Formula 1 2015: Round 1 - Australian Grand Prix

HighLine

Gillespy wrote: »

Do me a favour and watch reruns of old races when they're on. You'll hear about fuel saving more often that you think. It's Rosberg's problem, he had it all last year and had it in the practice sessions on Friday. I don't think I ever heard Hamilton being told to save fuel.

"Do me a favour" ... lol. I haven't missed a single GP in 20 years. I generally think the polar opposite to most of your posts so won't bother wasting my time in highlighting the differences between modern fuel conservation and how it was 10 years ago.

Gillespy

HighLine wrote: »

"Do me a favour" ... lol. I haven't missed a single GP in 20 years. I generally think the polar opposite to most of your posts so won't bother wasting my time in highlighting the differences between modern fuel conservation and how it was 10 years ago.

When you're challenged on anything you resort to this kind of responses.:o

You bang on about fuel saving as if it's a new phenomenon and never seem to hear the messages saying fuel is fine to the end. And how is it only ever an issue in one of the Mercs?

AMKC

Well that was a very eventful race. Half of the pit crews seemed to be asleep. Was a pity neither of the Lotus,s could finish the race.The Saubers done well do its good to see Sauber doing well again. A pity Kimi had a problem or lose wheel on his car. Well done to Vettel he done well. Think Felipe shoukd have done better and that if Bottas had been able to race he might have giving Vettel more of a fight for 3rd place. Very dissapointing that Renault are still having problems with there engines. They have had 2 years now too get these engines right and need to get of there a,rse,s and fix them. Id say Alonso was happy now looking at that and the engine in his car going that he was not there today. I think Honda will get there engines sorted before the season ends and will be much better next year. It would be even better do if they could get it sorted by the second half of this season and challange Mercedes. At least Kevin got a spin in the car and to do Qualifying do before the engine went.
Why have Williams not got a reserve driver for when Felipe or Bottas can not race.

tripperman

AMKC wrote: »

Well that was a very eventful race. Half of the pit crews seemed to be asleep. Was a pity neither of the Lotus,s could finish the race.The Saubers done well do its good to see Sauber doing well again. A pity Kimi had a problem or lose wheel on his car. Well done to Vettel he done well. Think Felipe shoukd have done better and that if Bottas had been able to race he might have giving Vettel more of a fight for 3rd place. Very dissapointing that Renault are still having problems with there engines. They have had 2 years now too get these engines right and need to get of there a,rse,s and fix them. Id say Alonso was happy now looking at that and the engine in his car going that he was not there today. I think Honda will get there engines sorted before the season ends and will be much better next year. It would be even better do if they could get it sorted by the second half of this season and challange Mercedes. At least Kevin got a spin in the car and to do Qualifying do before the engine went.
Why have Williams not got a reserve driver for when Felipe or Bottas can not race.

wouldnt have been allowed to race today in any case, a thrid driver needs to have par taken in ether fp1fp2 fp3 or quali and showed that they are within the 107% rule

Myrddin

HighLine wrote: »

Rosberg had started to close the gap a small bit to Lewis just over the half way point and was promptly told that he needed to conserve fuel.

I'd wager the gap closed because Lewis himself was driving according to strategy, & Nico deviated from his. I was expecting much more from Nico today, & was very surprised to see him so far behind Lewis during qualifying even (.6 is a lot of time in that car). I wonder why Nico was so far off form, & didn't seem to challenge Lewis at all today.

I thought Vettel drove well, & similarly, I was expecting more from Kimi today. Based admittedly only on todays short insight, Vettel appears to have answers for Kimi anyway. Has Kimi just gone off the boil full stop?

17larsson

Myrddin wrote: »

I'd wager the gap closed because Lewis himself was driving according to strategy, & Nico deviated from his. I was expecting much more from Nico today, & was very surprised to see him so far behind Lewis during qualifying even (.6 is a lot of time in that car). I wonder why Nico was so far off form, & didn't seem to challenge Lewis at all today.

I thought Vettel drove well, & similarly, I was expecting more from Kimi today. Based admittedly only on todays short insight, Vettel appears to have answers for Kimi anyway. Has Kimi just gone off the boil full stop?

In fairness to Kimi he nearly had Vettel at the first corner which could have changed the race significantly and then the mechanics screwed up twice with the second time ending his race

Myrddin

17larsson wrote: »

In fairness to Kimi he nearly had Vettel at the first corner which could have changed the race significantly and then the mechanics screwed up twice with the second time ending his race

Yeah he started well, but after the little shunt he seemed to not be able to do a whole lot & got stuck behind an arguably slower car. How did the mechanics screw up twice? (I know the rear left wheel ended his race, was there a prior issue?). Also, how did he end up on a two stop strategy?

Vic_08

Myrddin wrote: »

Yeah he started well, but after the little shunt he seemed to not be able to do a whole lot & got stuck behind an arguably slower car. How did the mechanics screw up twice? (I know the rear left wheel ended his race, was there a prior issue?). Also, how did he end up on a two stop strategy?

It looked like they put him on a 2 stop because he was stuck behind the slower car.

They had a rear left wheel gun/nut problem in first pit stop as well, lost a good chunk of time.

Hope it was just circumstances but it doesn't look good for overtaking this year, as well as Kimi some others had difficulty passing slower cars. Perez had a hell of a time passing the McLaren despite being over 2 seconds a lap quicker.

Brundle was suggesting that the new nose designs may be worse when following close behind other cars, with all the other issues F1 has going back to procession races where overtaking is almost impossible really will be the final nail for me.

challengemaster

Myrddin wrote: »

How did the mechanics screw up twice? (I know the rear left wheel ended his race, was there a prior issue?).

What was at least hinted at was that during the first pit, the mechanics damaged the wheel nut of the wheel going on for the second stint. That's why they couldn't get it off during his second pit.

jasonb

First race I've watched in about 10 years, and I managed not to find out the result before I watched the race tonight.

Was actually glad there were only 11 cars at the end, it gave me a chance to catch up and get familiar with the teams/drivers. Though once Ericson got past Seinz there were just no other battles. Disappointed Button didn't get points, he deserved them just for getting the car home (and I think the red trim on the nose looks quite nice on the McLaren!).

In either the P2 or P3 program on Sky a woman interviewed Hamilton and he came across as very abrupt and almost rude. Is that how he usually is, or was there some other reason?

Looking forward to the next race...

J.

v3ttel

I absolutely love F1 but my enthusiasm for the season has taken a rather large kick to the nuts after watching that.

Fair play to Mercedes, they've done an amazing job but I don't think I can take another full season of them being guaranteed 1-2 finishes by a country mile every race, barring unreliability. Something needs to happen to bring them closer to the pack or they will dance off into the sunset at every race, the same as last year.

The only positives were that it was nice to see Jenson finish the race at least, and Vettel looked genuinely thrilled to get on the podium with Ferrari.

Red Bull look like they are screwed as Renault have actually managed to get even worse than last year, and I don't think Williams as a customer Mercedes team, can beat them at their own game. It looks like Ferrari are the only one's with the faintest of shouts of at least keeping the Merc's in sight at a race this season, except for unreliability.

piperh

Having watched f1 for over 30 years watching the sky piece about past races made me hanker after days of old. Drivers sprinting back to the pits for the spare car, tyre manufacture choice and refueling made for generally much more entertaining racing even with a team or driver dominating a season.

I know it's all about costs but its never been a poor mans sport (to run a team) and that was part of the lure, we watched in awe at these machines and drivers waiting to see how they could outsmart as well as outdrive each other.

The sport has tried to modernise and yet entertainment wise taken a step back.

Zcott

piperh wrote: »

Having watched f1 for over 30 years watching the sky piece about past races made me hanker after days of old.

Back in the days when you might get an interrupted broadcast on TV, or highlights that evening? The fact that there's a channel on tv dedicated entirely to F1 demonstrates that F1 has grown up since then. The engineering has grown up, the money has grown up, the coverage has grown up. Sure, back in the 80s things were good but it's not like every race was a classic. The days of a chaotic Ferrari team in complete disarray and Minardi scraping by every year are gone and they're not coming back.

I personally think that F1 has progressed in a good way since then but now needs to take itself less seriously. It's become a massive business, which does attract new investment in the sport, but the sports owners have forgotten to make it fun. It's not the racing on track that's dull, it's everything else around it. The drivers are too PR friendly, the sport hasn't caught on to the Internet, and all the cars have too similar liveries. F1 needs to look at NASCAR to improve the show.

ScumLord

v3ttel wrote: »

Something needs to happen to bring them closer to the pack or they will dance off into the sunset at every race, the same as last year.

I don't think that's really fair, Mercedes have put in the work and made a winning car, I think it's up to everyone else to catch up as quickly as they can. It wouldn't be fair in any other sport to hobble the best players because they're so much better than the rest. If you're aiming for being the best of the best then you don't punish the winners for being too good.

I think it was a very promising start in many respects. Great to see Ferrari able to challenge at the top end. Sauber put on a fantastic show and have really shown that progress can be made without having a shed full of money.

While there were a lot of reliability issues I think it shows they're pushing the engines a lot more this year. It's not really a good track to get a good idea of performance, I'm really looking forward to Malaysia.

AMKC

tripperman wrote: »

wouldnt have been allowed to race today in any case, a thrid driver needs to have par taken in ether fp1fp2 fp3 or quali and showed that they are within the 107% rule

I did think that might be the reason alright makes sense. I wonder was Bottas having back problems before quali or was it just after he hit that bump when he went of the track during quali.It was a pity he did not get to race I think he really would have challenged Vettel more than Massa did.
It was also a pity if they had of known sooner they might have been able to pay Manor to get Will Stevens to race for them maybe. He had done a race before with Caterham at the end of last season so it might have been possible maybe. Might have made his and Manor,s time there a little more worthwhile.

ScumLord

AMKC wrote: »

I did think that might be the reason alright makes sense. I wonder was Bottas having back problems before quali or was it just after he hit that bump when he went of the track during quali.

Have they given him the all clear yet? I think Suzi is next up in his seat if he can't make the next GP.


Poor old Maldanado, he just can't avoid that wall even when he does everything right.

tripperman

ScumLord wrote: »

Have they given him the all clear yet? I think Suzi is next up in his seat if he can't make the next GP.


Poor old Maldanado, he just can't avoid that wall even when he does everything right.

yeah i think shes next line for it, and she should have the super license since she does fp1s, wont make any comment on him till just before malyasia id say, give him as much time as possible

HighLine

ScumLord wrote: »

Have they given him the all clear yet? I think Suzi is next up in his seat if he can't make the next GP.


Poor old Maldanado, he just can't avoid that wall even when he does everything right.

No, thankfully she is not even being considered. Pat Symonds confirmed it on Sky. Williams marketing ploy foiled.

Tippex

I have to say that I was surprised with the pace of the Ferrari's. I know its just the first race and all that but they look like they are going to be strong this season. I reckon Kimi is going to bounce off Vettel this season and they seem like they are going to work pretty well together.

If they can consistantly get third and forth on the grid I can see them causing the Mercs problems on the starts.

ScumLord

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I suspect based on this first race that this season will suck bigtime. I hope I am wrong

Sauber have given me great hope for the rest of the season. The top two positions are more or less done and dusted, it's just a matter of which one of them will win. More than likely Hamilton from the looks of things.

Everything from 3 down to 10 looks like anything could happen between those positions.

Gillespy

As much as the shenanigans with their drivers has soured Sauber for me, another year like 2012 for them would be nice to see. Lotus showed promise and Williams are still there. Add Ferrari's return to form and there's enough to keep me entertained.

The battle at the front needs Rosberg to qualify ahead of Hamilton. Rosberg simply hasn't an answer to Hamilton's ability to control a race from the front.

ScumLord

Gillespy wrote: »

The battle at the front needs Rosberg to qualify ahead of Hamilton. Rosberg simply hasn't an answer to Hamilton's ability to control a race from the front.

It doesn't look like Rosberg has what it takes to beat Hamilton, end of story.

Jordan 199

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I suspect based on this first race that this season will suck bigtime. I hope I am wrong

I would wait to see what happens when the European season begins in May. Teams usually have upgrades for the race in Spain and as the season continues you can see what teams have made progress and what teams have started to slide backwards.

Mike Litoris

Last year would have been brutal if it wasn't for the Ros/Ham battle even with the epic mid field battles between McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull.


Initially, this year, the Mercs have at least maintained the gap to the 2nd best but McLaren are nowhere and Red Bull have gone backwards. It doesn't bode well. That said the Aussie GP isn't usually that exciting as far as overtaking is concerned so I'll reserve judgement for the next race.


On a lighter note, here's a sweet clip of Pastors crash on Sunday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFk5AKo5tlM

Cookie_Monster

Zcott wrote: »

F1 needs to look at NASCAR to improve the show.

or the Aussie V8s. I love how open that is and the fun they clearly have doing it. Rules such as afterwards are far more relaxed as well so feels way less sterile.

Myrddin

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Bernie needs to kick the bucket before any real changes happen

What's likely to happen in such a situation? Ie, when his grip is gone, what changes are actually likely, if any?

Zcott

There'll be a period of a few years when someone is chosen to run F1 and it'll take another few years before any effect is felt.

I just hope that it's someone who gets the Internet and isn't afraid of it. Someone from the TV industry would be a disaster.

mickdw

Zcott wrote: »

There'll be a period of a few years when someone is chosen to run F1 and it'll take another few years before any effect is felt.

I just hope that it's someone who gets the Internet and isn't afraid of it. Someone from the TV industry would be a disaster.

I think it needs a Bernie, a ring master, a wheeler dealer. I feel that the entire house of cards might come tumbling down if a straight up manager is put in place.
Bernie facilitates certain things like cash advances and has quite an input into the goings on of the teams ensuring drivers end up where they should etc.
A 9 to 5 type manager would fail imo.

greedygoblin

mickdw wrote: »

I think it needs a Bernie, a ring master, a wheeler dealer. I feel that the entire house of cards might come tumbling down if a straight up manager is put in place.
Bernie facilitates certain things like cash advances and has quite an input into the goings on of the teams ensuring drivers end up where they should etc.
A 9 to 5 type manager would fail imo.

Of the people involved in F1, who would fit that bill?

Would Flavio be the best fit? EJ maybe? Or is he too honest?:D

Would Jean Todt have any interest in the job or would he see it as a sideways move? Maybe Luca di Montezemolo could be lured back.

CVC could decide to bring in someone who has slipped well under the radar. Or they could go for an outsider. Though I would say it might be an advantage for whoever takes over to have a familiarity with the politics of F1.

Tippex

greedygoblin wrote: »

Of the people involved in F1, who would fit that bill?

Would Flavio be the best fit? EJ maybe? Or is he too honest?:D

Would Jean Todt have any interest in the job or would he see it as a sideways move? Maybe Luca di Montezemolo could be lured back.

CVC could decide to bring in someone who has slipped well under the radar. Or they could go for an outsider. Though I would say it might be an advantage for whoever takes over to have a familiarity with the politics of F1.

I seem to remember back in the day there being talk that Bernie had discussed with EJ about him taking over the reigns.