• Aston Martin

    From EB5AGV@jose.gavila@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Tue Feb 17 18:31:42 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    Well, as a fan of Alonso since the beginning (so long ago!), I thought
    this could be the year he had again a decent car to fight for the very
    top... And, so far, Aston Martin is close to the bottom end.

    I am sure Newey can develop a fast car with the base they have. But,
    when?. Mid season perhaps?. Too late for big things, but perhaps some
    podium or victory is still possible.

    I keep the faith, but it is hard to take another bad beginning of
    season. Let's see what happens this week!. If the 4+ seconds are still
    there, AUS will be pretty hard to watch.

    Jose
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  • From Martin O Tx@martinot@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Tue Feb 24 01:09:07 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:31:42 +0100, EB5AGV <jose.gavila@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    I am sure Newey can develop a fast car with the base they have. But,
    when?. Mid season perhaps?. Too late for big things, but perhaps some
    podium or victory is still possible.

    I keep the faith, but it is hard to take another bad beginning of
    season. Let's see what happens this week!. If the 4+ seconds are still >there, AUS will be pretty hard to watch.

    I guess it might be first at next season until we can see the benefit
    from Newey on the car design and any major improvement.

    martin
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  • From Alan@nuh-uh@nope.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Mon Feb 23 17:29:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 2026-02-17 09:31, EB5AGV wrote:
    Well, as a fan of Alonso since the beginning (so long ago!), I thought
    this could be the year he had again a decent car to fight for the very top... And, so far, Aston Martin is close to the bottom end.

    I am sure Newey can develop a fast car with the base they have. But,
    when?. Mid season perhaps?. Too late for big things, but perhaps some
    podium or victory is still possible.

    I keep the faith, but it is hard to take another bad beginning of
    season. Let's see what happens this week!. If the 4+ seconds are still there, AUS will be pretty hard to watch.
    The issue doesn't appear to be with the chassis (and aerodynamics that
    go along with it) that Newey has designed.

    Multiple sources are reporting that the Honda powertrain package is significantly down on power from the electric part of the system.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin O Tx@martinot@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Tue Feb 24 12:03:34 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:29:49 -0800, Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> wrote:

    The issue doesn't appear to be with the chassis (and aerodynamics that
    go along with it) that Newey has designed.

    Multiple sources are reporting that the Honda powertrain package is >significantly down on power from the electric part of the system.

    Yes, it seems lacking accoring to many reports. Any hope that Honda
    will step and recover the peformance of the electrical part of their powertrain, or will it likely be next season for any major
    improvements?
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Alan@nuh-uh@nope.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Tue Feb 24 12:36:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 2026-02-24 03:03, Martin O Tx wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:29:49 -0800, Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> wrote:

    The issue doesn't appear to be with the chassis (and aerodynamics that
    go along with it) that Newey has designed.

    Multiple sources are reporting that the Honda powertrain package is
    significantly down on power from the electric part of the system.

    Yes, it seems lacking accoring to many reports. Any hope that Honda
    will step and recover the peformance of the electrical part of their powertrain, or will it likely be next season for any major
    improvements?

    At this point, I don't think anyone can say for certain.

    Is the problem such that it can't be fixed under the rules currently in
    place for the power unit (or whatever they're officially calling the
    whole ICE plus electric enchilada)? I don't know.

    The deadline for homologation of the power unit is March 1, so if they
    know what didn't work, they may still be able to sort it out before
    major changes are locked out for a while.

    There is a system of Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities
    (ADUO) within the current rules, but the first review of performance
    happens after race 6. Apparently, if you're 2% behind in "power index",
    you automatically get an ADUO token. And if you're 4% of the pace,
    apparently you get two tokens.

    There's also apparently a "reliability" loophole that lets you make
    changes provided they don't increase the power available, AND the other
    engine makers have to agree that they aren't being made for that reason.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ~misfit~@shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Thu Feb 26 00:34:27 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 25/02/2026 12:03 am, Martin O Tx wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:29:49 -0800, Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> wrote:

    The issue doesn't appear to be with the chassis (and aerodynamics that
    go along with it) that Newey has designed.

    Multiple sources are reporting that the Honda powertrain package is
    significantly down on power from the electric part of the system.

    Yes, it seems lacking accoring to many reports. Any hope that Honda
    will step and recover the peformance of the electrical part of their powertrain, or will it likely be next season for any major
    improvements?

    I doubt that it's a hardware issue as Honda are not new to EVs (or F1 for that matter) and should
    be capable of building an MGU and battery that meets the specs. I'm inclined to think that it's a
    software issue that can be solved within a few races at the outside. The software is very
    complicated for this era of F1, they are basically getting 700kW out of a 350kW ICE by harvesting
    everything available when less than full power is required from the ICE for forward motion.
    Basically the ICE is required to deliver most of it's power at all times, either to the wheels or
    to the battery.

    At tracks that traditionally have high power demands this new formula will struggle. The only way
    it can deliver times remotely close to previously is on tracks where there would traditionally be a
    lot of time not on throttle. Then the ICE's power can be delivered to the battery for a significant
    part of the lap and deployed by the MGU when needed.
    --
    Shaun.

    "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification
    in the DSM"
    David Melville.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Mark@mpconmy@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Wed Feb 25 13:04:36 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    ~misfit~ <shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com> wrote:

    At tracks that traditionally have high power demands this new formula will struggle. The only way
    it can deliver times remotely close to previously is on tracks where there would traditionally be a
    lot of time not on throttle. Then the ICE's power can be delivered to the battery for a significant
    part of the lap and deployed by the MGU when needed.

    I think this is where F1 does shine, even if there are some stumbles
    along the way. Remember when they reduced both total fuel allowed and
    fuel flow and everyone predicted a massive drop in performance? The
    teams stepped up and just made everything more efficient (and a few
    dubious "interpretations" of the rules that needed clarifying).

    I have no doubt that the high speed tracks are going to be an issue, but
    I also have faith that teams will find clever solutions to them.

    I expect this season to be patchy. There will be at least one team with
    a clear advantage because they've adapted to the new regulations better
    than the rest leaving the field behind. There might even be utter
    domination from one team and their best driver...but that's what happens
    when you have major changes. A shake up was due and I expect next season
    will be even more interesting.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ~misfit~@shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Thu Feb 26 12:11:04 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 26/02/2026 2:04 am, Mark wrote:
    ~misfit~ <shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com> wrote:

    At tracks that traditionally have high power demands this new formula will struggle. The only way
    it can deliver times remotely close to previously is on tracks where there would traditionally be a
    lot of time not on throttle. Then the ICE's power can be delivered to the battery for a significant
    part of the lap and deployed by the MGU when needed.

    I think this is where F1 does shine, even if there are some stumbles
    along the way. Remember when they reduced both total fuel allowed and
    fuel flow and everyone predicted a massive drop in performance? The
    teams stepped up and just made everything more efficient (and a few
    dubious "interpretations" of the rules that needed clarifying).

    I have no doubt that the high speed tracks are going to be an issue, but
    I also have faith that teams will find clever solutions to them.

    I expect this season to be patchy. There will be at least one team with
    a clear advantage because they've adapted to the new regulations better
    than the rest leaving the field behind. There might even be utter
    domination from one team and their best driver...but that's what happens
    when you have major changes. A shake up was due and I expect next season
    will be even more interesting.

    It is going to be an interesting season for sure, but for me mainly from a technological viewpoint.
    One of the selling points of the new formula was supposed to be that it would be less
    technologically influenced and more driver-centric. It's shaping up to be the opposite of that as
    far as I can tell. Also what the drivers are expected to be doing in the cockpit is getting further
    and further away for what I relate to as 'driving'.

    Expect the Ferrari powered cars to win all of the starts making qualifying less important. Their
    smaller lighter turbos will gain them track position.

    Even with the extra 5 seconds added into the start procedure I worry that some drivers (with more
    massive turbos) will still get the start procedure wrong and that it could potentially be very
    dangerous as the other drivers have so much more to concentrate on. Anti-stall could become
    treacherous unless it's changed from it's current 'engage clutch' form. Ideally it should become a
    'kick in electric power' safety feature but then everyone would use it. (Currently electric power
    can't be used under 50(?) kmh... I believe.)
    --
    Shaun.

    "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification
    in the DSM"
    David Melville.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ~misfit~@shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Thu Feb 26 12:47:14 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 26/02/2026 12:11 pm, ~misfit~ wrote:
    <snip>
    Expect the Ferrari powered cars to win all of the starts making qualifying less important. Their
    smaller lighter turbos will gain them track position.

    Even with the extra 5 seconds added into the start procedure I worry that some drivers (with more
    massive turbos) will still get the start procedure wrong and that it could potentially be very
    dangerous as the other drivers have so much more to concentrate on. Anti-stall could become
    treacherous unless it's changed from it's current 'engage clutch' form. Ideally it should become a
    'kick in electric power' safety feature but then everyone would use it. (Currently electric power
    can't be used under 50(?) kmh... I believe.)

    So I was trying to confirm the 50kmh threshold for electric power as I wasn't completely sure and
    found this article which basically says (some of) what I just did:

    <https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/why-2026-f1-race-starts-are-a-problem-waiting-to-happen/>

    I think that since that was written they have added 5 seconds to the start procedure and increased
    the 'superclipping' limit.
    --
    Shaun.

    "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification
    in the DSM"
    David Melville.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin O Tx@martinot@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Thu Feb 26 12:23:03 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 2026-02-26 00:47, ~misfit~ wrote:
    On 26/02/2026 12:11 pm, ~misfit~ wrote:
    <snip>

    <https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/why-2026- f1-race-starts-are-a-problem-waiting-to-happen/>

    I think that since that was written they have added 5 seconds to the
    start procedure and increased the 'superclipping' limit.

    Great article with a summary over the potentual consequences from the
    new technical regulation, and in particularly the loss of the MGU-H.
    Thanks! Efai

    martin
    --
    From the West Coast of Sweden
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ~misfit~@shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Fri Feb 27 11:56:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 27/02/2026 12:23 am, Martin O Tx wrote:
    On 2026-02-26 00:47, ~misfit~ wrote:
    On 26/02/2026 12:11 pm, ~misfit~ wrote:
    <snip>

    <https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/why-2026- f1-race-starts-are-a-
    problem-waiting-to-happen/>

    I think that since that was written they have added 5 seconds to the start procedure and
    increased the 'superclipping' limit.

    Great article with a summary over the potentual consequences from the new technical regulation, and
    in particularly the loss of the MGU-H. Thanks! Efai

    You're welcome. I bemoaned the loss of the MGU-H at every opportunity I had since I heard it was
    going. I think it was the single biggest leap forward for a turbo hybrid vehicle in the last
    decades and massively increased ICE efficiency (as well as drivability).

    F1 originally decided to drop it as potential new manufacturers (specifically Audi and Porsche at
    the time) said it was too complex and expensive. They also claimed that they could never compete
    with current PU manufacturers as they'd had years to perfect the design. So, as an incentive to
    encourage them to enter F1 they agreed to delete the MGU-H.

    Of course now they've re-written history and claim it's too expensive for all teams and has little
    road relevance. It's true that few road cars have an MGU-H as it's one of those 'last 10% of power'
    things and isn't cost effective for most road cars.

    If memory serves (and increasingly it doesn't) it was originally Porsche who were considering
    entering F1 who said they wouldn't as long as the MGU-H existed in the sport. F1 then announced
    they'd drop it from the next formula to entice Porsche to join. (Because of that I'll never buy a
    Porsche <cough>.) In the end Porsche declined to join F1. The irony is that now the Porsche 992.2
    Carrera GTS has an MGU-H!
    --
    Shaun.

    "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification
    in the DSM"
    David Melville.
    --- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ~misfit~@shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Mon Mar 2 11:48:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 26/02/2026 12:34 am, ~misfit~ wrote:
    On 25/02/2026 12:03 am, Martin O Tx wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:29:49 -0800, Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> wrote:

    The issue doesn't appear to be with the chassis (and aerodynamics that
    go along with it) that Newey has designed.

    Multiple sources are reporting that the Honda powertrain package is
    significantly down on power from the electric part of the system.

    Yes, it seems lacking accoring to many reports. Any hope that Honda
    will step and recover the peformance of the electrical part of their
    powertrain, or will it likely be next season for any major
    improvements?

    I doubt that it's a hardware issue as Honda are not new to EVs (or F1 for that matter) and should
    be capable of building an MGU and battery that meets the specs. I'm inclined to think that it's a
    software issue that can be solved within a few races at the outside.
    Well it seems my guess was wrong.

    The HONDA Problem EXPLAINED (Aston Martin F1)

    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylHheLNqGOo>

    tldw is the battery pack is rigidly mounted to the ICE this year and is being damaged by vibrations.
    --
    Shaun.

    "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification
    in the DSM"
    David Melville.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Mark Jackson@mjackson@alumni.caltech.edu to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Mon Mar 2 10:07:00 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 3/1/2026 5:48 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
    tldw is the battery pack is rigidly mounted to the ICE this year and is being damaged by vibrations.

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/aston-martin-plans-early-australian-gp-retirements-amid-honda-f1-crisis/10801586/

    Satisfy the 107% rule, race a few laps (to avoid breaching the
    Concorde), then retire.
    --
    Mark Jackson - https://mark-jackson.online/
    The "i" in "LLM" stands for intelligence.
    - Daniel Stenberg
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Edmund@nomail@hotmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Mon Mar 2 16:45:16 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 3/1/26 11:48 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
    On 26/02/2026 12:34 am, ~misfit~ wrote:
    On 25/02/2026 12:03 am, Martin O Tx wrote:
    On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:29:49 -0800, Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com> wrote:

    The issue doesn't appear to be with the chassis (and aerodynamics that >>>> go along with it) that Newey has designed.

    Multiple sources are reporting that the Honda powertrain package is
    significantly down on power from the electric part of the system.

    Yes, it seems lacking accoring to many reports. Any hope that Honda
    will step and recover the peformance of the electrical part of their
    powertrain, or will it likely be next season for any major
    improvements?

    I doubt that it's a hardware issue as Honda are not new to EVs (or F1
    for that matter) and should be capable of building an MGU and battery
    that meets the specs. I'm inclined to think that it's a software issue
    that can be solved within a few races at the outside.
    Well it seems my guess was wrong.

    The HONDA Problem EXPLAINED (Aston Martin F1)

    <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylHheLNqGOo>

    tldw is the battery pack is rigidly mounted to the ICE this year and is being damaged by vibrations.

    Vibrations you say? so EXACTLY as the last time Honda returned to F1!
    You can leave it to those arrogant japanese lunatics to make the same
    blunders again and again.
    --
    Once an organization gains any influence, it will be corrupted from both within and without.

    Edmund
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Martin O Tx@martinot@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Mon Mar 2 23:12:41 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 2026-02-26 23:56, ~misfit~ wrote:
    On 27/02/2026 12:23 am, Martin O Tx wrote:
    On 2026-02-26 00:47, ~misfit~ wrote:
    On 26/02/2026 12:11 pm, ~misfit~ wrote:
    <snip>

    <https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/
    why-2026- f1-race-starts-are-a- problem-waiting-to-happen/>

    I think that since that was written they have added 5 seconds to the
    start procedure and increased the 'superclipping' limit.

    Great article with a summary over the potentual consequences from the
    new technical regulation, and in particularly the loss of the MGU-H.
    Thanks! Efai

    You're welcome. I bemoaned the loss of the MGU-H at every opportunity I
    had since I heard it was going. I think it was the single biggest leap forward for a turbo hybrid vehicle in the last decades and massively increased ICE efficiency (as well as drivability).

    F1 originally decided to drop it as potential new manufacturers (specifically Audi and Porsche at the time) said it was too complex and expensive. They also claimed that they could never compete with current
    PU manufacturers as they'd had years to perfect the design. So, as an incentive to encourage them to enter F1 they agreed to delete the MGU-H.

    Of course now they've re-written history and claim it's too expensive
    for all teams and has little road relevance. It's true that few road
    cars have an MGU-H as it's one of those 'last 10% of power' things and
    isn't cost effective for most road cars.

    If memory serves (and increasingly it doesn't) it was originally Porsche
    who were considering entering F1 who said they wouldn't as long as the
    MGU-H existed in the sport. F1 then announced they'd drop it from the
    next formula to entice Porsche to join. (Because of that I'll never buy
    a Porsche <cough>.) In the end Porsche declined to join F1. The irony is that now the Porsche 992.2 Carrera GTS has an MGU-H!

    Yes, I think it is a clear step backwards in F1 technology to skip the
    MGU-H. Too bad that FIA and FOM caved in to the pressure from the VAG-group.

    martin
    --
    From the West Coast of Sweden
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From ~misfit~@shaun.at.pukekohe@gmail.com to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Tue Mar 3 11:29:24 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 3/03/2026 4:07 am, Mark Jackson wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 5:48 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
    tldw is the battery pack is rigidly mounted to the ICE this year and is being damaged by vibrations.

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/aston-martin-plans-early-australian-gp-retirements-amid-honda-f1-
    crisis/10801586/

    Satisfy the 107% rule, race a few laps (to avoid breaching the Concorde), then retire.

    Yeah that's bad.

    Cheers.
    --
    Shaun.

    "Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy little classification
    in the DSM"
    David Melville.
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Eric@nawww@afraidnot.org to rec.autos.sport.f1 on Mon Mar 2 19:22:31 2026
    From Newsgroup: rec.autos.sport.f1

    On 2026-03-02 8:07am, Mark Jackson wrote:
    On 3/1/2026 5:48 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
    tldw is the battery pack is rigidly mounted to the ICE this year and
    is being damaged by vibrations.

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/aston-martin-plans-early-australian- gp-retirements-amid-honda-f1-crisis/10801586/

    Satisfy the 107% rule, race a few laps (to avoid breaching the
    Concorde), then retire.


    Going to be another long season for old Fernando...
    --- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2