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

F1 continues pinch information 17 taking spot astatine nan 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 nan McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

BBC F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your questions earlier nan title successful Baku.

Now that Max Verstappen is bleeding points (several grands prix already, actually) do you deliberation nan title will spell down to nan wire? – Ioannis

There is decidedly a overmuch bigger chance of nan drivers' title going to nan ligament than location was 3 aliases 4 races ago.

And nan truth McLaren themselves now recognise that explains why they are actively admitting they will talk whether to inquire Oscar Piastri to backmost Lando Norris for nan remaining 8 races, wherever feasible.

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

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

It is still a gangly bid - Norris needs to claw backmost connected mean astir 8 points a title to hit Verstappen by nan extremity of nan year. But it's possible.

Do you deliberation nan bad starts for Norris and nan expertise to support his tyres caller are linked? – Anon

No, and really location is simply a misunderstanding successful nan question.

Firstly, yes, Norris has had issues astatine starts and first laps, but astir of them are different successful nature. So, he mislaid position to Verstappen astatine nan commencement successful some Spain and nan Netherlands, but they were not caused by nan aforesaid issue.

And nan first-lap correction he made successful Belgium - wherever he ran wide done a momentary lapse of judgement - was not nan aforesaid arsenic what happened astatine Monza - wherever he mislaid a spot to Piastri because he did not want to consequence braking immoderate later for nan 2nd chicane successful lawsuit he took some McLarens retired arsenic his team-mate went for nan pass.

Beyond that, it's not meticulous to opportunity Norris is struggling pinch tyre management. What you saw successful Monza - and successful Hungary - was simply a consequence of nan merits of moving successful clear air.

People tin hide that these Pirelli tyres are still incredibly delicate to overheating, contempt galore years of Pirelli saying they would effort to reside nan issue.

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

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

This arena was besides seen pinch Charles Leclerc connected his measurement to triumph successful Monza.

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

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

So, yes, this will impact nan teams arsenic they hole for nan 2026 rules. Whoever wins nan constructors' title this twelvemonth will beryllium capable to walk little clip researching nan rules aerodynamically successful nan first half of adjacent twelvemonth than nan others.

But nan percent quality is not that awesome 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 specifications astir them? – Nigel

An upgrade is simply a caller part, aliases bid of parts, that is aimed astatine improving nan capacity of nan car.

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

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

For example, aft Red Bull introduced their first upgrade of nan play successful Imola, 2 races later successful Canada Mercedes method head James Allison said he believed it had really been a downgrade.

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

The problem teams are encountering is that nan travel structures created by these existent F1 cars, and nan measurement nan aerodynamics work, are truthful analyzable that nan simulation devices disposable to nan teams are simply not meticulous capable to accurately foretell really nan car will execute connected track.

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

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

And it's precisely nan rumor Red Bull person recovered pinch their car astatine nan moment.

The problem is, erstwhile a squad has put connected a load of caller parts complete a play of time, and past find nan car is not behaving nan measurement they want, it is fiendishly difficult to unpick what is causing nan problem - particularly arsenic location is nary measurement of simulating it.

When was nan past clip location were 7 different winners successful a azygous season? – Helen

The past clip location were 7 different winners successful a play was 2012.

But that was a very different play to this one; successful truth it was almost nan reverse.

In 2012, location were 7 different winners successful nan first 7 races and Fernando Alonso, past driving for Ferrari, built a important title lead by kindness of being nan astir consistent. In fact, successful nan fourth-fastest car, it was astir apt Alonso’s champion play - 1 of nan champion by immoderate driver ever, for that matter.

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

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

It still went to nan wire, and Vettel astir threw it distant by getting embroiled successful an incident connected nan first thigh successful Brazil that damaged his car, but he fought backmost and clung on.

This time, Verstappen sewage disconnected to a flyer by dominating nan commencement of nan season, only for his squad to person apparently mislaid their way, while McLaren look to beryllium taking connected a akin domiciled to Red Bull successful 2012.