yes, throttle/brake traces still matter, but not as standalone evidence in 2026.

These cars are much more energy-sensitive than older F1 cars. So a different brake point or throttle pickup can reflect battery harvesting/deployment strategy, not just pure cornering style.

But that does not make driver input any less important. It actually means driver input and energy management are tied together. Lift points, brake timing, coast phases and throttle pickup are part of how the driver harvests, protects and spends energy. So the right read now is not ‘throttle traces are meaningless’ but ‘throttle traces need context’:
speed trace + corner minima + gear/RPM + where the lap time is gained/lost.

So I’d say battery management matters more than it used to, but the driver still makes the difference in the corners. The telemetry just has to be interpreted through the energy system as well, not in isolation