F1 2026: Chinese GP - Shanghai (Mar 15)

[Car-Addicted]

Who will become the Formula Battery Champion 2026?

A) Battery Man
B) Battery Boy

[M3WC]

Monaco and Singapore will be Ferrari’s true chances at winning races this year.

Hungry and Zandvoort they could maybe have chance as well.

Other than that, it’s cooked. Jeddah was going to look horrible for new regs, FIA dodged a bullet there.

[Car-Addicted]

Max Verstappen delivers brutal warning to F1: 'It will come back and bite them in the a*'

— Max Verstappen has issued a stark warning to Formula 1, expressing concerns that the new rules could "come back to bite them in the a**" and potentially "ruin the sport" if changes are not implemented swiftly. Verstappen's comments follow a challenging weekend where he finished ninth in the Chinese Sprint and retired from the grand prix due to an ERS coolant fault.

— Verstappen confirmed ongoing discussions with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about the sport's regulatory direction, particularly the 50-50 power split between combustion and electrical energy. Speaking to media, Verstappen remarked:

“You have to be a bit careful with how you say things, but we are talking about it. I think they [FOM and FIA] understand where we are coming from as drivers, and I think I speak for most of the drivers. Some, of course, will say it's great because they are winning races, which is fair enough.”

“You know, when you have an advantage, why would you give that up? Because you never know if you're going to have a good car again. But if you just speak to most of the drivers, it's not what we like. I don't think it's what the real F1 fans like. Maybe some fans like it, but they don't understand racing. But hopefully we can get rid of this.”

— When it was suggested that F1's commercial interests might outweigh sporting concerns, Verstappen responded sharply:

“I hope they don't think like that, because it will eventually ruin the sport. It will come and bite them back in the a**.”

“For me, as long as we can just communicate with them and make sure that we are working on some solutions that will help a lot, but it's also going to be very difficult for everyone to agree. Of course, not everyone needs to agree, but most of the people have to agree to make changes. But, like I said, it's political. Some people feel they have the advantage now, and, of course, they want to use that, rightly.”

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by 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.

True.
Not dissimilar to Australian GP Merc<->Ferrari gaps.
China GP gap was aided by aggressive in-fighting for 3rd place between LEW and LEC.
I guess both of them, and the Ferrari management, knew that there was no chance of catching Mercedes’s, so they let them have fun with each other. It was fun to watch two Ferrari drivers racing cleanly and passing each other back and forth.

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

Congrats to Kimi, I like that kid even if he does drive for the Evil Empire

Agreed.
Kimi deserved his first F1 win on merit, and it was fun to watch others by happy for him as well.
It would be awesome if he translated this into proper WDC challenge to RUS this year!

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Nonsense (!)
MAX is a 4-time World F1 Champion and he left everyone in the dust at the Nürburgring - Nordschleife in a Ferrari.

You are kidding, right?
He stepped WAY down the food chain into GT3/4, won a few races, and you think THAT makes him special?
There is a reason slower drivers never make it into F1, and settle in the lower racing categories.
Any F1 driver will dominate lower series!

Yeah, VER won 4 championships in a dominating RB designed by Newey.
Now that RB is no longer dominating, his lack of skill to adopt to new equipment and new rules has been exposed for all to see.
Sad, but true.

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Nonsense (!)
MAX has the best driver skills ever seen in the F1 history

HAD, not has.
He can't even learn how to properly execute the new launch procedures properly this year.
Sorry, but you are worshiping a declining, disgruntled Debbie-downer!

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

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

Dunno why you hate on RUS so much.
Objectively, he is much less of a $hit then VER in 2026!

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

Max Verstappen [...]"I think I speak for most of the drivers. ”

Who elected Vertappen to be a spokesman for anyone other than his sorry self?
All this Debbie-downer whining and attention grabbing, with zero useful suggestions - Max Vertappen is becoming a poster child of a toxic employee.
He is turning into a joke.

Time to relegate him to endurance racing, where he still can "shine".

a

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by afadeev

True.
Not dis-similar to Australian GP Merc<->Ferrari gaps.
China GP gap was aided by aggressive in-fighting for 3rd place between LEW and LEC.
I guess both of them, and the Ferrari management, knew that there was no chance of catching Mercedes’s, so they let them have fun with each other. It was fun to watch to drivers racing cleanly and passing each other back and forth.



Agreed.
Kimi deserved his first F1 win on merit, and it was fun to watch others by happy for him as well.
It would be awesome if he translated this into proper WDC challenge to RUS this year!



You are kidding, right?
He stepped WAY down the food chain into GT3/4, won a few races, and you think THAT makes him special?
There is a reason slower drivers never make it into F1, and settle in the lower racing categories.
Any F1 driver will dominate lower series!

Yeah, VER won 4 championships in a dominating RB designed by Newey.
Now that RB is no longer dominating, his lack of skill to adopt to new equipment and new rules has been exposed for all to see.
Sad, but true.



HAD, not has.
He can't even learn how to properly execute the new launch procedures properly this year.
Sorry, but you are worshiping a declining, disgruntled Debbie-downer!



Dunno why you hate on RUS so much.
Objectively, he is much less of a $hit then VER in 2026!



Who elected Vertappen to be a spokesman for anyone other than his sorry self?
All this Debbie-downer whining and attention grabbing, with zero useful suggestions - Max Vertappen is becoming a poster child of a toxic employee.
He is turning into a joke.

Time to relegate him to endurance racing, where he still can "shine".

a

You're saying a lot and sounding like a record on auto-replay, so what if MAX speaks for most of the drivers, he has a right being four times world champ and what he says about the new rules is right-on.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

so what if MAX speaks for most of the drivers, he has a right being four times world champ

If the # of WDC trophies is your metric of "being right" and "having the right to speak for others", then you should refocus your attention to whatever Hamilton is saying. HAM has 6 WDC titles to VER's 4.

Hamilton is also showing greater mental agility by adopting to 2026 F1 rules way more successfully than Verstappen. Even though Lewis is way older than Max, and was demonstrating all the signs of sucking in 2025.
Hamilton has also figured out how to launch his 2026 ride off the grid without bogging down. Unlike Max.

Max is turning into 2025 Hamilton!

I do agree with you that Max is still good enough to triumph in GT3.
Not that it means diddly squat for F1.

Interesting, how things change with time, isn't it?

a

[Killed by Death]

afadeev Why don’t I like George? Mainly because he drives for the Evil Empire. Basically the same reason I don’t care for hammy and Nico. MB just drives me insane. If I saw George in a bar I’d walk up and punch him in the face

Personality flaw I guess

[Killed by Death]

Added a Lamborghini to my fleet

With all the F1 cancellations I better find something else to build. That or waste a lot of ammo

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by M3WC

Jeddah was going to look horrible for new regs, FIA dodged a bullet there.

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

With all the F1 cancellations I better find something else to build.

I heard through the grapevine that, unlike the Bahrain race weekend, Jeddah is postponed instead of cancelled.

Rumor has it that the powers that be at F1 are thinking about reshuffling the Jeddah race weekend right after the Abu Dhabi race weekend (17-19 April moved to 11-13 Dec).

It's related to the profitable start fees that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay to be part of the calendar (ballpark figures about $100 million of cash, so the story goes). The F1 bozos don't want to kiss that cargo of cash goodbye, even if that would imply FOUR consecutive race weekends (quadruple-header instead of the current triple-header) to end the 2026 season. Not sure whether teams and pilots will agree:

• 19-21 Nov: Las Vegas
• 27-29 Nov: Qatar
• 04-06 Dec: Abu Dhabi
• 11-13 Dec: Jeddah

[Marcoose]

Whoa. Our four-time champion(*)(**)(***) is now a mid-fielder, whiner, can't start, and doesn't even finish. I believe that makes him an overrated has-been that only wins with dubious help or a rocket car. Typical.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Car-Addicted

Who will become the Formula Battery Champion 2026?

A) Battery Man
B) Battery Bambino

Attachment 3922809

FTFY

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

afadeev Why don’t I like George? Mainly because he drives for the Evil Empire. Basically the same reason I don’t care for hammy and Nico. MB just drives me insane. If I saw George in a bar I’d walk up and punch him in the face

Personally flaw I guess

Got it.
Basically:

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by Marcoose

Whoa. Our four-time champion(*)(**)(***) is now a mid-fielder, whiner, can't start, and doesn't even finish. I believe that makes him an overrated has-been that only wins with dubious help or a rocket car. Typical.

You have the same energy for Lewis? Who couldn’t drive last years car, had zero podiums. While Leclerc had 7 podiums in same equipment.

The so called GOAT has been out driven by Nico, Russell, and Leclerc.

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

afadeev Why don’t I like George?

I never really noticed the George hate until recently. I am starting to get convinced George gets more hate online than Max and Lewis. People really dislike the guy for some reason.

My opinion the kid paid his dues driving sh*t Williams for years.

[G30M]

Whoever wins this year wins on merit. Just like last year, and every year before that.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by afadeev

You are kidding, right?
He stepped WAY down the food chain into GT3/4, won a few races, and you think THAT makes him special?
There is a reason slower drivers never make it into F1, and settle in the lower racing categories.
Any F1 driver will dominate lower series!

Yeah, VER won 4 championships in a dominating RB designed by Newey.
Now that RB is no longer dominating, his lack of skill to adopt to new equipment and new rules has been exposed for all to see.
Sad, but true.

Who elected Vertappen to be a spokesman for anyone other than his sorry self?
All this Debbie-downer whining and attention grabbing, with zero useful suggestions - Max Vertappen is becoming a poster child of a toxic employee.
He is turning into a joke.

Time to relegate him to endurance racing, where he still can "shine".

a

If necessary , MAX can and will move up in the food chain (!)

If MAX doesn't leave the F1 then MAX wins his 5th World Title at Mercedes.
Which team wouldn't want him ?

Toto Wolff is trying to get MAX at Mercedes already from DAY 1 (!)
Last year MAX gambled to stay at Red Bull and lost because the 2026 RB22 drives like a wheelchair.
In 2025 it was already very close or MAX signed at Mercedes and was driving the F1 Benz-W17 in this 2026 saison.
MAX can start driving for a F1 Team of his own choice.
PERIOD (!!!)

Wolff about MAX in 2025 : F1 contracts exist to be broken (!)

Toto Wolff : February 26 / 2026

[NickyC]

Doesn't even feel like racing any longer. Feels like I'm watching practice/testing sessions where the fastest driver of the day gets free drinks. This sport sucks now, Max should retire and go race GT cars.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Doesn't even feel like racing any longer. Feels like I'm watching practice sessions where the fastest battery of the day gets free drinks. This sport sucks now, Max should retire and go race GT cars.

FTFY (!)

[Davil]

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.

I think you can trace the downward trajectory of Red Bull to the corporate creep Mintzlaff or whatever his name is. Absolutely classic example of prime A grade corporate douche bag. The only talent these type of people posses is self promotion. I’ve experienced a few in my time. He has all the hallmarks.

[Davil]

Definitely out of context but still very funny.

I don’t mind George at all. He is unintentionally comedic but also a very good driver. I can see how he grates some people but you have to realise he is wired in a different way.

[Marcoose]

Originally Posted by G30M

Whoever wins this year wins on merit. Just like last year, and every year before that.

Michael Masi has entered the chat.

[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

If necessary , MAX can and will move up in the food chain (!)

If MAX doesn't leave the F1 then MAX wins his 5th World Title at Mercedes.
Which team wouldn't want him ?

Toto Wolff is trying to get MAX at Mercedes already from DAY 1 (!)
Last year MAX gambled to stay at Red Bull and lost because the 2026 RB22 drives like a wheelchair.
In 2025 it was already very close or MAX signed at Mercedes and was driving the F1 Benz-W17 in this 2026 saison.
MAX can start driving for a F1 Team of his own choice.
PERIOD (!!!)

Wolff about MAX in 2025 : F1 contracts exist to be broken (!)

Toto Wolff : February 26 / 2026

If the Merc duo continue their winning rampage then I can't see why Wolff would want anyone else unless FIA finally steps in with new rules (which it likely will) that dilute Mercs questionable advantages.
When I said he should do Le Mans as well as the 'Ring it would be as well as continuing in F1 in RBR or whatever team he chooses, but he can't just leave a team on a knee jerk reaction and join another on a whim with the present contractual obligations . If he did the two 'outsider 24 hours and won one or both it should shut the pie hole of a certain poster or likely continue out of boredom saying its only Le Mans, whats that pah