Formula One world championship

ForkinGreat

Knows his Brassica oleracea

I didn't realise at the time, but the explosion at the nearby oil refinery during FP1 was actually a rocket attack. No wonder they had the big driver's meeting that delayed FP2.

Mercedes still bouncing around. McLaren matching others in S1, but losing big time in S2/3. Long runs looked about 6-7 tenths off Mercedes pace to me.


All the replacement PU components might hurt some teams towards the end of the season. Still too early to tell if Merc and Ferrari have a more reliable PU though, I guess.


Shame Doohan has to start from the back, after qualifying third; not enough fuel for the FIA sample.
I wonder what would have happened if the drivers and teams told the Saudis to get fucked?

Others have had "problems" leaving the country after getting on the wrong side of the Saudis.
it could be time to give GPs in Saudi Arabia the flick.
 

mik_git

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The terrorist guys, instead of blowing up stuff... just send out a media post: "It was us, we claim responsibility for hobbling Hamiltons car", probably get more media coverage with that.
 

tubby74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
saying i woke up to watch the race would overstate my consciousness. watched the F2 sprint race in saturday, what a disaster. Safety car after 1 lap for 7 laps. another big crash caused by doohan before even crossing the line on restart. Leader gets told to go through the pits, confirms with race control they are to go through the pits so he does right as someone changed the track signals to say pits closed. comes out 10 places down and told to take 10 second stop go penalty for doing what race control told them to.
 

smaj

Likes Dirt
I still don't understand the change to 9 and 10, would have preferred to just see the exit opened up. Rest of the changes are great. Here's hoping a wider track lets Danny get the elbows out!
Yeah, I can see what you mean with T9. It's like they just want the whole back half of the track to be fast, high-speed kinks, much like Jeddah. I do love how cars come around 7/8 at Albert Park though. Widening should allow some nice passing, and hopefully passes to stick etc. Good to see they finally bumped up the archaic speed limit on the pit lane too :)

Just realised I have to work on Saturday, but luckily I can do it from home, so I'll be doing it in front of the TV.
 

Asininedrivel

caviar connoisseur
Stoked to be having a race back in Melbourne!

Double DRS zones though (so 4).

Track layout changes:
The cars are getting too big, rather than fix that let's just make the tracks bigger. Might give Monaco a miss this year.

Actually a bit disappointed the chicane between 9/10 is gone too, that was a great GA vantage point.
 

madstace

Likes Dirt
Watching FP1 and I think I'd like the new turn 8 to be just a bit more pronounced, else the cars do look pretty sweet coming through there. Turn 11 looks slightly over-extended but is a better angle. McLaren aren't too far away atm either! Yes yes early days I know.
 

smaj

Likes Dirt
Watching FP1 and I think I'd like the new turn 8 to be just a bit more pronounced, else the cars do look pretty sweet coming through there. Turn 11 looks slightly over-extended but is a better angle. McLaren aren't too far away atm either! Yes yes early days I know.
I'm keen to see how the actual racing goes through there. I'm trying not to get too excited about McLaren :) The only time they seem to be fast in FP sessions is when they're slow in quali...
 

Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
Was probably faster than the Aston.
At least the moped finished a lap huh. ;)
I am / was soooooooooooooooo off F1 after that bullshit Abu Dhabi farce but am happy to say the 2022 cars seem to be something we needed. Add to that how much I missed the Australian Grand Prix after shutting it down for those poor people at the gate; I'm super keen for the action this weekend.
The changes to the track are fantastic, I reckon we'll see some great action.
And Ferrari are quick again. So ner.
 

madstace

Likes Dirt
i get there's rules and safety, but do they really want to kill the character in the sport
I know right! We'll never see drivers giving each other a lift again, which is a shame, cus if they used the Halo as seat, it'll look like they're taking a dump on the driver.
 

smaj

Likes Dirt
That Ferrari really has the beans, even with all the porpoising. Meanwhile, the McLaren is clipping (I think, the soft top at v-max before the turns): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FPzmq8-XoAALfNw?format=png&name=4096x4096

Sometimes they can fix this with software. If it's the MGU-K, they get another bite at the cherry by 1 September to fix it. Norris had to take a new PU for Melbourne, so with that and the other Merc PU issues, I'm wondering about reliability now.

Alpine look good. In previous years I'd doubt them, but this year they seem decent.
 
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