2018 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, 22 -25 March

[Juzh]

https://imgur.com/a/odLIx

On those times, "BSPDs" are captured at the end of each sector, and "BEST TRAP" at the end of start-finish straight ??

Yes.

[Juzh]

These are times from FP2 2017. Having watched FP2 today, times have almost remained the same. In fact, FP2 fastest time by Lewis is slower than last year's FP2 time. Temperatures have remained more or less similar. What happened to all the development done to the cars in the last 12 months? Only Red Bull seems to have gone faster.

https://s9.postimg.org/p9acq9ezz/2017_aus_gp.png

Goes to show how much those "2s improvement over a course of season" statements are really relevant.

[Kingshark]

I agree ultimately that Ferrari are second. But... Ferrari are second. I guess that’s *not* the surprise I was hoping for.

Unfortunately, it tells you something about the state of this sport when pretty much everyone already knows the WDC and WCC before the season has even begun.

Let’s be real, do even the biggest optimists seriously believe that anyone other than Hamilton will actually win the championship?

I don't know, but you must be one of the biggest pessimists around here

Of course LH is favourite, but to forecast such an easy championship without even seeing the first race it's a bit too much.

Mercedes have bulletproof reliability, the fastest car by a decent enough margin, and one driver who is clearly better than his teammate.

Call me a pessimist if you like, but I just don’t see anyone else winning it. Formula 1 has become as predictable as the Bundesliga, and Mercedes is Bayern.

[Steven]

It's plausible that the engines are more tuned down on Fridays than before due to the higher mileage these engines have to cover this year.

[Andres125sx]

These are times from FP2 2017. Having watched FP2 today, times have almost remained the same. In fact, FP2 fastest time by Lewis is slower than last year's FP2 time. Temperatures have remained more or less similar. What happened to all the development done to the cars in the last 12 months? Only Red Bull seems to have gone faster.

https://s9.postimg.org/p9acq9ezz/2017_aus_gp.png

1- Halo, some kg weight at a pretty high position, affecting total weight, CoG and aerodynamics
2- PUs must last 7 GPs, so in FP they´re probably at the most conservative setting

Wait until Q and we´ll know, it´s less than 24h ahead

[Bisonas]

https://imgur.com/a/odLIx

On those times, "BSPDs" are captured at the end of each sector, and "BEST TRAP" at the end of start-finish straight ??

Yes.

Watching the differences on BSPD3 and BEST SPEED the lowest margin by far its for Alonso. Weird to see so abnormal margin. Its like he wasn't opening DRS on the whole straight or something, which i don't believe to be the case.Maybe Deployment issue. OR maybe he is using more downforce than the others. At least on those runs. It seems he carries more speed in the corner , has a good traction out of it, he arrives on start finish line with higher speed than other Renault engine cars and then downforce/drag catches up and keep his top speed low.
I don't know, It just looks weird.

[Bill_Kar]

Unfortunately, it tells you something about the state of this sport when pretty much everyone already knows the WDC and WCC before the season has even begun.

Let’s be real, do even the biggest optimists seriously believe that anyone other than Hamilton will actually win the championship?

I don't know, but you must be one of the biggest pessimists around here

Of course LH is favourite, but to forecast such an easy championship without even seeing the first race it's a bit too much.

Mercedes have bulletproof reliability, the fastest car by a decent enough margin, and one driver who is clearly better than his teammate.

Call me a pessimist if you like, but I just don’t see anyone else winning it. Formula 1 has become as predictable as the Bundesliga, and Mercedes is Bayern.

Sure, but I can put a lot of buts in between.
They are known for their reliability, but this year you only need one bad moment for your planning to disarray with only 3 PUs available.
It seems they have the better car, but we don't know anything yet about windows of operation, track suitability, in-season development ( in which Ferrari really sucks, but with RBR so close now, it 's a different story). First image can be so delusive
That holds true for Ferrari as well. And, moreover, Ferrari has a clear No1 in contrast to Mercedes and as far as RBR is concerned, I think that, ceteris paribus, Verstappen will obliterate Ricciardo.

Your comparison with Bundesliga is a legitimate one, but you're undermining the role of luck & unpredictability in F1. And you can see that every year.

[Vasconia]

That holds true for Ferrari as well. And, moreover, Ferrari has a clear No1 in contrast to Mercedes and as far as RBR is concerned, I think that, ceteris paribus, Verstappen will obliterate Ricciardo.

Your comparison with Bundesliga is a legitimate one, but you're undermining the role of luck & unpredictability in F1. And you can see that every year.

Ehem...really? I think that everybody know who is the number 1 in Mercedes, even Bottas sounds like a n2 driver. No intention to criticize Mercedes, its pretty obvious that Lewis is the winning horse.

[Jambier]

Ferrari will be second, RBR can't fight with their engine.
On Melbourne why not, on another track not possible.

Haas also called Ferrabis continue to be quick. I think there will be some protest soon...

[JPBD1990]

Ferrari will be second, RBR can't fight with their engine.
On Melbourne why not, on another track not possible.

Haas also called Ferrabis continue to be quick. I think there will be some protest soon...

Sorry I don’t understand what you’re referring to? What will there be a protest regarding?

[TwanV]

Well, the 2nd one is the best option right now. T-cam is absolutely horrible

At least you can see the road from the T-cam. You can't see anything from this angle.

Onboard cameras look terrible now...

Haha woww that's dissapointing! Ok so we have a multi-multi-million dollar sport and nobody from FIA has taken the time to tell FOM where to put the camera's? sigh.. they'll fix it sooner or later with the 360 cam but I will miss the t-cam shots..

[GPR-A duplicate2]

These are times from FP2 2017. Having watched FP2 today, times have almost remained the same. In fact, FP2 fastest time by Lewis is slower than last year's FP2 time. Temperatures have remained more or less similar. What happened to all the development done to the cars in the last 12 months? Only Red Bull seems to have gone faster.

https://s9.postimg.org/p9acq9ezz/2017_aus_gp.png

Goes to show how much those "2s improvement over a course of season" statements are really relevant.

I have a feeling that the new compound tyres have slowed the cars down.

[Jambier]

Ferrari will be second, RBR can't fight with their engine.
On Melbourne why not, on another track not possible.

Haas also called Ferrabis continue to be quick. I think there will be some protest soon...

Sorry I don’t understand what you’re referring to? What will there be a protest regarding?

Regarding HAAS, teams like Force India that built their own car, or even other teams are angry with this situation.

The Haas is basicaly last year's Ferrari. They use Ferrari wind tunnel.
They are almost not a formula one team, and still get a very good car when private like FI or other have to make a car.

[Just_a_fan]

Mercedes have bulletproof reliability, the fastest car by a decent enough margin, and one driver who is clearly better than his teammate.

You could move the clock to 2000-2005 and the same applied to Ferrari. There are always periods of dominance in F1. What you haven't seen is a race, yet, this season. Hang on until they've raced and see how things shake out.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

It's plausible that the engines are more tuned down on Fridays than before due to the higher mileage these engines have to cover this year.

If that is indeed true for FP2, then it would be the case in races too! That means, slower and boring cars. Except for one or two laps in Q3, we would never really see what the car can do over a long course of race, which was the original intention of the rule changes for 2017!