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

[PhillipM]

Jonnny said:

Anyone else pissed off at the Sky graphics?

I was pissed off with it on Sky Go - cause it was broken and wouldn't bloody work.

[VladD]

Plinth said:

This year the qualifying lap was record broken, but….

Fastest race lap – Kimi 1:26.538
Race lap record – M.Schumacher 1:24.125 (2004)

????

I'm guessing that they're still not driving flat out in these new cars, unlike in 2004. You'd need a 2017 car on low fuel with fresh tyres for a better comparison during the race.

[Vocal Minority]

Ok, I have to say I am feeling pretty bloody smug. I'm sorry, I know it's frightfully unbecoming, but I have been saying the Ferrari has looked good in race trim since testing, and most people said merc would sod off into the distance come the first race - simply because that's how it worked last year.

Then people we're ready to give the title to Hamilton after 2 sessions.

Also - aside from Stroll having a poor race, absolutely none of Tommunster 's predictions came to pass. Williams second best car for example - 'I called it!' I believe he said after testing

I see he still hasn't surfaced.


Right - sorry about that. Gloat over!

[LDN]

Vocal Minority said:

Ok, I have to say I am feeling pretty bloody smug. I'm sorry, I know it's frightfully unbecoming, but I have been saying the Ferrari has looked good in race trim since testing, and most people said merc would sod off into the distance come the first race - simply because that's how it worked last year.

Then people we're ready to give the title to Hamilton after 2 sessions.

Also - aside from Stroll having a poor race, absolutely none of Tommunster 's predictions came to pass. Williams second best car for example - 'I called it!' I believe he said after testing

I see he still hasn't surfaced.


Right - sorry about that. Gloat over!

Fair play; you've every right to gloat! And yes, tonmunster is unusually quiet!

[lbc]

K50 DEL said:

Cracking race, brilliant to have such uncertainty.
Really enjoyed that, hope the rest of the season is as interesting.

What uncertainty?
Vettel led Hamilton most of the race and was never challenged.

There was no close racing or overtaking.
Mostly boring.

[rubystone]

I don't recall last year's Australian GP being chock full of overtakes either. It often throws up an unexpected winner although Vettel's pace was strong all race. I don't think we'll see the true picture until Bahrain

[K50 DEL]

lbc said:

K50 DEL said:

Cracking race, brilliant to have such uncertainty.
Really enjoyed that, hope the rest of the season is as interesting.

What uncertainty?
Vettel led Hamilton most of the race and was never challenged.

There was no close racing or overtaking.
Mostly boring.

There's more to a race than just the first 2 positions, the 3 way scrap for 10th place was good and there was plenty happening in other areas as well... The uncertainty over pit stop strategies was also welcome.

Seems to me that an awful lot of people on these F1 threads are never happy.
Personally I think this year has the potential to be unpredictable and I shall certainly be up at 2.45am FP1 from China in 2 weeks

[HardtopManual]

K50 DEL said:

Seems to me that an awful lot of people on these F1 threads are never happy.

Correct. For some reason these people never go off and watch any other race formula that might offer what they want. Touring cars, autograss, banger racing, whatever. They just carry on complaining that a 200-mile race format isn't a lights-to-flag sprint. Today's race unfolded very similarly to a typical race during the late 90s/early 00s would have - you know, the era that a lot of moaners want to go back to.

The big surprise for me was Raikkonen. They'll need to sort out his setup issues pronto - there's no point having a #2 to back you up if he can't get anywhere near your rivals in the first place.

[Plinth]

VladD said:

I'm guessing that they're still not driving flat out in these new cars, unlike in 2004. You'd need a 2017 car on low fuel with fresh tyres for a better comparison during the race.

Very true - I didn't think of that!

[lbc]

K50 DEL said:

lbc said:

K50 DEL said:

Cracking race, brilliant to have such uncertainty.
Really enjoyed that, hope the rest of the season is as interesting.

What uncertainty?
Vettel led Hamilton most of the race and was never challenged.

There was no close racing or overtaking.
Mostly boring.

There's more to a race than just the first 2 positions

But if it's always now going be a Vettel win, then this year will be worse than the Vettel dominated Red Bull years.

I wish F1 would not keep changing the spec of the cars, as they always seem to do this just as the racing is getting better.

I guess we will have to wait until these new cars race on a dedicated track before jumping to early conclusions.

[Eric Mc]

Melbourne is never really a true indication of what the racing is going to be like for the rest of the season.

I sometimes think difficulty in passing is more to do with the driver's attitude as much as anything else. Hamilton has made lots of comments about how difficult it will be and , lo and behold, he finds it difficult.

I bet Max Verstappen will find plenty of opportunities to have a go, given the chance.

[rubystone]

K50 DEL said:

There's more to a race than just the first 2 positions, the 3 way scrap for 10th place was good and there was plenty happening in other areas as well... The uncertainty over pit stop strategies was also welcome.

Seems to me that an awful lot of people on these F1 threads are never happy.
Personally I think this year has the potential to be unpredictable and I shall certainly be up at 2.45am FP1 from China in 2 weeks

Trouble is, with the graphics issue today with FOM TV it wasn't easy to see the gaps. Generally the director focuses just on the leaders too which is why when one is at a race it's much more exciting

[Hungrymc]

Eric Mc said:

I sometimes think difficulty in passing is more to do with the driver's attitude as much as anything else. Hamilton has made lots of comments about how difficult it will be and , lo and behold, he finds it difficult.

I bet Max Verstappen will find plenty of opportunities to have a go, given the chance.

Not sure about that. I can't see how these regs can have done anything other than make passing harder (through the issues following another car through fast corners). Had they gone with more mechanical grip without more aero then maybe?

Your final words "given the chance" are the key part, these rules will create less chances, it's inevitable.

I guess there were two reasons to make these changes : 1, shake it all up to give others another crack at catching Merc. 2, so many people moaning about the cars, too quiet, not as fast as 2004 etc. I liked that you could see them moving around so much for the last few years. Still, this year will be exciting when it gets going properly, I think it will be very tactical, but that won't make it dull.

[LDN]

Perez looked racey and made a couple of nice moves... but yes; nothing to write home about.

[NRS]

Hungrymc said:

Eric Mc said:

I sometimes think difficulty in passing is more to do with the driver's attitude as much as anything else. Hamilton has made lots of comments about how difficult it will be and , lo and behold, he finds it difficult.

I bet Max Verstappen will find plenty of opportunities to have a go, given the chance.

Not sure about that. I can't see how these regs can have done anything other than make passing harder (through the issues following another car through fast corners). Had they gone with more mechanical grip without more aero then maybe?

Your final words "given the chance" are the key part, these rules will create less chances, it's inevitable.

I guess there were two reasons to make these changes : 1, shake it all up to give others another crack at catching Merc. 2, so many people moaning about the cars, too quiet, not as fast as 2004 etc. I liked that you could see them moving around so much for the last few years. Still, this year will be exciting when it gets going properly, I think it will be very tactical, but that won't make it dull.

The (real) experts said it would be a lot more difficult to overtake purely down to the laws of physics. More dirty air due to more aero means it will always be harder to pass. Then add wider cars, shorter breaking zones, able to carry more pace into the corners then it reduces the chance to pass more than it did previously. I would say it looks more spectacular, and it's more of a test of the drivers, but it will be more boring in terms of passing this season. I also wasn't one of those always moaning about F1 and saying it should be more like the good old days. I was fine with the tyres wearing out quickly to make more fun racing. It looks like this season we have the longer wearing tyres, but it means you have one pit stop to jump the person in front and whoever gets it right will win that battle. It wasn't just Hamilton - there was very few passes all the way through the field.

It also seems the cars are more "on/off" for drivers making them work. A lot of teams have big gaps between their drivers, and so it seems the driver can make a big difference if they can get the car to work for them/ their style or not.

[37chevy]

Don't want to tempt fate...but....

Only 2 negative posts about Hamilton so far....that slabs to be a record for the last 3 years!

To be fair it's nice to see all drivers embracing and congratulating each other after the race, can't fault any of the top 3 today

[OzzyR1]

Why was Hamilton getting booed so much on the podium, do they not like him much in Australia?

[FourWheelDrift]

Didn't see/hear it but was it boo, or loo (Lewis).

[Derek Smith]

Just seen Ch 4. Good, perhaps great, to see Vettel win. First time Merc have beaten Mercs on track for some time.

The aero seems to have done exactly what most people predicted it would; make overtaking - or rather following closely - much more difficult.

Oz might not predict the season, but one can hope.

Strangely confident response from Hamilton post race.

[OzzyR1]

FourWheelDrift said:

Didn't see/hear it but was it boo, or loo (Lewis).

Booing, and a surprising amount of it as well.