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Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 4:33 pm
by Kev627
What have we learnt after the Australian Grand Prix that wasn't expected and wasn't thought of in the off season?

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:04 pm
by Siao7
I'd say RB mixing it with the front two. Though I am not sure how much of that was RB being competitive and how much down to Ferrari dropping the ball.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:29 pm
by F1 Racer
Siao7 wrote:I'd say RB mixing it with the front two. Though I am not sure how much of that was RB being competitive and how much down to Ferrari dropping the ball.
Red Bull mixed it with Hamilton in a damaged car. Verstappen was nowhere near Bottas, so unless you believe that Verstappen also had mechanical issues in Australia, they did not mix it with Mercedes.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 5:36 pm
by Siao7
F1 Racer wrote:
Siao7 wrote:I'd say RB mixing it with the front two. Though I am not sure how much of that was RB being competitive and how much down to Ferrari dropping the ball.
Red Bull mixed it with Hamilton in a damaged car. Verstappen was nowhere near Bottas, so unless you believe that Verstappen also had mechanical issues in Australia, they did not mix it with Mercedes.
Well, I consider Ferrari to be in the top two, so mixing it with Ferrari makes it mixing it with the top two.

People were afraid that with the Honda engine they'd be dropping back.


Que in my last sentence after that and you should get the idea behind my thinking...

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 8:30 pm
by pokerman
Siao7 wrote:
F1 Racer wrote:
Siao7 wrote:I'd say RB mixing it with the front two. Though I am not sure how much of that was RB being competitive and how much down to Ferrari dropping the ball.
Red Bull mixed it with Hamilton in a damaged car. Verstappen was nowhere near Bottas, so unless you believe that Verstappen also had mechanical issues in Australia, they did not mix it with Mercedes.
Well, I consider Ferrari to be in the top two, so mixing it with Ferrari makes it mixing it with the top two.

People were afraid that with the Honda engine they'd be dropping back.


Que in my last sentence after that and you should get the idea behind my thinking...
Yeah with improvements made to the Honda engine it's looking like being Red Bull's most competitive season in the hybrid era, Marko reckons it's only 10hp down on the Mercedes engine.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 10:36 pm
by sandman1347
Norris was impressive, as was Russel. Red Bull Honda is already an impressive partnership. Haas seem to consistently produce the best customer car these days. Renault were no better than they were a year ago.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Wed Mar 20, 2019 10:57 pm
by Alienturnedhuman
That the point for fastest lap actually made an exciting impact at the end of the race rather than just being a gimmick, as the top three all went against team instructions not to attempt it - if this continues then there is the possibility of someone in a top position binning their car - or losing a place - in an attempt to get the point.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 12:51 am
by Altair
Lance Stroll showing the haters he can drive.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:03 am
by froze
Bottas' form both in qualy and in race. If it turns out Merc will continue to dominate, then I suppose it'd be a very boring season if Bottas again couldn't challenge Hamilton, so for the show it's positive if he can continue to perform like this.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:00 am
by MistaVega23
The cars seemed to be able to follow each other ever-so-slightly closer compared to previous races. Melbourne's notorious for not producing good racing so we might get some crackers at other circuits this season.

Seems Bottas has raised his game, but not getting my hopes up after one race.

Ferrari being so far off, but I don't expect it to last long.

Norris driving out of his skin, shame he didn't finish in the points.

Hulk outqualifying Dan - albeit by eight thousandths but still!

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:16 am
by Teddy007
Kev627 wrote:What have we learnt after the Australian Grand Prix that wasn't expected and wasn't thought of in the off season?
Ferrari not having a far better race package.
Merc having a bigger qualifying gap.
The over reaction at result - it's only the first race.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:41 am
by Covalent
Bottas' form (hopefully not a one-off).
Fastest lap point was actually a good addition based on the first race.
Red Bull have at least similar chance for success with Honda.
Leclerc being pretty much up to speed immediately.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 9:43 am
by Siao7
Just a side note here, the thread title says "Pleasant surprises from Australia".

So are people happy that Ferrari is struggling and Renault is still not improving (random examples) or shall we change the title to "What surprised you/what did you noticed in Australia"?

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 1:48 pm
by Jenson's Understeer
Altair wrote:Lance Stroll showing the haters he can drive.
There was one correct strategy for the midfield cars and he was one of those on it. Had Perez been on it rather than Stroll then it would've been Checo who picked up the points and Lance who finished outside the top 10. Stroll kept it clean, but the idea that he's delivered a points finish through anything other than benefitting from the right strategy at a track where you can barely overtake is just wrong.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:16 pm
by pokerman
Altair wrote:Lance Stroll showing the haters he can drive.
Helped by circumstances it seems, early days to be making any defined opinion.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:20 pm
by sandman1347
Jenson's Understeer wrote:
Altair wrote:Lance Stroll showing the haters he can drive.
There was one correct strategy for the midfield cars and he was one of those on it. Had Perez been on it rather than Stroll then it would've been Checo who picked up the points and Lance who finished outside the top 10. Stroll kept it clean, but the idea that he's delivered a points finish through anything other than benefitting from the right strategy at a track where you can barely overtake is just wrong.
Results are always the most heavily weighted element of a weekend. That said; Lance was easily bested in qualifying by a mediocre qualifier and simply was fortunate in the race to be on the right strategy. I agree with you.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 2:30 pm
by pokerman
Siao7 wrote:Just a side note here, the thread title says "Pleasant surprises from Australia".

So are people happy that Ferrari is struggling and Renault is still not improving (random examples) or shall we change the title to "What surprised you/what did you noticed in Australia"?
Good point, a pleasant surprise for me is how well Mercedes performed after Ferrari looked so strong in winter testing, the level of surprise can be perhaps measured by how poorly I did in my competition. :(

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:18 pm
by Mercedes-Benz
Midfield seems pretty close is the only pleasant surprise apart from the fight for fastest lap :lol:

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:55 pm
by mikeyg123
The midfield is closer
Point for fastest lap is fun
Bottas was competitive
Cars can run a bit closer
The three young Brits out qualified their team mates

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 6:27 pm
by Mr-E
Podium interview was back. Even if it was only the winner.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:04 pm
by jiminwatford
Kev627 wrote:What have we learnt after the Australian Grand Prix that wasn't expected and wasn't thought of in the off season?
I'm surprised Haas seem to be fourth. I didn't expect thàt in consequetive years

McLaren are still mid-mid field. I expect them to be higher

Racing point have poor testing and still score points. As a side point Stroll scored over Perez! Nobody's made anything out of thàt

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:47 pm
by pokerman
jiminwatford wrote:
Kev627 wrote:What have we learnt after the Australian Grand Prix that wasn't expected and wasn't thought of in the off season?
I'm surprised Haas seem to be fourth. I didn't expect thàt in consequetive years

McLaren are still mid-mid field. I expect them to be higher

Racing point have poor testing and still score points. As a side point Stroll scored over Perez! Nobody's made anything out of thàt
You've not read the thread then.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 11:30 pm
by jiminwatford
pokerman wrote:
jiminwatford wrote:
Kev627 wrote:What have we learnt after the Australian Grand Prix that wasn't expected and wasn't thought of in the off season?
I'm surprised Haas seem to be fourth. I didn't expect thàt in consequetive years

McLaren are still mid-mid field. I expect them to be higher

Racing point have poor testing and still score points. As a side point Stroll scored over Perez! Nobody's made anything out of thàt
You've not read the thread then.[/quote]

Erm,

What?

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:42 am
by pokerman
jiminwatford wrote:
pokerman wrote:
jiminwatford wrote:
Kev627 wrote: I'm surprised Haas seem to be fourth. I didn't expect thàt in consequetive years

McLaren are still mid-mid field. I expect them to be higher

Racing point have poor testing and still score points. As a side point Stroll scored over Perez! Nobody's made anything out of thàt
You've not read the thread then.
Erm,

What?
Stroll has already been praised.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:55 am
by TedStriker
What I took from it was that if we have a rejuvenated Bottas with no team orders and Ferrari are already blocking Leclerc from finishing ahead of Vettel then Mercedes will very soon need to enforce their number one selection or they'll end up with Vettel beating two faster car/driver packages to the WDC due to him not sharing the points with a team mate.

No more Mr Nice Guy, Toto - You can't rely on Vettel throwing it away again.

What a shame for Leclerc, only way I can see him getting a race win now is if Vettel has already won the WDC.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 8:31 am
by Kev627
TedStriker wrote:What a shame for Leclerc, only way I can see him getting a race win now is if Vettel has already won the WDC.
But isn't this why he was employed to drive alongside Vettel rather than a more experienced driver?

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:32 pm
by pokerman
Kev627 wrote:
TedStriker wrote:What a shame for Leclerc, only way I can see him getting a race win now is if Vettel has already won the WDC.
But isn't this why he was employed to drive alongside Vettel rather than a more experienced driver?
Leclerc having to finish 5th instead of 4th isn't exactly destroying his rights to be the WDC this season, unlike Vettel he was unable to take any kind of fight to Mercedes or Red Bull, he needs to show more before I start to believe he's actually being disadvantaged.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 3:14 pm
by Zoue
TedStriker wrote:What I took from it was that if we have a rejuvenated Bottas with no team orders and Ferrari are already blocking Leclerc from finishing ahead of Vettel then Mercedes will very soon need to enforce their number one selection or they'll end up with Vettel beating two faster car/driver packages to the WDC due to him not sharing the points with a team mate.

No more Mr Nice Guy, Toto - You can't rely on Vettel throwing it away again.

What a shame for Leclerc, only way I can see him getting a race win now is if Vettel has already won the WDC.
I don't think they are blocking him from finishing ahead of Vettel, not just on this evidence. From Ferrari's perspective, there was little to gain from having the two cars fight each other, as there was little to no chance of Leclerc catching Max/Lewis even if he had got past Vettel so they were probably just looking to take the points. Leclerc didn't kick up a fuss AFAIAA so don't see the issue. Mercedes did the same with their two drivers in 2013 and yet Nico still managed to win races during the season, so I think it's premature to claim Leclerc will be blocked from finishing ahead of Vettel. I think it's likely that Ferrari are thinking ahead and imagining that Vettel will be the most likely title challenger, so are probably prioritising Vettel (which is consistent with Binotto's comments), but prioritising is not the same as not allowing Leclerc any kind of chance

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 3:15 pm
by Zoue
pokerman wrote:
Kev627 wrote:
TedStriker wrote:What a shame for Leclerc, only way I can see him getting a race win now is if Vettel has already won the WDC.
But isn't this why he was employed to drive alongside Vettel rather than a more experienced driver?
Leclerc having to finish 5th instead of 4th isn't exactly destroying his rights to be the WDC this season, unlike Vettel he was unable to take any kind of fight to Mercedes or Red Bull, he needs to show more before I start to believe he's actually being disadvantaged.
what the..? Are we agreeing on something? :o :]

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 6:19 pm
by pokerman
Zoue wrote:
pokerman wrote:
Kev627 wrote:
TedStriker wrote:What a shame for Leclerc, only way I can see him getting a race win now is if Vettel has already won the WDC.
But isn't this why he was employed to drive alongside Vettel rather than a more experienced driver?
Leclerc having to finish 5th instead of 4th isn't exactly destroying his rights to be the WDC this season, unlike Vettel he was unable to take any kind of fight to Mercedes or Red Bull, he needs to show more before I start to believe he's actually being disadvantaged.
what the..? Are we agreeing on something? :o :]
Why not I say things as I see them, I do say both positive and negatives things about teams/drivers although some may think that I just sit on one side of any particular fence? :)

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 10:14 am
by jiminwatford
pokerman wrote:
jiminwatford wrote:
pokerman wrote:
jiminwatford wrote:
Kev627 wrote: I'm surprised Haas seem to be fourth. I didn't expect thàt in consequetive years

McLaren are still mid-mid field. I expect them to be higher

Racing point have poor testing and still score points. As a side point Stroll scored over Perez! Nobody's made anything out of thàt
You've not read the thread then.
Erm,

What?
Stroll has already been praised.
Well why not say that

Well done to Stroll. He's getting relatively little praise in the wider media

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 1:13 pm
by mikeyg123
jiminwatford wrote: Well why not say that

Well done to Stroll. He's getting relatively little praise in the wider media
I assume because they recognise why he beat Perez.

Re: Pleasant surprises from Australia

Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2019 2:05 pm
by jiminwatford
mikeyg123 wrote:
jiminwatford wrote: Well why not say that

Well done to Stroll. He's getting relatively little praise in the wider media
I assume because they recognise why he beat Perez.
Maybe.