2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix

Just came back from the race sunburnt but im happy that Button and Lewis finished on the podium.

To bad for Schui, i would loved to see how he would of gone in the race.

Bring on Malay.
 
Don't normally post over in the F1 threads for some reason but thought I'd sum up my thoughts after the 1st race of the season.

Flawless performance by Jenson and a well deserved win, pleasantly surprised by the pace of Williams, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Lotus etc. should make for an action packed midfield. Shame Grosjean, Schumacher and Maldonado didn't finish because all three deserved points. Red Bulls are clearly stronger in races that qualifying but without the safety car I still think Lewis would have held on to 2nd (although Sebastian thought otherwise in his post-race interviews). Alonso was able to get the car higher up than it deserved to be (he needs to lose the stupid beard), Raikkonen did well to move up to a solid points position and pleased for Di Resta who picked his way through the last lap chaos to score a point.

As for the coverage, I thought Sky did a superb job, especially considering this is their first race. I wish Ant Davidson was in the paddock with the presenters though and not stuck up in the 'Skypad', he has some great insights to add. The Crofty/Brundle commentary team is really good too; I've always rated Crofty as a commentator, Brundle has been one of the best things to ever happen to F1 TV and together they are a great combo. Oh, and Ted Kravitz was excellent as always.

Anyway, a very exciting race and I can't wait for Malaysia.
 
i feel gutted for hamilton. vettel got that 2nd place way to easy, and i don't think he will become champion again as long as those pirelli's are that vulnerable for being pushed, pushing is his way of driving!

anyone knows what was wrong with petrov his car? he really couldn't have driven in the pits, or kept going till after the straight?

a lot was expected from force india, but they haven't shown anything if you ask me. qualification wasn't that great. hulkenberg was out early, but even Di Resta drove an anonymous race.
and go sauber! what change from last year (although last year they also did good in the first race)

maldonado...i think everyone at williams is thinking "good thing you brough so much money, or i would've kicked you in the nuts right now!" :lol:

and bwahahahaha @ ferrari, but what a performance by alonso!!! great respect for that guy!

EDIT: http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2012/864/
why did maldonado still get 13th place? his car never crossed the finish line!
 
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I wish Ferrari would sack Massa and get a new driver. Alonso is a great driver but his personality is terrible. Massa is just as bad except he can't perform. :p
 
Very interesting race, ruined by "safety car". Ferrari have so much catching up to do. ?. McMerc on the money from day one this year, they are going to be difficult to beat. Williams have improved squillions and Red Bull just need a bit of speed and they will push McMerc.

Mecedes look like a team someone has spent a lot of money on and I think will become a real threat very soon.

Alonso got several places above the car's actual deserved place IMHO, he is a great driver but I agree - lacking in the personality stakes I am afraid.

Button nicely judged race, Hamilton had his no 2 spot stolen by that safety car and Vettel did as well as could be expected with the relative strengths and weaknesses of the cars and track.

On to the next race.
 
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Finally a surprisingly nice start to the season by McLaren. With that pragmatic nose, I thought they're going to have a slow start again. Who would've thought? On the other hand, I don't understand why Hamilton look so dejected finishing 3rd. Seems like his head is still not at all sorted.

Epic fail by Maldonado. He could've been the hero. What the hell is he thinking still pressuring Alonso on the last lap? He should've backed off 2 laps ago and bag that 8 points instead of ruining that awesome paint job.

Koba found his form again. Dat move on Kimi... wow. Perez need to stop doing those insane 1 stoppers. Sauber is competitive enough to consistently bring in points so I don't think they need to do this kind of out of the norm strategy.

Looks like another tough season for Ferrari once again. All they have going for them is Alonso right now. The car is just not doing it for them. Looks like we won't see Domenicali around by the end of the season if this keeps up. Massa needs to be fired. End of.

I just have this odd feeling Red Bull still got something up their sleeves. Maybe I'm expecting too much from Newey's gang but nevertheless, no blown diff and off throttle trickery is seriously hampering their performance especially in quali.

What's wrong with Caterham? Double DNF with Renaut bits!? Disappointing.
 
Asura said:
On the other hand, I don't understand why Hamilton look so dejected
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Easy. He deserved 2nd and he knows it. Vettel drove well but he made up that space because of the safety car. That is clear to everyone but Vettel who apparently thinks he is God among men out there judging by his post race. I would be upaet if I were Hammy too to have a position taken by a technicality.
 
I think Hamilton was more pissed about getting beaten by Button, than by Vettel.

The thing about Hamilton is, though, that when he is disappointed, he doesn't look disappointed. He looks like a sulking kid.

He doesn't shake hands, refuses to talk and keeps to himself on the podium. For a moment I thought he would kick at something in that room after the race, when Seb and Jenson were talking and he just stood in the corner with a face of a little boy, who was taken away his ice cream cone.

Maybe I'm biased or unfair but I still think, that Hamilton needs some growing up to do.

Anyway...

This races has shown, that even with a bad qualifying, the Red Bull cars are still good enough to get onto the podium or even win a race. But Melbourne is not a significant track for the season. We will see in Kuala Lumpur next week, what really is what.
 
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Cobol74 said:
Hamilton had his no 2 spot stolen by that safety car
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the safety car had little to do with it. when hamilton made his pitstop he stayed to long behind maldonado (iirc) and lost to much time there, when vettel came out the pits, even button hadn't caught the safety car yet...

without safety car, vettel probably wouldn't have pitted yet, and that might've given hamilton enough time to make up the lost ground though...
 
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The BBC highlight show was a great way to watch it.

Coulthard was funny...
On Damon Hill ?Look at him, looks like someone's stolen his chips."
On the Massa crash "We need a bucket of water to separate them."

A McLaren 1 and 3 is a great start.
 
bone said:
the safety car had little to do with it. when hamilton made his pitstop he stayed to long behind maldonado (iirc) and lost to much time there, when vettel came out the pits, even button hadn't caught the safety car yet...

without safety car, vettel probably wouldn't have pitted yet, and that might've given hamilton enough time to make up the lost ground though...
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Exactly.
 
Bit disappointed with Hamilton, but 1st and 3rd is still an excellent result for McLaren.

I'm quite liking this highlights show on BBC too.
 
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Great result for Button I'm delighted with that! Bit annoyed Hamilton wise because I think he could've had second but that's the way the cards fall sometimes. Should be good between the McLarens and Red Bulls this year!

Great drive from Alonso, it didn't look so bad in race trim but they're still a lot slower than Red Bull or McLaren.

Maldonado you twat. Was on for a great result there, but nice to see that Williams showing a bit of a fight.
 
Asura said:
Finally a surprisingly nice start to the season by McLaren. With that pragmatic nose, I thought they're going to have a slow start again. Who would've thought? On the other hand, I don't understand why Hamilton look so dejected finishing 3rd. Seems like his head is still not at all sorted.

Epic fail by Maldonado. He could've been the hero. What the hell is he thinking still pressuring Alonso on the last lap? He should've backed off 2 laps ago and bag that 8 points instead of ruining that awesome paint job.

Koba found his form again. Dat move on Kimi... wow. Perez need to stop doing those insane 1 stoppers. Sauber is competitive enough to consistently bring in points so I don't think they need to do this kind of out of the norm strategy.

Looks like another tough season for Ferrari once again. All they have going for them is Alonso right now. The car is just not doing it for them. Looks like we won't see Domenicali around by the end of the season if this keeps up. Massa needs to be fired. End of.

I just have this odd feeling Red Bull still got something up their sleeves. Maybe I'm expecting too much from Newey's gang but nevertheless, no blown diff and off throttle trickery is seriously hampering their performance especially in quali.

What's wrong with Caterham? Double DNF with Renaut bits!? Disappointing.
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That pretty much sums it up for me too. I loved the race, but was surprised the Safety Car was out for so long as well. And that last wreck at the very end was awesome, in a way.

Can't wait till next week.
 
Quite unsportsmanlike of Red Bull to have their pit crew go out just to make the pit box exit tighter for the McLarens.
 
dice said:
Quite unsportsmanlike of Red Bull to have their pit crew go out just to make the pit box exit tighter for the McLarens.
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[video=youtube;BSU-z2jY16g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSU-z2jY16g[/video]
 
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