Formula 1 2018 - Round 1 – Australia

Harika

As Highline commanded
First race of the season, new faces everywhere and the home race for Brandon Hartley. 😉 We can hopefully expect a closer season that last year, although Mercedes seemed on the long runs mighty, there are still markers that make RedBull and Ferrari look competitive.




There is a new timetable going on and with the swap to Summer time, we can expect a race early in the morning, except if you are Aussie, then mid day.

Session times:

Friday
First Free practice 01:00 - 02:30
Second Free practice 05:00 - 06:30
Saturday
Third Free practice 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying 06:00 - 07:00
Sunday
Race 06:10 - 08:10

All sessions live on Sky and if you are outside of Ireland/UK on the new F1 viewing platform.

Questions:
Will Mercedes dominate after a close first half of the 2017 season?
Will McLaren be able to challenge Renault or even RedBull?
Will Honda create a reliable engine that is competitive?
Who will be the last on the grid?
Who will be the best rookie?

Some read: https://badgergp.com/2018-f1-season-preview-bumper-statistics-bonanza/

Joeface

That lap record will go

Will Mercedes dominate after a close first half of the 2017 season? No it will be mixed again for the first 3 races
Will McLaren be able to challenge Renault or even RedBull? Not straight away . Vandoorne will finish the race in the points, Alonso Will not
Will Honda create a reliable engine that is competitive? Reliable Yes , Competitive not sure but would be a decent bet as a double points finish
Who will be the last on the grid? Erricson
Who will be the best rookie?Gastly

and more for the race , Verstappen will not finish Ahead of Danny Ric .

Pretty sure every one will disagree with that

BIGT4464

Soft Supersoft Ultra soft. How silly. Could they just say Hard Medium & Soft. F1 is gone from being interesting, If you want good racing look at Indycar, St Pete race was great, cautions and fun restarts you never see in F1, strategy too and proper pit stop rules.

recyclebin

The tyre thing is ridiculous at this stage. 7 different compounds!!!

Cool_CM

Beautiful!

Harika

Yeah tomorrow morning, two practices to analyse during work the day. :cool:

Jordan 199

Tis great to see F1 back on the TV.

TheChrisD

Jesus, the new on-screen graphics are dire. Do they expect everyone watching to own a 65-inch 8K screen, or be wearing a VR headset?
What's with the contrast issues, can't see the car number and names for the Haas' or either of the Bull teams.
And the overhead T-cam not being centered is driving me even more crazy now the silly flip-flop is on the cars.

Burkie1203

Congrats to Lewis on title number whatever it is.

Can wait to see next season's cars

😎

Mike Litoris

Jordan 199 wrote: »

Tis great to see F1 back on the TV.

Indeed. Had to listen to the Sky clowns this morning though.


At a glance, Merc/Hamilton out on their own again as expected even on long runs on softer tyres. Are RB and Ferrari sandbagging a bit? Got a little tighter in 2nd FP.McLaren and Haas look to be just behind the top 3 but over a second off Hamiltons time. Still a big leap from last year for both teams especially Haas.

Rossi IRL

They should just get rid of the on board camera, can't see a thing from them.

If a car is slipstreaming a car in front and then the car behind pulls out to the left to overtake, your not going to see a damn thing the way the on board cam is with the halo.

El_Duderino 09

Chequered Flag podcast Australia preview out. Most remarkable thing so far is they said Haas could have a driver in the top 6 in quali. I’m inclined to call that pre season hype.

Does anyone else expect Haas to make such a huge leap forward?

Were Haas not known for doing glory runs the last few seasons?

Harika

Haas were always very good at the start of a season.
Anyway it looks closer at the top, a mighty midfield and Sauber lonely at the end.

Joeface

FP1 Time sheet

1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:24.026 27
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:24.577 +0.551s 29
3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:24.771 +0.745s 26
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:24.875 +0.849s 23
5 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:24.995 +0.969s 22
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:25.063 +1.037s 25
7 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:25.730 +1.704s 24
8 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Renault 1:25.896 +1.870s 16
9 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:25.922 +1.896s 23
10 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Renault 1:26.482 +2.456s 15
11 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:26.494 +2.468s 25
12 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams Mercedes 1:26.536 +2.510s 25
13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:26.583 +2.557s 25
14 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:26.605 +2.579s 30
15 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:26.636 +2.610s 30
16 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:26.767 +2.741s 26
17 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:27.035 +3.009s 13
18 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:27.745 +3.719s 16
19 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:27.964 +3.938s 28
20 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari 1:28.853 +4.827s 28

FP2 Time Sheet
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:23.931 35
2 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:24.058 +0.127s 34
3 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:24.159 +0.228s 34
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:24.214 +0.283s 39
5 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:24.451 +0.520s 38
6 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:24.648 +0.717s 34
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:24.721 +0.790s 28
8 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Renault 1:25.200 +1.269s 28
9 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:25.246 +1.315s 30
10 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Renault 1:25.285 +1.354s 34
11 55 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:25.390 +1.459s 35
12 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:25.413 +1.482s 30
13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:25.463 +1.532s 35
14 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:25.543 +1.612s 32
15 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:25.888 +1.957s 33
16 28 Brendon Hartley Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:25.925 +1.994s 41
17 10 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:25.945 +2.014s 39
18 35 Sergey Sirotkin Williams Mercedes 1:25.974 +2.043s 37
19 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:26.814 +2.883s 31
20 16 Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari 1:26.815 +2.884s 35

HighLine

Those FP1 & FP2 results are actually depressing. I had hoped for change but knew it wouldn't come.

Joeface

don't think too much can be taken from the FP times at any stage this year.

limited to three engines , I would assume no one is really pushing . That will happen only in Q1 ...I HOPE .

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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Harika

Joeface wrote: »

don't think too much can be taken from the FP times at any stage this year.

limited to three engines , I would assume no one is really pushing . That will happen only in Q1 ...I HOPE .

Times are slower than last year, so you might be onto something.

Joeface

hope I am on to something , given last years Pole was 1:22.188 but LH Q1 time was 1:24.191 some 2sec slower
His FP2 fastest lap last year was 1:23.620 .

I believe this is a case of everyone SANDBAGGING THE CRAP outta of it . except HAAS they are flat out

Joeseph Balls

Just caught a glimpse of fp on sky news.
Was Ric driving without the halo or was that old footage?
Also Hamilton looked so awkward climbing out over to the halo

HighLine

Some camera angles ruined as a result of the halo. The camera above the drivers head but to the side of the air intake is pointless now.

christy c

HighLine wrote: »

Some camera angles ruined as a result of the halo. The camera above the drivers head but to the side of the air intake is pointless now.

Agreed, and the other one from above just looks stupid. Apart from that I don't think the halo looks too bad

recyclebin

The 3 engine limit is really going to hamper Friday testing. They will have to make changes to that or it will become a mockery.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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skipper_G

A few thoughts after catching up with the first two sessions.

• The new jingle is growing on me, it worked well at the start of practice when coupled with on screen visuals showing the drivers etc;
• I like the new graphics as well, gives the presentation a fresh look. There was one view which had drivers numbers shown to the right of their names which was very difficult to see so hopefully they correct that for next time. Not enough info on tyres however, hope they have a visual indicator for the race or we'll never be able to keep track of it.
• For the replays have they added the sound effect of a car zipping past when the replay cuts back to live pictures or did I imagine it ?
• The halo is worse than I thought. Can't see the driver half the time, onboard shots now give a half screen full of halo. Hate isn't a strong enough word, I despise it. It's obscenely ugly.
• Interesting comparison with the Sauber drivers, Leclerc was 0.889 seconds behind Ericsson after FP1, and 0.001 seconds after FP2. Just as quick after only two sessions
• More exhaust problems for McLaren in FP1, I suspect it's not the last time that wil happen this year.

eviltimeban

Looking forward to getting stuck into the TV shows, saying that I didn't bother taping / Sky boxing any of the FP sessions, if they are on repeat I'll check them out.

McLaren seem to be top 10 at least, hopefully Alonso can push it.

The pre-show seems to be broken up a bit more; I might skip all that and go straight to the action. An hour and a half of pre-show, then 2 hours of race is a fair commitment of time.

christy c

On my phone so can't embed video (I think?) But this is a pretty cool video from FP

https://youtu.be/U0yPwFIElmc

Halo looks awful. Truly awful. You can pretty much forget the visors in IndyCar once the cars are moving, not so with the Halo.
The team logos on the graphics are pointless. :P Also I don't get why they seem to have used double line spacing instead of having larger fonts. And I'm not arsed buying glasses. :P
Mercedes miles ahead.
McLaren still poor, I may find it hard to defend them at all this year. :P
Haven't heard the theme tune yet.

HighLine

christy c wrote: »

On my phone so can't embed video (I think?) But this is a pretty cool video from FP

https://youtu.be/U0yPwFIElmc

Amazing how quiet they are still. I remember standing in a similar position at Albert Park back with proper race car engines in 2004... it was a violent affair when a car passed by flat out. The ground shook, your eyes almost vibrated in your head and the smell..... so good.

christy c

HighLine wrote: »

Amazing how quiet they are still. I remember standing in a similar position at Albert Park back with proper race car engines in 2004... it was a violent affair when a car passed by flat out. The ground shook, your eyes almost vibrated in your head and the smell..... so good.

Yeah that sound is a big loss, was 2004 the V10 era? I only ever witnessed the V8's in the flesh but even that was some experience

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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HighLine

christy c wrote: »

Yeah that sound is a big loss, was 2004 the V10 era? I only ever witnessed the V8's in the flesh but even that was some experience

Yeah it was the fastest year of the V10 era... reving to 20k RPM.

Albert Park is a great place to watch an F1 race. They put on a show all weekend.

Charlie-Bravo

christy c wrote: »

On my phone so can't embed video (I think?) But this is a pretty cool video from FP

https://youtu.be/U0yPwFIElmc

That's a 2017 video. Aren't the cars slightly louder this year?

HighLine

astrofluff wrote: »

That's a 2017 video. Aren't the cars slightly louder this year?

Good spot... I was thinking and they were supposed to be making them slightly louder this year so wasn't very impressed by the above video sound.

flazio

christy c wrote: »

On my phone so can't embed video (I think?) But this is a pretty cool video from FP

There you go.

flazio

What time is Qualifying in the morning?

seamusk84

flazio wrote: »

What time is Qualifying in the morning?

6am.

Gutted Ricardo got the three place penalty, seems very unfair.

christy c

astrofluff wrote: »

That's a 2017 video. Aren't the cars slightly louder this year?

Yeah good catch, totally missed that

christy c

Rain forecast so may not know the true pecking order

Jordan 199

I'm going to try to stay up all night. Coffee and my gaming consoles should keep me busy.

I think my days of staying up all night just for F1 may be over.

First time I actually saw the proper version of the new intro/theme music there. Actually not as bad as I'd feared.

Cool_CM

Jesus, those graphics...

flazio

McLaren will be feeling a bit smug that they are comfortable through and Torro Rosso are out

Mike Litoris

I'm liking the new graphics but I'd rather if they left the team icon beside the times at all times. It's handier to see team performance at a glance than the little line showing the team colours.


No real surprises with who's knocked out in qualy 1. Force India being nowhere is a surprise.

Mike Litoris

flazio wrote: »

McLaren will be feeling a bit smug that they are comfortable through and Torro Rosso are out

Fans will anyhow given the bull surrounding testing mileage and Hondas performance.

Harika

Petr Hlawiczka (@hlawiczka) Tweeted:
#F1 #AusGP Q1 Top speeds: 1. Perez 323kph, 2. Vettel 320, 3. Ocon 318, 4. Raikkonen 317.. 19. Alonso 307, 20. Vandoorne 305kph. https://twitter.com/hlawiczka/status/977428438167539712?s=17

Mike Litoris

Harika wrote: »

Petr Hlawiczka (@hlawiczka) Tweeted:
#F1 #AusGP Q1 Top speeds: 1. Perez 323kph, 2. Vettel 320, 3. Ocon 318, 4. Raikkonen 317.. 19. Alonso 307, 20. Vandoorne 305kph. https://twitter.com/hlawiczka/status/977428438167539712?s=17

Jesus, FI need to dial in a bit more wing given where they ended up after Q1.


Nice to see Alonso there and not propping up the speed traps!

Cool_CM

Looks like somebody gave Kimi a much-needed boot up the hole over the winter!

Mike Litoris

Yeah, good to see Kimi hustling the car again.


Rain for q3? :eek: