2018 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, 22 -25 March

[DiogoBrand]

Hamilton was not faster;
Strat mode 14 was clearly faster to what Seb was using, until Hamilton decided to turn it down.

He didn't use start mode 14. Did you even watch the race?

It was suggested to him, but did he use it? I don't know. It was also mentioned it's not sustainable, meaning it probably uses too much battery.

Regarding the tires. Pretty much all cars did their personal best laptimes on 26 laps or more old soft tires, while Vettel was able to go 28 laps (25 race + 3 quali) deep on ultras with his best lap on those tires on lap 24 (21 race laps + 3 quali). It seems to me there's no doubt tires are still way too hard for mixed strategies, but they are good for at least some kind of racing (engine temps aside).

Unfortunately I don't think we can have everything at once. We either have mixed strategies races decided on pit stop strategy, or we have durable tyres that allow drivers to push and try to overtake. Having both at the same time sounds unlikely to me.
If I had to choose I'd go for tyres that allow to push any time.

[LM10]

Maybe some people should calm down. It's understandable that some fans are frustrated because Mercedes didn't manage to win despite being the fastest car on track. But that's not a reason to be aggressive or even arrogant.

It's not Ferrari's fault that Bottas crashed in Qualifying and therefore was not able to strategically help his teammate. It also wasn't Ferrari's fault that the software of Mercedes failed.
Ferrari has done a flawless job. No mistakes from drivers nor the team in terms of strategy. So I don't agree on it being an undeserved win as someone wrote here. It was lucky, but not undeserved. However, luck is an important factor for everyone in the race and every team gets lucky at some point. Today it was Ferrari, last season there has also been occasions in which Mercedes got lucky. No big deal.

What we can tell for now is that Mercedes is the best car out there. Ferrari has much of a work to do. But I've the feeling that Ferrari can do a bigger step in terms of pace than Mercedes can do. Just because the Mercedes is flying already. Another big step for Mercedes would mean a car on par with a spacecraft.
Not to forget RBR, of course. The kings of developing.

I'm excited and curious about what will happen in future races.

[NathanOlder]

Be interesting to see how many updates Merc could possibly have held back, seemed very similar to the Barcelona car. So maybe a performance boost is yet to be had by the W09. SO come Bahrain, the gap has a decent chance of being bigger, more of a power track and all that.

[henra]

He didn't use start mode 14. Did you even watch the race?

Are you really 100% sure of that?
At least there seemed to be an 'Attack' mode being used during the chase of Vettel. I'm not sure this equates to strat 14 though.

[PlatinumZealot]

He didn't use start mode 14. Did you even watch the race?

Are you really 100% sure of that?
At least there seemed to be an 'Attack' mode being used during the chase of Vettel. I'm not sure this equates to strat 14 though.

Yes. Was confirmed on Sky. He only attacked which resulted in burnt tyres didn't use any power modes because he was never in a position to overtake.

[LM10]

Be interesting to see how many updates Merc could possibly have held back, seemed very similar to the Barcelona car. So maybe a performance boost is yet to be had by the W09. SO come Bahrain, the gap has a decent chance of being bigger, more of a power track and all that.

I see the W09 as a massively developed W08. If we believe Toto and James Allison the wheelbase is the same. The rake also must have stayed the same or quite close to it. The car is even slimmer now, the sidepod inlets slightly changed, the airbox got wider, the front suspensions changed. These are a few of the more visible differences the eye catches, beside the many detailed ones.
The combination of all equals the beast the W09 is. But the major dimensions/the concept of the car didn't change. So from this point of view, if we consider the W09 as a very developed car already I get the feeling that further steps in development might not be as big as from Ferrari or RBR.

That's just a personal thought. Maybe Mercedes proves the opposite. We will see.

[NathanOlder]

Be interesting to see how many updates Merc could possibly have held back, seemed very similar to the Barcelona car. So maybe a performance boost is yet to be had by the W09. SO come Bahrain, the gap has a decent chance of being bigger, more of a power track and all that.

I see the W09 as a massively developed W08. If we believe Toto and James Allison the wheelbase is the same. The rake also must have stayed the same or quite close to it. The car is even slimmer now, the sidepod inlets slightly changed, the airbox got wider, the front suspensions changed. These are a few of the more visible differences the eye catches, beside the many detailed ones.
The combination of all equals the beast the W09 is. But the major dimensions/the concept of the car didn't change. So from this point of view, if we consider the W09 as a very developed car already I get the feeling that further steps in development might not be as big as from Ferrari or RBR.

That's just a personal thought. Maybe Mercedes proves the opposite. We will see.

Yeah, if the car is just a developed W08 as you put it, surely they wouldn't have gone down that route if they didn't think they could push development flat out all year. If they were near the maximum of their potential with that philosophy they would have definitely gone for a completely new car. So I would like to think they have plenty of room to explore

That's just my personal thought

[Sieper]

I never understand how that development is constantly possible. Surely you make a concept, you optimize it, you fine tune it, you learn of a mistake, you redo, you spot an idea at a competitor, you implement, improve etc. Etc. But how come your ideas can always be bettered, the car you start with is already so optimized but by end 2018 they will have found another second. It is somehow a bit mind boggling. Even If the end result of all this a parade of cars, bit said though.

[cplchanb]

So, why did Vettel stay out so long, he was loosing more and more time, at Some point his only hope was a virtual safety car. Just at that point one Haas car got stopped on track and then one more, just at the perfect time. That was very lucky.

Ferrari must've been thinking why are Mercedes cruising on fresh softs? lets stay out because were not even losing any time to Lewis so theres no gain from pitting at this moment. Mercedes made themselves vulnerable to this scenario and had the pace to cover it.

Well to be fair nobody expected a double dnf due to the same weird wheel issue for haas.... conspiracy??? Ha ha so Singapore like..

[JPBD1990]

Be interesting to see how many updates Merc could possibly have held back, seemed very similar to the Barcelona car. So maybe a performance boost is yet to be had by the W09. SO come Bahrain, the gap has a decent chance of being bigger, more of a power track and all that.

Are you saying you’d like the gap to be bigger? If so, you surely aren’t an F1 fan...?

[.poz]

Merc was the fastest car on race pace but with a small margin. Hamilton was unable to build a 6-7s gape to put himself safe from undercut, so he had to cover Raikkonen pit stop. I expect a wider margin on circuits with fast turns.

[iotar__]

Ferrari must've been thinking why are Mercedes cruising on fresh softs? lets stay out because were not even losing any time to Lewis so theres no gain from pitting at this moment. Mercedes made themselves vulnerable to this scenario and had the pace to cover it.

Here's an idea with no luck involved. This strategy potentially works against one driver in front (no SC needed), the one closer to Vettel and in the same team. The effect that Hamilton reacts to Raikkonen (that's Ferrari's call unless Ham pits first) is involved in planning. In reality it worked for two. Cause -> effect -> potential bonus effect. SC is a secondary possibility.
It didn't take long, F1 is as openly fraudulent as ever. Autosport:

"Although Verstappen had technically overtaken Alonso under yellow flags, Whiting used his discretion as it was such a close call."

WHAT ABOUT SAFETY?! Yellow flags mean something, don't they? It's not a regular pass where giving position works on two levels: safety and other car obeying them. They gave what five/three places for slowing down under double yellows in one car at the time situation in Q. It wasn't close enough of a call for Whiting then or perhaps wrong team/driver?

- Are soft tyres, blistering still a problem for Mercedes?

[.poz]

Yes, will be interesting to see if the SF71 can live with low DF setups. Still they won't have much of a choice. With a Laptime optiised high DF setup they won't have a chance defending against Merc on the straights of more overtaking- friendly circuits. That will on the other hand compromise their Qualifying Laptimes.

AFAIK they have aero balance problems as the rear don't generate expected DF levels so they had to set down the front.

Vettel is suffering a lot form this because he likes a very stable rear on the car

[DiogoBrand]

Am I right in assuming that after the Oil Burning subject, the controversy of the year will be Mercedes' power modes? Everyone talking about it in Qualy, everyone talking about it during the race, it just doesn't stop.

[MtthsMlw]

Social media coverage is quite nice this year.