2017 Australian Grand Prix

[AndyL]

Winter is over :)

Mercedes have taken out at least a couple of the sandbags in Friday practice. I wouldn't bet on anything other than a Hamilton win at this point.

In the midfield, it looks very close between Williams, Haas, Renault, Torro Rosso and Force India. That could be a real scrap.

And at the rear, If Honda can't sort out their issues then McLaren are going to be relying on Alonso's skills to make sure they finish ahead of Sauber.

The race is 6AM GMT on Sunday. Who's going to be watching it live? Can't quite decide if it's worth the early start at this point.

[Starter]

Winter is over :)

Mercedes have taken out at least a couple of the sandbags in Friday practice. I wouldn't bet on anything other than a Hamilton win at this point.

In the midfield, it looks very close between Williams, Haas, Renault, Torro Rosso and Force India. That could be a real scrap.

And at the rear, If Honda can't sort out their issues then McLaren are going to be relying on Alonso's skills to make sure they finish ahead of Sauber.

The race is 6AM GMT on Sunday. Who's going to be watching it live? Can't quite decide if it's worth the early start at this point.
It starts at 12:30 AM where I am and I will not be watching.

[zako85]

The coverage starts at 11:30pm for me (US Central time), and I will be watching. Having said that, I think that we are entering this season with the poorest possible expectations since like, forever. We don't have Rosberg in a Mercedes car any more to counter-balance Hamilton. So yeah, I have pretty poor expectations for the season, but I still have a hope that Red Bull, Ferrari, or Bottas-Mercedes could occasionally take the fight to Hamilton.

[andyone]

here it will be 9 in the morning i will be watching it live and i cant really wait to see who is the daddy

[Storm]

So all the talk about Ferrari being on par or quicker was just that....as expected actually. Unless now Ferrari are detuning in the practice, I'm not holding my breath


The coverage starts at 11:30pm for me (US Central time), and I will be watching. .
me too and considering I have no life so to speak I'd like to watch..but I don't have a tv either right now..wondering if it's possible to see online (for free!), probably not.

[N. Jones]

I saw a Merc 1-2 today. I guess not much has changed?

[The Black Knight]

Looks like the upgrade package Mercedes brought to Australia is a huge step forward. I think Ferrari will get closer but I wouldn't be surprised to see Hamilton drop down to 1min 20s based on his pace today. Incredible times so far and the cars go through the corners more like they did in the mid noughties. They handle how an F1 car should handle now. The Mercedes front end looks amazing.

I think it will be Hamilton on pole. Don't think Bottas is on his level. Based on what I have seen from Bottas over the last number of years I doubt he ever will be either but will reserve judgement till mid way through the season and he has had time to integrate into the team.

Ferrari may still spring a surprise as they had balance issues today.

[Starter]

Hamilton's starts have been less than stellar throughout his career. There's always the chance that one of the other drivers on the two front rows could beat him to the first corner. Unless there is contact there it won't make much difference on the race outcome though.

[Tazio]

So all the talk about Ferrari being on par or quicker was just that....as expected actually. Unless now Ferrari are detuning in the practice, I'm not holding my breath


me too and considering I have no life so to speak I'd like to watch..but I don't have a tv either right now..wondering if it's possible to see online (for free!), probably not.
Dawg, you should be able to pick up the Sky stream free on:
http://xn--vipbx-p29a.tv/
or
http://ifirstrowus.eu/sport/motosport.html
It will say you need an account but just wait and the broadcast will still play.;)
Broadcast starts at 9:30 west coast time. I'll probably have the sky audio, and Mexican station on TV. Hardly any commercials on Univision Deportes Network.
Be watching all three during the race with a cold Newcastle in reach :sailor:

[Koz]

All in all, it's just another Stroll to the wall.

[Tazio]

Quali gurlz, good P3 for the Scuds. Time to remove all sandbags and see what shakes loose.
Let the season begin! :angel:

[Koz]

Fuel flow problem for McLaren.

Whoa Bottas faster than Hamilton!

[Tazio]

Hamilton spanks back!

[Tazio]

Alright McFred into q2 :dog:

[truefan72]

new year...same mercedes crap strategy.
who decided it was wise to run Hamilton on used US tires and not run him again with fresh ones.
Now he starts the race with tires 4 laps older than his immediate competition.
SMH

______

well FIA made the mistake and Hamilton was actually on new tires
phew!

[Koz]

Naw. Just a mix up, he is on fresh tyres. Vettel though isn't...

I am really disappointed by the drivers who went out in Q1, they all seemed like trier 2 drives.

[Tazio]

Danny boy brings out the red flag

same mercedes crap strategy.
who decided it was wise to run Hamilton on used SS tires and not run him again with fresh ones. Easy fella' they have clarified that Boss was on new US on his fast lap in q2!

[Bagwan]

Holey cow !
Can't wait for the race , now .

Merc and the reds aren't too far apart , team mates are split through the midfield , and everyone looks like they are right on the edge of grip .

My homey Lance rightly said he's a fair piece behind his team mate , Mousa , figuring he should have put it in 12th or 13th .
Given that all and sundry are saying the "snap oversteer" is pretty intense this year , I'm not going to beat him up over slapping the wall so much before the season starts , but he'll have to work that out , and soon .
It seems they stiffened it up to try to get more out of it , but it made it just too edgy .
Flip's experience had him able to adapt .

I'm not sure I've ever seen a more sketchy set of hands on the wheel than Lance's during the onboard footage .
It looked scary as hell .

Honestly , I think starting at the back may be the best thing for him , as , if he can work his way up at least to where he thought he should have quallied , it could give him a whack of confidence .


I can't wait for the race .

[AndyL]

Correction to my original post - race is at 6AM BST, not GMT :)

[BigWorm]

Good quali from Bottas I thought. Overdriving at places on his final lap but ok nonetheless. Grosjean - wow!

[Stan Reid]

It looks like Ferrari has closed the power gap with cars on row 1 and 2 and Hass on row 3. Merc doesn't match that although they are still P1.

[Tazio]

It looks like Ferrari has closed the power gap with cars on row 1 and 2 and Hass on row 3. Merc doesn't match that althought they are still P1.I almost forgot...props to Rogro for putting the Haas on row three, less 1/100 from getting into the 1:23s. It's their best starting position in their short history. Of course if Danny boy hadn't crashed out it probably would be row 4

[Tazio]

Holey cow !
Can't wait for the race , now .

Merc and the reds aren't too far apart , team mates are split through the midfield , and everyone looks like they are right on the edge of grip .

My homey Lance rightly said he's a fair piece behind his team mate , Mousa , figuring he should have put it in 12th or 13th .
Given that all and sundry are saying the "snap oversteer" is pretty intense this year , I'm not going to beat him up over slapping the wall so much before the season starts , but he'll have to work that out , and soon .
It seems they stiffened it up to try to get more out of it , but it made it just too edgy .
Flip's experience had him able to adapt .

I'm not sure I've ever seen a more sketchy set of hands on the wheel than Lance's during the onboard footage .
It looked scary as hell .

Honestly , I think starting at the back may be the best thing for him , as , if he can work his way up at least to where he thought he should have quallied , it could give him a whack of confidence .


I can't wait for the race .He could be the next coming of Pastor Maldanado! ;)

[easy rider]

Good performance by Lewis, Sebastian, and Valteri today, but happy to see Hamilton take his 62 career pole positions. Lewis will find out that Bottas isn't like that other Finnish teammate, by the way who put on a great performance in his Mercedes debut for 3rd place. Vettel surely was fun too watch in securing 2nd place during qualy..........Looks like a good race ahead.

[easy rider]

Good performance by Lewis, Sebastian, and Valteri today, but happy to see Hamilton take his 62 career pole positions. Lewis will find out that Bottas isn't like that other Finnish teammate that he had, and by the way who put on a great performance in his Mercedes debut for 3rd place. Vettel surely was fun too watch in securing 2nd place during qualy..........Looks like a good race ahead.

[Bagwan]

It looks like Ferrari has closed the power gap with cars on row 1 and 2 and Hass on row 3. Merc doesn't match that although they are still P1.

That Haas car has that wee wing stiffened now , so they may turn out even faster in the race .

[Bagwan]

He could be the next coming of Pastor Maldanado! ;)

That was low , Taz .

Don't beat him down that bad , yet .

[journeyman racer]

I've had a good couple of days at Albert Park. I won't be going to the race.

In the time I spent there. Even though you don't get the benefit of a big screen and being at a corner. The cars are thrilling to experience, seeing them rush past you prior to the braking for t3. The are genuinely fantastic machines, and seeing them through there is on of the biggest thrills I've had as a spectator at any sporting event.

They are also sensational approaching t13. I stood at the 50m board for a period on the outside. And you see them fly in from a fair distance through the wire fencing, and they star braking prior to the 50m board and make the corner no problem. I stood on the inside exiting t13 later on. It was fun to notice them working the wheel. Idk if it's his natural inclination or a reflection on the car he's driving, but It appeared as though Alonso was working the hardest!

Personally. I'm hoping Bottas can do something today. Hamilton/Vettel have been there, done that. Bottas is unproven in a top car. The sooner he does something, the better.

[Tazio]

That was low , Taz .

Don't beat him down that bad , yet .Just razzing you bro ;)

[Tazio]

Danny boy stuck on track in warm up, it doesn't look good. Wait he's out of the freakin' race. Holy cow! :angryfire

[journeyman racer]

Australian F1 fans have been reamed!

[journeyman racer]

As I post. I have some good news for Ricciardo.

The team he goes for in the Australian Football League, the West Coast Eagles, have just beaten the North Melbourne Kangaroos. So it's not a completely bad day for him.

[Tazio]

Here we go!

[steveaki13]

Morning guys.

Good to see Seb matching Hamilton early on. Looks tough to follow though. Everyone strung out.

[Koz]

Amazing. Stroll can't pass a Sauber.

Disgraceful.

[andyone]

Ferrari are fast. Mercedes advantage is very very slim. Go Go LH #44

[steveaki13]

Hamilton saying it is impossible to pass Verstappen????

Looking tough to follow out there. Good to see Ferrari being able to battle Mercedes though. If Hamilton cant pass Verstappen then Vettel is in the box seats

[steveaki13]

Vettel leads.

[Tazio]

Looks like Vettel has this one in the bag!

[steveaki13]

Boooooo Ferrari domination :laugh:

[Tazio]

Bottas reeling in the Boss!

[truefan72]

oh well. shit mercedes strategy SMH

[pino]

Stupid strategy by Mercedes, which is good for the race... :D

[truefan72]

and all these commercials on nbcsn makes it difficult to watch. all around frustration lol

[pino]

Agree, too many commercials. Must swap channels to avoid them !

[steveaki13]

Nice to see a battle at the front but the race has been dull and a bit worrying in terms of following and being able to battle

[Tazio]

and all these commercials on nbcsn makes it difficult to watch. all around frustration lolUnivision Deportes Network 869 on dish has not had a single commercial. I have switched for every freakin' commercial during the race and haven't missed jack!

[Tazio]

Congrat's to Ferrari well done!

[pino]

Well done Vettel, well done Ferrari !!!!

[journeyman racer]

Well. That ended up being a comfortable win for Vettel. Again hitting back with an early season win after not winning in the previous season.

Hamilton - lame. No excuse.

Perhaps a missed opportunity for Bottas? When you think of races since 14. That type of race from Hamilton is one where Rosberg would make sure he won.

[truefan72]

Univision Deportes Network 869 on dish has not had a single commercial. I have switched for every freakin' commercial during the race and haven't missed jack!

thanks man. will make that switch from now on

[longisland]

Vintage schumacheresque win by Vettel. Passing is done in the pit stop. Good debut for Giovanazzi. Kudos to Kvyat, he has bounced back from a dismal season.
Great race.

[steveaki13]

Why is Hamilton getting booed? Maybe I have forgotten something from last season?

[longisland]

Wow!
Den & webbo are getting along.
Last but not the least, Great Job done by Ocon. Hamilton didn't seemed too displeased with the result; he was very graceful on the podium

[Storm]

I watched in fits and starts...thnks Taz and some other streams on youtube...
glad I stayed up late till 130am...I've never been a Vettel fan, but anybody but Merc will do for now.

Ferrari better send a nice gift to Verstappen too. Along with Merc strategy fail, Vettel's driving - tht stint behind Max was a game changer,

anybody else think that for being called the boss, and being such an accomplished racer, Hamilton whined a bit too much about a lot of things in the race?

[BigWorm]

We weren't spoiled on overtakes, but Ocon delivered a nice one.

Gracie, Seb

[A FONDO]

Тhe race wasn'tsomething great but I saw some pretty interesting overtaking manouvers. These new cars are promising.

Big thumbs down for hiding the timing though! Those americans must be crazy if they really consider making it paid access only!

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Well we might be in for an interesting battle between Vettel and Hamilton but the racing itself was as disappointing as I expected with high downforce and endurance tyres.

The field spread after 5 laps or so reminded me of pre-2009. I don't think it's promising that Hamilton was 1.5 secs a lap faster than Verstappen but couldn't get close enough to even attempt a pass.

I can't see it getting more exciting on the more aero dependant tracks we have coming up. We might need to see extended DRS zones to make the racing bearable.

[zako85]

I watched the race on NBC and then switched to Univision Deportes after the 11th lap because of the incessant commercials. Folks, it's time to brush up your Spanish language skills. After all, you probably spent many years in the school taking Spanish lessons.

[AndyL]

Big thumbs down for hiding the timing though! Those americans must be crazy if they really consider making it paid access only!

I hope it was just a technical glitch... at one point the leaderboard was shown with all the colours mixed up (white for Ferrari, red for Red Bull etc.) so all was not running smoothly.

[AndyL]

So Vettel lifts the best trophy of the season :)
Looks like we could have an interesting contest this season after all. Ferrari's sandbags were just as full as Mercedes' it seems. It's a few years since we last saw 2 top guys in different cars really fighting for the championship.

[N. Jones]

The Verstappen holdup (not his fault) is what gave the race to Ferrari.

[BleAivano]

The Verstappen holdup (not his fault) is what gave the race to Ferrari.

You say that Ham lost because of being hold up by Vst. What you really should ask and answer is why Ham
was hold up behind Vst. The answer to that is that Hamilton wasn't fast enough because he had tire wear problems.

[A FONDO]

I hope it was just a technical glitch... at one point the leaderboard was shown with all the colours mixed up (white for Ferrari, red for Red Bull etc.) so all was not running smoothly.

I saw that but they also hid the horizontal bar (with 5 drivers at a time) and also they were hiding some results in qualy. Maybe they are just baiting for responce. I hope sanity will prevail.

[The Black Knight]

The Verstappen holdup (not his fault) is what gave the race to Ferrari.

It was his fault because he was the one that decided to pit. He should have stayed out, the tires would have lasted. In all likelihood Vettel would have won anyway as he just seemed quicker. Agreed it's not his fault he couldn't pass though. I think with such closely matched cars and the new aero refs, passing at the front will be little this year.

Thoroughly enjoyed the race either way. It was a please to see cars pushing flat out again and they look exciting. Passing or not this is more what F1 should be.

[N. Jones]

You say that Ham lost because of being hold up by Vst. What you really should ask and answer is why Ham
was hold up behind Vst. The answer to that is that Hamilton wasn't fast enough because he had tire wear problems.

Yeah, I said that. If Ham could have gotten by Max there would have been a fight for victory.
But I agree with your point.

[N. Jones]

I saw that but they also hid the horizontal bar (with 5 drivers at a time) and also they were hiding some results in qualy. Maybe they are just baiting for responce. I hope sanity will prevail.

I thought that bar that should the drivers positions was eliminated because I never saw it.

[N. Jones]

I think the rookies did a very good job too for their first race in their first full season. Ocon finished 10th and Giovinnazzi finished 12th!

[Mia 01]

I´m still very happy (monday)!!

[gm99]

I think the rookies did a very good job too for their first race in their first full season. Ocon finished 10th and Giovinnazzi finished 12th!

Except for Stroll, who was quite dismal. No comparison to the last Canadian to make his debut with Williams in the Australian GP ;)

[pino]

Giovinazzi deserved a point, so my Fgp... :p

[steveaki13]

I enjoyed the race and the fact we had a different winner and seemly a battle for this title. However it wasn't a classic. I thought Vettel and Bottas did great jobs.

Massa was impressive too. 6th all race pulling away from the rest of the midfield however almost a minute behind the Red Bull.

Otherwise Grosjean was good most of the weekend until his sad retirement. Ocon did well and Giovinazzi did well also. Hope he gets another crack soon. (If Werhlein is OK to carry on)

[yodasarmpit]

Ive been watching F1 for more than 30 years, and that has to have been one of the most boring races I've ever watched.
I can only hope that was not an indication of things to come.

[journeyman racer]

Rain in Melbourne came 24 hours too late to please F1 fans.


Ive been watching F1 for more than 30 years, and that has to have been one of the most boring races I've ever watched.
I can only hope that was not an indication of things to come.
You've seen heaps of races more boring than that.

[zako85]

This was a fantastic race. Note that Hamilton lost not because of "the bad strategy", like some people say, but because Vettel was able to put enough pressure on Hamilton to make Hamilton complain on the radio that his tires were overheating. This forced the Mercedes team to pit Hamilton at the most inconvenient time, the time when he came out of pits behind Verstappen. The rest is basically history. Anyone who understands F1 knows that overtaking Verstappen will be near impossible while Vettel is doing qualifying laps before coming for his first pit stop. The win is entirely deserved by Vettel and the Ferrari team. He was the driver of the day.

[zako85]

Ive been watching F1 for more than 30 years, and that has to have been one of the most boring races I've ever watched.
I can only hope that was not an indication of things to come.

Considering the exciting things that happened in this race, I really doubt you understand the basics of F1 racing, despite watching it for 30 years. See my post above.

[zako85]

He should have stayed out, the tires would have lasted.

His tires wouldn't have lasted. I don't remember which lap, but Hamilton complained on the radio around the lap 7-10ish, that his tires were overheating. So the team basically had no choice but pit him early. In retrospect, Hamilton probably would have done better if he pitted at the moment where he would not be stuck behind Verstappen upon exiting the pits. But given the information his race engineers had at the moment, they probably made the most logical decision for those circumstances.

[Bagwan]

Except for Stroll, who was quite dismal. No comparison to the last Canadian to make his debut with Williams in the Australian GP ;)

Lance didn't have that bad a race , considering he was in 13th when his brake disc failed .
I saw at least one overtake from him during the broadcast , and those were pretty rare to see .

I'm not saying he did great , but "dismal" is a bit harsh .

[Storm]

Giovinazzi deserved a point, so my Fgp... :p

considering he found out he was racing only on friday or saturday, it was indeed impressive. no mistakes. finished the race. good way to debut.

[Whyzars]

Ive been watching F1 for more than 30 years, and that has to have been one of the most boring races I've ever watched.
I can only hope that was not an indication of things to come.

These V6'ers are still proving to the world that the "brown note" really does exist! :p


I went into the weekend with high expectations but this was a very disappointing "race" for a few reasons.

Firstly, there was a lot of talk about fast laps and how race records would be under threat with the new regs. Nope, not even close. Maybe if these monsters were actually allowed to rev and re-fuel with as much as juice as they want to burn or if they weren't worried about blowing up an engine or making a race engine last 10 races. I miss the old days when the skill was to have a thrashed engine breathe its last in the pits immediately after the race. :cool:

Secondly, giving them an extra mowers drum of fuel made no difference to the farcical 7/10ths of the past few years. Even that concession was only because of the extra tyre width. I groan when I hear commentators say that driver A is catching driver B - Driver A never challenges Driver B - ever!
Once the first round of pit stops is over there is no further racing and maybe those decisions are made even earlier. The teams cannot risk pushing because of the penalties for engine failure or running out of fuel. It is all so artificial.

Thirdly, I couldn't get past the nagging feeling that the early pit stop was a promoters dream to save the 2017 season and the overall future of the sport. :rolleyes:

[N. Jones]

Except for Stroll, who was quite dismal. No comparison to the last Canadian to make his debut with Williams in the Australian GP ;)

hee hee.
Yeah but Stroll did the best he could I guess. He retired in the end while Massa was very workmanlike putting his Williams in the points.

[N. Jones]

I´m still very happy (monday)!!

I was more shocked than happy. :cheese:

[N. Jones]

Giovinazzi deserved a point, so my Fgp... :p

I can give him a good point to get his booty out of here, but other than that I can't help him. :cheese:

[Mia 01]

I was more shocked than happy. :cheese:

He he, we both scored big yesterday :)

[jens]

Haven't posted for a while.

Nice to see Vettel winning. Hope that this year we get a Hamilton - Vettel title showdown. To be honest, I think fans have been denied this spectacle so far in F1. So 'bout time.

In general the new F1 reminds a lot of the "old days". Fast attractive cars and hard to overtake. Feels like going back 10 and more years ago. Though I think in China on the long backstraight with open DRS overtaking will be very present.

Even competition reminds of the old days lol. Ferrari and the Mercedes is like the McLaren-Mercedes of the past, who competed for titles against each other.

[N. Jones]

You sure haven't, where's you FGP team???????????

[yodasarmpit]

Considering the exciting things that happened in this race, I really doubt you understand the basics of F1 racing, despite watching it for 30 years. See my post above.

Thanks, but I stand by my opinion. The lack of overtaking ability was evident, Max being the best defender out there was irrelevant as Hamilton couldn't even get close enough to challenge him.

The race was a procession and dull as dishwater, but Seb was the deserved winner.

The only plus point is the Ferrari finally being a match for Mercedes.

[Whyzars]

Thanks, but I stand by my opinion. The lack of overtaking ability was evident, Max being the best defender out there was irrelevant as Hamilton couldn't even get close enough to challenge him.

The race was a procession and dull as dishwater, but Seb was the deserved winner.

The only plus point is the Ferrari finally being a match for Mercedes.


It was good to see a Ferrari victory but Mercedes has flushed out the best that Ferrari has to offer. Hamilton should win every race for the remainder of the year - excepting when his tyres overheat of course.

Hamilton's fastest lap for second place was a long way off Raikonnen, Bottas and Vettel.

Hamilton is driving a superior car and he knows how to drive it. He achieved his position early in the race and stayed there without pushing anything. He could've finished his knitting.

Ferrari is racing Bottas and will look to podium switches around the Mercedes #2 driver. I don't know how many they'll get though - Bottas was looking pretty comfortable in the beast.


Dull as dishwater is entirely accurate unfortunately.

[jens]

You sure haven't, where's you FGP team???????????

FGP team...

It got dissolved and liquidated.

All the remaining assets were confiscated by the bank. Note: There were no assets!

[Bagwan]

It was good to see a Ferrari victory but Mercedes has flushed out the best that Ferrari has to offer. Hamilton should win every race for the remainder of the year - excepting when his tyres overheat of course.

Hamilton's fastest lap for second place was a long way off Raikonnen, Bottas and Vettel.

Hamilton is driving a superior car and he knows how to drive it. He achieved his position early in the race and stayed there without pushing anything. He could've finished his knitting.

Ferrari is racing Bottas and will look to podium switches around the Mercedes #2 driver. I don't know how many they'll get though - Bottas was looking pretty comfortable in the beast.


Dull as dishwater is entirely accurate unfortunately.

Lewis was ahead when he wrecked his tires , and the red car went much farther whilst in Hamilton's dirty air .
That's a far more sorted aero package .

Seb could have given you two scarves and four tea cosies on the way to that podium .

It doesn't look like no Merc cake walk to me so far .

[zako85]

Thanks, but I stand by my opinion. The lack of overtaking ability was evident, Max being the best defender out there was irrelevant as Hamilton couldn't even get close enough to challenge him.

Thanks, but how is this different from the F1 races from 20 or 30 years ago? I have watched the most of the 1990s races, for example, and they were basically similar in the way that if you end up driving behind a competent driver and a competent car, then overtaking it will be extremely hard if not impossible. The way I see it, the greatness of a racing is not only in seeing the faster car always overtaking the slow car, but also in seeing a competent driver of a slower car putting a heroic drive and slowing a driver with obviously a faster car. What should be exciting in F1 racing is not the number of overtakes, but the struggle of the _close racing_. If overtakes are almost always easy, like it is today, this significantly reduces the amount of close racing. I think by now most people are more than sick of the fake DRS overtakes that F1 has been allowing in the past years since 2011 because those easy and frequent overtakes have come at the cost of seeing less and less high quality close racing.

[AndyL]

Because we all used to enjoy the Trulli train so much, right?

[steveaki13]

Thanks, but how is this different from the F1 races from 20 or 30 years ago? I have watched the most of the 1990s races, for example, and they were basically similar in the way that if you end up driving behind a competent driver and a competent car, then overtaking it will be extremely hard if not impossible. The way I see it, the greatness of a racing is not only in seeing the faster car always overtaking the slow car, but also in seeing a competent driver of a slower car putting a heroic drive and slowing a driver with obviously a faster car. What should be exciting in F1 racing is not the number of overtakes, but the struggle of the _close racing_. If overtakes are almost always easy, like it is today, this significantly reduces the amount of close racing. I think by now most people are more than sick of the fake DRS overtakes that F1 has been allowing in the past years since 2011 because those easy and frequent overtakes have come at the cost of seeing less and less high quality close racing.
This is exactly how I feel. I would rather see a race long Battle and no overtakes than 10 DRS passes.

Spot on Zako

Sent from my GT-I9301I using Tapatalk

[steveaki13]

Because we all used to enjoy the Trulli train so much, right?
I would rather see that than DRS breeze past on the straights passing.

Close battling and defending are as big an art as overtaking in my view

Sent from my GT-I9301I using Tapatalk

[Nitrodaze]

We can put a brave face on it. The truth of the matter is, we have a season that is likely to be 20 fast processions. It is back to being a race of good qualifying and excellent pit stop strategy. Mercedes dropped the ball with their poor pitstop strategy at Oz.

Tell you what, it is damn great to see that we have a genuine Mercedes Ferrari tussle this season. It would be great if Redbull and Williams can join the party at the front :-)

[AndyL]

I would rather see that than DRS breeze past on the straights passing.

Close battling and defending are as big an art as overtaking in my view

If all you've got to do to defend is drive round without crashing, there's not much art to it.

[truefan72]

If all you've got to do to defend is drive round without crashing, there's not much art to it.

agreed

[Starter]

This is exactly how I feel. I would rather see a race long Battle and no overtakes than 10 DRS passes.

Spot on Zako

Sent from my GT-I9301I using Tapatalk
It's possible to have close racing AND overtakes showing driver skills. But not with the current technical regulations. There are many more factors involved, but one of the easiest is to get rid of carbon brakes and go back to steel discs. That lengthens the braking zone and allows better opportunity for a good driver to make competitive passes.

[journeyman racer]

You can make the cars weigh 2 tonnes. That'll increase the braking distances.

The thing with heavy aero. Is that even if the trailing car cannot get past the leading car, you can't appreciate the lead car being able to hold off the trailing car.

Ban wings, and the problem is solved.

[Nitrodaze]

If all you've got to do to defend is drive round without crashing, there's not much art to it.

Damn right you are! A fast procession is bound to be a cure for insomnia. We want to see the drivers fighting each other like the Ocon Hulkenburg move on Alonso. As it stands, we can more or less tell the outcome of the race after the pitstops. No point watching after that.

[Bagwan]

Who ordered up the extra downforce in the first place , anyway ?

I think it's pretty well understood that a load of wings on the body , especially at the rear of the vehicle will always produce a large area of low pressure behind it as a result .
They know this .
They've known it for a long time .

And , they know they can get loads more from the underside of the car , which , incidentally , won't produce near as much wake turbulence .

Bottas remarked that last year they were sketchy inside of 1.5 seconds of the guy ahead , but this year it happens out at 2.5 seconds , so getting in tight enough to get the DRS activated is going to be tough , unless your car is significantly faster , and can follow another car easily .

I'm more than a little confused as to why this hasn't been fixed .

[Storm]

All the remaining assets were confiscated by the bank. Note: There were no assets!
even if you owe the bank(s) tonnes of money (read hundreds of millions of dollars), you can still run off to the UK, sell part of the team to another guy with worse ethics (who is currently in jail) and enjoy life on your yacht. Just ask Vijay Mallya and Force India.

[journeyman racer]

Who ordered up the extra downforce in the first place , anyway ?...

I'm more than a little confused as to why this hasn't been fixed .
You reduce the downforce. You reduce the F1 industry.

[zako85]

Who ordered up the extra downforce in the first place , anyway?

I am guessing this decision was based on a misguided judgement that F1 cars need to be much faster in order to be more exciting. This argument of course is terribly flawed because most people could care less if the cars lapped in Melbourne three second a lap slower. I think such discourse arose at the time when they switched from V8 to turbo V6. At this point the forums were filled with people who complained that V6 engines suck because they don't sound as well as in the past, and the V6 cars were also slower.

[Bagwan]

You reduce the downforce. You reduce the F1 industry.

I'm not talking about taking too much away in terms of total downforce , but rather , giving them more area underneath to perform the magic at the same time as reducing the upper aeros .

For example , couldn't the "plank" be two small strips along the edges of it's dimensions as they are currently ?
If they had that area open , they would likely be able to replace a huge amount of topside downforce , with much less wake .

That F1 industry of which you speak , would just slide underneath the car to a more mysterious position .

[Bagwan]

I am guessing this base based on a misguided judgement that F1 cars need to be much faster in order to be more exciting. This argument of course is terribly flawed because most people could care less if the cars lapped in Melbourne three second a lap slower. I think such discourse arose at the time when they switched from V8 to turbo V6. At this point the forums were filled with people who complained that V6 engines suck because they don't sound as well as in the past, and the V6 cars were also slower.

Well , they aren't completely wrong that fast doesn't suck .
But , they wanted the drivers to be saying that the cars are a handful , rather than impossible to pass .
And , without the added aero , I think they might have gotten their wish .

And , that's what I don't understand .
More grip from the fatter skins would have upped the times anyway , presumably .
But adding aero seems just greedy about speed whilst blinkered to the dirty air passing issue they've been battling for years .

It doesn't make sense .
None .
No sense .

How come an old hippie like myself can figure this out and all those big brains can't ?

The old hippie is mighty confused and frustrated right now .

[N. Jones]

even if you owe the bank(s) tonnes of money (read hundreds of millions of dollars), you can still run off to the UK, sell part of the team to another guy with worse ethics (who is currently in jail) and enjoy life on your yacht. Just ask Vijay Mallya and Force India.

Everybody's leaving F1. Soon the only people left will be me, my son, and pino.

[Starter]

Everybody's leaving F1. Soon the only people left will be me, my son, and pino.
One more and you'll have enough for either poker or bridge. :p

[The Black Knight]

I really enjoyed the Melbourne GP. There may not have been much overtaking but that doesn't matter as F1 has never been about that in my eyes. The point is that there was close racing at the front between two top teams.

It's going to be interesting to see if Ferrari can keep this up or if they will tail off throughout the year. Historically over the last number of years they tend to lose the development race to Mercedes.

If Ferrari win this year it'll be due to the skills of Vettel. It certainly won't be due to Raikkonen. The gap between them was embarrassing for the Finn. Vettel shows once again that when he is given the car he can deliver but, unfortunately, it's only when he is given the car as seen by his winless 16 and 14 campaigns.

A season long fight between him and Hamilton I shall cherish if it happens.

A few points from Melbourne are that Lewis needs to use his tires better. It's the one area I've always found Lewis lacking is his ability to nurse his tires over his teammates.

Ferrari won because Mercedes had to pit early. Great to see the overcut back in F1. F1 2017 looks a lot more entertaining than 2016.

[amish119]

Yeah, Lewis will find out that Bottas isn't like that other Finnish teammate, by the way who put on a great performance in his Mercedes debut for 3rd place.

[gm99]

Yeah, Lewis will find out that Bottas isn't like that other Finnish teammate

Rosberg? :p