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User avatar
By overboost
#442241
Glorious victory by Vettel and Ferrari today. :thumbup:

This is just the news that F1 needed and may be the thing that saves the sport which had been slowly dying under the old rules.

Well done Ferrari. Can they maintain this into the next races as Aus is a bit of a unique track?
User avatar
By myownalias
#442242
It was great to see Ferrari back in the winners' circle, that can only be good for the sport. However, it's too early to read much more into the 2017 season, Australia is somewhat of an anomaly, I'd love to see it being a true two-horse (from different teams) race, we'll get a truer idea of the form book in China, If Vettel and Ferrari can challenge in Asia, then there is a real chance of a battle for the title between Ferrari and Mercedes, sadly Red Bull look like a distant third right now.

I wonder about overtaking, though, the way that Hamilton got stuck behind Verstappen in a clearly faster car is a real worry, I hope we are not back to a situation where it's impossible to follow another car closely enough to be in an overtaking position at the end of the straights, DRS seems to be less effective than in previous years, too.
User avatar
By sagi58
#442246
...I wonder about overtaking, though, the way that Hamilton got stuck behind Verstappen in a clearly faster car is a real worry, I hope we are not back to a situation where it's impossible to follow another car closely enough to be in an overtaking position at the end of the straights, DRS seems to be less effective than in previous years, too.


I don't know... the commentators repeatedly pointed out that the Mercedes doesn't like "dirty air".
Maybe it's specific to them?? Also, don't forget, Verstappen has proven to be difficult to pass...
And, then we have Alonso who, in a good car, is difficult to pass and yet, Ocon did just that.

Don't get me wrong, more passing would have been great; but, it's a new season, a new set of rules
and new, wider cars... let's give the drivers a chance to orient themselves to this "new" F1!!
User avatar
By overboost
#442248
It was great to see Ferrari back in the winners' circle, that can only be good for the sport. However, it's too early to read much more into the 2017 season, Australia is somewhat of an anomaly, I'd love to see it being a true two-horse (from different teams) race, we'll get a truer idea of the form book in China, If Vettel and Ferrari can challenge in Asia, then there is a real chance of a battle for the title between Ferrari and Mercedes, sadly Red Bull look like a distant third right now.

I wonder about overtaking, though, the way that Hamilton got stuck behind Verstappen in a clearly faster car is a real worry, I hope we are not back to a situation where it's impossible to follow another car closely enough to be in an overtaking position at the end of the straights, DRS seems to be less effective than in previous years, too.



Here is the complete list of overtakes for the Aus 2017 GP:

2017 Rolex Australian Grand Prix On-track Passes
Lap 9: Lance Stroll passes Marcus Ericsson for P16
Lap 11: Jolyon Palmer loses three places due to braking issues
Lap 41: Toro Rosso drivers switch position Kvyat on a two stopper passes Sainz on a one-stop strategy
The three-way dice between Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg isn't included since Alonso retired at the end of the lap, meaning the changes aren't scored as a pass at the finish line.


So one 'official' racing overtake, by rookie Canadian Lance Stroll. For context last year had 26.

http://www.pitpass.com/58654/Australian ... acing-pass
User avatar
By overboost
#442249
Full result of the Rolex Australian Grand Prix.
Pos Driver Team Laps Gap
1 Vettel Ferrari 57 1h 24:11.670
2 Hamilton Mercedes 57 + 0:09.975
3 Bottas Mercedes 57 + 0:11.50
4 Raikkonen Ferrari 57 + 0:22.393
5 Verstappen Red Bull 57 + 0:28.827
6 Massa Williams 57 + 1:23.386
7 Perez Force India 56 + 1 Lap
8 Sainz Toro Rosso 56 + 1 Lap
9 Kvyat Toro Rosso 56 + 1 Lap
10 Ocon Force India 56 + 1 Lap
11 Hulkenberg Renault 56 + 1 Lap
12 Giovinazzi Sauber 55 + 2 Laps
13 Vandoorne McLaren 55 + 2 Laps
Alonso McLaren 50 Suspension
Magnussen Haas 46 Suspension
Stroll Williams 40 Brakes
Ricciardo Red Bull 25 Fuel Pressure
Ericsson Sauber 21 Hydraulics
Palmer Renault 15 Brakes
Grosjean Haas 13 Water Leak
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:26.538 (lap 56)
User avatar
By myownalias
#442250
Wow, that's even worse than I thought, three overtakes in a 90-minute race, if this holds true, races will literally be won and lost through strategy alone.
User avatar
By darwin dali
#442251
...and through quali and through starts (incl. restarts that are now in the regs).
User avatar
By overboost
#442252
And a message from the reigning World Champion:

Nico Rosberg‏Verified account
@nico_rosberg

Wow crazy Sebastian got Lewis! Didn't see that coming! #ferrariisfast!

RETWEETS
2,052
LIKES
6,028

10:46 PM - 25 Mar 2017


https://twitter.com/nico_rosberg/status ... 5910358016

Nico is laughing right now!
User avatar
By overboost
#442254
Image
User avatar
By overboost
#442261
Does anyone know why the crowd was booing Hamilton during the podium ceremony?

Maybe it was his 'backing up' of Rosberg at the last race in Abu Dhabi? That would be worthy of a good booing.
User avatar
By overboost
#442262
Early stop was my call - Hamilton

Sunday, 26 March 2017
Chris Medland / Image by LAT

Lewis Hamilton took responsibility for the early pit stop that cost him the lead and ultimately hampered his chances of winning the Australian Grand Prix.
Starting from pole, Hamilton was unable to pull away from Sebastian Vettel in the opening stint and stopped on lap 17 to change his ultrasoft tires for a set of softs to run to the end of the race. Hamilton then got stuck behind Max Verstappen - who had yet to pit - while Vettel ran for another five laps before making the same stop and emerging just ahead of the Red Bull and Mercedes.
Vettel immediately pulled a big gap as Hamilton was held up behind Verstappen for three further laps, but the Mercedes driver said it was his decision to stop early.
"We had a really good start, which is fantastic; it's good to have a good getaway," Hamilton said. "After that, I was struggling with the grip from the get-go. Sebastian was able to always answer in terms of lap time, and the majority of the time do faster lap times. And then towards the end I got [caught] a bit in traffic and the car started to overheat the tires, and I was struggling with grip and it was to the point that I needed to come in. Plus, the gap was closing up and I was sliding around.

"So it was my call, because otherwise he probably would have come by anyway. So then I came in and then I got obviously stuck in traffic, which is a little bit unfortunate but that's motor racing.



http://www.racer.com/f1/item/139119-ham ... early-stop
User avatar
By sagi58
#442263
Doesn't matter whose call it was... F1 is a TEAM sport...
you win as a team, you lose as a team...
User avatar
By AKR
#442276
Does anyone know why the crowd was booing Hamilton during the podium ceremony?

Maybe it was his 'backing up' of Rosberg at the last race in Abu Dhabi? That would be worthy of a good booing.


Maybe it was all the Italians there booing at him. There are heaps of Italians in Melbourne. Lol Nuh but seriously I didn't hear any booing, or have I gone deaf or not paying enough attention.
User avatar
By sagi58
#442278
Does anyone know why the crowd was booing Hamilton during the podium ceremony?

Maybe it was his 'backing up' of Rosberg at the last race in Abu Dhabi? That would be worthy of a good booing.


Maybe it was all the Italians there booing at him. There are heaps of Italians in Melbourne. Lol Nuh but seriously I didn't hear any booing, or have I gone deaf or not paying enough attention.


I'm inclined to believe it's more about the stranglehold Mercedes and their rules have had on F1 these last few years.

Remember Vettel and Red Bull a few years ago?

(And, I'm not being selective in not mentioning Schumi and Ferrari, as I wasn't following F1 at the time...)

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