Grand Prix 2019 Australian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

There's still another test session before the F1 season kicks off in Melbourne on 17th March but lets get the hype going as we enter the 69th season of the Formula One World Championship. It will be the usual early start for UK viewers if you able to watch live with Sky starting their broadcast (or narrow cast if the declining number of viewers is true) at ten past five in the morning. Yes, there is a five o'clock in the morning now.

The 2019 season is long. We are starting earlier in March than normal and the last race is on 1st December at Yas Marina. In amongst all this the 1,000 GP will be held in China on April 14th. There had been suggestions of trying to run the race in the UK to bookend race 1 and race 1,000 at Silverstone but anyone who can recall the Easter GP of 2000 will realise what a very silly idea this would be. I went to a WEC race at Silverstone in April a few years ago and it snowed. Enough said.

So can we hope for a close, exciting and entertaining season with a close battle for race wins and the championship? I have no idea. Testing has suggested Ferrari are the team to beat but then it has suggested this for a few years and the Scuderia has failed to deliver. I suspect the Mercedes will be up to speed come Australia when then take the bag of cement out of the cockpit. Valterri Bottas is talking tough in the season build up, I have a feeling he will roll over and the team will take it in terms to tickle his tummy as each race goes by before they part ways at the end of 2019.

Charles le Clerc should give Sebastian Vettel a run for his money at the red team, it will be fascinating to see how the team dynamic develops and if the young pretender can rattle the four times world champion in the way Daniel Ricciardo did at Red Bull. Talking of Red Bull, it is a new era as they move to Honda power. Testing has shown the engine to be finally getting some reliability and Helmut Marko claims they are behind Ferrari but ahead of Mercedes. This may well be wishful thinking on Helmut's part but I do hope the Red Bull can mix it up the front.

Behind the top three teams Renault and the newly branded Alfa Romeo team look like being at the head of division two with Toro Rosso not too far behind. McLaren, Racing Point and Haas will be hoping to get closer to these two as the season develops whist poor old Williams will simply be grateful to met the 107% rule if current form continues.

So what of Melbourne itself? It took over as the home of the Australian GP from Adelaide in 1996 and has produced, in equal measure, some of the most exciting and boring F1 races I have seen. I hope 2019 proves to be the latter, if not I will have to look to Formula E to continue to compensate for the dirth of excitement in F1.

So stats fans, which drivers (according to Wikipedia) have the most wins at the Australian GP? Well there are two with four wins, Michael Schumacher (well durr) and Lex Davidson. Who he you ask? Well, as much as Formula One would like to think it holds the intellectual property on the term Grand Prix lots of other races have been given this title and Lex won races back in the 50's and 60's.

These races were run to different rules, Davdison's win in the the '54 race being to F2 spec, the '61 race was Formula Libre and looking at the list of entrants it's quite an eye opener. You had Cooper F1 and F2 cars racing against road cars like the Austin 8 and Zephyr. Can you imagine the bleating from today' s drivers if they came up behind a Fiesta or a Mondeo half way through a lap at Melbourne. It's bad enough for the poor little loves when they have to lap a back marker who's only marginally slower than they are.

Back to the Grand Prix pre-85. There is a stunning list of winners including Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Alan Jones and, inevitably, Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren. These were the days when F1 drivers had to race in various series to make ends meet and were often contracted by the teams to run in F2 and F3 races as well as F1.

Here's another for you stats fans, the Australian GP has been won by two father and son combos (I wasn't sure how else to put this so please forgive my rather clumsy description). Graham and Damon Hill should be easy to work out but Alan Jones' father Stan won the race in 1959 in a Maserati.

Before I leave you to get excited about the upcoming season, one last pointless fact for you to take a guess at. Only one driver won the Australian Grand Prix at the full World Championship event and in the Formula Pacific era, who he?

Welcome to F1 2019.
 
I am looking forward to the first race, there is always that anticipation of a great year of racing. Until we watch it that is, then we often realise it's more of the same again. I am hoping that won't be the case in 2019, my fingers are firmly crossed, even if does make typing really hard!
 
Charles le Clerc should give Sebastian Vettel a run for his money at the red team, it will be fascinating to see how the team dynamic develops and if the young pretender can rattle the four times world champion in the way Daniel Ricciardo did at Red Bull. Talking of Red Bull, it is a new era as they move to Honda power. Testing has shown the engine to be finally getting some reliability and Helmut Marko claims they are behind Ferrari but ahead of Mercedes. This may well be wishful thinking on Helmut's part but I do hope the Red Bull can mix it up the front.

Welcome to F1 2019.
DR did'nt really rattle Vettel. His car did. Right from the start go at testing
A quick look at the stats will confirm this
 
Concerns in media are poping up about Mercedes's position on the grid. Hamilton said its only testing, but history however suggest, he would not mind to drive faster if he could, testing notwithstanding. In a few weeks we will find out. Sanbagging would be good guess when a driver is a fraction behind in P2, but not in P6 (IMO).

Ferrari's front wing will be copied? Good, if rumours are factual. I am hoping they will have it ready for races in October. We need break from Hamilton and his usually superior car. Fight on the level is badly needed for health of the sport.
 
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Charles le Clerc should give Sebastian Vettel a run for his money at the red team, it will be fascinating to see how the team dynamic develops and if the young pretender can rattle the four times world champion in the way Daniel Ricciardo did at Red Bull.
Don't do this. Here once again you do your own thing, and then you are surprised when people push back. Clerc will do whatever he can. He seems to have a lot of support just as self-confidence, thus he seems to be on right track. Vettel is one with his car today, which was not a case in 2014 when bad things were happening on more than just one track. Let the season to settle in, and we will get some results. Fact is, "new" guys aren't shy, and drive well. It is good news for all of us without taking low road.
 
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I shall make every effort not to proffer any opinion in future for fear of offending the fragile sensibilities of any member. Makes you wonder why anyone would create a space on the internet for people to have a discussion doesn't it :facepalm:
We hear you...
Just consider Ric tried to explain away his deficit to Verstappen with EXACTLY the same excuse (car breaking down)
 
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2014 Retirements

Vettel - 3
Ricciardo - 3

2018 Retirements

Verstappen - 4
Ricciardo - 8

I think Ricciardo's excuse stands up better.
 
2014 Retirements

Vettel - 3
Ricciardo - 3

2018 Retirements

Verstappen - 4
Ricciardo - 8

I think Ricciardo's excuse stands up better.
Here we go again and abusing statistics? Mileage difference between those two before season - Vettel had time to relearn his racing braking technique in 2014 on 500 Km in pre-season less than Ricciardo, but that was only start. How many times before races on Friday or Saturday Vettel had his car on the floor of the garage, going into qualifications just few minutes when he had to be there and without his car having any verified setup? There was plenty of it. I am not sure why this is a subject we need to discuss today, and it was painful time for some of us. This is the same abuse we need to hear from Hamilton!s fans how great Hamilton was all those years, totally disregarding regulatory roadblocks for others to catch a car which was a generation above others. Tony Kanaan said it best when Hamilton lost to Rosberg (paraphrasing), he (Hamilton) is racing in series with 2 cars, and he looses that match.
Sure, lack of respect is obvious, but that's just another case with abuse of statistics for those who cannot or do not want to present balanced assessment of misery Vettel went through that year, not to say there were other issues in his private life on parallel tracks, which were of distraction. Anyway, no one will change his mind, so, please, carry on...
 
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Izumi I really wanted to read your post but you started it with 'here we go again' and as we've never had this discussion before this leads me to conclude one for the following.

a) You think I'm someone else
b) you think every other race fan other than you and a select few have one brain washed opinon
c) you believe every post is a critiscm of Vettel or aimed at you.

My post was actually a response to BradMan in reference to both Ricciardo and Vettel having the same excuse for being beat by their team mate. Ricciardo was let down by his car last year no question - my apparent abuse of stats shows that.

As for Vettel. I do think he was bested by Ricciardo's that year even though I take into account his car issues and lack of motivation. Beat is beat though. Alonso was beat by Hamilton in 2007 however much people try to argue he waan't. Hamilton was beat by Button even if the argument was he was in a dark place or his team hated him etc. All the best get beat sometime.

Also just a tip - I'm not telling you how to post because that's against site rules - but we have a lot of Vettel fans on this site and a lot of none Vettel fans on this site but no one has ever got aggressive about it because views are views. The OP was writing a PQR thread which is an introduction and a speculation. Feel free to say you disagree with what he has stated but telling him not to do something or making out like he is a dumbass for thinking it is plain rude to be honest.

Believe it or not the OP is a Vettel fan. Check out the win finger thread. But you decided to jump to conclusion he was attacking him.
 
Izumi I really wanted to read your post but you started it with 'here we go again' and as we've never had this discussion before this leads me to conclude one for the following.

a) You think I'm someone else
b) you think every other race fan other than you and a select few have one brain washed opinon
c) you believe every post is a critiscm of Vettel or aimed at you.

My post was actually a response to BradMan in reference to both Ricciardo and Vettel having the same excuse for being beat by their team mate. Ricciardo was let down by his car last year no question - my apparent abuse of stats shows that.

As for Vettel. I do think he was bested by Ricciardo's that year even though I take into account his car issues and lack of motivation. Beat is beat though. Alonso was beat by Hamilton in 2007 however much people try to argue he waan't. Hamilton was beat by Button even if the argument was he was in a dark place or his team hated him etc. All the best get beat sometime.

Also just a tip - I'm not telling you how to post because that's against site rules - but we have a lot of Vettel fans on this site and a lot of none Vettel fans on this site but no one has ever got aggressive about it because views are views. The OP was writing a PQR thread which is an introduction and a speculation. Feel free to say you disagree with what he has stated but telling him not to do something or making out like he is a dumbass for thinking it is plain rude to be honest.

Believe it or not the OP is a Vettel fan. Check out the win finger thread. But you decided to jump to conclusion he was attacking him.
Fair enough
 
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