At the SPS MegaRide will present two simulator demos built around the integration of real vehicles and physics-based models for durability and thermal management applications.

• On the HexaRev, MegaRide will showcase an activity based on the digital twin of its instrumented 124, which will also be on display at the stand. The activity will focus on durability and will link the simulator to the real vehicle setup, equipped with a dynamometric wheel, an S-Motion optical sensor, the WOM Testing Technologies device and accelerometers by Be CAE & Test.

• On the DiM400, MegaRide will run a Formula E demo driven by a professional driver. The activity will focus on the thermal balance between the braking system and the battery, using a Vi-CarRealTime vehicle model with brake thermal modelling and a Functional Mock-up Unit battery model with thermal behaviour. The driver will adjust the regeneration level through a dedicated control, directly affecting the temperature balance between battery and brakes. Higher regeneration increases battery temperature and lowers brake temperature, while lower regeneration shifts the thermal load back to the braking system.

The conference programme will also include two technical speeches developed with industrial partners.

The first “Multi-scale Wet Tire Dynamics: Modelling and Validation in a VI‑grade Simulator”, with Pirelli, will focus on multi-scale wet tire dynamics modelling and validation in a VI-grade simulator.

The second “Customer-oriented virtual tire wear assessment using multi-physical simulations.”, with Stellantis, will present a virtual tire wear assessment workflow based on MegaRide’s weaRIDE model and applied to more than 50,000 km of simulated driving.

Race result
Kimi Antonelli took his second straight win at Suzuka, beating Piastri by 13.7s and Leclerc by another 1.5s. The Safety Car helped, but it did not decide the race on its own. What decided it was the pace Mercedes and Antonelli unleashed after the restart.

Strategy
This was essentially a one-stop race built around Medium to Hard. Piastri, Leclerc, and Russell stopped before or around the Safety Car window, while Antonelli stayed out longer and converted that timing into track position. A fortunate break, yes, but one he still had to validate on pace.

Ranking plot
The ranking plot suggests a very tight lead group. Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari all sit around median race laps in the low 1:34s, with McLaren looking like the clearest second force this time. Then there is a step to the mid-1:35s, where Gasly, Verstappen, Lawson, and Ocon form a compact midfield cluster. Red Bull, once again, looked much closer to that fight than to the podium battle.

Violin plot
Antonelli stands out most in the second stint. His 2nd stint is full of laps in the 1:33s, and the distribution is remarkably dense: not only fast, but extremely repeatable. Piastri and Leclerc were strong too, but Antonelli looks like the real metronome of the race.

Fuel-corrected lap time
The fuel-corrected view reinforces the same picture. Antonelli was already recovering after a poor launch in stint one, but after the restart, he appeared roughly 0.4-0.6s per lap quicker than the main podium group for several laps. Once the pace converged, the gap was already built.

Race gapper
The gapper explains the outcome even better. After the Safety Car, Antonelli’s line has the strongest slope of the leaders: he simply drove away. Behind him, Piastri, Leclerc, and Russell show very similar gradients, while Norris and Hamilton were a step further back. Russell, for the second straight weekend, paid against his teammate in both qualifying and race trim.

Midfield
Behind the top four, Gasly and Verstappen were split by just 0.3s at the flag, with Lawson and Ocon only about a second behind. That says a lot about the current balance: the pack is compressed, and Verstappen is currently trapped in it.

Bigger picture
Now comes a one-month break after the cancellations of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Teams will use it to develop aggressively, but the FIA also has work to do. Too much of the racing still revolves around energy management, and that remains one of the main weaknesses of this rules cycle.

Takeaway
Yes, the Safety Car mattered. But the data points somewhere else: Antonelli had the fastest pace, the cleanest second stint, and the most convincing post-restart execution. He did not just inherit Suzuka. He earned it.

Al centro c’è il cosiddetto “Metodo Seaside”, che prevede la condivisione dei dati raccolti in pista tra i partecipanti. Chi prende parte alle attività mettendo a disposizione la propria strumentazione per i test contribuisce così alla costruzione di un patrimonio comune di dati, destinato a generare valore anche oltre il singolo evento. Un’impostazione che nel dicembre 2025 è valsa all’evento l’onorificenza “Adriano Olivetti”, come testimonianza di un modello di impresa attento ai bisogni delle persone, del territorio e delle comunità, secondo i principi che hanno segnato la visione aziendale di uno dei più grandi interpreti del Made in Italy.

Nel corso delle sue precedenti edizioni, Seaside Racing ha dimostrato, attraverso i numerosi progetti realizzati e i paper scientifici pubblicati, come il trasferimento tecnologico possa generare collaborazioni di valore tra soggetti diversi e produrre ricadute positive anche sul territorio, portando nel Sud Italia università, esperti e aziende internazionali del settore automotive.

Seaside Racing 2026 rientra tra gli eventi legati alla Giornata Nazionale del Made in Italy, riconosciuti dal MIMIT per il loro impegno nella valorizzazione del contributo sociale, economico e culturale delle produzioni italiane, nella tutela della loro identità e qualità e nella promozione, tra i giovani, di professioni, come quelle ingegneristiche, che sostengono le eccellenze del Paese

Race result
Kimi Antonelli took his maiden F1 win in Shanghai and led a Mercedes one-two ahead of George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium for Ferrari.

Tires and strategy
Shanghai once again stressed the front-left, and the race was shaped more by tire control than by extreme degradation. The Safety Car pushed most of the field toward a one-stop race, with a long final stint on Hard.

Ranking plot
The ranking plot provides a clear view of the order. Mercedes was clearly quickest, with Ferrari roughly +0.4s on median lap time. Then came a very tight group with Haas, Red Bull, and Alpine, all in the +1.4s to +1.6s window. Racing Bulls, Audi, and Williams followed at around +2.0s to +2.3s, with Cadillac and Aston Martin further back.

Violin plot
The violin plot adds more detail to the stint picture. On Hard, Mercedes appears roughly 0.3 seconds faster than Ferrari under comparable conditions. On Medium, the spread is much wider, so the comparison is less robust.
Bearman stands out in a very positive way, with a race pace only slightly slower than Ferrari over long phases of the race. Gasly was also very solid for Alpine. Colapinto is interesting as well, as the offset strategy gave him a stronger late-race phase.

Fuel-corrected lap time
The fuel-corrected plot is probably the clearest indicator of the real pace picture. Before and after the Safety Car, Mercedes looks roughly 0.5s per lap quicker than Ferrari overall. That matters because it suggests the gap was not only created by traffic or wheel-to-wheel fighting, but by a genuine underlying pace advantage.

Race gapper
The race gapper helps explain how that advantage turned into the final result. After the Safety Car, Russell and the two Ferraris lost time battling each other, while Antonelli could build a margin at the front. Once Russell cleared that phase, his slope became much closer to Antonelli’s, confirming that both Mercedes had very similar long-run speed.
Ferrari’s battle clearly cost some time, but even beyond that, the second-stint gradients suggest there was not much room to respond on pure pace.

Midfield and attrition
Behind the top four, Bearman and Gasly were the standout performers. Cadillac did not score points, but having both cars at the finish is still a useful step this early in the program. The race was also heavily influenced by attrition, with McLaren not even making the start, and several retirements reducing the field.

Takeaway
This was not only a race won on execution. The data trends point in the same direction: Mercedes had the stronger package, managed the tires better, and had enough pace to control the race once it settled.

The first Grand Prix of the new era made one point clear: with the 2026 power unit built around a stronger electrical contribution and a near 50/50 electric-thermal split, performance is no longer defined only by car balance, aero efficiency, and tire behaviour.

In Melbourne, race execution was heavily shaped by harvesting, deployment timing, and battery state. At times, it looked more like energy management than pure pace.

Race result
Mercedes executed the new formula best. Russell converted pole into victory and led a Mercedes 1-2, with Ferrari following through Leclerc and Hamilton in P3 and P4. Norris and Verstappen were clearly further back.

Race pace picture
The ranking plot is revealing: Mercedes had the strongest package, but Ferrari was much closer than qualifying suggested. On Saturday, the gap to Russell was over 0.8 seconds; on Sunday, it was much smaller in race trim. Behind the leading pair, McLaren and Red Bull looked more detached, while Audi appeared competitive in the midfield.

Violin plot
Mercedes and Ferrari show broadly comparable lap time distributions, but Mercedes looked stronger in the second half. Russell was able to lap in the same window as the Ferraris despite older tires, a strong sign of tire robustness and energy control.

Gapper plot and strategy
For much of the race, Mercedes and Ferrari were operating at a similar underlying level. The first VSC was decisive: Mercedes boxed, Ferrari stayed out, and a large share of the final gap was created there.

Tire behaviour
Degradation was lower than expected, the one-stop became the baseline strategy, and graining remained manageable. The front-left was the limiting corner, but the hard tire was robust enough for a long final stint.

Fuel-corrected lap time
Ferrari lost a large part of the race by extending the first stint, while the second was much more competitive, with Hamilton showing a strong trend. Against Norris and Verstappen, Russell’s advantage was much more pronounced: in stint 1, he was already >0.5s/lap quicker than Norris, and in stint 2, that gap grew to nearly 1.0s/lap. Against Verstappen, the advantage ranged from 0.5s/lap to 1.0s/lap depending on the stint phase.

Takeaway
Melbourne showed that in 2026, performance is about how well teams integrate tire behaviour, long-run balance, harvesting, deployment, and strategy under neutralisations.
In Australia, Mercedes set the benchmark.

Back in MegaRide’s blue, chosen to mark Naples’ 2,500th anniversary, on the small islet of Megaride, where the city’s story began. A landmark suspended between sea and legend, reflection of a place where history and myth still coexist today.

Bringing together Marinella’s tailoring tradition and MegaRide’s technological vision, the capsule reflects the balance between centuries of history and forward thinking. A design dedicated to our MegaRiders, friends and partners around the world.

Five years together, telling our story and identity through shades of colour, from deep sea blue and Mediterranean azure to track grey and folklore yellow, with this year’s MegaRide blue bringing the story back to its origins. As in every odyssey, the journey finds its meaning in returning to where it began.

For the first time, MegaRide and EDAG will share the stand, featuring EDAG static simulator running MegaRide’s RIDEsuite and allowing visitors to experience tire-road interaction models first-hand. VESevo will also be available for live demonstrations of non-destructive viscoelastic characterization, with the device shown in action throughout the event.

Visit the Group at Hall: 20 Stand: 5058 and join MegaRide at the following conference sessions:

• Course – Wednesday, March 4 (10:20-12:00) | Casablanca Room
  Physical Tire Modeling for Real-Time Simulation
  Speakers: Flavio Farroni (MegaRide), Andrea Sammartino (MegaRide)
• Course – Wednesday, March 4 (14:25-14:50)| Casablanca Room
  Advancing Greenwood-Williamson: A multiscale friction model for tire performance prediction
  Speaker: Flavio Farroni (MegaRide)
• Session & Moderator – Thursday, March 5 (09:00-11:50) | Casablanca Room
  Advanced modeling, simulation, analysis, test and development
  Speaker: Andrea Sammartino (MegaRide)
• Panel – Thursday, March 5 (11:50-12:40) | Casablanca Room
  Where virtual & track testing meet: best practices and possibilities
  Speakers: Andrea Sammartino (MegaRide), Carlos Nerini (WOM), Eduardo Martano (Applus+ IDIADA), Lucas Spiegel (EDAG)
• Presentation – Thursday, March 5 (14:35  15:00) | Casablanca Room
  From virtual to track: enhancing driver performance through tire-centered simulation
  Speakers: Andrea Sammartino (MegaRide), Lucas Spiegel (EDAG)

The technical programme will integrate MegaRide’s RIDEsuite software with R-ace GP’s on-track data to define tire operating windows and quantitative setup targets for tire management and race strategy. The joint engineering work will support camber and pressure optimisation to increase grip, while refining warm-up procedures across different conditions.

MegaRide and R-ace GP will run dedicated test programmes to improve correlation of tire behaviour, processing and validating data collected in testing and racing. The work will strengthen model-to-track correlation, shorten feedback loops and support informed decisions throughout the 2026 season.

Damiano Capra (Motorsport Director, MegaRide):
Partnering with R-ace GP means bringing MegaRide’s RIDEsuite into the team’s daily work, including the Academy, which plays a key role in driver training. Integrating tire-road models into the simulator allows drivers to receive more representative feedback on grip build-up, warm-up phase and understeer/oversteer behaviour, making training sessions closer to what they feel on track and supporting preparation race after race.

Benjamin Schrutt (Formula Regional Team Manager, R-ace GP):
Our collaboration with MegaRide is a natural fit: their expertise is highly complementary to R-ace GP’s, enabling both organizations to strengthen long-term development and competitiveness. Through this partnership, our single-seater department will gain access to advanced tools to deepen our understanding of tyre behaviour. In return, we are pleased to provide MegaRide with a high-level racing environment to further develop and refine their technologies. This partnership is built on a truly win-win approach, driven by performance and excellence.

To make a more immersive feel behind the wheel, Supernova Games Studios and KUNOS Simulazioni rely on MegaRide’s real-time simulations, used by OEMs, tiremakers and racing teams.

MegaRide develops physics-based models that reproduce tire-road interaction in real time, supporting virtual prototyping, objective testing and tire conditions within simulation environments.

Grip, temperature and wear are reproduced with physical accuracy, turning road texture, weather and surface changes into a realistic driving experience for players and sim racers. As conditions evolve over a stage, MegaRide’s models continuously update available grip and car response, so that every correction, slide and braking point reflects the physical behaviour of a real rally car.

This weekend Formula 1 returns to the track for the final race of the 2025 season. As tradition dictates, the circus heads to Abu Dhabi for the season-ending Grand Prix, with three drivers still in contention for the title. Norris leads the standings, followed by a surprising Verstappen and McLaren’s other driver, Piastri. The trio are separated by just 16 points, setting up a finale that is still wide open.

The Abu Dhabi circuit is highly balanced: lateral and longitudinal loads are very similar, without heavily compromising top speed. The track demands a well-balanced car to tackle the technical section effectively and to maximize performance along the straights, which provide the limited overtaking opportunities.

MEDIUM GRIP LEVEL | HIGH THERMAL EXCURSION| BALANCED STRESS ON TIRES

· The temperature plot highlights moderate overall stress and a broadly even distribution across all four tires, with the right-hand side slightly more loaded. Particular attention should be paid to temperature variations between sessions and during the race, as these can significantly alter tire behavior.

· Pirelli confirms last year’s selection, bringing the C3–C4–C5 compounds to strike the right balance between grip, durability and strategic flexibility.

· Expected grip is medium, but as often on this type of circuit, significant track evolution is anticipated across the weekend, helped by the final round of the F2 season.

Although lateral loads are not negligible and longitudinal demands can be medium-to-high, expected wear around this track is medium-to-low. Tire management remains crucial, especially given the forecast thermal swings across sessions and throughout the race. Overtaking opportunities do exist thanks to the long straights, but pit-wall strategy will be decisive. A potential safety car remains another key factor, capable of disrupting and reshaping strategies.