2018 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, 22 -25 March

[thevlack]

I must say that I am quite disappointed, not in the race itself, it was a fairly decent race as far Melbourne can provide one.

I am disappointed in the people here and in the tone of the discussion, the accusations and the blatant disrespect shown both to eachother but also towards the teams and drivers.

I have come to know the forum here as filled with people with vast and varied knowledge on every aspect of the sport, yet when the outcome of races doesn't conform to your ideal view some on here completely lose all semblance of critical thinking and civility.

This is a sport, it's not just about being the fastest, the one with best aero, most powerful engine, coolest concept or most originality. It is about getting from start to finish ahead of the competition, if you do that by using clever engine settings, good strategy or just plain dumb luck doesn't matter.

Instead of being angry that Mercedes have a power advantage, be impressed with how they manage to get PU, software and aero to work together.
Instead of being mad about Ferrari got by under the VSC, be impressed with how they did it, that they took the chance to stay out knowing it was their only hope.
Instead of spreading ludicrous conspiracy theories about HAAS failed pitstops, feel their pain.

I understand that some people doesn't like Vettel or Ferrari, I don't. But that doesn't mean that their win wasn't deserved.
I understand that some hate that Merc have been so dominant, I do. but that doesn't mean that it haven't been deserved.
I understand that people doesn't like the way HAAS is being run, I don't. But that doesn't mean that they would throw a race away, they wouldn't.

So please, discuss the how's, why's and what rival teams could do about it the next time around, but leave the childish poo flinging at the door.

+1, true so much blind fans just venting and not discussing..

[Brenton]

Gday Brenton,
your first line in the reply to me saying " if something is going to happen twice," is the critical point, with the systems checking of those teams, virtually impossible. anyway i am a believer in mark twain "lies, damn lies and statistics"

What do you think about there being a VSC then a SC? Why not just do a SC in the first place if it was necessary? Seems suspicious.

[Phlumbert]

I would have also thought that an SC should have been brought out for a car stopped on the track.

[dans79]

I read this on youtube and had to share it:

How ironic it is that the american team had an issue with their gun?

that is so funny

I don't find it funny at all!

[Artur Craft]

after his mistake, Lewis had clean air and his fastest lap was a lot slower than that of Ricciardo. Obviously Daniel had newer tyres but it is still a good sign that maybe Red Bull can challenge on race pace. Not that I'm delluding myself thinking Mercedes isn't dominant. I just think this little sample(was hard to read proper race pace on this race due to traffic that the RBs had) can indicate to a possible fights on particular tracks

[johnny comelately]

I read this on youtube and had to share it:

How ironic it is that the american team had an issue with their gun?

that is so funny

I don't find it funny at all!

Come on, it's a little bit funny...maybe in a Denny Crane sort of way?

[FMP]

What did you all think about Ricciardo having the fastest lap, even with LH and SV battling near the end of the race putting in fast times? Great sign for Red Bull or not significant?

johnny come lately, if something is going to happen twice, you'd expect it most likely to happen to the same team twice in short succession. It's common for the same issue to impact both cars on an F1 team when an issue happens. And this would have been such a huge result for Haas. I'd be more inclined to consider conspiracy if they were running outside the top 15. But there was so much to lose by trying to sabotage themselves on hopes of getting Vettel a 14 point swing. I'm more skeptical of the fact that Haas had the third row than anything... where did they get such a fast car, on their budget??? Incredible.

The VSC coming out in those 6-7 laps after Lewis pits are probably (at a guess) 100/1 chance. 3/1 to happen in a street race at any time, and then to happen in the right 10% of the race takes the chances way out to 100/1 (all guess work)

Good points, though isn't the chance of a SC / VSC significantly higher than 50% for the race distance? On average one per race in recent years I thought, at least for street courses like Melbourne. If that's the case then there's a 10% chance of it happening during a 6 lap window, rather than 1%. I tried searching a few F1 statistics sites but haven't found a summary on SC /VSCs. I think the risk was small but significant.

Question about the tires. Was new tires significantly advantageous in laptime? Is there a website that has data on the laptime for each lap for each driver ?

Here you'll find anything important from the weekend: https://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula- ... nformation

[FMP]

What races did that happen last year, My mind has gone totally blank.

Thanks in advance.

China was mentioned

Hamilton won in China because the VSC ........ Erm..... No.

The guy who stuck it on pole, got away at the front and didnt pit under the VSC won the race due to the VSC.

It started wet, and was drying. Vettel pitted under VSC as a gamble. Giovinazzi smashed it in the wall and the SC came out. Who ever didnt pit before , now was able to pit and Lewis walked away from the rest and won comfortably.

Any your saying Lewis won because of VRS helping him like today with Vettel in Melbourne

Yes, VSC/SC helped him there. He could've won it without but still it helped him. But on the top of my head, Spain 2017 was a place where he was helped substantially by the VSC/SC.

[daniellammers]

It was a snoozefest. But RB was compromised and Merc/Ferrari weren't far apart. It gets me excited for Bahrain with a little more overtaking opportunities. Wishful thinking?

[marvin78]

Sorry to disappoint you but the Mercedes Car is far ahead and they won't make the same mistakes they did in AUS.

[NathanOlder]

after his mistake, Lewis had clean air and his fastest lap was a lot slower than that of Ricciardo. Obviously Daniel had newer tyres but it is still a good sign that maybe Red Bull can challenge on race pace. Not that I'm delluding myself thinking Mercedes isn't dominant. I just think this little sample(was hard to read proper race pace on this race due to traffic that the RBs had) can indicate to a possible fights on particular tracks

The trouble is Hamilton was never in clean air and pushing as hard as he could. The few laps he was in clean air and fresh tyres , he still had over half a tank of fuel, and he was told by the team he is safe in front of Kimi and clear of Vettel if a VSC/SC happened (obviously wrong)
So Red Bulls pace and Mercedes pace cant be compared just yet. First half of the race, Red Bull had traffic, 2nd half , Merc had traffic.

[djos]

Sorry to disappoint you but the Mercedes Car is far ahead and they won't make the same mistakes they did in AUS.

In qually the Merc is in a league of its own, but in the race I reckon it's pretty even. Plus the Ferrari doesn't have cooling issues.

The RedBull clearly has excellent race pace so I'm personally looking forward to 3 way battles at many tracks.

Ps Bottas proved he doesn't deserve the Merc drive quite nicely, shouldn't be hard for Merc to sign up Dan now after that dismal race weekend!

[DVB]

Any idea where to find the radio transcripts from during the race? Would love to read those

[J.A.W.]

I read this on youtube and had to share it:

How ironic it is that the american team had an issue with their gun?

that is so funny

I don't find it funny at all!

Well, to be fair, the same joke - told twice, in quick succession - just aint gonna be as funny*..

*Funny-laughwise, I mean..
..but def' 'funny' peculiarwise, though.. IMO.. esp' after the guy who cocked up
the wheel change the 1st time - was dismissed to the backroom, stat.

[Andres125sx]

Wheelgungate: When Haas, as a payback to Ferrari because of using their past season chassis, sabotage their own cars to cause a SC wich gifted vitory to Ferrari

Any credit?

Before any Haas retired, I was thinking about how happy should be Ferrari because of Hass pace with their old chassis, as they were holding back RBR letting Ferrari to focus on Mercedes. Then one Haas fails almost causing a SC but didn´t. Then the second fails again finally causing a SC and gifting victory to Ferrari...


I usually don´t buy coincidences in F1

It seems that you havent realised that HAAS actually use a Dallara chassis.

Yeah it looks pretty similar to Ferrari 2017, but that´s just a coincidence


Anycase, I was refering to aero, the chassis is basically the survival cell