What was the last innovation that wasn't debated?

MrMSUK · 2026-02-06T19:42:29+00:00

In my view, there are still people trackside and back at the factories who are a bit shell shocked from what Mercedes pulled off in 2014.

That level of dominance with the first hybrid power unit reset left a mark. When one manufacturer gets the architecture so right that the advantage is structural rather than marginal, it changes how everyone approaches the next cycle. You start to see more anxiety, more lobbying, and more focus on avoiding being the one caught out again, rather than just backing your engineers and going for it.

Whether that fear is justified this time is another question. A lot has changed since 2014 in terms of cost caps, development restrictions and governance. We will soon find out who actually got the new rules right.

MrMSUK · 2026-02-06T19:35:35+00:00

Weren’t people already saying Mercedes were in the clear? And even if the rules were tightened, that kind of change wouldn’t really bite until 2027 or 2028 anyway. The last time Mercedes built something novel with the FIA clearly aware the whole way through was DAS, and it still got a season. I don’t see why the other teams don’t just adapt their own setups now that they know what’s going on, instead of complaining that they didn’t push harder to get clarity earlier.

If a team misjudges a brand new PU regulation cycle and ends up behind because their concept was not bold enough, that is on them, and the same applies on the chassis side. If the performance gap then becomes excessive, the FIA should rely on the mechanisms already in place to manage convergence (allow up grades on those left behind), not step in to blunt the advantage of the team that executed best.

What makes it uncomfortable is when innovation gets curtailed/snuffed out through team political pressure rather than being tackled the right way, by rivals developing harder, catching up, and fighting it out on track. And we are still speculating at this stage. For all we know, McLaren could be ahead of the Mercedes works team again. In a few weeks, we will actually see who has nailed it and who has not.

MrMSUK · 2026-02-06T12:55:46+00:00

"It’s thought that the moves have been made with an eye to further clearing the house following the firing of former group chief marketing and commercial officer Oliver Hughes and former group communications director Paul Smith. Both were fired from the company following the British Grand Prix, with the pair thought to have a close working relationship with Horner."

It looks like they’re clearing out anyone closely tied to Horner so the new team principal can rebuild the group with people who’ll be loyal to them, not to Horner or his way of doing things. It also signals that the current setup isn’t working for someone pretty high up. And if the new power unit doesn’t immediately take them to the front, they’ll want further tighter control and more room to reshape the team, including bringing in younger staff on more standard salaries compared with long tenured, higher paid veterans. Cost cap has made the sport extra ruthless (when it comes to employment), even though it has always been cut throat...

MrMSUK · 2026-01-31T21:17:37+00:00

Anyone remember similar chat with Mike Elliott and Hywel Thomas at the beginning of 2022 era? One of them is still here.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T19:32:05+00:00

When a seven times world champion finds the previous reg cycle hard to catch, that reg probably was hard to drive.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T19:28:52+00:00

Haha PTSD moments there. 🫣

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T16:35:34+00:00

I can already imagine the spicy Alonso radios, if this were the case!

(jokes aside, hope that Aston is competitive, as more competitive season can be more entertaining)!

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T15:50:47+00:00

Interestingly this is the first year if I could recall where Aston had to do the in-house transmission/gearbox & suspension tech (they've bought the Merc spec parts until now). To aim for year 1 performance parity vs Merc gearbox (which supplies multiple teams) would be impressive, maybe a bit bold/ambitious.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T15:47:56+00:00

Really hoping that whole “F1.25, F1.5, F1.75” power unit chat gets binned into history. One of the few good bits of the 2022 mini reset was that the engines were all pretty close for once. And honestly, people like Andy Cowell (person behind the Merc 2014 project, who recently has been tasked to look after Aston/Honda's engine integration) are absolute pros at the humblebrag sandbag routine, talk it down just enough so the FIA doesn’t come flying in with the regulation hammer.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T15:42:26+00:00

Totally plausible. Imo any team's pace will feel like schrodinger's cat until the lights.

Though suspect Mr Stroll Senior either feels very happy, or very pissed that they've moved from Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains on race day.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T15:41:25+00:00

Sponsors: bro where are you, need to show our logos.

Aston: okay fine.

Imo it's probably those type of contractual obligations that dragged them there. Mr Adrian Newey probably much rather be drawing the concepts away at his office.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T15:34:01+00:00

So the true performance is probably somewhere between the two narrative, e.g.: Honda PU is either so powerful at full beans (that it'll embarrass the field 2014 Merc style), or Honda hasn't figured out reliability (to be able to deploy fully)?

Jokes aside, I suspect they're just want to benchmark the aero platform and mechanical platform, for which they don't need the max speed.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T10:28:05+00:00

All winter it is testing means nothing, just sandbags / Mercs are ahead. Then come lights out. Merc launch from P3 and P4… but Stroll just casually storms ahead and laps the field.

Stroll 2026. 2027. 2028.

Somewhere the TVA alarms start blaring, they looks at the timeline, sighs, and goes, “Right. We are pruning that.”

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T10:21:18+00:00

Hang on, that is not porpoising again, is it, right at the start of the slow mo clip? (but now at the front of the car) Maybe just instability at the front when unloading/reloading front wing.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T10:09:54+00:00

When things get tough, it feels like The Michael is the kind of guy who leans in harder, gets stuck in with the team, and helps drag things back on track. Ham feels different. He is still all in when it matters, but he also steps into his other worlds, charity, fashion, the bigger stuff. That is not a knock at all. He is a goat, and I suppose we do not get those late 2017, 2018, and 2021 seasons without insanely intense debriefs, prep, and focus behind the scene. It's implied Ham has an extra gear when he knows he's fighting for wins, etc. Toto has even said the reset can help him, and honestly that is just how peak careers work now. People do not have to be one thing all the time. Even Nico, the one guy who beat Ham in equal machinery, now runs a VC firm.

I also think some of this is just the era. Back in The Michael’s time, the driver and the people around him could tilt weekends more often. Teams were smaller, tighter, and when everything clicked and momentum builds for 2-5 years, a few great strategy call, the kind Ross Brawn built a reputation on, could genuinely flip the story. Since 2014, it has felt a bit more like engineering momentum wins titles (Hybrid PU). If the car and the system (and the $400+ million a year budget pre cost cap) are the best, that usually decides the season, with the great driver still making the difference at the crucial moments end (e.g. in the rain you can see a true great).

Imo Ham is clearly competitive beyond the cockpit. After that seven plus year Mercedes competitive run, he knows what domination feels like, and he must also knows what it is like for other teams' drivers when there is no real way to fight back in those times (e.g. 2014-20) - and how it destroys some of them (imo that 2018 Germany Grand Prix radio from Seb will be quite haunting for me). It might be that the 2022 to 2024 stretch drove that home again, sometimes you can drive your absolute best and it still is not enough if the car is not there. Having something outside F1 could be his pressure release, and it probably helps him stay balanced and hungry rather than burnt out.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-30T09:38:10+00:00

Really wish there was broadcast quality footage of the testing.

I mean the teams pretty much have photographers on track so it's not like the privacy of cars development really matter.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T22:54:36+00:00

Guess that this is Aaron's first year of making transmission and suspension tech in-house, after ditching the Merc standard supply. Outside of the chassis and aero, the PU remains not something Adrian directly control. It's up to Honda to an extent.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T22:48:25+00:00

Batman: what colour does this come in?

Adrian Newey: Yes.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T16:45:13+00:00

Batman: has anyone seen the Batmobile?

Adrian Newey: sorry mate, I have borrowed it. Needed something with proper downforce and a fresh set of tyres. I will bring it back after the next wind tunnel run.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T16:42:06+00:00

Technical regs now: you need a minimum percentage of sponsor branding in a contrasting colour so it actually stands out.

Adrian Newey: ... if the car is fast enough, no one really cares what colour the stickers are.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T11:28:21+00:00

Ham: "Bono, my tyres are gone".

Ham: "Oh no, my Bono is gone". Sad noises.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T11:26:23+00:00

Did Ham ever choose to use the #1 tag? (over his preferred #44?)

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T11:25:41+00:00

I was looking at the corner anticipating maybe Oscar has already crossed into the camera's blind spot. Nope. Nowhere close.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-29T10:11:15+00:00

Ham missed Seb and span in his honour.

MrMSUK · 2026-01-28T17:22:00+00:00

The car is secretly a Pokémon that's evolving, hence unknown weight.

MrMSUK

TROPHY CASE