The Official Australian GP Thread 2013***SPOILERS***

[Life Saab Itch]

A new season starts. Only a couple of big driving lineup changes.

The questions to be answered (as I see them)

• Have the Red Bulls been sand-bagging, or are they off to a steady start for the season?
• Has Alonso got a car beneath him that can see him challenge for podiums from the off?
• Did Mercedes remove all the sandbags for the final test?
• Will McLaren have understood their car enough to fight for pole and the win in Oz?
• How rusty will Sutil be? Will he show up DiResta?
• Button v Perez. This is possibly the most interesting inter-team battle this season. Maybe with the exception of Williams.
• Just how well placed is Frank and Patrick's faith in the unknown Bottas? Will he match Maldonado?
• Can the Williams get another win this season?
• With testing times being so close between the top 9 teams, will that show in a racing situation?
• Will Webber be allowed to outperform Vettel?
• How well will Rosberg fair against Hamilton?
• Will Massa be able to continue his good form from the end of last season?
• Was it worth Hulkenburg making the sideways move to Sauber?
• Can Kimi win again? Will he be Mr Consistency again?

Are we going to have a sweepstake on who is first out in the race?



Anyway, crack open a cold one, put another shrimp on the barbie and enjoy the show!

[Dr Z]

The long wait is finally over! So many questions, so little answers. Can hardly wait to find out who has made the most of the winter.

[KaraK]

You just know some of these are going to come back to haunt me but here we go...

Life Saab Itch said:

• Have the Red Bulls been sand-bagging, or are they off to a steady start for the season?

They'll be impressive again - IIRC they've never shown spectacular pace in testing. Gary Anderson reckons they have the most downforce and he generally knows what he's talking about.

Life Saab Itch said:

• Has Alonso got a car beneath him that can see him challenge for podiums from the off?

I reckon so - maybe not a winner yet but podiums have to be possible in Alonso's hands IMO

Life Saab Itch said:

• Did Mercedes remove all the sandbags for the final test?

I think the Merc will be quick on some tracks but not others (no change there)

Life Saab Itch said:

• Will McLaren have understood their car enough to fight for pole and the win in Oz?

Possibly - they seem to have form for hitting a decent setup in OZ and if JB gets it right on the Friday I think he'll be a contender for the win

Life Saab Itch said:

• How rusty will Sutil be? Will he show up DiResta?

I think so - DiResta will grumble about misc things some more but he'll continue to just be average

Life Saab Itch said:

• Button v Perez. This is possibly the most interesting inter-team battle this season. Maybe with the exception of Williams.

The first half of the season will belong to JB IMO - with the odd good result from Perez but plenty of schoolboy errors as well.

Life Saab Itch said:

• Just how well placed is Frank and Patrick's faith in the unknown Bottas? Will he match Maldonado?

I still don't rate Maldonado but this will be interesting to watch

Life Saab Itch said:

• Can the Williams get another win this season?

Possible - but I think it will be as a result of unreliability or a crash from a top team

Life Saab Itch said:

• With testing times being so close between the top 9 teams, will that show in a racing situation?

Fingers crossed!

Life Saab Itch said:

• How well will Rosberg fair against Hamilton?

There is no denying that Rosberg has speed but for me over the last couple of years he's looked like he couldn't be bothered on a Sunday, I think Hamilton's arrival will be a wake up call and he'll have to either step up or get destroyed

Life Saab Itch said:

• Will Massa be able to continue his good form from the end of last season?

If the Ferrari is good in Melbourne I think he'll carry the momentum - if it proves difficult I think he'll go back into his shell

Life Saab Itch said:

• Was it worth Hulkenburg making the sideways move to Sauber?

Yes - Sauber aren't any faster really but the team looks healthier IMHO

Life Saab Itch said:

• Can Kimi win again? Will he be Mr Consistency again?

Leave Kimi alone - he knows what he's doing

[mchammer89]

Can't really disagree with any of those ^

[Mermaid]

A downer for Williams.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[DanielSan]

I've had a 10er on Kimi to win the championship this year, I think he'll get another couple of wins and be mr consistent again. For Aus I've ha each way bets on Alonso/Hamilton to win the race. If the Merc will win it'll be early on before they move development into next years car.

[hman]

I'm flying in from the UK to see this one!

[HustleRussell]

KaraK said:

Life Saab Itch said:

Can Kimi win again? Will he be Mr Consistency again?

Leave Kimi alone - he knows what he's doing

Edited by HustleRussell on Friday 8th March 16:45

[cosicave]

So, just one week to go now, eh? Well, it’s probably a bit early for more than a guess at how events in Melbourne will pan out; but I’ll offer a few rough and random thoughts.

• I do not believe Red Bull have shown their hand but this is not likely to be their strongest event. Even so, the car may still be good enough to win! I expect them to be more in command as the season progresses through high-downforce circuits but in the mean time, Melbourne could present a realistic opportunity for others to steal a march. Something I’d really like to see is a good performance from Webber at his home Grand Prix but rarely do politics help everyone in equal measure.

• Massa seems his usual pre-season, upbeat and optimistic self but we should bear in mind Ferrari’s philosophy was essentially used as a Red Bull blueprint (see above). Despite his unfailing – and very admirable – enthusiasm, I cannot see him out-racing Alonso over a season, even if he gets the chance. Speaking of Alonso, I’ve found his recent, negative comments to be at odds with what I’ve seen of the car – which I see as a not-so-subtle attempt to wrong-foot his opponents right from the word ‘GO!’.

• Lotus ought logically to be my next mention but they appear to have a few spanners left over in the works. However, I believe it is a fundamentally quick car which may have more than an engine in common with Red Bull. Räikkönen has just the right sort of mentality for this team and now that he’s properly re-established himself, he could have one of his best seasons ever. Grosjean is quick but unlike his team-mate is not, in my opinion, a potential World Drivers’ Champ.

• McLaren, true to tradition, appear once again to have produced a good car which will need to get better! When I saw the car unveiled, I muttered “understeer” under my breath and true enough, Button was scratching his head with this unbalanced beast in testing, so he may struggle with set up for quite a while. But I do not see Perez beating him over the season. That said, Melbourne is a circuit JB can drive very well indeed. If he suddenly finds this car’s sweet-spot (unlikely in my view), he might ‘do a JB’ by driving off into the sunset. Then again, this circuit is definitely one where Perez could also leave others open-mouthed – at how far he goes before stopping!

• Mercedes. Hmm. You know what? Rosberg and Hamilton may have one of their best opportunities at this very first race. Their obvious lack of downforce will present less of a problem here and tyre degradation should not be a major concern on Albert Park’s surface. I also think it will be interesting to see whether Hamilton’s presence may provoke a rethink in Mercedes’ 2012 qualifying strategy!

- – -o0o- – -

Also, what will be happening all the way back through the grid? Personally, I’d love to see a resurgent Williams. Of course, looks aren’t everything but this car is pretty pretty! Come to think of it, there are a lot of good lookers this season. The Ferrari is a beauty and so ‘together’ as a sensitive package. McLaren is a sculpture (especially aft of the cockpit) but unfortunately its front end seems a little detached. Lotus looks fabulous too and even Sauber have produced something attractive! [Wonders never cease!] But there is one car that truly stands out from all the rest: no, not the Neweymobile; I’m speaking of the unspeakable green thing at the other end of the grid!

[MGJohn]

I have a hunch, that's all it is, that Mercedes will be a better package this season and do quite well, maybe straight out of the box.

Odds for the first race are beginning to appear on-line :~

Race Winner - Australian F1 Grand Prix - Race Winner

All Bets ~ 15 Mar 01:30 UK

11/4 Sebastian Vettel

5/1 Fernando Alonso

5/1 Jenson Button

7/1 Lewis Hamilton

8/1 Mark Webber

9/1 Kimi Raikkonen

16/1 Sergio Perez

18/1 Romain Grosjean

20/1 Nico Rosberg

33/1 Felipe Massa

50/1 Pastor Maldonado

66/1 Nico Hulkenberg

150/1 Adrian Sutil

150/1 Esteban Gutierrez

150/1 Paul Di Resta

150/1 Valtteri Bottas

200/1 Daniel Ricciardo

200/1 Jean-Eric Vergne

1000/1 Charles Pic

1000/1 Giedo van der Garde

1000/1 Jules Bianchi

1000/1 Max Chilton

1/5 Odds Place 1,2,3

Skinny odds at this early stage as understandably, the bookies do not want to catch a cold.

My advice before parting with your hard to come by, is wait until we have something more to go on come tomorrow week and the following event. Having said that, I've thrown a few quid away, each way on both Mercedes-Benz drivers for the WDC this season. Their odds as well as those for the WCC have tumbled more recently.

It would be nice to know what substantial bets have been placed with the bookies before a wheel has been turned in anger. Someone within the teams must know something more substantial than out there in the open and I know the teams are partial to having a good wager on their cars and drivers occasionally.

[Mermaid]

Kimi for WDC for 2013

[Life Saab Itch]

cosicave said:

*McLaren-snip-When I saw the car unveiled, I muttered “understeer” under my breath

[anonymous-user]

It's academic anyway, Fingers will scoop the title once again

[lbc]

slopes said:

It's academic anyway, Fingers will scoop the title once again

What title did you have in mind?

Finger of the year?

Knob of the year?

[Leithen]

lbc said:

slopes said:

It's academic anyway, Fingers will scoop the title once again

What title did you have in mind?

Finger of the year?

Knob of the year?

He'll sweep the board.

[Dr Z]

Life Saab Itch said:

cosicave said:

*McLaren-snip-When I saw the car unveiled, I muttered “understeer” under my breath

Man, those are some serious mystical powers!

...I'm having a serious case of Sarcasm Detector Failure here!

[Aizle]

Dr Z said:

Man, those are some serious mystical powers!

...I'm having a serious case of Sarcasm Detector Failure here!

LSI is laughing hysterically that that poster thinks they can predict a cars fine handling characteristics from a car unveiling.

If he has mystic powers like that then he needs to work in car design or something.

[cosicave]

Well, thanks guys!
Of course, mystical powers weren't required to guess who'd be first to bite…

[vonuber]

I expect a good showing from the mercs; I think this will be an interesting battle through the year.
However I expect they will flatter to deceive like last year, albeit closer to the front.

[anonymous-user]

Leithen said:

lbc said:

slopes said:

It's academic anyway, Fingers will scoop the title once again

What title did you have in mind?

Finger of the year?

Knob of the year?

He'll sweep the board.

I am especially looking forward to the "Humourless tt of The Year" awards, hearing him shout 'Yes!!! That's what i'm talking about' as he makes his way on stage to recieve his gold winged c**t will be good fun

Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 9th March 14:56