Recorded during the last phase of Bahrain Test 2, this podcast provides fascinating insight from Mark Slade on a number of major topics, including - (00:00) the relative performance right now of Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren; (03:33) the prodigious talent of Nico Hulkenberg (a driver with whom Mark has worked on numerous occasions); (07:52) the mess at Aston Martin-Honda; (23:00) the electrical power available from standard and over-ride modes vs car speed - graphic can be seen under the chapter heading; (26:44) more detail on energy harvesting at the entry to corners; (32:04) the linguistic genius of Sir Frank Williams; (33:00) why F1 would be very different today - featuring super-reliable and spectacular V8s or V10s - if Ari Vatanen had beaten Jean Todt to the FIA Presidency; (35:06) why today's turbo F1 power units are less noisy/visually spectacular as those of the 1980s; (38:03) comparing a young Lewis Hamilton with a young Robert Kubica; (41:36) Lewis vs Fernando comparison; (42:45) the 2026 prospects of Alpine-Mercedes; (45:55) Aston-Honda limiting their test runs to one or two laps only (breaking news); (53:00) why Kevin Magnussen picked up speed in late 2024 with Haas-Ferrari; (56:08) race starts in 2026; and (59:20) will high-energy dense fuels have a weight advantage in 2026?
Mark Slade has been a race engineer at McLaren, Mercedes, Renault and Haas and has played a major role in two World Championships, 34 GP wins, 101 podiums and 40 pole positions.
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Images: Mark Slade
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