F1 Q&A: Will the title will go down to the wire?

F1 continues with circular 17 taking spot astatine the Azerbaijan Grand Prix astatine Baku City Circuit from 13-15 September.

Last clip out, Charles Leclerc secured a stunning location triumph for Ferrari, up of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

BBC F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your questions earlier the contention successful Baku.

Now that Max Verstappen is bleeding points (several grands prix already, actually) bash you deliberation the rubric volition spell down to the wire? – Ioannis

There is decidedly a overmuch bigger accidental of the drivers' title going to the ligament than determination was 3 oregon 4 races ago.

And the information McLaren themselves present recognise that explains wherefore they are actively admitting they volition sermon whether to inquire Oscar Piastri to backmost Lando Norris for the remaining 8 races, wherever feasible.

Until Monza, McLaren lacked assurance that a) their car would beryllium sufficiently competitory astatine a capable fig of tracks; and b) that Red Bull, fixed their spot successful caller seasons, would conflict enough.

But the consistency of Red Bull's problems, the magnitude of clip since Max Verstappen won a contention and McLaren's show astatine Monza person changed their mindset.

It is inactive a gangly bid - Norris needs to claw backmost connected mean astir 8 points a contention to bushed Verstappen by the extremity of the year. But it's possible.

Do you deliberation the atrocious starts for Norris and the quality to support his tyres caller are linked? – Anon

No, and really determination is simply a misunderstanding successful the question.

Firstly, yes, Norris has had issues astatine starts and archetypal laps, but astir of them are antithetic successful nature. So, helium mislaid presumption to Verstappen astatine the commencement successful some Spain and the Netherlands, but they were not caused by the aforesaid issue.

And the first-lap mistake helium made successful Belgium - wherever helium ran wide done a momentary lapse of judgement - was not the aforesaid arsenic what happened astatine Monza - wherever helium mislaid a spot to Piastri due to the fact that helium did not privation to hazard braking immoderate aboriginal for the 2nd chicane successful lawsuit helium took some McLarens retired arsenic his team-mate went for the pass.

Beyond that, it's not close to accidental Norris is struggling with tyre management. What you saw successful Monza - and successful Hungary - was simply a effect of the merits of moving successful wide air.

People tin hide that these Pirelli tyres are inactive incredibly delicate to overheating, contempt galore years of Pirelli saying they would effort to code the issue.

Any nonaccomplishment of downforce - specified arsenic erstwhile pursuing different car - makes the car slide, which overheats the tyres, which affects performance.

This is wherefore successful Hungary Piastri looked faster than Norris erstwhile the Australian was successful the lead, and Norris looked faster than Piastri erstwhile the positions were reversed. Simply, it's overmuch easier to support the tyres successful the close model erstwhile you are not down different car.

This improvement was besides seen with Charles Leclerc connected his mode to triumph successful Monza.

How volition the wind-tunnel clip limits impact the teams' improvement of their 2026 cars? Could it beryllium an vantage not winning the constructors' title? – Philip

F1 operates a sliding standard of permitted aerodynamic development. So, the astir palmy squad successful the erstwhile six months has the slightest permitted wind-tunnel and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) probe clip for the adjacent six months, and the slightest palmy the most.

So, yes, this volition impact the teams arsenic they hole for the 2026 rules. Whoever wins the constructors' rubric this twelvemonth volition beryllium capable to walk little clip researching the rules aerodynamically successful the archetypal fractional of adjacent twelvemonth than the others.

But the percent quality is not that large from 1 spot to another, truthful it should not impact McLaren v Red Bull v Ferrari excessively much.

We perceive a batch astir upgrades. What are they and tin you springiness america much details astir them? – Nigel

An upgrade is simply a caller part, oregon bid of parts, that is aimed astatine improving the show of the car.

So, for example, a caller beforehand wing, oregon a caller floor, oregon a caller portion of bodywork. If they are aimed astatine improving performance, that is classed arsenic an upgrade.

The contented teams are encountering this play is that these upgrades are not ever expanding performance.

For example, aft Red Bull introduced their archetypal upgrade of the play successful Imola, 2 races aboriginal successful Canada Mercedes method manager James Allison said helium believed it had really been a downgrade.

Red Bull vociferously denied that astatine the time, but the longer the play has gone on, and the much Red Bull person struggled, the much it is wide that Allison was right.

The occupation teams are encountering is that the travel structures created by these existent F1 cars, and the mode the aerodynamics work, are truthful analyzable that the simulation tools disposable to the teams are simply not close capable to accurately foretell however the car volition execute connected track.

Often, teams are uncovering that the CFD says 1 thing, the upwind passageway another, and the car behaves otherwise again erstwhile it gets retired connected track.

This is wherefore McLaren person taken truthful agelong to present a large upgrade since the large 1 successful Miami that turned them into frontrunners overnight. They person wanted to beryllium perfectly assured it volition work, truthful they tin debar getting lost, arsenic Red Bull have.

And it's precisely the contented Red Bull person recovered with their car astatine the moment.

The occupation is, erstwhile a squad has enactment connected a load of caller parts implicit a play of time, and past find the car is not behaving the mode they want, it is fiendishly hard to unpick what is causing the occupation - particularly arsenic determination is nary mode of simulating it.

When was the past clip determination were 7 antithetic winners successful a azygous season? – Helen

The past clip determination were 7 antithetic winners successful a play was 2012.

But that was a precise antithetic play to this one; successful information it was astir the reverse.

In 2012, determination were 7 antithetic winners successful the archetypal 7 races and Fernando Alonso, past driving for Ferrari, built a important title pb by virtuousness of being the astir consistent. In fact, successful the fourth-fastest car, it was astir apt Alonso’s champion play - 1 of the champion by immoderate operator ever, for that matter.

But past Red Bull deed their stride successful the last 3rd of the season, and Sebastian Vettel went connected a winning run, including 4 successful a enactment astatine 1 point.

Add successful immoderate atrocious luck for Alonso - who was taken retired by Romain Grosjean's Lotus astatine the commencement successful Belgium, and by the Frenchman's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen successful Japan - and Vettel overtook him.

It inactive went to the wire, and Vettel astir threw it distant by getting embroiled successful an incidental connected the archetypal thigh successful Brazil that damaged his car, but helium fought backmost and clung on.

This time, Verstappen got disconnected to a flyer by dominating the commencement of the season, lone for his squad to person seemingly mislaid their way, portion McLaren look to beryllium taking connected a akin relation to Red Bull successful 2012.