over the next few weeks to be in play after the summer break.

Apparently Max raised issues about the upcoming new regulations in 2023? (I dont know what)
I saw a quote from Ollie Bearman that they had discussed potential safety concerns, at a meeting on Friday (before the race)

Interesting news about GP moving to McLaren - but not until 2028. Will he go on gardening leave? Have another none car/race role in redbull untill then? And what will happen to Max?

At least something to talk about in the mini-break.

GP moving on may (or not) be related to Max's post race interview in Japan. Not loving it enough to carry on after this season.

We've just been discussing this over lunch ds has been a MV fan since the start and is concerned he may leave (but actually said a few weeks ago it might be his last season). He's so glad we're going to Hungary this year as said it might be his only chance to see him.
We were wondering about the garden leave. Or can they continue to work but be kept out of anything to do with the future? .

DS says there have been discussions about Max going to McLaren. He is a huge RBR fan.
We are going to Zandvoort so I am so pleased he will get to see him race again.

I saw something else about Andrea Stella going (back) to Ferrari, but havent seen as an official statement.

And is Jonathan Wheatley definitely at AM...? Or going there? Hes left Audi but AM havent confirmed either way

Thanks for the news about GP. I do think it’s quite common for team members to move teams. However, I agree it may be connected to Max potentially leaving F1.

I always feel conflicted about Max as in the car he is an exceptional driver who occasionally and unnecessarily makes dodgy moves when he doesn’t have to. It’s that element I don’t like.

However, off track he comes over as a good person and a straight talker. He is a new Dad and I think he loves being at home with the family and doing sim racing etc.

He has nothing to prove and moving to other motor sports with purer racing may be what he chooses.

I agree. I think hes more settled now he has a new baby.
He has his finger in other pies so I think he'll stay with racing in some form but not one which takes him away from family for lengthy periods.

I hope it works out for GP . I can't imagine they'll let him work on the car next year so agree this will be his last season with Red Bull.

I have to admit that I get annoyed by all of the hype surrounding Max . He keeps threatening to leave, has done for years. I think they only answer to that is "ok". He's not bigger than the sport

Lovely to see Dorianne Pin complete a test for Mercedes. And apparently George & Kimi went along to support her.

Sad news from the Nurburgring crash this afternoon. Reminder that motor sports is dangerous.

very sad. RIP Juha Miettinen

Such sad news.