QATAR GP - SPRINT | TOP SPEED PER LAP
VS TOP SPEED IN SPRINT QUALI

HAM’s poor top speed in Sprint Quali pushed him to switch rear-wing spec, costing a pit-lane start.

He went from slowest to fastest (despite using DRS for only six laps), yet felt the car was overall even worse!

Charles Leclerc, stuck in traffic, hit 339km/h.

RUS held a 5 km/h edge over PIA (neither used DRS).

Expect Ferrari and other struggling teams (imagine saying that 12 months ago) to experiment further in quali!

QATAR GP - RACE | RACE PACE ANALYSIS

In trying not to disappoint any driver, McL disappointed both: not splitting the strategy was shocking, and gifted VER the win!
If VER takes the title, McL’s collapse will be a case study...

PIA was 0.40s/lap quicker than VER: not enough to offset the extra stop.

NOR was slower even before his floor damage.

SAI is my DOTD: 4th-best pace despite damage → deserved podium!

HAD was faster than LEC before his unlucky puncture (ALO even quicker)!

ANT >> RUS.

LEC had little pace; HAM had none.

A crazy stat: in the last 5 occasions that (at least) 3 drivers fought for the WDC in the last race, the one leading the championship NEVER won! 🤯

The weight of expectations? Can NOR break this streak? (‘81, ‘83, ‘86, ‘07, ‘10).

Reddit source:

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/1pap8wr/on_the_last_five_occasions_that_at_least_three/

QATAR GP - RACE
How Verstappen's Win Materialised?

Laps 11–18 changed everything: McLaren went from looking untouchable to not fast enough to win! ⏳

At the SC restart, ⚫️ PIA gained 2.1s/lap on 🔵 VER, and the race looked over. For short, though: VER was managing, and improved his pace by 1.4s/lap over the next 7 laps.

PIA (and NOR) went the other way, losing 0.7s/lap.

By Lap 18, they were on identical pace, making VER the clear favourite given he’d already stopped once!

🟠 NOR was slower than PIA throughout the race.

Who will win the WDC? Who are YOU rooting for? Comment!

Made via @JMP_software

Abu Dhabi: Norrris's 'Strong Track'

🟠 Norris is the only title contender who has performed better in Abu Dhabi than across the rest of the season.

In 2023-24, he averaged +5 pts in there vs his season baseline - while 🔵 VER never scored better in Abu Dhabi than in the other races (but his 26.1pts/weekend '23 avg. is unbeatable in a non-Sprint weekend)!

🟠 PIA was slightly better in AD in 2023, and much worse in 2024 (contact with COL).

Do these patterns mean anything?

Probably not: let’s see what happens on Sunday!

ABU DHABI GP - PRACTICE 2 | TITLE CONTENDERS' SESSION OVERVIEW

🟠 NOR's downforce advantage trumped 🔵 VER's superior top speed!

He braked later and gained at every braking zone (T1, T6, T9), and was quicker in the fast corners (T1/T9).

🔵 VER lifted before braking into T5, making his lap look slower (and did the same at the lap end, dropping 10 km/h vs lap start).

After skipping FP1, PIA trailed NOR on every metric!

Prepare the popcorn for the race!🍿

ABU DHABI GP - PRACTICE 2 | LONG RUNS

🔵 VER hid pace in FP2 by lifting early→Then took pole
He did 14 laps (far more than anyone else!) on high fuel
(Source: Lambiase)→strong race pace? 👀

NOR quickest;
[...];
VER +0.318s/lap;
SAI +0.338s/lap (SOFTS);
ANT +0.444s/lap;
PIA +0.471s/lap;
[...]
LEC +0.711s/lap;
RUS +0.815s/lap;
HAM +0.966s/lap;
ALB +1.083s/lap;
[...]
TSU +1.526s/lap.

Degradation started after ~18 tyre laps. McL had none... but their long runs were far shorter!

Lando Norris remains the WDC favourite, but the weekend is looking better than expected for Max Verstappen!

Formula 1 Season 2025: The End!

Norris beat his rivals, VER & PIA through a clever drive!

The 3 points PIA handed him in Monza proved decisive: kudos to both and to the team!

Thanks Max for keeping the season alive!

Ferrari closed the season on a positive note.

Farewell to this car generation: as in ‘21, the final year of a cycle delivered one of the best seasons! 👌

And thanks to all of you for following my work: I hope my analyses made the season more enjoyable! 🤩

ABU DHABI GP - RACE | RACE PACE 🏁

2 Stops:
1) Champion NOR quickest;
2) LEC +0.11 s/lap;
3) HAM +0.95 s/lap;
4) HUL +1.05 s/lap;
5) ALB +1.16 s/lap.

1 Stop:
1) VER +0.16s/lap to NOR;
2) PIA +0.35 s/lap;
3) RUS +0.95 s/lap;
4) ALO +1.28 s/lap;
5) OCO +1.29 s/lap.

LEC was 2nd quickest, but VER was just 0.05s/lap behind despite pitting only once!

Good recovery by HAM, solid races by ALO and OCO!

ABU DHABI GP - RACE | GAP TO RACE WINNER

At the end, HUL basically said: “Traffic? I don’t care”
*Proceeds to pass 5 cars in a DRS train in 8 laps*

Fatalities recorded: his teammate, one Mercedes, two Williams, and one Red Bull.

“Traffic does not exist, it can’t hurt you!”

The Last Driver to Ever Use DRS: Kimi Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli was just 4 when Jenson Button pressed the DRS *button* for the first time in 2011.

Yesterday, he became the last driver ever to use it!

He activated it in the final DRS zone of the final lap, hitting 330 km/h (but still couldn’t pass TSU).

Goodbye, DRS! 🫡

This was the first F1 season ever where two drivers won 3 races in a row but didn’t win the WDC! 💡

🟠 PIA: Bahrain / Saudi Arabia / Miami (Season start).

🔵 VER: Las Vegas / Qatar/ Abu Dhabi (Season end).

🟠 NOR never won 3 straight, but delivered strong form all year.

Some factors making this possible:
- 24 races -> the impact of a single race gets diluted by the other 23; winning 3 in a row does not give you an unrecoverable advantage.

- High reliability -> strong drivers/cars still get many points on average even when not winning a race.


[Idea/Image: u/ZeroStormblessed on Reddit]

💡Some wild stats if you split the season into three 8-race chunks:

- Worst: 🟠 PIA at season end (86 pts);
- Best: 🔵 VER at season end (191 pts, 23.9 pts/race)!

🟠 NOR was never the best - but his worst (130 pts) still easily beat VER’s worst (94) and PIA’s (86)!

Via @JMP_software

Electric energy management will be critical next season, as some F1 tracks will be real headaches!

Look at this 👇

🪫Saudi Arabia: time spent braking (7.6%) is less than ONE TENTH of that passed full-throttle (76.1%). Little harvesting, long deployment → severe clipping.

🪫Monza: on/off throttle (<10% partial throttle) → similar.

🔋Average power available will be much higher in Monaco: >20% time spent braking (harvesting opportunities), >28% in partial throttle (can harvest too and use the ICE for power), just 44% full-throttle (where the energy is deployed).

Think about this:
We've gone from the '80s 1.5L turbo engines, which had more average peak power in Monza than in Monaco (where it was detuned for drivability), to the opposite! (Power deployment to be managed in Monza, full power available in Monaco).

Merry Christmas everyone!

Confused about the 2026 engine & aero rules? 🤔
Can't miss my simulation-driven breakdown!💡
(And discover why the power drop off prevents them from exceeding 400 km/h!)

⬛️ Internal Combustion Engine (ICE): 620 kW ('25) → 400 kW ('26)
🟦 ERS: 120 kW ('25) → 350 kW ('26)

However, ERS power drops off from 290 km/h, reaching 0 kW at 345 km/h.

Drivers within 1s can use 'Overtake' (🟦dashed line) to keep max ERS until 340 km/h, and some power up to 355 km/h. Still ICE-only above that.

Engine power must overcome 🟥Drag, which drops on straights as wings open (dashed line). The top speed (Engine power = Drag power) I've computed (~359 km/h) would NOT be impacted by Overtake mode... as the ERS power is 0kW above 355km/h anyway!

The top speed computed (Engine power = Drag power) is ~359 km/h, and Overtake doesn’t change it (0 kW above ~355 km/h).

Final (and wild) stat: with drag at ~half today's level, ICE's 400 kW (545 hp) is enough for ~360 km/h.

With unlimited ERS (400+350 kW)? They’d hit ~440 km/h!

Aero data used:
Rho: 1.225 kgm-3 (air density)
CdA: 0.77 m2 (Closed) vs 0.66 m2 (Open wings)

Kudos to @brakeboosted for giving me this idea and suggesting some very reasonable CdA values!

We wish you all a Happy New Year and a Great 2026 F1 Season!

Ever seen a 2026 F1 car accelerate?
Now you can, through this simulation!🏎

⬛️ Normal ERS vs 🟥 Overtake Mode
— Normal Aero vs -- Active Aero

Key points:
- Cars will accelerate QUICKER than in '25 until 290km/h (same power, 30kg less, less drag).
- Beyond that, acceleration drops sharply as ERS power fades. When chasing another car, Overtake keeps full ERS power up to 337.5 km/h.
- In '25, Active Aero's (DRS) impact grew with speed. Same in '26, AS LONG ASA.
full ERS power is available. With overtake mode and open wings, '26 cars will accelerate super-quickly until 337.5km/h, then effectively 'hit a wall' (as ERS power drops sharply).

Data:
m: 770kg;
Power: 400 kW (ICE) + 350 kW (ERS);
Rho: 1.225 kgm-3 (air density);
CdA: 0.77 m2 (Closed) vs 0.66 m2 (Open wings).

Previous analysis on the 2026 regulations:

https://t.me/FDataAn/2562

https://t.me/FDataAn/2563