Looks like it might be delayed. According to the F1 website it should start in around 23 minutes.

If we keep going with the DNFs at this rate we won't have any cars left by the end of the race.

I can recommend Hetzner Storage Boxes. The company is located in Germany, but you can choose server locations in Germany and in Finland. You can set it up with Rclone's Crypt feature to encrypt all your files.

Great news! It's good to see that they actually seem to care about people's opinions once in a while.

So, does anyone want to play a game of over/under on how long it will take before it's proposed again? I'm guessing under three months.

As per the reddit post it's Tracer, a copyright enforcement company working on behalf of Zenimax and Bethesda, not Bethesda directly. I would be surprised if this was intentional because there is nothing but bad PR to gain. It's probably just a false positive.

This is not an excuse. I was adding nuance to the claim made in the title. I also don't disagree that Bethesda is ultimately responsible for the contractors it hires, and if Tracer made an erroneous DMCA request, Bethesda should take responsibility for correcting it. However, given Bethesda's previous treatment of similar projects like Daggerfall Unity and OpenMW, I think a simple error is a more plausible explanation than the company being a copyright troll or an intentional action by Bethesda.

I don’t know about all of them, but of the ones I’m familiar with, Birkenstock and Beyerdynamic, neither is really European anymore. Birkenstock sold a majority stake to L Catterton in 2021. It's a US American private equity firm. Beyerdynamic was sold to Cosonic in 2025, a Chinese company.

From what I've heard Birkenstocks have gone down in quality massively since then even if they're mostly still produced in Germany. I don't know how Beyerdynamics has fared since.

Despite the negative tone regarding the European side of the initiative in the first half of the video, everything seems to be running smoothly. That not everything would go perfectly from start to finish was to be expected and Ross said as much too. Him and everyone involved in making this happen are doing a great job and I have full trust in them.

It is telling though that the industry has to resort to nothing but lies and disinformation to "make their case." They have no worthy argument against it and they know it. Hopefully all of those who make the decisions in the end of the day also know that.

And he's right. Unfortunately being right doesn't mean anything in F1, though. When Alfa Romeo was the only one under the weight limit they changed it. Ironically enough it was Vassuer working at Alfa Romeo at the time who complained about other teams playing games with the weight limit.

As per the article, it is by itself not a new technology. Meta has been using this for years and is standard in the industry. So I'd wager most respectable browsers would have tracking prevention that stops this.

What is new, and what this article talks about, is that ChatGPT can attach your browsing habits to things you've shared with ChatGPT itself. As in, possibly very private details about you and your life.

The Audi sidepods are looking wild.

"Pinnacle of motorsports"

English translation

Mercedes is reportedly experiencing problems with fuel for its engines. Fuel partner Petronas is allegedly struggling with delays in the homologation of sustainable petrol. What does this mean for the start of the season in Melbourne?

Rarely has there been so much hype surrounding a Formula 1 team before the start of a season: even before the turn of the year, word leaked out that Mercedes had developed a clever trick for its combustion engine. In operation, the V6 turbo is said to achieve a compression ratio of 18:1. Since this season, however, the official limit, which is measured statically, has been 16:1. For weeks, opponents have been trying to get clarity from the FIA on this issue.

Before the start of the second Formula 1 test week in Bahrain (18 to 20 February), there is now the next controversy surrounding Mercedes. As our colleagues at ‘Motorsport.com’ have discovered, the Silver Arrows have a problem with fuel.

Supplier Petronas had not yet homologated its mixture around two weeks before the season opener in Melbourne (8 March). The regulations for approval have been drastically tightened this year. In the past, it was sufficient for fuel suppliers to send small samples for certification to a British laboratory belonging to the FIA. Approval was granted shortly afterwards and the fuel was homologated for the entire season.

Complex processes

Meanwhile, the British company Zemo is reviewing the process and granting homologation. It is no longer sufficient to send small samples to a laboratory. The entire manufacturing process is relevant for the certificate. And this is precisely where Petronas is said to be under pressure.

Zemo employees now travel to the production facilities and ensure that all criteria specified by the FIA are met. This also includes the certification of individual molecules supplied by partners involved in the production of the fuel. This complicates the entire process.

As part of the comprehensive rule changes for 2026, the fuel used in Formula 1 cars must now be 100 per cent sustainable. The premier class wants to continue reducing its carbon footprint. Formula 1 aims to achieve net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2030. The climate-neutral fuel used in the 22 racing cars accounts for a significant proportion of this.

Temporary solution?

If Petronas is unable to resolve the issue by Melbourne, another solution will have to be found. A total of four teams would be affected by the problem. In addition to the Mercedes works team, McLaren, Williams and, since this season, Alpine also use the power unit from Brixworth.

Formula 1 cannot afford to have eight cars unable to compete in the first race of the new era because the fuel is not homologated. As with the compression trick, they don't want to create a situation that would result in a significantly reduced starting field in Australia. A fiasco like Indianapolis 2005 – when only six cars started – is to be avoided. A temporary solution will probably be found. The only question is how the other engine manufacturers will react.

Conclusion

Mercedes' fuel manufacturer has reportedly not yet homologated its new fuel for the coming season. The certification processes for sustainable fuels have become significantly more stringent. If Petronas does not receive homologation by Melbourne, a temporary solution will have to be found.

Translated with DeepL.com

To be honest, I doubt it will make a difference. Drivers have been complaining for at least 40 years that Monaco is a track impossible to overtake on. I would be happy to be wrong, though.

It's the works team privilege rearing its ugly head again even though it was supposed to be eliminated by the rule change. Leave it to F1 teams to find the tiniest loopholes and turn them into season-defining advantages. I do think it goes against the spirit of the law, however little that matters.

Hopefully, the customer teams can sort this out quickly and make it a non-issue, so the next few races will be closer than the one in Australia.

Aston Martin and fat Aston Martin.

English translation

Audi showed up at the Bahrain test with a completely redesigned car. The side pods in particular are unrecognisable. We present the first images of the B version.

The Audi factory team is brand new to Formula 1. But when it comes to development work, the new German-Swiss alliance is already way ahead. The engineers have built two completely different cars in a very short time. One for the shakedown week in Barcelona. And one for further testing in Bahrain.

Observers were amazed when the revamped R26 rolled out of the garage at the start of test driving on the Sakhir Grand Prix circuit on Wednesday (11 February). Under the watchful eyes of project manager Mattia Binotto and technical director James Key, a fundamentally redesigned car took to the track.

‘I think it's fair to call this a B version,’ Binotto grinned mischievously. ‘Don't ask what's new! Everything is new.’ The first thing that catches the eye, of course, are the side pods. The bulbous cooling intakes from the Barcelona week have disappeared. They have been replaced by ultra-slim vertical scoops.

The result is somewhat reminiscent of Mercedes' so-called ‘Zeropod Concept’. At the start of the last regulation era, the Silver Arrow team wanted to shock the competition with ultra-slim bodywork.

Zeropod flops at Mercedes

But the solution backfired. It didn't work with the complicated underbodies. Now the underbodies are much simpler in design. And Audi is making a second attempt with a modified concept. The small bump protruding from the panelling at cockpit level is the best indication of just how slim the R26 really is. This is where the side crash structure is located. Its position is mandatory for all cars.

However, Nico Hülkenberg's new company car is not quite as extreme as the old Mercedes. From above, you can see a small channel that directs air over the side pods to the diffuser. Another new feature is the cooling fins carved vertically into the bonnet. They prevent heat from building up under the tightly fitting carbon skin.

A version still in the 2025 budget

Many changes can also be seen on the nose and front wing. The dark contrasting adjustment mechanism used to retract the upper flaps on the straights is particularly striking. It was not yet present on the base car used in Barcelona.

For those who now fear that Audi has already used up its entire development budget for the 2026 season by building two completely different cars, we can give the all-clear. Binotto confirmed that the parts for the A version from the shakedown in Barcelona were all built last year and accordingly included in the budget cap. This leaves room for further upgrades.

Conclusion

Audi showed up at the test drives in Bahrain with a completely redesigned car. The ultra-slim side pods with vertical cooling inlets are particularly eye-catching. You can find the latest detailed photos in the gallery.

Translated with DeepL.com

It's not too different from their previous liveries. British racing green is always pretty. It's hard to go wrong with it. I'm disappointed with the Cadillac, though. They had the option of using gold or yellow, but instead they went with the boring black and white.