George Russell claimed his first Formula One sprint race win at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, maintaining his perfect start to the season after a closely fought contest that highlighted both Mercedes’ strengths and the evolving competitive order under the 2026 regulations.
Some are saying the lower atmospheric pressure of Austria hid the engines true gains and it's coming to show itself at Silverstone now. Could be true... Maybe the engine tuning wasn't finished for Austira and they ran it conservatively.
Hmm. This is sort of a damage limitation track for this year's car. So even a podium would be fantastic.rifrafs2kees wrote: ↑03 Jul 2026, 18:28Lewis is known to be a mega quantity here. I think there's more time to unlock with the Mercs as Lewis qualified only a 100th ahead of Antonelli. No disrespect to Antonelli, rather, I'm saying he's yet to peak.
In summary, I'm very weary of the Mercs as the weekend unfolds.
Mercedes traction and acceleration is still monstrous. Antonelli gains time accelerating right throughout the chart. And at higher speeds he is also gaining time too. The miracle is that Ferrari is able to hang on enough on tthe straights and make up speed in the corners.Brahmal wrote: ↑03 Jul 2026, 23:23Really interesting how Antonelli doesn't use 8th gear at all, while Lewis spends like 1/2 the lap in it. This chart doesn't show braking, but Lewis doesn't touch them between turn 7 to 15 while Antonelli does brake at 13. They are minimizing braking and opening up the rear brake ducts to keep the rear tires cool, while running at lower rpms to minimize overall cooling levels and thus drag.
