Grand Prix 2012 Australian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Gentleman, start your engines

Despite it feeling only a few weeks since the season ending Brazilian Grand Prix last November the Australian Grand Prix is coming very quickly into view to start of a season which hopefully promises to be a lot closer than the 2011 season where Sebastian Vettel ran away with the Championship and had it virtually won by mid season.

Looking at testing and it is virtually impossible to see who is in the best shape going into the season opener apart from that Mclaren and Red Bull are the two teams in the best shape which really isn't surprising but the big surprise is the continual lack of pace from Ferrari despite a radical new car (the issues I commented on on a previous thread).

As for the midfield it is anyone's guess as all the midfield have all been up and down the testing rankings throughout the winter and it'll only be qualifying where we see a true reflection of where the grid is in terms of reliability. Without a doubt Lotus have had the most work to do after they had to make a major chassis change involving suspension mounts which meant abandoning one of the test sessions but that doesn't seem to have had a major effect on the team and with Kimi Raikkonen at the wheel it is hoped that they can challenge Mercedes after a fairly disappointing 2011 after a strong start.

Once again HRT are the joke of the entire grid as they once again go into the first race of the season without having so much as turned the wheel before after crash test problems earlier this year and it will be a miracle if they actually qualify as they failed to do so in Melbourne in 2011, but they could be joined by Marussia who have also had problems with their new car and have had to test with a modified 2011 car recently and they will also be struggling to even qualify for Melbourne which isn't good news for the team unless they can pull a rabbit out of the hat with the new car.

This seasons cars (apart from Mclaren) are characterised by the distinctive stepped nose due to new regulations about front wing height and this is how the vast majority of teams have interpreted this rule and it seems that only Mclaren are running a 'smooth' nose and it remains to be seen whether this was a correct decision and one that can mean they can challenge for the title after an average 2011 (unless you're Button of course)

For the British viewers 2012 is going to be a completely different viewing experience as Formula One is going to be broadcast on satellite television for the first time. When it was announced that Sky would be broadcasting F1 with BBC showing only half of the races (live) it was met with uproar from all quarters but as more details have been announced, many fans (me included) are rather looking forward to the full F1 package that is being provided this season with the F1 channel being launched in a matter of days!

For Galahads brilliant circuit write up, see here http://cliptheapex.com/pages/melbourne-grand-prix-circuit-albert-park/

 

[johnnoble1990]

I'm not anti Lewis in any way. I've said on numerous occasions he's a brilliant driver, but I have one issue that disappoints. Lewis is no better now, entering his sixth year in the sport than he was in 2007.

I'm extremely pro-Lewis, but that only means I'm even more disappointed by it, not that I disagree. I'm ever optimistic though he will prove his ability by the end of his career, but it is only for so long we can reference past seasons for why a driver is "the best". You are only as good as your last race, and right now I think Lewis is in the pack of top drivers, not at the top of it.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

I must admit, I thought that Maldonado was a little unlucky to come unstuck in such a dramatic fashion at the end after having done so well up to that point (especially gutted, seeing as I have the Williams chassis in my Fantasy F1 team).
He was chasing a Ferrari for God's sake! It was a small error he made, it seemed to me, but with a disastrous result.

 

[mjo]

Brilliant by Kimi and Di Resta to make up 3 places on the last lap albeit a bit fortunate to do so.

 

[steveg]

Good race, lots of good drives and action. Button drove well

Like a few races last year though, it's another case of Lewis losing speed on race day when faster in qualifying, his car clearly did not have the pace of Jensons, towards the end Webber was on him whereas Seb couldn't catch Button

Lewis once again looked a little bewildered at his lack of pace, let's hope it doesn't happen every race

I just don't understand it. If you're fast you're fast and yet we saw this on a few occasions last season when Lewis' race pace just deserted him.

 

[Kewee]

I'm extremely pro-Lewis, but that only means I'm even more disappointed by it, not that I disagree. I'm ever optimistic though he will prove his ability by the end of his career, but it is only for so long we can reference past seasons for why a driver is "the best". You are only as good as your last race, and right now I think Lewis is in the pack of top drivers, not at the top of it.

I think he already has proved his ability hugely. It's just fine tuning away from the track that could turn him into one of the all time greats. All I'm saying is for me, he's still a work in progress searching for the best in himself that I'm sure is there waiting to be tapped.

 

[sushifiesta]

it was a frustrating feature for much of last season as well, Lewis having a mysterious lack of pace particularly near the start of the race. I guess it's something to do with the Pirellis but it's strange that we don't see it in qualifying.

 

[GeoffP]

In Monaldo's defence I thought I saw Alonso gathering his car back together just as Monaldo lost it - so totally Monaldo's fault, but at least extenuating circumstances as he was trying to pass and looked like he was too close to avoid Alonso safely.

On his plus side, at least he didn't just take out Alonso

 

[GeoffP]

On Lewis, from my earlier post he just seemed to have problems following too closely on both Jenson and Seb, I hope it's not true, but it seems possible that the McLaren may lose more downforce in another car's turbulance - but I hope I'm wrong there!

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Don't you mean Hamilton didn't have the pace of Button?
Or are you suggesting that Hamilton's car is somehow slower in race trim?

There comes a point where your defence of Hamilton, with all evidence to the contrary, just looks silly.

I mean Hamilton in his car didn't have the pace of Button in his car, this was a change from quali, and was also the case several times last year

It could be that come race day Lewis suddenly loses his speed due to his ability diminishing (I don't think so personally) or it could be due to his gearing or other car setup not working for him as well as Jensons does for him

Button goes well at this track and was unusually close to Lewis in practice and quali, but was faster in the race especially around the start, I don't see why this is silly to assume that for whatever reason Jensons car was better than Lewis' for this race, like I said I think they have different gearing setups, ofcourse some will say it was the tyres that Lewis was unable to handle as well as Jenson

Jenson drove a great race and did particularly well at the start. However over the race he was faster and might have got past later if he hadn't at the start

 

[tooncheese]

I'm prepared to ignore this result for Massa, as he has never been 1 second a lap slower when they were team-mates. Presumably the car was set up very badly.

I hope Alonso's career doesn't end up like Fittipaldi's where he could have won more if not for bad team choices, but Ferrari are not front runners at the moment.

It could be that come race day Lewis suddenly loses his speed due to his ability diminishing (I don't think so personally) or it could be due to his gearing or other car setup not working for him as well as Jensons does for him

Button goes well at this track and was unusually close to Lewis in practice and quali, but was faster in the race especially around the start, I don't see why this is silly to assume that for whatever reason Jensons car was better than Lewis' for this race, like I said I think they have different gearing setups, ofcourse some will say it was the tyres that Lewis was unable to handle as well as Jenson

They are in the same team, Lewis can ask what set-up Button is running, McLaren handle intra-team battles much better than all the other teams.

 

[siffert_fan]

For me, the biggest disappointment was Schumacher's gearbox woes. He really seemed to be in with a chance this race and I would have loved to see if he still has some of his old championship-winning form.

 

[steveg]

Can't fathom Hamiltons lack of pace - but it does seem to be at the beginning of races so not sure if it is the tyres (which would give him problems towards the end of a stint as opposed to the start) so perhaps the problem is fuel related - ie is there a problem with his handling of the car under high fuel ? When the cars were lighter in the old re-fuling days he was blisteringly quick (and still is in quali). This would also account for the lack of his infamous starts that all but disappeared last season.

 

[Brogan]

Isn't there a rule about crowding drivers off the circuit?

I was surprised nothing was said about Maldonado's move on Grosjean.
He was well past and Grosjean gave him enough room so there was no need for the shove as he completed the move.

Oh and Heikki Kovalainen has been handed a five place grid drop penalty at Malaysia for overtaking under the safety car.

 

[tranquility2k9]

I do not get Hamilton's lack of pace. As a few others have specified, if it was all tyre deg then he'd be OK at the start of the race. I don't see how Button pulled out 3 - 4 seconds. I don't buy this thing that Hamilton is slow on a full tank, since refueling was banned in 2010 he has been very fast on a full tank on many, many occasions.

This mysterious lack of pace seemed to start in the last third of 2011 when in several races such as Singapore, Suzuaka, India and even Brazil to some extent, he was clearly getting out-paced by Jenson. Something is not working right and he needs to sort it quickly. I assume Hamilton possibly needs a different setup to Jenson for the race and didn't get to sort that due to lack of running in practice.

There was a lot of talk over the winter though that McLaren have developed this car more to suit Jenson's style than Lewis'. Not in a vindictive way but probably more because generally Lewis can drive with pretty much any car and usually still be fast but Button is quite sensitive. But possibly, whatever this development path is, is not suiting Lewis in the races. Either that or it is just really suiting Jenson.

 

[tranquility2k9]

Another theory is that Button was told to save fuel quite a few times during the race and said in the press conference that they had too little fuel. I did not hear anything with regard to Lewis on this so can only assume he did not have to fuel save. If this were the case then Jenson would have started the race with less fuel and naturally be faster, but then as he had to save fuel, he was still as fast or faster than Hamilton as Hamilton's tyres were degrading even more than was obvious. Button's fuel saving would have actually hidden the fact that Lewis' tyres were in much worse condition than his.

 

[Brogan]

 

[Cookinflatsix]

This shows us that Jenson was faster throughout the entire first 8 laps, after that he was comfortably in the lead and so Lewis' laps would be closer or even quicker on occasion

Lewis although quicker in quali was unable to match Jenson once in the first 8 laps, as this happened last year a few times I think there is an underlying issue, ofcourse some will say that he is just distracted on race day

If we are allowed to speculate about it the save fuel messages could point to the answer

Maybe Jenson is underfueled and then expected to save fuel later,

 

[Brogan]

What it actually shows is that for 38 out of 58 laps Button was faster.

 

[Boyle]

I was surprised nothing was said about Maldonado's move on Grosjean.
He was well past and Grosjean gave him enough room so there was no need for the shove as he completed the move.

I thought exactly the same. I couldn't believe it wasn't investigated as it looked like a clear punt to me.

Well it looks like it is going to be as we all expected - a straight battle between Mclaren and Red Bull. Very disappointed with the Mercs but it looks as though Lotus have some genuine podium pace, hopefully they don't fade away.

And isn't it great having Kimi back?

 

[Clinton]

That was a really good race. I've been a harsh critic of DRS in the past, but I must admit that the zone placement and length today were spot on, allowing the action to look completely natural whilst providing close racing. I'm also more favourable to the idea of DRS now that it has some interesting technological innovation surrounding it on the Mercedes cars.

Regarding Mercedes, they're obviously likely to be relatively faster in quali than in the race because that DRS enhancement device is used more in those circumstances. Still, it looked to me like Schumacher was significantly faster in the race than Rosberg today - possibly he has finally tightened his grip on the team - and I suspect he may well have finished fifth without the gearbox problems (and assuming he avoided any unnecessary racing incidents).