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#1 ·
MELBOURNE FP2: ROSBERG AND MERCEDES OWN DAY ONE

article & pics Melbourne FP2: Rosberg and Mercedes own day one | GRAND PRIX 247

Nico Rosberg topped the timing screens in both FP1 and FP2, on the first day of the Formula 1 season opening Australian Grand Prix, with teammate Lewis Hamilton a tenth off the top time at the end of FP2 as reigning world champions Mercedes stamped their authority over their in Melbourne.

Behind the Silver Arrows duo a pecking order of sorts emerged, suggesting Ferrari have found handy pace with their new car, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen ending the session third and fourth respectively. The Finn having an impressive long run during the ninety minutes session at Albert Park.

Valtteri Bottas was fifth fastest for Williams, but teammate Felipe Massa had to sit out the session as the team tended to a water leak. Problems aside it would be a safe bet to assume that the Grove outfit are on par with the Maranello folks.

Red Bull new boy Daniil Kvyat was sixth on the timing sheets in FP2, while teammate Daniel Ricciardo was stuck in the pits with technical issues.

Toro Rosso rookie Carlos Sainz had a solid first day in the big leagues, ending the final session in seventh while his teammate, youngest ever F1 driver, Max Verstappen had a problem plagued afternoon which saw him only manage six timed laps best of which was good for 15th.

Both Lotus drivers ended the session in the top ten with pastor Maldonado eighth fastest and Romain Grosjean ninth.

Neither Manor drivers emerged from their pit garage, as it is quite clear that the team is woefully behind schedule for the first race and the word is they will struggle to be ready for the next two races too.

The Sauber saga continued in the courtroom, but despite missing FP1 both Marcus Ericsson and rookie Felipe Nasr did laps in FP2, finishing 11 th and 15th respectively, while Giedo van der Garde was spotted wearing a Sauber race suit in the Swiss team’s pit garage. Watch this space….

Report in progress

Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park – Friday, Free Practice 2
P Name Team Best Time Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:27.697 29
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.797 25
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:28.412 33
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:28.842 33
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:29.265 32
6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:30.016 27
7 Carlos Sainz Jr Toro Rosso 1:30.071 41
8 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:30.104 11
9 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:30.205 37
10 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:30.473 30
11 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:30.755 33
12 Sergio Perez Force India 1:30.980 32
13 Jenson Button McLaren 1:31.387 21
14 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:31.395 6
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:32.303 14
16 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:33.289 4
 
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#2 ·
Qualifying results

BBC Sport - Lewis Hamilton on pole in Australia ahead of Nico Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton on pole in Australia ahead of Nico Rosberg


By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Melbourne
Lewis Hamilton took a stunning pole position for Mercedes at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as McLaren-Honda qualified last.
The world champion beat team-mate Nico Rosberg by more than half a second as Mercedes utterly dominated.
Williams's Felipe Massa beat Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to third.
Meanwhile, McLaren produced their worst performance for six years as their big-budget new engine partnership with Honda got off to a terrible start.
Hamilton's brilliant lap was 0.594 seconds quicker than Rosberg and a massive 1.391secs clear of Massa as Mercedes confirmed pre-season impressions that they will be virtually unbeatable again this season.
Massa
Williams driver Felipe Massa will start third on the grid with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel completing the second row in fourth
"It has been a great start to the weekend," Hamilton said. "It doesn't feel that long since the last race. It has been a big rush and huge effort form the factory to get us here with this performance.
"It is so much fun in qualifying and I am just massively grateful for all the hard work."
Rosberg said: "Lewis was on impressive form today. He did an awesome job and nailed the time. For me, the speed was there; I just didn't get it together."
Williams won a tight battle with Ferrari, with just 0.072secs separating Massa in third from Kimi Raikkonen in fifth, with Sebastian Vettel in between in fourth place.
But for all the talk of a Ferrari revival, the Italian team were 1.43secs slower than Hamilton - only 0.2secs closer than they had been last year, when their former driver Fernando Alonso qualified fifth.
Following his move to McLaren, Alonso is missing this race to recover from concussion suffered in an accident in pre-season testing.
But even he would have been able to do nothing about McLaren's poor performance - their faster driver Jenson Button in 16th place was 1.5secs off getting out of the first knock-out phase of qualifying and an effective four seconds slower than Mercedes once the effect of tyres was taken into account.
Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Filipe Massa
Mercedes have locked out the front row at the last nine consecutive races
Button, who beat team-mate Kevin Magnussen by 0.6secs, remained upbeat about the potential of the new partnership with Honda.
"We know we can make big strides with this car," Button said. "When you have a car that feels good underneath you can add downforce to it and that is what we need to do.
"That's not saying downforce is a problem. The car is completely new, and obviously the power unit.
"I feel we can make big strides forward and that's the exciting thing for me. It's going to be a hard new few months but it's worth it. Who knows where we will end up?"
Another team to struggle were former world champions Red Bull, for whom Daniel Ricciardo could manage only seventh fastest, behind Williams's Valtteri Bottas.
Red Bull bosses are furious with engine partner Renault, who have failed to deliver any performance improvements over the winter while the engine is harder to drive than it was last year.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz impressed on his debut with Toro Rosso with eighth place, outdoing team-mate Max Verstappen, who qualified 12th on the occasion of setting a new record for the youngest driver to compete in F1 at 17.
The Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado completed the top 10, as Sauber's Felipe Nasr, another rookie, was a strong 11th.


1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 26.327s
2. Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 26.921s
3. Felipe Massa BRZ Williams-Mercedes 1m 27.718s
4. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 27.757s
5. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 27.790s
6. Valtteri Bottas FIN Williams-Mercedes 1m 28.087s
7. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull-Renault 1m 28.329s
8. Carlos Sainz Jr ESP Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 28.510s
9. Romain Grosjean FRA Lotus-Mercedes 1m 28.560s
10. Pastor Maldonado VEN Lotus-Mercedes 1m 29.480s

11. Felipe Nasr BRZ Sauber-Ferrari 1m 28.800s
12. Max Verstappen NED Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 28.868s
13. Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull-Renault 1m 29.070s
14. Nico Hulkenberg GER Force India-Mercedes 1m 29.208s
15. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes 1m 29.209s

16. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber-Ferrari 1m 31.376s
17. Jenson Button GBR McLaren-Honda 1m 31.422s
18. Kevin Magnussen DEN McLaren-Honda 1m 32.037s
19. Will Stevens GBR Manor Marussia-Ferrari no time
20. Roberto Merhi ESP Manor Marussia-Ferrari no time
 
#5 ·
Hamilton romps to Australian Grand Prix win

F1 Race Report - F1 Australian Grand Prix: Hamilton romps to Australian Grand Prix win

F1 » F1 Australian Grand Prix: Hamilton romps to Australian Grand Prix win 15 March 2015
Lewis Hamilton starts his 2015 title defence in perfect form by claiming a comfortable lights-to-flag win in a race contested by just 15 cars

Lewis Hamilton has kicked off the defence of his Formula 1 World Championship crown in comprehensive fashion by claiming a comfortable win over Nico Rosberg in the Australian Grand Prix.

The defending champion made an ideal getaway at the lights as the 2015 season officially got underway and, after making a pivotal break-away from Rosberg on a safety car restart early on, subsequently managed the advantage back to his Mercedes team-mate to the chequered flag, winning by 1.3secs

Sebastian Vettel completed the podium on his Ferrari debut after getting the jump on Felipe Massa through the pit-stops, while Felipe Nasr produced a marvellous performance in his first race for Sauber to claim fifth from Daniel Ricciardo.

The race only got underway 15 cars after Valtteri Bottas withdrew due to his back injury, while Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull and Kevin Magnussen's McLaren failed on the way to the grid. However, further retirements would see it become a race of attrition too, with just 11 cars going on to reach the finish.

With Nasr's fifth place marking Sauber's first points since 2013 – at the end of a weekend that has otherwise seen the team dominate headlines off-track -, Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Marcus Ericsson, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez would also survive to round out the top ten and pick up points from the season opener.

Jenson Button, meanwhile, made it to the chequered flag in the much maligned McLaren-Honda, albeit just outside the points in 11th place and two laps down.

Full report to follow
 
#6 ·
F1 Race Report - F1 Australian Grand Prix: Hamilton romps to Australian Grand Prix win

F1 » F1 Australian Grand Prix: Hamilton romps to Australian Grand Prix win 15 March 2015
Lewis Hamilton starts his 2015 title defence in perfect form by claiming a comfortable lights-to-flag win in a race contested by just 15 cars

Lewis Hamilton has kicked off the defence of his Formula 1 World Championship crown in comprehensive fashion by claiming a comfortable win over Nico Rosberg in the Australian Grand Prix.

The defending champion made an ideal getaway at the lights as the 2015 season officially got underway and, after making a pivotal break-away from Rosberg on a safety car restart early on, subsequently managed the advantage back to his Mercedes team-mate to the chequered flag, winning by 1.3secs

Sebastian Vettel completed the podium on his Ferrari debut after getting the jump on Felipe Massa through the pit-stops, while Felipe Nasr produced a marvellous performance in his first race for Sauber to claim fifth from Daniel Ricciardo.

The race only got underway 15 cars after Valtteri Bottas withdrew due to his back injury, while Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull and Kevin Magnussen's McLaren failed on the way to the grid. However, further retirements would see it become a race of attrition too, with just 11 cars going on to reach the finish.

With Nasr's fifth place marking Sauber's first points since 2013 – at the end of a weekend that has otherwise seen the team dominate headlines off-track -, Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg, Marcus Ericsson, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez would also survive to round out the top ten and pick up points from the season opener.

Jenson Button, meanwhile, made it to the chequered flag in the much maligned McLaren-Honda, albeit just outside the points in 11th place and two laps down.

Full report to follow
Race Results
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...2&ie=UTF-8#q=race results 2015 f1 albert park
 
#9 ·
I can remember when the Honda turbo was the most powerful engine in F1.
McLaren will eventually get there, but if the Japanese partner works in the usual hierarchical way, it will take longer.
Ferrari apparently has overcome some of those issues imo.

Mercedes look to be in a class of their own, with limited need for rear view mirrors.
Cheers
 
#10 ·
Winners Post Race Press Interview with some funny & interesting stuff

Rosberg: Seb you are officially invited to Mercedes debrief | GRAND PRIX 247

ROSBERG: SEB YOU ARE OFFICIALLY INVITED TO MERCEDES DEBRIEF
17 March, 2015 44 Comments
Vettel Rosberg Melbourne

Nico Rosberg says his post Australian Grand Prix offer to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to visit the Silbver Arrows pit garage still stands.

After dominant Mercedes finished first and second in Melbourne, 34 seconds clear of Vettel in third place, there was an amusing exchange in the post-race press conference between the two Germans.

After Rosberg said he hopes Ferrari can catch up soon, Vettel hit back: “Be honest. Seriously? You hope you slow down?”

Rosberg insisted he was in fact serious, as it is “important for the sport and the fans” that Mercedes has some other teams to race this year.

Rosberg Hamilton Vettel

So Vettel jokingly proposed that Mercedes should make its garage “public for Malaysia” so that “everyone can have a look”.

Rosberg answered: “You can come if you want. We can invite you. Friday, Malaysia, ok?”

“Engineers’ room, debrief. I’ll be there,” Vettel hit back.

Rosberg, however, has now told the German newspaper Bild that he is dead serious, “Sebastian assumed I was not telling the truth when I said I would be glad if Ferrari closes the gap on us.”

“So I invited him to come and see what we are doing. I’m thinking about the big picture, as a strong Ferrari helps formula one. I have now clarified this with our team boss Toto Wolff. Sebastian may come.”

Rosberg added: “So, Seb, I hope you’re reading this. I hereby invite you officially to our engineer meeting on Friday in Malaysia at four o’clock. We look forward to seeing you!”
 
#12 ·
Gotta scratch my head over Honda. They give a championship winning car away to Ross Brawn for $1.00 and take zillion dollar losses and then decide less than ten years later to try F1 again. This time around they will really have to work for it. HP advantages don't come cheap or easy - see Renault and Ferrari. If I was Fred Alonso I would be kicking myself in the ass for jumping ship.
 
#14 ·
If not for his strange habit of jumping ships at the worst times, Alonso could have had more than his two World championships.
If we consider his role in trying to blackmail Ron Dennis for number one driver status during McLaren's Ferrarigate, its very strange to see him return to McLaren.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy?
 
#13 ·
These "hybrid" engines are a puzzle box. Still they had simulations on the dyno and in the chassis that should have revealed issues. Only a real track day testing showed them how serious the shortcomings of the engine are.

Honda's Turbo engines in the Indy Car series have been very reliable, but they are missing half of the technology.

There is a lot speculation that Honda is using the engines to get their company back into a position to field a full within a a couple of year.
 
#15 ·
It's been discussed that curtailing track testing has not reduced cost, the original premise for the 'rule.'
Simulations and more electronics have increased costs, but still can't make up for the real thing.

It's kind of ridiculous that the highest performance category in Motor racing cannot test more, and has to reduce / monitor fuel flow to the present extent.
I miss those pedal to the metal chases of old.
One of the first races my dad took me to as a kid was on the old Nuerburgring, with Mario Andretti chasing the leaders through 172 corners per lap.
From one hillside you could see Bruennchen, and then again get a top view of the cars go through the steep banking of carousel. All the way pushed down on what little suspension they had and sparks flying, very cool.

Smaller teams without state of the art simulators, wind tunnel's / rolling road etc. are handicapped from the get go.
In the post race interviews, Sauber's Felipe Nasr mentioned that the team has no driver simulator.

My other pet peeve is the weight of cars with driver. The drivers should be allowed to have a few more pound and not being handicapped for being taller and perhaps heavier. Its been done before with a little ballast.
We know they are athletes, but the tall ones look a bit haggard to me.
Just my 10 Pfennig.
 
#16 ·
I totally agree. I was raised in England from 3 until I was 18. Then we moved to the US.

Was totally bitten by the F1 bug in the UK. Paid for cable tv because my parents did not want it just to see F1 in the states. Where I lived in the UK was within 2 train stops of the McLaren team. In 1976 I could actually walk into the facility and get a hearty welcome. My oh my how times have changed. That place is more secure than the White House now.

This racing with fuel limits, no testing, over complex "power units", one tire supplier and no mid season major updates allowed really is not in the spirit of the sport as you and I knew back in those wild days.
I would go to any race I could in the UK and on the continent and it did not cost a week's salary. Back then they would alternate years for the England GP between Brands Hatch and Silverstone. Both brilliant tracks to watch and drive on.

I really am hoping that the fans and teams take the sport back to the more wild days of 120db screaming 16,000 RPM engines and as much fuel as they could burn.
I did not even like the rules about KERS, but at least it was optional for the team. I also firmly believe that the racing would be better and safer if the teams were allowed to test more on real tracks.
 
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