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..................

 

[Marc]

Ya know I was looking forward to the qualifying and race already. The changes at McLaren have just made it even more exciting for tomorrow morning . Looks to me like their gambles have paid off, but wondering just how much the lack of testing will affect the reliability of the car during the early part of the season. Guess only time will tell.

 

[KekeTheKing]

So maybe it's not all doom and gloom at McLaren. These two practice sessions have made me cautiously optimistic. I don't think they're anywhere near the RB's, but things seem to be a lot better than I anticipated.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

I didnt quite make it to FP1, I remember been awake at 1:15 but didnt wake until 8 this morning. I've just watched both sessions now on iplayer. Gutted for Chandhok, wasn't sure if it was the 2nd or 3rd corner but he was already in the wall. Even for a rookie who hasn't driven a car in a long time on unfamilar tyres that was a poor start.

Interesting points were made about the 107% rule, it only applies to the fastest time set in Q1. That will be a time set by one of the leading teams who will be driving as few laps as possible on the harder compound. This gives a larger window of opportunity for the slower teams to get within that time if they are using the softer compound. Virgin are confident that they will get within that time but I don't think HRT will post a time until Q1 if at all. If the rumours are true about a lack of parts they will be doing the bare minimum of running.

As for the leading teams, Red Bull showed in FP1 that they look like the team to beat, Massa was struggling with grip more than Alonso and McLaren were at similar pace to the Mercedes.

In FP2, Red Bull started their race simulations earlier than the other teams and were a long way down on the rest of the field, if they stayed on that stategy for the whole session and completed their faster laps in race trim while the Mclaren's were in qualifying trim then it looks like another year of chasing Red Bull.

Last point to be made is the weather and its effect on the tyres, the pirellis were designed to be run in conditions at least 10 degrees warmer than we have today, I don't think we will get a true reflection on how they will perform until we get to hotter climates. In changeable conditions a lot more will come down to the driver been able to get the most out of the tyres at different times.

Bring on FP3 and Qualifying

 

[KekeTheKing]

Here was some good onboard footage of Rosberg chasing Vettel at the end of the lap and then going by him in the "Overtaking Zone". I think Vettel was on a heavy fuel load at the time and he may have got out of the throttle early, but the Mercedes definitely makes up a lot of ground on the straight.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

It was at the start of P2 so Vettel was on a heavy fuel load but he was also observing race rules as well concering the DRS,

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned that the rear wing can be activated at any time during practise and qualifying but you can only use it in a certain zone on the main straight if you're within 1 second of the car in front during a race.

 

[Enja]

I hope this is useful. If it is, I will try and do the rest later.

The little * means I have discounted particularly slow laps of over 1.40.00

 

[F1Yorkshire]

Enja, It's useful as it shows that everyones fastest lap was not during their longest period of running so we can assume they were all on qualifying trim. Are all the times from P2? If so the Red Bulls had their extended period of running in race trim. Consistent laps are going to be the key, Hamilton may have the faster average but in his run the laptimes are all over the place. Vettel and Webber both very similar. Still hard to judge who will come out on top though.

 

[Enja]

Sorry, yes, all the times are from FP2.

Again the little * means I have discounted slow laps.

I did Perez twice because he did an interesting comparison of 2, seven lap stints, the second of which was clearly low fuel.

Impressive numbers from Sauber + Williams.

 

[johnnoble1990]

I can't wait till we can finally end all the speculation. It is fun building up to the season but now i just want to know if Lewis and Jenson are challenging for the title or not. My expectations have been improved massively after FP1 and 2. I'm now hoping for a win, which is my usual expectations. Previously i said i would be really happy with 4th.

 

[derby]

Enja, thankyou for that data, that is very positive reading

 

[sportsman]

Great job Enja.I like the format that you have used.Very easy to compare each driver

 

[SmL9]

Sorry, yes, all the times are from FP2.

Again the little * means I have discounted slow laps.

I did Perez twice because he did an interesting comparison of 2, seven lap stints, the second of which was clearly low fuel.

Impressive numbers from Sauber + Williams.

Nice job Enja. But where do you get that yummy data?

 

[snowy]

Button and Hamilton's long runs from FP1:

Button		Hamilton

01:55.910	07:17.879

01:40.827	01:56.067

01:29.466	01:31.315

01:29.409	01:30.679

01:28.946	01:30.050

01:29.377	01:37.443

01:30.002	01:30.282

01:33.124	01:30.339

01:29.706	01:30.517

01:29.929	01:32.103

01:34.835	01:30.112

01:30.269	01:30.338

01:30.745	01:31.088

01:30.695	01:30.480

01:30.440	01:33.559

 

[jonnybario]

The race could be a doozy looking at those stats - not too much difference from the front to the middle of the midfield. Depending on how strategies play out and Lady Luck throws the dice anyone from Red Bull through to Williams, Sauber and even Force India could be in the mix. The scrappage for points should be intense!

 

[F1Yorkshire]

Button and Hamilton's long runs from FP1:
Hamilton
07:17.879

What happened there? Did he take the car down to the shops to pick up some milk?

 

[MCLS]

Burnouts again?

 

[Andrea_Moda_Rules]

Jeez, i cannot wait for quali. I really dunno what to do for the next hour. Anyone wants to bet agaist a RedBull 1-2 aleast in quali!. Hopefull HRT are a little faster then the 17 seconds off the pace there were otherwise i might have to eat a large dose of humble pie hopefully im being a little pre-emptive.

 

[johnnoble1990]

"We keep working. We do our thing. We are what we are."

Nice to see Sebastian Vettel has very quickly picked up the god complex.

 

[johnnoble1990]

One of the things with the DRS is i think it is giving an advantage to better drivers in Quali. Some of the gaps between the drivers were huge there. Lewis seemed to be able to get on it very early when exiting corners. Also, it gives the drivers an opportunity to take risks. Pushing the limits on when you can use it, and obviously Sutil was the one to pay the price. This is obviously an unintended effect of it. All the rules seems to be putting a new importance on the driver.

My reaction to that Quali was full of joy. So happy to see Mclaren have the car to compete. It means Lewis can compete for the world championship. I reckon Vettel will have a wake up call tomorrow with Lewis behind him. Clearly Seb is massive over one lap, but has shown in the past he is not a racer, Lewis is.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

I reckon Vettel will have a wake up call tomorrow with Lewis behind him. Clearly Seb is massive over one lap, but has shown in the past he is not a racer, Lewis is.

I don't think you become a World Champion without being a bit of a racer. But anyway, with a 0.778sec per lap advantage, Seb won't necessarily need to do a lot of racing. Very happy for Lewis though.