Grand Prix 2011 Australian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

And so finally it's here.

After the recent events in Bahrain the delayed 2011 Formula One season is underway this weekend in Melbourne, Australia.

For the history of the event and the circuit information, click on the link below:

Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit (Albert Park) | Clip The Apex

As we stand on the brink of the new F1 season there are many un-answered questions. How will the new tyres effect each team? who will find the right package from the off? and many others.

Unusually for a pre-season testing period there was very little information that could be gained by F1 fans as to who would have the upper hand as the season get's underway. Mclaren appear to be struggling with their new car while Ferrari and Red Bull seem to be the early pace setters.

Williams have designed a radical new car for this season and it could mark the return to the front end of the grid for them while the jury is still out as to the performance of Mercedes and if they can make up for a lacklustre season last year. Both Rosberg and Schumacher have been positive in the press about their new car however the time sheets at the pre-season tests didn't exactly match their opinions. Renault have designed one of the more radical cars at the start of the season but without the talent of Robert Kubica the team may not get off to the start they had hoped for. Heidfeld is an experienced replacement but will he have the speed that his former team mate has?

Towards the rear of the grid, Torro Rosso look like they could be swallowed by at least two of the new teams from last season while Sauber will hope to have built on their improvment from 2010 and move towards the front end of the grid. Force India will also be hoping that a rough showing in pre-season testing will not translate in to a rough season.

Of last seasons new teams, both Lotus and Virgin have made strides forward with their 2011 challengers. The very least they will be looking for at the first race is to match the times of the cars at the tail end of Q1. HRT meanwhile, look to have produced a car that is a leap ahead on their 2010 effort but will once again suffer from a total lack of pre-season testing and from a tiny budget with which to develop the car further.

So, who is going to be quick out of the box and who is going to suffer a rude awakening with their cars? The first indication we will have will be in the small hours of Thursday night/Friday morning Uk time but we won't really know until qualification starts on Saturday.

Bring it on..................

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

That was pretty intresting start to the season. Still i feel we have learnt nothing. Looks closer though then perhaps testing suggested.

And yay Hispana are finally here even if it is only one lap. Oh any any reasons why kobysiahis engine cover came apart??

 

[johnnoble1990]

Very encouraging from McLaren, considering where they were during testing. It looks like it's going to be a very interesting Qualifying...

Can't wait.

 

[johnnoble1990]

That was pretty intresting start to the season. Still i feel we have learnt nothing. Looks closer though then perhaps testing suggested.

Based on that session i definitely think it will be closer than everyone thought. The order seems not much different from last year. I think with the uncertainty of the various new rules, we could see a real surprise in the first grand Prix. Quali should be fun.

 

[MCLS]

So far it looks like the bottom 6 are still the same as last year.

 

[snowy]

Fell asleep halfway through FP1 and woke up half an hour in to FP2. Dare I say I was relieved by the competitiveness of the McLaren. Jenson looking very comfortable and slightly quicker than Lewis suggests the car is fundamentally a good car all of a sudden. I can feel my whole demeanour changing... I feel less ratty already! Someone could say something really nasty to me right now and I would simply smile a smug smile and pat them on the head....

The Mercedes was fairly quick but didn't look that comfortable and the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers looked like they had their hands full most of the time...

 

[johnnoble1990]

So far it looks like the bottom 6 are still the same as last year.

Hmm...agreed and it doesn't look like they are any closer than before. The interesting thing about Q1 this year might be the bottom 4 trying to make the 107% rule. I'm quite disappointed by the Virgins, although it is understandable that the new teams are struggling to compete.

 

[MCLS]

The Mercedes was fairly quick but didn't look that comfortable

Thats the way Schumacher likes it though

 

[MCLS]

And HRT will struggle to get within 120% let alone 107%. How they are allowed to run in F1 is beyond me.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Game On! It looks like Mclaren are right up there in the nick of time, Red Bull are still very quick but they could be going through their tyres like a herd of bison munching grass.
Can't wait for tomorrow. But for now, I must be off to work and get some

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

And HRT will struggle to get within 120% let alone 107%. How they are allowed to run in F1 is beyond me.

Im sorry but i cannot stand this 'The new teams do not desevre to be there' crap. Lokking at Quali in 2010 all three teams would of got into the race most times, and not really any more races would be missed then when the 107% rule was in place.

And based on last season anyhow, HRT are no worse then minardi during the late 90's and 00s so lets all critize minardi too ...... but no that would be sacrilige wouldn't it. The guy on 5live during FP2 (i forgot his name) made a good point too all 3 new teams signed up to f1 under differnt rules, The budget cap. ans was also big a reason they all got involved. That must of had a huge impact on all 3 teams.

Plus its nothing compared to some teams in f1, like Life, Andrea Moda and BRM in one of there re-incorinations. who all make HRT look bloody brilliant.

Yes HRt do have a look of a team that is in a huge mire, that doesn't know why they are there, but a lot of teams in the past would of already gone bust preseason and not turned up to a counrty 100s miles away from base with a brand new car. At least theyv'e got some staying power.

 

[Galahad]

Interesting sessions. I can understand why McLaren fans would be optimstic. I do think Red Bull have probably got more than they're showing. For the sake of the season, hopefully not too much, though.

I thought of the rookies, Perez showed well. Maldonado didn't impress me quite so much. With his reduced running it's difficult to say much about di Resta.

d'Ambrosio was right on Glock's pace in FP2. Unfortunately for them, that was still a way away from the dreaded 107%. I fear for the ongoing survival of the team in this form if that carries through to the quali. If you can't get in the races it's virtually impossible to get any sponsorship, and I wonder whether Branson would be as keen to dip his hand in his pocket. Allied to which, if you're at 108%, that means you have to improve your car by 1% relative to the pole position car, which obviously is going to be developed at a fair old rate itself.

 

[derby]

Only watched the first practice, was great to see the cars out running again, I thought Mclaren looked goog going through the cornerss, The car was pretty much going where the drivers wanted it to go without fighting the car too much. Ted Kravvitz made the point that the Red Bull seems to be using its tires a bit more then ferrari, and the tires on the Mclaren looked 'quite good'

Could someone please tell me the run the Mclaren's were on in P2 when they set their times, ie, was it on a lengthy run or was it on a glory run????

I also had the Mclaren website on during Practice and was receiving good infomation from the pitwall which I though was pretty neat!

The Mercs do look fast, think they recorded the fastest through the speedtrap in P1

 

[jonnybario]

Yes, give 'em a break. Formula 1 has seen a lot worse than the likes of HRT. They're out there trying to make it happen - hiring the likes of Geoff Willis and Tonio Liuzzi are evidence of that. I didn't agree with the driver merry-go-round of last year and some of Mr Kolles's off season comments were rubbish but I have a feeling that they're slowly pulling it together. People pulled Super Aguri apart in their first season but before long they were giant-killing all over the shop. HRT deserve their place in F1 on the strength of that beautiful livery alone!

 

[Brogan]

Well so far, FP1 and FP2 aren't exactly mirroring pre-season testing.

Either McLaren got extremely lucky with their, essentially, untested new floor and exhaust, or Red Bull and Ferrari are just taking it easy.

Either way it's going to be a fascinating Qualifying session and season.

I said it last night in chat, but if HRT fall foul of the 107% rule for the first few races, that will be the death of the team.
Every other team will be getting feedback, improving, getting faster so they'll fall further and further behind with each race.

If the 107% rule is going to be in place, then in-season testing must be allowed.

 

[snowy]

Lewis:
17 P
18 1:42.464
19 1:25.986
20 P

Jenson:
14 P
15 1:50.161
16 1:26.156
17 1:41.977
18 1:25.854
19 P

Seb V
23 P
24 1:42.556
25 1:26.604
26 1:39.553
27 1:33.820
28 1:39.012
29 1:26.014
30 P

Mark:
19 P
20 1:43.631
21 1:39.415
22 1:26.940
23 1:41.104
24 1:26.283
25 P

Fernando:
12 P
13 1:42.217
14 1:35.790
15 1:26.001
16 1:34.977
17 P

 

[McZiderRed]

So, were the Red Bulls and the Ferraris sandbagging?

I suppose that even if they were, McLaren are still loads more competitive than testing suggested...

 

[cider_and_toast]

Blimey I can't wait to see if the actual real qually pace of these cars is anything like that which we've seen so far.

It's going to be fascinating tonight to watch qually.

 

[FungusDBogeyman]

good day trackside today. Was cloudy, but in good Oz tradition managed to get sunburnt.... Sat at the Schumacher stand for most of the day - it's got a great view of a good part for the circuit. Below are some pics and a quick vid of the action - again, I am not any genius when it comes to taking a photo, but thought you guys might like a peek at it anyway

rather than post individual pics, here is the Facebook album I;ll be adding to over the weekend:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150116674537267&id=730337266&aid=285789

and here's a quick vid - http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150116676297267&comments

 

[snowy]

Comparing McLaren's quick laps and long runs with Mercedes quick laps and long runs suggests that McLaren have taken a larger step forward than the Mercs. Mercedes appears to have lost some ground to the Ferrari and Red Bull compared with their late testing pace.

Everyone is saying that they have no idea where they stand compared to their rivals, apart from Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber...

Mark said:

General it was a pretty good day for us. We've still got some work to do; there are some quick guys out there.
It was good to finally try the tyres out on this circuit and I had a go with everything new on the car.
McLaren look quick, but with Ferrari you can never tell, as they always run a bit more fuel on a Friday.

Sebastian said:

Despite that, I think we got a good idea as to where we are compared to our competitors. All in all I think we can be pleased, it seems we are not too bad, but we have to wait and see.

This suggests to me that Red Bull are still very wary of or more likely very aware of how quick and consistent the Ferrari has been so far this year. No one would expect them to be Bullish. But to admit they know where they are in pecking order is either profoundly audacious or reflective of realistic expectations.

The McLaren long run pace in the first session will certainly have given Ferrari and Red Bull something to think about and they may well be hoping that McLaren were running relatively light on fuel. But if Sebastian feels RBR know where they stand in the pecking order they may well have established how much fuel McLaren were likely to be carrying...

Pure speculation but I thought I'd put my thoughts and observations out there.

 

[johnnoble1990]

Blimey I can't wait to see if the actual real qually pace of these cars is anything like that which we've seen so far.

It's going to be fascinating tonight to watch qually.

Certainly is. So many stories to be played out this week and the coming weeks. We will get some idea of the order, what the racing will be like with the tyres dropping off, whether overtaking has improved. If all these things come together we could find this sport could improve on the already high standards of excitement and drama. Quali has always been good since they introduced the new format, what i hope improves is the actual racing.