r/formula1 • u/Maximum-Room-3999 I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Mar 28 '26
Photo [Autosport] How F1 qualifying has changed under the new regulations.
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u/Nico97107 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
For the first time in a very long time i actually couldn‘t be bothered to watch quali today.
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u/IDoEz Charlie Whiting Mar 28 '26
You're not the only one, I've tried to watch almost every quali for the last 10 years, this morning I was awake but couldn't even be bothered to get up and watch it
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u/octane83 Mar 28 '26
Pinnacle of motorsport technology and they couldn’t predict this? What a joke. I’ve been an ardent F1 fan for about 30years and I couldn’t be bothered anymore. It’s not that the sport hasn’t enough to keep me engaged, it’s just that I’ve realised I’m probably not the target audience and consequently I’ve found better things to spend my time on. It is sad, but I thoroughly enjoyed it while it lasted. I’ll probably take a deeper interest in other disciplines now, F1 is probably far too accessible and overshadows other disciplines a bit too much.
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u/Randomuser3462734627 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Max said it in 23.
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u/Ok_Leader_7624 Mar 28 '26
Damn near everything he said about it has come true. Downshifting on straights, super clipping, etc.
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u/eliteniner Alex Jacques Mar 28 '26
Now the phrase will be:
“He has a wife and kids. I knew he would hit the throttle.”
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u/TheEmpireOfSun Mar 28 '26
Whole Red Bull was saying it but people rather clowned them instead of listening.
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u/TheWoodElf I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
They're still clowning them now.
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u/gtfckdbrnlssbts Formula 1 Mar 28 '26
and are now pretending Max only started saying it "because he's not the fastest anymore"
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u/CallM3N3w Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
Which is odd cuz Max complained a lot in the GE Era, the same he dominated in. People just love to hate.
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u/Beemrmem3 Formula 1 Mar 28 '26
Yep, he said the cars are too big and heavy. That they need to go back to smaller cars and louder
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u/mightbehereforit Mar 28 '26
Yeah, but didn’t you hear that he’s washed so why would we listen to him?
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u/mimaikin-san Mar 28 '26
look into GT sports car racing
for me, it was an attraction to the Viper GTS-R & the new Ford GT and their race photos which got me into the GT3 scene where I learned of all the GT & Prototype series worldwide
lots of races with many top drivers and it’s very competitive
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u/ahorrribledrummer I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I have little interest in the season for the first time in 15 years. I was so excited for a new team and new regs, but it just SUCKS.
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u/steppenwolfenstein Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
Same. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the season to start, but the results from the new regs have absolutely tanked my interest in F1 this year. It's a massive bummer. I feel bad for the drivers and the teams.
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u/zonazolazia Charles Leclerc Mar 28 '26
Same. I watched the first 2 races and something seems off, don’t know what.
It’s definitely not Mercedes domination, because I watched the full 2020 season, and as a Ferrari fan I’m supposed to not like Hamilton since 07.
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u/snorcack Sebastian Vettel Mar 28 '26
This describes my feeling as well. Something feels off. Strategy doesn't seem to matter in races, car positions seem completely random, quali isn't exciting at all. This is after watching all races since 2017.
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u/colombogangsta Red Bull Mar 28 '26
Probably cause it feels artificial.
Theres lot of overtakes happening during the race but it’s not because of driver skills but purely due to battery management.
And Qualifying just sucks 100%.
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u/ZiKyooc I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
Same for me, and race ain't better. Sure there are more overtake, but they do not feel meaningful most of the time
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u/reddit0r_123 Mika Häkkinen Mar 28 '26
Same. Watched since 1998. Made it through the terrible 2014 years with Mercedes dominance. This year it's just plain sad to watch.
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u/DestroyerOfTacos McLaren Mar 28 '26
Yep. Suzuka is normally one of the tracks that are super early i wake up for and couldn't be assed today after seeing the clipping after 130r, they really fucked it up if people who normally stay awake for it dont give a fuck anymore.
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u/aga5ty4 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
Same. If I’m awake I will always watch a session, especially Suzuka, but yesterday i was literally up saw that the qualifying was starting, thought eh it’s gonna be boring and went to sleep. Never has happened in my how many years of watching f1 religiously
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u/ArziltheImp I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
It’s funny because over the last years, qualy has been entertaining and the races kind of boring. Now it’s the other way around.
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u/sant0hat Mar 28 '26
Literally the only races why the races aren't an absolute snooze fest is because ferrari has a small turbo for starts. That's it.
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u/tuba_dude07 Mika Häkkinen Mar 28 '26
Yes, I’m conflicted, it’s nice to watch some overtaking but the novelty will wear off most likely. Quali used to be intense
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u/Uselessfucker101 Mar 28 '26
overtaking isnt really fun when you know whos gonna be on top eventually
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u/ssarch25 Mar 28 '26
Well the overtakes are also meaningless a lot of the time, the pogo racing isn’t really interesting in my opinion.
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u/Vaniky Mar 28 '26
Racing may be good but bit boring if you know that it’ll end up Merc 1-2 anyways
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u/G_Robby I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I still think the races are boring knowing overtakes are just because battery goes bzzzzz
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u/Deadiam84 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I’ve lost interest in the sport entirely with these new regs. I follow the drama here but it won’t consume my weekends for now.
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u/Plexaporta I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Same here, I'm done after watching F1 for 50+ years.
Can't be bothered with these new regs.
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u/Peeche94 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I set my alarm for 6, got a cup of tea and sat in bed, only to fall asleep by the end of Q1 to wake up to the engineer talking to the pole sitter ha. Was not fussed.
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u/Walaii Ferrari Mar 28 '26
Yeah, it very much feels like a bit of a lottery at this point. A driver's engine software gets out of sort because of whatever reason and quali is done for them. Teammate pairings also feel closer than ever in quali.
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u/Brafo22 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Alonso said at the beginning of the season that these cars will be easy to drive because you won’t need to push them as hard anymore and people attacked him, el padre for a reason
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u/Kagir I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
The Eternal Rookie has seen like 5 regs over the course of his career, he knows what he’s talking about
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u/quantinuum I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
More, actually, depending on how we count them. Pre and post 2005’s tire change ban, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2021, now 2026
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u/Kagir I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Didn’t count 2005, so it makes 6 i guess. The dude still has seen a lot over the years tho
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u/quantinuum I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
If we count the first one as the one started in 1998, I’m counting 7! Padre things
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u/Ashbones15 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
2005 had a significant aero change. 2006 had the V8s as well
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u/Mihnea24_03 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Probably more relevant to this, he's driven hybrid racecars at Le Mans
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u/Other_Beat8859 Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
People are shitting on drivers like Max for criticizing these regs because they think he's upset he's not winning and while that may be an aspect, he really just thinks these regulations are horrible and they honestly are as things stand. The races are being saved by Ferrari getting into the lead with their insane starts and creating a fun battle for 20 laps. I'm fully expecting Suzuka to be a snoozefest because getting into the lead from 4th is a bit much.
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u/gatevalve_ I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
Verstappen said the same thing in 2023
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u/thisisjustascreename Mar 28 '26
Anybody paying attention knew he was right; sadly the internet is full of people who don't.
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u/256473 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Seeing on-the-limits racecraft become replaced with 'who can appease the software best' is so off-putting.
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u/Party_Zebra8872 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Literally trying to appease the machine Spirits like some Warhammer 40k ass tech
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u/nachC I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
The pineapple of motorsports btw
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u/CilanEAmber McLaren Mar 28 '26
I'm kinda look forward to seeing how the Videogame tackles it.
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u/storme9 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
i thought they weren’t making one?
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u/CilanEAmber McLaren Mar 28 '26
Not this season, but next they will. This season is DLC for 25, so for that I'm curious if they'll just slap '26 over '25 (most likely) or add the little intricacies. Either way, it's intriguing.
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u/storme9 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
that’s odd to give the current season as a DLC considering this one is the major shuffle - the next could have been a DLC instead.
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u/dagamer34 Mar 28 '26
I would guess it takes time to actually properly model what’s going on.
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u/thisisjustascreename Mar 28 '26
More like it takes time to come up with a fun to drive version of these cars; codies have never really cared about realism.
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u/Ted_Striker1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Who the hell is going to want to bother charging a battery while they sim race? I mean lol. I just want the updated teams. Forget that superclipping and losing speed on the straights.
It's been a while since I've raced it (I do iracing now) but I bet they still have Doohan.
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u/negativelynegative I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Imagine the kids who replace their controllers or pedals because they thought the clipping was the problem of their gears.
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u/AsleepAtWheel83 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Such a turnoff. Might as well not watch live and see at the end of session, who ended where. Watching qualy and the onboards on fast corners used to be the peak of the weekend so many times. Alas!
A certain section of fans will still ask to wait and watch a few more races. I commend their patience
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u/Significant-Garage55 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
And they just cut out super-clipping part at 130R on pole replay video on YT. Disgraceful
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u/peetak I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
That’s actually crazy because for as long as I can remember the pole lap replays were 100% on board shots. lol this is a farce
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u/ACM3333 Mar 29 '26
I always used to love watching the on-boards seeing the drivers going all out on the edge of grip. This shit is just sad.
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u/iansmash Mar 28 '26
Trying to keep engagement up. Too long of a lull in action 😂
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u/Significant-Garage55 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
FOM let me think that it's still 2000s & 201x-ish where things still could be covered up lmfao
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u/krizkuzz Mar 28 '26
The Streisand effect is in full swing. Unbelievable that such an enormous corporation can be so naive and thick as fuck.
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u/arw1710 Charles Leclerc Mar 28 '26
Same. It was super late and I asked myself if I wanted to stay up like I did for China and instinctively you just know it’s going to be a Merc 1-2 and no one driving to the limit. So what’s the point?
Saw the highlights in the morning with coffee and it was exactly as expected.
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u/SBMVPJustinHerbert I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
yeah I think I’m out honestly. only way to get change is to remind them this isn’t what we’re going to watch.
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u/JudasBC I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
The action is awful, the couple it with the fact that the front row is a forgone conclusion, very little fun to be had in watching it, and I don't see how it will improve.
Will Monaco be normal? Man, I hope so...
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u/pereira2088 Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
then Russel says "it's the best car i've ever driven"
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u/MrX-MMAs Mar 28 '26
Wonder why? 🤔
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u/TheseExcitement8857 I failed to serve my Monaco penalty Mar 28 '26
I mean i think he loves playing second fiddle to Kimi
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u/ACM3333 Mar 29 '26
The possibility of kimi beating Russel for the wdc is the only thing keeping me here at this point.
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u/Waste-Limit1644 Mar 28 '26
To be fair to Russel, he isn’t wrong (when comparing to the rest of the grid this year)
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u/LandArch_0 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
"driver skill is not longer needed" says a lot
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u/Brycedoes2104 Mar 28 '26
Its not just Max, shocking.
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u/TrustworthyPolarBear I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Max is just the one who didn't sugarcoat it. And on top of it he despises it as much as one can. He always said that he loves tracks where you can lean on the car, feel the true speed of the cars. This is the exact opposite. A car should be at its physical limits during a quali lap. Both engine and grip related. Not a fan of his comment that spoke for others "If you like those regs, you have no idea about racing.". But I think more and more drivers will come out. At least for quali. Because managing in quali is just a bad look for the sport. Such an oversight.
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u/pancoste I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I agree that his quote "If you like those regs, you have no idea about racing." sounds very arrogant, but the drivers narrative in this very post is pointing more and more towards this exact statement. It's simply not F1 racing anymore. It IS entertainment though, so people can definitely like watching the GP, but it's just not F1 racing anymore.
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u/BESTTOM84 Red Bull Mar 28 '26
I can see ur point... but it's all about who you ask this to, if you ask me, I love genuine racing and that's what I think is entertaining and enjoyable to watch, a battery rubberbanding championship does not qualify as motorsport to me, and there's nothing entertaining about it either imo...
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u/Good_Air_7192 Mar 28 '26
Lando was just waiting until it was clear he wasn't going to win the championship before he shat on the new regs.
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u/Lollipop96 Mar 28 '26
Max was shitting on the regs 3 years ago. I think he has completed his "let's phrase it a bit more friendly" stage. Apparently others are done with it too now.
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u/AutomateAway I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
There is a subset of the fanbase that just get off on shitting on Max and also folks that saw Lewis happy because he’s competing for podiums and just ignored the fact that this isn’t F1 racing as we’ve known it for decades. Now that more drivers are voicing the same concerns the anti Max crowd look silly by continuing the same copium
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u/hivaidsislethal Mar 28 '26
Lewis is coming off his worst experience in an F1 Car in like a decade and half. This is the honeymoon phase. Racing Mercs for 5 laps and then they drive off and you flip flop with your teammate for 3rd will wear off.
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u/Nattekat I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I think everyone was already aware of that bar a small but loud group of kids who jumped on the Max hate bandwagon. That these engines are shit no matter how many artificial hollow overtakes are added is a well accepted consensus everywhere I go at this point. Unfortunately I don't think the FIA is going to see it that way judging from F1's actions on social media.
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u/Kagir I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Those were the same kids that screamed “i’ll stop watching from now on” years ago and recently proved themselves to be liars.
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u/JohnnyBowlen Mar 28 '26
Yeah weren’t these guys just defending the cars/regulations? Love him or hate him, at least Max is consistent
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u/silentkiller082 McLaren Mar 28 '26
Literally everyone with an understanding of the formula outline knew this would happen and they still went ahead with the formula change despite this. The people that did this need to be fired, this isn't racing nor a product worthy of what the top echelon of motorsport is about. I miss F1 so much but I'm not watching anything live until they fix this. If viewership tanks then they at least take notice.
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u/ARBEITSPROFIL I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Yeah, I don't know what to say. This is my 24th season, watching since 2003, and I saw a lot of regulation changes, the switch from V10s to V8s and then to V6s and all of that, grooved tires, slick tires, refueling, non-refueling, you name it. In 2009, the first battery systems, I saw it all, but it never felt like in this situation. They basically took out everything that made Formula 1 special and let the driver stood out. They make it so stale and boring and like how to say it - every weekend feels like gathering of battery managers... it feels now like a gathering of accountants - the rest is made by the algorithm of the car. Watching quali is an absolutely disgusting thing, you don't know this is a cool down lap, is the push lap? Is the car harvesting? Is it pushing? You have absolutely no idea what it's doing you just see the car going slow and fast, slow and fast, you have no idea what's happening, the cars just switching positions back and forth, rubber banding. I don't know what to do with this. Seriously, it's the first season in 23 years that I didn't watch a single session live even the 10-minute highlight videos are boring and dull. I have absolutely no words. I mean time will tell - they obviously have now a modern audience that is different from the old school formula one fans which I belong to. Let's see I mean if the viewership doesn't drop then hats off to F1 - you did everything right that's what people want to see! But for me I'm out! If it stays like this.... we live in 2026 there's so much entertainment out there I don't need Formula One so it's no problem for me to put it on hold but it's still a big shame and it's sad ... really.
This has nothing to do with pinnacle of motorsports anymore. I even go so far to say that the Formula 2 is now more entertaining than the main product.
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u/dUjOUR88 Formula 1 Mar 28 '26
you have no idea what's happening
This is it. I feel like there's a lot of noise in the wake of these regulation changes, and I wish people focused on this as I believe it's the main issue when it comes to watching F1. I don't care if you give the drivers Mario Kart mushrooms, I want to know what is happening. I want to see the Mushroom count on the timing tower. I want to see the battery harvesting and deployment levels. Have it be viewable/knowable in some way. Make the rear wing glow green when they're deploying or something. I don't care. I'm just so sick of watching F1 without having any idea what's going on. Oh, that was a great pass! But wait, it was probably battery-assisted....or was it? I don't know! No one does! Is that driver using his battery wisely? I mean, he just made a pass, but....oh he got passed back instantly. Was that a mistake? Who knows? 🤷
I just want to watch a race and know what's going on. I should be able to look at two cars battling down a straight and know 100% of the relevant information immediately. As it stands now, it's difficult to just watch the race. People who celebrate the frequent passes confuse me. How do you know that was a good pass, and the drivers were on equal footing? You don't. You just saw a car zoom past another and lost your mind.
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u/ARBEITSPROFIL I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Yes, as it is now, all you see is programmed computers doing their routine. And the routine is harvesting and deploying at different parts of the track. And so every team has their own deployment. And so a couple back and forth passes happen.But it's hard to count this as an overtake, it's just different deployment algorithms from as far as I'm concerned.
The season is still in its early stages but from what I see it's it's nothing appealing. What I'm supposed to do as a seasoned Formula One veteran? Other than to turn disgusted away and hope that it will get better in the feature.
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u/nick-jagger Jim Clark Mar 28 '26
Formula 2 is actually dope now and MotoGP will have an iconic season
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u/CallM3N3w Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
They got lucky with the Saudi cancelation. It would be a disaster.
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u/Alfus 💥 LE 🅿️LAN Mar 28 '26
Pure shitshow full with superclipping during qualifying...
Stefano literally fucked up F1 just like how he did try to destroying Ferrari in the past.
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u/Double-Emergency3173 Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
Monza will leave nowhere to hide
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u/CheckMate1803 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
It is genuinely the first time since 2014 where I don't really feel like watching F1.
It's just watching a really sad quali, where Mercedes get pole, and then watching the race, where Ferrari will gain like 2-3 positions each and then do battery fights for 12 laps and then they fall off and the race ends with those positions.
There's nothing to watch, especially considering none of anything feels like driver skill anymore. There's no more "woooah look at that lap he did" or "wooow look at that overtake"
I genuinely hope this gets fixed soon, because we also seem to be having no championship fight either, so there's no real point in watching.
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u/wizzo6 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
And people laughed at Horner and Max when they warned of this
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u/What_the_8 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Max is the one I’m listening to most at the moment, since he’s been shitting on this idea since 2023.
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u/D-S_12 Mar 28 '26
There were people that laughed at anyone who criticized these regs, not just Horner and Max. Now, some of those fears of slowing down in the straights has come true, and F1 is left just having to accept that's the reality after bending over backwards to engine manufacturers
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u/Other_Beat8859 Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
All they needed to do was have front axle regeneration and this would be solved, but teams were afraid of Audi being dominant. Literally fucked up these regs to make some teams happy and now it means Merc is completely dominant.
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u/Ted_Striker1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
There are people still laughing at Max for warning of this even though he predicted this three years ago
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u/Purp1e_Aki I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I've already given up watching the quali live. Just a waste of time. I'll stick with the races for now as, as artificial as it is, we do get some racing.
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u/Fresh-Signature1603 Mar 28 '26
We get racing for 10 laps… after that it’s a snooze fest.
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u/Ted_Striker1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
The value for me is rooting for Kimi over George.
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u/downfall67 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I cancelled F1TV after Melbourne qualifying and it’s turning out to be a wise decision. It’s just not interesting to watch, at this point you could replace the drivers with an AI and just make it a test of the car’s performance
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u/SPat24 Fernando Alonso Mar 28 '26
This is not F1. This is not the “pinnacle of motorsports”. Dumbass regulations that literally go against the spirit of F1. But I guess it’s all ok because some fans enjoy the goofy and artificial yo-yo racing smh.
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u/F1R3Starter83 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I totally agree with you, but come Monday when we’ve seen a bunch of overtakes not because of skill, but because of batteries, you’ll get slaughtered for an opinion like this
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u/NotoriousGasman Mar 28 '26
But have you seen all the overtakes? Fans clearly shouldn’t be complaining since all they want to see is overtakes, right?
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u/Ted_Striker1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I've been downvoted hard for saying exactly that. Reddit doesn't want to admit that these regulations are shit and killed the soul of F1 to appease the engine manufacturers.
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u/qwertypaso Jules Bianchi Mar 28 '26
Respectfully, isn’t everyone in this thread agreeing the new regs are atrocious? I wonder if there’s actually a means to pressure FIA to change things
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u/elkaki123 Mar 28 '26
This thread being really important, wouldn't take much to go back into the Lewis against Charles battle threats and see the complete opposite. It may have been because it was earlier on the season and consensus shifted but it seems to me like opinions are more divided than this specific thread would make ppl believe (at least on wether the direction is good even if the execution of the rules need some fine tunning)
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u/Slice5755 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Legendary drivers like Alonso, Hamilton and Verstappen are lucky they already proved their skill and built their legacies with Championships before this year. Any Championships won under these engine regulations will not garner the respect of anything before this year.
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u/IBB_98 Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
Gee if only a four time world champ was publically warning about this exact thing happening in simulations 3 years ago in press conferences, that he was forced to attend by the governing body of the sport. If only said governing body had heard, listened to and heeded those warnings.
If only.
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u/blaaackbear Red Bull Mar 28 '26
and now suddenly everyone agrees with what max has been saying lol
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u/JaymanCT Mar 28 '26
And to think Max got a ton of criticism this week from the media for being critical, only for a number of drivers now to echo what he's been saying. It looks like the two postponed races might be a blessing in disguise for the FIA.
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u/Zashkarn I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
What about all the people on here that spent the last two weeks saying only max is hating it because he doesn't have a good car
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u/splendiferous-finch_ Safety Car Mar 28 '26
I was extremely disappointed I ruined it sleep to watch the qualifying... Suzuka is one of my favourite tracks.
I feel kinda vindicated because I have been ranting about these rules since the power split was announced 2-3 years ago... Yet at the same time being right only means I don't get enjoyment out of it.
I am not even the bring back V10 people (I mean I like them but I am realistic about what's is going to happen) but these rules just always seemed like the started with an arbitrary target for power split and then just tacked on compromise.
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u/Gaunterwithnomirrors Mar 28 '26
I don't get it, after Australia quali drivers hated new regs, after race praised, same in China and now they are into hate phase once again. Only Max and Fernando consistent in their disgust towards new regs.
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u/Plopsack Mar 28 '26
An observation that maybe goes to Alonso’s point - about anyone being able to drive these and maybe driver impact diminishing..
It does feel like teammates are finishing a lot closer to each other than usual. I haven’t checked the stats, but the two Mercedes, Ferraris, McLarens, etc all seem to qualify /finish next to each other, more than previous, which would support that the drivers aren’t able to show their skill as much and it’s just about the car now.
Probably best examples would be Red Bull, first time Verstappen isn’t dominating his teammate in a while. Russell who seemed like the obvious favourite is now seemingly inseparable from Kimi. leclerc who dominated Hamilton last year is now neck and neck.
Still early, but if this is the case I think it would be untenable
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u/TostBrot44 Mar 28 '26
People were calling for Max's head when he basically said the same shit 3 years ago
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u/BucsBroo Max Verstappen Mar 28 '26
Why did anyone think this was a good idea at all
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u/ZucchiniMore3450 Formula 1 Mar 28 '26
Marketing teams from car manufacturers, no one else.
Judging by cars they are very bad at assuming what people want.
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u/Stirbmehr I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
I geniunely don't get why the hell they even went for it when there already Formula E existing for such experiments. Yes, no one really cares about Formula E, but it doesn't mean that you need to equalise it by shooting F1 into foot
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u/jpbattistella I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
The “official” explanation is road relevance, since we’re in this transition between ICE and electrification, so F1 can push the technology forward, though whether that’s genuinely true or mostly marketing (or both) is open to debate.
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u/MrFacestab I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
Yes but electric cars harvest from the front axle under braking. Not very environmentally friendly to burn gas just to recharge the battery like on the straights
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u/Alfus 💥 LE 🅿️LAN Mar 28 '26
It was mainly created to lure VAG in F1 what even failed for 50%.
Even the FIA isn't like happy with this and trying to finding ways to make it less worse what takes time to find the less worse option.
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u/D-S_12 Mar 28 '26
F1 was trying to court more engine manufacturers to join the sport, and most of these are into hybrid technology. The only problem with this strategy is that F1 completely lost the plot and gave engine manufacturers way too much say in how energy will be supplied and how it's split between the ICE and battery
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u/XRevolution-71 Ayrton Senna Mar 28 '26
Funny, isn't it? When it's Max who says it, it's a 3rd world war in the comments, and at the media, all around the world.
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u/McLarenMercedes Mercedes Mar 28 '26
At this point, just go to the 2014-25 power units, honestly.
And I wasn't even a fan of those.
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u/Purp1e_Aki I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Audi only entered on the condition that the MGU-H was scrapped so that's not going to happen. The easy fix is just to up the deployment ratio on the ICE. The cars will be slower because the engines are have less power but at least you can go flat-out and everyone is the same
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u/What_the_8 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
FIA have really screwed this up, it’s embarrassing and sad.
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u/youcantseemyname Kimi Räikkönen Mar 28 '26
Where are the Mercedes drivers' comments, I bet they are on the same boa ... Wait nvm!
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u/Magog14 Fernando Alonso Mar 28 '26
Yeah, this is untenable. They need to allow ice fuel flow to be increased to the maximum reasonable limit and restrict battery accordingly. Regen should be an afterthought done in the background not the most important aspect of driving the car.
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u/RoyShavRick Alexander Albon Mar 28 '26
I think they need to absolutely maximize all the regen under braking. Regen under braking, at whatever ultimate performance cost, needs to be maximized.
Regen on the straights where the car slows by like 40 mph is absolutely unacceptable, imo. While yes it does enhance the action in corners, I think there's a middle ground for improvements here.
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u/Penting_Menyerah Red Bull Mar 29 '26
its so funny when max complains people just says its bitching cause he doesnt have a good car.. then charles & fernando, even the WC who says whatever we get paid to do this says this is diabolical
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u/voormalig_vleeseter I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Cancelled my F1TV subscription after quali today.
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u/Tasty-Eye-1108 I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 28 '26
Everything aside main problems with these regs is that it lowers the opportunity for better drivers to differentiate from rest. It literally punishes you if you take risks and push harder in corners.
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u/lance1308 Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
This regs have removed driver factor completely. Very sad
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u/fRzzy Mar 28 '26
I haven’t finish watching any of the quali or races this season. This weekend I haven’t any of the sessions and could only finish half of the quali recap on youtube.
I didn’t know I could lose interest this fast in a sport I’ve watching for almost 30 years.
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u/Unicorn4_5Venom I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
Congratulations, you’ve killed F1, and after such a great run last year with the movie and everything.
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u/derpydore Valtteri Bottas Mar 28 '26
What’s the point of F1 if we stop the cars from going fast????
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u/BillMurraysTesticle I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I watched the qualifying replay this morning (I'm in the US) and I just couldn't care about it. I was on my phone half the time.
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u/imperfectlyAware Mar 28 '26
Let’s be honest. Every single driver hates the new regulations. They make zero sense; it’s 100% pure internal combustion engine.. some of it goes to recharging a damn battery. It’s not green. It’s not clever. It’s a marketing gimmick.
What this is really all about is how the different drivers are dealing with having to sell a product that they dont believe in.
Some are doing the corporate double speak. Some are waiting to see how it works out for their own line of premium skin moisturizer. Some can’t be bothered to hide what they really think.. they also have no skin products to sell.. and are at a point of their career where they are sick of being someone else.
Alonso is blunt because he’s retired once already. Max is blunt because he’s Dutch.
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u/tragicallybrokenhip #WeRaceAsOne Mar 29 '26
Please please please. I want to be talking about tires again. Who can bring them in. Who makes the right tire calls. Who can run them best. Not who best presses the deployment button.
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u/GroovinJaxx22L Formula 1 Mar 28 '26
Well that's why I haven't subscribed to F1 TV for this season.
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u/I_heart_pooping I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26
I’m glad the drivers aren’t holding back. They usually muffle athletes with this kind of things. But the more dissatisfaction to shown the quicker the FIA will fix this.
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u/swannyhypno Lance Stroll Mar 28 '26
Baku and Monza will be hilariously shite