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2017 Formula 1 Rolex Australian GP

2K views 25 replies 5 participants last post by  Teutone 
#1 · (Edited)
Wow, they are fast this year. The cars look amazing on track.

FP1 Results
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:24.220 22
2 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:24.803 +0.583s 25
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:24.886 +0.666s 19
4 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:25.246 +1.026s 19
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:25.372 +1.152s 16
6 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:25.464 +1.244s 10
7 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:26.142 +1.922s 28
8 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:26.168 +1.948s 20
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:26.183 +1.963s 15
10 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:26.276 +2.056s 29
11 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:26.450 +2.230s 24
12 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:26.514 +2.294s 25
13 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:26.734 +2.514s 29
14 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:27.116 +2.896s 18
15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:27.348 +3.128s 30
16 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:27.656 +3.436s 23
17 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:27.667 +3.447s 20
18 94 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 1:28.539 +4.319s 22
19 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:28.585 +4.365s 6
20 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1:28.695 +4.475s 14

FP2 Results
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:23.620 34
2 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:24.167 +0.547s 35
3 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:24.176 +0.556s 34
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:24.525 +0.905s 30
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:24.650 +1.030s 27
6 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:25.013 +1.393s 8
7 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:25.084 +1.464s 34
8 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:25.436 +1.816s 29
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:25.478 +1.858s 36
10 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:25.493 +1.873s 39
11 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:25.591 +1.971s 35
12 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:26.000 +2.380s 19
13 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:26.145 +2.525s 37
14 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:26.331 +2.711s 6
15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:26.498 +2.878s 29
16 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:26.525 +2.905s 27
17 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1:26.608 +2.988s 33
18 94 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 1:26.919 +3.299s 30
19 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:27.279 +3.659s 8
20 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:27.549 +3.929s 4
 
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#3 ·
Yeah I noticed Ferrari being about 1/2 sec off the pace of Mercedes.

I wonder whether we see quali times in the 1:22 range?

By the increased social media content you can tell Formula 1 has new owners.

LIVE – Australian Grand Prix Fan Forum , If the links here stop working go to social media under Formula 1
 
#4 ·
FP3 - Vettel and Ferrari seize the advantage

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2017/3/vettel-fastest-in-fp3.html

PRACTICE THREE RESULTS

POS. DRIVER TIME GAP LAPS
1 SEBASTIAN VETTEL 1:23.380 12
2 VALTTERI BOTTAS 1:23.859 +0.479s 12
3 LEWIS HAMILTON 1:23.870 +0.490s 12
4 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN 1:23.988 +0.608s 10
5 NICO HULKENBERG 1:25.063 +1.683s 10
6 DANIEL RICCIARDO 1:25.092 +1.712s 15
7 ROMAIN GROSJEAN 1:25.581 +2.201s 11
8 CARLOS SAINZ 1:25.948 +2.568s 11
9 DANIIL KVYAT 1:26.049 +2.669s 11
10 KEVIN MAGNUSSEN 1:26.138 +2.758s 11
See full standings

The German stopped the clocks in 1m 23.380s, breaking his own pole lap record from 2013, and then watched on as neither Valtteri Bottas nor Lewis Hamilton could get within 0.4s of the benchmark.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the second Ferrari, a couple of tenths back, after a puncture disrupted his runs on the ultrasoft tyre.

As the Scuderia hit the front, Red Bull struggled - local hero Daniel Ricciardo was beaten to fifth by Renault's Nico Hulkenberg, while Max Verstappen was languishing down in 12th without a quali run when the session was brought to an early close after Williams' Lance Stroll hit the wall at Turn 10.

Down at Sauber meanwhile Antonio Giovinazzi - drafted in to replace Pascal Wehrlein for the rest of the weekend - wound up 20th in what was his first ever Grand Prix outing.

The session itself started under an overcast sky, but Ferrari were quick to bolt on the ultrasofts and duly hit the front, Vettel edging Raikkonen by half a second after the pair's opening runs.

With Mercedes and the rest of the field delaying their switch onto the purple-marked tyre, top spot became an all-Ferrari duel. Raikkonen responded with a 1m 23.988s to pip Vettel by 0.001s, only for the German to respond by setting the fastest lap ever seen at Albert Park.

On his own ultrasoft run, Ricciardo managed a disappointing 1m 25.092s for sixth, leaving him trailing the impressive Hulkenberg by three hundredths of a second.

The Mercedes drivers switched to ultrasofts with 20 minutes remaining, but neither could deny Vettel. Bottas went second fastest on 1m 23.859s, 0.479s off Vettel, while Hamilton produced the best first sector of any driver but then saw his lap fall away, leaving him third overall. His 1m 23.870s was slower than he managed yesterday however, suggesting there is room for improvement.

Any hopes the Briton or the rest of the field had of responding were denied, however, when Stroll caught the wall and brought out red flags that lasted for the remainder of the session. The Canadian will require a gearbox change before qualifying - compounding an already difficult session for Williams in which Felipe Massa also struggled with brake problems.

The Brazilian wound up just outside the top 10, which was instead filled by Haas duo Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, in seventh and 10th respectively, and Toro Rosso team mates Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat.

A great session for Ferrari then - posing some fascinating questions as we head towards the first qualifying session of F1's new era...


 
#5 ·
Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying results

Full qualifying results for the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, round one of the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship.
Read more at F1 Results - Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying results

1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes - Mercedes 1m 22.188s
2. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari - Ferrari 1m 22.456s
3. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes - Mercedes 1m 22.481s
4. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari - Ferrari 1m 23.033s
5. Max Verstappen NED Red Bull - TAG 1m 23.485s

6. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas-Ferrari 1m 24.074s
7. Felipe Massa BRA Williams - Mercedes 1m 24.443s
8. Carlos Sainz ESP Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 24.487s
9. Daniil Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 24.512s
10. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull - TAG No Time

11. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes 1m 25.081s
12. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault - Renault 1m 25.091s
13. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda 1m 25.425s
14. Esteban Ocon FRA Force India-Mercedes 1m 25.568s
15. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber - Ferrari 1m 26.465s

16. Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Sauber - Ferrari 1m 26.419s
17. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas-Ferrari 1m 26.847s
18. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren-Honda 1m 26.858s
19. Lance Stroll CAN Williams - Mercedes 1m 27.143s *
20. Jolyon Palmer GBR Renault - Renault 1m 28.244s

* denotes five-place grid penalty to be added

Withdrawn

Pascal Wehrlein GER Sauber - Ferrari

all times unofficial

Vettel apologized to the team on the radio, saying he didn't get turns 1 and 9 right




 
#6 ·
That was a stunning effort by the MB and Ferrari teams. Also props go to Haas getting that spot.

Vettel really tied together on heck of a final lap. In the press session afterwards Bottas was not a happy camper.

In FP 2 David Hobbs actually said that low a 1:22 was a time he felt was possible.
 
#8 ·
Hi Graeme, I would try the Eurosport channel (out of Belgium or Luxembourg, pick English out of their language menu) or RTL (English).
The Opera browser offers free VPN, add RTCLeak prevent, but its China based, and I won't run it out of sandbox. Microsoft edge offers a sandbox like protection, and paid for VPN will offer higher speeds.
Last year someone hosted the Sky races on Reddit apx 24 hours later. They also pop up on youtube, but never life.
I wish providers would offer an a la carte menu with Formula 1. The SKY coverage imo opinion has the best and most extensive F1 coverage, and their prices are likely justified, but if one only wants F1....
Formula 1 (c) and SKY may have some mobile F1 only streaming?
 
#13 ·
I am with you with a Mercedes B team and grooming ground for young drivers.
Considering the renown for technology and excellence many various German car manufacturers enjoy and and their annual turnover of 400+ billion, It's hard to understand why there is no German F1 GP :frown

I know he is part of Ferrari's young drivers effort, but for someone who only had 1 hour total in Wehrlein's Sauber, Antonio Giovinazzi was very impressive.

Formula 1 without an Italian driver doesn't sound right to me.
 
#14 ·
Australian Grand Prix - Race results

Full Australian Grand Prix race results following the opening round of the 2017 World Championship at Albert Park, Melbourne

1. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari - Ferrari 57 laps
2. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes - Mercedes +9.975s
3. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes - Mercedes +11.250
4. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari - Ferrari +22.393s
5. Max Verstappen NED Red Bull - TAG +28.827

6. Felipe Massa BRA Williams - Mercedes +1m 23.386s
7. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
8. Carlos Sainz ESP Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap
9. Daniil Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap
10. Esteban Ocon FRA Force India-Mercedes +1 lap

11. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault - Renault +1 lap
12. Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Sauber - Ferrari +2 laps
13. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren-Honda +2 laps

Did not finish

14. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda 53 laps completed
15. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas-Ferrari 49 laps completed
16. Lance Stroll CAN Williams - Mercedes 43 laps completed
17. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull - TAG 28 laps completed
18. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber - Ferrari 23 laps completed
19. Jolyon Palmer GBR Renault - Renault 18 laps completed
20. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas-Ferrari 15 laps completed

Withdrawn

Pascal Wehrlein GER Sauber - Ferrari

all times unofficial
Read more at F1 Results - Australian Grand Prix - Race results




 
#16 ·
I don't know for how long the earlier Pat & Ted's development corner video will stay up, but Former Williams head of technology Pat Symonds is a great addition to the SKY F1 team. He said the Ferrari seems to be able to follow cars much closer than the Mercedes. With most drivers reporting turbulence behind cars had increased the window to follow from 1.5 to apx 2.5 seconds, my thought was whether the largely artificial DRS will now be mostly irrelevant? According to experts, for this season the hope was that while DRS would no longer allow cars to pass, it would help them to get alongside and then they would have to work for it.
The Albert Park track layout has never been a good barometer for the fields potential pecking order, and on April 9 Beijing is likely to show quite different results.
 
#19 ·
McLaren is one of my favorites. I feel gutted they have made so little progress. Well really Honda and the whole engine/power unit fiasco again.

We all remember the days that having the Honda engine in the back of an F1 car was an advantage. I really thought they would bring something better.
With the token system gone hopefully McLaren/Honda can get into a more competitive range of power by mid season.
 
#22 ·
I can remember when the Honda 1.5L turbo powered McLaren MP4/4 in the 88 season winning all but one race and all pole positions except 1.
Even 2016 Mercedes winning 19 out of 21 races didn't beat Honda's 88 winning percentage.

I know a little bit about the often archaic way Japanese companies work. Their European etc bosses have only limited decision making power, and a bunch of old guys sit around a table in Tokyo where it may take a week or more to come to a decision. Decision by committee is the norm.
Perhaps Japanese culture to not lose face plays a part in their reluctance to involve non Japanese engineers.
The actual inventors of the automobile, German manufacturer Mercedes was not too proud to have engine works in Brixworth U.K., and Honda should benefit from having an engine operation in the U.K. Sadly, the old Manor F1 buildings should be empty.
Free engines to McLaren plus a reported 100 million per year from Honda, and they have nothing to show for it.
The negative publicity is actually worse than nothing

Alonso: I am driving my heart out fighting for 1 point
Pundits regard him as perhaps the best all around driver on the grid. But the timing of his choices have been terrible.
There were a few questions about his character. Just before the McLaren on Ferrari spy scandal was made public, according to rumor he tried to force Ron Dennis to give him # 1 driver status. There was also the 2008 Singapore Renault F1 deliberate crash scandal which came to light after Nelson Piquet jr was let go. In front of FIA prosecutors Alonso denied any knowledge. Renault ws disqualified from F1 for 2 years, Briatore was suspended from all Formula One events and FIA-sanctioned events indefinitely, whilst Symonds received a five-year ban. Their bans were subsequently overturned by a French court, although they both agreed not to work in Formula One or FIA-sanctioned events for a specified time as part of a later settlement reached with the governing body.
 
#23 ·
Other than one overtake that was again a horrible and boring race. Granted Albert Park isn't the best place but other than the cars looking better and being faster it still looks like you can't follow a car because the amount of turbulence destroys the tires. Until F1 gets rid of these BS wings it looks to be more of the same, just faster.
 
#24 ·
Well Pete, I think that F1 finally made a step in the right direction. TBH, what would really solve the F1 problem would be if they stopped using hybrid technology for the purposes of making the cars more efficient, and instead they should use hybrid technology to make the cars unbelievably fast. That would be the best direction for F1, and the reason is simple, LMP1 has NAILED using hybrid for efficiency, and F1 will never hold a candle to that (and god damn the WEC is currently some AMAZING motorsport). I stayed up for 24 hours watching last year's and the year before's 24H Le Mans because it was so epic. Non-stop action. It's amazing how each manufacturer approached the LMP1 formula differently, made totally different cars, and yet they are all just a few seconds off from each other at Sarthe (ok except Nissan, which pulled a Mclaren and couldn't keep up with LMP2). Sad to see Audi go, I'm personally a Porsche fan, but Audi was a damn solid team and with the best sportsmanship of any sport. I really hope people forget about the VAG scandal so that Audi can rejoin (it played a factor). Also, Audi's engine was just a petrolhead's wet dream, a single turbo, hot-side inside, 120 degree V6, diesel :D

Anyway, F1 should control-alt-delete these turbo F1 engines. They are lame. F1 should be go big or go home. How about, much more powerful KERS systems, with much more usage time, no restriction on DRS, and bring back the normally aspirated 3.0L V10s :D :D :D If I go to the Montreal Grand Prix, I want to be deaf for a week afterwards.
 
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