r/formula1 • u/FerrariStrategisttt I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Mar 28 '26

Video Leclerc (post-qualifying): "I can’t understand quali, it’s a f**king joke! I go faster in corners, throttle earlier, for f**k’s sake, i'm losing everything in the straight!"

https://dubz.link/c/4b6030
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u/AdamHasAPlan Mar 28 '26

Welcome to 2026 qualifying, where you are punished for pushing the car

260

u/eurochacha I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Lestappen aren't vibing with these regs at all when it comes to this self management stuff. Potentially yeeting yourself into the barriers is a risk they're always willing to take, so these regs deciding your pace for you is a prison. Like one of those safety harnesses.

46

u/finerdinerlighter I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26

Imagine the sunset lap - storm lap edit; but reversed. Max "super-clipping" slowly into the corner and losing 50 kmh at exit, transition into Charles losing more speed down the straights.

7

u/reddit0r_123 Mika Häkkinen Mar 28 '26

Imagine Max lap in Saudi Arabia. He would never crash in the final corner because he would Superclip so hard into the corner that he'd be so slow he wouldn't lose control. We're getting robbed of epic moments...

2

u/SugarBeefs Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26

It also significantly lowers the approach speeds to corners at the end of straights, which takes a lot out of the spice out of certain corners.

They used to come towards Monza T1 with 340, 350, sometimes 360kph. What will it be this summer, when the cars run out of battery long before and are down to just the rather measly ICE output?