New season kicks off in Melbourne (F1)

[DasLandRoverMan]

So, round one out of the way.
Much the same at the front with Mercedes, but interesting to see a things closer in the rest of the field.

Ferrari (and Sauber) have certainly made steps forward with the engine and the cars, less impressive from Renault, although the news that Mario Illen (of Ilmor fame) is now working on their F1 programme could mean we see more from them later in the year.

Hopefully we get a few more starting the next race in Malaysia, and things being a bit more competitive out front.

[jerryd]

Was an interesting start to the season, the driver of the day on my scorecard has to be the new talent "Felipe Nasr" managing to finish 5th in the sauber :cool: He had this to say after the race ....
?I am very happy with fifth position in my first ever Formula One race. It is such a big relief for the team and myself that we are able to score points, and I am very pleased about this achievement. It was a tough race. Right after the start it was quite messy in Turn 1, as another driver hit my wheel. I thought the car was damaged a bit, but after a few laps I noticed everything was fine. After that, the race went according to plan. There was pressure from behind during the whole race, which was not easy. That was an emotional race for me and everyone in the team.?


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Looks like poor old Ricciardo has inherited his old teammates car from last year, it seems they have a few problems to sort out :) while Sebastian Vettel had a great result in the Ferrari but not so lucky for his teammate Kimi Raikkonen .

Sebastian Vettel - 3rd

?They did not play the Italian anthem on the podium, but we can be very pleased with this weekend. It's a shame that a small mistake prevented Kimi from finishing the race but, in general, it was a very ?clean? weekend. The most important thing is we have a good car, a real platform from which to carry on working. So thank you and congratulations also to the people who have worked hard in Maranello, as well as those here in Australia. Without them, this result would not have been possible. The start was not the best, there was too much wheelspin and when I tried to hold the inside line, my tyres were still too cold. We had a great race strategy, which allowed us to jump the Williams, which had a good top speed, at our one pit stop. Now we must confirm our performance in the coming races and then, one step at a time, let's hope we can begin to close on the Mercedes. The gap is still big, but of all the teams, I think ours is the one that has improved the most over the winter. For a long time, I've dreamed of driving for Ferrari and it's happened at the right time. I drank the champagne on the podium and I kept some for the guys in the team, because they told me they like it a lot? Thanks also to the fans. We have a great car, not just for qualifying but also for the race. Let's hope we can get on the podium again and maybe even get a few wins!?

[The Cone of Silence]

This is going to be a frustrating season, I fear.

With only 4 engines for each car, there will be plenty of grid penalties in the second half of the year - Ricciardo is already down to three having destroyed one in the first race.

The majority of the season will be spent watching the fight for 3rd-10th place between the teams with large development budgets; Williams, Ferrari, Red Bull (if they can fix the power unit) and maybe, I'm hoping, McLaren.

Nobody's fighting for first place though - the Merc's are faster by such a large margin that they've done a horizon job on the season already. The only interesting battles at the front will be between Nico and Lewis and they'll be told to behave themselves and nurse the cars home.

Definitely good to see some exciting new talent in the form of Verstappen, Nasr and Sainz Jr....it'll be great to see how their driving styles unfold.


As ever though, the real winner on F1 Sunday is the kitchen. We still get together and cook a 3-course meal of traditional food from whatever country the race is in....which was easy yesterday with the barbecue getting a good run. My god-daughter loves it - although she's confused as to why her beloved Sebastian Vettel is driving a red car this year.

[DasLandRoverMan]

So I'm a couple of days after the event, but Malaysia turned out to be a lot more competitive outing for all concerned, and asides the Ferrari win there was lots more exciting driving taking place through the field.

The first time for a while I've been pleased to see Vettel win a race, although it might help it was a Ferrari win after 12 months of the Mercs winning nearly everything, all but 4 of the last 21 races.

There are those who'd claim Vettel only won due to the Mercs pitting under the safety car and made best use of the advantage, but both cars were on the pace all Weekend, and Raikonnen managing dead last to 4th at the flag after his puncture reinforces that.
The race might have been a bit closer, but Ferrari would have won either way, potentially a 1/2 finish with a bit more luck on Raikonnens side.

[DasLandRoverMan]

McLaren showing some promise in the car too, with both cars running relatively strongly compared to previous outings.

My favourite quote of the day coming from Buttons team radio: 'I'm a little bit surprised here guys, I appear to be catching other cars, and quite a lot of them...'