2017 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand PrixFormula 1

[GroupB]

How do you figure?

Lewis had pole, had a great start, and still lost by 10 seconds. People say Verstappen was the difference, but the reason Lewis came in early is because Vettel was running him down and he had to do something or possibly get passed on track.
So if Mercedes couldn't make it work in Australia, what happens when Vettel has a flawless final lap in Q3 and starts from pole? It's not looking good for them if they can't hold him off from the front or catch him from behind.

 

[Jimlaad43]

It's hilarious though.
2016 - some great racing, different strategies and lots of overtaking, but the cars "Don't look good enough"
2017 - cars "look right", drivers can push all the time, racing is rubbish and everyone still moans.

Also, 1:22? If the rules had stayed the same, I'm sure Merc would have done that time anyway with an evolution of last year's car. By asking Pirelli for more durable tyres, F1 has shot themselves in the foot again. Yeah, the drivers can drive flat out all race, but they'd have to pit 3 times, and you just know that the teams would prefer to coast around a 1-stop because it is faster and safer. If Pirelli came with tyres that were designed so the teams stopped 7 times in a race, they'd all crawl around to 4-stop, it's just how F1 works. We'll just have to hope the season sorts itself out like 2010 did with 1-stopping. Mainly by having a tyre deggy race like Canada, and then everyone deciding to go back to that.

 

[jake2013guy]

I think it's time to think about refueling though, the safety excuse is kind of irrelevent if nearly every other series can do it fine, just maybe better executed with slower/safer fuel rigs, the unpredictability of that era made for intresting viewing even when the racing wasn't there.

No. Please. No. Do you not remember the Trulli/Honda trains? Inability to pass for lap after lap after lap after lap. No thanks.

 

[GroupB]

Yep.

 

[jake2013guy]

Nah. I think we should go back to the 80s when we had 5 cars on track and no overtaking because they all blew up.

 

[TRGTspecialist]

refueling

unpredictability

intresting

I'll take 20 pairs please!

.I fear I'm being slowly transported back to 2004

(And for anyone who likes the sound of that, please may I buy a pair of those rose-tinted glasses you have, I'm gonna need them. )

Obviously I can't say you're wrong for finding it interesting (although I'm tempted), but "unpredictability" is probably one of the last words I'd associate with refuelling.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Basically what has happened is that people have become too preoccupied that the new engines are rubbish, are pining for previous eras of F1, so F1 changed everything except the engines, and got a result that worked until the most crucial part - the racing. Yeah, Mercedes were winning everything, but at least the on-track spectacle was awesome last year.

 

[jake2013guy]

Basically what has happened is that people have become too preoccupied that the new engines are rubbish, are pining for previous eras of F1, so F1 changed everything except the engines, and got a result that worked until the most crucial part - the racing. Yeah, Mercedes were winning everything, but at least the on-track spectacle was awesome last year.

Exactly this. There was barely any battling in the midfield. Bahrain last year, an otherwise uneventful race, was full of midfield battling and that part was exciting despite another Merc domination.

 

[[Nor]MclarenF1]

The Honda was the slowest car out there. Only those that carried more fuel when they retired, recorded a slower pace on their fastest laps. China and Bahrain will have them further behind.

Maybe. But as the engine now apparently doesn't shake itself to bits anymore, I think we'll see them start turning up the power more. There's no doubt they ran the engines pretty much in limp mode this weekend.

And as I mentioned in another thread, there must be something in the pipeline from Honda that has kept McLaren from showing them the door and getting a new supplier.

 

[Liquid]

Nah. I think we should go back to the 80s when we had 5 cars on track and no overtaking because they all blew up.

It'll be a long time until we have races where the race leaders consecutively crash out, run out of fuel or stop immediately after the race due to running out of fuel.

 

[JayOTT]

All this talk of the racing today being a throwback to previous eras reminds me of this MST F1 quote;

 

[jake2013guy]

It'll be a long time until we have races where the race leaders consecutively crash out, run out of fuel or stop immediately after the race due to running out of fuel.

Just to clarify, you knew that was a joke...

 

[MCFerocious]

Surprise winner! Delighted at the fact that it won't just be one team winning all year. That alone has got to make it at least 1000 times better than last year.

 

[Telstar]

Discussion about boring racing

Hasn't the Australian GP always been rather uneventful in recent years?

 

[jake2013guy]

Hasn't the Australian GP always been rather uneventful in recent years?

Yes but compared to those, it's worse than that.

 

[Dhalism]

IDK why i am surprised that Vettel won. Ferrari looked good all the way here, but for some reason i was certain it would be another easy one for Hamilton.

Also while its too early to tell, looking at Bottas performance, it just might be that Massa is still actually bloody fast.

Yep.

View attachment 636832

I don't think anyone ever asked for 00s F1. It's a go to example for a bad era.
Also i thought the race was pretty good. I feel that if there was an issue, it was more about FOM graphics failing to keep us updated and poor direction.

 

[Spurgy 777]

Considering that Seb's M.O. during his glory years was to disappear into the distance on lap 1 and never be seen again, this year may end up same story, different color car.

The two aren't really comparable though (Vettel dominance vs Mercedes dominance). Mercedes dominance has been quite a bit worse, to prove my point, here's some numbers;

In Vettel's 2 most dominant years (2011 and 2013), Red Bull won 25/39 races by a margin of on average 12.4 seconds over the next team with 7 of those races being 1-2s. Mercedes on the other hand in the past 3 years have won 51/59 races by a margin of on average 18.8 seconds over the next team, with 31 of those races being 1-2s.

 

[Liquid]

Just to clarify, you knew that was a joke...

I was also being facetious.

---

I would like refuelling to come back, the fuel flow ratio fiasco of a few years ago was terrible. Just give them 100kg of fuel and say "That's your maximum amount of fuel for the race, use it how you want, see you at the finish line."

 

[Peter.]

Really surprised people are complaining. Melbourne was never a track filled with overtaking to begin with, and in more ways than one Mercedes being in a class of their own looks to be over. Vettel and his team were so happy for the same reason we all should be, MWL's days are actually numbered. For a first I actually kinda liked the guy.

Ferrari won on merit. Hamilton had to come in early because Vettel was coming for him. Ferrari for once actually had a better strategy. Mercedes screwed up putting Lewis in a position where he would be on fresh tyres and have to deal with traffic at a track where overtaking has never been easy. Even if Max wasn't there, Hamilton struggled on his tyres in the end because he came in early, so if Vettel came out behind him he would have closed him down all over again.

 

[Jimlaad43]

MWL's

MWL?

 

[Peter.]

Fewer overtakes but real battles.

In hindsight this battle is a lot more hilarious than it is incredible. Two drivers making the mistake of staying out on dries in the rain desperately trying not to spin or crash. At the time I was biting my nails hping Kimi would win, and ultimately devastated, but this was probably the only real 'battle' all year. Shouldn't be indication that 2008 was some kind of year filled with overtaking. If anything it was probably the last year you could reasonably predict who would win a race, as whether Ferrari or McLaren would win was a coin flip.

MWL?

Mercedes wins lol.

 

[Hun200kmh]

I don't think he was already mentioned so I'll just add that Massa earned his salary today. And that I pity Alonso.

At the front, I do hope we're in for an exciting year long battle between Ferrari and Mercedes. I'm not saying Lewis and Seb yet, because Bottas is still unknown quantity. Kimi, not going to judge him with only this GP, but I do fear he's past it.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Kimi, not going to judge him with only this GP, but I do fear he's past it.

Bahrain 2015 was the last time he was at his best, he's been kept a few too many years since then. To be honest, the only thing that's kept him at Ferrari is Bianchi's accident. If not 2015, he would have definitely been next to Vettel in 2016.

 

[TenEightyOne]

there must be something in the pipeline from Honda that has kept McLaren from showing them the door and getting a new supplier.

McLaren's chassis design for starters - it's hardly a standard interface between the car and differing engines.

Secondly, the contract. They're both yuge companies. Yuge companies. Very big. That means long, complex contracts.

Bahrain 2015 was the last time he was at his best, he's been kept a few too many years since then.

And yet he stayed in the air of the silver #2 car, incroyable! And we got some more Kimi radio - where would we be without that?

 

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

2017 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel Shakes Things up with a Victory for Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel looks to set Ferrari back on a winning path by taking a commanding victory over Mercedes.

This article was published by Michael Leary (@Terronium-12) on March 26th, 2017 in the Motorsports category.

 

[Jimlaad43]

And yet he stayed in the air of the silver #2 car, incroyable! And we got some more Kimi radio - where would we be without that?

Yeah, that was his last race at his best, afterwards he went downhill. The real decider was Spain last season, when he had no attempts at overtaking Verstappen.

 

[GrumpyGrumps]

I've seen enough F1 over the last 20 years to know that Mercedes is still the team to beat and that coming out in front of Verstappen was critical for Vettel. I know that Hamilton wasn't able to catch and repass Vettel. But if you look at the lap times, Vettel came out a couple tenths ahead of Hamilton, but Hamilton also lost multiple seconds behind Verstappen. So if Vettel had come out behind Hamilton for any reason, I really don't see how he would have been able to overtake.

BUT....a W is a W, and when history looks back no one will really care how Vettel won, but that won is what he did.

FYI, I am a resolute Ferrari fan above all and I absolutely hope that they beat Mercedes to both of the titles. I just think that, on balance, Mercedes still has the upper hand. And this, "Ferrari are the favorite" storyline that Hamilton is pushing is just a yarn to take some pressure of expectation off of Mercedes.

 

[Carbonox]

Nice spoiler title, gents.

 

[coryclifford]

Thanks for ruining the race.

 

[GrumpyGrumps]

Nice spoiler title, gents.

They probably figure most people know by now, but I understand the frustration for sure.