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[darwin dali]

Rosberg invites Vettel to Mercedes debrief
Curious what will come out of this charade

[gdh]

At least Nico's trying to inject some entertainment into the early season after such a dominating past year for the team. Interesting that Bernie is contemplating Red Bull's call to rein in Mercedes dominance, I don't remember Mercedes calling to rein in Red Bull when they won 4 in a row. http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/m ... tralian-gp

[sagi58]

...Interesting that Bernie is contemplating Red Bull's call to rein in Mercedes dominance, I don't remember Mercedes calling to rein in Red Bull when they won 4 in a row...

Absolutely true!! No argument here!!
However, during those four years, there was NO limit on the amount of development!
That's a HUGE difference, in my opinion.

[gdh]

I would love to see Ferrari et. al. challenge Mercedes but I don't see that penalizing them for doing a superior job is the way to go. I just feel that it would be better and more credible for the sport if the other teams upped their game.

[LiamCatterson]

Interesting that Bernie is contemplating Red Bull's call to rein in Mercedes dominance, I don't remember Mercedes calling to rein in Red Bull when they won 4 in a row.

You want to know why? Horner is spitting his dummy out and throwing his toys out the pram. Red Bull Racing have always been the tyrants of F1 and will stop at nothing to whinge on until they get their own way. They've essentially lost Newey and their star boy so what have Red Bull got? Horner has had o moan on because now his number one driver is an Aussie

[sagi58]

Maybe it's time to reconsider how much "in-season" testing is permissible?

[CigarGuy]

There HAS to be more starters/finishers next week then last, correct?
Think 1-2 are determined, short of failure/crash. Would love to see both
Lotus'(Loti?), the other Red Bull, 2 new Manors, etc. And Sauber continued success!

[1Lemon]

And the other Williams, whoever is driving it

[myownalias]

Naughty, Mr Horner, when condemning Renault, he forgot to mention that Red Bull put pressure on Renault to make a last minute step on engine development and to make this happen, Renault had to skip their quality control checks. Renault are now testing the changes in the factory ahead of the Malaysian GP.

Source: http://www.f1today.net/en/news/200496/r ... son-opener

[gdh]

What do you all think of the speculation that all teams dialed back the engines in Australia to help them last longer. I can't remember where I read it but they speculated as that was also a reason that Nico did not push Lewis. Is it 4 engines they are allowed to use? What is the penalty for using a 5th engine?

[myownalias]

Yes, it is 4 engine limit w/o penalty and I believe that it's a 10 place grid penalty for an engine change after the four penalty free engines.

[darwin dali]

What do you all think of the speculation that all teams dialed back the engines in Australia to help them last longer. I can't remember where I read it but they speculated as that was also a reason that Nico did not push Lewis. Is it 4 engines they are allowed to use? What is the penalty for using a 5th engine?

If true, then McLaren must have turned the knob a bit too far to the left

[Stevie]

Safe to say this race will be a Merc one-two...but I'm hoping for some tasty battles between Ferrari and Williams, and maybe RBR and Lotus if they're up there....

This season may not end up a classic, but I'm feeling sure it'll be at least eventful, with some good racing

On a side note...God knows why Red Bull are whining so much....threatening to quit the sport because the current reg's don't suit their cars is absolutely ridiculous. They sure as hell weren't complaining when their cars were winning the last few years....and I used to be a FAN!!!

[Stephen]

This season may not end up a classic, but I'm feeling sure it'll be at least eventful, with some good racing

I'm looking forward to seeing whether Barbie can come back against Lewis. Although I suspect LH will crush him this year...

On a side note...God knows why Red Bull are whining so much....threatening to quit the sport because the current reg's don't suit their cars is absolutely ridiculous. They sure as hell weren't complaining when their cars were winning the last few years....and I used to be a FAN!!!

Agreed, there is usually one dominant team in F1 (judging by the last decade at least), Red Bull aren't currently at the front but I'd rather hear 'underdog' rhetoric than their pissing and moaning. I like RBR but there has always been something unsavory there - perhaps Webber will one day speak his mind. From speaking with other team employees, many senior, some see RBR as a short-term marketing exercise rather than a long-term competitor team. This surprised me, but if this'marketing' isn't working will they just leave?

[Stevie]

This season may not end up a classic, but I'm feeling sure it'll be at least eventful, with some good racing

I'm looking forward to seeing whether Barbie can come back against Lewis. Although I suspect LH will crush him this year...

On a side note...God knows why Red Bull are whining so much....threatening to quit the sport because the current reg's don't suit their cars is absolutely ridiculous. They sure as hell weren't complaining when their cars were winning the last few years....and I used to be a FAN!!!

Agreed, there is usually one dominant team in F1 (judging by the last decade at least), Red Bull aren't currently at the front but I'd rather hear 'underdog' rhetoric than their pissing and moaning. I like RBR but there has always been something unsavory there - perhaps Webber will one day speak his mind. From speaking with other team employees, many senior, some see RBR as a short-term marketing exercise rather than a long-term competitor team. This surprised me, but if this'marketing' isn't working will they just leave?

I too can see Nico getting a bit of a pasting. Unfortunately there'd be nowhere for him to run - 'same' car, for all intents and purposes, both getting support from the team...etc.....if Nico lost massively to Lewis this year, I think people would see it simply as a case of Lewis having been the better driver - no excuses. Not good for Nico's reputation.

Hmm...I personally don't see RBR sticking around F1 for years and years to come...which is a shame because I think they really do bring something to the table, so to speak. Their drivers are usually young and fast, and I do have respect and a liking for Christian Horner - he's a top bloke and seems to be really passionate about the racing....hopefully that ethos will stick through the current turbulence. But who knows. But I DO think it's hilarious AND sad for them to be complaining about one-team dominance and how bad it is for the sport only a year after they finished their own four-year streak of absolute dominance at the front.
Silly.