Australian Grand Prix 2018: Grand Prix Weekend Thread

[FAS33]

Welcome back. New year. New chapter in F1.

1st stop Melbourne. ((Go the mighty storm!))

Home race for Dan. So let’s win it for once.

Let the drama begin.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by FAS33

1st stop Melbourne. ((Go the mighty storm!))

Let the drama begin.

Talking of Melbourne Storm the forecast for Saturday suggests 90% chance of rain with a possible thunderstorm in the afternoon... about qualy time!

Sunday forecast is 70% chance of rain in the late afternoon /evening.

Friday is Sunny and 29C
.
From the Bureau of Met:

Saturday 24 March
Summary: Min 19 Max 24 Showers.Possible rainfall: 4 to 10 mm. Chance of any rain: 90%
Cloudy. Very high (90%) chance of showers, most likely in the late morning and afternoon. Slight risk of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and early evening. Winds northerly 25 to 40 km/h becoming light in the late afternoon then becoming northerly 15 to 25 km/h in the late evening.

Sunday 25 March
Summary: Min 18 Max 23 Shower or two. Windy . Possible rainfall: 2 to 8 mm. Chance of any rain: 70%

Cloudy. A slight (30%) chance of a shower, increasing to a high (70%) chance of showers during the evening. Winds northerly 30 to 45 km/h turning northwesterly 25 to 30 km/h during the morning then increasing to 25 to 40 km/h during the day.

[Razzzor]

Gosh 1 day away from the start of a new season, and we finally have 1 post regarding the Aussie GP. This forum is really on the decline isn't it?

I watched replays of the 94 and 98 Australian GPs today being played between Supercars. Good stuff, brings back memories of watching it the first time. I wondered, did Benetton ever confirm if Schumacher did break his suspension on the wall just prior to hitting Damon? It would be interesting to know. Otherwise I think he pretty much had the race under control and was keeping him at bay until the incident. It's exciting how close the cars used to be able to run to one another.

98 race; I bet DC regrets gifting Hakkinen another win.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Gosh 1 day away from the start of a new season, and we finally have 1 post regarding the Aussie GP. This forum is really on the decline isn't it?

I think because of the post below, most were waiting for the Born Racer thread?

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I just heard back from Born Racer. He is working on content for a thread and it should be posted in the near future. I had typed up something this morning to create my own, but I am sure his would be much better.

Until that thread shows up, it's probably good to continue discussing here! I am looking forward to the race this weekend. I will have to plan out my viewing to make sure I am all set for the switch to ESPN here in the US.

Richard

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

I think because of the post below, most were waiting for the Born Racer thread?

I had suggested to Born Racer that if his content wasn’t ready yet that he should create the thread and then fill in details after the fact. That someone would eventually create a thread if he waited too long.

So, to be fair, it is Thursday and weekend events start today. It’s sort of fair game at this point IMHO. Maybe Born Racer will be back for the next race.

Richard

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Richard Casto

I had suggested to Born Racer that if his content wasn’t ready yet that he should create the thread and then fill in details after the fact. That someone would eventually create a thread if he waited too long.

So, to be fair, it is Thursday and weekend events start today. It’s sort of fair game at this point IMHO. Maybe Born Racer will be back for the next race.

Richard

Yeah - agreed. I was just speculating if the suspense waiting for the Born Racer thread was the reason that it was perceived as quiet?

Looking forward to seeing the Born Racer thread(s) again, but in the meantime I guess we've got FAS33's starter to work with.

Although I suspect that FAS33 is getting a bit excited so far, given that his beloved Dan will probably come in sixth or lower, having been beaten by silver cars, red cars and his teammate.

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Yeah - agreed. I was just speculating if the suspense waiting for the Born Racer thread was the reason that it was perceived as quiet?

Yes, I agree. I had been relatively quiet as I was waiting on the race thread.

Here is a list of things I am interested in seeing. Some specific to this race, some just 2018 in general...

* Ferrari has been relatively stable from a staff perspective. They seem to have done well in winter testing. What will they look like in 2018?

* Second year for Bottas at Mercedes. He should be settled in. No excuses now. How will things go between him and Hamilton?

* RBR was able to make Renault power work for them at times. McLaren has blamed Honda for all of their issues. So no excuses for McLaren now. Will they prove themselves right and be at the front, or will this potentially show that some of McLaren's prior issues are... McLaren issues.

* What will happen with TR. New drivers should be settled in. Things seem positive with the Honda power unit. Might be exciting to watch! I sure hope so.

* Haas seems to maybe have started work on 2018 car earlier and if I remember correctly they did decently well in winter testing. Will they step up this year?

* It will be interesting to watch the Sirotkin vs. Stroll situation at Williams. Regardless of what happens, it will generate plenty to talk about.

* Not much to say about Sauber other than can they keep themselves off the back of the grid?

* Force India... will I ever grow to love their livery?

* RBR, Ricciardo vs. Verstappen battle will be interesting. I would think that Verstappen should only get better at this point as he matures???

Richard

[steve_r]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

I wondered, did Benetton ever confirm if Schumacher did break his suspension on the wall just prior to hitting Damon? It would be interesting to know. Otherwise I think he pretty much had the race under control and was keeping him at bay until the incident. It's exciting how close the cars used to be able to run to one another.

Yeah, Schumachers car was borked. I think Hill mentioned this in his Biography - if he had not attempted the move, he would have been WDC that year. I am not sure if Benetton ever confirmed or denied the damage. It's one of those moments that goes into F1 folklore like Mansells exploding tyre, and the 2 Senna / Prost collisions etc.

[Armco Bender]

Can't wait...V8 Supercars with those boring F1 things as support races...

[S griffin]

Well it's about time it's back. Finally we'll see who's got a chance for the season ahead.

[F1Guy]

Not a single question on if the drivers like the Halo during the drivers press conference. Strange.

It was almost like that question was not allowed to be asked.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Not a single question on if the drivers like the Halo during the drivers press conference. Strange.

While no-one asked if they liked the halo, Gaetan Vigneron asked if they were happy about one the halo's effects.

[Tourer]

Nice work Born Racer!
Showers forecast for both Saturday and Sunday in Melbourne - could make it quite a lottery.

[Armco Bender]

Mercedes 1-2 so far......I had to knock off work at lunch time to do some paperwork at home and just happened to turn the TV on..F1 and England getting smashed at the cricket...

[johnh875]

Note that a new DRS zone has been added after turn 12, which adds to the previous two zones on the front straight and after turn 2.

The McLarens were very late in getting on track for FP1 today.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Great to see the thread has started and that Born Racer has included all that info.

I'm looking forward to the first race of the season but I just hope 2018 doesn't turn into another Mercedes whitewash. Hopefully Melbourne will throw up some surprises.

[JHamilton]

Been waiting for this weekend for ages!

[F1Guy]

So the Australian boy has been done again! 3 place grid penalty. For slowing down too much??


Meanwhile, Raikkonen's block that caused Bottas to swerve out on the gravel in FP2 is deemed to be ok. No penalty. Which one of those was the more dangerous move?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

So the Australian boy has been done again! 3 place grid penalty. For slowing down too much??

No - for not slowing down enough. He failed to stay above the minimum time.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

So the Australian boy has been done again! 3 place grid penalty. For slowing down too much??

For not slowing enough I think you will find. (Although he did slow significantly it was not for long enough and he was under the minim time delta)

“The Stewards reviewed the data and video and found that Ricciardo did in fact fail to stay above the minimum time set by the FIA ECU in the penultimate and final mini marshalling sectors,” read the report.

“The Stewards also found that Ricciardo slowed by as much as 175km/h from his fast times at Turn 12 and was consistently and significantly slower in the final three turns, indicating that he was fully complying with the requirements of Appendix H of the International Sporting Code.“

However, he admitted an error in reading his dash and was slightly below the minimum time.

“As the regulation states, Art. 31.6 was added this year to ensure that drivers reduce speed sufficiently during a red flag. Breach of this regulation is seen to be an extremely serious matter."

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by E.B

For not slowing enough I think you will find. (Although he did slow significantly it was not for long enough and he was under the minim time delta)

Cheers E.B. I read that report wrong. Such a shame that once again the penalty does not fit the crime. FFS it was a practice session and the issue was on the start finish line. No where near where DR was, or was going towards! And it's just not a 3 place grid penalty but 2 penalty points as well!


100% agree with Ted Kravitz...

Ted Kravitz: Talk about not seeing the bigger picture: The red flag was for a loose wire on the start line, not a crash, and Ricciardo wasn’t going to drive over it anyway as was coming into pits. Disproportionate 3 place grid penalty that could take home driver out of contention for race win.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

100% agree with Ted Kravitz...

Ted Kravitz: Talk about not seeing the bigger picture: The red flag was for a loose wire on the start line, not a crash, and Ricciardo wasn’t going to drive over it anyway as was coming into pits. Disproportionate 3 place grid penalty that could take home driver out of contention for race win.

Once more conspiring to keep an Aussie of the podium of a Championship Aussie GP. (Danny did become the first but was DSQd for fuel flow meter irregularities. )
Webber never got closer than his 5th place Minardi AGP debut. Actually that is wrong, he did once get a 4th I think. Our Aussie WDCs preceded the championship status of the event.(Unless you include Jones in the Beatrice in the first Championship race)

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by E.B

Once more conspiring to keep an Aussie of the podium of a Championship Aussie GP.

The fault here was made by the Aussie though - so we have an Aussie conspiring to keep himself off the podium!

'Ricciardo "admitted an error in reading his dash and was slightly below the minimum time".'

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by E.B

Once more conspiring to keep an Aussie of the podium of a Championship Aussie GP. (Danny did become the first but was DSQd for fuel flow meter irregularities.)

Yep, he hasn't had the best luck at his home race that's for sure.

2012 - 9th. 2013 - DNF (no fault of his). 2014 (2nd but DQ'd. No fault of his). 2015 - 6th. 2016 - 4th. 2017 - DNF (no fault of his).

He was hoping for a better luck this year.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

Cheers E.B. I read that report wrong. Such a shame that once again the penalty does not fit the crime. FFS it was a practice session and the issue was on the start finish line. No where near where DR was, or was going towards! And it's just not a 3 place grid penalty but 2 penalty points as well!


100% agree with Ted Kravitz...

Ted Kravitz: Talk about not seeing the bigger picture: The red flag was for a loose wire on the start line, not a crash, and Ricciardo wasn’t going to drive over it anyway as was coming into pits. Disproportionate 3 place grid penalty that could take home driver out of contention for race win.

On this occasion, I feel the stewards were exactly right. The rules are pretty clear, and this was an obvious breach of them.
It shouldn't matter where or how it happened - if it broke the rules it broke the rules.

If a Red Flag is issued, I don't think we should be bringing in extra checks for a driver over 'how bad is it?', 'where did it happen?', 'what is the flag for?' etc. All the driver(s) need to know is that there is a Red Flag, and they have certain requirements they have to follow in response.

The stewards took the circumstances into consideration, and were lenient in the punishment issued. I'm not sure why the incident being in FP, Q or R should make a difference? Or even whether they are a home driver or not?