A rear wing is a part of a race car that helps keep it stable and on the ground when going fast. Some cars have special wings that can move to help with speed and control.
Aerodynamic design is about making cars shaped in a way that helps them move through the air more easily. This can make them faster and more stable, especially in races.
Active aero is a feature in some cars that allows parts like wings to move while driving. This helps the car go faster and handle better by changing how air flows around it.
The front wing is a part at the front of a car that helps control how the air moves around it. It helps the car stick to the road, especially when turning.
Renault is a car company from France that makes many types of vehicles, including some that are used in racing. They are known for their innovative designs and technology.
Launch control is a system in some cars that helps them start moving quickly without spinning the wheels. It's like a special setting that makes the car go faster from a stop.
McLaren is a British company that makes super-fast sports cars and has a racing team in Formula 1. They are known for their advanced technology and performance.
Formula One is a type of car racing that involves very fast cars competing in races called Grands Prix. It's known for its exciting races and advanced car technology.
Aston Martin is a British car brand that makes luxury sports cars. They are known for their stylish designs and are often featured in movies like James Bond.
A gearbox is a part of a car that helps it change speeds. It connects the engine to the wheels and makes it possible for the car to go faster or slower.
A regulation change is when the rules of a sport are updated. This can change how teams build their cars and how they compete, making it harder or easier for them to win.
Formula 1 is a top-level car racing competition where teams race specially designed cars on tracks. It's known for its speed and technology, and teams from around the world compete to win races and championships.
A diffuser is a part of a car's design that helps it stick to the ground better by controlling the air that flows under it. This makes the car faster and more stable when driving quickly.
Aggregate timings are used in racing to add up the times from different parts of a race or practice sessions to see who did the best overall. It's like keeping a total score.
LIVE
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 Podcast with Matt and Tommy.
The penultimate day of F1 testing has been and gone.
Lots to talk about, a lot of very cheeky things going on, Ferraris.
Lots to talk about, as I say, the excitement is building and Tommy, where do we even begin?
What are your thoughts?
How are you feeling?
I'm feeling very excited, actually, for all the complaining about the rules and how maybe
it's not what we think of Formula One, you know, I still think they sound terrible and
I do agree with the sense that I don't think this is what Formula One should be with battery
saving and all that.
But one thing I do like is the kind of the unknowns and we're kind of getting a lot
of that this season, even just like practice starts, which we'll get into later, very exciting
to see who can get off the line quicker and stuff and yeah, everything feels very new
and unknown and that's a cool thing.
That is the beauty of new regulations until we start to learn who is very far clear or
not, fingers crossed, and our questions are answered.
This is a very exciting time of the year and I really hope this excitement continues through
the year because there should be elements of unpredictability all the way through the
season, not just up until Australia.
So Antonelli ended day two of the second barrain test fastest, marginally quicker than Oscar
Piazzari than it was Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, your top five.
Let's get into a question from P1Patreon member, Thimmerroll.
How cool is that Ferrari rear wing that turns around?
Will this be the things teams will try to copy into their own designs?
So cool.
I was flabbergasted, I could not believe what I was saying, I thought it was a malfunction.
I was like, why on earth is that rear wing spinning around like that?
That doesn't look very quick, but when you look into it a bit more, I think it's a really
innovative, exciting design from Ferrari.
And obviously the only team to go with that design, of course we've had Alpine, for example,
with the flat rear wing when they do the active aero, but for Ferrari to bring out something
like that was truly exciting.
There is a part of me, however, that is concerned by the fact that they brought out this rear
wing.
They used it for a matter of about five laps and then Hamilton was not seen for another
two and a half hours after that.
So one of two things, it's either, oh my God, we are so quick with this, get it off the
car immediately so you don't see more of it.
Or get rid of that, that is the worst innovation we've ever done because they reverted back
to the old one for the rest of the test.
They did.
It's very interesting when we look back now at the very start of testing when we only
had the final hour and I remember on the watch along when they showed, we were watching
along together and they showed that clip of all the teams and how they'd done it and obviously
the biggest talk was that Alpine, that flat rear wing, but I remember you being as a profan
being like, their kind of gap in their rear wing looks so thin and surely they're losing
a lot of performance and wow, what a way to try and do it.
It's very interesting to basically go for something really wild.
They said something very interesting on the broadcast that in an era of cost cap and everything
like that, they have to truly believe this is a really, really great solution.
They don't throw these kind of things on for banter and yeah, it's a crazy idea because
you can see how much more open that wing is.
Not only that, you're also, as the rear wing comes round, you could argue that it's helping
scrub the speed off as well with the fact that it goes flat.
My concern and maybe this is why they ended up in the garage for two hours is when you
if you think about how much that's going to be buffeting when you've got a flat piece
against the wind at 300 kilometers an hour, they were saying this on the broadcast as well.
That's got to be a very, very, very strong rear wing.
Even if other teams can do it, it's a reliability risk I think massively as well.
Yeah, even just the normal active arrow, I'm concerned about reliability.
Seeing the rear wing doing somersaults on the Ferrari does not exactly
fill me with too much confidence of being able to withstand a full race of that,
but still really exciting.
Great to see Ferrari thinking of ways to, yeah, the clearance in their normal rear wing
just didn't seem like it really does the business, whereas that one certainly did.
But whether it worked or not, Ferrari are the only ones to know.
Found it interesting as well that James Valls was interviewed and he basically said,
no, we didn't think of that.
He was very honest in the avenue they were at.
Yeah, and it's also interesting to them because we always say, don't we, like,
oh, people will be copying and stuff and it was nice to hear a team prince will actually
just be really honest and say, yes, when we see stuff on the cars, we will know within a few days
whether we can do it or not and if it will work. Teams now will probably be going back
if they haven't thought of it, trying it, and then it will be a case of trying to either rush
it through or going, now, Ferrari, what are you doing? Why is your rear wing doing backflips?
And also, you can't just put a part on a car to a different team and expect it to work.
There's plenty of different philosophies, especially this year with the new regs,
which means you can't do that just because someone's front wing is good does not mean
it'll be good on a Williams or whatever. So, fascinating stuff and I really hope it worked.
I really, really do. Next question, Fergie's right ref asks, do Ferrari even need to be
good in low fuel quality mode if they can get three positions at the start?
Oh, my word. So, if you guys haven't watched, if you're listening to the podcast for the
first time and didn't see the practice starts, Ferrari are in rocket fuel.
You know, on Mario Kart, when you time a start perfectly and you get a boost.
Ferrari are doing that. Just between the two and the three.
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Maybe that's what they were doing. They just tried and it worked.
And yeah, they're doing like a little Mario Kart boost at the start,
this showing my age, but you said it as well. It reminds of the Renault's back in 2005,
when they would just have amazing launch control and they could just fly off the line and it
didn't matter where they qualified, they would make the very least two positions off the start
every single time, even if it was a short run down to turn one.
And Ferrari are the team, of course, as well, that basically blocked new changes for the start,
saying, we don't want this. And we kind of were going, oh.
Well, because they had planned, because initially that was in the plans and they've created an
engine that is able to do that. It works for it. Exactly. And I was a little bit,
maybe got a bit of my head ahead of myself when I watched the first practice start today,
because there were only four cars on the track and one of them got off very slowly,
which was the McLaren. But Hamilton raced away at the start and I thought, oh, wow,
is that legit or are the other cars? And then we saw another one and my word, it was even more
extreme. And not only that, the fact that Ferrari were absolutely rapid, the other Ferrari powered
team in Haas looked very, very quick off the line as well compared to the other cars. So
if they found something, you know, it could be a massive, massive thing, particularly if it's
hard to overtake. If you find a way that qualifying almost becomes like a little bit irrelevant,
you could just fly past everyone in turn one. It's the ultimate hack, isn't it?
This may well be the season. And I know a lot of you tune into our watch alongs and really
enjoy it. If you've never tuned in, please do for this year. This might well be the era where
I'm knee sliding across my room because Charlotte Claire's qualified ninth. As long as we're in
the top 10, there's a chance of P1 into turn one. Obviously not as aggressive as that. But
yeah, you likened to the 2005 Renault and that was so markedly different and such an advantage
compared to the rest of the teams around them. And it does remind me of that at this stage. I
think there is, of course, I'm trying to calm myself down here that Ferrari does matter where
they qualify. Oh, don't. But you know, there are, of course, a lot of things going on within each
team and they're trying to figure out the best launch for their engine. They've not done many
practice starts at all. So there's going to be improvements to be made. I'm sure Max's start
that we saw at the end of testing today was not the optimal one that he could have done.
But my goodness gracious me, there is some correlation there, especially as you say with
Ocon also having a decent start. Even though the commentary were like, Ocon didn't really...
Yeah, weird. I was like, what? Did I just watch a different start to you? Another interesting
point to that. There's two sides to this. One that Ferrari didn't want things changing. The team
that really wanted things changing was McLaren and they've had two absolute stinkers of a start
today where the first time Lando Norris had a really poor start, poor getaway, didn't get away
with the other cars, whether that was them just trying different things. But then we went into
the final hour and they did the practice start again at the end and Oscar Piastri had some kind
of issue and had to stop at the side of the track before essentially like seemingly restarting the
car and joining the pack again. So yeah, McLaren, maybe they might have the opposite problem of
they're getting pole position but not celebrating because they know they might lose three or four
positions at the start. Okay, next question. People on Patreon remember Oscar Glazer. Will it
be a four-way team fight for the championship this year? I am not convinced. I think that
yeah, the rumors are at the moment, but of course they change every day. Is it McLaren
a fourth fastest and how much you take of that is up to you? And it really does depend on how
much the Mercedes power unit teams are holding back when it comes to performance. But the chatter
at the moment is that it's Mercedes and it's Ferrari with potentially then Red Bull McLaren in
behind. I don't mind that because Ferrari are being talked about and we like Ferrari being
talked about in positive lights. I would be very surprised if all four teams were of a similar
pace. Now, of course, there's a lot of talk about could the pecking order change between races and
because the energy efficiency of teams and all that sort of stuff can vary and perhaps some teams
are more efficient on their battery than others and that could be. Yeah, like Red Bull have been
taught to have amazing deployment. So if it's a track that's really good for that, they're going
to be quicker than one that's not good at that or whatever. Yeah, exactly. So that could definitely
shake things up. But I'm still not convinced. I think there will be a fastest team or potentially
two at best and that will be the fight for this year. That's my feeling right now. It's based on
just literally what I've seen. But we would be the luckiest Formula One fans in the world
if we got a four-way team fight at the start of a new regulation.
Like I'm just talking from experience here. It doesn't happen. No, it doesn't happen. I think
it's going to be a four-way team fight in the sense that they are going to be so clear. I think
there's going to be an absolute chasm between whoever is that fourth fastest team and then who
is the fifth fastest team in that midfield pack and fastest the midfield. That's just my kind of
opinion of it so far and what we're hearing. I think the fact that it's the same four teams
basically going, you're quicker. No, maybe we're fourth best. I reckon your fourth best
shows that it's going to be those four and I think they are well clear of the others.
But I think one team will get it right. And look, they're all up there which is good to see and
maybe it changes. But I mean, looking at it, Mercedes still do look exceptionally strong.
They were fastest again. We kind of joked on the watch along that they've put another lap in
where they go fastest but only by the tiniest margin whether that gap becomes two and a half
seconds in Australia when they turn the wick up. We don't know. Doesn't matter if Ferrari be leading
into turn one. Yeah, exactly. Because another thing that was kind of being mentioned and
personally think of maybe being a little bit overplayed was the fact that they were doing
practice pit stops during the kind of the middle of testing. And they were kind of going, oh,
look, they're so clear that they're just doing pit stops of fun and they don't need to do anything
else. Now, I know that Mercedes have said that they are going through their run plans very well
indeed. And they're kind of, even in the shakedown, they're like, well, we've kind of done everything
on day two. But yeah, they're looking very, very strong. I still think they're the favorites.
Yeah, I will as well, just so that I can do the thing that everybody else is doing and giving
anyone but my favorite team the mantle of the fastest team. So yet Mercedes, you are clear.
Don't throw it. But yeah, of course, there is that feeling that Mercedes is very strong.
I will sort of caveat what you said there and say that they don't have unlimited tires. It's
from and choose from. So yeah, it doesn't mean they're going to constantly run for eight hours
throughout a day. And it obviously helps that they've not really had any issues to speak of.
They did 156 laps today, did Mercedes. Let's go through the testing laps from the penultimate
day. McLaren were the only ones to beat them with 158 laps. Rebel was third with 139, then
Haas with 127, Alpine with 120, Williams 117, Cadillac 108, VCarve 106, Audi 102,
then Ferrari with 78, and Aston Martin with 68. So Ferrari, the second least mileage today,
but I'll take it considering Hamilton was in the garage for what felt like the entire day,
or at least most of the morning. A question from P1P, remember Patrick Roll, which is Aston
Martin's biggest issue, the gearbox, the engine, or the reliability?
Everything, it seems. The problem for Aston Martin is they are slow and unreliable,
and Adrian Newey cars in the past have had a tendency to be fast but fragile. But the problem
is they're not even fast. They're incredibly slow, and they're breaking down all the time. It's the
second day. We had a problem for Lance Stroll yesterday, Alonzo's broken down today.
68 laps is actually the most seemingly done, maybe in the entire test for a day, I believe.
It's close.
Certainly close, off the top of my head. But they're slow, and they are doing everything
themselves. They've put a lot of money and resource into this year, doing this kind of,
it's not just a case of, oh, we're going to get the Honda engine, which, of course, seems like a
dumb decision now about the time, was winning the World Championship in Red Bull comfortably.
But with that comes the fact that they're building their own gearboxes for the first time,
and everything like that. So it's a massive change for Aston Martin as a team.
Unfortunately for Honda, they know that we've seen it before, that they don't come out the
blocks firing in a new regulation a lot of the time. But that being said, it's also,
it's not Honda's fault that they're locking up into every single corner. That car looks an
absolute handful. And as there's a lot of hype around it, I know a lot of Fernando Alonzo fans
like me will be absolutely gutted. And yeah, I'm the same. It's absolutely devastating to think
that Alonzo is kind of running out of time. This was meant to be his chance to have his swan
song and finally show what he's been able to do after years of having a midfield car and not
being able to win for ages. And instead, it looks like he's going to be a back marker, not even a
midfield runner. Yeah, that's tough. That's tough to hear. Probably not the right time to bask in
the glory of the fact that I thought that Aston Martin were going to be really, really slow.
I didn't think they were going to be this bad. And I firmly do believe that they will improve
across the year. I think it will be something that we see big improvements as they get mileage.
The problem is the Honda relationship. It's the fact that Honda have no other team that are running
their engine. Therefore, they don't really get much data. And the Aston Martin is not running well
with the current engine. They've not hit 100 laps the entire time that they've gone out for a day
of testing. So they've got such limited data compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and so on.
So it's just a really difficult relationship to improve on when it's such a massive regulation
change. So they just need data. They just need running. But that's not what Fernando Alonso is
after. He's not a young whippersnapper that can just, oh, yeah, we've got two, three years. Don't
worry, then we'll be good. Or even the end of this year, he wants to win championships. That's
why he's there. So, yeah, the biggest issue is just lack of data. And I hope for their sake,
they do pick it up because there was so much hype and the aura farming was big and no aura so far
seen at testing. Let's go to P1P, remember J-Dog role. What's the biggest surprise so far? The
surprise for me, and this is funny because we've just come from the back of talking about Aston
Martin being unreliable, is the reliability of the cars. I think that is right up there of my picks
of surprising moments because so many teams, how many teams today? Eight of, sorry, nine of the
11 teams did more than 100 laps today. This is a Formula 2026 regulation. Like we were,
Formula 1 and the FIA were so concerned, we had private tests, we couldn't see nothing. And yet
all the teams are circulating like it's been the same regulation for the last 10 years. So,
that for me is right up there included and also obviously a slight sort of nod to the Ferrari
spinny wing. Yeah, I think as a team, the biggest surprise for me so far is Ferrari. I almost regret
my flop prediction as much as I regret saying much this happened wouldn't win a race all season.
Probably more actually to both because genuinely I think Ferrari are looking in really nice.
I know you don't want to hear it but I've seen a lot. I do but I don't. Yeah, you do but you don't.
Exactly. It's the hope that kills you but Ferrari, there was so little expectation,
you were hearing things about surely Charlotte Clair is going to move on and then the fact that
they've kind of come out the blocks very strong. They've got this amazing start procedure,
looking very quick. They've looked reasonably reliable. You do wonder how much of the reliability
is the wing today, hopefully for their sake. And I know this is a dangerous game to look into
body language but I have seen a lot of journalists tweeting that Charlotte Clair
can literally not stop smiling. He's not hiding it very well that they found something and
I watched some interviews. That just felt like a cute selfie this morning actually.
I genuinely think that they've got something special so we'll find out but it's looking very good.
Come on, there we go. Good. Well, so now I can't stop smiling so that's great but we will see
in Australia when I'm screaming the house down at 5am when Charlotte Clair goes from 7am to 1am
in the first corner. That is going to be something very difficult to keep quiet if should that actually
happen. Yeah, your neighbours will not be happy with you because I think basically the first like
five races for us are about 4am, aren't they? It should be fun. It's tough but I'm really looking
forward to it especially now that we're talking about Ferrari potentially being in contention.
Could this be our year? What else? Anything else to mention, Tommy, before we go?
Colour Pinso. Yeah, Colour Pinso. I think Audi surprised him being up there because
you look at, we've said all this stuff about kind of us and Martin building their own engine.
Of course, you know, Audi have come in, they're a lone wolf if you like when it comes to
building an engine and being that only team and that's got to put them on the back foot but
they've looked pretty decent so far and yeah, decent lap from Hulk. Yeah, for sure. They definitely
need to be given their positive messages there because 102 laps today and they've had a bit of
unreliability, haven't they? But to see some actual pure pace come out today from Hulk was
pretty good. If you think back, I think it was last year was a mid-29 for pole position so we're
three seconds off in a... That's not that bad at all, is it? It's just arrived so I'm really...
To say they're worried about it being slower than F2 and stuff but it's absolutely fine,
really, isn't it? I also need to not forget about the Ferrari diffuser trick as well that
they've got going on which apparently could be given a couple of a couple of tents as well,
you know, just rock it off the line, diffuser this and love it so just going to throw that one in
there as well, good positive sort of vibes coming out from a lot of journalists and that usually
means they've been talking and have been told certain things so I'm going to take it as gospel.
Right, are we done? I believe so. Okay, thank you everybody, we'll be live tomorrow for the final
hour of the final Bahrain test of the year and then it is Australia baby, hell yeah.
Tommy, final thoughts? Final thoughts, Perez five seconds clear, Bottas I think on aggregate time
he's got to be surely leading. Sorry, when did we... When did we introduce aggregate timings?
1990s Formula One, absolutely not. No, it's 3-2 to Bottas and don't you dare try and change it any
other way, Bottas was clearly doing very heavy, very low power mode runs so... Indeed, see how much
he could charge. Yeah, exactly, so there you go, thanks for your final thought and we'll see you
soon. Bottas love, bye. Goodbye. Bottas will bounce back in the final test, mark my words.
Here we go, this is the real fight. It is, it's the battle everybody wants to know about.
About this episode
Excitement builds as F1 testing continues, with Ferrari's innovative rear wing design stealing the spotlight. The hosts discuss the implications of this unique feature and its potential reliability issues. They also analyze Ferrari's impressive practice starts, likening them to the legendary Renault launches of 2005, and speculate on the competitive landscape for the upcoming season. With teams like McLaren struggling with starts and the possibility of a four-way championship fight, the unpredictability of the new regulations adds to the anticipation for the season ahead.
Whisper it, but Ferrari are COOKING RIGHT NOW. Ridiculously quick off the start - check. Charles Leclerc can’t stop grinning - check. A rear wing that fully flips upside down on the straights - wait, what?
Elsewhere, some teams look slow. Others look quite unreliable. Aston Martin manage to look slow AND unreliable. Tough times at Newey HQ…
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