The Official 2017 Australian Grand Prix Thread **Spoilers**
Discussion
So, who was sandbagging in testing? Because someone was bound to be.
My predictions:
McHonda will retire both cars inside 10 laps, perhaps even 5.
Ferrari will be quick, but so will Mercedes and Red Bull and there will be a surprisingly quick midfield car - Williams perhaps?
Sauber to be the tail enders this season? Since we've no rolling Manor roadblock.
My predictions:
McHonda will retire both cars inside 10 laps, perhaps even 5.
Ferrari will be quick, but so will Mercedes and Red Bull and there will be a surprisingly quick midfield car - Williams perhaps?
Sauber to be the tail enders this season? Since we've no rolling Manor roadblock.
Tyre Smoke said:
Sauber to be the tail enders this season? Since we've no rolling Manor roadblock.
As for quick in the midfield- I reckon the Williams will shade the Force India this year but the Torro Rossos will be right back up there IMO after a couple of forgettable seasons with old Ferrari engines.
rdjohn said:
The only important message from pre-season testing is - DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE!
Or post-race for pretty much every race last season, where all the F1 media hyped up the 'Ferrari challenge' that never materialized. It's in the sports interest to suggest it won't be a one horse race, even 10 races into the season when it very clearly is.
jsf said:
Tyre Smoke said:
So, who was sandbagging in testing?
They all were. Even Sauber and McLaren.In fact, I bet they could only dream of "sandbagging" because what they're currently doing is "boat-anchoring".
But if they weren't sandbagging, McLaren seem to have taken last year's technology and made it even less quick and even less reliable!
Surely they spent a good proportion of last season at Honda building and testing a power unit to this year's spec. How could they possibly make it worse than last year's engine?
Surely they spent a good proportion of last season at Honda building and testing a power unit to this year's spec. How could they possibly make it worse than last year's engine?
Tyre Smoke said:
But if they weren't sandbagging, McLaren seem to have taken last year's technology and made it even less quick and even less reliable!
Surely they spent a good proportion of last season at Honda building and testing a power unit to this year's spec. How could they possibly make it worse than last year's engine?
Because the Honda execs are a little bit like the North Korean leadership.... its their vision on no vision! Surely they spent a good proportion of last season at Honda building and testing a power unit to this year's spec. How could they possibly make it worse than last year's engine?
Dr Z said:
patmahe said:
When do the teams start turning up for a GP? I'm getting twitchy waiting for the race at weekend and seeing photos of transporters in Melbourne might just keep me in check 
They are at the circuit!Photos from here: http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/fotos-...
HustleRussell said:
Sauber bringing up the rear IMO, HAAS to have a difficult second season and finish 9th.
As for quick in the midfield- I reckon the Williams will shade the Force India this year but the Torro Rossos will be right back up there IMO after a couple of forgettable seasons with old Ferrari engines.
I guess the only good news is that all 10 teams are assured a payout which might help financial predictability for this year?As for quick in the midfield- I reckon the Williams will shade the Force India this year but the Torro Rossos will be right back up there IMO after a couple of forgettable seasons with old Ferrari engines.
8/9/10 to be battled out by Haas/Sauber/McLaren?
Vaud said:
I guess the only good news is that all 10 teams are assured a payout which might help financial predictability for this year?
8/9/10 to be battled out by Haas/Sauber/McLaren?
8/9/10 to be battled out by Haas/Sauber/McLaren?
I am optimistic that McLaren will improve dramatically in season but who other than Sauber and HAAS are they likely to beat? The works Renault entry will be significantly improved so they and the rest should surely have a decent chance of scoring championship points with at least one car from the get go? ash73 said:
Max for pole, Ricciardo to win the race and 2017 WDC. Roll on Sunday, looking forward to it!
I'm quite excited by the new regulations as well as the new bosses. Their YouTube presence seems a positive - despite some taking the mickey on here - and one can hope for some serious innovations, rather than just catching up with the turn of the millennium. Mind you, F1's a bit like Ferrari; don't believe the pre-season hype.
Blackpuddin said:
Wonder if anyone at McLaren has talked to Ricardo about them doing a nice little F1 engine? Given that they build most of their road car engines.
Neither McLaren or Ricardo have the money to compete. They would be 4/5 years behind Mercedes without the resources or technical knowledge. Revamping an old Nissan design for the road is a whole different ballgame to a modern F1 engine. ash73 said:
Max for pole, Ricciardo to win the race and 2017 WDC. Roll on Sunday, looking forward to it!
I don't think Marko would let that happen, Max is the blue eyed boy for the moment. Getting very excited for this race this year. Even more so because I live just around the corner from the track. Off for a morning run to see if i can do a lap around it before the close it all up for the day.
Anyone else on this forum from Melbourne or in Melbourne planning on going and seeing it??
Anyone else on this forum from Melbourne or in Melbourne planning on going and seeing it??
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