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Where Leclerc’s pole position was judged and where racing in Australia is judged

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Where Leclerc’s pole position was judged and where racing in Australia is judged

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari clinched pole position at the Australian GP by an unexpected 0.3s margin ahead of Max Ferstappen and Red Bull, but in Sunday’s (4/10) race things could be more unpredictable between them.

The general sentiment ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, this year’s Formula 1 round 3 at Melbourne’s Albert Park, shared by Ferrari, was that the Red Bull RB18 would be the fastest car over the three days.

This assessment seemed to be confirmed in the first two periods (Q1 and Q2) of the ranking tests: Sergio Perez and Max Ferstappen were alternately faster than Ferrari, despite the plan of Milton Keynes’ team to reduce the weight of the RB18 – this year’s “Achilles” – to drastically reduce heel” and the result of efforts to cope with the jumps on the straight (porpoise) – will be applied in the next race from Imola.

But after the end of Q2 it wasn’t what it seemed: Ferrari still had plenty of speed to surface and did so with the two fastest laps in both Q3 attempts – before and after Fernando Alonso’s accident to be precise in the middle of the procedure.

Leclerc celebrates taking pole position in Australia

The Ferrari F1-75 had strong porpoises on the straights, worse than in Bahrain and Jeddah, but this had absolutely no negative impact on the car’s speed. “It’s not so much about our time as it is about our comfort”confirmed Leclerc. “But I’m not here to drive a comfortable car, I’m here to drive a fast one”he added.

On the contrary, since yesterday, Ferstappen has been having problems with the stability of the RB18 in the fast parts of the track (which is more the case with this year’s Albert Park redesign), and especially in its first part. “Things weren’t good”, said Ferstappen at the end of qualifying. “I didn’t feel so comfortable with the car these two days.

I don’t think there was even one lap where I felt comfortable in the car. We’ll try to analyze it. So far everything is a bit scattered. I’m happy with second place, but as a team we want more‘ concluded the champion.

From what was seen yesterday and confirmed today, Ferrari is faster in slow corners and on exit acceleration, while the RB18 has a higher top speed. This means he can again use the lower wing of the lower lift to make up any deficit against the Ferrari F1-75. That’s what he did in Jeddah.

What applies to the Australian race

However, things could get a little more unpredictable at the Melbourne GP from 8am. (Greek time zone). A key parameter they can change is that the soft rubber is unlikely to be used, except for an unexpected strategic hazard – as Pirelli Australia brought the softest of them all (C5), while the medium is C3 and the hard is C2.

The soft C5 takes two laps to get into its thermal operating window, so it’s only used when a driver wants to take a risk or has nothing to lose towards the end of the race. However, the most likely strategy is to start with the medium eraser and place the hard in a single pit stop.

Leclerc's Ferrari during qualifying tests in Melbourne

Dealing with the center tire and protecting the front tires from wear will perhaps be the most important aspect of the race. And Red Bull showed in Friday’s free practice that they do it more efficiently than their speed in a soft rubber loop.

In Yesterday’s Free Trials “we were a bit behind Ferrari [στην ταχύτητα σε έναν γύρο] but in the round rows everything was more stable and beautiful. We’ve made some good improvements”said Ferstappen. And RBR director Christian Horner confirmed it: “We started a little from the ‘window’ [απόδοσης]but now we were getting in and the car was starting to be more responsive“.

The RB18 was about a tenth faster than Ferrari on the middle lap rows – although we always have to calculate the (unknown) differences in fuel loads. The similar performance of the two cars points to another ambiguous battle, such as at Shakir and Jeddah, which will be judged in Melbourne’s pit and DRS zones.

Source: sport 24

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F1 pilot’s brother became Ukrainian pilot’s rival in Formula 4

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F1 pilot’s brother became Ukrainian pilot’s rival in Formula 4

Thomas Berman, the younger brother of Haas Formula 1 team driver Oliver Berman, will officially take part in Italian Formula 4 and Euro 4 in the 2026 season.

Thomas will represent the VAR team colours.

The 16-year-old Briton spent last year in British Formula 4, where he scored one win and finished eighth in the final season standings.

But the ones that are considered the most prestigious and promising are the Italian and European Formula 4 championships. They are often chosen by young pilots for further career advancement. In addition, Thomas’ older brother Oliver Berman also competed in these series and became the Italian Formula 4 champion in 2021 with 11 wins.

Let us also remind you that Ukrainian Alexander Bondarev will compete in the same championships with the Prima Racing team in the 2026 season. The Ukrainian pilot does not hide his ambitions and has repeatedly expressed his intention to fight for the championship title.

Bondarev now participates in Middle East Formula 4 in preparation for the European leg of the season. After the first stage, he took first place in the general rankings and became the leader in the rankings.

Thomas Berman will compete in the Formula Winter Series as part of his preparations.

The competition between the current “four” promises to be extremely high, and the appearance of the younger brother of the Formula 1 pilot will only increase interest in the series.

Check out this post on Instagram

Additions, expansions Van Amersfoort Racing (@vanamersfoortracing)


Source: Sport UA

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Ex-Ferrari boss: “We were disappointed by the rule changes. We had the best car”

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Ex-Ferrari boss: “We were disappointed by the rule changes. We had the best car”

Former Ferrari boss Ross Brawn said the team was at a disadvantage due to the FIA’s changes to the rules.

The Scuderia was virtually unbeatable in the early 2000s. Michael Schumacher single-handedly won 48 of 85 races in the first half of the decade, while Rubens Barrichello added nine more victories.

In an interview with F1.com, Brown named the 2004 Ferrari car as his favorite. That year the team won not only three races but confidently won its sixth consecutive title in the Constructors’ Championship.

The legendary designer and strategist admitted that Ferrari was stopped after that due to changes in tire rules and that the team had become too dominant.

“Every year we put in extra effort and every year we did things a little better. That made the 2004 car, in my opinion, the best ever.”

“We were disappointed by the changes to the tire rules after that, but I think we did so well and had to be stopped somehow. This incredible car could not have been stopped any other way because everything worked so well for us.”

“Having lived on the other side of the fence ever since, I can understand Bernie’s frustration. [Экклстоуна, тогдашнего руководителя Формулы-1]Max [Мосли, тогдашнего президента FIA] and supporters. It was a shock when we didn’t win, not a shock when we won. “It was a very special car.”

Source: Sport UA

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Two Formula 1 teams reached the limit of new rules

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Two Formula 1 teams reached the limit of new rules

Formula 1 is preparing to enter a new era of regulations. Starting from the 2026 season, the aerodynamics and power plants of the vehicles will change significantly. Many people are already calling these innovations the biggest in the history of the championship.

In addition, the physical parameters of the machines will also change. The cars will become smaller: 10 cm narrower, 20 cm shorter and also 32 kg lighter; minimum weight will drop to 768 kg.

However, reaching this new cap will be extremely difficult for most teams. New power plants include a significantly larger share of the electrical component – with the internal combustion engine the ratio will now be 50/50, which will make the unit heavier. From the new season, there will also be a rule requiring at least 55% of the vehicle area to be painted, and new active aerodynamic features with real-time mode switching will be introduced.

All of this increases the weight of the car, and teams will need to simultaneously work to increase efficiency, reliability and reduce the weight of the cars. Audi is reportedly already the first team to reach the minimum points mark. Earlier, information also appeared that the German manufacturer replaced the mechanism for switching active aerodynamic modes with an electronic one.

There have been recent reports that Alpin can also reach a minimum weight of 768 kg. Of course, the lower the mass, the faster the car. But the question remains whether this will compromise reliability in the early stages of the new regulation. We will learn the answer to this very soon.

Source: Sport UA

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