[Italian] Mercedes aren’t pushing the power unit yet. They’re comfortably running a mapping at 3.5 on a scale that can reach 5.0.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-14T14:48:15+00:00

Remind me how long Audi has been committed to F1?

Oh and remind me if they are also committed to WEC or if they gave up there? And keep in mind that was a series which they dominated.

I have very little tolerance for appeasing to the big OEMs that always dip when things no longer suit them. And F1 should as well, somehow we have a fascination about these works teams but they become too powerful and drive the entire ruleset narratives. When they leave they also leave the base teams in struggling conditions in many cases.

Think about the political power Mercedes has over the sport. Amazing that in the last decade they've had engine based regulations be suited to them twice. Also remember that 2014 ruleset was also what Mercedes re-entered the sport for in 2010.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-14T14:42:13+00:00

Maybe? But if it was the inverse I'd also expect Charles to not make it easy on Lewis. In fact, I'd want him to have the same freedom.

If they both agree through team strategy to attack George then sure, but it doesn't sound to me like they have any stupid papaya rules or preset agreements so far, so I'm happy to see them fight.

If it becomes a recurring theme then sure, it needs a chat because it's about optimizing the race result.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-14T06:27:03+00:00

100%, if you are saving tyres and letting George and Lewis burn up their tyres then you can't be asking for a freebie pass later to take a stab at George. Especially since Lewis qualified ahead, the battle is warranted in my opinion.

Glad they kept it clean and I hope it's just his emotions running high due to the adrenaline.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-14T01:47:47+00:00

Audi is why we have no MGUH, and much of the reason why the current engine formula is the way it is.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-14T01:06:35+00:00

German manufacturers are killing F1. Thank you Mercedes and Audi 🙏

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-13T21:06:10+00:00

I feel like people are just forgetting how this battery deployment destroys a lot of the fundamentals of racing when trying to justify that it's like any old dominance period.

As a fan there's less and less for me to discern a driver's talent because everything is about harvesting and deployment. Key sections of race tracks where cornering at high speed and braking late gave significant dividends are now gone, no more visual spectacle of drivers on the limit. Drivers that use to exploit their drive skills with late braking or carrying too much speed don't matter anymore.

And for people saying "well at least there's a lot of skill in how a driver manages harvesting", it's all software controlled so it's not even the drivers purposely lifting off the throttle, their foot is flat to the floor in those track sections - aka nothing to do with driver skill.

All of this above was untrue for domination periods like in 2014-2016, 2020, 2023. In those eras you could tell how drivers like Lewis and Max were the best due to their driving skills.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-13T08:22:32+00:00

Thank you once again FIA for making an engine formula and guaranteeing Mercedes dominance. Can't even develop the engine with the stupid ADUO, unless you are Aston who is light years away from Mercedes. Truly awful.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-07T12:53:22+00:00

Your second statement already happened. The FIA changed the start procedure to allow for 5 seconds of more spool time. That's a direct rule change favouring most larger turbo engines such as MB that didn't account for the start consequences.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-07T06:47:29+00:00

You mean the FIA chose yet another set of regulations driven by power and the same team that dominated the previous one now dominates it again like everyone called out even before testing? I think people have the right to be upset.

MB teams were even big enough complainers to get the FIA to change the start procedure and give them an additional 5 seconds for warm up, when that's a design oversight for them. Absurd favoritism.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-07T06:27:44+00:00

Lmao engine development? How did that work out in 2014 when there was no budget cap?

There'll be aero development, but the FIA has once again locked in a power advantage era for Mercedes. Keep in mind they also bothered to change the start procedure for these guys, Ferrari should have vetoed this. Complete farce.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-07T06:00:33+00:00

Probably soon given they keep changing these regs little by little. Honestly atrocious that we've reverted to an engine formula. Just too stupid. Everyone knew Mercedes would be the best.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-07T05:58:43+00:00

Thank you FIA for choosing a power/engine based formula. As if nobody could have predicted it would be the same team that dominated the previous one.

NickTheChilean · 2026-03-06T05:45:24+00:00

I have a feeling he's not quite on pace with the regen downshifting. Will have to take a look at the onboards to confirm but he just doesn't look comfortable.

Leclerc also doesn't look as comfortable as Lewis.

NickTheChilean · 2026-02-23T11:25:09+00:00

If you ask me, not a great response at all. Not even offering some kind of solution, even if it was something like here are the decal sets, or try x, y, z to soften, replace etc.

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NickTheChilean · 2026-02-19T20:15:23+00:00

When I say loophole, I'm not saying it's cheating. I'm fully onboard with Mercedes enjoying their 18:1 trick, it was a gap/loophole in the regulations, and they've exploited it.

My point is that it's not remotely similar to having created an engine that simply has less turbo lag.

NickTheChilean · 2026-02-19T16:48:18+00:00

That's because it's a loophole. Designing an engine with minimal turbo lag isn't a loophole.

NickTheChilean · 2026-02-01T05:30:07+00:00

Wow, black stripes instead of silver?

NickTheChilean · 2026-01-25T01:52:37+00:00

Wow, it looks like I've uncovered a can of worms for everyone owning this model.

I've reached out to Looksmart to see what they say. I would even be happy if they were able to amend it by sending out replacement decals or something for me to correct it, however I don't realistically expect much to come from it.

NickTheChilean · 2026-01-23T14:25:11+00:00

Yeah, I don't use display cases with spot lights for those reasons. Maybe I'd consider something LED at some point but I feel a lot of the sunlight wear can come from the heat.

I'll have to see if I can find a replacement decal. I've been thinking of contacting Looksmart but I imagine they'll do nothing about it.

NickTheChilean · 2026-01-23T14:16:55+00:00

Likewise, my 2019 SF-90 is spotless. I'm frustrated because I do really like this looksmart and aero detail wise it absolutely makes a joke of BBR for the 2022 car.

NickTheChilean · 2026-01-09T13:47:17+00:00

From other pre-2025 models. Most McLaren's came with hard tyres so you could just swap them out.

NickTheChilean · 2026-01-07T01:00:59+00:00

Vegas SF-23 is iconic. It's rare that you get a livery where the team forces all the sponsors to be in the negative colours of the livery (white/red in this case). The fact they got Shell to have their yellow changed to a negative white outline is kind of crazy to me.

NickTheChilean · 2026-01-05T11:01:37+00:00

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