2026 Motorsports Season

Is it a one off fluke, that Gasley somehow performed so much better at this particular track, or has the Alpine car finally been substantially improved?
It's one of the sad things about possibly never seeing a drivers true potential recognized, just because they have a lousy car. Their F1 career is sometimes over before it really gets started. If you put Kimi, Norris, or Max in an Alpine, would they still win races? If you put Gasley in a Mercedes, McLaren, or Red Bull, would he be winning races? I feel for drivers like Alonso, who has proven his skills, but is now stuck in a problematic car.

Ferrari Fred has a chance to shine, or be tar and feathered, depending on his strategy for the Monza race. Some very poor strategy decisions have lost the team top finishes in the past. It could happen again, unless Lewis see's the folly, and does his own thing. Hopefully they provided him with a car that can compete.

WTF? The Italian grand prix, in front of Kimi's home fans, and Mercedes do a power unit swap and force him to start from the back? Fitting a fifth new power unit exceeded his seasonal limit, and triggered a back-of-the-grid start I questioned why here, of all races? Winning Monza would have given Kimi the status similar to a sainthood...😇
Toto's explanation was, Monza's long straights make it one of the easiest circuits on the calendar to pull off a recovery drive from the back of the grid. The high-speed nature of the track suits the Mercedes power unit, helping Antonelli slice back through the field.
I worry that Antonelli just barely 20 years old, may become reckless in his desire to prove himself. Lawson who was was similarlily penalized and having to start at the back, could make the young guns run to the front quite interesting.
 
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Kimi showed his amazing driving skills, but was so lucky he didn't plant the car in the gravel in his off.
I think George was a bit miffed, but who knows what would have happened if he'd stopped for tires. Mercedes finishing first and second was important to the team.
Shame Gasley's car didn't have the race pace needed, as I enjoy seeing the underdogs finishing well in a race.
Leclerc looked pretty rattled after his crash. I be he'll be sore for awhile.. Hope he's OK.
https://www.planetf1.com/news/charles-leclerc-additional-checks-vision-problems-monza-crash
 
Madrid shouldl be an challenging 5.4 km street circuit with 47% of the lap in a turn. 20 corners might make for a hard track to pass, but there are some high speed sections, that might help if a driver can use the slip stream. Be interesting to see who manage the power keeping the battery charged.

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Was reading about the track as it is new for F-1
based on dirvers sim runs and an F-3 test its going to be a tough one
19 red flags in f-3 race. hi speed blind turns with close walls,
off camber braking areas,
fast but like Monaco, mistakes will be costly and will be hard to pass
hope its a good race, could mess with points depending who crashes and who doesn't

we will all know more tomorrow after FP-1 wish I could watch thaat
needa TV in my truck :unsure:
 
1 – Lando Norris McLaren 1:31.824
2 – Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:31.835
3 – Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:31.964
4 – Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:32.013
5 – Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:32.019
6 – George Russell Mercedes 1:32.149
7 – Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:32.294
8 – Liam Lawson Red Bull 1:32.316
9 – Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:32.903
10 – Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:33.041
11 – Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:33.223
12 – Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:33.388
13 – Esteban Ocon Haas 1:33.667
14 – Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:33.753
15 – Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls 1:34.084
16 – Alex Albon Williams 1:35.532
18 – Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:35.388
18 – Sergio Perez Cadillac 1:35.913
19 – Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:38.011
20 – Carlos Sainz Williams 1:35.312 (three-place grid penalty)
21 – Lance Stroll Aston Martin NO TIME (grid penalty, power unit)
22 – Ollie Bearman Haas NO TIME (crash damage)
 
I like the Madrid track, very different,
tight, fast and make a mistake and pay..

Drivers still figuring it out, not many passing opportunities
There will be some flags and like cautions tomorrow,
turn 1 and 2 are tight, be surprise if no crash first or 2nd lap.

Strategies will matter
 
Who allows a new track to be added to F1 that has so few overtaking opportunities? It's ridiculous. Ok rant over.

Lando was very unlucky with the VSC.

I was amused on the podium how the lady who is CEO of Tag Heuer and the Chair of the Spanish Auto association were trapped on the left hand side of the podium as the champagne is about to start spraying with nowhere to go. He makes a run for it and gets covered, she stays put and only got a little wet!!
 
Mcdavis said:
Who allows a new track to be added to F1 that has so few overtaking opportunities? It's ridiculous. Ok rant over.

Lando was very unlucky with the VSC.

I was amused on the podium how the lady who is CEO of Tag Heuer and the Chair of the Spanish Auto association were trapped on the left hand side of the podium as the champagne is about to start spraying with nowhere to go. He makes a run for it and gets covered, she stays put and only got a little wet!!
Click to expand...
I actually enjoyed the cool down room, when lady told Lando he could not drink a Coke
because they were not a sponsor. Lando replied.
" I Just did a hard race, I will drink what I want"
That has gone Viral, you know Coke loves it,
me thinks Maclaren has new sponsorship deal potential :ROFLMAO:
 
Mcdavis said:
Who allows a new track to be added to F1 that has so few overtaking opportunities? It's ridiculous. Ok rant over.

Lando was very unlucky with the VSC.

I was amused on the podium how the lady who is CEO of Tag Heuer and the Chair of the Spanish Auto association were trapped on the left hand side of the podium as the champagne is about to start spraying with nowhere to go. He makes a run for it and gets covered, she stays put and only got a little wet!!
Click to expand...
Yes, there is a good chance the layout of the track will be changed for future races. There was some good mid pack racing but passing was extremely risky, and there were only a few who actually braved it. Amazed there weren't more cautions.

Talk about timing..sheesh... Lando's not the first one to lose out on a VSC though. He accepted that it was, what it was, but you could see how much it was bothering him.
Stroll must be thankful his team's cars are such crap this season, as he would look far worse without their issues as an excuse. Seems so unfair to Alonso though, he's better than the car will allow him to be.
Tsunoda, with all his F1 experience, and driving a pretty good car, still can't seem to perform. There must be a better driver waiting in the Red Bull wings that could be given an opportunity. If Hadjar is out the next race, it would be good opportunity to test out an up-and-comer.
Look at how well Bearman did as a fill in driver in for Ferrari a couple years back. I believe he would have had better results since he got a full time drive, if he was in a decent car.
There's no denying that although Max may not be quite as hungry as he once was, he is still a remarkable driver..
 
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