Grand Prix 2016 Australian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Strewth, Bruce! The Australian Grand Prix is nearly here, ahead of a 2016 season build-up suffering from staggeringly low expectations and the people who are paid handsomely to promote Formula One seemingly trying to kill it with their media comments. So...

Well, the good thing with low expectations is that they can easily be bettered. Although Mercedes may be miles ahead of the field, it is quite possible that Ferrari have closed the gap and actual racing may occur there. The midfield looks rather tighter this year. We have a new team (Haas), Renault are returning and Manor are having a proper go of it!

Add to that a great big unknown with the tyre rules, and a selection of tyres made by each team that will probably look quite daft given that it was made before the new elimination system of qualifying was announced. So tyre strategy and qualification strategy are still rather unknown, which could add some insanity unpredictability.

Melbourne is often a race of high attrition, with the walls too close to the track for those unused to new cars, and unreliability also raising its ugly and seldom seen head. Daniil Kvyat, Valteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Manor will be hoping to actually get to the start this year! Chances of attrition are hit by the exit-stage-left of Pastor Maldonado amid the complete collapse of the economy of Venezuela, but you never know .

Despite the existance of Stoffel Vandoorne, the debutants are Mercedes' youth product Pascal Wehrlein, Indonesia's first ever F1 [pay-]driver Rio Haryanto and Jolyon "son-of-Jonathon" Palmer. It seems unlikely any will match Kevin Magnussen's 2nd-on-debut in 2014, however (which was, allegedly, the last time Ron Dennis smiled).

The last five Australian Grand Prix have been won by different drivers - Vettel, Button, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Hamilton. I'd be surprised if Raikkonen won it this year and mystified if Button did. Those same drivers (minus Rosberg) have monopolised pole position here since Giancarlo Fisichella stuck his Renault on pole in a rain-storm in 2005.

Sit back, and lets hope there's something to enjoy. There's life in the old dog yet, despite you, Bernie.

 

[Il_leone]

On the potential drivers who want the Ferrari drive next year - both Ricciardo and Grosjean improved their credentials but Bottas had a disappointing result and Verstappen as highly rated as he is still has a lot to learn and his immaturity could be his undoing

 

[Il_leone]

Rosberg apparently apologised for pushing out Hamilton at the start well this could more interesting as the season goes on

 

[Bill Boddy]

Rosberg had track position, Hamilton has done much worse than that.

 

[Il_leone]

Bill Boddy i get the feeling Nico will not surrender as easily as last season and we will get a lot of close wheel to wheel's between the two

 

[RasputinLives]

(what's the plural of Haas?)

Haasi

Max Verstappen isn't doing himself any favours by moaning, even if the team's strategy to pit Sainz first was odd to say the least.

From what I could make out from Radio traffic Max was saying 'my tyres are going off' whilst Sainz said 'we need to change'. Hence I think that Carlos actually called it rather than waiting to be told so was first in.

I certainly Don't think it was out of the teams preference for Sainz as poor old Carlos is very much treated like the great Max Verstappen's maldeformed cousin by both team and media alike(David Croft I'm looking at you). I just hope when he gets dropped at the end of the year, and Max gets promoted to Red Bull, he finds another team because I very much enjoy watching him.

 

[Il_leone]

i think Sainz does not get the credit he deserves because he does not go out to cause trouble like Verstappen does and just gets on with it . A team like Williams probably would be a good fit for Sainz

 

[Il_leone]

Plural of Haas'

Haases !

 

[Il_leone]

RasputinLives

Max Verstappen: Australian GP shows moody side of Toro Rosso teenager

I wonder if Max has got a hand grenade ready after today's race

 

[Il_leone]

Jolyon Palmer should get some praise this week for outqualifying the much rated Kevin Magnussen and out racing him. i hope that goes some way to answering some of his critics

Wehrlein - the jury is out give Haryanto was well off the pace in testing but still managed to outqualify him this weekend

 

[olegg]

Palmer and Grosjean position in the first race of the season is surprise.
I think this is not accidental and can be repeated

 

[Hamberg]

Guttierrez making his way to the circuit.

View attachment 10448

Bump deserved

 

[marksawatsky]

That was a very exciting race and even though my driver didn't win, I really enjoyed it. It was great to see the podium finishers all joking around with each other, they all looked pretty happy to be there.

 

[The Artist.....]

Rosberg apparently apologised for pushing out Hamilton at the start well this could more interesting as the season goes on

That was a very strategic apology, if ever I've seen one!

 

[racecub]

K

I am wearing my helmet.

The red flag, Vettel's pit stop and Raikonnen's fire all worked favourably for Hamilton to get second place, he should have finished third at best or maybe even fourth.

The race showed the Mercedes choice of tyres was the best one, those medium tyres worked well.

There's another side to that. Had there been no flag Hamilton was already in fourth place and booted till the end of the race. The other frontrunners all had to stop again. They all got a free pit stop Hamilton didn't. Had the red flag been a lap earlier, that would have saved Hamilton the wasted pit stop. He d have gained by making his first pit stop under the red flag as Grosjean did.

That said, undoubtably both Mercedes benefited from trouble at the red team. ( wrong strategy, poor pit stop, fire)

 

[Titch]

I thought it was a good race. Lost by Ferrari rather than won by the Mercs.
Great to see a Haas in sixth.
Jolyn Palmer looks promising. Sainz showed grit and Verstappen needs a boot up the bum, sulky teenager springs to mind.

 

[racecub]

Yeah I'm really liking Jolyan, pretty handy in the car and comes over as a thoroughly nice guy.
Max, hmmm, he was a bit much today, but I can't help liking all that fire and determination. He is only 18 I guess. And it was odd that his teammate was pitted before him when Max was in front and asking to put, that's seems to be what set him off.

 

[FB]

I'm guessing this won't be put back together in time for Bahrain.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Seeing the damage to that Mclaren it is a minor miracle that Alonso actually walked away from that crash.

 

[Slyboogy]

Wooow! What a start to the race! Started off with a bang!

Great start by Vettel and then nudging past Rosberg with Raikkonen watching and slipping through past Hamilton and Rosberg.

It was looking a good race until the red flag came out which sombred things a bit. Got to love the camera shot of Alonso's car zooming by in slow motion, can't see I've seen an F1 car that destroyed in recent times, good to see Alonso walk away unharmed.

Ferrari oh Ferrari! What was that blunder? First of all keeping Raikkonen out for several laps where he lost around 8s+ as the rest got the undercut, and then to leave both cars on the Super Soft while they could clearly see the Mercedes cars running the Mediums. Even a Soft-Soft stint would have made more sense rather than staying out on used Super Softs. From a possible looking 1-2 to come out with just a third place must be a kick in the teeth.

Got to say Mercedes for once didn't actually look flustered for once and managed to salvage a 1-2. Albeit, Hamilton did get rather fortunate after a poor start and being nowhere, from being outside of the podium to finish 2nd is certainly a win for him. Credit goes to Rosberg for hanging in there and producing the goods, let off by the Ferrari blunder though.

Ricciardo did well to stay in there, although Red Bull themselves got caught out by the Mercedes Medium strategy, a probable podium lost.

Massa got the best he could, seems to be the same story with Williams since 2014, car seems to be eating through the tyres quicker than the other cars.

Surprise result by Grosjean, wasn't anywhere to be seen throughout the race and comes up in 6th. Brilliant for him and brilliant from the new team Haas.

Didn't see much from Hulkenberg and Bottas, Force India seem to be roughly where they were last year, drivers pulling them through.

Ah Toro Rosso, a nice fast car, but only returning home with 9th and 10th. Verstappen having a bitch fit was really unecessary, tables had turned from Singapore was it? Well done to Sainz for repaying the favour to Max and calling the strategy first.

Renault and McLaren were pretty much uninspiring along with Sauber who clearly are in trouble.

Think my eyes deceived me, but I'm sure I seen a Marussia at the start in 14th position, encouraging to see.

Best looking car in my opinion is the Renault, worst is Ferrari despite the beauty they produced last year. The Haas car looks more like a Welsh team than American.

Well for once it looked as if we had a fight at the front, the race offered much more than what actually happened. Let's hope Ferrari can actually bring it in Bahrain and Malaysia. Looks encouraging as the car hasn't had upgrades since the first test. But then Albert Park is a different beast to most tracks.

 

[teabagyokel]

While we're here, the quali format may have been an absolute disaster, but the tyre rules worked to a tee. Hamilton did something different and it opened the race up - and it would have been really interesting had the SC/RF not happened too!