2014 Australian GP Official Thread

[steveaki13]

So with just over a week until the cars role out in Fridays Practice for the first round of 2014 F1 championship, it feels like its time to get the official thread up and running. I always like the opening weekend thread to be opened early so we can get straight into it.

I was generally not looking forward to 2014 that much, with many things I consider stupid to be in F1 again this year. However testing and the potential excitement of an unpredictable start of the season has got me pumped again. :bounce:

2014 Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, Melbourne.

Times are Local and (UK times). (Sorry about that :vampire: )
FP1: 14th March -12:30pm -14:00pm - (1:30am-3am)
FP2: 14th March -16:30pm - 18:00pm - (5:30am-7am)

FP3: 15th March - 14:00pm - 15:00pm - (3am-4am)
Quali: 15th March - 17:00pm- (6am)

Race: 16th March - 17:00pm - (6am)

Race Length: 58 Laps

Previous Winners at Albert Park:

1996: Damon Hill - Williams
1997: David Coulthard - Mclaren
1998: Mika Hakkinen - Mclaren
1999: Eddie Irvine - Ferrari
2000: Michael Schumacher - Ferrari
2001: Michael Schumacher - Ferrari
2002: Michael Schumacher - Ferrari
2003: David Coulthard - Mclaren
2004: Michael Schumacher - Ferrari
2005: Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault
2006: Fernando Alonso - Mclaren
2007: Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
2008: Lewis Hamilton - Mclaren
2009: Jenson Button - Brawn
2010: Jenson Button - Mclaren
2011: Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
2012: Jenson Button - McLaren
2013: Kimi Raikkonen- Lotus

Michael Schumacher 4 Wins
Jenson Button 3 Wins
David Coulthard 2 Wins
Kimi Raikkonen 2 Wins
Damon Hill 1 Win
Mika Hakkinen 1 Win
Eddie Irvine 1 Win
Giancarlo Fisichella 1 Win
Fernando Alonso 1 Win
Lewis Hamilton 1 Win
Sebastian Vettel 1 Win

Ferrari 6 Wins
Mclaren 6 Wins
Renault 2 Wins
Brawn 1 Win
Red Bull 1 Win
Williams 1 Win
Lotus 1 Win

Driver Line Ups
and driver numbers,

Red Bull:--- Sebastian Vettel (1)---------Daniel Ricciardo (3)
Mercedes:-- Lewis Hamilton (44)----------Nico Rosberg (6)
Ferrari:---- Fernando Alonso (14)----------Kimi Raikkonen (7)
Lotus: ------Romain Grosjean (8)---------Pastor Maldonado (13)
Force India-Nico Hulkenberg (27)----------Sergio Perez (11)
McLaren: --Jenson Button (22)-------------Kevin Magnussen (20)
Sauber:-----Esteban Gutierrez (21)---------Adrian Sutil (99)
Toro Rosso--Jean Eric Vergne (25)---------Danii Kyvat (26)
Williams ----Felipe Massa (19)---------------Valterri Bottas (77)
Marussia-----Jules Bianchi (17)--------------Max Chilton (4)
Caterham---Kamui Kobyashi (10)-----------Marcus Ericcson (9)


So there we go.

Let discussions begin.

[TheFamousEccles]

:bounce:

[Koz]

Where is the pickems thread??

Shall we see an all Mercedes-powered podium?

[Tazio]

Where is the pickems thread??

champ.php?series=f1 (http://www.motorsportforums.com/champ.php?series=f1) :sailor: :kiss: :sailor:

[steveaki13]

Where is the pickems thread??

champ.php?series=f1 (http://www.motorsportforums.com/champ.php?series=f1) :sailor: :kiss: :sailor:

That Mr Alca-wotssit must have been a great pickem champ. :)

Bet you wish you were that good, hey Taz. :laugh: ;)

[Robinho]

Where is the pickems thread??

Shall we see an all Mercedes-powered podium?I think it would be worth betting on a Mercedes powered top 8!

[Koz]

Where is the pickems thread??

champ.php?series=f1 (http://www.motorsportforums.com/champ.php?series=f1) :sailor: :kiss: :sailor:

But where do I make the picks for Australia?


Mark!!!!! :angryfire



Where is the pickems thread??

Shall we see an all Mercedes-powered podium?I think it would be worth betting on a Mercedes powered top 8!
If they don't run out of gas...

[Tazio]

I think it would be worth betting on a Mercedes powered top 8!
I'll take that bet, what are the stakes? I will be very surprised if Kimi and Fred finish outside the top 8 :rolleyes:

[steveaki13]

I think it would be worth betting on a Mercedes powered top 8!
I'll take that bet, what are the stakes? I will be very surprised if Kimi and Fred finish outside the top 8 :rolleyes:

Remember the Gearbox problems will strike............... :vampire: :skull: :devil: woooooooooooooo :vader: :monster:

[Tazio]

I think it would be worth betting on a Mercedes powered top 8!
I'll take that bet, what are the stakes? I will be very surprised if Kimi and Fred finish outside the top 8 :rolleyes:

Remember the Gearbox problems will strike............... :vampire: :skull: :devil: woooooooooooooo :vader: :monster:
Remember if they don't you owe me a ham sandwich :vampire: :burp:

[Tazio]

Where is the pickems thread??

:angryfire Yeah Mark, and what is the prize for the winner this year?? :angel: :stareup: :sailor:

[Tazio]

Where is the pickems thread??

:angryfire Yeah Mark, and what is the prize for the winner this year?? :angel: :stareup: :sailor:
As a prize I would like to humbly suggest a weekend vacation with overnight accommodations at the Easy-8 Motel with billy's missus in beautiful French Lick, Indiana USA. I hear she does women too. :bounce: :vampire: ;)

[Koz]

I take it the silence means there won't be any Pickems this year?

[Tazio]

I take it the silence means there won't be any Pickems this year?
That's the most unheard of thing I'v ever heard of! :crazy: :angryfire
In fact I aint buying it.
Here are my banker picks:
1)Kimi
2)Hulkenberg
3)Boss
4)Fred
5)Rosberg
6)Felipe
7)Bottas
8) Jense or Seb I can't make up my mind yet .... Ok? :dork:

[jens]

Fascinating stuff. It brings back the memories of 2009. I remember, how the off-season was that year. It feels like going back by 5 years' in time. We could see something incredible again. This time from a different angle with different issues, but nonetheless.

This year Williams has been fast in off-season (9th in WCC last year). In 2009 Brawn was fast in off-season (Honda was 9th in WCC in 2008!).:D

I remember the climax, the fascination of a new beginning. The likelihood of a new pecking order. But you still wouldn't believe until you see it. And then you see it. Brawn, Red Bull, Williams and Toyota at the front with last years top4 teams-manufacturers all behind them. Wow. That's stunning! A jaw drop.

Now you anticipate something similar. Could it be... Champion Red Bull nowhere with car problems. Last year's regular podium contender Lotus also nowhere. And last year's second in WDC (Ferrari/Alonso) could possibly be in midfield, behind Mercedes-powered teams.

Of course Mercedes winning wouldn't be anywhere a surprise. What about other Mercedes teams? McLaren had a bad year last year. They are a big team, but feel like a bit of an underdog already due to the end of Mercedes partnership. And then Williams and Force India. What about their challenge?

It will be a critical race not only for Red Bull, but also for Ferrari. It is not just about Mercedes possibly beating them. It is also that if they want to have any say in title contention, they can't let other Mercedes-powered teams beat them. But this is what happened to Ferrari and McLaren in 2009. They were just too far back in midfield, getting beaten by far too many traditional midfield teams, which destroyed their title hopes for that year.

Oh, an unreliability. Is it 80s coming back? Sounds like a song.:D The cars blowing up everywhere with less than half of the field getting to the chequered flag.

---

I want to say one more thing about the specific race. Interesting that Button has been going so well at Albert Park, already 3 wins! And if I think about it, he could get a fourth one too. Aside from Mercedes, Button could be a main contender at the front in this race.

McLaren blew a bit hot and cold in winter tests. Looked good at Jerez, not-so-good at Bahrain. Yet, Melbourne is more similar to Jerez, a twistier circuit. So, there you go. But car needs to be reliable. And even among Mercedes-powered teams no-one can be sure they actually get to the finish line... An opportunity to many, but also one, which could easily get lost.

[airshifter]

I take it the silence means there won't be any Pickems this year?
That's the most unheard of thing I'v ever heard of! :crazy: :angryfire
In fact I aint buying it.
Here are my banker picks:
1)Kimi
2)Hulkenberg
3)Boss
4)Fred
5)Rosberg
6)Felipe
7)Bottas
8) Jense or Seb I can't make up my mind yet .... Ok? :dork:

Now that the season is upon us, you pick Kimi to win over Fred? :laugh:

[Tazio]

Now that the season is upon us, you pick Kimi to win over Fred? :laugh:
Dawg.....My "banker" is always a little obtuse, and I generally don't put in my serious picks until very close to the deadline, which is why I'm the reigning champ
Plus Kimi usually goes pretty well in Australia and :

"Feels a little sorry for Kimita Kimsta Rolerblade" :sailor:

[anfield5]

Saw an interesting report on Sky Sports UK at the weekend. They basically said that the top 8 will be Mercedes powered ie Mercedes 1 and 2, Williams and Mclaren sharing 3-6 on the grid. Ferrari probably next in qualifying, but falling back in the race due to having to do an economy run, with Force India moving up. Sadly, I think they could be right, if the Ferrari engine is as thirsty as reports suggest, but I have a feeling things wont quite be as clear-cut as this.

I must confess I haven't looked forward to the first race of the season as much as this for many years

[Tazio]

Saw an interesting report on Sky Sports UK at the weekend. They basically said that the top 8 will be Mercedes powered ie Mercedes 1 and 2, Williams and Mclaren sharing 3-6 on the grid. Ferrari probably next in qualifying, but falling back in the race due to having to do an economy run, with Force India moving up. Sadly, I think they could be right, if the Ferrari engine is as thirsty as reports suggest, but I have a feeling things wont quite be as clear-cut as this.

I must confess I haven't looked forward to the first race of the season as much as this for many years
Great post An'ld,
As a general rule I completely discount rumors of "sand-bagging" that is why I think Ferrari's times in Bahrain were representative of where they were then. I don't know what the crap is going to happen,( but I hope Force India have an awesome year). Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull (FWIW) will have invested massively in taking what they had in testing and refine it for an underrated aero and erxtremely important mechanical (PU) racing event that might be fun in spite of Bernie being a complete and total fuck-tard. :dork: :dork: :spanner: :spanner: :shock: :shock: :blackeye: :blackeye: :beer: :snore:

[Valve Bounce]

OK! I usually post this before the AGP. This year, weather predictions in Melbourne vary from hour to hour today, and whether you can rely on them for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday is highly contentious. According to today's paper, it will rain on Saturday, but will be warm. Sunday will be much cooler but supposedly fine. Now THAT! is from today's paper.

For those who would prefer to see what is happening during quaals and teh race, I give you this link: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR023.loop.shtml

This will show you what is happening in real time. Albert Park is located between Melbourne and Caulfield on the map.

[Tazio]

OK! I usually post this before the AGP. This year, weather predictions in Melbourne vary from hour to hour today, and whether you can rely on them for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday is highly contentious. According to today's paper, it will rain on Saturday, but will be warm. Sunday will be much cooler but supposedly fine. Now THAT! is from today's paper.

For those who would prefer to see what is happening during quaals and teh race, I give you this link: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR023.loop.shtml

This will show you what is happening in real time. Albert Park is located between Melbourne and Caulfield on the map.
BTW What ever happened to Filamina; now there was a Webber fan....Dawg??? I've been following the weather from two weeks out. I hope it rains for quali and the race, give fred a chance..... :dork:..... old friend ;)
Sorry about your loss.

[jens]

I have been thinking about some of the classic Australian season openers, like 1999, 2002, 2008. All races with only a few cars finishing the race (8, 8, 7 respectively) and a lot of chaos. Could 2014 get added to the list?

Funny thing. In those times with more than 10 years ago it was often so that teams were struggling to make cars reliable for the first race and more than half of the grid could struggle to get the chequered flag. It has seemed like a faraway past of history, but we could possibly get some insight into the old feel again. In my previous post I compared 2014 to 2009, but in other aspects we could find similarities with that era.

1998 - 9 finishers, 1999 - 8, 2000 - 9., 2002 - 8. There were always some teams, who were having some serious issues with reliability, which they couldn't iron out during winter testing. McLaren was notorious - double retirement in both 1999 and 2000. However, this while some other team was running so well that they got a double finish.

Looking at 2014, it could be that Red Bull and Lotus are the "Jordan & McLaren of 2000" with both cars not lasting at all at Albert Park. A Marussia or Caterham could be the heroic 2002 Webber underdog story.

There could be an emergence of someone on the podium from relatively midfield, like Ralf Schumacher in Williams-Supertec, his first drive for the team, in 1999, and then next year in Williams-BMW after many cars had retired in front of him.

Only 9 drivers finishing, but McLaren utterly dominating in 1998 by lapping everyone. Is Mercedes of 2014 the new McLaren, who runs supersmoothly and dominantly despite others hitting trouble?
1999 - first-time winner of Irvine after others hit trouble, but chased down by the rejuvenated Frentzen in the new Jordan. Who will emerge and capitalize in trouble this year? Stewarts were burning already before the formation lap. The second row of the grid was completely empty. Could it happen again?
2000 - trouble around, but none influenced Ferrari, who calmly took 1-2. But attrition behind as the previous year's struggler BAR finally opened its point-score (3+1).
2002 - big teams on the podium, but big losses in midfield as backmarkers (in terms of grid positions) emerged in positions 4-8. However, mostly first corner took its toll.

Or let's even look at 2008. There was a start accident, a few accidents later on too, and a few car problems. Later a DQ for Barrichello. Bourdais was fourth before engine problem. Williams got good points (3rd and 6th) in a race of attrition.

I believe the 2008 Australian Grand Prix was the last true race of attrition, the race of less than 10 finishers. Because since then I do not remember a race like that again.

These are the kind of memories with which I prepare for this year's race, which could potentially introduce us some of the forgotten old.:)

[steveaki13]

I think Australia 2008 only had 6 finishers at the flag, despite several cars being classified.

[easy rider]

As a general rule I completely discount rumors of "sand-bagging" that is why I think Ferrari's times in Bahrain were representative of where they were then.


Absolutely Tazio.......I can't believe that any team would be sand-bagging now, especially with all the new changes that have been implemented, and including a new V6 turbo engines......no way that anybody would be sand-bagging.

[anfield5]

I'm no engineer, so someone please explain how Ferrari can have poor fuel economy and yet less power than Mercedes, and how they can reduce ther former, whilst increasing the latter to make their power unit (apparently we don't call them engines anymore) more competitive?

[jens]

I think Australia 2008 only had 6 finishers at the flag, despite several cars being classified.

Yeah. I guess I meant Barrichello was the seventh one, just that later on he was disqualified.:)

[Zico]

I'm no engineer, so someone please explain how Ferrari can have poor fuel economy and yet less power than Mercedes, and how they can reduce ther former, whilst increasing the latter to make their power unit (apparently we don't call them engines anymore) more competitive?

If not sandbagging it could simply be that Merc have simply invested many more engineers and therefore man hours in optimizing and fine tuning the combined Engine/ERS's efficiency, if that's the case then Ferrari will certainly soon catch up. If not that... Power- Lower thermal efficiency due to a compromised design might mean they can't turn up the boost as far without requiring larger intakes thus increasing drag which in turn affects fuel economy?
Could be a huge number of different reasons, very much doubt anyone on here would be able to answer that without some insider info/data from both camps.

There is an interesting article on the new engines and ERS systems here- http://grandprix247.com/2014/03/10/tech ... id-to-ask/ (http://grandprix247.com/2014/03/10/tech-talk-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-f1-power-unitsbut-were-too-afraid-to-ask/)

[airshifter]

I'm no engineer, so someone please explain how Ferrari can have poor fuel economy and yet less power than Mercedes, and how they can reduce ther former, whilst increasing the latter to make their power unit (apparently we don't call them engines anymore) more competitive?

The list of possible efficiency changing differences is vast. Aerodynamic efficiency measurements alone could account for power needs at any given time, so that alone could be a big factor. Even if we were to assume that aero needs are equal, the efficiency of all the engine operations would affect both power and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), which is the amount of fuel needed per horsepower generated.

The factors are essentially all of those that would affect any regular car, plus the complexities of a more high strung engine, along with the integration of the ERS system, how well that system recovers energy, how well it integrates with the torque curve of the engine when using the power, etc.

Piston and combustion chamber designs, rod ratios (connecting rod length as compared to stroke, also connected to piston design), valve timing, ignition timing, boost pressures, turbine efficiency of the turbo, fuel management... the list goes on and on. Keep in mind also that for race engines these things have to go through quite a bit of abuse, so it could simply be that certain manufacturers are being more conservative in the basics of extending engine longevity, banking on the fact that reliability will overcome sheer power over the course of the race season.

Even within the consumer car market, custom tuning as a means of modification can vastly alter the lifespan of an engine. While making more power is great, making more power until the engine goes boom is not. We may well see that engine/power units that seem to be lacking at the start of the year turn out to be the ones that take home the most points. If all of them prove reliable, more than likely all of them will eventually be pushed more within whatever the current rules allow.

[steveaki13]

Cant find a photo.

However on another F1 forum, they appear to have a photo showing McLaren engine cover in silver and black.

People wondering if they are going to return to the silver and black days of pre 2006.

[minardi]

Cant find a photo.

However on another F1 forum, they appear to have a photo showing McLaren engine cover in silver and black.

People wondering if they are going to return to the silver and black days of pre 2006.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BidN23pCIAAXLtA.jpg

[steveaki13]

Cheers.

[Ranger]

Although it wasn't the season opener, the 2006 Australian Grand Prix was very eventful as well. One of the most eventful of that year.

[steveaki13]

Although it wasn't the season opener, the 2006 Australian Grand Prix was very eventful as well. One of the most eventful of that year.

Yer you are right. You reminded me of that.

I remember most Montoya was it spinning on the warm up lap? :laugh:

Then Jenson on Pole going backwards at each SC restart.

[Tazio]

OK! I usually post this before the AGP. This year, weather predictions in Melbourne vary from hour to hour today, and whether you can rely on them for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday is highly contentious. According to today's paper, it will rain on Saturday, but will be warm. Sunday will be much cooler but supposedly fine. Now THAT! is from today's paper.

For those who would prefer to see what is happening during quaals and teh race, I give you this link: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR023.loop.shtml

This will show you what is happening in real time. Albert Park is located between Melbourne and Caulfield on the map.
BTW What ever happened to Filamina; now there was a Webber fan....Dawg???
I think she went by the screen name Aussi Revhead or something similar.

[driveace]

I think this first race is a total stab in the dark as to who will finish ,and where will they finish ,so here is my guess and a Finnish driver first;
1 Rosberg
2 Hamilton
3Alonso.
4, Massa
5. Raikonen
6 Button
7 Hulkenberg
8 Bottas
9 Vettel
10 Perez
Anything can happen ,and it's all down to reliability

[Koz]

Rosberg
Hamilton
Fred
Kimi
Massa
Checo
Button
Hulk

[minardi]

McLaren interim livery for Australia (and probably until they sign their sponsorship deal)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BikAfwPCQAA7ngU.jpg

[Big Ben]

Even though I find all these technical changes exciting for some reason I'm not that pumped up about the new season. For one the fake racing brought to us by the DRS is still there. The tires will still be (probably) purposely crappy again. On top of that all this we have the double points race new BS. Funny thing about it is that as far as we can tell the RBR will not do that great at the beginning but they do have the resources (moneys and brains) to catch up, so the double points might be crucial for them in the end... ironic since it seems they've been invented because of RBR's dominance... I'm no Vettel fan but I'd almost enjoy it if they sort their car and start dominating again... and end up winning the championship thanks to those double points... Go Vettel!
Even the expected unexpected race results don't get me that excited. What's so great about engines going boom? Isn't it pretty much the same story as with the 'exciting' racing caused by crappy tires? A retard may get excited about every overtaking but I really don't give a $h1t about a pass every non-retarded person saw coming since... whenever. I hope all this engine reliability issue won't give them the idea that unreliable engines could 'spice up the show'.. Everytime I read those words I feel like throwing up.

PS I've never liked the mirror McLarens. The pre 2006 was IMO so much prettier :p

[Tazio]

FP1 starts in 10 minutes.......dawgs ;)

[Koz]

And within 5 mins, Hamilton breaks his car :o

[Tazio]

Fred is the first car out. The Boss is stuck on track in his smoking Merc :bomb:

[Koz]

Kimi seems very awkward under braking.

[Tazio]

Yeah but it's still early mate. Fred looks fairly comfortable for some reason :confused:
May the forza be with them both :stareup:

[andyone]

And within 5 mins, Hamilton breaks his car :o did he break it or it just broke

Sent from my Quantum using Tapatalk

[Koz]

And within 5 mins, Hamilton breaks his car :o did he break it or it just broke

Sent from my Quantum using Tapatalk

The car shut itself off to prevent damage, apparently.

Maybe he was driving it wrong :p

[Robinho]

probably drove it too hard over the kerbs - that's the normal complaint against "car breakers"

[Koz]

It was a faulty oil pressure sensor.

[andyone]

Thank God. These are the times to beatredbull. Once they settle will be an issue

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Storm]

for some strange reason I thought the GP is on tyhe 23rd!!! :grenade:
Just saw the press conference photo in today's newspaper and then it clicked...damn the season has began!
Mercs top and Alonso doing well too, but I do not like it that Vettel has sneaked up to P4 (still 0.5 secs off) :\

[steveaki13]

So it looks as though a few teams have issues, but looks like most cars should be able to go the distance now. :mad:

18 cars to finish. :(

[JasonPotato]

Clearly red bull were sandbagging, expect them to be top 5 come qualy.

[steveaki13]

Clearly red bull were sandbagging, expect them to be top 5 come qualy.

Yep. Looks like it.

Red Bull will be fastest by race 6 or 7 and win both titles again and F1 will become a bore again. :( :dozey:

[jens]

Oh. This free practice looks a lot more like one would have expected this season to be. Mercedes in front, but other top teams Ferrari and Red Bull after them. Williams is more like a strong (upper) midfield team, not exactly a top team like was rumoured based on testing. However, the potential of Lotus is still massively unclear. They look like Jaguar 2002 at the moment, who was battling with Minardi at the back, but I am sure during the season there is more to come.

I know many people dislike Red Bull being fast, but I find relief in it. That we could actually have a close season. Because based on winter testing there was a strong suspicion Mercedes may run away with the thing. But we are still yet to find out, how reliable each car is and this is also Red Bull's weakness, even if they have speed.

[airshifter]

Great to see the new cars out on the track. Though I have been a long time believer that testing and practice do not really show the final ability of the cars, I think it's safe to say we are all expecting some changes vs last year.

I'm really glad to see Williams looking good again. TBH if one of the red cars can't take the win, I think it would be great motivation for Felipe to win a race again. He's spent too much time being a forced #2 driver, and I think it sucked his passion out of him. I hope his move lets him feel worthy again, and that the car allows them to be competitive.

It also looks as though RB might have been sandbagging. But the question remains, if they are quick, how long will it last?

[jens]

It also looks as though RB might have been sandbagging. But the question remains, if they are quick, how long will it last?

I don't think regularly blowing up and barely running any laps is really sandbagging. I mean everyone needs to use winter testing to the max, not play silly games with smokes, flames and fires.

I think it is more about, how each team approaches each season with their development cycles. For instance Red Bull usually puts a lot of effort into the back-end of a season, which enables to finish very strongly, but can make their starts more on the backfoot.

Many midfield teams we have seen going the other way around. Start out well before fading. For every team it is about compromise in how to best use the available resources. Do you use more for the start to get a good base-car, but struggle to develop? Or you bank on having great in-season development work and speed to make up for the possibly lost ground?

[AndyL]

Interesting to see that the top speeds in P2 were quite close. From the fastest Williams to the slowest Red Bull, about 10 cars covered by 8kph. Are the engines more closely matched in performance than we thought I wonder? Or will we see them spread out when Mercedes turn the wick up?

[AndyL]

Fantastic that the race weekend is finally here though :D

[jens]

Interesting to see that the top speeds in P2 were quite close. From the fastest Williams to the slowest Red Bull, about 10 cars covered by 8kph. Are the engines more closely matched in performance than we thought I wonder? Or will we see them spread out when Mercedes turn the wick up?

I think three big engine manufacturers had always the potential not to be too far away from each other. However, start of a new season and particularly start of a new era can always exaggerate some gaps, so over time they will naturally come down a bit anyway.

And the main issue has nonetheless been reliability. For example till now we haven't had any idea, how powerful this Renault V6T could actually be, because they have barely been able to run at all, let alone at full power. I think in the end, when somewhere during the season all engines are already capable of performing at their maximum potential without blowing up, the gaps may indeed be relatively close/closish.

[steveaki13]

Oh. This free practice looks a lot more like one would have expected this season to be. Mercedes in front, but other top teams Ferrari and Red Bull after them. Williams is more like a strong (upper) midfield team, not exactly a top team like was rumoured based on testing. However, the potential of Lotus is still massively unclear. They look like Jaguar 2002 at the moment, who was battling with Minardi at the back, but I am sure during the season there is more to come.

I know many people dislike Red Bull being fast, but I find relief in it. That we could actually have a close season. Because based on winter testing there was a strong suspicion Mercedes may run away with the thing. But we are still yet to find out, how reliable each car is and this is also Red Bull's weakness, even if they have speed.

You are right of course Jens. :)

Just sad my prediction of 6 cars finishing is looking a lot less likely now. :(

[jens]

Just sad my prediction of 6 cars finishing is looking a lot less likely now. :(

Was also hoping for a repeat of some good old season openers with less than 10 finishers, but yeah... I mean if we don't get this now, WHEN else are we going to get it?

But I still think at least half of the cars retiring is a (realistic) possibility. We'll find out.:)

[steveaki13]

Mind you several teams have completed race distances but not all in one go. I mean if you do 60 laps in 3 stints of 20 over 3 hours of practice with long periods in the garage maybe you cant say that is representative of a real race distance as overheating cools and problems are mended.

We will see.

[TheFamousEccles]

I think that the likelihood of half the field retiring (or crashing, given how loose the cars looked in the first two P-sessions) is still there, but I would be surprised if they did to any great extent.

Its interesting to see that the RB's - after all the pre-season woes - are only 0.7 off P1 in these two sessions. As the commentators kept banging on about in the broadcast yesterday, the RB team dont give the air of a team under the pump. We shall see - Go Danny Boy! :bounce:

[Koz]

I think that the likelihood of half the field retiring (or crashing, given how loose the cars looked in the first two P-sessions) is still there, but I would be surprised if they did to any great extent.

With the new braking, I don't think a first corner pile up is out of the question.

[Koz]

Looks like we're in for some rain for quail and the race.

[Tazio]

Evening dawgs! :dog:
Rain should play into Freds hands!! :dork:

[Tazio]

Mind you several teams have completed race distances but not all in one go. I mean if you do 60 laps in 3 stints of 20 over 3 hours of practice with long periods in the garage maybe you cant say that is representative of a real race distance as overheating cools and problems are mended.

We will see.
Gearbox problem for Sauber :vampire: :vampire: :devil: :devil: :laugh: ;)

[Whyzars]

What has a large nose and sounds like a long wet fart?

An F1 car?

No. A Proboscis Monkey but you were close...

http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/92/92860425-6611-4D78-9FEA-1B4EFF8C9123/Presentation.Large/Male-proboscis-monkey.jpg

[TheFamousEccles]

I think that the likelihood of half the field retiring (or crashing, given how loose the cars looked in the first two P-sessions) is still there, but I would be surprised if they did to any great extent.

With the new braking, I don't think a first corner pile up is out of the question.

You read my mind. An admittedly brief read....

[Storm]

Ok, had my first look at this year's cars....well underwhelming to say the least. Many people had said, yeah you would hardly see the horrid noses when the cars are moving and from the front - but hell no, they are as ugly as ever.
Add to the lack of sound and this gets worse if it can. I sincerely hope the racing makes up for it. Very unpredictable season is the only way to salvage this.

OT -
This is the first time Storm Jr saw a F1 car running and I am sad it had to be in this era :p: (among the few words he knows- "epp-1" is one of his favourite things...his only knowledge of what F1 car is a Brabham scale model I have and the sound of a Ferrari V12 on my phone - when he grows older he is going to catch on that I have been cheating him on what F1 really is)

[Valve Bounce]

Quals in 37 minutes; rain showers coming: http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR023.loop.shtml

The rain band should reach Albert Park sometime during quals. Now that should make things very exciting, no??

[Robinho]

Well I for 1 am loving it. I like the sound, they don't all sound identical, there is a rich wall of noise when they are all running, in isolation they do sound a bit flat. They looks a handful, especially in the wet, but still pretty quick. There is a variation in appearance, although there are a few ugly ducklings. The 1st two qually sessions have been excellent

[Valve Bounce]

.................AND THUNDER ALSO!

[N4D13]

I'm impressed to see Vettel out in Q2, specially when Ricciardo didn't have to seem much trouble getting into one of the top places. Did Seb have any problem or it just wasn't his day?

[donKey jote]

good afternoon gurlz :D

[donKey jote]

stoopid tyres :dozey: :p

[truefan72]

well, well ,well

vettel out, button out, kimi crashed, kobayashi in Q2

ricciado looking strong in Q3, mgnussen, both STR's, both williams, hulkenberg, and both mercedes
a very interesting Q3

2014 starting off with a bang

[Robinho]

Sebastian who?

[truefan72]

wow what a qualyfying session!

Yes! (finger pointing #1)
praise to ricciardo ( although i am worried that the rBR is back to business)
rosberg p3
awesome by magnussen
brilliant job by STR!
of course, Hulkenberg doing the job again, ( lol I guess missing out on the lotus seat is paying dividend)
both Williams in the top 10 ( although bottas is going down 5 slots, but good for my FGP!)

I could not be more pleased

but the stars are the young guns for sure

[AndyL]

With the new braking, I don't think a first corner pile up is out of the question.

Added to that, I think there may be some cars with great launch maps to lay down the ERS power at the start, while others have completely undeveloped ones, so big speed differentials will build up very quickly. One thing that might spare us from a first corner pile-up is if the race is wet and we get a safety car start.

[dj_bytedisaster]

I'm impressed to see Vettel out in Q2, specially when Ricciardo didn't have to seem much trouble getting into one of the top places. Did Seb have any problem or it just wasn't his day?

Problem with engine mapping (software issue) engine was running on reduced power and rather ragged power delivery, which isn't very helpful in wet conditions. On top of that he had to lift on his last run, because Kimi had stuck his Dyson in the wall. RB have made huge progress with the software, but it's not sorted out yet.

[andyone]

I suspect RB to be on some strategy. Vet tel beaten by rookie

Sent from my Quantum using Tapatalk

[dj_bytedisaster]

I suspect RB to be on some strategy. Vet tel beaten by rookie

Sent from my Quantum using Tapatalk

It's relatively difficult to beat your team mates lap if you have to pass a yellow flag zone and he hasn't ;) Vettel had an engine prob as well. Hopefully that'll silence those, who keep saying that only Vettel's team mate has all the failures. The Aussies definitely loved it :D

[Storm]

^I did too....as did most fans fed up of him getting the rub of the green..of course the proof is in the pudding
as in, will his badluck continue in the race? lots of things can happen in the race (and overnight) so don't count him out yet.
Still a pretty exciting end to the session.

[henners88]

Interesting to see Red Bull so close but we'll see the true form with the engine when they get to the high speed tracks like China and Malaysia. Should be a good race and reliability is going to play a big part I think. I'd like to see a Hamilton win but there so much that could happen and so much uncertain. I haven't been able to say that for a long time. :)

[TheFamousEccles]

... because Kimi had stuck his Dyson in the wall.

:laugh:

[TheFamousEccles]

I forgot to add: Go Danny Boy! :bounce: :lips:

[dj_bytedisaster]

I forgot to add: Go Danny Boy! :bounce: :lips:

I think Danny will make Webbo look more ordinary than Vettel ever did. His driving was sublime today, Just keep in mind, he drove his lap on Inters while all others where too chicken and used full wets. That RB10 has some serious downforce.

[Tazio]

... because Kimi had stuck his Dyson in the wall.

:laugh:
"Feels a little sorry for Kimita Kimsta Rolerblade" :angel:

Great lap by The Boss, Well done Danny boy :dork:

[JasonPotato]

Glad F1 is finally back and just wow! Was expecting a really dull start to the season but couldn't have been more wrong. The only down side is the noise, was thinking to myself they sound like vacuum cleaners. I do like the turbo noise but I hope they find a way to raise the pure engine sound. The cars look a real handful which can only improve the racing and spectacle.

Well done to Hammy and Daniel, hope they finish in that order across the line, really looking forward to the race. Well worth getting up at 6am!

If it's dry I reckon we'll see a Merc 1-2.

[jens]

Looks like the Renault engine power delivery works well in the wet, that's how Ricciardo and Toro Rossos were fast and Kobayashi beat both Marussias. Obviously Vettel and Lotus' had some significant problems, so they were far down the field. Doubtful Renault'-powered cars are that fast in the dry, but at least an important strength for wet races this year.

Ferrari was unspectacular. It is highly rumoured though that their race pace may not be strong like it used to be, so we'll see how much ground can they make up in the race if any.

Williams is certainly looking to improve positions in a dry race. Still unclear, how good Force India can be. Rookies (Magnussen & Kvyat) were doing surprisingly well in challenging conditions.

Mercedes - still team to beat for the race. Unless they have carried on some of the horrible tyre management problems from last year.

One more thought. Before winter tests we were discussing that historically Renault engine may have some important strengths like fuel efficiency, which is vital this year. And while we are discussing whether one day RBR may be the team to beat again, it may also be the Renault engine, which rises as the top engine after they sort out initial niggles. The pace of Red Bull and STR has certainly been very encouraging for Renault this weekend.

[steveaki13]

This just proves how poor Vettel is of course. Forget the 4 championships, we should take this as his real ability level. 2 seconds off a guy who struggled driving an HRT. :D ;) :kiss: :devil: :vampire:

[steveaki13]

Wow, I have to disagree with some. I actually like the sound of an F1 car in 2014. I enjoy hearing the screech of tyres and it gives a better idea of what the drivers are going through.

Anyway F1 2014 generally has started with a flourish. I do wonder whether at least early in the season DRS will be a joke. It seems likely that passing should be easier anyway here, but oh well.

Mercedes look quick in both conditions. Well done to Hamilton for pole.

Ricciardo wow what a job. It seems Red Bull are faster in the wet, because they were 4-8th most of the time in the dry, so if its dry tomorrow I would expect Rosberg to pass Ricciardo and maybe the Williams to come through.

The great thing is I don't think this grid tells anything about the result tomorrow.

Vettel clearly had issues but will be interesting to see how he comes through the field. Raikkonen is way off the pace at the moment and the Lotus are absolutely backmarker team here. Expect the Lotus to run last and retire or pit quite early and have a test season.

Great effort too from Toro Rosso.

Don't know where Williams went, but expect them to come through if its dry.

Although I have just heard 4 people interviewed and 4 different idea's on the weather. Pouring/Dry/Showers or don't know.

So who knows what we will see tomorrow.

I cant wait.

[steveaki13]

P.s Chilton did a good job too.

[jens]

Lotus are absolutely backmarker team here. Expect the Lotus to run last and retire or pit quite early and have a test season.


Lotus looks like they have brought a fresh barely functioning car for a shakedown test. This car wasn't working at all, drivers were going off into the gravel all the time. I think the Lotus' drivers will be among first retirees tomorrow, because this thing looks hardly drivable. Rarely seen a team starting a new season so unprepared, but this is what financial issues can do to you. Red Bull also had problems, but they have the resources to work quicker and more efficiently on issues and do not look in a bad shape any more.

[zako85]

The rain helped to randomize the outcomes of the qualification session. This is a pretty exciting start of the season since almost anyone is still left guessing regarding the actual speed of the cars on dry pavement.

[steveaki13]

Only team I remember looking so undercooked was HRT in 2011 or 2012

Before that your going back to Lola 97 I suppose.

Poor from a team that had such a fast car last season.

[Whyzars]

I can learn to ignore the monkey nose.

I can play a Bananarama loop to mute out the fart noises.

What I don't get though is that the cars being overly twitchy and difficult to drive is seen by some to be a good thing when the demands for cars and circuits to be safer are as strong as ever.

If I've got this right, increasing the likelihood of a car T-boning a wall is a good thing? Seems to be a bit off the planet if you ask me. :crazy:

The cars showed today that they may be very unforgiving. Maybe its first race syndrome but they are restricting fuel so the cars are forced to go slower. Rear tyres and fuel load - what a way to win or lose a race. Its not beyond the pail for a mid fielder at mid race to finish on top.

Tomorrow will be a wonderful race, it is F1 after all, but knowing that the cars can be so much faster will be underwhelming at best.

Go you good thing Danny boy, his last laps today were impressive and I'm thinking that the God's may smile on Seb. :D

[N. Jones]

It looks like I choose the wrong FGP team again!
Maldonado & Guitierrez were crap and Ferrari weren't much better. :(

[easy rider]

Great job from Lewis today to take pole position, and looks as if Jenson isn't the only British driver able to drive well under changing conditions.

Ricciardo did a magnificent job to nearly take pole, and Magnussen's performance today, quicly brought a smile to Ron's face.

All in all, a very exciting qualy today

[Tazio]

I suspect RB to be on some strategy. Vet tel beaten by rookie

Sent from my Quantum using Tapatalk

Vettel had an engine prob as well.
Indeed I have to admit I am not a big fan of Seb, but Danny better enjoy this while he can, because when Vettel gets sorted out it is going to be a little different game mates! I do think however that Danny will be very competative with Vettel...dawgs ;)

[Tazio]

I forgot to add: Go Danny Boy! :bounce: :lips:

I think Danny will make Webbo look more ordinary than Vettel ever did. His driving was sublime today, Just keep in mind, he drove his lap on Inters while all others where too chicken and used full wets. That RB10 has some serious downforce.
Agreed, however Fred (FWIW) did do his first flying lap in q3 on inters, and it totally sucked. So, yeah the RB relative to maybe all others has superior downforce, which is what we expect from Newey!

[Koz]

I forgot to add: Go Danny Boy! :bounce: :lips:

I think Danny will make Webbo look more ordinary than Vettel ever did. His driving was sublime today, Just keep in mind, he drove his lap on Inters while all others where too chicken and used full wets. That RB10 has some serious downforce.

That isn't true. Most cars were on the inters for their final run; only Ham, Nico and Fred were on wets.

[Tazio]

I forgot to add: Go Danny Boy! :bounce: :lips:

I think Danny will make Webbo look more ordinary than Vettel ever did. His driving was sublime today, Just keep in mind, he drove his lap on Inters while all others where too chicken and used full wets. That RB10 has some serious downforce.

That isn't true. Most cars were on the inters for their final run; only Ham, Nico and Fred were on wets.
Right dawg, but that was after they banked some good laps on the full wets, Fred was the only one stupid enough :confused: to take his first run in q3 on inters.

[donKey jote]

morning gurlz :D

Happy New Year ! :D

[steveaki13]

Morning Dawgs...... ;) :kiss: :dork:

[Koz]

Hello!!

[steveaki13]

Grosjean Starting from the pitlane after some more problems.

[steveaki13]

Max Chilton breaks down on the grid!!!

Will he make the start by the time the others leave.

[steveaki13]

Grosjean Starting from the pitlane after some more problems.

Now he has a drive thru already for leaving his garage early. :dozey:

Vettel with power issues too. :crazy:

[JasonPotato]

Let the racing begin!

[Koz]

Here we go!

[steveaki13]

Aborted Start.

Ericcson? 57 laps now

[JasonPotato]

Or not lol

[Robinho]

Marussia fail

[steveaki13]

Its the other Marussia actually. Bianchi. Oh dear

[steveaki13]

Quite a que at the end of the pitlane.

[JasonPotato]

Can't believe I'm cheering on a red bull car.

[steveaki13]

Chaos. Caterham, Williams and Sauber out

[JasonPotato]

Caterham has dug it's own hole

[steveaki13]

Hamilton letting everyone past.

Hamilton out. Save the engine after 3 laps???????????????????

[donKey jote]

Ham out already :dozey:

[donKey jote]

or not :D

[JasonPotato]

Sounds like he's cruising

[steveaki13]

Hamilton out? 4 Cars out

3 cars already pitted. Some chaos as expected.

[steveaki13]

Vettel about to retire as well? 15 seconds off the pace

[JasonPotato]

Doubt vettel will finish, he having issues.

[steveaki13]

All the commentators saying over the weekend. So glad to see Kobayashi back in F1. :laugh: That's why is it?

Seriously though, it may have been an issue.

[steveaki13]

17 Cars Left

[donKey jote]

finn on finn action :sailor:

[steveaki13]

Bottas and the Williams as I expected. Very fast now in dry conditions. 2 Great passes. Outside on the Toro Rosso and inside of Kimi.

Good stuff.

[steveaki13]

Computer suggest Bianchi is back out after a long stop.

[steveaki13]

Oh no Bottas in trouble.

[donKey jote]

Bottas donkey :(

[Robinho]

Well that has been a mental 12 laps

[steveaki13]

This should solve the fuel saving issue I would assume. SC

[donKey jote]

Button jammy git :p

[truefan72]

well that's my race spoiled good and done!

misfiring cylinder

this is ridiculous
SMH

i am gutted

[steveaki13]

18 cars running and some how Lotus's are still running?

Why is SC still out there? I would only have taken 1 lap to pick up those bits surely.

[JasonPotato]

3 laps of safety car for a bloody tyre on the track! Should be 1

[steveaki13]

We could do with a few more time updates for me.

[JasonPotato]

Needed some guy with a fishing rod to get that tyre.

[Robinho]

3 laps of safety car for a bloody tyre on the track! Should be 1but once you throw the safety car you have to get everyone together before you can go on the track and get them together again to restart if they pitted

[donKey jote]

We could do with a few more time updates for me.
twenty to eight here :andrea:

[JasonPotato]

Marshall with a fishing rod while they r racing would prevent that :laugh:

[henners88]

I'm up thanks to our daughter so watching it after all, aren't I a committed fan? Sky go has had a few issues so far with the usual apology message coming up and asking me to press the play symbol in the middle of the screen but hey it's free. Not a bad picture when it's working :)
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/16/ematunus.jpg

[steveaki13]

We could do with a few more time updates for me.
twenty to eight here :andrea:

:sailor:

[JasonPotato]

Looks like the mclaren has legs

[steveaki13]

Bottas back up into 10th already. That Williams is fast.

Reliability looking better now.

[donKey jote]

Hulk train... :dozey:

[steveaki13]

No more retirements :confused: :(

[donKey jote]

I'm up thanks to our daughter so watching it after all, aren't I a committed fan? Sky go has had a few issues so far with the usual apology message coming up and asking me to press the play symbol in the middle of the screen but hey it's free. Not a bad picture when it's working :)
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/16/ematunus.jpg

:sailor:
http://i59.tinypic.com/552l43.jpg
:bandit:

[henners88]

Nerd alert Donks! :p

[steveaki13]

Nerd alert Donks! :p

:D

[donKey jote]

problem is I've only got two ears for 3 feeds... I normally have English and Spanish, and only mix the German in when the Spanish go to ads :p
However German is live TV, so I get a preview of the action on the other two feeds :D

[donKey jote]

apart from the new names up front, this is a bit too much of ring of roses for me. Bored :mad:

[donKey jote]

missus just came down and gave me the big rolleyes when she saw the new screen for this year's season :laugh:

[Koz]

Kimi can't cope with the brakes.

[donKey jote]

Finn on Finn again :crazy:

[donKey jote]

phew ahead of hulk :D

[henners88]

missus just came down and gave me the big rolleyes when she saw the new screen for this year's season :laugh:
I usually get that just for watching F1 at all but she's fine with it today because she gets a lay in lol.

I can't get on with the sound of the new engines. Sounds like Formula BMW to me and I can't imagine how bad it sounds for the fans who are there. Anyone else feeling it feels dumbed down?

[donKey jote]

absolutely :(

[steveaki13]

Its OK but I am just amazed how many cars are running trouble free

[donKey jote]

except you don't get the feel they're really running, more like strolling round and round the merry-go-round :dozey:

[henners88]

It just sounds hideously underpowered, not Formula 1 at all. I used to love going to the GP and the feel of the cars screaming past making the pit of your stomach vibrate, how can they remove that? The racing looks good but the magic is lacking for me.

[donKey jote]

so we've swapped Vettel domination for Rosberg domination, great ! :p :dozey:

[donKey jote]

Bottas surely up there for drive of the race :up:

[Tazio]

What have I missed dawgs? :devil:

[donKey jote]

and Mag, and Ros, and But :p

[N4D13]

Bottas surely up there for drive of the race :up:
You could either think that or think that he's binned a chance of a podium. He's having a great charge through the field (two, actually) but the second one wouldn't have been necessary if he wouldn't have destroyed his tyre.

Rosberg and Button are my DOTD picks for now. ;)

[donKey jote]

oh well, Ferrari also ran :dozey:

[donKey jote]

refreshing podium at least :D

[donKey jote]

Rosberg and Button are my DOTD picks for now. ;)
Ros and Mag for me. Button got lucky with the SC ;)

[donKey jote]

bo llox bollox über a a lles :sailor:

[janneppi]

I'm willing to forgive the lack of engine sound because now we hear tires squealing when the leave the pits. :D

Not bad for a first race, some action in the beginning and in the end.

[donKey jote]

^like

I lurv the sound of screeching tyres in the morning :D :bandit: :andrea: :sailor:

[donKey jote]

omg what a tart rossy's missus sounds like :laugh:

[steveaki13]

Well I am always smoking tyres in the morning..... :smokin: :bandit:

[jens]

So finally we have seen the much-awaited new era with new regulations begin. The first race. The engine sound is certainly unusual, also the looks of the cars (all those appendixes running after each other).

We had some reliability issues, but not really „enough“ to go back into the old days. Still 14 cars finishing and it is still a long shot for Marussia or Caterham to get points. Nothing dramatic reliability-wise, and it is going to get better from now on.

In terms of results an intriguing start into the season. Title contenders Hamilton and Vettel start with a DNF. Also only 5th for Alonso and 8th for Räikkönen. However, Rosberg at the top step of the podium and he is certainly looking forward to be a major force this year.

Also we got two first-timers on the podium – Ricciardo and Magnussen. And that's good news. I think in the past few years F1 got a bit stale with the same guys at the top and it is good to see some refreshment there. Both Daniel and Kevin have of course a long way to go to prove they have got what it takes over a full season, but a dream start for both of them.

Also Bottas was going well, shame that he perhaps even lost a potential chance at a podium with that mistake. But I hope and believe there is a lot more to come from him. Finally he has got a proper car and also got his career-best result thus far.

What else? Kvyat had a decent debut, right up with Vergne in the end. Lotus wasn't really reliable though the lasted surprisingly long. Solid start for Hülkenberg. Button did his usual solid job – good points maximizing from a compromised grid slot.

[raybak]

We need to get the sound right. On the pit wall you don't even need headsets anymore. Had a conversation while cars were going past.

I wreckon that Formula E might be louder than F1!!!!!!

Ray

[AndyL]

With the extra formation lap and a safety car, fuel saving perhaps didn't come into play as much as we feared. I wonder what we'll see if we get a fuel-limited race without those mitigating factors. When Magnussen was told to switch from "yellow G3" to "yellow G6" for 2 laps near the end it seemed to cost him close to a second a lap.

[henners88]

Can they not mimic it somehow? Surely the acoustics can be faked to sound like something like an F1 car. I'm surprised more fans aren't in uproar over this too.

[AndyL]

Can they not mimic it somehow? Surely the acoustics can be faked to sound like something like an F1 car. I'm surprised more fans aren't in uproar over this too.

I think I have the answer: Turbospoke (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002WJ2Q5E/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B002WJ2Q5E&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwsquitcouk-21)

[Storm]

We need to get the sound right. On the pit wall you don't even need headsets anymore. Had a conversation while cars were going past.

I wreckon that Formula E might be louder than F1!!!!!!

Ray

Yeah the sound is ridiculous...my wife asked me what the big deal abt the lack of sound was (why I was so pissed that is), but then she will never understand - still she called it a lawn mower :D

from the Jerez test it sounded decent if not too loud, but on tv it is horrible...I keep (in my mind) hearing those cars screaming past the wall next to the lake and here they were ....well quiet.

[minardi]

Andrew Benson on Twitter:

Ricciardo's car has been found to have "exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel-flow limit".

Early days in this story... but could mean a double McLaren podium?

[jens]

A pity about Ricciardo after a great race.

Could also possibly put Red Bull's improvement (and most notably Ricciado's great drive) into another light if they really misjudged the fuel-flow limit and got pace advantage from it during the race. We'll find out in Malaysia.

[litifeta]

Possibly one of the best F1s I have been to. Looking forward to my VIP tickets at Malaysia.

[steveaki13]

Wow so its looking as though Ricciardo is disqualified from 2nd. Tough luck from his point of view, but some poor planning or working out of numbers by Red Bull maybe.

So Magnussen 2nd and Button 3rd.

Perez would claim the point then for 10th. Chilton would be a decent 13th. Considering 13th was enough in some previous seasons to beat Caterham.

[minardi]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bi16DAiIMAAqkj3.jpg

We need to talk about Kevin...

[zako85]

It's a very nice start of the season even though the top three haven't changed much through the race. I am personally happy to see so many relatively fresh drivers to do so well, such as Valtteri Bottas, Dan Ricciardo, and Kevin Magnussen. I think the Toro Rosso crew did fine too. It's unexpected to see McLaren leap from being an also ran to the top team in the constructor championship.

[RS]

I think Ron Dennis was right; this race was a bit boring but it should be a great season once all the teams know how to work their cars.

Pity some expected front runners were taken out of the mix. It seems like Red Bull are a lot better than we thought so if we have Merc, Red Bull, McLaren battling up front this year it could be interesting...

[N4D13]

Thinking about Magnussen's brilliant first race, I've noticed that the first time that a rookie put on such a great display was seven years ago, when a certain Lewis Hamilton also took a podium in his maiden F1 race. I guess this goes on to show that McLaren truly have a great way of grooming great drivers and giving them the tools to succeed.

However, we also need to remember that both drivers benefitted from the fact that everyone had to change the way they drove to a bigger or lesser extent (TC ban and Bridgestone tyres in 2007, V6 turbo engines and ERS in 2014). Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have been so successful in their first race in any other year?

[truefan72]

Wow so its looking as though Ricciardo is disqualified from 2nd. Tough luck from his point of view, but some poor planning or working out of numbers by Red Bull maybe.

So Magnussen 2nd and Button 3rd.

Perez would claim the point then for 10th. Chilton would be a decent 13th. Considering 13th was enough in some previous seasons to beat Caterham.

I am loathed to defend RBR
but, It should be about racing, not fuel management. Races should be decided by the fastest drivers and the fastest cars, not fuel accountants.

but then again, if everyone else was managing their fuel flow and restricting it and the RBR's were not, then it is a clear and quite damaging level of "contravening the rules" to a huge benefit of the team and driver (i am struggling not to say cheating) takes nothing away from his qualy pace, but the race pace was most certainly aided via illegal manners.

[RS]

Interesting that Vettel reacted very badly to not running at the front. Not in terms of his driving but his attitude to the team on the radio.

[donKey jote]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bi16DAiIMAAqkj3.jpg

We need to talk about Kevin...
^like
thanks for that :laugh:

[journeyman racer]

The more time has passed, the less I empathise with the chorus of criticism about the engine noise. As far as the evolution of the highest level of motorsport/motoring is concerned, this is the way forward. If nothing else, I think it'll separate the genuine fans, from those that are largely theatregoers.



but, It should be about racing, not fuel management. Races should be decided by the fastest drivers and the fastest cars, not fuel accountants.
They are and were. Also, fuel mileage race are legitimate. It's part of why the highest level of motorsport (whatever class it is), is hard. Anybody can jam the throttle and stomp on the brakes, it requires a lower level of driving. But planning/managing out a race, and choosing when to go hard, when to back off? That is hard.

The more genuine variables in any form of motorsport, the higher level of driving required. The less genuine variables, the lower level of driving required.

[steveaki13]

Official Ricciardo has been Disqualified

[steveaki13]

1. Rosberg
2. Magnussen
3. Button
4. Alonso
5. Bottas
6. Hulk
7. Raikkonen
8. Vergne
9. Kyvat
10. Perez

[N4D13]

Quote from Autosport:

"The team [Red Bull] has notified the FIA of its intention to appeal with immediate effect. Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend up and down the pitlane.

[dj_bytedisaster]

but then again, if everyone else was managing their fuel flow and restricting it and the RBR's were not, then it is a clear and quite damaging level of "contravening the rules" to a huge benefit of the team and driver (i am struggling not to say cheating) takes nothing away from his qualy pace, but the race pace was most certainly aided via illegal manners.

Fuel flow is restricted by an externally manufactured part, which obviously allowed too high fule flow in RIC's car, although it is supposed to shut off at 100kg/h. Happened to the Merc's in FP1, too and to pretty much everyone in winter testing. So I'd say it's bad luck that it happened to Dannys car, rather than Red Bull trying to cheat.

[steveaki13]

Real Bad luck and probably a bit harsh to DSQ him, but the FIA said early they would clamp down.

So its just unlucky isn't it. I am sure others will go through it at some point.

[Dave B]

Red Bull are idiots, not unlucky. Have a look at this from the stewards' ruling:


9) The FIA technical representative observed through the telemetry during the race that the fuel flow was too high and contacted the team, giving them the opportunity to follow his previous instruction, and reduce the fuel flow such that it was within the limit, as measured by the homologated sensor – and thus gave the team the opportunity to be within compliance. The team chose not to make this correction.

10) Under Art. 3.2 of the Sporting Regulations it is the duty of the team to ensure compliance with the Technical Regulations throughout the Event. Thus the Stewards find that:

A) The team chose to run the car using their fuel flow model, without direction from the FIA. This is a violation of the procedure within TD/ 016*14.

B) That although the sensor showed a difference in readings between runs in P1, it remains the homologated and required sensor against which the team is obliged to measure their fuel flow, unless given permission by the FIA to do otherwise.

C) The Stewards were satisfied by the explanation of the technical representative that by making an adjustment as instructed, the team could have run within the allowable fuel flow.

D) That regardless of the team’s assertion that the sensor was fault, it is not within their discretion to run a different fuel flow measurement method without the permission of the FIA.

So they knew about the problem, and were given the chance to correct it, but chose not to. They deserve this disqualification; Daniel drove magnificently and did not deserve punishment.

[jens]

So after the DQ of Red Bull we have got four Mercedes-powered teams in the top 5 of the constructors championship. Quite ominous really. Also before the season in „predictions“ section were discussing that early in the season „other“ Mercedes-powered teams have a good chance of outracing Red Bull and Ferrari. And that's what they are doing.

The Mercedes engine is really good, because I think all the teams are flattered by it. Mercedes chassis is well above counterparts (be it McLaren, Williams or Force India), but this means Mercedes dominates and all the other three teams are thereabouts competing with Ferrari and RBR too.

So now Magnussen is second. Still so unusual I have to get used to seeing his name so far up in the rankings. Hamilton was 3rd on his debut, J.Villeneuve was second.

Some thoughts team-by-team:
Mercedes
Mercedes - like Red Bull last year. Class of their own. Their advantage seems so remarkable that I think they have the ability to stay at the front all season even if others somewhat catch up. Like McLaren in 1998 stayed at the front despite Ferrari getting a lot closer. And unlike Brawn Mercedes has got development budget.

McLaren – after a difficult season the stars have aligned brilliantly for them. Top engine, which enabled them to get more points than RBR or Ferrari. Also a reliable car and a new find in Magnussen, which means they have got two good drivers, who collect good points. Good for WCC. In terms of pace they are not troubling Mercedes though and this is what will dent their championship hopes, combined with switching to Honda in 2015, which means there will be less co-operation with Mercedes as the season carries on.

Williams – I think right now they are at least as fast as McLaren, but failed to maximize their potential this weekend. I am still looking forward to that team getting a podium some time somewhere.

Force India – considering the engine advantage their chassis is a bit disappointing at the moment. But in some seasons (like 2012) they have shown good in-season development pace and I think there is more to come, especially as Hülkenberg has usually gets into a good form by the second half of seasons.

Renault
Red Bull – I think their chassis is once again very good, there is more to come, but they are held back by the engine/PU packaging a bit at the moment, because I don't Newey & Co have developed a chassis, which is potentially almost a second down on Mercedes in dry pace. It will be a lot of catch-up work, sort of like Ferrari managed against McLaren in 1998, when Goodyear tyres were initially a long way behind Bridgestone. Like currently the Renault is, but they have potential to improve.

STR – have started out pretty well and looks like among Renault-powered teams they have managed to adapt to the engine most efficiently so far. Hence I think they are already pretty close to their overall potential. Perhaps co-operation with RBR has also helped, because Lotus doesn't have it and unlike RBR/STR haven't made a leap forward into this weekend.

Lotus – so here we are. Like Red Bull, they have quite a significant amount of improvement potential during the season. How must especially Grosjean feel? A relatively young promising driver suddenly at the back of the field. Like Fisichella in 2001 or Button in 2007. But these things can happen to your career and you need to work hard and gradually climb out of this hole.

Caterham – need to improve reliability, but they are about where they are going to be during the season anyway, a backmarker.

Ferrari
Ferrari – we saw in the 2009-2013 era that Ferrari was a bit of a „nearly-team“ and to be honest, at the moment it looks like their position might have slightly worsened compared to that era. Because in those years Ferrari was usually a bit behind in chassis/aerodynamics (compared to Red Bull), but now their Power Unit is behind Mercedes as well, not to mention Mercedes as a team in general has overtaken them. Alonso finished second in WDC in 2010, 2012, 2013 – it will be harder to repeat it now.

A few times I have mentioned "in-season development potential" - and personally I feel among engines Renault has a bit more untapped potential than Ferrari. Renault leaves an impression they could have some important strengths that they aren't quite able to unlock yet, Ferrari doesn't leave this impression. But at the very least one day Ferrari should start outracing the worse-performing Mercedes teams too. This is what they should be capable of achieving in their progress.

Sauber – integration with Ferrari engine has not gone all that well. Sauber showed in 2012-2013 that they have a pretty good chassis, so I believe they have also more potential to unlock during the season, but this year it will be harder to repeat the kind of form they showed in 2012 or late 2013, also depending on how well Ferrari can develop their engine.

Marussia – regardless of the engine, still at the back.

[henners88]

I feel sorry for Daniel at what is a team error that really should have been corrected. It sets the precedent for the season though and will be interesting to see Red Bulls pace once within the rules. Still a great drive by him IMO.

[RS]

Given the lack of performance on Sauber and Marussia now that Renault are getting their act together, I wonder whether the Ferrari chassis is actually quite good and the engine is letting the side down.

I know it could partly be down to set up, but Hulkenberg was pulling away from Alonso on the pit straight, even when Alonso had his DRS open.

[Whyzars]

The more time has passed, the less I empathise with the chorus of criticism about the engine noise. As far as the evolution of the highest level of motorsport/motoring is concerned, this is the way forward. If nothing else, I think it'll separate the genuine fans, from those that are largely theatregoers.



but, It should be about racing, not fuel management. Races should be decided by the fastest drivers and the fastest cars, not fuel accountants.
They are and were. Also, fuel mileage race are legitimate. It's part of why the highest level of motorsport (whatever class it is), is hard. Anybody can jam the throttle and stomp on the brakes, it requires a lower level of driving. But planning/managing out a race, and choosing when to go hard, when to back off? That is hard.

The more genuine variables in any form of motorsport, the higher level of driving required. The less genuine variables, the lower level of driving required.

How is this the way forward? The cars sound slow and look slow - like long wet farts as I have noted previously.

DRS and KERS were the start of the rot and they are now making the cars less driveable in the interests of who knows what. F1 cars are supposed to be stuck to the road and these ones aren't. They don't give them enough fuel to support high downfoce so something has to give. Mont Carlo should be interesting. Might be Marussia's first win.


By rationing fuel, engines, gearboxes and testing what we eventually see is a farce and what we received today was a farce. They sounded slow and they looked slow. Yuck.

Tell me this. Why do they ration engines? They always said it was because engines are expensive but why get rid of the V8's in that case. No, they ration them because its another "variable". :crazy:

I think F1 has been taken hostage by rabbits and is being held for a ransom of lettuce leaves.

[steveaki13]

Great Review Jens.

I will give my thoughts although they are probably similar.

Mercedes - As you said Jens, I too think it could be a case of domination. Early in the season at least. I think looking at todays race, the Mercedes cars had Hamilton been there, would have pushed each other harder and with no SC on pure pace a win by 40-50 seconds may have been on. Hard to say, but clearly they were way faster than anyone else in Oz. Rosberg has a big early 25 point advantage and if Mercedes are 1-2 a lot, then Lewis will struggle to claw back the gap. Disregarding retirements.

Mclaren - Its clear McLaren were maybe slightly fortunate to claim 2nd and 3rd today. It think they are fundamentally 4th fastest car. For me Mercedes are first, but I believe Red Bull if running with no problems could be 2nd quickest, then Williams I think in the dry edge out McLaren. However they took advantage of Williams wasting their pace and Red Bulls unreliability to secure a brilliant result. I was so amazed by Kev Magnussen and believe he will beat JB quite often.

Ferrari - Both had troubles, and with Kimi generally struggling it didn't help. However It looks sadly like Ferrari have produced another package that is average at best and will not give Alonso any chance of challenging for the title. Couple that with a thirsty engine and they could be in real trouble.

Williams - I don't see Williams winning any races other than maybe one by default if Mercedes retire. However I do see regular podiums and running every race in the points. Certainly for the next 4 or 5 races. Bottas showed today that in dry weather it was faster than all cars except Mercedes and could have finished second from tenth had Bottas not hit the wall.
Massa will be at this decent level as well and Williams should have a decent season. Felipe coming out on top maybe

Force India - Slightly disappointed with their pace too today. Held up a train for lots of the race with Hulkenberg and Perez was slow and only ahead of the Saubers and Marussia. Clearly it has a great engine, so the car cant be as good as it looked early in testing.

Toro Rosso - Done a super job today, but I honestly believed that they had a pretty poor car. Clearly I was wrong. It matched Ferrari and Force India really (although Ferrari had issues) and if not for Vergne's errors it would have finished 7th probably. I see the team fading as the season progresses.

Sauber - Didn't really rate them coming into the season and its come true. Gutierrez I think it was got spun round on lap 1, but despite a SC they finished close together but well over a Lap behind. Poor Pace and potentially a poor engine. Cant see them scoring many points through pace. They might be like Williams last year and only claim the odd result here and there through retirements mostly. Sutil I don't rate massively but Gutierrez isn't awesome either.

Marussia - Well despite start line issues, both actually kept going for the race. Chilton done OK to drag it round to 13th and keep it going. Bianchi finished too, but NC 8 laps odd behind. I see Bianchi being better than Chilton again, but beating the 13th today might be tough. Seems as though despite the changes they are still exactly the same as ever about 1 second off the last main team.

Caterham - Pretty poor weekend and generally will struggle to beat Chiltons 13th unless we finally do have one of those crazy 8 cars finishing races. The cars barely ran on Friday, but did get a brief lift. Kobayashi qualifying 14th great effort, but brake failure into turn 1 sort of ruined that, then Ericcson ran at the back before grinding to a halt. Not much else to say really. They will again battle Marussia although I do think Kobayashi could banzi a few starts and run higher up in the early stages of GPs.

Lotus - Actually did better today than I thought. I imagined one not starting and the other retiring after 5 laps. They also showed some pace to overhaul Marussia and Caterham. I think that will be it for a few races, before they might start overhauling Sauber and maybe Toro Rosso. Still don't really know though.

Red Bull - Finally Red Bull who today showed the pace to run towards the front but as it turned out were both out the race by lap 5 as Ricciardo is classed as not taking part. Vettel had all sorts of problems and if the team did know about Ricciardo's issues and didn't do anything then that's stupid. Anyway they will win a race or two I am sure. If not more, but for now I cant see them beating Mercedes.

[Whyzars]

I feel sorry for Daniel at what is a team error that really should have been corrected. It sets the precedent for the season though and will be interesting to see Red Bulls pace once within the rules. Still a great drive by him IMO.

Unbelievable and it was a great drive by all podium.

Following is a message for those who think a bee spit of fuel in a bee spit of time makes a bee pit of difference when overall bee spits equal the same bee spitting amount of bee spit.

&%^#$$@$*(&!!!!! :angryfire:

[dj_bytedisaster]

I feel sorry for Daniel at what is a team error that really should have been corrected. It sets the precedent for the season though and will be interesting to see Red Bulls pace once within the rules. Still a great drive by him IMO.

Unbelievable and it was a great drive by all podium.

Following is a message for those who think a bee spit of fuel in a bee spit of time makes a bee pit of difference when overall bee spits equal the same bee spitting amount of bee spit.

&%^#$$@$*(&!!!!! :angryfire:

This whole thing turns utterly shambolic. FIA introduces a rule that says you may not have a higher fuel flow than 100 kg/h. Then at the first race they realize that their sensor equipment can't actually measure fuel flow reliably. So they send out a message to the teams that they should run at lower fuel flow as a precautionary measue, because the unreliable sensor readings will still be used to make decisions about the legality of the cars!
RB meanwhile sees that the sensor on RIC's car shows too high readings in comparison to what their telemetry says and changes it, but is forced to reinstall the sensor they believe to be faulty for the race. Mid-race, the FIA contacts RB and tells them to downrate their engine to get the sensor reading below 100kg/h, when their own measurements say they are already below. RB ignores it at risks a fight with FIA. Great.

So decisions are now based on wonky sensors. If I'm snapped by a speed camera and the police can't prove that it's measurements are accurate, I won't get a fine. But FIA can hand out DQ's based on equipment that has been proven to be unreliable? Why do we even bother?

[steveaki13]

The whole situation generally is quite stupid. It seems remarkably up the air as to what the situations have been for all the other teams throughout the weekend, yet Red Bull should have taken the warning more seriously I guess.

[Doc Austin]

This whole thing turns utterly shambolic. FIA introduces a rule that says you may not have a higher fuel flow than 100 kg/h.

Instead of making it so complicated and such a cluster**** to understand, why don't they just give them the proper amount of fuel and if they run out of fuel, they run out of fuel? That way it's self enforcing. It worked like a charm in the Group C days.

[D28]

Can they not mimic it somehow? Surely the acoustics can be faked to sound like something like an F1 car. I'm surprised more fans aren't in uproar over this too.

I think I have the answer: Turbospoke (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002WJ2Q5E/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B002WJ2Q5E&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwsquitcouk-21)

Remind me again what exactly was wrong with V8 engines? These remind me of an overstimulated chainsaw, can't believe this is the direction F1 chose to go. I wasn't expecting sounds like a Matra V12, but this is just ridiculous. I never anticipated a season opener less than 2014, I don't expect to be following too closely.

[D28]

One outcome of today's race is that the record for consecutive F1 wins remains at 9. Thus Sebastien Vettel and Alberto Ascari share the record for F1 (F2) World Championship GPs. Vettel did his in 1 season while Ascari needed 2. I think I have enough qualifiers in the statement to cover the Indy 500 issue. Hats off to both drivers.

[airshifter]

A year later... still a great race. Overall the reliability was greater than many expected, and we saw some really good driving from some of the younger drivers, including a couple of rookies that made it into the points.

In a pack, the engines sound better, but overall.... well they are lacking compared to the V8s. I guess it could be worse, as overall the cars seemed to have decent pace, and IMO I think they made the cars harder to drive with the additional lower rev torque and reduced downforce.

Gutted for Ricciardo, as Red Bull had every opportunity to correct the situation. A 4th or 5th for his first drive in the car would have done more for him and the team than rolling the dice to score a podium.

Kobayashi comes back with a bang, shame for Felipe. I'm not sure what Kamui was thinking, as he stayed on the throttle well after the other cars. Banzai!

[Robinho]

Brake failure - Not Kamui's fault

[henners88]

Can they not mimic it somehow? Surely the acoustics can be faked to sound like something like an F1 car. I'm surprised more fans aren't in uproar over this too.

I think I have the answer: Turbospoke (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002WJ2Q5E/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B002WJ2Q5E&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwsquitcouk-21)

Remind me again what exactly was wrong with V8 engines? These remind me of an overstimulated chainsaw, can't believe this is the direction F1 chose to go. I wasn't expecting sounds like a Matra V12, but this is just ridiculous. I never anticipated a season opener less than 2014, I don't expect to be following too closely.
I am glad there are others who feel the same way. Chris Evans was talking about the engine sound on the radio this morning and feels its removed a lot of the appeal of F1. I appreciate the sport evolves and has to use new technologies to represent the pinnacle of motorsport, but quiet F1 cars just take away some of the magic for me. This is why I asked if the acoustics could be played with to give the impression the engines are still powerful. I'm sure we will get used to it as we always do with changes, however at the moment its rather dull IMO. Hamilton said the engines don't sound as powerful as they used to but he felt once all the cars are lined up, it should create enough noise to give the fans a thrill. That comment to me insinuates he feels they don't sound quite as exciting in their own right.

I was watching the onboard shots from Sunday and you'd think the drivers was changing gear too early and the engine was chugging along to its next rev point. Come on Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari, bring back the scream whilst satisfying the eco crowd, I'm sure it can be done :)

[Whyzars]

...Come on Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari, bring back the scream whilst satisfying the eco crowd, I'm sure it can be done :)

I think that the rev limits and the fuel limits are what is choking these engines and manufacturers can't do much about that. They sound lazy which is OK in a family sedan but not in an F1 car. I'm sure they would wail if given their head but how can they - even qualifying was underwhelming to say the least. Once their reliability is at the 2013 confidence level these engines are still severely restricted in racing which doesn't bode well.

As far as I'm concerned, they've already satisfied the eco crowd by upping the KERS and moving to a forced 6 cylinder configuration so they can throw the fuel limits out the window and eventually the rev limits as well.

I've read a couple of forums and the reaction is sort of not good. I haven't actually seen any shouting from the rooftops about how brilliant the new engines are, nothing glowing or over the top positive. Could it be that F1 fans are in shock?

This is worrying.

[steveaki13]

whilst satisfying the eco crowd, I'm sure it can be done :)

I would like to point out I am not the Eco crowd. :p Doesn't bother me how efficient the engines are really and I like the noise of the old engines. It just doesn't bother me that they are quiet. :kiss: Doesn't mean I'm a tree hugger F1 fan. :angryfire

[zako85]

I still don't understand the need for the fuel flow sensors. Isn't there a better way to limit the engine power?

I didn't get a good feel of the engine power from TV. They sounded like Porsche 911 race cars (not particularly great sounding GT cars) but louder, and with audible whistle on braking. I still like the new regulations because they bring a lot of new excitement to the technology side of F1 racing.

[AndyL]

I still don't understand the need for the fuel flow sensors. Isn't there a better way to limit the engine power

Boost pressure was the instrument used in the past, I wonder why they didn't go for that this time. It would surely be much simpler to regulate, all you'd need is a relief valve.

[Ranger]

It was the first Australian GP I can remember where the future of the race and the race fee wasn't discussed in any main media outlet. This was a much refreshing change - maybe it's just a direct correlation with Bernie Ecclestone's absence, who knows.

I was at the race and it was a pretty good weekend, much better than 2007 when I last went.

A few thoughts:

Sound
The sound is certainly different, but I really don't mind. In 10 years, people will probably complain that the new F1 cars don't sound like the 1.6L V6 turbos of old.

Sight
It is pointless having new race numbers if people still can't see them! The only one I could pick from a distance was Alonso's #14. The driver numbers rule is a good one, but it needs work if people still need to have it explained to them.

The Race
Mercedes clearly have the best car, when it doesn't break down.

Red Bull - the jury is out. They looked like they had the third best car on the weekend. I don't think their appeal will be successful despite using faulty sensors. I'm sure they will be at the point end at some point this season.

Williams seem to have the second best car, Bottas was flying throughout the race and it was a shame he stuffed it into the wall at Turn 10 - he would have otherwise been on the podium from 15th on the grid, without doubt. Massa was very unlucky that Kobayashi's brakes failed. Hopefully Williams can not waste a good car like they did in 2012, although their driver lineup this year is very good.

McLaren are there or thereabouts. Both Button and Magnussen had excellent drives. Magnussen looked like he had been driving an F1 car for years.

Ferrari - the car is definitely in the mid-field. Kimi looked underwhelming this weekend compared to Alonso. Maybe that will change in following races but maybe it won't.

Toro Rosso - it seems hard to think that JEV will last too much longer in F1 or at least Toro Rosso, despite being obviously talented. This is mainly because Kvyat seems extremely talented for being 19 years of age.

Lotus - looked terrible all weekend. Hopefully they can produce respectable results at some point this season.

Force India - neither here nor there. Hulkenberg definitely made a good career move this time as they are better than Sauber, but it's hard to see how they will be out of the mid-field at any point this year.

Sauber - unremarkable, really not too much to say about them so far, they look like they are on the bottom end of the mid-field spectrum.

Caterham - Great qualifying from Kobayashi, shame about the catastrophic brake failure into Turn 1. It might be hard for them to get a result that is better than Chilton's 13th throughout the season, but we will see.

Marussia - Can't really comment on them, they finished last but at least they finished in a race with fairly high attrition, which I'm sure will be valuable come season's end.

Driver of the race:
Magnussen, followed by Ricciardo, Button and Bottas (barring his large mistake).

Donkey: None really.

[Hawkmoon]

I like the lower tone of the turbos but the volume is definitely too low. I saw a report on the news and the noise level from the cars was about 135dB. My line trimmer makes that much noise!

In regards to the race, it was underwhelming. The cars looked slow. I know they are slower than last year but I didn't expect it to be noticeable.

The Mercedes is obviously a step ahead at the moment but the next group looks very tight. McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams and Force India are within a couple of tenths of each other. Ferrari apparently had electrical issues on both cars preventing them from running at full power so hopefully they can get that sorted extract the full performance from the car. It's not where it needs to be but I think it's better than the weekend indicated.

I'd love to know what was wrong with Vettel. He looked out-of-sorts all weekend.

[AndyL]

Ferrari apparently had electrical issues on both cars preventing them from running at full power so hopefully they can get that sorted extract the full performance from the car. It's not where it needs to be but I think it's better than the weekend indicated.

It looked to me like Kimi also had no DRS, which wouldn't have helped either.

[Triumph]

I was initially impressed with the sound of the V6s, based upon the YouTube videos taken at the test sessions, but this hasn't translated very well to the TV broadcasts for the actual racing. As Hawkmoon says above, they are just too quiet. I could hardly hear them on the BBC broadcast. To me they sounded like electric window motors. Very disappointing, and in my opinion highly detrimental to the appeal of the sport.

Perhaps they should try what we used to do as children with our bicycles to make them sound like motorbikes: attach a flap of cardboard to the frame with a clothes peg so that it flaps against the wheel spokes.

The race itself was quite interesting, and it was good to see some different names in the higher finishing positions. It was a shame about Daniel Ricciardo being disqualified though. I hope that gets overturned.

[airshifter]

Ferrari apparently had electrical issues on both cars preventing them from running at full power so hopefully they can get that sorted extract the full performance from the car. It's not where it needs to be but I think it's better than the weekend indicated.

It looked to me like Kimi also had no DRS, which wouldn't have helped either.

I noticed that as well, and wondered if it had to do with the belt the car took when Kobay came roaring through. The Ferrari took a decent hit.

[janneppi]

I like the lower tone of the turbos but the volume is definitely too low. I saw a report on the news and the noise level from the cars was about 135dB. My line trimmer makes that much noise!


Isn't 130 db about the same as a jet airplane taking off measured at a safe distance , maybe the local airport can now loosen it's noise restrictions because 130 is quiet as a mouse. :D

It's really the broadcast company's fault, they didn't crank up the audio feed.

[journeyman racer]

How is this the way forward? As much as it might amaze you, and some others, but F1 and other higher levels of motorsport are all about the automotive industry and outlet to show how good they are/can be. The new rules allow them to show that.


The cars sound slow and look slow - like long wet farts as I have noted previously. They're not slow, they' quicker that the cars that first raced at the track in 96. Those cars weren't ponies.


DRS and KERS were the start of the rot and they are now making the cars less driveable in the interests of who knows what. F1 cars are supposed to be stuck to the road and these ones aren't. They don't give them enough fuel to support high downfoce so something has to give. Mont Carlo should be interesting. Might be Marussia's first win.Shows how much you know. Since when were they supposed to be stuck on the road? There's actually no place for huge amounts of downforce in the motor industry. It's only F1, and some other classes, that have developed it, unnecessarily as it turned out. The high reliance of aero grip is the single biggest reason why F1 has actually been **** in the last couple of decades.



By rationing fuel, engines, gearboxes and testing what we eventually see is a farce and what we received today was a farce. They sounded slow and they looked slow. Yuck.Nobody's forcing you to watch it. See ya.


Tell me this. Why do they ration engines? They always said it was because engines are expensive but why get rid of the V8's in that case. No, they ration them because its another "variable". :crazy: The rationed the old engines because it was a ridiculous waste of money preparing the engines that were ancient technology. If they kept those engines, all the manufacturers would leave. Rationing also adds, not necessarily directly, the element of reliability/attrition back into F1. 300kms for out-dated technology/engines is easy for manufacturers to build nowadays. Building the same engines for an average 600kms+, is a shade harder.

[henners88]

Isn't 130 db about the same as a jet airplane taking off measured at a safe distance , maybe the local airport can now loosen it's noise restrictions because 130 is quiet as a mouse. :D

It's really the broadcast company's fault, they didn't crank up the audio feed.
They need to do something, even if the driver radio is on all the time and he simply hums the noise for the entire race lol. It does sound dull even if its innovative for the car industry IMHO. :)