The Official 2019 Australian Grand Prix Thread **SPOILERS**
Discussion
Difficult to pass around albert park in an equal car as we know but is instantly forgotten by everyone.
Even finishing 2nd to Bottas is a result for hamilton as they thought they were behind ferrari after testing.
Commentards in the sky box expecting ferrari to tell vettel to move aside just because leclerc has caught up. Same with Kvyat because gastly has caught up.
They are all racing for position in the first race of the season .
So all the usual stuff.
Even finishing 2nd to Bottas is a result for hamilton as they thought they were behind ferrari after testing.
Commentards in the sky box expecting ferrari to tell vettel to move aside just because leclerc has caught up. Same with Kvyat because gastly has caught up.
They are all racing for position in the first race of the season .
So all the usual stuff.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
Is it not the case that the Melbourne track is just a bit strange?
Perhaps after qualifying at the next GP in Bahrain will give a better idea of raw pace.
Yep. It's an awful track for overtaking. Has always been like this. If it wasn't the first race of the year it would be getting a load of stick for how rubbish it is. Perhaps after qualifying at the next GP in Bahrain will give a better idea of raw pace.
Just like pre-season testing is no real indicator of actual race pace, so the first race is no real indicator of a season. There are some good and bad indications for some teams, though, certainly.
I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
ELUSIVEJIM said:
Is it not the case that the Melbourne track is just a bit strange?
Perhaps after qualifying at the next GP in Bahrain will give a better idea of raw pace.
It's a quirky track that isn't representative of a car's core pace. For Ferrari it was a weekend of struggling to unlock the potential that was so easily uncovered in pre-season testing. The car's not the complete turd it's being reported as, it just appears they're in a similar situation to Merc a couple of years ago when they had the 'diva' issue.Perhaps after qualifying at the next GP in Bahrain will give a better idea of raw pace.
It would be nice to think this season will be competitive at the sharp end, and the sight of Merc being half a minute up the road doesn't become the norm. If that were to be the case, I'd hope they at least be so far clear of the field that the race director can concentrate on the gaggle of midfield cars jostling, in what looks like the tightest spread of inter team performance for many years.
I'm curious about the reported damage to Hamilton's car. Seeing as how it was slow (compared with Botas) from lights out, is the team suggesting that the damage already existed while the car was in the garage and it went unnoticed? Or did he pick it up on the way to the grid and the car sat on the track being fussed over for 15-20 minutes without anyone spotting the damage?
Cold said:
I'm curious about the reported damage to Hamilton's car. Seeing as how it was slow (compared with Botas) from lights out, is the team suggesting that the damage already existed while the car was in the garage and it went unnoticed? Or did he pick it up on the way to the grid and the car sat on the track being fussed over for 15-20 minutes without anyone spotting the damage?
He hit debris from Ricciardo's or Kubica's race start dramas circa lap 4. 
The way I understood it, the relative slowness on the first few laps was just running in dirty air, then he picked up damage on lap-4. swisstoni said:
Just like pre-season testing is no real indicator of actual race pace, so the first race is no real indicator of a season. There are some good and bad indications for some teams, though, certainly.
I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
Leclerc needs to improve his sectors during qualifying and races.I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
Very fast in but is prone to a few little mistakes. This happened even when he was at Sauber.
The issue now is these small mistakes will be noticed more now that he is in the Ferrari.
It was a bit like Q3 which he stated was his own fault.
In normal circumstances, he would have been 4th ahead of Vettel which must be considered a good race.
Just looked like Ferrari had set up issues which seemed to be confirmed by Toto Wolf.
How he knows is another matter.
London424 said:
Yep. It's an awful track for overtaking. Has always been like this. If it wasn't the first race of the year it would be getting a load of stick for how rubbish it is.
Agree that it's a poor track.The Adelaide Street Circuit was great back in the day especially when it rained
swisstoni said:
Just like pre-season testing is no real indicator of actual race pace, so the first race is no real indicator of a season. There are some good and bad indications for some teams, though, certainly.
I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
Yes and no. Apparently every time there has been a team with the cars position 1-2 in the first race then the team has gone on to win the WCC, and the driver in 1st has won the WDC.I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
ELUSIVEJIM said:
Is it not the case that the Melbourne track is just a bit strange?
Perhaps after qualifying at the next GP in Bahrain will give a better idea of raw pace.
I'd agree with this, Mercedes have been stupidly fast in Melbourne for a while, they were comfortably fastest last year, just a pit cock up cost them the race. Perhaps after qualifying at the next GP in Bahrain will give a better idea of raw pace.
NRS said:
swisstoni said:
Just like pre-season testing is no real indicator of actual race pace, so the first race is no real indicator of a season. There are some good and bad indications for some teams, though, certainly.
I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
Yes and no. Apparently every time there has been a team with the cars position 1-2 in the first race then the team has gone on to win the WCC, and the driver in 1st has won the WDC.I expect Ferrari to be 'back' for the next race and for Red Bull to be making it difficult for all comers, all season.
What interests me is whether LeClerc can maintain his pressure on Vettel. If it looks like he is genuinely faster in early races I can't see Ferrari being willing to spare Vettel's blushes (unless contractually obliged to).
But it's also true that every single 1-2 win at Melbourne has resulted in the same team winning WCC and the leading driver winning WDC. It's happened 7 times.
Its not hard to see why either. Getting both cars to podium on the first race is a sign that under their first race conditions, nothing went wrong, no flaws in the design of the car and, obviously, great speed.
What's interesting is that the driver to win the 1-2 has always gone on to win the WDC.. this isnt surprising as most are number 1 drivers given an edge by the team wherever possible all season. But in this case, bottas won it on merit to a degree, but also who knows what would have happened if Hamilton had no damage? Maybe this year it won't be the Melbourne winner that takes the WDC, or maybe.. it could happen..
ELUSIVEJIM said:
London424 said:
Yep. It's an awful track for overtaking. Has always been like this. If it wasn't the first race of the year it would be getting a load of stick for how rubbish it is.
Agree that it's a poor track.The Adelaide Street Circuit was great back in the day especially when it rained
Craigyp79 said:
ELUSIVEJIM said:
London424 said:
Yep. It's an awful track for overtaking. Has always been like this. If it wasn't the first race of the year it would be getting a load of stick for how rubbish it is.
Agree that it's a poor track.The Adelaide Street Circuit was great back in the day especially when it rained
AW111 said:
Any details on the Haas wheel fiasco?
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/142190/haas-whee...I hadn't realised vettel and leclerc had made contact yesterday. Amazingly the rear tyre clips the endplate of the front wing without breaking it off.
https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2019/3/AUSTRALIA...
Both very lucky
https://www.formula1.com/en/video/2019/3/AUSTRALIA...
Both very lucky
Late to the party, but I though the race showed some real promise for the season.
- It looks like Hamilton will have a proper challenge from the other side of the Merc garage again, Bottas drove perfectly on Sunday.
- Norris was superb in qualifying, beating your team mate has to be the aim of every driver but he showed no fear and drove well beyond the potential for the car, an epic debut even if his race-craft needs to sharpen up when the lights go out. Still an impressive drive.
- Red Bull look to have the Honda lump singing as it should, I feared it would be a Ferrari v Mercedes year with Red Bull being McLaren/Torro Rosso-slow, so I'm pleased to see them properly in the mix and giving Ferrari some real headaches.
- The mid-field looks to be as close as ever, and the new aero looks to have allowed cars to get a little closer so on better circuits we should see more overtaking this year.
Overall, a promising start to the season
- It looks like Hamilton will have a proper challenge from the other side of the Merc garage again, Bottas drove perfectly on Sunday.
- Norris was superb in qualifying, beating your team mate has to be the aim of every driver but he showed no fear and drove well beyond the potential for the car, an epic debut even if his race-craft needs to sharpen up when the lights go out. Still an impressive drive.
- Red Bull look to have the Honda lump singing as it should, I feared it would be a Ferrari v Mercedes year with Red Bull being McLaren/Torro Rosso-slow, so I'm pleased to see them properly in the mix and giving Ferrari some real headaches.
- The mid-field looks to be as close as ever, and the new aero looks to have allowed cars to get a little closer so on better circuits we should see more overtaking this year.
Overall, a promising start to the season
The Surveyor said:
- It looks like Hamilton will have a proper challenge from the other side of the Merc garage again, Bottas drove perfectly on Sunday.
Difficult to tell from one race, but if Bottas has stepped his game up it could turn into a juicy season, if only for the battle of the Mercs. I think some of the Rosberg & Hamilton championship battles were great. The Surveyor said:
- Norris was superb in qualifying, beating your team mate has to be the aim of every driver but he showed no fear and drove well beyond the potential for the car, an epic debut even if his race-craft needs to sharpen up when the lights go out. Still an impressive drive.
I seem to remember him being a good overtaker in F2, so I'd imagine he was probably in 'keep your nose clean for your first race' mode. He was very conservative making in making a pass on Giovinazzi (?), which ultimately probably cost him a points finish.Botras' evil twin looks identical to Valtteri but has a beard, because that's what evil twins do.
Last year, Bottas' evil bearded twin saw the prank kidnap video with Hamilton and Will Smith. He got an idea. Somewhere right now, Bottas is tied to a radiator.
Evil bearded twin got in front and threw some random bits of carbon fibre from the Mercedes garage out onto the track behind him. They hit Hamilton's car and broke the floor, slowing him down. Bearded twin won the race.
Or, the floor of Hamilton's car broke and Bottas won because Mercedes are way ahead.
Last year, Bottas' evil bearded twin saw the prank kidnap video with Hamilton and Will Smith. He got an idea. Somewhere right now, Bottas is tied to a radiator.
Evil bearded twin got in front and threw some random bits of carbon fibre from the Mercedes garage out onto the track behind him. They hit Hamilton's car and broke the floor, slowing him down. Bearded twin won the race.
Or, the floor of Hamilton's car broke and Bottas won because Mercedes are way ahead.
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