F1 2022 - Round 3: Australia

Jordan 199 · 05-04-2022 9:29pm #1

So F1 returns to Australia after a two year absence.

Some questions ahead of the race on Sunday:

Will Verstappen get back-to-back victories or will Sainz or Leclerc put a stop to it?

Will Mick Schumacher score his first points in F1?

TV Times:

Friday: FP1: 04:00 - FP2: 07:00.

Saturday: FP3: 04:00 - Qualifying: 07:00.

Sunday: Race: 06:00.

AMKC · 06-04-2022 2:31pm

I am looking forward to see how Vettel does.

Would love to see Kevin Magnussen get on the podium here too.

Charlie-Bravo · 06-04-2022 2:47pm

I'm not much of a Ferrari fan but really looking forward to a lot of Ferrari-engined cars near the front this weekend.

MadYaker · 06-04-2022 5:10pm

Are you guys actually getting up at 6am to watch this?

Jordan 199 · 06-04-2022 5:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118890307#Comment_118890307

Yes!

MadYaker · 06-04-2022 5:18pm

Jesus fair play to you, id only be up that early on a Sunday if I was still out from the night before.

Charlie-Bravo · 06-04-2022 6:36pm

Definitely setting my alarm for it. Have you watch the races live, as I hate having to dodge the news/social media channels for spoilers. And boards.ie is a big spoiler too!

dmeehan · 06-04-2022 6:43pm

The changes to the track layout are expecting a quicker laptime over the last time the race was run.

And there will be 4 DRS zones this year!

MadYaker · 06-04-2022 6:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118890669#Comment_118890669

I suppose with a big enough cup of coffee it might be enjoyable and I'm not going out this weekend due to an imminent holiday and a resulting fear of catching covid so we'll see. Might watch it in bed.

Frank Bullitt · 06-04-2022 7:21pm

This is actually on for me Saturday night. Few cans and a live F1 race on a Saturday night, sign me up!

Just be fake happy for me at least, this only happens once for me, and hasn't happened for ages either.

AMKC · 06-04-2022 8:12pm

Nope going to lie in and watch the highlights. I have no problem with highlights for qualifying its just the race highlights I hate because of the adds.

McFly85 · 07-04-2022 9:43am

Will defo set my alarm, been a busy few weeks and it’s my first do nothing weekend in ages, can’t wait for breakfast racing!

blade1 · 07-04-2022 10:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118890307#Comment_118890307

I get up at 4:30 for work so this is a breeze! 😁

flazio · 07-04-2022 3:43pm

I'm a bit concerned about the aero updates McLaren have brought. 🤔

https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/status/1512060125875703808?t=-fkpqS3Uv3vykJNytuQOLA&s=19

RunningFlyer · 07-04-2022 3:50pm

Should be an interesting weekend! Looking forward to the novelty of setting an alarm and watching it live in the morning with a cup of coffee (well, Qualy anyway as I’m out Sat night!).

Interested to see how Danny Ric does on home soil despite the McLaren problems, and how the new track and DRS zones work. I already foresee an issue like Saudi with the 2nd DRS detection point as it’s located on a very slow corner before the pit straight so I’m sure people will be trying to play the game.

07-04-2022 3:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894843#Comment_118894843

Would need to be careful braking in that

MadYaker · 07-04-2022 5:00pm

Merc have made some small change to the rear wing apparently. Most online commentary I've read seems to suggest they'll be in much the same position as they were in at Jeddah.

Frank Bullitt · 07-04-2022 5:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118894843#Comment_118894843

It can't be any slower.

recyclebin · 07-04-2022 8:56pm

Lego must have been pissed that McLaren changed their livery for this year! The livery changed about a week after the lego was released.

Cool_CM · 08-04-2022 3:49am

Lol, Fireman Seb strikes again in FP1 😂

Cookie_Monster · 08-04-2022 4:33am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118890874#Comment_118890874

where are you, thats like Hawaii or similar to be that far behind, right? even North American westen seaboard is midnight or later by then

blade1 · 08-04-2022 6:53am

Ferrari quickest in FP1 and 2

El_Duderino 09 · 08-04-2022 7:08am

Stat being bandied about that since the first Albert Park GP in 1996, there has only been 1 overtake for the lead of the race.

But if memory serves, that was 1998 when the mclarens switched places for the lead. Mika came in for an unexpected pitstop and lost the lead. The team said their radio was hacked. So they made Coulthard give him the lead back.

So of that's the only overtake for the lead, and there are almost no overtakes anywhere else on the grid, why in the name of jaysus have we been wasting over 20 years starting the season with a guaranteed borefest? The stories of how wonderful a city Melbourne is don't help the racing even if they're trotted out 20 tines a weekend.

Very happy they've made efforts to improve the track. It's all coming at once. The track improvement, the additional DRS and the new regulations. But if these 3 changes can't produce some overtaking then therea re plenty of tracks that are willing to take Melbourne's place and can provide some actual excitement. They should get rid of it before it gets grandfathered into the lore of f1 and fans can't consider dropping it.

flazio · 08-04-2022 7:12am

Again my knowledge of Australian race tracks is limited to what Gran Turismo has shown me, and Bathurst is a death trap for these type of cars. One part Monza, one part Monaco.

Much as I like Formula E, I wouldn't want F1 to follow the same path of being a big calendar of temporary street tracks. (Yes I know Albert Park and Montreal are temporary Park tracks)

Burkie1203 · 08-04-2022 8:47am

"Nothing we change on the car makes a difference at the moment," Hamilton said, "so that's the difficult thing.

"You get in very optimistic and make changes and then it doesn't seem to be wanting to improve. We made some changes into P2. P1 was better and P2 ended up being a bit harder for me. It's just a tricky car.

I'm beginning to believe the engine might be the issue. The other Merc teams all have big issues too. Is there a design flaw in the engine which only a chassis/aero redesign will fix.

Joeface · 08-04-2022 10:19am

Alpines new floor a massive 4KG lighter appears to be paying dividends

Wanderer78 · 08-04-2022 10:25am

ah the days of me staying up or getting up are done, i ll watch the highlights, pretty shocking to see how bad the mercs are so far

El_Duderino 09 · 08-04-2022 11:21am

PlanetF1: Sebastian Vettel under investigation for FP1 scooter ride at Australian GP.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/sebastian-vettel-investigation-fp1-scooter-ride/

I mean, fair enough but surely it won't affect his race. Slap on the wrist and "don't do it again", should be enough.

donspeekinglesh · 08-04-2022 11:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118896833#Comment_118896833

Hill also overtook Villeneuve for the lead in the 1996 race. Maybe they mean that one?

El_Duderino 09 · 08-04-2022 12:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898047#Comment_118898047

Fair one. Good knowledge.

Pretty poor record for a circuit after 24 races.

I've only listened to the live timing first session. Does anyone who has seen the sessions have an opinion on the changes to the track for this year?

blade1 · 08-04-2022 12:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898323#Comment_118898323

Not sure about the changes but saw Albon complaining about the barriers too close to the track coming out of a few of the bends. He's expecting some crashes during qualifying as even in practice some drivers were close to them.

El_Duderino 09 · 08-04-2022 2:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898436#Comment_118898436

It's an interesting one. Between mick Schumacher's crash last time, and Grosjean's crash in 2020, its hard to tell if cars are super safe or if we were lucky to see both drivers walk away relatively unscathed (by the impact at least) from such huge impacts.

08-04-2022 2:08pm

To me it seems they've just gone too far at this point. But it might open up more interesting fuel-saving attempts while following etc. but I just don't see the need for making everywhere as high-speed as possible, 4 DRS zones, it's all a bit much IMO.

08-04-2022 2:10pm

Also the noise onboard the Ferrari when the porpoising starts is just horrible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9xnArvm6wE

Skip to about 35 seconds.

lolie · 08-04-2022 2:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118896833#Comment_118896833

Whoever made up that stat mustve stopped watching after the 96 race.

I recall in 2000 Barichello passing Schumacher for the lead as they were on different strategies, more a team order but still an overtake.

And in 2002 i remember Montoya overtaking Schumacher for the lead who then retook it a few laps later and Alonso overlook Button in 2006.

Montoya and Alonso's were on safety car restarts though.

Frank Bullitt · 08-04-2022 3:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118896709#Comment_118896709

I am in Vancouver, been here for a few years. FP1 was 8pm for me and the race is 10pm I think.

This is it · 08-04-2022 4:01pm

Will definitely be up for the qualifying and the race, can't wait. Recorded the practice, wasn't getting up for that 😂

El_Duderino 09 · 08-04-2022 4:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898882#Comment_118898882

It depends. They should tailor the DRS to the track. And they should have tried 4 DRS zones years ago at Albert Park to avoid the terrible races they've had. They should also have redone the track years ago. It's better late than never, but the fact that they're doing both at the same time as they new formula to aid following and overtaking, suggests that the track had been told to pull its socks up and itself together and its finger out.

Well just have to wait for the race to knowif it works or didn't work or even worked too well.

dmeehan · 08-04-2022 7:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118896709#Comment_118896709

I'm in California, race is on at 10pm on Saturday night

PsychoPete · 08-04-2022 7:50pm

Told the boss I'd be late for work in the morning as I'd something important on I couldn'tget out of..

RunningFlyer · 08-04-2022 7:58pm

Be interesting to see how fatigue/jet lag affects the drivers come race day. Already seems Magnussen is a bit under the weather - I wonder if it’s due to jet lag symptoms.

Of course the teams will all have nutritionists, trainers etc to get the drivers as adapted as possible, but ultimately jet lag is very individual no matter the precautions.

From personal experience, I’ve been done that journey twice for some extended periods - the first time I had pretty much no jet lag and could get on with life very quickly; 2nd time I was wiped out for 10days despite managing it the same way as before!

Ultimately could lead to some mistakes in Qualy or especially an extended race - this is the most dramatic time zone change they have had in almost 3 years, and they usually say going east is worse than west!