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[DOOOMKULTUS]

I don't want the 3 diffuser teams to be punished in any way or form at all.
As a die hard Ferrari supporter i also always defended its Early decade domination,as Ferrari worked the hardest and produced the best car,others should not be rewarded for their laziness and inefficiencies at the expense of better teams.
Having said that this initial enthusiasm is going to be fizzled soon as Brawn is so far ahead of the completion its not even funny to those who know what F1 is about.This could turn ugly.

[8-ball]

I don't want the 3 diffuser teams to be punished in any way or form at all.
As a die hard Ferrari supporter i also always defended its Early decade domination,as Ferrari worked the hardest and produced the best car,others should not be rewarded for their laziness and inefficiencies at the expense of better teams.
Having said that this initial enthusiasm is going to be fizzled soon as Brawn is so far ahead of the completion its not even funny to those who know what F1 is about.This could turn ugly.

If that happens then Bernie will most likely scrap his "medals" system next year and tweak the points system!! At the moment Brawn is head an shoulders above everyone else but I expect Ferrari, Mclaren etc to catch up by mid season and narrow the gap.

[lucky]

Saturday Practice: Where the Time is Lost:
# Driver S1 S2 S3
1 Lewis Hamilton 39% 3% 58%
2 Heikki Kovalainen 28% 19% 53%
3 Felipe Massa 2% --- 98%
4 Kimi Räikkönen 34% 20% 46%
5 Robert Kubica 19% 39% 42%
6 Nick Heidfeld 17% 24% 59%
7 Fernando Alonso 29% 21% 50%
8 Nelsinho Piquet 32% 28% 40%
9 Jarno Trulli -- 53% 47%
10 Timo Glock 11% 30% 59%
11 Sebastien Bourdais 26% 11% 63%
12 Sebastien Buemi 32% 17% 50%
14 Mark Webber 33% 27% 40%
15 Sebastian Vettel 35% 24% 41%
16 Nico Rosberg 90% 10% ---
17 Kazuki Nakajima 30% 52% 18%
20 Adrian Sutil 34% 24% 42%
21 Giancarlo Fisichella 31% 23% 46%
22 Jenson Button 47% 19% 35%
23 Rubens Barrichello 22% 25% 53%

Null: Driver is fastest in that sector.

[7UpJordan]

Nico's confident of taking the final podium position comfortably should the Brawns shoot off into the distance.

28 Mar 2009
Q&A with Williams’ Nico Rosberg
After years of drought Nico Rosberg and Williams are ready for a high. And the odds never looked as good as during this Melbourne weekend, where a glimpse of the ‘glory days’ of the past has returned to the Grove team. And of course it is a relief for Rosberg, who has been unable to show his true colours for some time. Now he is poised to end up on the podium…

Q: Nico, are you satisfied with how the qualifying went for you?
Nico Rosberg: The good news is that I am dissatisfied with P5, because more would have been possible - and that is something that has not happened so often until now. But at the same time P5 is bad news because there was such a small time gap between the first 10 cars that more should have been possible. But what became visible is that we are the second power behind the Brawns here in Melbourne - if you take the performance from the practice sessions - and that is really sensational.

Q: So after dominating all three practice sessions you had appetite for more?
NR: Of course! We probably had less fuel than the others in remembrance of our experiences from last year, but nevertheless it felt like ‘wow, now we have to jump at the opportunity!’

Q: How did that immense performance increase happen? At the last tests you hadn’t been overly optimistic…
NR: That nobody knows. Neither I nor the team has a real explanation why we are suddenly holding P5 on the grid, why for example we are in front of the Ferraris, the Toyotas. We simply don’t know at this very moment why we are so strong, so we have to be careful because Melbourne is not the standard track like Malaysia or Bahrain - it is a street track and there apply different rules.

Q: If you say more was possible, was it the car or you that stood in the way of a better grid position?
NR: I could not pinpoint it to anything because the car feels really good, it is well balanced, I can attack with it and I have a lot of confidence.

Q: Is there the thought in the back of your mind that you will start the season well - just like last year - and then the performance level will go down?
NR: That’s why I said that we have to be careful with this weekend’s experience as we also started last year’s season on high hopes. What is different to last year is that I didn’t finish the three practice sessions at the top of the time sheet and did not qualify on P5. So there is a difference, but we have to be cautious to keep that momentum.

Q: What about the problem with the setting sun? Many drivers complained that they have a problem with it. Could that create dangerous situations?
NR: Well, it is true. In some moments the sun is so direct in your eyes that you almost cannot see the track. And yes, that can create dangerous moments. In such a case ‘everyman’ would ease off the throttle - but that is what we are not supposed to do.

Q: How do you see the diffuser row? Have some got it right and others missed the trend?
NR: I don’t know. The only thing I know is that our car is legal because it was thoroughly checked and declared to conform to the rules.

Q: How much advantage would you say this diffuser brings?
NR: I was speaking with the engineers and they said that they are sure that other teams have tried as well to go into that direction but have not been able to extract an advantage from it. So I don’t think it is only that part but rather the concept of the whole car that makes the difference.

Q: All teams without such a diffuser are likely to have one by the Barcelona race. What advantage will that give you for those races until then?
NR: By Barcelona we will also have developed our car to a new stage so I would say that the teams who are behind now will have a difficult time to catch up.

Q: If you look at the results of qualifying they show that it was no disadvantage without KERS. Will that also be valid for the race?
NR: I would say that here in Melbourne KERS was not of any help. If it can make a little difference in the race I don’t know.

Q: What about the tyres? Many drivers complained about the soft tyres…
NR: These soft tyres fall apart like I have never seen before so strategy will play a big part in tomorrow’s race. My guess is that everybody will start on the harder ones which will be a very slippery affair - and extra care will be needed.

Q: Where do you see yourself at the chequered flag? On the podium?
NR: That is within reach, yes.

[Denthúl]

I do hope it is Nico on the podium with the Brawn drivers. And then maybe with a couple of wins in the season.

[7UpJordan]

I do hope it is Nico on the podium with the Brawn drivers. And then maybe with a couple of wins in the season.

Yeah I reckon within a few races Williams will be able to challenge the Brawns for real because at the start of the weekend he admitted Williams were "not quite there yet" but they have a thorough development program for the FW31 in store this year and he quite cheekily said even by the time the other teams have new diffusers Williams will still be way ahead on developments.

If he can fend off the Ferraris at the start and then pass Kubica and Vettel I will be happy. But passing Vettel I think will be difficult, even with the new regulations because Vettel likes to become a Rene Arnoux style blocker when under pressure.

[Jensonb]

If the Red Bulls and Ferraris get sent to the back of the grid, Heidfeld will find himself in a rather handy position with the amount of fuel he's got onboard.

And a KERS-equipped start...

Nick's race should be interesting regardless - he's starting next to Fernando and he has a habit of overtaking the Spaniard

Edit: I'm going to make a top-eight prediction

1. Barrichello
2. Button
3. Rosberg
4. Webber
5. Raikkonen
6. Heidfeld
7. Kovalainen
8. Nakajima

I'm just getting a feeling...

1. Button
2. Barrichello
3. Rosberg
4. Webber
5. Raikkonen
6. Heidfeld
7. Massa
8. Nakajima

[7UpJordan]

It wouldn't surprise me if Hamilton and Alonso crossed paths at some point during tomorrow's race, and when Hamilton's way down the order he gets very rash and over-aggressive... "What happened next?" as Sue Barker on Question of Sport would say...

[cap-dude]

I might as well make a few predictions.

1. Button
2. Barrichello
3. Vettel
4. Massa
5. Rosberg
6. Webber
7. Heidfeld
8. Alonso

I think Button will stay out in front. He already said his car feels better with the race fuel in it, so I'd say he's got the advantage this time. Thats providing theres no mechanical problems. Vettel will hold 3rd simply because I can see him driving one of those races where he can't match the front runners but he's well ahead of the guys behind. He'll be in 3rd all alone.

Rosberg I thought might've held 4th, but Massa's got KERS and just get the feeling he'll get in front early on and Rosberg won't be able to get that advantage back. As for Kimi, I expect one of the Ferrari's to break as they usually do at Melbourne so I'll guess Kimi.

Webber then, he's heavy and he'll have great pace in that RB5. Vettels already shown how much pace the car has, so Webber should be up there. Heildfeld and Alonso will then follow suit, with Heidfeld jumping Alonso. Kubica, he's never finished a race at Melbourne. I think it could become a bogey track. I just get that feeling.

I'm sure those predictions will be utterly wrong. I'm expecting a much more chaotic race to be honest with front wings knocking and safety cars jumbling the field around.


Speaking of Safety cars. The KERS bunch will have a massive advantage during safety car periods. They'll be able to build up boost and then blast past before turn 1. Never even thought about that till now.

[MAD MAX]

Bloody hell . Just realised that the GMT clocks go foward an hour tonight, which means I'll have to get up at 5am to watch the race. Shall I open this nice bottle of malt or have an early night?..........................Cheers everyone. Here's hoping the McLaren's can get round a lap in under 2 mins

[Jensonb]

Just to let you know, I'm basing my prediction about which Brawn will come out on top on what James Allen has aid on his Blog. Looking at the data, he does seem to be right, Jenson was 3 tenths up with 1 less lap of fuel - which is worth a tenth 'round here.

Interestingly, both Brawns had more fuel than the other 8 Q3ers

[Denthúl]

Just to let you know, I'm basing my prediction about which Brawn will come out on top on what James Allen has aid on his Blog. Looking at the data, he does seem to be right, Jenson was 3 tenths up with 1 less lap of fuel - which is worth a tenth 'round here.

Interestingly, both Brawns had more fuel than the other 8 Q3ers

Yep. Most of the time deficit was down to Rubens' car understeering, mind you. That'll probably carry on through the grand prix, but if Rubens can stay within half a second of Jenson, he might be able to do something with that one extra lap provided he doesn't hit traffic. All I can say is that, between the two of them, it will be very, very close.

[scotty]

Just to let you know, I'm basing my prediction about which Brawn will come out on top on what James Allen has aid on his Blog. Looking at the data, he does seem to be right, Jenson was 3 tenths up with 1 less lap of fuel - which is worth a tenth 'round here.

Interestingly, both Brawns had more fuel than the other 8 Q3ers

Except for Glock i think? It is only a lap difference anyway. Jenson's smooth driving style may pay dividends on (especially) the soft tyres in the race too.

I still can't get my head around the shakeup of the order, and the fact that the Brawn guys are so, so far ahead, yet everyone else are within a second or so of each other. It's just brilliant!



EDIT; just to add that before my alarm woke me up this morning, i dreamt that the McLaren's had been sandbagging, had all these new aero parts and were 2 seconds faster than anyone else. Their front wing was a snow plow like the ones on old trains....

[gorilla]

After not seeing qualifing live this morning due to a power cut and watching it this afternoon I am surprised at how off the pace McLaren is and how Ferrari aren't on the ball either. Brawn GP have done better than I thought didn't think they would have both cars on the front row. Also the lap times we seen during qualifying it looks like we may well see a new lap record being set.

Can't wait now till the race and I think it is going to be a good one. Remember people and put your clocks/watches forward an hour as we move to BST. Talk to you all during the race on chat.

[Jensonb]

So, has everyone got the snacks and beverages ready for tomorrow morning? I went out and stocked up earlier. Got pop corn, prawn crackers, cocktail sausages, 4 500ml bottles of Coca-Cola and a big can of Red Bull for that extra dose of "morning"