re: 2026 Formula 1 (F1) Season Thread

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Just arrived in Austin

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I hope you have a great time


Make sure and give us some tips

We are going next year

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Max told the other drivers "just pay the tax" when referring to a race in Imola despite residing in a Monaco to avoid taxes.

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Drivers still pay taxes in the countries they race in.

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Drivers still pay taxes in the countries they race in.

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Apparently Italy’s like California- they rape you in taxes

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I'm not sure what you specifically are referring to, but I would characterize these guys (including Vettel) more as hypocrites. There is no sport more capitalistic than F1. Bernie said he preferred dictators to democracies because they are decisive and of course they loved throwing their money at Bernie to create a nice sportwashing program. So for drivers to talk about the environment or politics is the height of hypocrisy. The drivers make TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to promote this capitalistic circus. So shut up. Even after you retire. If you made tens of millions of dollars from F1 you are in no position to talk about the environment or politics.

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To be fair, sometimes they rideshare on their jets.

Max’s solution to the bumps is to rip the entire track up and have the clay replaced with better dirt.

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| Max Verstappen Discusses Spinal Damage from Racing:

— Max Verstappen has opened up about the physical impact of his racing career, revealing medical checks have shown damage to his lower spine. Speaking in Austin before the United States Grand Prix, Verstappen highlighted the intense vertical forces drivers endure, particularly at the bumpy Circuit of the Americas.

“So last year, for example, you pull around 5–6G in a corner.”

“But I had some impacts, like vertical loads, which were over 9G on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun. And especially the older you get, you think about that more and more. That's not what you want.”

“With these cars, especially under braking, you bottom out way harder because when the wings close and the ride height comes down under braking, it's actually a very stressful moment. I know around here, in some places, it's very bumpy under braking, and especially when there are these kinds of awkward bumps, not just bumps from the track getting older, but the surface underneath, the soil, just moving up and down, it's sometimes very hard to expect.”

“Or if you're a tiny bit offline, you don't know what is there because no one really drives here sometimes. It's really not nice, and I think something people don't really understand. I can tell you from the checks I've had on my spine, the bottom end doesn't look that great.”

— Verstappen's remarks follow ongoing concerns from drivers about the physical toll of the ground-effect era, introduced in 2022, which required cars to run at minimal ride heights with stiff suspension. This setup was criticized for causing back problems, prompting the FIA to issue technical directives to reduce porpoising.

“I know that's part of racing. I know that can be part of sport, but it's also further damage from the cars we've had over the last few years.”

“And now, if we continue finding this acceptable to drive on, then you are going to suffer with that much more. People can say, 'Yeah, but you know there are worse sports out there where you can damage parts of your body.' For sure, but that's why I'm not doing them. So, yeah, it's not nice.”

— Max Verstappen expressed significant concern over the bumpy surface at the Circuit of the Americas, describing the situation as "unacceptable" and "out of control." Speaking to media, Verstappen remarked:

“From what I saw in WEC, it was extremely, badly bumpy. So I'm not really looking forward to that, for your spine, to be honest. I was joking about that, of course, at the last race [in Singapore], but it's not really a joke, to be honest, because we've mentioned this for years already: it's actually getting a bit out of control, and I'm sure it's going to be quite tough to find the right compromises around this track in places where it's just extremely bumpy.”

“So, also, that again, I don't know how our car is going to respond to that.”

— Verstappen dismissed the explanation that shifting soil is to blame for the track's condition, insisting that more should be done to address the issue. He elaborated:

“Of course, you can use the excuse that the soil is the problem, but then you should have known that, and you need to make sure that you reinforce it more.”

“I love this track, I love this place. It's one of the best layouts ever, and it's one of the, I would say, best venues, best cities to be at. But for me, the bumps that we have are unacceptable.”

“And I mean, over time, they've been grinding a little bit here and there, but it's just putting a plaster on the big problem, and that's what's coming underneath, and that's what you need to actually tackle in the first place.”

“But that, of course, means you need to fully open up the track. That costs a lot of money and time, but honestly, that's the only way to get rid of it, because these bumps are not natural and are out of control.”

Didn't watch FP1, watching FP2 and I had seen that they ruined the climb into turn 1 with the suites and the commentary is 100% right.

They ruined one of the most gorgeous turn's with the American Flag and climb up by putting that shitty building

Ferrari designed a glow in the dark livery and debuted it on a day race the week after a night race?

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Sounds like they need to raise their ride height

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Lap time always takes precedence over driver health. The teams are not interested in coddling their drivers with their multi-million dollar salaries. The teams themselves won't agree on raising the minimum ride height. It would have to be forced on them by F1.

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The teams themselves won't agree on raising the minimum ride height. It would have to be forced on them by F1.

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They were at one point. Not sure if those accelerometers made it into the new car.