This was my worry pre-season because he has been thrown off in the past and seemed a bit oversensitive for such a cut-throat sport. But no sign of it so far... Although, it crossed my mind that those repeated references to having an unhappy winter might have been intended for a certain person
The Mercedes seem to be running high downforce compared to the others, bot a fair distance down the speed charts. Nothing like the McLaren mind! Mixed weather last year but for reference the fastest anyone got to in Q1 and Q2 (when it was dry) was 317.5kph, so a big jump there Hope Bottas isn't too bad... please log in to view this image
Seems like Ricardo (shillyshally ) is not only going to have 1 less engine for the season but that also means that Renaults 12 remaining tokens can only be applied to the remaining 2 unused engines!
Few quick video's, Australian GP: Why are McLaren five seconds slower than Mercedes? BBC Sport's F1 analyst Allan McNish explains why McLaren's new car is over five seconds slower than the pace-setting Mercedes. McLaren's Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen qualified 17th and 18th respectively for the season-opening race in Melbourne's Albert Park. The result is a terrible start to their big-budget new engine partnership with Honda. Australian GP: Ride on-board with Lewis Hamilton's pole lap Ride on-board with Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes as the reigning world championclaims pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton's lap of 1m 26.327 was over half a second quicker than team-mate Nico Rosberg, and a massive 1.391secs clear of Williams' Felipe Massa. Meanwhile, McLaren produced their worst performance for six years as their big-budget new engine partnership with Honda got off to a terrible start with Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen starting on the back row of the grid.
Yeah "the way he pulled into the pits gave me a raging semi." *unbroadcast line of Brundles commentary*
It will be interesting to see Kimi and Seb fighting for position.... Will Seb ask Ferarri to get him out of the way like when he was at the Bulls? Will we see a showdown at Ferarri like what happened at mercedes last year? That will be interesting.
A few post-quali, pre-race thoughts. Although not here, it's difficult to imagine Alonso not wondering about his move to McLaren. Having left Ferrari, his old team has clearly made headway, yet he finds himself in a team that may struggle to find points until the circus returns to Europe. With Honda not having the benefit of real mileage and supplying only McLaren rather than several teams to help sort the inevitable gremlins, Button, Magnussen, Alonso, the whole team – and Honda – are going to need the very best of luck. Williams: Great lap from Massa who – being several grid slots ahead of Bottas – has surprised me in claiming 'best of the rest'. Leaving Mercedes aside for a moment, Vettel just edging Räikkönnen for the grid bodes well for another potentially season-long intra-team rivalry, so long as Ferrari allow it… (?…) – and his old team are clearly behind his new one. Verstappen and Sainz both pretty impressive so far. Mercedes. Hmm… Pretty obvious the World Champion Constructor has more or less retained its 2014 advantage. Given the variable wind conditions during qualifying, one can only say Hamilton produced a near-perfect (one minor error) lap. Meanwhile Rosberg, perhaps contrary to testing, suddenly stumbles upon a reality check. Earlier this week I voted the latter as the more likely victor but I should say I'm glad I didn't bet against Hamilton. If the status quo is maintained from the start line, barring mechanical failure, it's difficult not to see the Pole-sitter claiming Round 1. We are now just hours from what should be some very intriguing, perhaps season-defining battles!
I admire your optimism. But, since both the WCC and WDC were effectively decided in Q1 of the first race, I think 2015 may be the year that I finally give up on Formula 1.
Nobody is catching Mercedes this year One of the most dominant cars in the history of the sport last year has lead to the car that could well be THE most dominant car in the history of the sport. The teams will need a minor miracle to get the gap in pace to somewhere under half a second a lap towards the end of the season.
What a waste of space maldonado is. Vettel showed Raikkonen who means business then. Gets sticky from here.
