Official Australian F1 Grand Prix 2015

Here we go again

Qualiy - Rosberg, Hamilton, Vettel

Result - Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel.

...

Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg.

Rosberg will fluff it trying to beat Lewis.

Qualifying -

1. Rosberg
2. Hamilton
3. Bottas

Race -

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Kimi

Bottas is a good call... tempted to replace Vettel for the race

No one going for Button then ?

If Manor don't start the race, unfortuately I think JB and KMag will be fighting over 2nd from last and last place

MRS are you suggesting that MCL have been sand-bagging until now?

I may be mad, but I think and hope that McLaren will make rapid progress in the development of this car. I would love to see the team fighting in the midfield once the circus returns to Europe and competing for race wins by the end of the season.

No maybes, you are mad Jim!

At least for the first 5 or 6 laps

I think Jim has it.

Though I do wonder if Alonso's medical absence is less of an 'avoidable risk' and more of a convenient sickie.

Hope MCL have been sandbagging as the sight of them being lapped by the Mercs will be painful.

Neil, I just do not buy the idea that Alonso doesn't want to drive the car because it's not a winner. Every second of development time gets him closer to another world championship (enchilada), and he is furiously competitive with that goal in mind. I honestly can't see Alonso willingly giving up any car time whatsoever.

Aye, you're probably right. I'm too cynical in my old age!

Alonso is the complete racer. He drove a dog of a Ferrari last year, if he could drive Ron's new car, he'd be there.

All the conspiracy theories just don't hold water..

In a continuing and possibly worrying trend, I agree entirely!

The Sauber situation is a propper mess

Anyhow

Qualifying

1. Rosberg
2. Hamilton
3. Vettel

Race -

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Botas

Ferrari seem to have some single lap pace but I think Williams will take the lead of the Mercedes chasing pack.

Is it me or do the Mercedes seem FURTHER ahead this year...?
Thought the domination would only last one season, but if that quali is anything to go by then it seems it's just going be Lewis V's Nico...... Again?

Crickey, that was impressive by Hamilton. On that showing I would be worried that even Rosberg won't be challenging him.
Great to see Massa up in third and both Ferraris demonstrating the step forward they have taken. I'm hoping Bottas and Ricciardo will join the fun tomorrow. Hats off to Sainz in his first GP.
Also, a solid performance from Lotus. Unrealistically, I was hoping for a bit more from them, but actually qualifying didn't really provide any big surprises.
Grim for McLaren, but at least they will have a test session tomorrow. I'd be very surprised if either car makes the full race distance (less the 10 laps they will concede to Hamilton, of course...)

So MCL not sandbagging and will likely suffer the indignation of being lapped by Mercs, Williams and Ferrari! Lewis has turned up the wick and Has quite the edge over Nico who seems out of his zone for some reason.
Ron Dennis must be a troubled man

Awesome quali. Hamilton has obviously worked on his quali mentality. It's so close between Williams and Ferrari which should at least make for an interesting race. Nothing between the two Ferrari drivers either - with Vettel slightly quicker

Alonso obviously doesn't want to drive the slowest car on the grid.

Told you rosberg would bottle it!

Amazing PR job by JB reflecting on McLaren's worst ever qualifying - the most positive I have seen him in ages!
Would it be a conspiracy theory too far to suggest McLaren wanted to avoid the ignominy of having two ex world champions at the back of the grid...
Some good signs from Ferrari?

Yes Merc running away with it again this year I fear.... big gap. McLaren woeful - I bet Magnussen wished he'd never bothered trying for the drive though will it now be full-time? Alonso - Something we're not being told - Health issues/blackout? Seems the Spanish may have found a new star anyway - my season spread bet picks look promising with Grosjean and Sainz...

A lot of those cars seemed very tail happy at places around the circuit - the McL included.

Regrettably there is usually a dominant team in F1

For far too many years the dominant team has chosen to favour one car & one driver. Last year was a revelation with Mercedes allowing two really good drivers go head to head and fight for a championship. We never saw anything like that in the Red Bull or Ferrari years of domination.

Bottas back injury and doubtful for race - Will that mean Mrs Wolff gets the drive?

I don't think so - I think it's the driver that qualified the car. But I may be wrong.

Check out Mr Button's mo action. Did he grow it on a particularly slow lap?

I know. He looks like someone from some dodgy 70's film.

Don't think updates would be appreciated.......

Well that wasn't a classic - except for Arnie

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

What the eff is that bloody chain around Lewis's neck all about?

Money doesn't buy taste, clearly.

Its a solid Gold neck excerciser!! Did not get enough strain in the race....If it keeps going like that it'll be all over by the summer.....

Impressive display by Sauber despite their woes. Disappointed for Lotus, as neither driver was at fault; ditto for Bottas. Renault will be even more unpopular than ever after Red Bull's showing.
Raikkonnen will be a bit peeved, I shouldn't wonder, as was Sainz, who did well.
Interesting that we saw more of Button in last on the TV coverage than Hamilton! Small consolation, but I reckon McLaren will be pretty satisfied to get one car to the finish...

Well, at least they got some testing miles. But that car is so woefully underpowered...

The Honda is obviously and painfully underpowered, but has never run close to a full-power engine map as far as I gathered from testing or from what Honda said about their "conservative" settings for this weekend.
To be honest, I'd be more worried if I were Red Bull, as Renault have said they won't be using their PU tokens until later in the year.

It wasn't a particularly happy sign when that Honda lunched itself on the way to the grid, though. I bet Alonso wasn't a happy bunny!

Alonso will be kicking himself, leaving ferrari who seem to be almost on pace to join the slowest team there is.

Be fair, BM. It's not the slowest team there *is*, just the slowest one running!

Getting a bit fed up of Christian Horner moaning about the lack of engine development opportunity given how Ferrari have seemingly managed to progress. Horner was suggesting the Renault engine has less less power than the last year version!

Yes - Horner was fine when RB were totally dominant but really doesn't like it when the boot is on the other foot.

Bad news for Susie Wolff, as Williams have confirmed that she is their *development* driver, not their reserve. So, even if Bottas fails to recover before Malaysia, she won't get the seat.

I wonder why Williams are so clear on this. The publicity would be great - but maybe they know she isn't quick enough?

Yeah, I suppose there was a team who didn't start their engines......

There could well be adverse publicity here if Williams aren't careful. I've not seen anything that says she's not quick enough, maybe though she's not tough enough to last a race?

So who is Williams reserve driver? Not sure I have read who it is as yet.

I don't think Williams have a "reserve" driver

The performance of some looked rather good but we should not forget what happened in Australia last year. Back then the McLaren's of Magnusson and Button were classified as second and third and everyone spoke confidently that their Mercedes power would have them fighting near the top

That said the Ferrari power unit does seem to have improved significantly, to the benefit of both the factory and the Sauber team. It will be interesting to see if Marussia can exploit any of that when it finally turns a wheel.

It could be an interesting midfield this year.

LoL

Manor will be using the 2014 Ferrari power unit.

And now RB are still throwing their toys from the perambulator by threatening to quit F1 altogether. Wasn't quite so vocal about it when they were winning huh!

It's all a bit pathetic, isn't it?

I used to quite like Red Bull as a team (but disliked Vettel) and now it's swinging the other way.

The thing with red bull is that the area where they excelled with Adrian Newey for 4 seasons i.e. the Aero package is no longer the main area of development and they either did not prepare sufficiently for the engine rules change or thought their better aero package would offset it. Now they realise Renault have not closed the power gap they demand that the FIA change the rules!
Maybe Toto wolf should do them a deal for some Mercedes engines like Williams? Or maybe better just let Mr Horner keep bleating!

It's a sad state of affairs, ferrari didn't cry last year they just replaced a few scapegoats and started again.
RB should learn their lesson and try harder.

Bernie back on form:

Let's kick Manor in the nuts when they're down.

But of course Red Bull are right to insist we change the rules to suit them...

Imagine a world where Bernie Ecclestone AND Jeremy Clarkson are no longer around to f*** things up!

I don't think levelling the field in F1 is f******g things up, it may be unfair to the strongest team but then they should win anyway.
If you go back RB had numerous aero bits kicked off the car due to being too efficient and others not being as good.
F1 is all about prototype racing BUT is funded by the fans (directly or indirectly) so the fans need a reason to watch, if that means strapping 100 kg to a Merc so be it.

As long as the regulation doesn't mean the strongest car is no longer so, I wouldn't want to see an unfair advantage given over Merc.

The nature of the beast is that one team dominates for a while, then - for one reason or another - the baton passes. Historically, spanners have been thrust in various team's works (usually by banning some ingenious piece of kit or other), but here, there is no special gadget, no double diffuser or trick exhaust, it's just a case that Mercedes did a better job on the power unit; it's up to the other teams to improve - and they will.
At a time when F1 is in peril of losing relevance, Ecclestone has done nothing but rubbish the sport he is supposed to be promoting. If I didn't know better, I'd almost think he was deliberately sabotaging its image and indeed ability to survive...

As soon as you nullify the advantage of working hard, employing the best people and spending money wisely, what's the point in competing?

Perhaps we should have given Tiger Woods a hockey stick to play with when he was dominating golf, for example?

It is not just the power unit that is better. The rest of the car is also very good.

The problem is that the Renault power unit seems way off the pace. Previously RB used to complain that it was so but I'm not actually that convinced it was so bad when it was winning most races with ease.

RB's problem is that neither Mercedes nor Ferrari will be keen to give them a better engine.

Wrt historically-banned ideas, these were mainly made on the grounds of ideas that took advantage of loopholes in the rules. Teams that considered taking advantage of a loophole as unethical did not do it (or were they not clever enough?). Those that did bend the rules get an advantage that the regulations wanted to exclude (but did a poor job of excluding it). In these cases the rules should be changed otherwise everybody has to re-engineer their cars at added cost because of badly written rules.

Merc, as far as I understand it, basically wrote off their 2013 season from the off in order to develop the 2014 cars.

Seems it paid off and they had a years jump on most of the other teams. They paid their dues and as someone said, They'll have a few years at the top, like Ferrari, Williams, RB, Renault, Benetton and McLaren before them and then someone else will rise to the top. Repeat to fade...

Power unit superiority is a far bigger advantage than having a Brawn diffuser, a blown diffuser an F duct or even a Newey.

The 3 loophole designs above were all copied by opposing teams during the season if money allowed. With the engine homologation and the token system, Renault, Ferrari and Honda are basically stuck with what they have.

Merc can develop their engines at the same speed as the other 3. Despite what was said above I can't see the other 3 power unit suppliers catching up anytime soon.

F1 is dying, it has been for 3 or 4 years. Mercedes dominance is just another nail in the F1 coffin.

Agreed. They don't appear to have bent any rules, just done a better job. It is down to the others to catch up.

Exactly, Neil; where there has been rule-bending that other (less clever or unscrupulous) teams have failed to exploit, the FIA has decided whether or not to close loopholes that have gone against the spirit or letter of the regulations (FRIC suspension last season, for example).
Mercedes hasn't exploited any loopholes, it has simply done a better job with its car and power unit.
Under the current regulations, Red Bull can no longer use superior (some would say borderline illegal) aerodynamic skills to compensate for a lack of power.
As has been said, to be whinging after one race doesn't speak of confidence in Renault's abilities to turn matters around.

If the rumours are to be believed, Renault are going to buy a team and return as a constructor, so perhaps that will help Red Bull out!

Agreed, Merc have done a far better job than Renault and Ferrari (not sure what the Honda power unit will be like when they run it at full power) in the development stage. They will continue to develop at the same speed, or faster, than the other manufacturers so the gap won't close in the short term.

I'm not having a go at Mercedes I just feel the current homologation rules make it much more difficult to play catch up.

Renault buying a team like Sauber or more likely Toro Rosso would be interesting. Another rumour doing the rounds is Audi considering entering F1 when Ecclestone is gone....

This being the pre-requisite for Audi - or any VW Group manufacturer - to become involved in F1.

Van der Garde case set to be settled with €15m Sauber payout

Apparently....

Interesting times when GvdG will be paid €15m for not paying Sauber €xm to be allowed to drive their car.

Well, indeed. But I've read it from several well-placed F1/motor industry journalists.

Manor have confirmed Stevens for the season but Mehri has only been confirmed for the 'opening rounds' of the season. Could GvdG and his money turn up at Manor?

Good point. Why doesn't GvdG just use Sauber's money to pay Manor's fine to Bernie?!

Shoot a team while it's on his knees. Well done Bernie, way to go.

But surely Bernie must have been pulling some strings to even get manor entered, given the contract with the circuits stipulate a 20 car grid. Without them even making the effort he would have been down to 18.

Yes Bernie did help Manor (and the other smaller teams with an up front payment of $10m.) I think in the case of Manor it was on the understanding they'd compete in Melbourne. As Adam Cooper reported, one observer phrased it thus: “They bullshitted Bernie, and you don’t bullshit Bernie…”

The other Merc-powered teams are not at Merc's level. They must have done stuff right on the non-engine side.

Top teams spend to much so the engine rules are a heavy-handed way of trying to reduce costs but it also seals in an advantage.

Letting all but the best develop is also unsporting. There is no easy solution. New rules every few years shuffles the pack but there will always be winners.

Having just one engine manufacturer is not attractive to most involved.

A real spending cap with the freedom to spend that how you like would be ideal but it does not seem to interest the richer teams.

What's with Manor/Marussia? They did not have the money to pay for the engines so they did not get the software required to run them?

I agree Neil, Mercedes have an excellent aero package. Costa may not be on the same level as Newey or Prodromro but he's no mug. Plus I think it's a big advantage being a manufacturer of the whole lot - power unit, gearbox, chassis etc.

One engine manufacturer in F1 would be so wrong. What next, one chassis, one drivetrain etc.

Manor are running the 2014 Ferrari power unit and apparently turned up in Melbourne without any software/mapping for them. I don't think they had any intention of running there but as they made the cars available to the scrutineers, it was deemed they were ready to race. Hence Bernie being so p!ssed with them.

Manor just played the game; whether or not they intended to compete, they HAD to attend or forfeit the $50m prize money owing from last year. Without that, I doubt they would make it anywhere - or be able to pay Ferrari for the engines (for either last year or this). F1 needs a bigger grid, so for Bernie to get all mardy-arsed because Manor "bullshitted" him after he helped them get on the plane to Melbourne is - in itself - bo11ocks of the highest order.

Bernie likes to be heard saying something and being viewed as being all powerful. Long-term, it can't be in his interest to have an ever-diminishing field and contractually it is clearly a short-term problem. He should stop "blaming" others and use his "power" constructively to help create an F1 for the 21st century. As you say Jim, this is yet another case of comfy laurels.

What's bollocks Jim?

Bernie threatening to fine Manor for not running because the team supposedly "bullshitted" him.

He knows how it works and must have seen it coming. If not, he really is senile.

Apparently the 'fine' will be Manor footing the bill for the freight from the UK to Australia.

Turning up made the difference between surviving or going under. Bernie should just be happy that Manor should make it to the grid soon and not simply disappear. It would not be a going concern without the 50M that they are entitled to.

This.

Small-minded, short-sighted and detrimental to F1's interests. Classic Bernie.

Bernie/CVC have been screwing F1 ever since they acquired the rights in 2006.

Mercilessly!

The whole point of F1 is competition.

Competition between car manufacturers to see who can build the best car within the regulations and competition between Drivers to see who can best exploit their given package.

Horner has had four years of rewarding his backers with masses of publicity and championship success. It must be tough having to tell them he's dropped the ball... again.

All this bleating that others are doing better, and threatening to leave F1 is so childish a total toys out of the pram moment. Maybe this year Ricciardo will walk out on them too!

So, after their slightly edgy exchange in the press conference after Sunday's race, Rosberg has officially invited Vettel to the Mercedes post-race debrief after the Malaysian race, reminding him to "bring his notebook".

I think it's a pretty shrewd psychological move, but will Toto and Niki be impressed...?!

Pretty humiliating for the Red Cars though

I can't see Ferrari being happy to have their lead driver in a opposing teams debrief when all they will gain is negative publicity over how far behind they are! Rubbing their noses in it so to speak.

But if it gives the opportunity to learn about the strongest team on the grid you'd be stupid not to!

It will be interesting to see if Vettel goes. I bet Ferrari are too proud to allow it!

And, let's face it, Mercedes aren't going to share anything useful

Lots of opportunity for obfuscation and misinformation! They could have a real laugh. Which is partly why I doubt Vettel will go; the potential for Ferrari to be humiliated is high!

"Guys, you'll never guess they're doing next race. Apparently they've discovered that running on just 3 wheels will gain them another few tenths! I think we should follow suit!"

Nah, we tried that with Kimi in Melbourne...

I remember talking to a particularly successful Alfa racer. He used to do things to his car just for the fun of seeing other people copy him thinking that was the key to his results.

Going back to the Red Bull / Renault thing, the Judge13 site is saying that RBR twisted Renault's arm into allowing them to use a development engine in Melbourne that hadn't been sufficiently tested. The result was Ricciardo having to change the unit and potentially have to complete the remaining 19 races with just 3. Awks!

So now no German GP! That will upset Rosberg & Vettel big time I would think along with Mercedes. Maybe time for a European GP to make up the races back to 20 but where to hold it ?

You'll know the story of the Gurney Flap? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurney_flap

Hulkenberg seems to be the most saddened of the German drivers; from what I've heard, the teams don't like having more than 19 races per year, with 20 only possible by agreement. I imagine Bernie knew perfectly well that there would be no Korean or German race this year.