Official Australian Grand Prix 2025 Thread - Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne - Race 1/24

Zak talked about having to perhaps "sacrifice" some pace on Saturday due to the weather as well; I'd imagine that all of the front 4 teams have to some degree taken into account the forecast; it would be pretty dumb not to.

Yes I imagine they all have, but Leclercs statement perhaps implied that Ferrari specifically had to do something which he can't talk about which compromised the pace today: "but this isn't a tragedy".

The other top team principles didn't seem to think the Ferrari showing today was very reflective for where they truly rank either.

Would love to know what Leclerc was referring to, but I imagine we might never find out.
 
Possible glimmer of hope that the Ferrari isn't as bad as this qualy made it look?


Leclerc:

"today we needed to sacrifice something for this weekend, i won't go into detail but it's the right thing to do, i'm not satisfied for today , but this isn't a tragedy , we don't have to make a miracle right at the start of the Season"

Very aggressive wet race setup maybe, that severely compromised their qualy?

Could make sense as if it's wet tomorrow, qualy won't really mean ****.
Doesn’t sound that way to be sounds like some sort of sacrifice for the whole weekend, possibly something in the hardware putting on a bigger load than expected and hence can be strengthened in the future. So not running at full speed.
 
Saw the highlights this morning but got around to watching the full session just now. Some general thoughts!

Doohan was really unlucky, I was sure he could have snuck into Q3 or at least a little higher.
Great from Albon but even better from Yuki! What does he have to do to show Red Bull he was worthy of even a short trial at the main team?
Relatively expected from Antonelli for me, I think it'll be half a season before he's regularly into Q3.
McLaren decided to show their pace at the end, 3 tenths is pretty significant so it'll be fun to see the two of them battle it out tomorrow.
I sometimes think Max forgets he's Max Verstappen... Even if the car is 3rd or 4th fastest, he'll still get it into the top 3 somehow.
Ferrari were disappointing but it sounded like they know what they're dealing with, I was expecting Leclerc to qualify top 3 and for Hamilton to be around 5/6.
How long do we think Red Bull give Lawson...?
 
Tsunoda should be Max's team mate....always thought that.

He would get bodied and not be able to handle it. Would be no different to everyone else.

Put a mid tier driver against max in a car designed around his driving style and it’s going to be a battering every single time.

Better to avoid having a hyper emotional team mate like Tsunoda.

Red Bull have the data, at this point I think it’s fair to say they clearly don’t rate him that highly
 
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Even if he stacks up well, it'll be as you say, a hyper emotional driver pairing. Managing that will be no easy task.

Glad to Williams back towards the sharp end rather.
 
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Even if he stacks up well, it'll be as you say, a hyper emotional driver pairing. Managing that will be no easy task.

Not sure i buy that excuse because they went with Lawson who appears to be a bit of a disruptive/fiery character himself.
 
Currently raining, and a 50% chance of rain at the time of the race. At the very least, we're looking at a green track, but a wet race is looking more likely than ever. And, if not, it's going to be ten degrees cooler. Going to be interesting.
 
The timing info is so far in to the screen. Taking up too much main area real estate.

Leaving a huge gap all the way around is not something they don't need to do anymore. Overscan is not really a think now. Not since flatscreens have been the norm for years.
And also, it no longer lists what we’re watching at the top. It used to say FP1, FP2, Q1, Q2 etc.
 
Think I will get up for this one. Hopefully ferrari have more race pace and can move forward.

Anything can happen in the wet. Hamilton top3 would be great.
 
Verstappen, Leclare and Ruseel were pretty much level (within a tenth) of the McLarens up to the last sector - Then McLaren pulled ahead the gap. They must be looking after their tyres through the lap better, and/or, quicker in the low speed/tight corners.
 
Sum up from just Q

I'd love to see Williams/sainz beat Ferrari over the year. That would be so sweet for sainz.

Yuki is probably better off where he is than RBR.
Seems like every second driver struggles in the RBR.

Doohan did well.. Shame his last lap was stuffed. He needs to be right there or better than gasley to keep that seat.


Mclaren are mega. And have 2 amazing drivers.
Surely the WCC is theirs.

Ferrari a bit of a let down.

Mercedes have done well seem to be ahead of Ferrari at this stage.
 
Lawson has until Lindblad's 18th, I reckon, but one misjudged corner isn't going to weigh too heavily in their decision.

Lawson's had a shocking weekend to be honest but I'm not giving up on him, trust me there's still plenty more to come from the Kiwi.

Missing FP3 was also very costly for him.
 
Lawson's had a shocking weekend to be honest but I'm not giving up on him, trust me there's still plenty more to come from the Kiwi.

Yeah, I rate Lawson quite highly. He's shown himself to be capable and adaptable before, but then it's very, very hard to look good when you're up against Max. His result today was a bit unlucky I think, he was on course to get through until he made a mistake on the last (second to last?) corner and, as you say, missing out on practice time clearly hurts him. People keep arguing whether he still counts as a rookie but, for me, he's clearly in that bracket. Yes, he's not quite as inexperienced as the rest, but he still hasn't raced a full season or had time to properly gel with a team.
 
I think Hamilton will be happy with his pace relative to Lerclerc. He found 4 tenths in FP3 and Qualifying. 2 tenths behind is not bad at all

Yeah pretty good.

Leclerc seems to be regarded as one of the best qualifiers/fastest one lap pace guys on the grid so 2 tenths off in the first race isn't bad at all.

Interestingly Lewis's fastest individual sector times were all faster than Leclercs. I know that doesn't paint the whole picture due to tyre wear through the lap and where you use the grip through the lap etc. However it's still encouraging.

To be honest, I think Russell is one of the fastest qualifiers on the grid too. Probably as good, if not better than Leclerc so Lewis has had his work cut out for him!


I still expect similar to his time with George. He will lose out in quality to Leclerc more often than not, but should be able to get closer or match him in race pace
 
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