Australian Grand Prix 2015, Melbourne - Race 1/19

FrankJH · 16 Mar 2015 at 18:24

smr said:
the cars a lot better but Vettel showed who I think will boss that pairing.

.

Think thats a little unfair given the sandwich Kimi was at the first corner (which was a little unfair on him I thought) and the wheel issue he obviously had all race

I thought Kimi was doing really well considering the above in relation to SV

smr · 16 Mar 2015 at 18:49

FrankJH said:
Think thats a little unfair given the sandwich Kimi was at the first corner (which was a little unfair on him I thought) and the wheel issue he obviously had all race

I thought Kimi was doing really well considering the above in relation to SV

Sorry I meant from the weekend overall.

Dimi · 16 Mar 2015 at 20:14

I have to say I don't like the way Horner and Red Bull are coming across, you can do that sort of thing in private as opposed to saying it out loud to for everyone to hear.

I think everyone realizes that we need a competitive grid, right now it's anything but that.

No need to clamp down on Mercedes, I don't think that's fair at all.. You don't take away the Mercs advantage because they've done a better job relative to the competition.

I don't know what the solution is, but the FIA better come up with one soon.

JUMPURS · 16 Mar 2015 at 21:14

But the FIA have always tried to nullify advantages, rightly or wrongly. Horner is just pointing this out. When Horner moaned that his team was being punished with rule changes, he was just moany Horner. Now other teams are not being dealt the same thing, he is just moany Horner.

I am not a Red Bull fan by any stretch of the imagination. I also think it's more a political statement he is making than anything else.

The current state of F1 and even looking towards the future isn't pretty. I don't like the idea of three car teams. Also the 'getting the little team on the grid' thing is so meh. I mean let's face it, what difference does it make if Manor run or not? They won't add anything to the spectacle of the thing unless we do away with blue flags, then they maybe become interesting.

We shouldn't jaut be wanting any old f1 team on the grid, we should be wanting competitive teams. Now that caterham have gone, Manor won't have anyone to race.

dannyjo22 · 16 Mar 2015 at 21:19

Greboth said:
I don't get it either, racing flat out is not the fastest way to complete a race distance and I can't think of a time in the history of F1 it ever has been. Even back when refuelling was allowed you would hear engineers say things like a 1 stop is 10 second quicker than a 2 stop. If the quickest way was to drive flat out they they would be doing it already but it simply isn't!

The only time I can think in recent times was Mika V MS. They regularly had to drive lap after lap on the limit during the tyre war. That was effectively sprint races between stops. They would often have to do lap after lap on the limit to leap ahead due to the dreadful amount of overtaking.

Not that I think it was a fun era though...

Then again year after year with a front car with such a decent margin they don't get mistakes isn't fun either. I just hope they don't do their usual panic after 2 or 3 races and come up with something daft..

thecremeegg · 16 Mar 2015 at 21:35

Too many regulations and not enough testing time = unreliability and an unbalanced field. This season could be a disaster

leaskovski · 16 Mar 2015 at 22:16

drunkenmaster said:
Honda have screwed the pooch even worse.

LOL! Genuinely made me chuckle that comment.

Destination · 16 Mar 2015 at 22:38

Were the McLaren's inside the qualifying % for this race, or is that waved for them as they have a new engine?

Shimmy · 16 Mar 2015 at 22:42

Hikari Kisugi said:
Were the McLaren's inside the qualifying % for this race, or is that waved for them as they have a new engine?

They were within the 107% rule.

CaptainRAVE · 16 Mar 2015 at 22:48

The worst thing for me in the last race was how few cars there were. The only thing looked silly.

V F · 16 Mar 2015 at 23:02

CaptainRAVE said:
The worst thing for me in the last race was how few cars there were. The only thing looked silly.

Was this one any different? 11/12 cars finished.

What I still can't get over was Manor/Marussia turning up knowing full well they'd never have any track time. Jack up the cars in the garage and look pretty sitting on the work benches watching the TV coverage in the garage.

After all, it's only going to be dismantled and packed up again for Malaysia.

Merlin5 · 16 Mar 2015 at 23:03

Just watched the highlights, having only seen some of the race live.

This race has to have had the least amount of drivers on grid for a long time. Only 11 drivers made it to the finish. Sauber looking good I must say, but then with so few drivers it really helped them. Never heard a word said about Hulkenberg throughout the entire race highlights, but things said about every other driver.

On a completely unimportant note, Ferrari rags have to be the worst looking of all the teams, and Vettel looks terrible in those colours. He looked much smarter with RBR.

Grosjean very positive about the new car despite not racing this time, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Lotus have got in store. Similarly, looking forward to seeing if McLaren have anything magical up their sleeves with upgrades to take them forward and make them competitive.

Lewis made me facepalm with embarrassement with his comment to the audience "it's Arnie, man!"and "I thought you were taller!" Great drive though. Hope the new car stays good and it isn't just a one off lucky opening weekend followed by bad luck. I kind of feel sorry for Nico. He almost looks like a beaten man already, pretty much resigning himself to Lewis being the better driver.

Shimmy · 16 Mar 2015 at 23:15

V F said:
What I still can't get over was Manor/Marussia turning up knowing full well they'd never have any track time. Jack up the cars in the garage and look pretty sitting on the work benches watching the TV coverage in the garage.

After all, it's only going to be dismantled and packed up again for Malaysia.

It allowed them to cash in on last year's Constructor's position by being classified as a competitor.

Bernie's not happy about it and has fined them their shipping fees.

Skeeter · 16 Mar 2015 at 23:20

thecremeegg said:
Too many regulations and not enough testing time = unreliability and an unbalanced field. This season could be a disaster

The limits on testing are a real issue for new people to enter F1.

Shimmy said:
It allowed them to cash in on last year's Constructor's position by being classified as a competitor.

Bernie's not happy about it and has fined them their shipping fees.

They need to exist at the end of the year to get the prize money. So far they have just confirmed their entry into the 2015 season, the 2014 money doesn't appear until December.

V F · 16 Mar 2015 at 23:21

Shimmy said:
It allowed them to cash in on last year's Constructor's position by being classified as a competitor.

Bernie's not happy about it and has fined them their shipping fees.

Lol!

I get the impression they wont last the season. Aren't they using some form of 2014 car? Look what happened after the Suzuka crash. Missed the rest of the season…

Must be a horrible feeling when Jules comes out the coma to find he done this for a defunct team.

Skeeter · 16 Mar 2015 at 23:27

They were financially screwed and unlikely to compete for the rest of the year before Bianchi crashed. They pulled their GP3 team the week before and had already asked Bernie if they could miss the last 2 races.

They are currently using a modified 2014 car, but do plan to have the 2015 car complete by Spain.

Shimmy · 16 Mar 2015 at 23:32

Skeeter said:
They need to exist at the end of the year to get the prize money. So far they have just confirmed their entry into the 2015 season, the 2014 money doesn't appear until December.

This article suggests they already got $10M for turning up and committing to the 2015 season:

http://adamcooperf1.com/2015/03/15/could-manor-be-in-big-trouble-with-ecclestone/

It’s understood that Ecclestone is not happy with the fact that Manor did not take to the track after presumably committing to participating in all the races as part of the process that led to the team getting a place on the entry list. That also led to the team getting a £6.52 ($10)m payment as the first stage of its prize fund, and Bernie may now feel that the team has not kept up its side of the bargain.

V F · 17 Mar 2015 at 01:47

Doesn't take long to burn through 10 million in F1…

CaptainRAVE · 17 Mar 2015 at 07:47

V F said:
Was this one any different? 11/12 cars finished.

What I still can't get over was Manor/Marussia turning up knowing full well they'd never have any track time. Jack up the cars in the garage and look pretty sitting on the work benches watching the TV coverage in the garage.

After all, it's only going to be dismantled and packed up again for Malaysia.

I meant this one

Skeeter · 17 Mar 2015 at 07:57

That's the $10m "thanks for turning up" money that all teams get. The prize money they get for the 2 points Bianchi won and coming 9th (or 10th?) in the WCC gets paid out at the end of the year.

Actually, that $10m may even be their 2013 prize money.