#posted this on the wrong blog. yippee great start

[bunnytalksf1]

a rundown of the 2026 regulations

whilst i wait for free practice one in Canada, going to type this out. Please note I am not in any way an engineer, and I'm repeating what I've seen more knowledgeable people than me say! :)

The main thing is that these cars are lighter, and smaller. Lighter by 30kg, shorter by 20cm (from 3600mm to 3400mm at the wheelbase) and narrower by 10cm (from 2000mm to 1900mm). On the FIA generated graphics, the front wing in particular seems very reminiscient of the early 2000s regulations. I've seen side-by-sides of it with the 2006 front wing, and they do look similar.

otherwise, this car is reminiscient of the pre-2022 regulations with a reduced ground effect (due to the new floor being partially flat and diffuser size being rduced) compared to current regulations, and active aerodynamics, which is the main change! The ride height is also higher, which makes me breathe out a little since both Hamilton and Norris have spoken before about this set of regs bing brutal on the back. The active aero is to compensate for the weaker engine which runs on more battery power. The other change is 100% sustainable fuels, which is backing up F1's commitment to net zero by 2030.

So the active aero isn't for better overtaking, as much as I've seen that said. There's three modes of active aero, seemingly:

Z-Mode, for cornering. This mode is to increase downforce, with a closed rear wing and the front wing in a more upwards position.

X-Mode, for the straights. To reduce drag to increase top speeds given the needs of the weaker engine. A bit like DRS, with a flat/open front wing, and the front wing in a much flatter position to reduce drag also.

Manual Override Mode, a push-to-pass like system, which deploys extra energy to overtake, only useable within the one-second time window of the driver in front.

I'm a little sceptical about the overtaking being improved since it seems (?) to indicate that drivers will ALWAYS have x-mode on the straights which could easily make overtaking much harder since the car in front will ALWAYS have decreased drag on the straights down to the braking zones. Given the feedback coming from the drivers who HAVE driven the 26 cars, I'm still slightly terrified of these new regulations in terms of driveability. Fans have long been calling for the cars to be lighter and more agile since that is percieved as the issue for overtaking (dirty air, however, also plays a massive role).

There's also been comments from Verstappen talking about how it feels like Mario Kart, and George Russell concerned about the safety side since apparently the top speeds will be higher at 360-370km/h.

all this to say is that I'm not sure the overtaking or the overall closeness of the racing will be greatly improved by this regulation change, sadly. But I will be happy to be proved wrong.

So, who's in the best position to capitalise?

Red Bull. They're still the ones to beat, aerodynamically, and they've held onto Wache and Balbo, despite losing Newey. The Ford power unit is a huge unknown, but it's been in the works for a while. Also, they have Max Verstappen.

McLaren. Mercedes power unit is rumoured to be very good, and McLaren have already made great strides in 23 and 24. Their team seems to be going from strength to strength under Andrea Stella, who does NOT get enough credit for the job he's done. Piastri and Norris are both immensely strong, and Piastri is continuing to improve and has somewhat better one lap pace than Norris (in the dry).

Ferrari. Fred Vasseur has poached a BUNCH of top Mercedes engineers in the last little while, and with the reduced ground effect cars, we could be seeing a team that is strong at designing this particular type of car. They, too, have made huge amounts of progress from the beginning of 23, and seem to have largely recovered after Binotto's damage was done to the team in 2022 and early 23 (with the car designed around Sainz). Hamilton and Leclerc are also an incredibly strong pairing, and will likely be widely considered the strongest in 25, and depending on Hamilton's form, likely will be in 26, too.

I also think Williams and AM are well-positioned to make progress, especially if AM signs Binotto in a CTO-esque position (he was an awful TP, but a great engineer in the Schumacher years).

If Ferrari continue to make progress, it will also be likely that Haas will remain strong.

Alpine and Mercedes make me nervous because of the brain drain out of those teams, and the lack of driver talent coming in (Antonelli feels incredibly rushed to me) and Audi is obviously a complete unknown.

Ultimately, what will likely happen is another two years of dominance from one team, before the others catch up. I think it depends how 25 goes as to what team that will be, but it will likely be RBR, McL, or Ferrari.

Happy Canada week, let's hope for some dry running!

[sunny6677]

Never really made a introduction post to my blog, so here—

Hello! I am Sunny, or Lila, or Tomori—you can call me either one of those but Lila makes my gender euphoria go yippee more jdnsnsj /lh

I'm taken by my lovely partner who I would tag if they actually had a Tumblr hsnsns /lh

My pronouns are she/her but I don't mind being referred to with they/them. I am transfem and lesbian—(and possibly on the ace spectrum??? Still trying to figure that out). I am autistic, and possibly have BPD—I also have pretty bad anxiety issues and some pretty bad OCD.

My interests are: FNAF, Spooky Month, horror, analog horror, poetry, BATIM, dinosaurs, jurassic park, TADC, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, etc etc the list goes on.

My kins, or rather just characters I strongly relate to are: Lila, Skid, Streber, Radford, Pomni, Zooble, Patty, Wednesday Addams, Eleven from Stranger Things, Rika Furude from Higurashi, Edd from Eddsworld (the character), Toriel, Alphys, Pacifist! Frisk, Kyoko Kirigiri, Jake from The Music Freaks, The Crying Child/CC from FNAF, Darwin Watterson from TAWOG, Garnet from Steven Universe, Marceline from Adventure Time etc etc.

My comfort characters right now are: Kevin and Lila from Spooky Month, or rather basically any character from Spooky Month, but mainly those two lmao.

My ships are: Lila x Kevin, Kevin x Radford, Edd x Tord (the characters are who I ship), Tom x Matt, Pomni x Ragatha, Lila x Jaune, Wednesday x Enid, Betty Groff x Simon Petrikov, etc etc.

DNI: MAPS, MAPS supporters, Zoos, Proshippers, any NSFW accounts in general because I'm a minor—I'm chill if suggestive stuff or jokes are made but nothing too heavy, anyone who takes shipping a little too seriously, ableist people, racist people, transphobic or homophobic people, any kind of LGBT-phobic people, anti-self shippers or anti oc x canon (I do self shipping and oc x canon so you should probably skedaddle out of here if you don't like either of those things). Tbh, just dni people who are weird or do stuff that harms other people in general. I'm cool if you don't like certain characters or shows or whatever the hell, but if you like doxx or harass people over having opinions or if you do anything creepy in general, you should probably get outta here. Also younger kids in general—like any age below 13.

This is also supposed to be a chill blog where I just post stuff I like—and I tend to really hate fighting, so chances are if someone tries to start fighting shit up in here, I'm probably either not gonna respond or I'll just delete whatever they said. I mean like if I did something genuinely wrong I'll reply, but this isn't meant to be a discourse blog. I'm just here to have a good time fam. /lh

And request—if you're gonna block me at least tell me why before you do. Not because of any specific reason, I just happen to flip out due to a personal experience I had a while ago and I start thinking that they blocked me because I'm a horrible person and did something terribly bad. So if you're not blocking me because you think I'm a bad person, it might be better to explain to me before you do since my obsessive thinking won't freak out if it's just something like me being into a ship that's a trigger for you or me just creating stuff that makes you uncomfortable/just stuff ya don't like in general. /gen

Other blogs: @ask-the-wage-trio and a few others I can't tag for some reason

SONAS FOR IF ANYONE WANTS TO DRAW ME—

————

(OOC: Wasn't able to make a blog for this one due to some minor troubles, so here—this one is the Ask Tom! blog thing jrndnd)

(Edit: Finally made a Tom blog!!)

"...OHOHO! THERE IT IS!"

(She jumps up and down in front of the camera, placing her hands on her hips.)

"HELLO, PEOPLE OF TUMBLR! I AM THE GREAT PRINCESS OF SEDONAH, TOM! AND I HAVE LEARNT JUST RECENTLY ABOUT THIS THING CALLED.. ASK BLOGS. I FIGURED I COULD TRY IT MYSELF, SO HERE I AM! YOU MAY ASK ME ANYTHING! FROM MY FAVORITE COLOR, FROM WHETHER OR NOT THE EARTH IS FLAT, TO IF I COMB MY HAIR! I, THE GRAND PRINCESS, SHALL ANSWER EITHER WAY! OHOHO!"

————

(Tom's reference sheet)

Tom's relationship chart:

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Yes folks. Like a large proportion of the country I got snowed in on Sunday. Yippee. At least for Sunday as I could stay snuggled under a blanket reading. Less yippee if this is what I am faced with trying to get to work on Monday … by the time you read this I’ll either have made it or not. We shall see.

Better week this week. Dragged myself down to London on Monday and attended the final First Monday Crime panel of the year which was a fun and moderately festive affair. So great hear from the panel of Louise Jensen, Mel McGrath, Susi Holliday and Chris Whitaker alongside chair Claire McGowan. This was followed by some top (?) crime writers pitching their slightly unusual story ideas to the audience. It was … an experience. I’m hoping none make it into print …

It was great to be able to get to the pub afterward and catch up with a few bookish folk including Jacob, Victoria, Joy, Amer, Tracy, Gabriela, Alex, Keshini, Roz, Vaseem, Linda, Katherine, Graham, Susi and Mel, as well as Mr Whitaker who was handing out hugs left right and centre. I’m sure I’ve probably missed scores of folk for which I apologise but it was a very busy night and I had to leave in a rush to catch my train or I’d be stranded in London all night. It was a bit like Cinderella only older, fatter, no fairy support and I managed to keep hold of both of my shoes …

I did pick up a couple of books on the day. One was a purchase from Waterstones, a signed copy of Robert Bryndza’s The Girl In The Ice. Seemed rude not to as I was in London. I also couldn’t resist grabbing a copy of All The Wicked Girls while I was at the panel and forcing Mr W to sign it. Cause, ya know, he’s so backward in coming forward … 😉

Book post wise this was an epic week. First up my two outstanding purchases from Goldsboro turn up. Yay. They were the CWA Anthology (Signed) and my signed copy of Whiteout by Ragnar Jonasson. I’m even quoteed in Whiteout so this is a super smiley book for me. On top of these I received arcs of Games with the Dead by James Nally; The Chalk Man by CJ Tudor;  Fault Lines by Doug Johnstone; Blue Night by Simone Buccholz; and Kiss Me, Kill Me by James Carol.

E-book wise I was sent a new novella from Julia Roberts, Christmas at Carol’s which I’ll be reviewing this week.

I also got a couple of books on Netgalley – Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh and We Own The Sky by Luke Allnut.

Not a bad bookhaul of a week I guess. Reading wise I finished two books and two novellas so I’ll take that.

Books I have Read

My Sweet Friend by H.A. Leuschel

A stand-alone novella from the author of Manipulated Lives

A perfect friend … or a perfect impostor?

Alexa is an energetic and charismatic professional and the new member of a Parisian PR company where she quickly befriends her colleagues Rosie and Jack. She brings a much-needed breath of fresh air into the office and ambitiously throws herself into her new job and friendships. 

But is Alexa all she claims to be? 

As her life intertwines with Rosie and Jack’s, they must all decide what separates truth from fiction. Will the stories that unfold unite or divide them? Can first impressions ever be trusted?

In this original novella, H.A. Leuschel evokes the powerful hold of appearances and what a person is prepared to do to keep up the facade. If you like thought-provoking and compelling reads with intriguing characters, My Sweet Friend is for you.

A really interesting and quick read, this book looks at the power of friendship and what happens when one of a pair uses manipulation to get what they want from life. I don’t want to give away too much more about the book as it’s only around 100 pages, but you can read my full review here and buy the book here 

…

A Game Of Ghosts by John Connolly

It is deep winter. The darkness is unending.

The private detective named Jaycob Eklund has vanished, and Charlie Parker is dispatched to track him down. Parker’s employer, Edgar Ross, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has his own reasons for wanting Eklund found.

Eklund is no ordinary investigator. He is obsessively tracking a series of homicides and disappearances, each linked to reports of hauntings. Now Parker will be drawn into Eklund’s world, a realm in which the monstrous Mother rules a crumbling criminal empire, in which men strike bargains with angels, and in which the innocent and guilty alike are pawns in a game of ghosts . . .

Finally!!! I am a very bad blogger. Should have read this months and months and moths ago but I never quite made it. Would never have forgiven myself if it had come to year end and it was still outstanding. Charlie Parker back at it;s thrilling and supernatural best this has a wonderful blend of the brilliant storyline and also emotional moments which make me very very happy. My review will be posted this week but you can buy a copy of the book here.

…

Christmas at Carol’s by Julia Roberts

An uplifting tale of people’s desire to help each other in the season of goodwill – a romantic comedy with a twist in the tale.

Carol fell in love with Wisteria Cottage the moment she laid eyes on it and moved in two weeks before Christmas hoping it would be start of a new more positive period in her life. 

On her first night in her new home she discovers an old Christmas card to someone called Annie with a heart-breaking message inside from Jake. 

Although she doesn’t know them, and despite being on a self-imposed dating break herself, Carol begins planning how she can bring them together, while her new neighbour, Sally, is attempting a bit of matchmaking of her own. 

What a wonderfully uplifting novella. Very festive and very romantic I’ll be sharing my thoughts with everyone later this week. This is the perfect story of family, friendships, love lost and love found, just set to get you in the mood for Christmas. You can pre-order a copy of the book here.

…

Foul Trade by B.K.Duncan

It is March 1920. May Keaps, the Poplar Coroner’s Officer, has never failed to provide a jury with sufficient evidence to arrive at a just verdict.

The poverty, drunken fights between visiting sailors, drug trafficking, and criminal gangs, haunting the shadows of the busiest docks in the world, mean that the Coroner sees more than its fair share of sudden and unnatural deaths.

May relishes the responsibility placed upon her but there are many who believe it’s an unsuitable job for a woman. Even May begins to wonder if that is the case when the discovery of a young man’s body, in a Limehouse alley, plunges her into an underworld of opium dens, gambling, turf wars, protection rackets and murder.

As her investigations draw her into danger, it becomes increasingly clear that whoever is responsible intends to avoid the hangman’s noose by arranging to have May laid out on one of her own mortuary slabs. 

I read the prequel novella for this series a few weeks ago and I knew then that May Keaps was going to be quite an intrepid kind of gal. I wasn’t wrong. An intriguing mystery led by May who works as a Coroner’s Officer, she is quite relentless in her pursuit of the truth and a key example of an early version of girl power. My review will be up tomorrow and you can order your own copy of the book right here.

…

That was it reading wise, and to be fair I’ve not been much busier on the blog with a handful of reviews and a lot of #bookvent.

The #Bookvent Calendar 2017: Day 4

The #Bookvent Calendar 2017: Day 5

The #Bookvent Calendar 2017: Day 6

The #Bookvent Calendar 2017: Day 7

#BlogTour: Anything for Her by G.J. Minett

The #Bookvent Calendar 2017: Day 8

Review: My Sweet Friend by H.A. Leuschel

The #Bookvent Calendar 2017: Day 9

The #Bookvent Calendar 2017: Day 10

Review: Dark Skies by LJ Ross @LJRoss_author

The week ahead is equally laid back I’ve blog tour reviews today for Carol Wyer’s The Silent Children, and tomorrow for Angelina Kerner’s Follow The Snowflakes and BK Duncan’s Foul Trade, plus Rachel Sargeant’s The Perfect Neighbours this weekend. Alongside that will be the next seven days in my #bookvent countdown.

Hope you all have a warm and book filled week. I’m off to Dublin again on Wednesday for the final time this year so plenty of reading time for me. See you next time.

Jen

          Rewind, Recap: Weekly Update w/e 10/12/17 Yes folks. Like a large proportion of the country I got snowed in on Sunday. Yippee. At least for Sunday as I could stay snuggled under a blanket reading.