2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix

Quite unsportsmanlike of Red Bull to have their pit crew go out just to make the pit box exit tighter for the McLarens.

No more unsporting than Button pitting in the RBR box in China last year :lol:

Also, what's the problem with people hating on Perez holding everyone up? It was for position and he never weaved across while defending his place, I thought he did great to hold on as long as he did.
 
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Regarding the Ferrari; I think it looked better when fully fuelled up. Seems like it settled the car a fair bit, and that combined with Alonso gave a decent result.

I don't know what Massa is up to, but I seriously doubt he'll stay at Ferrari for 2013.
 
why did maldonado still get 13th place? his car never crossed the finish line!
He completed more than 75% of the race distance so he gets classified.

And something I didn't see mentioned above - What a stupid move by McLaren just before the safety car. Bringing two cars in the pit under green flags, just 10-11 seconds apart. What if something went wrong with Jenson's stop? I think that (and the safety car) cost Lewis second.
 
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It was a good time to pit, they had to pit before Vettel did or he would've gotten past Hamilton. As it was he only got past because the safety car was thrown and Hamilton had to drive to a longer delta time than Vettel did.
 
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.

+1 QFT
 
I'm slightly annoyed to see Nicole whatshername back, I dont think the on and off again nature of their relationship is helping much and without knowing a single thing about the pair of them, Lewis probably should've just moved on from it. She looks so high maintenance it's not funny!
 
I'm slightly annoyed to see Nicole whatshername back, I dont think the on and off again nature of their relationship is helping much and without knowing a single thing about the pair of them, Lewis probably should've just moved on from it. She looks so high maintenance it's not funny!

I somewhat agree with this. I'm only speculating here but it seems to me that, being arguably more famous than Hamilton, she doesn't really have much interest in being at F1 races. She also doesn't seem very supportive and they don't appear as close and relaxed as Jenson and Jessica. Jenson is at his peak right now.

Hamilton needs to keep fighting. I think he mentally gave up after losing the first corner to JB.
 
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I'm slightly annoyed to see Nicole whatshername back, I dont think the on and off again nature of their relationship is helping much and without knowing a single thing about the pair of them, Lewis probably should've just moved on from it. She looks so high maintenance it's not funny!

She also lives in the states, so Lewis is jetting back and forth between races. That can't be good either.
 
And something I didn't see mentioned above - What a stupid move by McLaren just before the safety car. Bringing two cars in the pit under green flags, just 10-11 seconds apart. What if something went wrong with Jenson's stop? I think that (and the safety car) cost Lewis second.
I think it was a smart move at this point (no one could know the SC would come out soon). You simply have to trust your mechanics not to fuck such an important stop up. Additionally, if I remember correctly, Lewis' stop even was faster than Jenson's.

I don't think I've ever seen Nicole donning the 'rocket red' t-shirt and McLaren cap when Lewis won but Jessica always does and is always seen hanging around with Jenson's dad during races.
You are right. On top of that she's a lingerie model and not a plastic-pop singer so she clearly is the more desirable of the two.
Having said that, an aged playboy who clearly likes a drink as much as the next guy just seems to be much more fun to hang around with than serious Anthony Hamilton, so I can't really blame Nicole Scherzinger for not being as cuddly with the family.
 
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On top of that she's a lingerie model and not a plastic-pop singer so she clearly is the more desirable of the two.

:nod:

...an aged playboy who clearly likes a drink as much as the next guy just seems to be much more fun to hang around with than serious Anthony Hamilton, so I can't really blame Nicole Scherzinger for not being as cuddly with the family.

True, but Nicole just comes across as incredibly unfriendly and like she'd rather be anywhere else than a garage at some racing track where she's not the centre of attention. I just prefer the whole Button-entourage, they seem really friendly and supportive and have to be at least part of the reason why Jenson is in the form of his life.
 
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Also, what's the problem with people hating on Perez holding everyone up? It was for position and he never weaved across while defending his place, I thought he did great to hold on as long as he did.

Exactly, the top racers had a hard time passing him even with DRS. He drove well and didn't make any major mistakes.
 
I'm so glad that the dominance we all got used to over the 2010/11 seasons appears to be at an end. I have to say that although Button was doing great things, the bulk of my attentions were on Maldonado, it was such a shame that he crashed out when he did. I would dearly love to see Williams rise again to its former glories, hopefully this is a promising start. With that said, I'm not quite sure where Senna was most of the time, he seemed to be lingering much further back with a car that should have clearly been faster.

I also don't know what was happening with the Caterham cars, for a sizeable part of the race both of them were stuck behind Glock in an essentially untested Marussia. There wasn't much footage of the cars further back so perhaps there was a valid reason for this, I do realise that both cars made their way past further on in the race. Force India, seemed to really struggle which is odd because everyone seemed to have very high hopes for them this season.

Mercedes seem really strong in qualifying with their magic illegal-notillegal-duct-system-thing but are much slower on race day. I do wonder what Mr Schumacher could have done had his car not had an epic failure, being notoriously difficult to pass and all... Maybe if the Mercedes cars can start from the front they would be able to get a similar advantage to the Red Bull cars last year, who knows?

Overall, a fantastic start to the season, I'm really looking forward to the next race on Malaysia.
 
True, but Nicole just comes across as incredibly unfriendly and like she'd rather be anywhere else than a garage at some racing track where she's not the centre of attention. I just prefer the whole Button-entourage, they seem really friendly and supportive and have to be at least part of the reason why Jenson is in the form of his life.
I wholeheartedly agree, but I would extend it beyond Nicole to Ice-T and whoever else LH invites to the pits - ever since he shares an agent with David Beckham, he seems to lack focus. His dad might be a class A bore, but at least he was a source of much-needed consistency and down-to-earthness for Lewis.

I'm not quite sure where Senna was most of the time, he seemed to be lingering much further back with a car that should have clearly been faster.
I think he got a puncture in the melee right after the start and thus was lapped before the race really started.

Mercedes seem really strong in qualifying with their magic illegal-notillegal-duct-system-thing but are much slower on race day.
As the whole reason why the Merc f-duct system is not illegal is because it is operated by the DRS, it only optimizes performance with DRS activated, i.E. during qualifying and overtaking. With the Merc traditionally scoring well in the speed trap (and thus having no deficits in DRS-aided overtaking) it essentially is a quali-only advantage.
 
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I have to say that although Button was doing great things, the bulk of my attentions were on Maldonado, it was such a shame that he crashed out when he did. I would dearly love to see Williams rise again to its former glories, hopefully this is a promising start.


Maldonado would have finished 6th without the crash. To put it into perspective, that would have given him and the team 8 points, which is three more than Williams managed to score last year ALL YEAR LONG.
 

Hammy just wears his heart on his sleeve. In the post race, He didnt sound like he was blaming anyone, he was just disappointed in himself. He's a winner, he's used to winning, he wants to win all the time. I dont think thats a particularly bad trait to have for a sports man, afterall you want to have that drive to win. But hamilton just lets his emotions come out, just how he is.

Jenson is the epitomy of cool, he appears relaxed all the time.... I bet he isnt though, he just has a good poker face. Keeps his true emotions for himself later, just keeping them back until he's done whats needed and answered the questions and gone home. Still he does come across as more mature and ultimately more likable than hamilton. IE you could very easily imagine yourself having a laugh with Jenson down the pub. He's just very cool, calm, collected and relaxed. He just has to make sure he doesnt get too relaxed! (happens, Im sure it happened to mark foster (swimmer) at one point. Its very important not to be so nervous before a race that it cripples you, but you dont want to be so relaxed that theres no excitment, no adrenaline because that will do you in just as bad)


On to some key points:

McLaren: Pretty slick really, didn't expect them to be front row after practice for some reason, but they've clearly designed a wicked car.

Red Bull: I think they are just about level, race pace wise, with McLaren. Little bit more work and they will be close. Of course we are yet to see how they fare on different types of tracks.

Mercedes: Shame to see Schumacher out so early. Would of been interesting to see a proper scrap with Vettel.

Renault: Kimi performed well I thought, not bad for a first race back. Looking forward to more from him. Shame about his team mate who was unceramoniously kicked off the track Maldonado. Would of liked to see what he could convert that 3rd place to.

Ferrari: Oh dear. Something isnt right there. Personally I think their car is showing just how good Alonso is (that or just how off the boil Massa now is). The car clearly isnt that fast and is hard work to drive. Alonso's strong armed that thing to 5th place while the sister car languished at the back. I cant help but think, in the best car, Alonso would be devasting.

Williams: An early glimpse of a return to some kind of form? I hope so! Maldonado has good speed, just need to reign it in a bit. He's a bit scruffy with it. Senna clearly just isnt that quick a driver.

Sauber: Punching above their weight againg. Looks like they have a good car and they have two solid drivers in Perez and Kobayashi.

Other teams, much of a muchness though thought the new young guns this year made a good case for themselves. They're quite fiesty!

HRT: Why are you even here. 10 seconds off the pace? Not even in the same universe as everyone else.
 
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I've loved Jenson ever since I saw him on TG for the first time cause he just looks like a cool guy who may actually be fun to be around,then I actually met him (well, I was in the same pub he was :p) and it just reaffirmed my thought, looked like he was having a lot of fun with some mates and you just know he's not a stuck up bastard. With Hammy it's a bit more complicated. I'm not gonna pretend like I can explain why but you just know he's nothing like JB.

It does indeed also show with their entourage.
 
Who gives a poop about the relationships of Button and Hamilton? are you guys serious? Blaming Hamilton's performance on his relationship is the most hilarious thing I've heard in the world of racing.
 
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Who gives a poop about the relationships of Button and Hamilton? are you guys serious? Blaming Hamilton's performance on his relationship is the most hilarious thing I've heard in the world of racing.
As I got a working penis I definitely care about Button's relationship. Have you seen the girl?

But apart from overt sexism, it should be obvious even to you that in a business where fractions of a second can make or break a race being mental fitness and being focused are as important as the setup of the car and the race strategy. So yes, blaming Hamilton's performance, or lack thereof (and before you go on another rant about fanboyism, remember that I dislike Hamilton almost as much as VET and eyebrow man), not only on his girlfriend, but on his bling entourage that's more interested in getting their faces into the celeb magazines than in racing makes lots of sense to me.
 
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