2014 Australian Grand Prix ****Spoilers****

I know i know it's 3-4 days to go i just couldn't wait anymore 14, 15, 16 March 2014Circuit Name: Albert ParkFirst Grand Prix: 1996Number of Laps: 58Circuit Length: 5.303 kmRace Distance: 307.574 kmLap Record: 1:24.125 - M Schumacher (2004)2013 Pole Position: Sebastian Vettel [Red Bull-Renault] 1.27.4072013 Winner: Kimi Räikkönen [Lotus Renault]video: [www.youtube.com]
How many retirements are we gonna see on sunday?

The Real Story of the Race was that the Renault's fell apart and the Ferrari's didn't.
Rosberg headed for the sliproad and retired, probably because of Nicotin starvation they have still not given him a helmet with a little hole in it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2014 08:12PM by Toki.

Hehe.. I was thinking of doing this a couple of days ago but I know how much you guys enjoy it.

However here's a smashing memory to get us in the mood.

[youtu.be]

Ken Tyrrell said before the 1984 season: "The average rate of failures of turbo-powered cars will be terrible this year". Aaaand yeah... some blew up quite flamboyantly.

But a turbo's a turbo, and I'm quite fond of the whistling already.

Rooting for Felipe more than ever with his badass ride, even though my life as a tifoso obliges me to say GO KIMI! But being impartial, all indicates this will be a Mercedes-powered affair.



Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps

Another last minute modification:



Kimi, so, Massa Fernando Sebastian is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2014 09:49PM by IWE.

Oh wow, that might make the McLaren look similar to the West livery they had in the early 2000s. Now that would be a welcome sight!

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You know you want to. [judgegrudge.mybrute.com]

I showed that McLaren pic to one of my mates. His reaction exactly was as follows...

"AWWWWWWWWW YEEEEEEEEEEEAH"

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GPGSL -
GPGSL-3 - Pizza Party Racing manager and driver
Nations Cup - Team Scotland manager

I had an inkling that the McLaren was running in a test only livery in a similar vein to Williams, wonder if they too announce any new sponsor.

Ron Dennis said that they wont have a title sponsor for Australia but that they are in conversations with several candidates to seal a long-term agreement starting early in this season

I normally wouldn't speculate and take a lot of notice of pictures like this, but... honestly, they look under just as much pressure as they did during Jerez testing. My spidey sense tells me that they don't know what's going to happen this weekend.



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You know you want to. [judgegrudge.mybrute.com]




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2014 11:05PM by flat tyre.

and this is from McLaren twitter, they are using a special livery this GP celebrating 20 years of partnership with Mobil 1



it needs red numbers.





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2014 01:08AM by Frantic.

About to board my flight down to Melbourne. Big grin on my face

Not a huge fan of the McLaren livery for this race, looks a little too plain, like a lower formula design. Red numbers, or some red accents elsewhere, like the West days would make a world of difference.

Really looking forward to this race, hoping it brings the expected chaos and retirements

I still have a feeling Mclaren lost their sponsor and this is why Perez was dropped, or they lost it due to dropping him.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2014 11:59AM by marcl.

Frantic Wrote:
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> and this is from McLaren twitter, they are using a
> special livery this GP celebrating 20 years of
> partnership with Mobil 1
>
> [pbs.twimg.com]
>
> it needs red numbers.






Stats: 139 Starts / 7 Wins / 9 Poles / 5 Fastest laps

marcl, that is what happened.

So, what did everything make of FP1, for those mad enough to stay up for it?

It's early doors, and FP tells us about as much as testing, but signs are good so far that we could have a crazy race.

Lewis parked up after just five minutes, underlining the reliability issues Mercedes are still having.

Kimi spent time in the garage as well with an ERS issue, and neither Caterham or Lotus set a time.

Ericsson had an electrical problem, while Kamui had something up with the fuel system.

Lotus simply look screwed.

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Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

Quite amazing to be trackside (entry to turn 9 at first) expecting the normal ear splitting scream, but instead hearing the cars fart, cough, whine and splutter until a dull, growlier but still much quieter note rings out when they accelerate out of 10. My wife said she was disappointed- they sounded way better back in 08 when we were last here. I am actually surprised just how different they sound. Its interesting and will definitely take some getting used to!

Lewis came to a stop just about in front of us so got some good pics up close of the new Merc once some pretty curious marshals got out of the way!

Williams look gorgeous and you don't really notice the noses at speed

The engine noise in testing didn't bother me, but it's more of an issue when the commentators were talking over the top - you could barely hear them. I still (generally) like the sound they make, but the FIA need to turn the volume up. It was interesting hearing the sounds you don't often hear though - bottoming out was much clearer and you could easily make out the stones hitting the car as they ran over the kerbs, something (other than an off into the gravel) I can't say I've heard for a long time.

Have to say the McLaren and Williams sound very good and the Red Bull isn't too bad with its higher-pitch. The Ferrari sounds dreadful though - very wheezy.

I'll take the engine noise if it means we keep on seeing the cars move around so much - much more than I was expecting (but then many teams haven't had as much pre-season running as they'd like). The torque looked fun (very fun actually) more than a handful, but any wet running will be a wake-up call for many of the drivers.

The Red Bull looks *awesome* in the corners. They'll easily be up challenging Mercedes on pace before mid-season (I wouldn't put it past them being just a few seconds behind on Sunday). Given how much running they managed too, you have to think any talk of them struggling in the championship was very premature.

The Lotus looks appalling. Shocking. It's far, far worse than any Marussia, Caterham or HRT we've had. It looked undrivable, with the only surprise being how long Grosjean managed to keep it out of the wall. They're on par with Super Aguri when they first came in with bits randomly dropping off their car.

I maintain we'll get only get 5 or 6 retirements from reliability issues... but will the Lotus even make it out of the garage on Sunday?

Very worrying that a couple of teams have already had to change one aspect of the power-units, and they only get 5 of each of those bits for the season. Be interesting to hear if they're repairable under the regulations. Some teams will be taking grid penalties by Silverstone at this rate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2014 09:21AM by gav.

Can hardly hear the cars on tv

The RBR car looks the best on track if they sort the power out that car will just walk it.

The Ferrari did not look good and on a race sim was one second a lap slower than the Merc.

What we dont know is were the merc engines on full power? If they were then its close if not then that have a big advatange.

Tbh this track does not really show who has the best car.

I'm really going to miss the V8s.... the V6s sound interesting but too quiet

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GPGSL -
GPGSL-3 - Pizza Party Racing manager and driver
Nations Cup - Team Scotland manager

Yeah I agree with you guys about the engine sounds. They don't sound horrible but cant hear them great on TV especially over commentators. They do have a somewhat "grumble" to them. Can really hear the drivers now too without the V8 screaming. Practice for me was on at 1:30am so was dozing off around the end of the session and think I missed the last 30 mins or so.

Did a Lotus go off? or was I dreaming that