F1 fans call 2026 cars ‘tragic’ as ‘superclipping’ ruins best corner at Australian Grand Prix

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Formula 1 fans lamented the huge speed reduction at the turn nine/ten chicane during Australian Grand Prix qualifying. The new energy management protocols have fundamentally changed the way the cars need to be driven.

Previously, a driver would always be flat-out on the exit of the final corner as they prepared to start a qualifying lap. Now, they aren’t engaging full-throttle until halfway down the straight for fear of depleting the battery.

Electrical energy accounts for around 50% of the car’s power output, so running out at the wrong time can ruin a lap. Lifting and coasting, a technique normally used to save fuel during a race, is likely to become common on a Saturday.

F1 fans upset that drivers can’t push flat out through turns nine and 10 at Albert Park

Onboard footage showed that even Mercedes driver George Russell, who took a dominant pole position, had to come off the gas and downshift on the approach to turn nine.

Writing on X, F1 social media personality Tom Bellingham said, ‘Seeing the onboards through the 9/10 [chicane] upsets me every time’, and several fans agreed in the comments.

One said it was as if the cars had ‘asthma’ and were ‘struggling to breathe’ after a prolonged flat-out sequence. Another called it ’embarrassing’ that they ‘can’t run at full pelt for more than five seconds’.

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The unusual deceleration is due to a new phenomenon called ‘superclipping’, whereby the cars harvest energy at the end of a straight when still at full throttle. One user predicted that the spectacle would be ‘even worse’ at power-dominated circuits like Spa and Monza.

Indeed, a separate account made the point that ‘superclipping into Eau Rouge [the iconic ascent before Spa’s Kemmel Straight] is going to be fun’.

Other replies included ‘it’s so terrible to see the car decelerate on the straights, it’s an eyesore’ and ‘tragic that most of them even downshift’.

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The T9/10 complex was previously the highlight of the lap at Albert Park, showcasing the car’s remarkable ability to change direction. It was the biggest test of the car’s aerodynamics and the driver’s precision.

Now, almost all of the challenge has been removed. There were warnings that this might happen in testing when the drivers were forced off to back off into Bahrain’s normally spectacular turn 12.

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One of the basic principles of racing is that drivers should be in maximum attack mode during qualifying. That has clearly been compromised by the new cars, at least initially.

If the racing is entertaining with the new machinery, then fans will be able to accept what they have lost on a Saturday. If they haven’t, then there will be a storm.