F1 2026: Chinese GP - Shanghai (Mar 15)

[toxik]

didn’t really enjoy this GP that much, maybe cause i’m a mclaren fan or maybe cause starting a race with 4 cars DNS is a bummer, or that I hate Merc.

eventhough I’m not a Max fan I still think it’s obvious he’s the best driver on the grid and having him weighed down by a bad car is taking away content from fans to enjoy.

really frustrates me seeing ferraris pull away at every start just to be overtaken by merc because their car is in a league of its own. i want some more unpredictability

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

LAP 25 : The 2 red cars in a fight (!) Ough that was close again...

#WarHorses !!!

Killed by Death Too close for teammates . Ain't no good (!)
LEW pushed Charlie on the curbs...

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by Artemis

QED

Quod erat...it's not dissimilar to the cat about to jump onto the barn roof with the mathematical logicam.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M4Lou

Man.... didn't Merc make a push for Max this past season????

It's only 2 races and a sprint so we'll see how much Chinese water torture MAX can take of this.

[RichardInCA]

From F1.com - great dynamic:

"I actually really enjoyed the race," said Leclerc. "Of course, a little bit disappointed to lose out on the podium but on the other side I'm happy for Lewis and I think he deserves it more than I do on a weekend like this where he's been more on top of things than me.

"He's just been stronger since FP1 to now, but it was a very nice race. I enjoyed the fight and the only big negative I would say is the gap to Mercedes, which on a day like this, we can see that they are a big step ahead of everyone, so we've got to work hard.

"We enjoyed it [the wheel-to-wheel battle]. I did, I couldn't speak with Lewis yet because he was on the podium but it was a nice battle and there was this overtake mode battle for whoever was behind. There was many things going on which was quite cool."

[tracksidemanner]

Wow if that isnt embarrassing for F1 and racing at large, I'm not sure what is. A third of the field either DNF'd or didnt even start the race. This is literally like Disney stuff at this point - Mickey Mouse 'racing' and that is a very generous use of the word racing. Nothing exciting to see here by any stretch. After the most competitive years of racing we now have the total opposite.

[3798j]

The Ferrari drivers showed great skill. Particularly when side by side, wheel to wheel in the middle of a turn. Definitely enjoyable to watch...and good to know Leclerc liked it.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

It's only 2 races and a sprint so we'll see how much Chinese water torture MAX can take of this.

Honestly ,I really hate to say it , but I'll share my honest thoughts anyway . I'm pretty sure the Red Bull Team is already drowned for the rest of this season and very likely in the next season as well.
Pierre Waché is the captain of the Titanic and in 2027 he will meet the huge iceberg again ...

Red Bull is currently the 5th team and that will not change anytime soon.
Actually it's even worse with 2 X DNF's and 2 crashes in the first 2 races (!)
Too bad for MAX . It actually looks like wheelchair racing...

As for Benz and Ferrari :
Looks like Benz has a 2 year advantage and they don't even have to push it to the limits.
Ferrari : I've never seen a car so fast pulling away at the startgrid (!)

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by tracksidemanner

Wow if that isnt embarrassing for F1 and racing at large, I'm not sure what is. A third of the field either DNF'd or didnt even start the race. This is literally like Disney stuff at this point - Mickey Mouse 'racing' and that is a very generous use of the word racing. Nothing exciting to see here by any stretch. After the most competitive years of racing we now have the total opposite.

+1

[RichardInCA]

Originally Posted by 3798j

The Ferrari drivers showed great skill. Particularly when side by side, wheel to wheel in the middle of a turn. Definitely enjoyable to watch...and good to know Leclerc like it.

Unlike, say, the Cadillac duo (cough, cough….Checo)

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Honestly ,I really hate to say it , but I'll share my honest thoughts anyway . I'm pretty sure the Red Bull Team is already drowned for the rest of this season and very likely in the next season as well.
Pierre Waché is the captain of the Titanic and in 2027 he will meet the huge iceberg again ...

Red Bull is currently the 5th team and that will not change anytime soon.
Actually it's even worse with 2 X DNF's and 2 crashes in the first 2 races (!)
Too bad for MAX . It actually looks like wheelchair racing...

As for Benz and Ferrari :
Looks like Benz has a 2 year advantage and they don't even have to push it to the limits.
Ferrari : I've never seen a car so fast pulling away at the startgrid (!)

I'm not even thinking Suzuka, tunnel vision.. just Le Mans 24, yellow 499P which now will be #1 Ferrari coming to fruition.

[Killed by Death]

Right now Ferrari has the best chance of catching up with MB. That's a bit scary

What's up with both MB powered MCL cars having engine/electrical issues? Do they have to write their own software?

Anybody else notice Norris's bodyguard
That was one big bad dude

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

LEW is P1...

LEW was super-racy in China.
Good to see him back and hungry in 2026!

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

At the start MAX was standing still again and lost I don't know how many positions (!!!) Same issue as yesterday in the sprint...

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Sadly again a bad start from Max. Again same problem?

Yep, HAD had a good start, but VER shit the bed ... again ... 3 races in a row.
By this point, there is no avoiding the conclusion that there is a problem is between the ears of the driver!

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

LAP 25 : The 2 red cars in a fight (!) Ough that was close again...

Those two put on a clean show for much of the race - well played Ferrari, well played.
I've not been a Ferrari fan for a long time, but this year they are putting on ~50% of the passes, race after race. Fun to watch!

Originally Posted by G30M

so the ferraris hammer and tongs at each other, how they still have tire? last year you do one overtake and your tire is gone.

Somehow, Ferrari are really great at (re-)starts, and with tire management.
The 180-degree opposite at RedBull (at least in VER's hands) - terrible starts, and terrible tire degradation.

My guess is that this is the price RedBull is paying for prioritizing late 2025 season car evolution for failed VER WDC push last year, instead of investing into developing 2026 car. I suppose it made sense at the time for both the Austrian RB owner (who is a fan of VER) and Mekies (who needed to establish his credibility to retain the job full time), but now is time to pay the piper.
It is shaping up to be a rough 2026 season for RB. Managing disgruntled and slow-to-adopt Vertappen will be an ongoing distraction.

Originally Posted by M5Rick

MAX's fiery warning yet to FIA unless changes are made soon.

I'm kinda getting sick and tired of reading about Max's whining and b*tching, again and again.
F1 will be better off without his endless back-stabbing and ZERO useful suggestions.

If he doesn't have the brain to adopt to new F1 rules, it's time for this Debbie-downer to retire to GT3 for good.

a

[toxik]

lol

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by afadeev

LEW was super-racy in China.
Good to see him back and hungry in 2026!





Yep, HAD had a good start, but VER shit the bed ... again ... 3 races in a row.
By this point, there is no avoiding the conclusion that there is a problem is between the ears of the driver!



Those two put on a clean show for much of the race - well played Ferrari, well played.
I've not been a Ferrari fan for a long time, but this year they are putting on ~50% of the passes, race after race. Fun to watch!



Somehow, Ferrari are really great at (re-)starts, and with tire management.
The 180-degree opposite at RedBull (at least in VER's hands) - terrible starts, and terrible tire degradation.

My guess is that this is the price RedBull is paying for prioritizing late 2025 season car evolution for failed VER WDC push last year, instead of investing into developing 2026 car. I suppose it made sense at the time for both the Austrian RB owner (who is a fan of VER) and Mekies (who needed to establish his credibility to retain the job full time), but now is time to pay the piper.
It is shaping up to be a rough 2026 season for RB. Managing disgruntled and slow-to-adopt Vertappen will be an ongoing distraction.



I'm kinda getting sick and tired of reading about Max's whining and b*tching, again and again.
F1 will be better off without his endless back-stabbing and ZERO useful suggestions.

If he doesn't have the brain to adopt to new F1 rules, it's time for this Debbie-downer to retire to GT3 for good.

a

Nonsense (!)

MAX this . MAX that ...It's just MAX hate (!)
MAX is a 4-time World F1 Champion and he left everyone in the dust at the Nürburgring - Nordschleife in a Ferrari.
MAX has the best driver skills ever seen in the F1 history beating LEW in his Mercedes spaceship(!)
The only truth is that MAX and Hadjar are forced to drive backwards in a RB22 wheelchair built by a French idiot.
The Red Bull Team team is drowning in the RB22 issues and both Red Bull drivers are just passengers in those 2026 electric wheelchairs .

Ferrari ?
Honestly . Glad to see them back in the front .
But Ferrari was lucky that they didn't crashed today (!)
2 big Ego's is too much to handle in just one team.
It was extremely close today and it was a matter of centimeters .
Just wait for it .... Ferrari Fred is already holding his breath (!)
Hopefully I'm wrong for all the Ferrari fans .

[M3WC]

Anthony Davidson...where did that Ferrari race pace go? He needs to quit lying, Ferrari race pace is no where near Merc.

If Kimi didn't slow down before line to celebrate, he was pushing towards 30 second gap to Ferrari. That is with a safety car that eliminated their early 5 sec gap.

Kimi was also cruising.

[Killed by Death]

Congrats to Kimi, I like that kid even if he does drive for the Evil Empire
I enjoyed seeing that win if it couldn't be a Ferrari

Boy George, not so much, he is still a little $hit

[M3WC]

Also for those hoping the 130c compression test will somehow slow down Merc. It won't.

Merc chose a larger turbo for a reason. Overall, there is higher potential for pure ICE power output with a larger turbo. It also helps in super-clipping and energy harvesting when engine is acting as a generator.

The gap will only increase exponentially at higher speed tracks. Ferrari is going to get curbstomped at Monza.

The only real advantage of the smaller turbo Ferrari is using...is starts. After that the remainder of the race is chalked. They do have some advantage out of slow corners, but then they just get passed on the straight. Monaco will likely be Ferrari weekend.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

Congrats to Kimi, I like that kid even if he does drive for the Evil Empire
I enjoyed seeing that win if it couldn't be a Ferrari

Boy George, not so much, he is still a little $hit

The body language and remarks made by Toto Wolff say it all: Kimi versus George. Alike in 2025, Wolff remains minimalistic with compliments for George, no matter his results. Wolff only let him sign basically a 1 year contract, late in the 2025 season, as Verstappen is waiting in the Mercedes antichambre for the 2027 season. If Verstappen could have been released from his RBR contract at the end of 2025 without hefty financial penalty (he couldn't - no free agent), George would be piloting a midfielder or backmarker car as we speak. Wouldn't come as a surprise if Wolff and Verstappen already signed a deal last year to drive for Mercedes in 2027 if Verstappen can get released from his RBR contract someday this year (will be easy given the RBPT/Ford engine woes). Verstappen is already promoting Mercedes-AMG mid May at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. George knows that if he ever wants to get a WDC title, 2026 will be his single chance.

[FrankL]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Of course I know that. On the other hand :

I think , this is the last season from MAX at the Red Bull Team.
I heard he has to change his strat. and battery settings in almost every turn with the support and data from his engineer , just to keep the car at the track and to avoid a crash because the RB22 balance is unpredictable (!)
This car won't even move at the startgrid . Imagine that (!?!?)
I'm pretty sure , he has lost all his patience. It was enough...
After 2 races his 2026 WDC is already gone (!)

This was enough 5H1T to take for a driver like MAX as a 4-time World Champion, this is like driving backwards in a worn-out wheelchair (!)

Can't wait to see MAX leaving this retarded team ASAP , orchestrated by 2 French idiots (!)

Man the whole Red Bull story could be a movie and I have no idea what really happened there. I think the drama started before Dieter died. Was Jos stirring up trouble?

Newey says he is leaving. They drop Honda for Ford. C Horner gets pushed out. They fight back last year after midseason. Who is a really in charge? Marko? Maybe they should bring in Gerhard Berger.

Max says the car is exhausting to drive after one lap. He is hating F1 at this point. What a mess.

Newey goes to Aston. I would have stayed far away from the Stroll family. Newey could have probably gone anywhere.

So will Ferrari try to get Max next year or Mercedes or McLaren? It seems like all three teams have very good driver line ups. Any other team will be a loser.

Happy for Kimi. Ollie Bearman 5th in a Haas. Liam Lawson 7th in Racing Bulls. Very good.

This is all entertainment and I think Objective #1 for this F1 corporate Hollywood show was to make sure Max is not in the mix and Max is not dominating.

[Car-Addicted]

Fernando Alonso: “Right now we have a World Championship of batteries.” #F1

[Car-Addicted]

Enzo Ferrari would have shot these FIA bastards. It’s blasphemy.

"Aerodynamics are for people who cannot build batteries".