Bahrain test 2, Ferrari innovation & Aston martin struggles – Episode 6
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Brand
Ferrari
Ferrari is a famous car company from Italy that makes fast and luxurious cars, often seen in races.
Part
weather vane
A weather vane is a part that helps direct air in a certain way, which can help the car perform better, especially in races.
Part
rear wing
A rear wing is a part on the back of a car that helps it stick to the road better when going fast, making it safer to drive.
Term
drag
Drag is the force that slows down a car when it's moving. Less drag means the car can go faster and use less fuel.
Term
airflow
Airflow is how air moves around a car. Good airflow helps the car go faster and stay stable while driving.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower a car has, the faster it can go and the better it can perform.
Term
DRS
DRS is a system in racing that helps cars go faster by reducing air resistance. Drivers can use it to help them pass other cars more easily during a race.
Term
aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is the study of how air moves around things, like cars. Good aerodynamics helps cars go faster and use less fuel.
Term
vortex
A vortex is when air spins around in a circle. In cars, it can help keep them stable and improve their performance.
Term
downforce
Downforce is the force that pushes a car down onto the road when it's moving fast. This helps the car grip the road better and makes it safer to drive around corners.
Brand
McLaren
McLaren is a British car company that makes super-fast sports cars and is also famous for its racing team in Formula 1. They focus on high performance and advanced technology.
Brand
Red Bull
Red Bull is not just an energy drink; they also own a racing team in Formula 1 that competes against other teams. They are known for being very successful in the sport.
Brand
Audi
Audi is a car brand from Germany that makes luxury cars and is involved in racing. They are known for their high-quality vehicles and innovative features.
Brand
Honda
Honda is a popular car brand from Japan that makes reliable vehicles and is also known for its motorcycles. They have been involved in car racing, including Formula 1.
Term
F1
F1 stands for Formula 1, which is a type of car racing that features very fast cars on special tracks. It's one of the most popular and prestigious racing series in the world.
Term
Mercedes engine
The Mercedes engine is the engine used in Mercedes Formula 1 cars. It's built to be very reliable and powerful, helping the team win many races.
Term
turbo fan
A turbo fan helps the engine get more air, which makes it run better and faster. In racing, getting the turbo to work quickly is important for speeding up the car.
Term
prep time
Prep time is how long it takes to get the car ready to start racing. Less prep time means the car can get going faster.
Term
rev their cars
Revving a car means making the engine go faster by pressing the gas pedal. This helps the car get ready to start quickly, especially for turbo engines.
Term
front aero
Front aero means the parts at the front of a car that help it move through the air better. They help the car stay stable and go faster without losing control.
Concept
107 percent rule
The 107 percent rule means that if a driver's qualifying time is more than 107% of the fastest time, they can't race. It's a way to keep the competition fair and safe.
Term
batteries
Batteries store energy that can be used to power the car, especially in hybrid vehicles that use both gas and electric power.
Term
Formula 1
Formula 1 is a type of car racing that features very fast cars and is held on special tracks around the world.
LIVE
All right, what's up, everyone?
Welcome to episode six of the Cool Down Lap with your host,
Jog, and...
Garrett, let's go.
So we're here at...
Oh, my God.
Dude, my cameraman's going off.
Just caught this.
That's going to wake everyone up for the pod.
Just straight up in my face.
That was the most aggressive Zoom I've ever seen.
Let's do that again.
It's Alonzo on the camera.
I don't know how that happened.
Like, I don't know.
I don't know.
Dude, this with your hands?
No, I don't know.
I thought it was like maybe...
That was weird.
I don't know.
But you ever see that video where Alonzo's like,
he DNF'd or whatever.
He's just like taking the thing
and he's like trying to follow the cars.
And he's just like, absolutely terrible.
And they're like, OK, you can leave now.
Yeah, you're good, bro.
Thank you.
Oh, man.
Yeah, a lot happened.
We're talking now post-testing.
We thought we'd delay the podcast a little bit,
bring you some more information,
some of the action that went down the last three days.
And, Garrett, what do you think, man?
I think there's a lot to talk about,
but where do you want to kick it off?
It's been a wild week of testing.
I mean, we started last week.
We got a pretty good idea of how everyone was going to show up.
And then everyone made minor changes on their car.
But one team decided to show up
and potentially completely changed the game.
I think you know who I'm talking about.
But that was Ferrari, who not only showed up
with a little weather vane on the back of their car
to redirect exhaust in a cool way,
but probably one of the most funky
and hopefully impactful rear wings of the season.
They held it till late in the test.
They didn't want to show anyone their cars too early,
but they showed up and to Fred Visser's quote,
to do the Macarena and have that rear wing
spin all the way upside down,
which was pretty crazy to see.
Isn't that what they call the wing, the Macarena?
Is that what they call it?
Macarena wing, because, hey, Macarena.
That's so funny.
I thought it was called the rotisserie chicken,
because that's all I kept seeing online
is just that rotisserie chicken on the wing,
just rotating, rotating.
But let's show everyone what we're talking about.
We have it actually pulled up here.
You could kind of see the wing opening up.
So I think that's one of the key takeaways from the wing
is that it creates a much bigger gap
than the other rear wings, right?
So you can actually, we have another picture
that will show you that you could see the difference
in terms of the actual gaps.
This is putting, I guess, less drag on the wing,
creating more airflow and in return going faster,
but it looks cool.
It looks really, really cool.
It's not even just that it creates less drag.
It actually, when it flips upside down,
it's almost like a wing on an airplane
that lifts the rear of the car,
which supposedly gives them the speed advantage
on the straight.
So what they're lacking in horsepower,
albeit HP riddled all over their car,
they like to make an output this wing,
which is super, super cool.
And it's either gonna be something we see
on every car in six months,
or something that's gonna put them apart from everyone else
and be an advantage throughout the year
if no one else can copy it fast enough.
Yeah, I wonder how much speed they're actually losing
from the actual rotation of the wing.
Cause I feel like that's a lot slower than other teams.
Like, I don't know if that makes a difference.
Like this just might be me being curious
and just thinking about it,
but like I could see how it helps as the car slowing down
and they almost like flips and creates, I guess,
a like a wall for like just a split second,
you know what I mean?
Causing all of its helping with probably breaking,
but the other way you could see that
as he's trying to accelerate, it also does that.
So probably cancels each other out eventually, but...
I think it'll look very different on a track
with short straights,
but if you put them in a lot, that thing is gonna fly.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I guess if it really helps out in the straight,
it kind of makes up for it as well with creating more space.
I think we have it over here.
That data reveals that Ferrari can gain eight to 10 kilometers
per hour more on the straights with the new rear wing,
which is insane.
And this kind of shows.
That's basically, you know, a second DRS
compared to what some other people are running,
which is pretty cool.
Yeah, that's crazy.
That's crazy fast.
But it's really cool to see Ferrari actually now
showcasing that they're also interpreting the rules.
They're also, you know, being innovative,
bringing something up that's different.
And I guess the rear wing flipping and the vortex,
that flow vein, they call it, which is really cool
because they're actually using aerodynamics and wind
and hot air, cold air, creating vortexes around the car
to actually make the rear wing even more efficient as well.
So they are doing things that are, you know,
are out of the box different and, you know,
something that Ferrari needs to do, I feel like, at this point.
Yeah, they're doing a whole lot of shit
that I'm not trained to understand.
But the cool thing for me is that they're not just rolling
over and dying after having a bad season.
They're showing up with some pretty cool innovations
and figures crossed it works for them.
I think they're definitely the team
that over the whole testing period
probably showed their hand the most.
And, you know, that ended up with Charles
putting in one of the fastest laps
by almost a second on the final day.
So who knows if that's just everyone huffing the hopey
or if they're really going to be up there as top dogs.
But certainly through a wrench into testing
that I didn't see coming.
Yeah, no, for sure.
And we'll get into that in just a second.
But yeah, they're definitely focused on the reliability.
Like I think Ferrari has been one of the most reliable engines.
And we're going to talk about that as well and this innovation
with, you know, the wing, especially the rear wing,
because even the vortex is used to kind of create more efficiency,
less drag on the rear wing and creating more downforce.
So they're definitely utilizing all their tools on hand
to, I guess, show the most during this testing,
which again begs to differ.
Like what's going on with the other teams?
Like, you know, they obviously haven't shown as much as Ferrari yet.
And they're kind of letting Ferrari having this.
And in the past, we've seen this as well, Garrett.
It's like Ferrari testing, doing great.
But testing also doesn't show or mean all that much.
What does that mean for the other teams?
What are they doing?
We don't know if they're genuinely fast or if they just forgot
the same bags at home, but remains to be seen in Australia.
Yeah, let's I mean, let's talk about the testing now that we're talking about.
You mentioned Charlotte Clark was the top runner.
Where do you want to even start with this?
Should we just start with who was the fastest?
Yeah, let's do it. Let's jump into it.
Let's go. We got we got Ferrari, I guess, with Charlotte Clare at the top.
We got McLaren right after them.
But again, like we mentioned, almost 800th or 900th of a second behind Red Bull,
following McLaren again, following the kind of lap time around 300th of a second
behind McLaren.
And then we got Mercedes and Williams after that in terms of the overall
fastest lap ranking from Bahrain Test 2.
And what do you think about that?
Which part?
About Mercedes being not the fastest car, but it's, you know, still the front runner.
I mean, they're eerily calm, they're eerily confident when a German team
just goes out and drives circles without putting in too many flying labs
or trying to set a tone.
Makes me worried.
Yeah, worried for my favorite team.
For sure. I mean, when you we were looking at the team averages
in terms of the lap times that we set, but when we look at the individual drivers
like Kimmy was second, you know, Kimmy was up there.
We have Charles, we have Kimmy, and then we have Oscar and Lando and the number
five, Max.
So the top five, you know, Kimmy's number two with the fastest lap times,
George's number six.
But again, like another thing where our anticipated our anticipation
was for George Russell, and he's clearly slow.
And, you know, it's obvious that he can be a lot faster than Kimmy.
So what's going on there?
World where Max and George are over a second off the pace.
No, not happening.
But to your point, there's probably very slim chances that Kimmy's
kicking the shit out of George this year.
So, you know, the sandbags haven't come off yet.
But the fact that Mercedes barely ran any fast laps in the last few days
of testing and just went out and drove circles.
The miles on the car makes me nervous for what they're hiding
and why are they as confident as they are?
Well, I mean, let's first talk about how everyone is pointing the finger.
Oh, my God. Everyone's like, he's faster.
No, he's faster. No, he's fast.
It's literally that Spider-Man meme where they're just like pointing at each other
like, oh, my God, it's him.
It's him. I think it started off with Toto pointing the finger at Red Bull
and then Max being like, no, it's clearly Mercedes.
And, you know, even, you know, Meckie is saying,
you know, pointing the finger.
McLaren just staying under the radar this whole time.
And, you know, McLaren's still there.
People, you know, the the reigning champions are still here
and they're doing decently as well.
They're not showing all their cards.
So there's just so much pointing fingers,
so much that is still a question mark, which is
which I like that. I think I think that's good.
Yeah, man, the fact that we don't know how it's going to play out,
the fact that we're all going to wake up on the morning that the car is that foot
in Australia brings a lot of excitement to the 2026 season.
If one team just showed up and was 10 seconds faster than everyone else
from day one of testing all the way through,
you'd basically just be able to check back in and
when is the season to end?
Middle of the end of the year and just say, great, we're done.
So yeah, but I think the biggest thing take away from testing is
the reliability pace or reliability piece.
And I think Mercedes is still leading a big time with the number of laps they put in.
I mean, they were up there in the second part of testing alone
with over 400 laps with Ferrari and the racing bulls,
surprisingly chasing close to their heels,
but they put in a ton of work.
Yeah, and I want to talk about racing bulls.
Two things that stuck out to me about them was, first off,
Arvid limblad setting a record for the most amount of laps put in on a test
by an individual driver.
I think I don't know how many laps he did, 140 or something crazy.
I can't recall off the top of my head, but in one day, yeah, good on the kid.
You know what I mean for putting in those laps and obviously helping the team
gather a lot of data because the more laps you do, the more data you gather,
the better you're going to be able to produce and predict things.
So good on him and shows a lot about the Ford Red Bull reliability.
Like, oh my God, they're obviously developing something new
and when you develop something new, it's tough.
It's the toughest thing to do.
And I think Laurent Mekki's nailed that.
It's not just us.
Like everyone is facing these issues.
Like everyone is having these hardships.
Like it is not easy.
Like just because we're a little ahead doesn't mean we're not going to face
a lot of problems coming into it.
But good on them for creating something that's reliable and fast.
You know, right off the bat.
And, you know, you can look at Audi for instance, or other teams,
like even Honda coming back into F1 with all these issues,
or they're just not not looking as sharp as they can be.
Yeah, man, you're talking about Arvid, though.
That kid put in a ton of laps and he made it look pretty easy and consistent.
And as a rookie coming into F1,
that's impressive.
I found the number he did 240 laps,
which was the most laps of any driver in the second week of testing.
That's crazy, man.
And I think it goes to show that the hype is there, right?
With a driver like that.
He's so young.
What is he like, 18, 9?
No, he's 9. He's older than I think.
Is he? I don't have a single clue.
I'd have to look that up.
Yeah, I think he's like 20 years old or super, super young.
And just to be able to do that, he's 18.
He's 18.
So, man, I thought he was even older than that.
He's 18 years old, coming in, pumping out 240 laps.
That probably does so much for his confidence, too, as a driver.
And knowing that racing bulls,
I think another thing that stuck out was their top speed.
There were one of the teams with a top speed that was obviously up there.
When you talk about Lin Blad, that boosting his confidence,
I think it especially does that when you know that the guy
who was his predecessor in that team as a Kajar only got 125 in the Red Bull.
I think he was one of the people probably most plagued by downtime
where Max got the heck of a lot more laps than he did
in at least in the second week of testing.
And it puts Hadra on the back foot, but compare that to a new kid coming in
who's probably had more testing than any other rookie in existence,
puts him in a good place to make a push this year.
And maybe you're in that second week of Red Bull in the future.
For sure. We'll just see how he does.
And I'm excited for him being, you know, representing a little bit of,
you know, my back home India, you know, he's half Indian.
So it's cool to see, you know, a little representation on the track
and on the grid.
And I'm very excited to see how he does in his future.
You know, I hope he's able to pull through and, you know,
F1, you know, can be very harsh.
And I hope he just, you know, overcomes all those hardships and succeeds, right?
So this is a good start.
This is a really good start.
But leading those total laps, let's just talk about that a little bit,
is Linblad, George Russell, number three is Oscar Piastri.
Number four is Okon.
Interesting. OK, I didn't know that.
And then we have Verstappen in number five.
So a lot of good mix there.
So obviously the Red Bull engine, the Ferrari engine,
and then we have the Mercedes engine, obviously, obviously up there.
And the total laps led by engines, Mercedes.
And then we have Ferrari and then we have Red Bull powertrain.
But Mercedes, obviously, collectively have done so much more.
They have so much data, I guess, having four teams.
Way more teams than anyone else you can think of, right?
Yeah. But it's nice to see Ferrari with two teams, Red Bull with two teams
and Ferrari pumping in a couple hundred laps more than them.
So for I was looking good and they figured out those starts, too.
I think they're going to be a force to be seen this season.
Yeah, let's let's quickly actually talk about those stars.
We totally missed that when we were talking about Ferrari and their innovation.
But they found a way to actually, I guess, get the turbo fan going
a little bit quicker than the other teams where they're actually able to
have a shorter prep time for launching the cars.
And I don't know if everyone knows, but you've probably seen.
Yeah, just like what people have been talking about is the biggest
potential plague to this season, right?
Is all, I guess, 22 cars now showing up on the grid
and having to sit there for 20, 25 seconds and rev their cars up
just to get the turbos going before they can get started.
People are worried that the starts are going to be like a catastrophe
with half the grid, not even getting off the line.
Yeah, you know, it used to be that pole position was the number one thing
you needed to go for.
But like we saw a little glimpse of an eclipse that Joggy's about to show.
I mean, you could be starting back as lowest fifth and still almost
being first by the first corner.
That's crazy.
That is honestly insane.
And I think that was a big thing was just talking about how much
this is going to impact based off of the rules as well.
Because if they're starting the way we start now, being in pole
position is going to give you far bigger of an advantage because
you're able to rev up and charge up the battery far longer than
someone who's P 22, right?
As soon as they hit the grid, they got to go, right?
So if they have to sit there revving for 20 seconds, the guy
in pole positions, tires are going to be ice.
So it'll be a weird dichotomy to see it happen.
Yeah, for sure.
Um, I don't know if I have the right screen up actually.
Take a look.
There we go.
Let's look at this launch right here.
You'll have to loop it back one more time.
Let's loop it back.
Let's see Hamilton start all the way in the back.
And by the time he's at the first corner, both him and the
Haas are pushing up towards P one.
So it's not just Lewis.
It's not that he just had a hell of a start.
It's the that engine, the Ferrari engine is doing something
that no one else has figured out yet.
Yeah, I don't know who was at the front Kimmy, but like, just
imagine me Kimmy and just saying Lewis, pop, I was a George.
Yeah.
And just, just saying Lewis a pop by next year and like, what the
where, where was he like, you know, he started way back.
It's just crazy.
I think there's another angle.
I don't know if I can find that angle where you could just see him
just, just launch right over here.
I think this is this is the one right here.
Yeah, from the side.
Yeah, from the side.
You could see how much quicker the Ferrari is off the line.
Like they're just gone.
They're gone.
Looks like he's in first gear still.
Oh my God.
It's so funny.
I forgot who was talking about the rear wing being a gimmick and
just being dog shit, but he's like, it doesn't even matter.
If you're in the front, you don't really use DRS anyway.
So it's a matter if you have a launch like that, you're going
to be in pole position for first anyways, running for podium.
So yeah, I mean, it looks, it looks good.
It looks great.
I think that was a brilliant launch.
And I think the biggest thing to capitalize on is like a lot of
people struggled as soon as they got to the MGUH unit that kind
of pre-spun that turbo.
I'm not too sure what they're doing, but it seems to be working.
And that's why Fred Visser was like, no, we're not going to vote
against this.
Like we're okay with the way they're doing it now.
And Fred brought it up months ago and they didn't listen to him.
So he then said, I'll just go fix it.
They don't want to do anything.
I'll just fix it.
That's smart.
That's smart.
He's like, he saw a problem.
They didn't deal with it.
And he's like, guess what?
Everyone's going to have houses have going to have this problem.
So let's just get on top of it.
Yeah, exactly.
Again, showing Ferrari is not just rolling over and dying.
Yeah, it's true.
Actually, a lot of strong things for Ferrari right now.
Oh, a lot of this, this podcast has been the most Ferrari positive podcast.
I hate it.
I hate it, but what it gives them is a hundred more opportunities
to fuck up the strategy.
Yeah, they haven't shown evidence that they've fixed their strategy department.
They could wait till it's incredibly dry and put the wet tires on.
We just don't know yet.
Well, that's why they got 20 seconds up the up the track.
You know, might give them the time to try some silly shit.
And now, yeah, yeah.
So that's their game plan.
Is there going to be so fast that it's going to make up for the buffer
of all the engineering fuckups, the communication fuckups, everything?
They'll be able to pit 13 times in the race and still be ahead of everybody.
They'll be OK.
They'll be OK.
They can be like, pit, don't pit, pit, don't pit.
And you know what, they can be zipping back and forth and it'll be fine.
They'll be weaving.
Well, saying that out loud to this turbo issue is going to hit them
in the pit stops too, right?
They're going to be a little bit slower than everyone else.
Like everyone else can be a little bit slower than for getting out of the box.
Yeah, more of a more of a thing than we realize.
It could be a definitely I didn't even think about that.
That's not a lot, but it might give them that chance to overtake
in the pits if they're fast enough or to make up for the time
they would have otherwise lost.
Well, in order for that to happen, I feel like the race has to be close
to begin with.
And I just feel like the the field is so spread out right now
that it's going to be it's going to be only select few teams
that it's going to be close with as of now.
There's a lot of teams that have a lot of work to do to get up to that pace.
And you have any in mind?
I don't know, man.
I might have one in mind.
You might be wearing some gear that
would indicate that you have a good idea of which team might have some work to do.
What the hell is going on with Aston?
Let's talk about it.
Yeah, there's there's a lot going on with Aston.
Let's start with with what they did during testing, because they've been
a huge topic during, obviously, testing one, testing two now.
Total laps put together as a team collectively, one hundred twenty eight.
So it's not good.
The total pace, like Lance said, from last week, there are
around four and a half seconds off this week.
There were four seconds off.
So they found the last day they did what six laps because they were worried
the car wouldn't make it and didn't have parts to repair it.
Yeah, they didn't have enough parts.
So they've clearly been going through a lot of parts.
They've been trying to push the cars, get it on the track as much as they can.
But it seems like the car is just having a lot of issues.
Lance Stroll, even the first day spun out, which was completely not his fault,
believe it or not.
It was something to do with the front arrow.
But right when I said that, I knew you're going to laugh.
I knew you're going to laugh, but something to do with the arrow
that kind of caused him to lose traction.
I think Fernando on day two or day three also had to pull over and stop
due to some engine issues, which he claims he just he chose to walk
because he'd walk back faster.
That was his word.
So I am a very man right there.
Very much looking forward to his on board radio this season,
because I want to hear what he has to say about this Honda engine,
because I know Fernando has a lot to say and his sense of humor
is going to be one to watch for.
Hopefully he has a good sense of humor.
It's going to it's going to be a little bit of both.
Let's be honest, he's at or he'll be getting a large cash bonus
from Lawrence Stroll to not kill someone in the team.
Yeah, yeah, I think I think he deserves it at this point
from the torture Honda has been given him for this whole life.
So got a feel for him laps by driver Alonzo 96 laps Stroll 32 laps
when it comes down to the overall performance poor by Honda.
And let's just quickly talk about like what's happening.
It's just been a big issue with the actual engine itself,
the actual gearbox and the battery.
Wow, what do you know?
Like the three biggest things that we need right now is not working for us.
A lot of people saying the arrow hasn't been working as well,
but it's hard to really say when we're having not enough
not enough capability, ability to actually test the car
because the actual powertrain itself is giving a lot of issue, right?
So in order to test the arrow thoroughly, we need a working car.
All we know is someone's getting fired.
This is like a third time you've said that, but I asked him, bro,
and there are a whole podcast.
The first thing is that is the car launch.
Somebody's being fired, man.
Somebody's getting fired.
Lawrence Stroll is not going to keep everyone around if that's how it's going.
Well, I mean, you can tell by the body language,
like we see so many posts of like eight or new.
He just like, I think there was one post he was on his knees
on the side of the car.
And like, obviously, the media is going to put their spin on it.
But you could see heated conversations between, you know,
Lance, Adrian Newey, the engineers.
And there was actual
just recently some reports of an argument
that was spotted between the Honda engineers
and some of the Aston Martin engineers.
So there's a lot going on.
A lot is obviously happening in terms of emotion, anger, frustration.
Fernando Alonso was seen just, you know,
throwing his gloves out of the car and getting out of the car in frustration.
It's not a fun sight to see, but they're facing a lot, a lot of problems.
And, you know, there's a possibility
that they might not even be able to qualify in Australia.
I don't know where you have to.
Yeah, I don't know.
I'm just like getting frustrated even talking about this right now.
But all you got to do is buy some Ferrari merchandise, switch teams.
And then you can be frustrated by pit stops all the season instead.
I don't even know if I want that, bro.
I mean, I got to pick one.
I got to pick one.
Might as well stick with Aston Martin at this point.
But there there is something called the 107 percent rule,
which is basically if you're not within a certain
qualifying pace set by the pole, you actually can't race.
I which I didn't even know was a was a rule.
Did you know that current?
Nope.
I haven't seen a car run slow enough to have that be the case.
But it's one of the things I don't know that I don't even know what to say to that.
I don't even know.
I'm just like a lot out at a loss of words right now.
Yeah, just, you know, the car itself was like 40 kilometers per hour slower.
The gearbox wasn't able to rev high enough
because it was just not able to handle it.
The engine was not able to handle it had to be run at, I think,
like 10,000 or 11,000 RPMs, which other cars are running at 13,000.
That's a big difference.
Huge difference, huge.
Well, let's get you out of this depression and talk about top speeds.
Pull up that graphic of the top speeds.
Thank you, Garrett.
Thank you.
I was like waiting, waiting for somebody to say something and it's only you here.
So let's let's look at these top speeds.
OK, this is only from week one.
I don't think anything's been put together for week two that we could find anyway.
This is before Ferrari's new
rear wing.
So this could change, but what's giving me hope.
Even though they're not the fastest starters,
even though we didn't see the fastest lap, we did see
was Red Bull had the highest top speed
of any other car on the grid that gives me hope
because you give Max a fast car.
You can go to war for sure.
Who knows if Ferrari caught up this week, we'll see.
But it was nice to see that Mercedes, even with them quietly lurking in the back,
they weren't putting a blistering top speed of these.
Yeah, I mean, to be determined if sandbags were alive and well,
or if they'd been removed at this point, I'm sure that is true.
That is true.
So again, they might even make changes to the amount of energy
that the cars can deploy and what the reserves are throughout the season if they need to.
So we could even see these go up from here,
because this is with all the engines still clipping electricity at this point.
That is true.
But I do hear that Red Bull is using some, I think, Chinese batteries
that are supposed to be really good, which is.
I have no idea if you're serious or not.
No, I'm dead serious.
That's that's what I heard that they're using Chinese batteries.
So and they're supposed to be really good batteries,
which again is contributing to their their top speed.
So I'm not I'm not even joking.
I know you're looking at me like this guy is like trolling like you're like typing
right now, you're like, let me fact check this.
But I heard I heard fact check me, please fact check me.
It's it's looking good for for top speed and you're absolutely right.
I think for stopping, you know, not even setting the pace.
It seems like he's been kind of like.
It's obvious he hasn't been pushing on the track.
You know, he he has a lot to give.
We've seen him give it and he's just kind of like taking it very easy right now.
Likewise, with George Russell, we already talked about, you know,
you know, there's no way that he's he's being beat by Kimmy with pace as of now.
So there is a lot left on the table to interpret.
So what do we take away from all this?
We now have an awkward break between now and Australia,
where our excitement and anxieties can run high.
What do we take away from testing?
Honestly, what to take away with is that there isn't a lot to take away.
We still don't know a lot.
So I think, you know, Garrett, I was talking to you about it before
we even started the podcast.
That's the whole point is like we want that anticipation.
We want to be guessing, like we said, we're talking a lot about Red Bull.
We're talking about Mercedes.
We're talking about Ferrari, but we don't just talk enough about McLaren.
It's not just us, it's everyone, but McLaren is still there.
They're so prominent.
They're so strong.
They're so pumping out the right numbers, you know, and they're the reigning chap.
So the fact that not just us, a lot of us who haven't been talking about them
just goes to show that there's not a lot to go on to begin with.
No one is a complete outlier.
And that just makes this season.
I mean, the only complete outlier is Aston Martin.
Maybe Williams, too.
Maybe Williams, too.
Williams, Williams, this seems like they're they're getting it together.
They're they're picking up the pieces far better than Aston Martin right now.
But that being said, not a lot to go with.
How about you, Gary?
What are you taking from all of this?
I'm just excited that the the cars of the new engines didn't all break down.
And then we've got, you know, a solid top four of Mercedes,
Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull to watch all season.
And it'll just be exciting to see where the pieces fall
and which team reign supreme out of all those.
Yeah, yeah, let's let's take a look and see what happens, I guess,
in two weeks now, two weeks time.
It's it's close.
It's two weeks already.
Yeah, I think I think it's just two weeks.
Yeah, that damn.
Yeah, we're we're almost there.
Oh, my buddies was watch who he already warmed up the track and walked up for us.
He lives down in Australia and he went out there and went for a wander.
So the track's warm and ready.
Now we've got to wait for the cars to show up.
Is it all kind of like getting set up right now or is it too far out?
Too far out, but it's still public access to the track
so you can go running in Alba Park still.
And so he goes and runs runs the racetrack.
That's so cool.
That is that is badass.
Well, I'm glad he's checking in on us for us.
The cool downlap exclusive track track running track checking
only here.
I know I'm just kidding.
But that being said, actually, one more thing to talk about.
Toto Wolf and that interview, you hear what he said?
Dude, he said it and then said I probably shouldn't have said that.
Dude, he he says he says it and then he looks at this one report.
He's like, oh, this he's like, oh, you didn't like that one.
You know, like that one.
It's like, no, Toto, no one liked that one, bro.
Like Toto forgot his media training.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Oh, my God.
What do you mean?
He said something about like Epstein, right?
He's like, he said they've been given a shit about the compression ratio,
then a better fuel.
What's going to come next?
I'm going to end up on the Epstein list or something.
And then he just goes.
Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that one anyway.
But you can you can also see all the principles as losing it.
I forgot was that brown just like fucking losing his shit.
He's like trying to keep it together.
Well, was that shade at Aston Martin, though?
Could have been.
Could have been taking shots of Laurence Troll, who was in the Epstein list.
Yeah, yikes.
Yikes.
Yikes.
Indeed, not a good time, not a good topic to be wearing the merch on, eh?
Nope.
You got to go put that McLaren sweater on again.
Yeah, just swap out.
I have the ability to swap now, man.
I have the ability to swap.
Oh, good.
What a bad time to buy that stock, eh?
100 percent, 100 percent.
Oh, good.
Anyways, is there anything else that we got to cover?
To quote the the grand tour or top gear.
And on that terrible ending, let's wrap this up.
Let's wrap this up.
I think I think we're good on that, man.
Next week, we'll be talking about our predictions post testing
and compare that to our pre-shakedown testing
and make our race predictions, I guess.
Yeah, man, see if you still think Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso
are taking it this year or if you decide to go with pride into this bet we have
or if you try to shake things up with a little bit more data driven listing.
We'll see where your allegiances lie next week.
We'll see.
I really don't want to eat the hot wings, so we'll have to see what happens.
But let's wrap it up on that.
Thank you for watching.
Make sure to like, subscribe, follow us on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube,
and we'll see you guys next week.
About this episode
Bahrain's second test brought exciting developments, particularly from Ferrari, which showcased an innovative rear wing design dubbed the 'Macarena wing.' This unique feature aims to enhance downforce and speed, potentially giving Ferrari a competitive edge. The hosts discuss the implications of this innovation, alongside Aston Martin's struggles and the overall performance of teams like Mercedes and McLaren. With notable laps from Charles Leclerc and the reliability of Red Bull, the episode dives into the dynamics of the testing period and what it could mean for the upcoming season.
Original notes
Ferrari may have revealed one of the most clever aerodynamic innovations of Bahrain pre-season testing — a small “flow vane” near the rear of the car that could improve diffuser performance, rear grip, and overall efficiency.
In Episode 6 of The Cooldown Lap, we break down:
• What Ferrari’s new flow vane actually does
• How it improves diffuser airflow and rear wing efficiency
• Why this could give Ferrari a performance advantage in 2026
• Why other teams may struggle to copy it
• What this means for the competitive order this season
Small aero innovations often make the biggest difference — and Ferrari’s latest concept could be a major signal of their performance potential.
Listen to The Cooldown Lap on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube.
New episodes weekly covering F1 news, testing, and technical analysis.
#F1 #Formula1 #Ferrari #F1Testing #BahrainTesting #F1Tech #F1News #ScuderiaFerrari #F12026 #F1Podcast #FormulaOne #F1Engineering #F1Analysis #TheCooldownLap #motorsporttv
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