QuoteVader The boy has a lot of talent and raw speed, no question. I just don't like his attitude. I don't like Vettel's or Hamilton's either, btw. Yup, 100% agree there. I've been very critical of him in the past, and Red Bull for introducing him so young, and he's unquestionably made some dangerous moves (how he didn't go stratospheric at Monaco I've nby gav - F1
Vader Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > gav Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Sainz, Alonso and Verstappen were all stunning. > > Did we see the same race? Sainz yes, Alonso, yeah, > made the best of it but Verstappen? Threw the car > away when Vettel was overtaking him, did another > movby gav - F1
Good race and the racing was a relief after the fears of Albert Park, though still plenty of unknowns given how green the track was and the lack of free practice running. Sainz, Alonso and Verstappen were all stunning. Alonso is really relishing the challenge this season. Terrible error by Bottas and once more Ferrari's strategy let them down (while the safety car hampered Vettel it aby gav - F1
QuoteLaton What do you mean Verstappen or not?? I mean the race pace was closer than qualifying showed, even if Hamilton hadn't been held up by Verstappen after his stop.by gav - F1
Well, good result (and for me at least surprising), but the obvious worry is that the cars struggled to follow others as much as we feared. Albert Park has never been great for following and overtaking, so I'm not going to get too vocal yet, but it's certainly concerning. The race itself was boring as heck, but at least it was closer than qualifying, Verstappen or not, so all is notby gav - F1
I was dishearted by the grid, but then I remember something Sean Kelly said a few days back - Ferrari have not qualified with 0.8 seconds of Mercedes at Albert Park since something like 2012, so there's still hope that as the season evolves we may get some battles. As I said over the winter though, Ferrari won't challenge for either title unless they sort out their consistency (sometby gav - F1
Quoten00binhio Seems everyone is still sandbagging, as they barely matched last year's pole. There's still hope I'm not sure how much is sandbagging. Apparently the Ferraris were extremely nervous in turns 1 and 2 while Hamilton's Mercedes looked like it was on rails. I still haven't found FP1 or FP2 to watch myself though.by gav - F1
I've not looked into FP1 and FP2 in detail yet, but that already looks frustrating, and we know how much Mercedes sand bag throughout practice! #ominousby gav - F1
Let's get this party started! Through all the pondering of who's fastest, Mercedes have got by far the most detailed car and I'm fully expecting them to be a good 0.3-0.5 seconds quicker than Ferrari when the dust settles. We've been here before so many times. For the first time ever I've entered a fantasy F1 league (just a freebie). Damn it's hard who to picby gav - F1
Quoteflat tyre Also, about the wheelbase - I know people have said for years that the cars are getting too long, but I realised something the other day (err, actually, the other year). I think a shorter car length would increase the sensation of speed dramatically. If you watch a motogp bike go down a straight, it looks way faster than an F1 car, even though they're doing roughly the same spby gav - F1
QuoteLaton Thoughts? Nice to see a different colour on the grid, but it's a cartoon-like implementation, which isn't to my taste. The engine cover looks nice, but the rest is poor in my opinion. British members will remember, with a degree of horror, Mr Blobby. In some ways this feels the same.by gav - F1
To do what he did is the stuff of legends, as no-one will ever come close. Valentino Rossi, one of the absolute indisputable greats of motorsport couldn't/wouldn't break into F1 even with the backing and support of Ferrari, let alone win a F1 title - it says a lot about what a maestro Surtees was, especially considering some of the dogs he drove (and he won a race driving one of thoseby gav - F1
QuoteMorbid I would also say, I don't think we should expect Alonso to be super joyous about an offer of contract renewal. Mercedes contacted him before they picked up Bottas, and as far as I understood it, he didn't say no. He said "I am under contract". I read that as "let's talk more during the season as it unfolds". I could be wrong, but that is how I undersby gav - F1
I don't think we'll see another manufacturer in F1 unless the rules change. There's just too much risk of 'doing a Honda' versus the colossal costs associated. From a performance point of view I love these engines but from a sporting point of view I hate them. The FIA and FOM backed themselves into a corner when they gave the teams total power. Revert to naturallyby gav - F1
QuoteJ i m 168 laps apiece today for Massa and Vettel... That's quite emense. It's pointless reading too much into things at this stage of course but it strikes me that so far the Ferrari has avoided running the softest tyre compounds and still look very competitive lap-time wise. Either they're quick or they've dropped the fuel load. Even the fastest times so far are 2 secby gav - F1
Wasn't that a problem in itself at some point though, the "over-preparation" thing? I don't remember who, but one of the drivers was dangerously to collapsing due to the extreme lack of body weight in a race a few years back (during the KERS days when driver weight became a major factor?). Perhaps Alonso?by gav - F1
Certainly in videos and even photos on the track it looks far less offensive than it did at launch. All of the cars look better on track, with the exception of the Toro Rosso (ironically the only car which was launched in natural light!) which appears a touch too dark compared to what it looked like at launch.by gav - F1
I doubt it was a case of only taking one wing and more that they'd only managed to manufacture one wing in time for the test. You know how finely these teams like to time things. I've no opinion of him yet, but time will tell. According to others he's a bit of an arse who's only in the sport because of his dad's millions. Pedro Diniz was thought of in the same manneby gav - F1
You get the feeling this is the final straw. Surely McLaren won't continue with Honda this year, unless they can line up another major manufacturer, and none seem to be forthcoming (and understandably so given the staggering costs and how much scope there is for embarrassment). I felt for Honda in 2015 given the lesser time they were given to develop their engine (and I've read it wby gav - F1
I got lost in trying to work out who it was in the McLaren... I'd completely forgot about Magnussen's debut at TI Aida.by gav - F1
And another Honda PU change. In 1 and a half days of running this will be their third. Mercedes has also broken down in the back of the Force India (though could potentially be related to the modified exhaust they were using today?).by gav - F1
QuoteLaton Can someone explain why the cars are so high off the ground this year? They look ridiculous. They're not really, it's the extreme rake that most teams are running this year, so it looks like the rear is miles in the air, but the front of the tea tray will be skimming the road ahead of it.by gav - F1
Even with a thumb nose (which don't bother me to be fair) that would look gorgeous. Harks back to the metallic blue of the later Prost cars. So far I like (in order, best first): Renault, Toro Rosso, Sauber Middling: Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes (it looks too bloody long), Williams (it was lovely in 2014, but it's starting to need slightly bigger Martini lines) Bringing up the reby gav - F1
I can't say I've seen a nose like that before. Presumably just a very obvious s-duct. It looks very basic otherwise. Just a basic livery launch or are they and McLaren both heading down the low drag route? It seems odd they would just do a dumbed-down livery launch yet leave that nose on the car, so I don't imagine it will look too different when it takes to the track in Melboby gav - F1
Looking at the Ferrari around Fiorano, the theme this year is going to be braking deep into the corners with a hint of trail-braking (not quite GPL-style trail braking of course!). Think how they braked into the second hairpin at Magny-Cours - that looks like it will be more common. I don't think we're going to see too many Verstappen lunges. That Ferrari looks mighty fast. Someby gav - F1
QuoteLaton It looked a LOT better in the video. It's almost like the others are a different colour completely. I've seen a lot of people say the same, but on my PC the car was clearly Orange (once the dodgy flashing lights had stopped). Still, I much prefer the lighting in the studio shots, and I hope it comes alive on the track like the Sauber did, but ultimately it's still aby gav - F1
Quotemadotter Like this? That works about 100% better than the effort they came up with, yes. Don't get me wrong, I love an orange and black livery (Orange Arrows liveries were awesome) but what they came up with just doesn't work.by gav - F1
It's a Jekyll and Hyde car for me. I love the mad front, I hate the bland, generic middle. That's quite possibly the fewest number of sponsors I've seen for an F1 car launch since 1967. Stick some bloody McLaren logos on the side or something. How can you not even advertise your own company? As for livery - swap the black and white or make it look more like the driver'by gav - F1
Rumours are that they're already planning a B revision later in the year, but who knows whether there's any substance to that. As for now, it's hard to tell just how funky the front of the side pods are with all of the appendages and winglets, but that looks like it's the most bizarre (read: awesome) layout I've seen... perhaps ever. Shark fin it's too offensivby gav - F1
That Mercedes looks like it's a metre longer than every other car. I know it's not, but it's sooo long. You could have a party on the floor in front of the rear wheels. And don't get too excited just yet - according to Will Buxton they're going to test a shark fin later. QuoteLatonWhy are you all hating on the Force India?? Aside from the bump in the nose andby gav - F1