The F1 thread

[DjchunKfunK]

Those with Netflix should give the new F1 documentary, Drive to Survive, a watch. Got through the first two episodes last night and it's a pretty good watch. It's a bit of a shame that the big two didn't take part but so far the documentary has done a good job of highlighting some of the smaller stories in F1 and I think that's a good thing.

There is a great bit in episode 2 where two McLaren engineers are talking to each other and one says 'I bet Grojean doesn't make it round the first corner'. Come the race Grojean crashes out and they cut in the audio of the guy saying, 'See I told you, just like I said'.

Watching the trailer for episode 3 reminded me how terrible Horner seems to be at keeping two drivers happy.

[Raid]

I watched the whole series over the weekend. It's decent for the most part, but for some reason it manufactures drama that never happened to support the story it's telling. There's an episode towards the end where the story they're pushing is Haas and Renault competing for fourth in the constructors, which was a genuine story, but it does so by pretending that there was an on-track battle between Hulkenberg and Magnussen which never really took place (for the most part the drivers were separated by twenty seconds). It also throws in silly sound effects because the producers weren't happy with the sound recorded at the track, usually for collisions which admittedly aren't captured well most of the time. I definitely noticed the comedy 'whiplash' sound that used to be used in the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon in the early 90s.

But there's some good behind the scenes stuff that, while not enough to fill 10 episodes, does give some insight that was hidden under marketing speak and media relations. One team principal's reaction to a driver's constant mistakes was refreshingly honest, and I have to wonder whether he knew he was being recorded at the time.

[eny]

RIP Charlie Whiting

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/47564762

[Wrathbone]

That's terrible. RIP.

[Snowy]

Very sad news, RIP Charlie

[DjchunKfunK]

That's a shame, I wonder who is going to take over his role.

[Drarok]

Only 66 as well! That's no age to be going.

[Raid]

Charlie Whiting's death is just awful; he was one of those long-standing key members of the F1 community that always gave great insights into the sport whenever the TV crews managed to get ahold of him. The fact that he seemed to be so popular with drivers and teams despite being someone they tried to hide things from was pretty telling too.

Anyway, the season has begun, and it's sadly looking a bit like deja vu at the front. The Mercedes is scarily quick in qualifying, as it has been for the majority of this engine formula. You can sort of hear the disappointment from the pundits, as they were all expecting it to be much closer. I suppose it's possible that it's just this track, as the same thing happened last year and Ferrari still gave them a run for their money for much of the season.

The midfield looks like it might be extremely competitive; McLaren are definitely more in the mix this year along with Toro Rosso. Alfa Romeo are two seconds faster than they were last year, as are Toro Rosso, and Lando Norris getting his McLaren to P8 was the highlight of quali for me.

But then there's Williams. Williams have managed to produce a car that is slower than it was last year. They're the only team that have done this. George Russell has said that they already know there's a fundamental problem with their car that'll take months to fix. I get the feeling that the fundamental problem lies within their technical leadership, and frankly Paddy Lowe suddenly taking extended leave from the team immediately prior to the start of the season is telling. The guy has never inspired confidence when he speaks, despite having been a major part of the Mercedes team while they've been winning championships. That he went from the top of the grid to the bottom without boosting Williams' fortunes is a pretty damning indication of the guy's ability or lack thereof.

[Raid]

Certainly not a classic race, but then Australia seldom is. Good result though; Bottas looked like he thrashed Lewis, though as ever with F1 it's difficult to know exactly what happened. Lewis said after the race that he allowed Bottas to get away from him after he was beaten into turn 1, but finishing some 25 seconds after his teammate (without any obvious problem) is pretty unusual for Lewis. Good result for Red Bull too - a podium immediately after changing power unit provider is phenomenal, and I think testament to all of the work Toro Rosso did last year in helping Honda. They just need to sort their qualifying out and they'll be challenging for the championship.

Ferrari were a bit of a mystery. I'm largely going off of the pundits' reactions, because I just don't know enough to make sense of what gets seen during pre-season tests, but everyone seemed to be surprised at how slow they were today. Vettel was half a second slower than Leclerc in the second stint, and I'd be surprised if it were entirely down to the relative condition of their tyres - Vettel certainly wasn't clear on why he was so slow.

I used to quite like Albert Park as a circuit, but I'm getting decreasingly enthused by it as it just doesn't seem like people can pass. While Toro Rosso are clearly faster than they were last year, I just don't think they should be able to hold off a Red Bull on brand new, 1.5s faster tyres. Giovinazzi too eas keeping people on new tyres behind him just by positioning his car well on corners, as for most of the circuit there's only really one line. I think Bahrain will be a much better showcase for the new aero formula.

[DjchunKfunK]

Australia is just symptomatic of F1 in general, it's very hard to pass on any track which doesn't have a long DRS straight followed by a hard breaking corner.

Hamilton in his post-race interview suggested that there was something off about his setup so I think that partly explains the big gap, well played to Bottas though for a great drive. As for Ferrari I had to laugh at Vettel's question mid race asking why they were so slow and Sky pundits doing mental gymnastics about how Leclerc wasn't given orders not to pass Vettel was pretty hilarious. This article makes interesting reading and may explain why Ferrari struggled so much and could do so for the rest of the season.

I was happy to see McLaren in 8th going into the race but they looked low on power again in the race, Noris finished a long way back, although after Giovanazzi ruined his race and Sainz's engine blow-up maybe they were in engine saving mode.

[DjchunKfunK]

Just read on the BBC that Hamilton suffered floor damage on lap four which caused him to loose downforce so that explains the loss of speed. They are not sure what caused it as he didn't go off the track, maybe it was a curb. He also said he drove slower to make sure his tyres would last after the early stop.

[Raid]

I didn't think LeClerc would get Ferrari's first pole of the year; I knew he'd get *his* first pole at some point, but managing it in just his second race is impressive. Granted, Vettel had his Q3 compromised by having to use an extra set of tyres in Q2, meaning he had to play Q3 a bit safe due to the lack of a banker lap, but LeClerc has been quicker for most of the weekend. Vettel's even been summoned to the stewards and may be receiving a penalty.

[Drarok]

Leclerc was absolutely robbed yesterday – he'd gone above and beyond to deserve that win. He's definitely going to get the top spot this season at some point.

Renault still costing Red Bull podiums though, eh?

[Maturin]

Yep, felt really sorry for Leclerc. It'll come some time soon though.

Another disappointing costly driver error from Vettel again; it seems he's going to have the added pressure of a quick(er?) teammate this year, as well as dealing with Hamilton. It's going to be genuinely interesting to see how he reacts this season.

Those Renault engines are working really well with the McLaren chassis. As long as they keep going till the end.

[Drarok]

Yes! So nice to see McLaren at least getting into Q3 again, they've had some dark times.

A mate of mine said "on a scale of Alonso to Hamilton, RIC's move to Renault is looking closer to an Alonso", comparing Alonso's move to McLaren, Hamilton's to Mercedes, and RIC's to Renault. What was he thinking? Fed up of playing second fiddle to VER, sure, but enough to go to a team with no hope of winning? Makes no sense to me.