30/05/2026
WAS THE SWITCH TO THE 360 APX A MISTAKE?
After two full seasons with the new four-stroke technology, the question is becoming harder to avoid.
Marit Strømøy and .deguisne.5 are currently the only two drivers racing with the Mercury 360 APX concept in the UIM F1H2O World Championship — and the results from Cagliari raise more questions than answers. Deguisne is in his first event, but Strømøy is starting her 3 season.
In qualifying for the Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy, Strømøy ended up 16th, with a best lap of 47.377s, while Deguisne was 18th and last, with 48.322s. Pole-sitter .torrente was almost five seconds faster than Strømøy and nearly six seconds faster than Deguisne.
The gap to simply progress into Q2 was also significant. Brent Dillard took the final Q2 position with 46.127s, leaving Strømøy 1.250s short and Deguisne 2.195s away from advancing.
In Sprint Race 1, Strømøy finished 7th, one lap down, collecting four points. Deguisne’s Sprint Race 2 ended after just one lap with a DNF and zero points.
This is not about effort, experience or driver quality. Strømøy is one of the most experienced and technically capable drivers in the paddock. Deguisne is also a long-serving competitor with deep knowledge of F1H2O racing.
That makes the question even more important:
Was switching to the 360 APX the wrong move — or is the technology still waiting for its breakthrough?
It also opens a wider technical and political question for F1H2O.
If the UIM and its promoter is serious about moving the championship towards more environmentally friendly four-stroke technology, why has the 360 APX package not been paired with a power level that can genuinely compete with the established 2.5-litre two-stroke performance seen in other top-level racing environments, such as in the United States?
At the moment, there is no obvious sporting reason for any front-running team to switch to the 360 APX Mercury package. The reason is brutally simple: on the current evidence, it is slower.
If the package was faster, or even clearly equal, teams would already be looking at it seriously. Racing teams do not need to be convinced to adopt winning technology — they follow the stopwatch.
Instead, after two full seasons, the only two boats running the concept are at the wrong end of the result sheets.
That does not mean the idea is wrong. Four-stroke technology may still be the future. But if F1H2O wants teams to move, the package must be competitive, reliable and attractive — not just environmentally correct on paper.
Right now, the 360 APX project feels less like the future of F1H2O and more like an expensive experiment being carried by two loyal teams.
Tomorrow’s Grand Prix may provide more answers — but right now, the stopwatch is asking the toughest question of all.
Just our two cents. Whats your idea ?
📍 Cagliari, Italy
🏁 Regione Sardegna Grand Prix of Italy
🌍 UIM F1H2O World Championship
