Australian Grand Prix 2018: Grand Prix Weekend Thread

[F1Guy]

A bit of tension in the air??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfZ94OPcUv4

[Taxi645]

"Partymode", yeah for 0,01% of the F1 world.

[Mike Harte]

Kimi just wants to be anywhere, except not there. And Hamilton still loves himself, and Vettel is just another who likes winding up his audience.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Hammerdown

Or looking at it another way, McLaren are in about the same position as they were at the end of last year. :-)

Yeah but Mr Brown’s Supercar team won its first race in 2 years...

[F1Guy]

5 place grid penalty for Bottas.

Not the best way to start the season. Confidence has taken massive hit going by the post qualy interviews he has been giving. He needs to not be so open about the way he is feeling.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Hammerdown

Rules should never be an exercise in beaurocracy. They have an aim and a purpose, and if that is complied with then all well and good.

Yep.

Originally Posted by Hammerdown

To argue over a few percent either way is ridiculous. He slowed down and presented no danger, as the stewards noted. Spirit of the law is always more important than the letter.

No.

As soon as you get into "spirit of the law" you're opening a can of worms - accusations of favouritism, inconsistency of application etc. etc. And as flag infringements go red flag is the worst - Ricciardo had to be hit with a meaningful punishment otherwise everyone would start 'almost' slowing down enough under red flags (they're racing drivers - if they think they can get and advantage somehow then they'll take that chance). Stomp on it hard with grid penalties (they'll care more about that than a pocket money fine) and hopefully they'll all pay attention to what they're doing and obey the flags.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Yep.



No.

As soon as you get into "spirit of the law" you're opening a can of worms - accusations of favouritism, inconsistency of application etc. etc. And as flag infringements go red flag is the worst - Ricciardo had to be hit with a meaningful punishment otherwise everyone would start 'almost' slowing down enough under red flags (they're racing drivers - if they think they can get and advantage somehow then they'll take that chance). Stomp on it hard with grid penalties (they'll care more about that than a pocket money fine) and hopefully they'll all pay attention to what they're doing and obey the flags.

I would agree with you if the indiscretion occurred in a race, or Ricciardo had gained an advantage, or Ricciardo had sped past exposed track workers, however I would personally rate speeding in the pit lane as a more dangerous offence than Daniel's.

Having set the precedent, I hope the stewards are consistent.
I would however bet they are not!

[F1Guy]

Christian Horner has his say on the penalty...

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/h...utted-1018033/

[Richard C]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

As soon as you get into "spirit of the law" you're opening a can of worms - accusations of favouritism, inconsistency of application etc. etc. And as flag infringements go red flag is the worst - Ricciardo had to be hit with a meaningful punishment otherwise everyone would start 'almost' slowing down enough under red flags (they're racing drivers - if they think they can get and advantage somehow then they'll take that chance). Stomp on it hard with grid penalties (they'll care more about that than a pocket money fine) and hopefully they'll all pay attention to what they're doing and obey the flags.

I agree 100%.

If you are in a position that has to effectively judge someone against a rule (I do this somewhat in my day job), then it is a can of worms if you try to make subjective calls for the reasons you mentioned above. As I mentioned earlier it helps if there is a range of punishments. I think the right thing was done here.

I am also worried about the “Well, it wasn’t a serious red flag, just a loose cable.” comments. Even if the driver had been told over the radio that nobody was on track, etc. should he consider that to be more accurate information than marshals waving a red flag at him? My point is you have to treat them as if each one is a worse case scenario as there really is no stronger message that race control can to give to the entire field.

Imagine a scenario in which the driver is given bad info over the radio (track is clear) and does not slow enough before he encounters the actual issue (track is NOT clear) at speed.

Richard

[bjohnsonsmith]

Q3 Red Flagged as Bottas slams into the tyre wall. The car is a mess.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Lulu is on pole, after a scintillating lap, with Kimi in second spot. Vettee couldn't quite do it and is third, with Verstappen 4th.

McLaren failed to get into Q3, with Alonso and Vandoorne 10th and 11th.

The Haas's qualified well with Magnussen 5th and Grosjean 6th.

[S griffin]

Ferraris again closest challengers to Merc, RBR not far behind. Bit hit for Bottas, just pushed it a bit too hard.

Great effort by both Renault and Haas to get both cars in the top ten.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by F1Guy

A bit of tension in the air??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfZ94OPcUv4

Kimi just staring off into the distance at the end is just priceless! hope he never retires!

anyways i like that there is a bit of underlying tension between the title protagonists.

one of these guys is most likely going to win their 5th title and in terms of drama/entertainment its better imo that they dont get along.

[S griffin]

Kimi didn’t even blink and that’s was such a cosmic moment. He is worth it

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

I hate to beat on about it, and hopefully I wont even see it in a few races, but the halo kind of ruins in the in-car shots.

felt that way too.

they take up too much space, less room to see the road ahead, corner ahead etc.

i think we are going to be really disappointed when it blocks and actual racing/wheel to wheel battle camera shot.

add to that the new larger sized graphics. dont hate the font or the graphics mind you but too much of the screen is now being taken up.

no doubt i will get used to it but for now it all looks a bit cluttered.

[S griffin]

I seem to remember some complaining the old graphics were too small

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I seem to remember some complaining the old graphics were too small

indeed...no winning really.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

felt that way too.

they take up too much space, less room to see the road ahead, corner ahead etc.

i think we are going to be really disappointed when it blocks and actual racing/wheel to wheel battle camera shot.

add to that the new larger sized graphics. dont hate the font or the graphics mind you but too much of the screen is now being taken up.

no doubt i will get used to it but for now it all looks a bit cluttered.

I miss Hobbo too.

[Articus]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

I hate to beat on about it, and hopefully I wont even see it in a few races, but the halo kind of ruins in the in-car shots.

You are not wrong...

You figure with all the birds eye view technology that they have in road cars these days, that the Halo could be seamlessly edited out of onboard footage of an F1 car.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Articus

You figure with all the birds eye view technology that they have in road cars these days, that the Halo could be seamlessly edited out of onboard footage of an F1 car.

Or just build the camera into the front of the halo - as you say the technology is there to have very small cameras - how hard can it be?

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

Or just build the camera into the front of the halo - as you say the technology is there to have very small cameras - how hard can it be?

Complete rebuild of the halo is how hard. It's tested without and adding the camera would necessitate redesigning of the entire halo. Not a bad idea, but not something done quickly through bureaucracy.

[Akrapovic]

The FIA already allows teams to addon on aero parts. All that's required is an add-on camera part. Given a GoPro can stream in 4K and have an internal power source, it's not that big a deal breaker to do that.

However, the cameras won't be moving - the parts are in set positions and the aero is decided. It'll be next year at the earliest.

[gert]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

In the first race in Adelaide in 1985, Niki Lauda led on his final race until retiring with brake failure, while Keke Rosberg won in his McLaren

Keke drove a Williams in 1985.
Other than that, excellent intro again

Originally Posted by E.B

All the support races have been started behind the SC.

Well, that's still not as bad as the VdeV race at Barcelona which was run for its entire 62 laps (3H10) under safety car conditions

http://www.endurance-info.com/fr/bar...lmyr-lemporte/

Originally Posted by bathurst77

Wish they would put the car number on the halo to make it easier to work out who you are riding with

Or paint it in different colors?
Mercedes for instance has different colors for their car numbers. Why not apply the same color to the halo as well?
Ferrari: red for Vettel, white for Kimi or vice versa?
Red Bull: orange for Max?
etc ...

[VIVA GT]

OK, so I've been waiting for the new season to start ever since the last one finished. I've closely followed everything that's happened in the closed season, including the pre-season testing in Barcelona and have been eagerly anticipating the start of the season since Christmas.
So, for me qualifying wasn't live (Channel 4), but I studiously avoided the internet today and sat down at 1:00 to watch the qualifying coverage.
The programme was slick, well produced and entertaining, qualifying was close and (apparently) should have been edge of the seat entertainment, plus, I wasn't offended by The Halo.
Can anyone explain why I wasn't excited, why, at the end of the programme I just switched the TV off and went about my household chores? Surely afterwards I should have been sitting in my chair, sweating due to adrenaline, thinking WOW! that was amazing. Or does this just mean that after 45+ years the F1 bubble has finally burst in my head?
Answers on a postcard please...

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

The FIA already allows teams to addon on aero parts. All that's required is an add-on camera part. Given a GoPro can stream in 4K and have an internal power source, it's not that big a deal breaker to do that.

However, the cameras won't be moving - the parts are in set positions and the aero is decided. It'll be next year at the earliest.

There's ZERO chance a GoPro would be accepted as an aero part by any team. Their aero parts are tested and attached much differently than a camera mount would be. Look at the parts they've built and a camera, there's nothing in common.