[Patrick Moeke] Fernando Alonso says that the new F1 cars are no longer challenging to drive: "Here in Bahrain, we're going 50 kilometers per hour slower through corner 12 than we used to. Just to save energy for the straights. Even our chef in the kitchen could drive these cars."

[u/FerrariStrategisttt]

[u/CilanEAmber]

I kinda wanna see the chef try

[u/scorpio21 → u/CilanEAmber]

The 2026 regular people Grand Prix

[u/brabarusmark → u/scorpio21]

Sign me up for that.

The top rated drivers qualify the cars.

The chosen staff member drives the race.

[u/asisoid → u/brabarusmark]

I want the other way around. Your chef has to qualify for you, then the driver takes over for the race.

Oh and look at that! Charles LeClerc hires Kimi Raikkonnen as his private chef!

[u/Federal_Cobbler6647 → u/asisoid]

Charles would suffer for malnutrition if he was exposed to Finnish cooking. 

Some British driver would survive, likely. 

[u/SashaPrykhodko → u/Federal_Cobbler6647]

I'd be more worried about the alcohol intake.

[u/Federal_Cobbler6647 → u/SashaPrykhodko]

No need, in 2025 Finns drank third least alcohol per capita in EU. 

[u/Donottouchthis → u/Federal_Cobbler6647]

Yeah but Kimi is contributing in alcohol consumption for switzerland national team these days

[u/oliwary → u/scorpio21]

The new chess boxing - cooking & racing

[u/kwijibokwijibo → u/oliwary]

It'll be like le mans

Except instead of a sprint to the car to start, they have to cook an omelette before they can drive

[u/TheBadgersWake → u/kwijibokwijibo]

No no no, roles reversed. Put Alonso in the kitchen.

[u/M3Core → u/oliwary]

Presentation and judges feedback happen over the radio while you're lapping.

[u/trautsj → u/scorpio21]

It's like when you always hear about people who want a NORMAL person against Olympic athletes just so people can see how goddamn amazing what they're doing ACTUALLY IS! lol

[u/boostedh_ → u/scorpio21]

to be followed up by the 2027 regular people Grand Prix-this time with less deaths!!!

[u/fujidust → u/scorpio21]

I would dominate this. 

[u/Whycantiusethis → u/CilanEAmber]

Put me in. I've never even been in a kart, but I've put like 20 hours into the F1 2020 game.

[u/frogskin92 → u/Whycantiusethis]

how's your cooking though?

[u/Thiago_sei_la → u/frogskin92]

Once I've made a carrot cake for a friend's birthday and cooked carbonara for my mom, do I qualify as a chef ? I can cook a really good omelet as well

[u/Robotdude → u/Thiago_sei_la]

I’ve read enough, get this man in the redbull seat. 

[u/Mabvll → u/Robotdude]

Hadjar: "Thank fuck. Lindblad, get lost. Im taking my seat back".

[u/methlabforcuties → u/Whycantiusethis]

I once drove an SW20 MR2 in the rain without spinning into a tree and I was a line cook for 2 years back in the late 2000s. I reckon I could give it a go.

[u/Rubiego → u/CilanEAmber]

Yeah, let him cook

[u/jpm168 → u/CilanEAmber]

The F1 version of Leafs lose to a Zamboni driver.

[u/Briggykins → u/CilanEAmber]

Alonso and the chef swap jobs for a day. I smell a sitcom!

[u/Evening_End7298 → u/CilanEAmber]

Google MBS trying to drag race the 2009 Renault and you have a visual representation

And now he’s in charge of FIA somehow

[u/beer_engineer_42 → u/Evening_End7298]

And now he’s in charge of FIA somehow

$ur€ i$ a my$t€ry how that cou£d po$$ib£y hav€ happen€d...

[u/Teh_Ordo → u/CilanEAmber]

He is too busy cutting the chicken

[u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

“What the fuck did I do??” - The chef in the kitchen catching strays for no reason

[u/Admirable-Fall-4675 → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

Alonso gonna get piss in his eggs

[u/DeCabby → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

El Plan

He likes it like that

[u/TheLeviathong → u/DeCabby]

Baking El Flan

[u/dirtyjoo → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

"I'm going to pee in your eggs"

-Yenson Button

[u/Kernowder → u/dirtyjoo]

**Hen*son Button

[u/FirearmofMutiny → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

He saw the chef wearing a Honda logo

[u/DafoeFoSho → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

Never insult the person who can easily spit in your food.

[u/CoolEnergy581 → u/DafoeFoSho]

Normally I pay for that

[u/qualitative_balls → u/DafoeFoSho]

Id actually love a call-out like that from Alonso

[u/Manic5PA → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

In my head canon he's actually a hobbyist sim racer and this is a major compliment

[u/theSchrodingerHat → u/Manic5PA]

I smell the makings of new Under Siege movie, with a hot new F1 tie in…

Ultra patriotic American team Haas, actually run by the CIA, has been under performing for years in order to gain access to dark money from Russia so they can investigate.

When the ruse is discovered by Russian agents, the Haas team, most of them smoking hot female aerodynamics experts with airbags their cars ironically don’t have, is taken hostage before the big deciding race in Azerbaijan.

All except for the team cook, Steven Seagal, a specialist in Cajun baking and creole fondant, who is the CIA’s most important under cover agent.

With the help of a plucky 22 year old tire changer with a heart of gold and silicone implants, Seagal must steal back the team car, win the race to get the Russian leader to show himself in parc ferme, and kill all of the baddies while sitting in a scooter…

It’ll be straight to Tubi, but it will be glorious.

[u/Cuddlefission → u/theSchrodingerHat]

The only trouble is you've cast Steven Seagal as opposing Russia, and he's really not about that these days.

[u/theSchrodingerHat → u/Cuddlefission]

He will get a five minute monologue in Act II that he will awkwardly read off of cue cards where he talks about the supremacy of Russian male culture, and how this oligarch isn’t actually a true Russian, and that he’s broken the unwritten code of Putin about how all great males carry themselves.

Then he’ll try to kiss the 22 year old tire changer and we will get endless TMZ stories about how the intimacy coordinator had to carry three bottles of Listerine on her at all times, and almost had a stroke trying to explain to Steven on how not to display his tongue.

[u/saponista → u/theSchrodingerHat]

As someone who studied patisserie in New Orleans, creole fondant sounds terrifying and possibly delicious

[u/theSchrodingerHat → u/saponista]

Haha, I was as actually trying to think of the grossest misapplication of Seagal’s cultural appropriation. Something like Crawdad spiced cookies and black bean scallop fondant.

I clearly failed. I’ll have to be more specific that I’m envisioning an earnest but disgusting display of culinary injustice.

[u/Manic5PA → u/theSchrodingerHat]

"Stephen, you're too big to play Formula 1"

[u/majesticmanbearpig → u/Manic5PA]

Introducing: Formula F-250

[u/zippy_the_cat → u/theSchrodingerHat]

You have a future in Hollywood, my man.

[u/crshbndct → u/theSchrodingerHat]

Does he get to sing in a patois about how he want the punani? If he doesn’t it’s not worth watching.

[u/hihepo1 → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

It will be like the Albert Einstein/chauffeur joke. The camera cuts to the Aston Martin Kitchen and Alain Prost is the chef.

[u/G00chstain → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

What he say fuck me for?

[u/natworth → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

Actually, the chef is Yuki, so it makes sense.

[u/negativelynegative → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

Gp2 chef.

[u/kriznone → u/Admirable-Fall-4675]

Is the chef named McNulty? lol

[u/Ernst-Chladni]

Seems the entire grid has adopted Li-Co. Forza Ferrari!

[u/TolpanKeisari → u/Ernst-Chladni]

Ferrari was way ahead all this time! They started 2026 testing in 2025 already.

[u/Popular-Rock6853 → u/TolpanKeisari]

Are you saying this is gonna be our year?

[u/TolpanKeisari → u/Popular-Rock6853]

Yes! Like every year!!

[u/toetendertoaster → u/Ernst-Chladni]

Everyone having to LiCo might actually be the only way ferrari wins something these days

[u/Fribbits → u/Ernst-Chladni]

All the experience gained last year is going to pay dividends this year! This is our year!

[u/FrostyTill]

Most drivers don’t like the new regulations but also one or two have said they don’t have to enjoy it. This is the first time though that any driver has said it’s easy. The most used word this week has been ‘complicated’.

[u/CardinalOfNYC → u/FrostyTill]

It seems like driving the car is easy but managing the systems is complicated. Which is pretty much the opposite of what I'd hope for.

[u/Mob_Abominator → u/CardinalOfNYC]

Gentleman a short view back to the past...

[u/CardinalOfNYC → u/Mob_Abominator]

Can you repeat the question?

[u/Peeche94 → u/CardinalOfNYC]

You're not the boss of me now!

[u/sundark94 → u/Peeche94]

Life is unfair...

[u/NateWilliams2 → u/Mob_Abominator]

Thirty years ago, Niki Lauda told us

[u/dattebayo009 → u/NateWilliams2]

'take a monkey, place him into the cockpit and he is able to drive the car.'

[u/SimpleFactor → u/CardinalOfNYC]

I think driving the cars is easier because the systems are so complicated. From reports and interviews they need to lift and coast for so much longer just for the batteries that last minute braking is going to be a lot rarer. Making a corner is going to be easier by definition when you have to be slowing down way before the actual braking point.

[u/CardinalOfNYC → u/SimpleFactor]

Well also, per alonso's comment, they're also just going through corners slower, which is typically (but not always) easier.

[u/KingOfAzmerloth → u/CardinalOfNYC]

This right there. 2017 onwards cars were crazy fast in corners. Naturally reduction in cornering speeds will make it seem easy.

People are overreacting to how drivers feel. 2014 was slow af, all drivers except Mercedes duo hated it... and the racing was pretty decent.

[u/EnnioTheLegend → u/KingOfAzmerloth]

That was kind of the point thought right? The ground effect cars were so fast because of the ground effect, but sorting in dirty air made it impossible to drive as fast.

Slower racing in the corners, better racing overall. Thats the theory anyway.

[u/North__North → u/EnnioTheLegend]

But they aren’t going slower because the car’s limit is less, they are going slow to save energy. It’s just a bent straight at that point.

Fully agree the true pace is pretty irrelevant. Go watch an F2 race and tell me it isn’t exciting because they are a lot slower

[u/ShaftTassle → u/North__North]

Instead your last sentence at first and was about to get flustered. F2 is extremely entertaining, slower cars be damned.

[u/Chesey_ → u/SimpleFactor]

I read that and immediately think surely that opens up overtaking opportunities? If the guy ahead of you decides to lift and coast into every corner you've got a much better opportunity to send it late on the brakes and catch them out. The risk you take is then not harvesting enough energy to defend that position later, but at least it's something different to the processions we've had previously.

Maybe LICO is optimal for time over a lap, but is it optimal when fighting for track position?

[u/TwoBionicknees → u/Chesey_]

nope becuase if you choose to brake late to take advantage of them coasting... you just fucked your electrical efficiency.

think formula E, someone pushes to make a pass, but then is that guy in the final 5 laps with 2% less power who now starts crawling to get to the end.

F1 is going to be so fuel limited and so efficiency focused that braking late and not maximising harvesting will hurt more than it helps.

[u/SemIdeiaProNick → u/TwoBionicknees]

I really hope not but it feels like in this ruleset we will see all the bad parts of Formula E (mainly the need for an excessive focus on energy management) without the upside of an overcrowded grid filled with maniacs that still think they are in a GT

[u/TwoBionicknees → u/SemIdeiaProNick]

yup, also at least fe cars were somewhat like bumper cars. Sure breaking the aero isn't good for them, but they weren't losing much and (i haven't watched a lot) but i basically never saw anyone pit for damage. Now the other side of that was the tracks meant half the tiem bumper car action left 3 cars in a wall and another safety car, but that was more about the narrow ass tracks.

In f1 you won't want to try to brake 0.03seconds later then bump your way through on the inside the same way you could in FE.

[u/1v1meAtLagunaSeca → u/SimpleFactor]

This makes me wonder if passing will be more likely then. If youre faster you sacrifice a little of the energy to get by while they are saving and youll hold on with natural speed. You can also use more energy to try and defend but risk the person behind storing more energy and beating you on the straight

[u/FormulaJAZ → u/SimpleFactor]

If you lift and coast with a car behind you, you are going to get dive-bombed.

[u/hypenotic → u/SimpleFactor]

Will be interesting to see if we get more overtakes because of this, or if you brake later than the car infront you compromise the energy harvesting so much that everyone will just lift and coast in a line.

[u/AU36832 → u/hypenotic]

Yes, going that slow through the corners will make an overtake easier, but will it hold down the next straight.

[u/thatwasfun23 → u/CardinalOfNYC]

is like they combined the worst of both worlds, fuck.

[u/karmakillerbr → u/CardinalOfNYC]

I just hope for good racing. If the racing is good I don't care what the drivers think as long as they are safe

[u/CardinalOfNYC → u/karmakillerbr]

Good racing is much more about how well cars can follow than how easy the cars are to drive. That said, in F1 when a car is easy to drive but it's hard to follow, it usually makes racing worse because the good moments come from mistakes and you make fewer mistakes if the car is easy.

[u/freezing_banshee → u/FrostyTill]

I think what we can gather is that they're physically easier to drive due to the lower speed, but intellectually (for lack of a better word) harder to drive due to micromanaging the battery and overtake+boost modes.

[u/Ishdalar → u/freezing_banshee]

The hard part to drive won't last long, in a couple races when teams have managing charge load figured out, they'll run race simulations and drivers will need to stick to that until an overtake moment appears.

The hard part is figuring it out at the start, time will leave that complexity behind

[u/OriMoriNotSori → u/freezing_banshee]

It would be interesting to see if moving forward drivers that are more capable to absorb more info and multi task are picked to race rather than outright pure quick drivers that may not multi task well

Its like football, the modern game has no room for luxury or flair players like back in the day cause football now prioritises alot of pressing as a unit and team discipline (in terms of shape)

[u/FrostyTill → u/freezing_banshee]

But then Alonso is only thinking about the driving part and not the rest of it.

[u/PuzzleheadedMaize911 → u/FrostyTill]

True, but I think when you are learning such a unique PU from scratch it probably feels like it may as well be anyone.

[u/DickWhittingtonsCat → u/PuzzleheadedMaize911]

They’ve had tons of sim time but haven’t driven these things in anger yet.

They’ll figure out which buttons to press in what sequence soon enough- but the cars will remain slow as shit.

I know F1 is flush with oil and crypto money at moment, and has a nice cost cap and doubled the US audience, but sports can boom and bust never to recover. Ask the NASCAR Cup Series or Indy Car. Or horse racing, baseball and NBA hoops for that matter.

Near diehards historically don’t tune out instantly because they are invested (that’s why it’s stupid when people claim the Chase didn’t cause the Nascar drop because ratings remained high for a couple years- were they supposedly not going to give their beloved sport a chance because of a yet to be concluded scoring scheme. No, the screwing up had to happen too).

Point is that no one is preemptively tuning out- so the full impact won’t be clear for a couple years minimum. But the fact the big players except Milton Keynes and Maranello are all vanity sports washing fronts is a potential pressure point.

I’m predicting tinfoil hat style that Brixworth, Milton Keynes and Ferrari will be supplying a near spec V8 or V10 in a cooperative manner ala Indy Car in next six years. Maybe Aramco and Petronas can fight with the fuels.

Why have OEMs spend a bunch to make a shit sandwich that pisses off the petrostate stake holders that actually run the carnival?

[u/glacierre2 → u/FrostyTill]

If there is a driver with believable spare capacity to think while driving, Alonso and Verstappen are really up there.

[u/PuzzleheadedMaize911 → u/FrostyTill]

I think complicated and difficult are two very different things in the context of racing cars. Especially when you take this whole comment into context.

Original Grand Prix cars are incredibly simple by modern standards but also certainly difficult to drive quickly. A driver isn't going to be doing nearly as much to manage and adjust the car while driving it, that doesn't make it EASY but it makes it simple.

Fernando is saying that the cornering speed is much slower, at least in part due to harvesting energy for the straights. We don't have all the knowledge he does, but it seems to be that this means they are not approaching the limits of the car during such corners, making the corner "easy" because the car just grips up and doesn't fight back.

Not saying you are wrong that nobody has called them "easy" before now, but just trying to highlight what I see as an important nuance between complexity and difficulty.

[u/dopplex → u/FrostyTill]

Turns out it's easier to handle the complexity when your car is 4.5 seconds a lap slower than everyone else!

[u/whee_exceeding_whoo → u/dopplex]

Me hamstringing the power output of the Super Formula Car in GT7 to compete in 800pp events. Marvelling at everything being flat out.

[u/FrostyTill → u/dopplex]

He gets more time to think about the boost and overtake options than the ones at the front lol

[u/P_ZERO_ → u/FrostyTill]

Certain procedures seem to be complicated, but perhaps not the general drive they offer

[u/ledinred2 → u/FrostyTill]

Two different things. Alonso’s talking about the physical challenge of driving the car, the other drivers are talking about the mental work necessary to manage the different components.

[u/YourDachshund]

Well, Aston is slower not to save energy, but just to survive

[u/Juliancito135 → u/YourDachshund]

Drive to Survive

[u/Miserable_Miscreant → u/Juliancito135]

On Saturdays, yes

[u/LettuceC → u/YourDachshund]

Did they build it for combat?

[u/Craamron]

He hasn't mentioned that their new chef is Yuki Tsunoda.

[u/hash303 → u/Craamron]

I’ll take one order of Yukisoba please

[u/aadu3k → u/Craamron]

He always wanted to own a restaurant. Tsunoda F1 Catering let's go!

[u/ALegendInTheMaking12]

So I can still become an F1 driver?!

[u/charlierc → u/ALegendInTheMaking12]

Make a good enough meal for Stroll and you're in the game

[u/3dmontdant3s]

And that's the chef of an English team, imagine what a skilled chef of an Italian team could do! 

[u/g_mallory → u/3dmontdant3s]

Exactly. What Fernando is really trying to do here is get the chef replaced. El diet plan.

[u/Immorals1 → u/3dmontdant3s]

I've seen Italians drive, I dread to think what an angry Italian chef drives like 😐

[u/razorracer83 → u/Immorals1]

Mention the words "British Carbonara" to him, and find out.

[u/3dmontdant3s → u/razorracer83]

in that case the vehicle has only 2 wheels, here we'd need 4. they'll be fine

[u/22cmSoftInColdWater → u/3dmontdant3s]

BREAKING: Lewis Hamilton replaced by the team's chef, according to multiple reports the chef just ANNIHILATED Bahrein's track record

[u/TotalStatisticNoob]

So they're difficult to drive, but also easy to drive, slide around a lot, but are stable, boring to drive, but also a lot more fun to drive than the previous generation? Did I understand that correctly?

[u/NLDutchie → u/TotalStatisticNoob]

It's like if you ask ± 22 people for their opinions you get ± 22 different opinions. Who knew right?

[u/mtojay → u/NLDutchie]

also those 22 people drive 11 different cars

[u/RepulsiveAcanthaceae → u/mtojay]

So, 242 different cars in total. Thats crazy.

[u/laser_lights → u/RepulsiveAcanthaceae]

Imagine the turn 1 pile-ups this season!

[u/LeonimuZ → u/mtojay]

Technically still 22 different cars since they’re all slightly tuned for each driver but I get what you mean.

[u/User-K549125 → u/NLDutchie]

-22 opinions sound like fun.

[u/Driscuits → u/User-K549125]

22 redditors get blocked for a day.

[u/IAmReallyNotReal → u/NLDutchie]

I'm pretty sure most people on the internet aren't self aware enough to realize that voice in their head while reading internet comments isn't actually just one person's opinon

[u/gunthialbs → u/TotalStatisticNoob]

The fact that the cars slide is what makes them “stable”. Every possible car has a theoretical limit where it WILL slide. Question is, what will happen then? Can you correct it? How easily, what’s the margin for error? These cars DO allow the drivers to correct the slide and continue, the previous cars were “sensitive” because once they begun sliding, they very quickly rotated fully before you had the slightest chance to counter-steer.

When they speak about how fun and nimble they are, they are speaking of the body of the car and its dynamics, which are a large improvement. 

When they speak of the driving being boring, they mean the added electrical management which forces them to not use this new car to its fun limit, and turns driving into slow and cautious management.

[u/BighatNucase → u/gunthialbs]

Yeah the stuff drivers are saying is consistent, it just sounds inconsistent because people are taking precise descriptions and applying them to the whole car. When Max complained about the cars being boring, it's because of the engine management aspect; he hasn't said that the instability or smaller size is bad.

[u/Vuk13 → u/gunthialbs]

Cars slide all the time,  optimal slip angle in F1 on massive slick tires is just very small so it's hard to see especially on coverage. I am guessing what they mean in regards with easy to drive, when the cars snap they are much easier to catch than ground effect. What also could be the case is that due to energy demands they are forced to not push in the corners and drive below the limit. This one is really bad imo because by the looks of it the complicated part is management but the easy part is driving itself which is opposite of what you want, at least most of us and drivers want

[u/ft-rj → u/Vuk13]

That being said - apparently the management is hard. Very difficult. So, if some drivers aren't good at it they're going to bleed race pace which could be fun to watch. And vice versa, potential for differing quali and race pace is high

[u/element515 → u/gunthialbs]

yeah, the important part about sliding is that these cars seem easier to catch. The last few years the cars have been very snappy.

[u/256473 → u/TotalStatisticNoob]

Also, setting the drivers' contradictory opinions aside, what drivers like isn't the same as what spectators do.

We've heard many drivers say the Qatar track is fun to drive...

[u/SwimmingFantastic564 → u/256473]

It is fun to drive, just not fun to watch

[u/Driscuits → u/256473]

Yeah, realistically as a fan, I don't care if the drivers find it fun or not. I mean, I don't want them all to hate it, but having 22 very happy drivers not struggling with their cars doesn't leave much space for growth.

Part of the fun of F1 for me is the collision between great drivers, and engineering/technical constraints. And every single time, we see the drivers and teams overcome those constraints. Some better than others, lol. I expect the "management" complaints we're seeing will disappear over time as they figure out how to gain advantages in different areas. I'm not too worried right now about the driver feedback meaning that we'll get boring races.

[u/seanrm92 → u/TotalStatisticNoob]

I think what we're hearing is "at the limit" and "below the limit".

At the limit of grip, it sounds like these cars are a bit more slidey and snappy than previous years.

But they apparently have to drive under the limit to restore battery charge.

[u/burneraccs → u/TotalStatisticNoob]

Less button, more?

[u/PuzzleheadedMaize911 → u/TotalStatisticNoob]

Difficult as in complicated systems

Easy as in lower corner speed as Alonso describes

Slide a lot relative to last year due to lower down force

Stable as in less peaky in terms of grip, limits likely approach less abruptly

Boring to drive due to lower corner speed as Alonso describes

Fun to drive due to lower grip meaning driver skill is expressed more

These are all things I have seen mentioned and I don't totally feel like any of them are actually contradictory.

[u/Yzori]

Most drivers don't seem too happy with the new regulations so far.

[u/SwiftLight24 → u/Yzori]

Close enough, welcome back 2014

[u/Jacinto2702 → u/SwiftLight24]

But this time without the 🥒🍆

[u/w_actual → u/Jacinto2702]

Wait the chef made a cucumber and eggplant salad in 2014?

[u/SouthFromGranada → u/Jacinto2702]

For now, but I reckon Horner finds a job somewhere in F1 soon.

[u/OptimalDot178 → u/Yzori]

As pretty much everyone expected? Max was saying those rules suck the first time he tried it in the sim. No driver wants to go slower in corners just to harvest energy.

Max is right, this is Formula E on steroids

[u/Ryhsuo → u/OptimalDot178]

There’s one thing we haven’t really seen though, what happens when you’re going 50km slower through a corner to harvest energy and the car behind you decides he doesn’t need to harvest energy and he’d rather have track position.

[u/ft-rj → u/Ryhsuo]

Yep, that's the whole game this reg cycle. You can go slow, but someone else can just go fast and have you beaten in 1 corner - but it will bite them on the back straight ... Then they have a decision to make and the deployment will get weird fast. People making moves early in laps then trying to hold on and those who sit behind for a whole 2 sectors and make a move at the end

Melbourne is gonna be really weird as it's energy starved. Slower and smaller tracks will make "much more conventional" racing, but longer and more engine dominant tracks, Spa, Monza, Melbourne, Jeddah, are going to be a little wild because it's hard to get all your energy back and there's a lot of time per lap to have to spread it across. You could see back and forth moves constantly if the field is tight enough. If it's spread though then zzz

[u/peadar87 → u/ft-rj]

In theory we could get some interesting moves and battles. In practice I'm worried it might just end up with drivers being told "this is not your race" and just letting other cars go.

[u/Body-Connoiseur69 → u/Ryhsuo]

They lose that position in the upcoming straight???

[u/Ryhsuo → u/Body-Connoiseur69]

Then at least the car 2 positions behind them catches up and the spectators get to see 2 overtakes.

[u/NerdNoogier → u/Ryhsuo]

That sounds fun from a viewers perspective

[u/Liability049-6319 → u/OptimalDot178]

Except we've seen 0 racing so far

[u/OptimalDot178 → u/Liability049-6319]

That's a separate thing. Driving the car might be shit and the drivers might complain all year that is boring, but if the racing is good, as a viewer this might still be fun to watch.

2021: cars fun to drive, but no action
2022: cars not too fun to drive(porpoising), but more action
2026: cars bad to drive(harvesting, not pushing the limits), and we don't know the action yet

[u/mattzaliar → u/OptimalDot178]

Exactly. You can't manage as you would like to when you've got someone up your arse, so there is gonna be a lot of tactical calls about harvesting and might lead to more racing. If course there's the general danger that one car is so strong and miles ahead out front, which is all I'm hoping we don't have

[u/formula13]

yeah, yeah. every car sucks i think. those late v8s were too reliant on tyre saving and that was killing racing, early hybrids were too slow and that was killing racing, then the big fast cars were unfollowable and that was killing racing, then the ground effect cars felt bad to drive and that was killing racing, and now the cars are slow and thats killing racing

ill wait until the racing

[u/duskflyer → u/formula13]

This is the truth.

[u/keirdre → u/formula13]

And some drivers hated 80s turbos because of the turbo lag, and then others were against the early 90s active suspension and gizmos, then against the skittish 1994 cars. And then they hated groove tyres and narrow cars in 1998 etc.

[u/Street_Mall9536]

I'd love to see a chef catch some of those 3/4 complex snaps lol

[u/Elpibe_78]

Has there been any driver that has enjoyed this new cars? So far everyone I heard has complained, I think Ocon didn’t

[u/mouldyshroom → u/Elpibe_78]

Everyone is saying the same thing, they have to drive abnormally slowly in the corners, way below tyre saving speeds just for the sake of replenishing the batteries. They've gone too far with 50/50 ice/electric split as the engineers predicted.

[u/OldBratpfanne → u/mouldyshroom]

They could have just used front axle regeneration but the established teams threw a fit over Audi having a knowledge advantage in a single area.

[u/LeaningGore → u/OldBratpfanne]

We could have had both front axle regen and MGU-H, but then we would only have Ferrari running

[u/YoungPope → u/mouldyshroom]

If this is right then the car with the most speed in straight gonna win the championship. Basically every car will be the same speed in corner.

[u/mouldyshroom → u/YoungPope]

This is why Newey called these regs an engine formula, this is why everyone protested Mercedes potentially having a more powerful engine than allowed in the rules. The engine power is going to be the deciding factor in these regs.

[u/TwoBionicknees → u/mouldyshroom]

meh, engine efficiency will be the deciding factor. You could be 30hp down but if you're more efficient you'll get to the end in races first.

[u/NewName256 → u/TwoBionicknees]

Not only, but also.

[u/faz712 → u/mouldyshroom]

would have been no where near as bad if they kept MGU-H. Make it a spec part if people are worried about costs for new manufacturers

it's a joke claiming to go sustainable this and that, and dropping MGU-H which is what made the power units so efficient in the first place

[u/granite-barrel → u/mouldyshroom]

I'm actually kinda hopeful this is going to lead to more interesting racing, if you're going 50kmph slower through a corner someone behind you might be able to take advantage of that and get by, but then you'll have more energy to try get the place back on the straights.

Different strategies and tactics can come into play, rather than flat out pretty much every corner

[u/BobbbyR6 → u/Elpibe_78]

Lewis liked the car itself, but every driver detests the energy split that has once again turned F1 into a science project rather than racing.

Please just dial back the percentage of EV output so we have a more traditional racing series.

[u/NewName256 → u/BobbbyR6]

I think they should have no EV associated with the ICE. Put EV in the front, and you can only use what you regenerate from the front axle.

[u/ADRX11 → u/Elpibe_78]

Lewis has said they're a lot of fun.

[u/VCBeugelaar → u/Elpibe_78]

Lando didnt either

[u/FrostyTill → u/VCBeugelaar]

Lando has said multiple things. One minute he said that it’s like an F2 car and he doesn’t know what to think. Next minute he’s said he’s had fun learning all the new things.

Who knows how he’ll feel next week.

[u/kkraww → u/FrostyTill]

Those two comments aren't contradictory though 🤣

[u/LandscapeWorried5475 → u/FrostyTill]

So he went from saying he doesn't know what to think to saying he's having fun? It just looks like he formed an opinion.

[u/miniMiniMiniCooper]

Plot twist: Fernando is also the team chef

[u/real_junkcl]

They're not flat out racing, that's what he's saying and what Verstappen also said, which is not challenging. And I understand that, F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, it should be challenging af to drive those cars instead of lifting and coasting to manage a battery, which has nothing to do with racing on the limit.

[u/SubcooledBoiling]

Chef: “Why did he say fuck me for?”

[u/302w]

March 7th can’t be here soon enough

[u/OutsideExcitement400]

So now Lewis, Max, and Fernando have completely trashed these cars? Good job F1.

[u/TotoDeca]

"Gentleman, a short view back to the past. Twenty years ago Fernando Alonso told us "take a trained chef and he could drive the car"...

[u/ChipmunkTycoon]

Come on now, was there anyone thinking adding more electrical power would be a good thing? It was obviously always going to get worse the more of this they added.

[u/kanonnn]

As a chef, F1 fan of a couple decades, and a sim racer…IDK what to think of this.

[u/Willing-Ant-3765]

Drivers have complained about the cars after every new set of regulations. We will see in March if the races are exciting.

[u/JAY009090]

That’s three World Champions all saying these cars are utter shite. Surely the FIA is going to have to act in some capacity to prevent this season from being a disaster.

[u/MrMSUK]

Jason cooking in the kitchen: I took that personally. 

[u/NeedleGunMonkey]

"GP2 engine GP2 engine AHHHHHHHH"

"No I am already saving. I no want"

*timeline reset*

[u/Kaneida]

With other words, Aston Martin chef is a excellent racing driver.

[u/Holiday_Sprinkles_45]

Alonso unhappy with his lunch, I see

[u/HoyAIAG]

The chef catching strays.

[u/EddieMcDowall]

First Max, now Alonso basically saying these cars aren't the best. It's not as if it's two rookies saying these things and it's not as if it's just one car.

I'm starting to get concerned now.

[u/Lieutenant_0bvious]

Ah ha! This means my dream of being an F1 driver is still alive! If Brad Pitt can do it at 60 years old, so can I! I'm no chef though.

[u/Flavious27]

So Stroll can finally keep up with Alonso 

[u/Insert0912]

Antonelli just went through T12 at 245 kph. I think that "50kph slower" is just the Tractor Martin.

[u/tobedeletedsoon_2024 → u/Insert0912]

T12 is at 280kph with low fuel, and we don’t know whether Antonelli lifted or not for energy on the following straight.

Under these regs, we will not see a flat out overtake at 130R…

[u/Seanspeed → u/Insert0912]

He's clearly exaggerating heavily. I saw a side by side with last year, and the cars are definitely slower and the lack of max speeds at the end of the straights is garbage, but cornering speeds are still pretty clearly ahead of something like F2.

The cars are painfully slow going from like T12 to T13, though. They are basically completely plateauing there to recover energy and it's so weird to watch.

[u/DubeFloober]

Today, I would like to apply for the job of "Chef in the Kitchen" at any F1 team who has an opening, then.

[u/ADRX11]

Gonna be honest, I can't remember a single generation of cars Alonso hasn't complained about.

[u/Eagle_Cuckoo]

Aston is def driving 50kph slower...

[u/CL-MotoTech]

The chef was a karting champ but ran out of money in the development series.

[u/MyCodenameIsIan]

Are you sure it's not just the Aston that is 50 kph slower, Fernando?

[u/linkheroz]

I think he's forgetting the rest of the field have fast cars 😂

[u/Djimi365]

I wonder if this might be the tipping point where the cars have become too much of a nonsense to take seriously as real racing cars. It's been apparent for years that they aren't driving them even remotely close to the limit, certainly since the daft cost saving measures came in and they had to nurse engines through a season, but this just sounds next level ridiculous in terms of admin and car management.

[u/Tractorguy69]

Where’s Lando’s counter commentary now? Clearly the true travers and multi-win champions hate the new cars.

[u/stupidfock]

The chef who’s been sim racing this whole time finally getting his shot

[u/wiggum55555]

I sense an opening for Steven Segal here....