The Official 2011 Australian GP Thread ****Spoilers!!****

Karthikeyan: "The parts are just arriving." Jeez. Practice 2 and they're still putting his car together. Slow is one thing, but these guys are just totally unprofessional. Thankfully it sounds like the 107% rule is back.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2011 08:04AM by loren.

Practice 2 of what would have been the 2nd grand prix that is.

Well, they finally got one car built. What a mess.

Well, McLaren was not that bad... they use to push on Fridays but still, they are fast...

I think on the longer run the RBR, and Ferrari are still ahead... But its not bad from them.. Come qualifying I still expect both RBR's, Alonso, Nico to be ahead of both Mclaren drivers.

edit - note that Vettels and Alonso's (?) best FP times were set using the DRS in race mode, but the Mclarens were set before the 30min mark.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2011 08:29AM by chet.

chet Wrote:
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> edit - note that Vettels and Alonso's (?) best FP
> times were set using the DRS in race mode, but the
> Mclarens were set before the 30min mark.

Ups, I don't get that, I think I missed that part of regs. What do you mean?

Basically the last 30mins of FP2 are dedicated to testing the DRS system in racemode.

ie- you can only use it when you 1 second or less than the guy in front when you cross the designated checkpoint. The initial hour of the session lets you use the DRS as you wish. I guess its just to make sure everything is working for the FIA

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Almost sure the 2010 nose and front wing were on the Hispania...

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Great racing in the V8 support race just gone, lots of overtaking due mainly to a disparity between the two tyres available. Here's hoping it will carry over to Sunday in the main game!

--EDit: Too many 'dues' due to one or two too many beers--



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2011 09:40AM by gareth.

Incident 2k9 Wrote:
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> Almost sure the 2010 nose and front wing were on
> the Hispania...

It's a 2010 car. Just has new wings, 2010 Williams gearbox and rear suspension. The rest of it is the F110.

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theRacingLine.net
SportsCarArchives.com

Button about the great speed of Red Bull and Vettel:
- when Vettel did his best time (1,26,0 on 6 lap stint on lap 6/6 + in and outlaps...while other three in front of him did their best times on 2 lap stints+ in and outlaps.) he didn't use his rearwing system that would have given him instantly give 0,6 second advantage, apparently they are so fast that they don't need to use it. tomorrow we will see their true faces and the will be very very convincing .



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2011 12:38PM by vesuvius.

Going by today RBR are out infront then there is a pack of about 3 or 4 teams, Mclaren, Ferrari and Merc all seem close.

RBR seem to have the single lap pace.
I think that race pace is going to be more important this year than it has been recently. (due to tires and hopefully, the movable wings)

one thing that i am wondering though is, Mclaren clearly had the best KERS system 2009. but do they still have the edge with it in 2011?

clearly there will be less of a difference due to all the top teams using KERS this year, but this is the first time red bull have been using it and
ferrari had real issues with theirs in 2009 so could it give Mclaren an advantage at race starts?

If the McLaren is actually a good car this year, surely this could be an immense chance for Jenson to chase the championship.

Forget qualifying, its all about racecraft with these Pirellis. They are going to shake everything up, and whoever can make the tyres work with a wider span of flexibility, you know, drag an extra lap or three, is going to be a massive advantage. More than it ever has been.

I know I preach, but surely the likes of Jenson, Nico and Heidfeld will benefit from it.


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it

Button also seems to have the edge on Lewis, but Lewis was on a faster lap but a Williams got in his way.

The fight for 3rd on the grid is going to be very good.

RBR wont show their true advantage here anyway due to the type of track, if they have one it will not look good for the rest of the team.

qualy is going t be insignificant.. is all about strategy and tyre conservation... the fastest might not win but the smartest, and of course the best suspension

I am just hoping it will open a season full of mixed strategies.

The likes of Lewis, Alonso and Vettel might trash the tyres driving flat out after 10 laps.

Button, Rosberg, Webber etc may hold out to 15.

In which case, we are looking at going all out and doing an extra stop, but being 2 secs a lap quicker than those holding on.

VERY interesting! :D


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it

Im thinking a RBR 1-2 in qualifying... everyone should be fine on a two-stopper imo.

RBR will probably approach with a 3 stopper in mind depending on the gap they make to the chasing pack. The way FP went, a two-stopper is possible and very likley. Tyres alot better (or worse :p) in the warmer temperatures.

Still imo, RBR >>>> Ferrari >> Mecedes > The rest (quite literally!)

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

I dont believe Mclaren is that fast. In testing they were far behind by a second. You cant find a WHOLE second in 2 weeks time, somethings goes wrong here. RBR and Ferrari did their laps with less DRS.

Fingers crossed!

DaveEllis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Incident 2k9 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Almost sure the 2010 nose and front wing were
> on
> > the Hispania...
>
> It's a 2010 car. Just has new wings, 2010 Williams
> gearbox and rear suspension. The rest of it is the
> F110.

Yeah, but this is the launch pic

[images.planetf1.com]

and this is the one they used

[www.racecar-engineering.com]

I feel cheated.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski