Grand Prix 2025 Australian Grand Prix

My word, here we are only a few days away from the first race of the season and we don't have a discussion thread.

2025 is the last year of the current regulations and last year did show that having continuity for several season does bring the cars closer together, with three different teams and seven different drivers winning races. Pre-season testing suggests that McLaren have picked up where they left off at the end of 2024, with a small advantage. Will this carry through to the first race? 2024 did suggest that some cars were fastest depending on the type of circuit. I hope this year will be as competitive from the first race as it was at the end of last season.

We also have the excitement of new drivers and some changes in the team line ups. The biggest move, of course, is Lewis Hamilton replacing Carlos Sainz at Ferrari. Can the Scuderia provide Lewis with a record breaking 8th title? Sainz, meanwhile, has gone to Williams, who were showing some pace at the end of last season after many years in the doldrums.

2024 saw the end, for now anyway, of Sergio Perez, Zhou Guanyu, Valterri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and, mid-season, Daniel Ricciardo. Some new talent was blooded and showed some promise with Oliver Bearman, Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan all securing full time seats for 2025. Franco Colapinto was the exception of the new drivers blooded in 2024 to get a full time seat for 2025, but he will be lurking at the back of the Alpine Garage, keeping Jack Doohan on his toes.

The F1 driver line is also joined by Andrea Kimi Antonelli (who passed his driving test during the season break!), Isack Hadjar, and Gabriel Bortolato. Antonelli has the best opportunity, sitting next to George Russell at Mercedes. It will be fascinating to see how the other two progress with less competitive machinery. As Bearman and Colapinto showed last year, you don't need to have a race winning car to show your capabilities.

The race is at some ungodly hour here in the UK. Well done to those of you who will either stay awake until wee hours to watch it, or drag yourselves from your slumbers. Me, I suspect I will record it and watch it "as live" with a cup of tea and some toast when my brain is able to comprehend what is happening.

For those with Sky, here are the timings.

1741770646874.webp


And for those with some time to spare, the official website is worth a nose around - FORMULA 1 LOUIS VUITTON AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2025 - but if you were hoping to get some tickets late on it appears to be sold out.

Enjoy!
 
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fascinating qualifying, i think we all knew McLaren were quick being the only team not to do a performance run in testing is always an ominous sign & that is going to be fascinating between Norris & piastri, because we saw how quickly the Hamilton & Rosberg friendship deteriorated good natured in march & they hated each other by august

& Ferrari very disappointing they've gone really backwards, they were nowhere, Hamilton will be pleased to be so close to Leclerc in time & place, but i wonder how much its the pull rod suspension they changed to because 1) there has to be a reason why push rod is norm that almost every team uses & 2) it seems to be a cycle that a leading team tries pull rod suspension tell us all the aerodynamic benefits of it, only to realise why nobody else uses it, ditches it 1 or 2 years later & goes back to push rod

Max very impressive as always, but new year, new car, new driver but same problems, i understand why they do it because he brought alot of success, but only max can seemingly drive it, Albon, Perez have talked how difficult the 2nd car is because of how on edge & twitchy it can be

on the rookies Bortoleto, easily the best of them very impressive to outqualify hulkenburg. but then was it to be expected as its almost as guaranteed as a driver who won 3rd tier & then 2nd tier titles in consecutive years. as Hamilton, Hulkenburg, Leclerc, Russell & Piastri isnt a bad list to be a part of. bearman not really his fault more bad luck, but wow is that Haas dreadful, 6 tenths slower than the sauber & antotelli another bit of bad luck appartantly lost 3 tenths on the straights with a broken bib on the floor, which wouldve had him 7th in Q1 not 16th
 
Sorry - on the pull-rod front suspension, McLaren have really made it work - it didn’t really make sense in the days of raised noses, but now, with lower noses, it makes sense again.

Steve Matchett (former mechanic at Benetton) provides a really nice discussion of the benefits of push/pull rod suspension.
F1Brits_90 said:
& Ferrari very disappointing they've gone really backwards, they were nowhere, Hamilton will be pleased to be so close to Leclerc in time & place, but i wonder how much its the pull rod suspension they changed to because 1) there has to be a reason why push rod is norm that almost every team uses & 2) it seems to be a cycle that a leading team tries pull rod suspension tell us all the aerodynamic benefits of it, only to realise why nobody else uses it, ditches it 1 or 2 years later & goes back to push rod

l
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The Artist..... said:
Sorry - on the pull-rod front suspension, McLaren have really made it work - it didn’t really make sense in the days of raised noses, but now, with lower noses, it makes sense again.
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ah thats my mistake. i didnt know mclaren were using pull rod front suspension. i thought everyone else was using push rod. ill research the steve matchett thing. but i think it was ferrari under vettel or alonso 2014? when they did this & ended up reverting in 2017?

but apparently ferrari underperformed because many people with speed traps. are saying theyve gone for much higher downforce with weather tomorrow
 
on forecast it seems the rain is going to hit between 9am - 4pm. & i guess we will what could happen & if we will avoid a spa scenario. on how F3 & F2 get on
 
just watching a bit of F3 to see what the weather is like & it looked like more like it's inters until the latter stages when it creeped until than full wets

Luca Badoer son is racing & the talent certainly runs in the genes. as he qualified 29th out of 30 LOL
 
for a 1st race, i really enjoyed that, plenty of action & drama if not much overtaking. it was an impressive drive from Lando as that wasnt an race to win. Verstappen doing what Verstappen does get the maximum from his weekend

Rookies had a tough day on what was tough conditions. all with helpless spin, but sainz & alonso showed that hadjar, Doohan & Bortoleto shouldnt be too hard on themselves. Bearman i thought had a great sunday until the alonso safety car he was about to overtake ocon despite having almost no running all weekend &
gutted for Antonelli, what a drive from 18th to miss out on 4th through no fault of his own. with that unsafe release

the Ferrari strategists are the most infuriating thing in the world how can they be that bad so for so many years. its absoultely chucking it down, multiple Drivers are skating off & so of course you stay out on the dry tyres :givemestrength:

my heart goes out to Piastri, what is this curse on Australians at the AustralianGP, Webber, Riccardio & now Piastri, all race winners & great drivers. yet still no home driver has ever legally stood on the podium. when he looked like was going to win
 
So, during the race, Antonelli was given a 5 second penalty. After the race, Mercedes instigated a right to review, and the 5-second penalty was rescinded.

I'm not sure how this is, in the least bit, fair:
  • Had Antonelli taken an additional pit stop in the race, he would have had to serve the five second penalty, and there would be no right to review at all
  • If he had it at his final stop, he can appeal...
I do think that the FIA need to fix this anomaly; either 5 second penalties are appealable (in which case all would need to be implemented after the finish of the race), or none of the penalties are appealable, in which case they could be implemented during or after the race.
 
Okay what's established
If the race is dry Mclaren are the team to beat but the team orders looked bad


A wet race really took the rookies to the cleaners



Ferrari still floundering over strategy surely to stay in touch with the race leaders but nobody was tracking Norris !
A missed opportunity

Mercedes they got it right so benefitted for now

Williams is the best of the midfield

Racing Bulls
A missed opportunity for both . Hadjar better have the right people around him because Anthony Hamilton was brilliant in showing him tlc. Not sure his team are the same


Aston Martin hmmm Alonso crashed ..
 
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Can't believe Lance Stroll has more WDC points than Ferrari has in the WCC after the first race of this season. This season is going to be EPIC.
 
Not bad for the first race of the season. Have to admire the performance Max put in, he only made one small mistake all race.
 
The Artist..... said:
So, during the race, Antonelli was given a 5 second penalty. After the race, Mercedes instigated a right to review, and the 5-second penalty was rescinded.

I'm not sure how this is, in the least bit, fair:
  • Had Antonelli taken an additional pit stop in the race, he would have had to serve the five second penalty, and there would be no right to review at all
  • If he had it at his final stop, he can appeal...
I do think that the FIA need to fix this anomaly; either 5 second penalties are appealable (in which case all would need to be implemented after the finish of the race), or none of the penalties are appealable, in which case they could be implemented during or after the race.
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good point, it is a strange anomaly

i think they were 1st abit too harsh & rushed to get it done before the end. when really there is no need unless it affects the top 3. by rushing it seems the stewards got it wrong. as mercedes were able to prove that they was many similar exits that had gone unpunished
 
The problem is every team is complaining and moaning at stewards for being slow to decide , so we will get these quick penalties unless you're Max Verstappen who sticks two fingers to any penalty . The consequence is teams can challenge about the decision there and then rather than for court of appeal where usually the punishment has been increased in the past.
 
Christoon said:
Can't believe Lance Stroll has more WDC points than Ferrari has in the WCC after the first race of this season. This season is going to be EPIC
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Well Alonso should be worried then given it was a bit of an amateurish mistake on his part to crash and he is behind Stroll.

In terms of the season that really depends on how far Mclaren get in front before the alleged clampdown on flexi wings . If the races are dry , Mclaren will wipe the floor off everyone .
 
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Il_leone said:
The problem is every team is complaining and moaning at stewards for being slow to decide , so we will get these quick penalties unless you're Max Verstappen who sticks two fingers to any penalty . The consequence is teams can challenge about the decision there and then rather than for court of appeal where usually the punishment has been increased in the past.
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if that was for a tangible thing. standing on a podium or 10th by all means. try to be quick. but if its for 4th - 9th there's not much difference. & also you need to quick but correct but because if was for 3rd the wrong person wouldve still been on the podium
 
Johnny Carwash said:
In a World of Helmut Marko’s, be an Anthony Hamilton.
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its funny how i knew at 9am, that marko would be such a embarrassing :censored: "what we know he wouldnt get from red bull"

2pm - "Isack Hadjar did a little bit of crying after his crash. That was a bit embarrassing."

its no surprise that kyvat had a breakdown at red bull that time, considering if this is how they treat their drivers as humans. that is 1 of most heartbreaking interviews ive watched. probably really annoyed them it was someone from hamilton family that made them look terrible
 
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