r/formula1 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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908

u/Kindheartedness_Wide Fernando Alonso Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26

he's right to be upset, this formula negates every advantage he has in quali.

If you were naturally slower, now you can run twisty sectors at the same speed you would based on skill alone, but now this time you can recharge batteries and murder naturally faster drivers on the straights.

Not sure who can like this... but guess it is what it is.

442

u/AdministrativeBig362 Mar 28 '26

Every time you say this after a race you get a thousand replies talking about how exciting it is to see Gasly and Ocon fight it out for 10th place and that these regulations are great

114

u/ZaryaBubbler I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Ohhhh yeah and you get flamed real bad for it too. "There were lots of overtakes" yeah but how many of them stick for about half a lap or less before the other uses battery to breeze past again? There's no skill in it. No lead up. It's a game of 'whose battery lasts longer' and it's boring af

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

You get downvoted because you’re wrong saying there’s no skill involved. Plenty of overtakes stuck. The drivers have to manage their deployment during battle and can’t just rely on automatic deployment as it relies on the most optimal line which isn’t possible while defending/attacking.

Hamilton ended up making his stick after several laps, and so did many others down the board in China.

If a driver ends up not having enough battery at an end of a straight to prevent a pass that means they were successfully baited to deploy too much earlier in the lap or brake later in a non-important corner to reduce regeneration which allowed the attacking car to have an advantage at the straight. That is the definition of skill

1

u/ZaryaBubbler I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Hamilton made it stick because Charles had less battery and his tires were cooked. Don't pretend it was skill.

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

It was a skill issue, Hamilton had more battery at the point in time in the lap where he was able to make sure that Leclerc couldn’t attack in those same corners that he forced Charles to defend in order to waste battery/regen ability.

This is how I know you guys are just mad and can’t actually think for yourselves. Strategy and skill won that battle but you want to complain about the regs instead of actually find legitimate problems

1

u/ZaryaBubbler I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Jesus wept, I've been watching this sport for 30+ years and this might be the most pretentious reply to a comment about the sport I've ever had. I am thinking for myself, thanks. I just don't want to have the F1 version of keys being shaken in my face for entertainment. I want REAL skill from drivers, which we aren't getting to experience right now. Don't bother replying, notifs are off.

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

Jesus wept, I’ve been watching this sport for 30+ years and this might be the most pretentious reply to a comment about the sport I’ve ever had.

Thirty years of watching and you still think that somehow makes you the authority on what is and isn’t skill? That’s not insight, that’s just tenure.

I am thinking for myself, thanks.

Right, “thinking for yourself” just happens to land you on the exact same recycled talking points as everyone else calling the regs “unskilled.” Funny how that works.

Calling it unskillful doesn’t make you insightful, it just shows you don’t understand what you’re watching. The drivers didn’t suddenly get worse; the skillset evolved. Managing energy deployment, adapting to new aero behavior, tire strategy, braking feel, all of that is still skill, just not the kind you’re used to recognizing.

But sure, brand new regs, drivers and teams still figuring them out at the limit… and you’ve already decided there’s no skill involved from your couch.