McLaren pitstop practice from today ;)
http://webm.land/media/pc9c.webm
Just cannot shake the feeling that the Merc power unit has improved the most, maybe not that strange seeing they have the best quality control and other had to invest in durability (3 instead of four units a season). Hope I'm wrong but Bottas his race sim this morning was scary fast, so Fer/RBR need all the help they can get before Melbourne.
Some more teams did some low fuel runs today
Midfield battle looks more interesting !
http://webm.land/media/pc9c.webm
Just cannot shake the feeling that the Merc power unit has improved the most, maybe not that strange seeing they have the best quality control and other had to invest in durability (3 instead of four units a season). Hope I'm wrong but Bottas his race sim this morning was scary fast, so Fer/RBR need all the help they can get before Melbourne.
Some more teams did some low fuel runs today
Midfield battle looks more interesting !
Saw a Reddit thread yesterday (can't find it now) saying that AMuS are very negative about Ferrari's chances, with Haas potentially not that far away.
By Punished Go To PostSaw a Reddit thread yesterday (can't find it now) saying that AMuS are very negative about Ferrari's chances, with Haas potentially not that far away.They put Ferrari down to 3rd based on the GPS (transponder) data teams have, were they can also look at the individual corner(s) speed. RBR and Mercedes are ahead of Ferrari in that department and they make the assumption that Renault will turn the engine power up for RBR come Melbourne, something I do not believe in (yet)based on past years.
Haas looks better than last year(short run), but their long runs still put them well behind Fer in the middle of the pack (which would be good for them I guess).
By Spengo Go To PostJudging by Haas time on SS Ferrari can go much faster.
truly staggering the amount of incompetence, or at least the unwillingness to compromise your design to get a bit more wiggle room when it comes to reliability.
Use this: http://abload.de/img/1234t7jqq.gif
By pilonv1 Go To Postindeed, fuck that :P
lol fuck this
The wait is almost over and we can almost smell the hypersofts and engine-oil burning in the Melbourne air. New logo, new font, new music, no grid girls and probably some more American nonsense from Liberty during the broadcasts, but in the end there is still racing.
First up, the FORMULA 1 2018 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX in Melbourne Albert park.
Looking at the end of last season and the way Mercedes went about their business in Barcelona, it is hard not to look at Lewis as the big favourite for another WC title and winner here in Melbourne. Engine was reliable and got some more juice and the handling of the car looked really good on track. Big year for Valteri to close the gap to Lewis and challenge him a bit more, to secure his seat for a few more years.
Last years runners-up Ferrari looked a bit less confident in Barcelona than they all did last year. Get the feeling their engine made a smaller step than the Merc and they also changed their aero concept, longer wheelbase, and the probably need a bit more time to fully understand and optimise it. Must be Kimi's last year, but I said that before ;)
RBR might be the team that challenges Mercedes the most this season. All doom and gloom last year in winter testing this year the full opposite, only happy faces. Their car, chassis/mechanical/aero, looks better than last years, but the big question mark is still their Engine. No gains in performance, so it better be bulletproof reliability wise, which to be fair would be huge step up from last year. DannyRic needs to step up to Max, otherwise people will start to forget 2014 where he dominated Sebas.
Could not read the midfield teams in Barcelona, other than that Sauber (looking forward to LeClerck, really rate this guy kart/jr racing classes) and Williams seemed to really struggle. Haas better than expected, Force India's car not fully developed yet and McLaren and Renault close and lastly Torro Rosso better than I expected, because the Honda engine is performing better than it did in the previous seasons. So curious to how the shape up in the first race, but cannot see any of them challenging the 3 top teams regularly . (do hope McLaren develops during season, so we can see Alonso closer to the front).
Rain expected on Saturday and a little on Sunday so maybe Max can put up a fight to Lewis. Time to see if my DVR still works, old men needs his sleep ;)
FIA already wrote the name of Hamilton on the WDC and mercedes on the WCC trophies.
By markao Go To PostRain expected on Saturday and a little on Sunday so maybe Max can put up a fight to Lewis. Time to see if my DVR still works, old men needs his sleep ;)Go Max.
Good to have F1 back and god the HALO is ugly on the on-boards (why no cams inside the halo structure?)
If Honda have also fixed the energy deployment during race, guess what engine will be in RBR next year ;)
good to see teams close, lets hope it stays that way tomorrow/sunday
If Honda have also fixed the energy deployment during race, guess what engine will be in RBR next year ;)
good to see teams close, lets hope it stays that way tomorrow/sunday
Mercedes in the long runs still a bit ahead, RBR and Ferrari looked about equal. Haas pace in Barcelona is now confirmed to be genuine and it puts Haas ahead of the midfield pack. But with rain expected for tomorrow, it could give us a nice mixed up grid for the 1st race of the season.
By markao Go To PostGood to have F1 back and god the HALO is ugly on the on-boards (why no cams inside the halo structure?)Fam it looks like the railing of a cruiseship. Shoulder cam is literally unusable. You see nothing. Unbelievable.
Things are looking much closer, it's gonna be an interesting quali tomorrow.
If anyone wants a link to Qualifying and has Acestream just PM me for links. I was hoping F1 would have their worldwide streaming service up but unfortunately they don't.
By Lunatic Go To PostIf anyone wants a link to Qualifying and has Acestream just PM me for links. I was hoping F1 would have their worldwide streaming service up but unfortunately they don't.check reddit f1 streams, best change you will find something
Shame all the rain for today is gone, FP3 was fun this morning
Cannot see RBR make up for their 40 HP deficit with their aero and Ferrari doesn't look as good as last year (not bad though), so expect Lewis/Valteri battle for pole and RBR/Fer for p3/p6. And curious if Haas can deliver, they have looked best of the rest so far.......& go Fernando!!
By markao Go To Postcheck reddit f1 streams, best change you will find somethingYea reddit and /r/motorsportsstreams/ is great.
McLarens both out, gap to sainz is big, must be disappointing and Force India not as good as last season.
Interesting to see the RBR go for a different tire strategy for tomorrow.
Closer as expected, get the feeling Lewis has something left, but its close right now between the top 3
Hammertime, what a mega lap , shame about last sector for Max could have nailed the Ferrari's for p2
And Haas best of the rest, both Magnussen en Hulk only lap they were faster than their teammate was Q3 nice
Hammertime, what a mega lap , shame about last sector for Max could have nailed the Ferrari's for p2
And Haas best of the rest, both Magnussen en Hulk only lap they were faster than their teammate was Q3 nice
By Lunatic Go To PostMercedes are fucking rapid.Yeah, that first lap from Lewis was not good as he already was full beans when Valteri crashed, second lap was great. Max left 2/3 tenths on the table, so gap would have been smaller. Shame, because both Ferrari's are now in between him and Lewis, maybe Supersofts in 1st stint will do the trick.
Oh and Kimi, 39 still going strong ;)
By Punished Go To PostLegit said "ah for fucks sake" when Hamilton went .450 clear in the first sector.P
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By Spengo Go To PostAdd daylight saving time and I need a lot of coffee ;)
Hope either of the two Ferrari's can catch Lewis at the start and he doen't drive away in the distance and the RBR tactic will work.
Ferrari throwing out some sneaky sandbags?
VER is not ready to challenge for a WDC. Mental control, timing and patience.
VER is not ready to challenge for a WDC. Mental control, timing and patience.
I've never seen a single team screw up the pitstops of both cars.
Haas died so we could have a dope finish to this race.
Haas died so we could have a dope finish to this race.
By Spengo Go To PostI've never seen a single team screw up the pitstops of both cars.Must be something technical, or otherwise it is super weird and I cannot recall something like that happen neither
Safetycar, shame overtaking is so hard here :(
Alonso P5 McLaren redeemed ;)
2 different errors for Haas, amazing
You might have the fastest car, but if luck insn't on your side, you do not win. Shame that with everything that happened we were on a track were overtaking is almost impossible. :(
Vettel did not put a foot wrong, so deserved and with Kimi P3 good start to the season for the Scuderia.
DannyRic calmness, compared to his teammate and bit of luck with VSC, shows Max he still needs to learn. Understandable, after that start, you feel the race is falling away, but no errors and p4 would have still be possible with the Haas errors and now its 0.1 behind Fernando after his stop and P6.
And so good for McLaren, not on pace, but will do wonders for motivating the team.
By markao Go To Postthnx to happy Fernando free motorsport.com primeI can't be bothered to confirm it but I think Zak Brown is the chairman of Motorsport.com