Formula 1 2022-23 Off Season and TESTING ThreadFormula 1

[MagpieRacer]

Confirmed, Ford returns to F1 in 2026. No confirmed team in the release but it's expected to be announced that it will be Red Bull.

The circle is now complete, from Stewart-Ford in 1997, to a works Ford team in 2000, to Red Bull in 2005. Now it will be Red Bull Ford.

 

[Keef]

😭😭😭

 

[MagpieRacer]

A side quest from the launches, Leclerc hammered an F2002 around Abu Dhabi the other night.


I think we need to petition F1 to go back to these wide angle on board cameras, the lap is 10 seconds or so slower, but looks like it's about that much faster..

 

[Veinz]

Initial contact made over possible McLaren-Honda F1 reunion - The Race

Initial contact has been made between McLaren and Honda over a possible Formula 1 reunion as both explore 2026 engine rules options

the-race.com

🤔

Stranger things have happened, as a big fan of the Honda brand I hope this works out. These two need each other.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Mohammed Ben Sulayem to step back from direct Formula 1 involvement

Motorsport boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem says he will take a step back from direct involvement in Formula 1.

www.bbc.com

"I've made a mess of things and embarrassed myself and my organization more than once... my job here is done."

 

[Veinz]

Red Bull-Ford will not get full new F1 engine supplier status for 2026

www.motorsport.com

It's understood that the new partnership won't be guaranteed full new status because Red Bull Powertrains currently assembles battery packs for the existing Honda engine, and is thus deemed to have some prior knowledge of the technology.


By losing the 10% ERS contribution, its total score drops to 90%. The company will thus be able to take advantage of only 90% of the extra benefits on cost cap and capital expenditure limits that full newcomer Audi will receive

Seems like a fair deal to me.

 

[Famine]

Mohammed Ben Sulayem to step back from direct Formula 1 involvement

Motorsport boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem says he will take a step back from direct involvement in Formula 1.

www.bbc.com

"I've made a mess of things and embarrassed myself and my organization more than once... my job here is done."

Oh look, an analogy:

 

[Fezzik]

a real car this time

 

[ProjectWHaT]

Aero analysis of the Haas. It has a lot of interesting details compared to the other cars so far. They've made some changes around the suspension/brake cooling, side mirrors, and sharkfin

 

[MagpieRacer]

Ocons new helmet design is sick.

 

[GingerBredMan]

Very bold looking car

 

[nukleabomb]

W14 (potentially) got leaked during a Petronas YT Channel Test Stream

 

[Jimlaad43]

I hope that's black paint, because if it's Carbon that's peak laziness. If it is paint, awesome livery. If not...

 

[desmodan]

I'm expecting to see a lot more bare carbon this year after many teams struggled to hit their weight targets last season.

 

[MagpieRacer]

I'm expecting to see a lot more bare carbon this year after many teams struggled to hit their weight targets last season.

I think this is probably where it'll stick, last season was an outlier in terms of livery development through the season. This season it's more a case of the heavier tyres and new spec control boxes added weight again so they've had to strip back a bit more. Plus a lot of teams will target to be below the minimum weight so they can use the ballast to create balance.

So I don't think we'll see anyone peeling back more livery this season unless there's a car that particularly heavy.

 

[Fezzik]

 

[Pupik]

Oh, the show where they splice in an *‰¥@ every 8 seconds and complain about the £#&$ing car as much as possible. Also, when successfully winning a race.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Lance Stroll has had a minor bike accident and will miss Pre-Season testing. I suppose Felipe Drugovich will be on standby to do a test day and maybe the first race if Lance isn't ready in time.

Lance Stroll to miss pre-season Bahrain testing

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team announce that Lance Stroll will miss pre-season Bahrain testing

www.astonmartinf1.com

 

[Fezzik]

Lance Stroll has had a minor bike accident and will miss Pre-Season testing. I suppose Felipe Drugovich will be on standby to do a test day and maybe the first race if Lance isn't ready in time.

Lance Stroll to miss pre-season Bahrain testing

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team announce that Lance Stroll will miss pre-season Bahrain testing

www.astonmartinf1.com

They might go with Stoffel instead, depending on his FE schedule.

 

[toastet]

My guess would be Alonso all the way. Maybe an afternoon for someone else but it's only 3 test days. I doubt he'll miss this opportunity getting on with the new team + car.

 

[MagpieRacer]

My guess would be Alonso all the way. Maybe an afternoon for someone else but it's only 3 test days. I doubt he'll miss this opportunity getting on with the new team + car.

This is most likely. If it was a 2 car test then yeah someone else will jump in but it isn't. Fernando will do what he physically can.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Will be interesting to see how well Red Bull Ford Powertrains and Audi manage to create new power units given how much of a struggle it was for Honda even with the high level of resource they put into it and they also weren't out of F1 for long before signing back up. Being competitive and reliable from the get-go will be a strong ask, should be easier for the current suppliers.

I think it would be good for McLaren to reunite with Honda again if they make a comeback (As long as Honda invest like they did previously) as Red Bull keeping Honda in F1 for longer has made them a serious rival for themselves given trajectory of teams like McLaren and Aston Martin who should have their facilities in place by then to take advantage of more a works style PU supply deal. Size zero PU is going to be beneficial for the newer smaller cars too...

Looks like there are a lot of fast cars this year, hopefully it is more like F1 2012 where a lot of teams had a chance for a decent result.

Lance Stroll has had a minor bike accident and will miss Pre-Season testing. I suppose Felipe Drugovich will be on standby to do a test day and maybe the first race if Lance isn't ready in time.

Lance Stroll to miss pre-season Bahrain testing

Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team announce that Lance Stroll will miss pre-season Bahrain testing

www.astonmartinf1.com

Would prefer them to try and persuade Sebastian to be on standby...

 

[toastet]

Drugovich in for the test. Possible Strolls injury worse than they tell us and Felipe needs practice for the race?

 

[DG_Silva]

Maybe, but it's more than likely because Alonso wouldn't be able to 600 laps over three days. It's good to have a second opinion on how the car is doing too.

 

[sillybilly]

no thanks.

 

[Veinz]

I can’t wait for the annual Ferrari hype train. All aboard!

 

[Jimlaad43]

The three day test begins tomorrow in Bahrain. Feel free to discuss any happenings from there in this thread.

 

[Veinz]

Ferrari strategy chief Rueda moved to F1 factory role amid reshuffle

Ferrari has reshuffled its strategy team ahead of the Formula 1 season opener, Motorsport.com has learned, with its previous chief Inaki Rueda moving to a factory role.

www.motorsport.com

Finally

 

[Sum1s2pid]

I can’t wait for the annual Ferrari hype train. All aboard!

Morning live timing for Day 1 has Sainz topping the charts right now, so...

😅

 

[Fezzik]

Morning live timing for Day 1 has Sainz topping the charts right now, so...

😅

choo-choo