The Official 2019 Australian Grand Prix Thread **SPOILERS**
Discussion
Mercedes turned up at testing with a car on day one then tried a different one on day two. This is not confidence inspiring.
From that it is not an unreasonable extrapolation to say that they are unlikely to come to Adelaide with a race-winning car.
As for Ferrari; it's axiomatic that you should not trust their testing times.
Should be an interesting Friday. Will the Honda engine last? How fast is Leclerc in comparison to Vettel? Has Ricciardo chosen well? Who is going to complain about the tyres first?
From that it is not an unreasonable extrapolation to say that they are unlikely to come to Adelaide with a race-winning car.
As for Ferrari; it's axiomatic that you should not trust their testing times.
Should be an interesting Friday. Will the Honda engine last? How fast is Leclerc in comparison to Vettel? Has Ricciardo chosen well? Who is going to complain about the tyres first?
Derek Smith said:
Who is going to complain about the tyres first?
Too late on that one, Hamilton already has. Too hard apparently, even though themed range C3 tyre is almost exactly the same tyre as last year's thin gauge 'soft', which he used to great effect on numerous occasions. I am remembering Hamilton's out of the blue pole at last season's Aus GP. The Ferrari was the quicker car. He really made the difference there, producing a blistering lap which completely defied the run of form so far that weekend.
Vettel suggested he must've used a different engine mode for Q3 compared to Q2. Hamilton denied this.
Derek Smith said:
Mercedes turned up at testing with a car on day one then tried a different one on day two. This is not confidence inspiring.
From that it is not an unreasonable extrapolation to say that they are unlikely to come to Adelaide with a race-winning car.
As for Ferrari; it's axiomatic that you should not trust their testing times.
Should be an interesting Friday. Will the Honda engine last? How fast is Leclerc in comparison to Vettel? Has Ricciardo chosen well? Who is going to complain about the tyres first?
If they turn up to Adelaide, it doesn't matter what car they bring as they'll be completely fFrom that it is not an unreasonable extrapolation to say that they are unlikely to come to Adelaide with a race-winning car.
As for Ferrari; it's axiomatic that you should not trust their testing times.
Should be an interesting Friday. Will the Honda engine last? How fast is Leclerc in comparison to Vettel? Has Ricciardo chosen well? Who is going to complain about the tyres first?
ked for the Australian GP.
Europa1 said:
Derek Smith said:
Mercedes turned up at testing with a car on day one then tried a different one on day two. This is not confidence inspiring.
From that it is not an unreasonable extrapolation to say that they are unlikely to come to Adelaide with a race-winning car.
As for Ferrari; it's axiomatic that you should not trust their testing times.
Should be an interesting Friday. Will the Honda engine last? How fast is Leclerc in comparison to Vettel? Has Ricciardo chosen well? Who is going to complain about the tyres first?
If they turn up to Adelaide, it doesn't matter what car they bring as they'll be completely fFrom that it is not an unreasonable extrapolation to say that they are unlikely to come to Adelaide with a race-winning car.
As for Ferrari; it's axiomatic that you should not trust their testing times.
Should be an interesting Friday. Will the Honda engine last? How fast is Leclerc in comparison to Vettel? Has Ricciardo chosen well? Who is going to complain about the tyres first?
ked for the Australian GP.
Every year the same excited anticipation of the first F1 race of the season. Should I have subscribed to some service or other to follow the season?
Step forward the Australian F1 race .By the end of the weekend you have dispelled that nervous nagging doubt and are glad you didn't tie yourself to some long term arrangement.
At some stage liberty will look at the first race of the season and figure something more likely to generate
the buzz and momentum is needed.
Even Bahrain with their horrible human rights record is a better start and similar to qatar with the motogp
gives F1 the glitz and shine to get paying customers onboard before they realize it was a mistake a few races in with a borefest like the Aus race lol.
Step forward the Australian F1 race .By the end of the weekend you have dispelled that nervous nagging doubt and are glad you didn't tie yourself to some long term arrangement.
At some stage liberty will look at the first race of the season and figure something more likely to generate
the buzz and momentum is needed.
Even Bahrain with their horrible human rights record is a better start and similar to qatar with the motogp
gives F1 the glitz and shine to get paying customers onboard before they realize it was a mistake a few races in with a borefest like the Aus race lol.
I'm really looking forward to this race and season in general. Also upgraded to Sky Q and 4K TV so will watch the season in glorious detail. 
So many plots and sub-plots to watch out for:
- Ferrari - Will Vettel perform better with the changes in Ferrari management so he is not managing the team from the cockpit and can concentrate on the driving. How will CLC do after a great rookie season and so much potential to surprise?
- Mercedes - Will the team still be able to have the motivation to stay at the top after 5 championships in a row? Will Hamilton be able to hit new heights and will Bottas go another season without winning a race or will Ocon replace him during the season?
- Red Bull - How long till Horner complains about Honda? Will it be the same old "got the best car but the worst engine" excuse. Verstappen Vs Gasly - will it get ugly if Gasly is as fast or faster then Verstappen?
- Renault - Will they develop a winning car and engine package? Hulkenberg Vs Ricciardo battle will be closer then some people think.
- McLaren - Will they instantly be much faster and better now Alonso has left or will Alonso return at some point in the season? Will all the Lando Norris hype be justified? How will Sainz Jr handle being team leader?
- Racing Point - How will the administration and new group buyout last year affect the development of their race car? Will Stroll be as close to Perez as Ocon was? Will they favour Stroll as it's technically his team?
- Haas - How long will Rich Energy last as the title sponsor for the team? How many times will Grosjean crash on the 1st lap taking out a few others? How many drivers will get angered by Magnussen's driving (Suck my balls!).
- Alfa Romeo - How well will Kimi do without the Ferrari pressure? Will the car surprise and be nearer the Ferrari then the backmarkers? Giovanazzi to surprise and be the top rookie for the year?
- Toro Rosso - How close to the main Red Bull team will they be with similar chassis and engine? Will we get 2015 Kvyat or 2016 Kvyat? How will Albon get on as he is the least experienced driver on the grid?
- Williams - Will they make the 107% qualifying cut off? How will Kubica cope with an actual race under pressure? Will George Russell be able to show any of his talent off? How long until Claire Williams resigns?
Also the new wing changes and will they affect the racing? How will the new driver weight rules affect the heavy drivers that were penalised before? The extra point for fastest lap will hopefully spice up the last part of the races as well.
So many things that have me hooked and I can't wait for 1st practice!
So many plots and sub-plots to watch out for:
- Ferrari - Will Vettel perform better with the changes in Ferrari management so he is not managing the team from the cockpit and can concentrate on the driving. How will CLC do after a great rookie season and so much potential to surprise?
- Mercedes - Will the team still be able to have the motivation to stay at the top after 5 championships in a row? Will Hamilton be able to hit new heights and will Bottas go another season without winning a race or will Ocon replace him during the season?
- Red Bull - How long till Horner complains about Honda? Will it be the same old "got the best car but the worst engine" excuse. Verstappen Vs Gasly - will it get ugly if Gasly is as fast or faster then Verstappen?
- Renault - Will they develop a winning car and engine package? Hulkenberg Vs Ricciardo battle will be closer then some people think.
- McLaren - Will they instantly be much faster and better now Alonso has left or will Alonso return at some point in the season? Will all the Lando Norris hype be justified? How will Sainz Jr handle being team leader?
- Racing Point - How will the administration and new group buyout last year affect the development of their race car? Will Stroll be as close to Perez as Ocon was? Will they favour Stroll as it's technically his team?
- Haas - How long will Rich Energy last as the title sponsor for the team? How many times will Grosjean crash on the 1st lap taking out a few others? How many drivers will get angered by Magnussen's driving (Suck my balls!).
- Alfa Romeo - How well will Kimi do without the Ferrari pressure? Will the car surprise and be nearer the Ferrari then the backmarkers? Giovanazzi to surprise and be the top rookie for the year?
- Toro Rosso - How close to the main Red Bull team will they be with similar chassis and engine? Will we get 2015 Kvyat or 2016 Kvyat? How will Albon get on as he is the least experienced driver on the grid?
- Williams - Will they make the 107% qualifying cut off? How will Kubica cope with an actual race under pressure? Will George Russell be able to show any of his talent off? How long until Claire Williams resigns?
Also the new wing changes and will they affect the racing? How will the new driver weight rules affect the heavy drivers that were penalised before? The extra point for fastest lap will hopefully spice up the last part of the races as well.
So many things that have me hooked and I can't wait for 1st practice!
Supersam83 said:
I'm really looking forward to this race and season in general. Also upgraded to Sky Q and 4K TV so will watch the season in glorious detail.
Yes, the UHD is cracking, some of the slow mo shots around corners etc and just the detail on the cars and so on is totally worth watching.I’m interested in quite a number of things for this season. Many have already been discussed. IMO Albon may surprise. I think McLaren will take a step up. Williams won’t be as bad as we think.
Ferrari look good but Mercedes will prevail.
For Melbourne - Hamilton will stick it on pole but there will be carnage at the start.
Max will be leading with 3 laps to go until Dan pushes him off with a late lunge and take first in front of his home crowd.
(Some of the above may not happen)
Ferrari look good but Mercedes will prevail.
For Melbourne - Hamilton will stick it on pole but there will be carnage at the start.
Max will be leading with 3 laps to go until Dan pushes him off with a late lunge and take first in front of his home crowd.
(Some of the above may not happen)
Fundoreen said:
Every year the same excited anticipation of the first F1 race of the season. Should I have subscribed to some service or other to follow the season?
Step forward the Australian F1 race .By the end of the weekend you have dispelled that nervous nagging doubt and are glad you didn't tie yourself to some long term arrangement.
At some stage liberty will look at the first race of the season and figure something more likely to generate
the buzz and momentum is needed.
Even Bahrain with their horrible human rights record is a better start and similar to qatar with the motogp
gives F1 the glitz and shine to get paying customers onboard before they realize it was a mistake a few races in with a borefest like the Aus race lol.
Liberty have reported an increase in viewers and attendance for the last 2 years I think. I personally agree Melbourne isn't a great first venue imo... But I don't know why it ended up being just that, perhaps there is a good reason.Step forward the Australian F1 race .By the end of the weekend you have dispelled that nervous nagging doubt and are glad you didn't tie yourself to some long term arrangement.
At some stage liberty will look at the first race of the season and figure something more likely to generate
the buzz and momentum is needed.
Even Bahrain with their horrible human rights record is a better start and similar to qatar with the motogp
gives F1 the glitz and shine to get paying customers onboard before they realize it was a mistake a few races in with a borefest like the Aus race lol.
On a positive note I think this year's opening race will be dramatic regardless of track. So many rookies and other young drivers looking to prove themselves in new teams. Combine that with the driver's looking to test just how much easier overtaking might be, and I think there will be number of ambitious on track moves.
Or with all the lesser experienced drivers, perhaps just a rookie mistake leading to a turn one pile up! Although I'd personally like to see all the cars show their performance ahead of any carnage.
The worst thing about AUS as the season opener is it gives the internet moaners carte blanche to bore the tits off us regular fans by wining about how the whole season and F1 is "broken" 
even though any normal fan expects a bit of a precession interluded by a few retirements and balls up by those who haven't had a good pre season (HAAS, I'm looking at you!).
even though any normal fan expects a bit of a precession interluded by a few retirements and balls up by those who haven't had a good pre season (HAAS, I'm looking at you!).LaurasOtherHalf said:
The worst thing about AUS as the season opener is it gives the internet moaners carte blanche to bore the tits off us regular fans by wining about how the whole season and F1 is "broken" even though any normal fan expects a bit of a precession interluded by a few retirements and balls up by those who haven't had a good pre season (HAAS, I'm looking at you!).
No no no. With the new aero and enhanced DRS it's a fact that the order of every car will change entirely each lap. Except for Williams. even though any normal fan expects a bit of a precession interluded by a few retirements and balls up by those who haven't had a good pre season (HAAS, I'm looking at you!).M3ax said:
Derek Smith said:
Mercedes turned up at testing with a car on day one then tried a different one on day two...
This is not quite the case Derek.Derek Smith said:
I haven't completely read my copy of Autosport yet, but they seemed to be suggesting that the aero was radically different on the second day.
They will have developed a number of 'likely to work in theory's parts and would have made daily changes most likely.Are you sure that autosport aren't talking about the week two car though? That was different enough to be called a 'new car'. In reality the week one car was a basic version built in November and representative of where they were in development then. They did it to ensure they had a car they had time to fully Dyno test, solve any issues and be ready for week one. It was essentially a safety net car, as they also carried on developing further on that base car to the last possible moment, which is the updated version they swapped to in week two. They basically bought themselves an extra few weeks of development time, as they knew they would have a respectable car in time for testing no matter if there were delays in getting the 'even better' one out the door. If you have the basic car ready early, you can risk development of the follow up for several weeks after the other teams would have to play safe and stop learning, start building.
That's what £400m buys you! The ability to develop multiple evolutions of a car in a single pre season.
At the other end, there is Williams, who had the budget to develop just one car, so developed apparently 3/4 of a car and then arrived late.
This is why Williams think budget caps are good, and Mercedes and Ferrari do not.
TheDeuce said:
They will have developed a number of 'likely to work in theory's parts and would have made daily changes most likely.
Are you sure that autosport aren't talking about the week two car though? That was different enough to be called a 'new car'. In reality the week one car was a basic version built in November and representative of where they were in development then. They did it to ensure they had a car they had time to fully Dyno test, solve any issues and be ready for week one. It was essentially a safety net car, as they also carried on developing further on that base car to the last possible moment, which is the updated version they swapped to in week two. They basically bought themselves an extra few weeks of development time, as they knew they would have a respectable car in time for testing no matter if there were delays in getting the 'even better' one out the door. If you have the basic car ready early, you can risk development of the follow up for several weeks after the other teams would have to play safe and stop learning, start building.
That's what £400m buys you! The ability to develop multiple evolutions of a car in a single pre season.
At the other end, there is Williams, who had the budget to develop just one car, so developed apparently 3/4 of a car and then arrived late.
This is why Williams think budget caps are good, and Mercedes and Ferrari do not.
You write right. Thanks for pointing it out. Week 2.Are you sure that autosport aren't talking about the week two car though? That was different enough to be called a 'new car'. In reality the week one car was a basic version built in November and representative of where they were in development then. They did it to ensure they had a car they had time to fully Dyno test, solve any issues and be ready for week one. It was essentially a safety net car, as they also carried on developing further on that base car to the last possible moment, which is the updated version they swapped to in week two. They basically bought themselves an extra few weeks of development time, as they knew they would have a respectable car in time for testing no matter if there were delays in getting the 'even better' one out the door. If you have the basic car ready early, you can risk development of the follow up for several weeks after the other teams would have to play safe and stop learning, start building.
That's what £400m buys you! The ability to develop multiple evolutions of a car in a single pre season.
At the other end, there is Williams, who had the budget to develop just one car, so developed apparently 3/4 of a car and then arrived late.
This is why Williams think budget caps are good, and Mercedes and Ferrari do not.
Even in their winning days, Frank W was unwilling to spend money. In the days of active suspension I remember him railing against Ferrari for having new reservoirs for each race for each car. Williams recycled theirs. I would have thought he'd be pleased that a competitor wasted money.
Derek Smith said:
You write right. Thanks for pointing it out. Week 2.
Even in their winning days, Frank W was unwilling to spend money. In the days of active suspension I remember him railing against Ferrari for having new reservoirs for each race for each car. Williams recycled theirs. I would have thought he'd be pleased that a competitor wasted money.
Or maybe just irritated Ferrari could afford any level of luxury as even then, I imagine Williams worked with a little less.. From day one Ferrari had a team funded by its road car sales which in turn promoted further sales of its road cars, a pretty decent setup! Add to that the Marlboro sponsorship that became so synonymous with Ferarri, it was a sponsorship deal they could guarantee indefinitely - even now, albeit less directly.Even in their winning days, Frank W was unwilling to spend money. In the days of active suspension I remember him railing against Ferrari for having new reservoirs for each race for each car. Williams recycled theirs. I would have thought he'd be pleased that a competitor wasted money.
Frank however, he just had whatever sponsors he could convince, and the big ones could only be convinced if the performance was good enough to raise headlines and get large amounts of TV exposure. So you can see why it's proven all but impossible for the team to survive a long dry spell without winning a championship. Or now, even a race. Barely even a handful of points in fact.
I would say money worries are everything at Williams now. But there is the unfortunate truth that last season they were beaten by three teams with an even smaller budget, and it looks to be the same this year. So perhaps Williams are just not setup to perform well enough below a certain sized budget. It's very difficult to downsize any large business and have it remain efficient.
TheDeuce said:
Or maybe just irritated Ferrari could afford any level of luxury as even then, I imagine Williams worked with a little less.. From day one Ferrari had a team funded by its road car sales which in turn promoted further sales of its road cars, a pretty decent setup! Add to that the Marlboro sponsorship that became so synonymous with Ferarri, it was a sponsorship deal they could guarantee indefinitely - even now, albeit less directly.
Frank however, he just had whatever sponsors he could convince, and the big ones could only be convinced if the performance was good enough to raise headlines and get large amounts of TV exposure. So you can see why it's proven all but impossible for the team to survive a long dry spell without winning a championship. Or now, even a race. Barely even a handful of points in fact.
I would say money worries are everything at Williams now. But there is the unfortunate truth that last season they were beaten by three teams with an even smaller budget, and it looks to be the same this year. So perhaps Williams are just not setup to perform well enough below a certain sized budget. It's very difficult to downsize any large business and have it remain efficient.
HAAS surprised me. I'm used to being wrong so being wrong doesn't surprise me any more. But HAAS! Their Ozzy GP was full of incident, but their qually was magnificent. Race, not so much, at least when they came in for tyres.Frank however, he just had whatever sponsors he could convince, and the big ones could only be convinced if the performance was good enough to raise headlines and get large amounts of TV exposure. So you can see why it's proven all but impossible for the team to survive a long dry spell without winning a championship. Or now, even a race. Barely even a handful of points in fact.
I would say money worries are everything at Williams now. But there is the unfortunate truth that last season they were beaten by three teams with an even smaller budget, and it looks to be the same this year. So perhaps Williams are just not setup to perform well enough below a certain sized budget. It's very difficult to downsize any large business and have it remain efficient.
Their two drivers were less than class of the field. I seem to remember that they had 1/12th the staff of the big boys. They should have had one fewer. Grosjean was embarrassing at times. That spin of his still sticks in my mind, as it does of some of the drivers, particularly those he took out.
Let's hope for something equally surprising this weekend. That's high qually rather than moronic spins in the path of half the field.
Derek Smith said:
HAAS surprised me. I'm used to being wrong so being wrong doesn't surprise me any more. But HAAS! Their Ozzy GP was full of incident, but their qually was magnificent. Race, not so much, at least when they came in for tyres.
Their two drivers were less than class of the field. I seem to remember that they had 1/12th the staff of the big boys. They should have had one fewer. Grosjean was embarrassing at times. That spin of his still sticks in my mind, as it does of some of the drivers, particularly those he took out.
Let's hope for something equally surprising this weekend. That's high qually rather than moronic spins in the path of half the field.
Hope so. I mean, of course, qualifying at the first weekend of the season is always interesting, it's when we find out the truths behind weeks of speculation following testing in Barcelona!Their two drivers were less than class of the field. I seem to remember that they had 1/12th the staff of the big boys. They should have had one fewer. Grosjean was embarrassing at times. That spin of his still sticks in my mind, as it does of some of the drivers, particularly those he took out.
Let's hope for something equally surprising this weekend. That's high qually rather than moronic spins in the path of half the field.
I would be sad to see a race ruined by an early moment of silliness. I'm sure 'something' questionable could well happen through turn one but hopefully it won't result in a wasted race for half the grid.
I am expecting some daftness at some point though. So many very young rookies - and they do tend to suffer errors of judgement. And the driver's in new teams, or vettel with his new team mate.. lots of drivers looking to make a point, and probably willing to be quite bold to make that point.
I may eat my words, but I'll say it here now: I'll be very surprised if there aren't a few incidents in this race.
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