The Official 2017 Australian Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**

The Official 2017 Australian Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**

Author
Discussion

TheInternet

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

162 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all


It's the start of another Formula 1 season and less than a week until the first race. Get your predictions in - perhaps a slightly trickier task this time around.

Dates: Friday 24 – Sunday 26 March 2017

Race weekend timings (local time)

Practice 1 Fri 1200 – 1330
Practice 2 Fri 1600 – 1730
Practice 3 Sat 1400 – 1500
Qualifying Sat 1700 – 1800
Race Sun 1600 – 1800


UK timings

These are timings when the session starts, so if you want to catch the build up, tune in a little earlier than the times below. Note that the clocks go forward on Sunday morning so the 05:00 GMT race start becomes 06:00 BST.

Sky F1 (Live):

Practice 1 Fri 0100
Practice 2 Fri 0500
Practice 3 Sat 0300
Qualifying Sat 0600
Race Sun 0600


Channel 4 (Highlights show only):

Qualifying Sat 1300 - 1450
Race Sun 1400 - 1640



Circuit:



Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit

No. of laps 58
Length of a lap 5.303 km
Race distance 307.574 km
Race lap record 1:24.125 (L29; M. Schumacher, 2004)


2016 race stats:

P1 N. Rosberg Mercedes AMG F1 1:48:15.565
P2 L. Hamilton Mercedes AMG F1 +8.060
P3 S. Vettel Scuderia Ferrari +9.643


Pole: 1:23.837 (L. Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1)

Fastest race lap: 1:28.997 (L49; D. Ricciardo, Red Bull-TAG Heuer)



Weather forecast here

Due to this place having a lake, it is said that this circuit has its own microclimate, so take the forecast with caution.

Friday: Partly sunny and pleasant (26C/17C)
Saturday: Some sun with a shower (26C/17C)
Sunday: Mostly sunny (26C/18C)

Live timing for all sessions are available here

Tyre choices available: Ultrasoft, supersoft, soft.


2017 Season Changes

https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/inside-f1...

Key car changes are:
  • Tyres
  • Front wing
  • Rear wing and rear diffuser
  • Annoying fins (not Finns)
  • Sidepods
  • Weight






Wet-weather standing starts
If a safety car is deemed to be required for the beginning of a race due to wet weather, unlike previously a normal standing start will occur once the track is deemed safe to race. The process will see the safety car return to the pit lane and the cars assemble on the grid for the start.

Helmet livery
Drivers must continue to use essentially the same helmet design at all races for easy recognition of the driver in the car. However, each driver is now allowed to use a special livery at one event of his choosing, such as a home race for example. Drivers will also be allowed to change their helmet liveries if changing teams during the season.

Enjoy!



ps. Thanks to Dr Z for all the work put in previously.

Edited by TheInternet on Sunday 19th March 14:54

tight fart

2,868 posts

272 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Think a weekend NowTV pass is on the cards, looking forward to this.

Doink

1,652 posts

146 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Or just download mobdro?

BrettMRC

4,037 posts

159 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Nice opening thread - thanks for getting the ball rolling smile

Looking forwards to it biggrin

another 3 points

936 posts

196 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
The long long wait is almost over.

TuxMan

9,010 posts

237 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Looking forward too it , winter has been too long !!

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Yes!

In!

Thanks for the OP, OP.

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Mercedes to qualify up front by a tenth. KRs Ferrari to fail in quali, Vettel to finish 3rd. Alonso to spend 45 laps by the side of the track eating barbecue and drinking booze by whichever turn his skip with wheels fails.

freddytin

1,184 posts

226 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Wait for months for in eager anticipation, then along comes F1 and MotoGP ...Overdose heaven smile

Would love to see Danny Ric get a win in front of his home crowd . party

Speed Badger

2,667 posts

116 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Great effort on the op, op. I am optimistically predicting -

1st. Raikkonen
2nd. Vettel
3rd. Bottas

Renault to qualify both cars in the top 10, McLaren qualify 19th and 20th.

Stroll to crash.

Sauber to get points.

Kvyat to have a first corner tangle.

Jenson Button thanking his lucky stars he decided for a year off / retire from F1.

Not much passing, but I hope I am wrong - Melbourne has always been a tricky place to pass even when it was easier.

LaurasOtherHalf

21,429 posts

195 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
wavey good to be back

cheddar

4,637 posts

173 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Oh good, here we go!

So the cars are back to where they were before they were slimmed down to encourage closer racing, right?

And the Mclarens are still as reliable as a Samoan bus timetable?

I'm actually really excited

Vettel
Raikonnen
Bottas


Dr Z

3,396 posts

170 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
Thanks for the OP. Really looking forward to seeing how the pecking order shakes out in the first few races. The cars look fantastic and above all, I'm impressed by the work done by Pirelli. I'm betting that we'll come close to the 2004 cars in terms of race pace, which will be a huge achievement for the 1st year of these regulations. Possible that we might see the lap record broken here in Melbourne, but I'm not sure if fuel saving will have that much of an impact as predicted.

I'm just really glad that we've got some strong tyres that drivers can really push on, so we will have drivers likely pushing for a greater % of the race to gain positions on track or via strategy. Although there's less chance for strategy to play a big role in determining the race as there's likely many 1-stop races, the action will have to be on track. Will be interesting to see what RB bring to Melbourne as they had a very quiet preseason test.

anonymous-user

53 months

Sunday 19th March 2017
quotequote all
cheddar said:
So the cars are back to where they were before they were slimmed down to encourage closer racing, right?
wrong.

They were slimmed down to reduce the cornering speeds.

lbc

3,212 posts

216 months

Monday 20th March 2017
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Hamilton
Bottas
Raikonnen

ajprice

27,317 posts

195 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
:wave:

Alonso and Vandoorne 1-2, and Alonso goes on to win the championship silly

Likes Fast Cars

2,769 posts

164 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
Glad it's on our doorsteps - 4 more sleeps! smile

The withdrawal symptoms were starting to kick in.

Bold (optimistic) predictions:

1. DR
2. Raikkonen
3. Vettel

Woody

2,187 posts

283 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
After not really watching any F1 for the last 2 years, I am actually quite looking forward to this season.

Optimistic predictions:

1. KR
2. VB
3. KM

Oh, and Honda to have worked their ass off for the last couple of weeks and actually produce an engine with a decent amount of power that won't vibrate itself to death....

troc

3,740 posts

174 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
Woody said:
Optimistic predictions:

Oh, and Honda to have worked their ass off for the last couple of weeks and actually produce an engine with a decent amount of power that won't vibrate itself to death....
And I'm looking forward to the formation of flying pigs heralding the start of this miraculous recovery smile

(actually as a long-standing Mclaren fan, I'm both troubled and saddened by the Honda debacle)

TheInternet

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

162 months

Monday 20th March 2017
quotequote all
Woody said:
Honda to have worked their ass off for the last couple of weeks and actually produce an engine with a decent amount of power that won't vibrate itself to death.
Interesting prediction.

May I suggest a sweepstake for the number of laps the new McLaren will complete? Winner gets the bottle of beer in the OP.

Given their current best is 11 in one go I'll choose 12 because I'm an optimist like that.