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Fingers crossed to a great race ahead of us!

Difficult to get excited about this season after qualifying. I just hope that someone jumps Lewis at the start.

We shouldn't be too pessimistic yet. Let's see how they go in race conditions. We already knew Mercedes had this "party mode" and Hamilton (who was already boasting about it before practice even started) should be on pole (when dry) every race weekend with it. That doesn't mean they win the race though.

Just saw a BBC weather report which suggests a 50-60% chance of slight rain tomorrow during the race. Will have to keep a close eye on the weather.

The Ferrari is traditionally stronger on race day, so let’s not write the season off just yet. Seb had a poor final lap as well, so the margin is exaggerated.

Syholl wrote:The Ferrari is traditionally stronger on race day, so let’s not write the season off just yet. Seb had a poor final lap as well, so the margin is exaggerated.

There is this feeling of inevitability about Hamilton and Mercedes winning the championship, even if "the other teams are close"

Some people across threads sound pretty glum about proceedings. It's the first race weekend of the season though. We haven't even seen the chaps go racing yet.

UnlikeUday wrote:Just saw a BBC weather report which suggests a 50-60% chance of slight rain tomorrow during the race. Will have to keep a close eye on the weather.

The weather predictions for when it may rain have been very inconsistent recently. I though there were going to be 2 or 3 wet qualifying sessions last year that didn't turn out to be. then I heard things yesterday that there was a 100% chance of rain during qualifying today, and that didn't happen. If it is 50 - 60% likely, maybe there is a bigger chance

TheGiantHogweed wrote:

UnlikeUday wrote:Just saw a BBC weather report which suggests a 50-60% chance of slight rain tomorrow during the race. Will have to keep a close eye on the weather.

The weather predictions for when it may rain have been very inconsistent recently. I though there were going to be 2 or 3 wet qualifying sessions last year that didn't turn out to be. then I heard things yesterday that there was a 100% chance of rain during qualifying today, and that didn't happen. If it is 50 - 60% likely, maybe there is a bigger chance

Especially annoying because the reality is always less wet than the prediction.

Interested to see if the Red Bull's supersoft strategy is going to work out btw.

Invade wrote:Some people across threads sound pretty glum about proceedings. It's the first race weekend of the season though. We haven't even seen the chaps go racing yet.

I'm still holding out hope as one session isn't enough to draw any conclusions but I'm certainly not getting up early for the race. First time I've felt this flat heading into a season which is a massive shame after last year gave us hope of some good close competition.

If today was representative then Liberty need to try do something IMO. Get Ricciardo in that second Mercedes seat or try force Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines for example.

KingVoid wrote:Difficult to get excited about this season after qualifying. I just hope that someone jumps Lewis at the start.

Yep exactly this, no-one will catch mercedes in this formula, that PU is just too good, it truly is a marvel in engineering, shame that means serious boredom with most races.

Black_Flag_11 wrote:

Invade wrote:Some people across threads sound pretty glum about proceedings. It's the first race weekend of the season though. We haven't even seen the chaps go racing yet.

I'm still holding out hope as one session isn't enough to draw any conclusions but I'm certainly not getting up early for the race. First time I've felt this flat heading into a season which is a massive shame after last year gave us hope of some good close competition.

If today was representative then Liberty need to try do something IMO. Get Ricciardo in that second Mercedes seat or try force Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines for example.

Mercedes already supply engines to other teams, and look where they are...!!

Syholl wrote:

Black_Flag_11 wrote:

Invade wrote:Some people across threads sound pretty glum about proceedings. It's the first race weekend of the season though. We haven't even seen the chaps go racing yet.

I'm still holding out hope as one session isn't enough to draw any conclusions but I'm certainly not getting up early for the race. First time I've felt this flat heading into a season which is a massive shame after last year gave us hope of some good close competition.

If today was representative then Liberty need to try do something IMO. Get Ricciardo in that second Mercedes seat or try force Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines for example.

Mercedes already supply engines to other teams, and look where they are...!!

..exactly where you'd expect them to be with their resources.

Red Bull match Mercedes in resources so they won't get one.

Syholl wrote:

Black_Flag_11 wrote:

Invade wrote:Some people across threads sound pretty glum about proceedings. It's the first race weekend of the season though. We haven't even seen the chaps go racing yet.

I'm still holding out hope as one session isn't enough to draw any conclusions but I'm certainly not getting up early for the race. First time I've felt this flat heading into a season which is a massive shame after last year gave us hope of some good close competition.

If today was representative then Liberty need to try do something IMO. Get Ricciardo in that second Mercedes seat or try force Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines for example.

Mercedes already supply engines to other teams, and look where they are...!!

Chassis, aerodynamics etc. make more damning difference.

Unofficial Australian GP Grid:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
6. Romain Grosjean, Haas
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
8. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9. Carlos Sainz, Renault
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren
11. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
12. Sergio Perez, Force India
13. Lance Stroll, Williams,
14. Esteban Ocon, Force India
15. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
16. Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
17. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
18. Charles Leclerc, Sauber
19. Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
20. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso

Syholl wrote:

Black_Flag_11 wrote:

Invade wrote:Some people across threads sound pretty glum about proceedings. It's the first race weekend of the season though. We haven't even seen the chaps go racing yet.

I'm still holding out hope as one session isn't enough to draw any conclusions but I'm certainly not getting up early for the race. First time I've felt this flat heading into a season which is a massive shame after last year gave us hope of some good close competition.

If today was representative then Liberty need to try do something IMO. Get Ricciardo in that second Mercedes seat or try force Mercedes to supply Red Bull with engines for example.

Mercedes already supply engines to other teams, and look where they are...!!

Exactly my point, no team with the car building capability to challenge the Mercedes works outfit has as good of an engine.

I am worried about Vettel. He usually get anxious at start and he make take Kimi out or compromise his start to get P2 that too with MV next to him. I hope he takes it easy. I am going to miss the race tomorrow but I hope it is is a good race and everyone have a clean start.

KingVoid wrote:Difficult to get excited about this season after qualifying. I just hope that someone jumps Lewis at the start.

Don't be so pessimistic, just as you were right before Rosberg won the wdc . A combination of party mode and the perfect lap got Lewis the outstanding pole but the race will probably be a lot different. The top three teams seem within half a second of each other in race pace and the rest of the field is nicely bunched behind them. This season might actually come down to driver skill, tyre wear, strategy, traffic rather than ultimate pace. I still remain hopeful of a 2012 rerun .

So, how long will it take in the race before Vettel is ahead of Räikkönen?

Mercedes-Benz wrote:I am worried about Vettel. He usually get anxious at start and he make take Kimi out or compromise his start to get P2 that too with MV next to him. I hope he takes it easy. I am going to miss the race tomorrow but I hope it is is a good race and everyone have a clean start.

You're missing 1 key element for such a scenario to turn horrible - Rain!

Seb, Kimi and Max all next to each other on the grid and all on very similar pace. They will all have to be alert and on their best behaviour not to have a rerun of some of the collisions of last year.

Paolo_Lasardi wrote:So, how long will it take in the race before Vettel is ahead of Räikkönen?

T1 or the first set of stops if they aren't separated by cars. Kimi outqualifies Vettel on the odd occasion but 99% of the time Vettel is significantly quicker in race pace and FP2 long runs would seem to confirm that.

Black_Flag_11 wrote:

Paolo_Lasardi wrote:So, how long will it take in the race before Vettel is ahead of Räikkönen?

T1 or the first set of stops if they aren't separated by cars. Kimi outqualifies Vettel on the odd occasion but 99% of the time Vettel is significantly quicker in race pace and FP2 long runs would seem to confirm that.

i didnt see fp2 but were kimi and vettel on the same tyres on the long runs as ferrari often split. but in general vettel is quicker in the races and he has the full might of the ferrari strategy team to get him ahead verstrappon will be a big danger to the ferraris

I'm going to predict Bottas will manage to finish in the top 5. And probably the podium If Mercedes are much stronger than the rest. Bottas usually does recover well from lower down the grid. We will see.

Caserole of Nonsense wrote: verstrappon will be a big danger to the ferraris

Do you mean in contact or non-contact?

Black_Flag_11 wrote:

Paolo_Lasardi wrote:So, how long will it take in the race before Vettel is ahead of Räikkönen?

T1 or the first set of stops if they aren't separated by cars. Kimi outqualifies Vettel on the odd occasion but 99% of the time Vettel is significantly quicker in race pace and FP2 long runs would seem to confirm that.

Yeah I'll go along with that. Kimi can occasionally put up a decent qualifying performance but his race pace hasn't been that impressive in recent years. I expect Vettel to be comfortably quicker tomorrow

A chart showing improvements made by teams when compared to their lap times from 2017:


Source - www.imgur.com

Renault have made the biggest gain whereas Toro Rosso the shortest.

STR managed to go backwards. Classic.

But Honda's fine coz' speed traps and they no gone boom yet.

Things i'm curious about:

-Mercedes tyre wear and if they can be caught out IF Ferrari/RB have the pace to pressurise Hamilton in the first stint assuming Hamilton maintains P1 after the start.

-Ferrari's ability to give it full beans for the entire race given rumours about their PU efficiency.

-If race pace will be close between the top 3 teams - Hamilton extracting the maximum out of his qualifying and the others not doing so might paint a distorted picture and long runs have been close enough between the top 3.

-Who will be the best of the rest? I don't expect it to take long for Renault and McLaren to overhaul Haas should Haas be leading that second pack for a while.




..Expecting a good race and better racing than last year.

UnlikeUday wrote:A chart showing improvements made by teams when compared to their lap times from 2017:


Source - http://www.imgur.com

Renault have made the biggest gain whereas Toro Rosso the shortest.

Wow, it's almost like the Toro Rosso has no downforce and is only topping the speed traps because they took all the aero off!

McLaren must really be kicking themselves for getting rid of that gem of a Honda engine.

Sainz vs. rookies doesn't really help either. I think they're quite pleased with the Honda engine so far and wouldn't trade it for a Renault engine if they could. They're practically a works team now and the engine is looking *much* more reliable than the Renault did last season. Speed will come in time.

Spoiler alert!!!!
Lewis streaks off turns engine down cruises to win.
Good stuff back in the pack.
Another season of watching the rest of the teams.
Without development season is over before it starts.
3 Engines??? Might as well only have 3 races.

750k2 wrote:Spoiler alert!!!!
Lewis streaks off turns engine down cruises to win.
Good stuff back in the pack.
Another season of watching the rest of the teams.
Without development season is over before it starts.
3 Engines??? Might as well only have 3 races.

Well thanks for ruining the result for all of us

Remember guys, the race starts 10 minutes later than usual because Liberty Media knows exactly what fans want!

Llotyhy wrote:Sainz vs. rookies doesn't really help either. I think they're quite pleased with the Honda engine so far and wouldn't trade it for a Renault engine if they could. They're practically a works team now and the engine is looking *much* more reliable than the Renault did last season. Speed will come in time.

Sadly only one team is using Honda engine like last year so it is difficult to judge but I do not think they will score 53points this year as they did in 2017. Mclaren scored 30pts last year. I think Sainz would have given them another shot as he would have made it into Q2. The competition in midfield is so tight. Best they can do is finish the race and at least be reliable

Mercedes-Benz wrote:

Llotyhy wrote:Sainz vs. rookies doesn't really help either. I think they're quite pleased with the Honda engine so far and wouldn't trade it for a Renault engine if they could. They're practically a works team now and the engine is looking *much* more reliable than the Renault did last season. Speed will come in time.

Sadly only one team is using Honda engine like last year so it is difficult to judge but I do not think they will score 53points this year as they did in 2017. Mclaren scored 30pts last year. I think Sainz would have given them another shot as he would have made it into Q2. The competition in midfield is so tight. Best they can do is finish the race and at least be reliable

They'll get better. Full chassis dyno and James Key should speed up development.

Mercedes-Benz wrote:

Llotyhy wrote:Sainz vs. rookies doesn't really help either. I think they're quite pleased with the Honda engine so far and wouldn't trade it for a Renault engine if they could. They're practically a works team now and the engine is looking *much* more reliable than the Renault did last season. Speed will come in time.

Sadly only one team is using Honda engine like last year so it is difficult to judge but I do not think they will score 53points this year as they did in 2017. Mclaren scored 30pts last year. I think Sainz would have given them another shot as he would have made it into Q2. The competition in midfield is so tight. Best they can do is finish the race and at least be reliable

Their progress and performance this year will be limited by their drivers. Q2 was possible yesterday. Gasly is usually quicker than Hartley, but he binned it. But both of those guys are probably costing them over 0.5 sec when you compare them to Sainz or even Kvyatt.

Vettel's day isn't starting well

For those who're already glum about Hamilton possibly blitzing away to dominant victory, here's some Kimi spoiler alert: