Melbourne Practice, Qualy And Stuff Like That

[Kati 0]

Im guessing it was more a problem with the lack of natural lights than the rain itself. You have to remmeber the tv cameras compensate for the lack of natural light, so it was in fact darker than it appeared to us. But the whole problem started because they kept postponing it because of the rain, but then it reached the light problem. They should've gone in the rain, anyway. Suzuka was an ocean in comparison to Australia yesterday, but then you see the amount of cars spinning and maybe that's what prompted the 'lets wait' solution.

[JHS18 0]

This.

And the big factor in this case seemed to be the white paint on the tarmac which became awfully slippery when wet.

I don't think that safety was the determining factor. More a case of darkness coming as you pointed out and simply the fact that cars spinning and going off the track in the rain is no thriller and no "sorting men from boys". That happens only if you have rain but also cars/tires capable of coping with the conditions in the first place.

Sorry, but I disagree. Sure, some cars went off. Many others didn't.

If all twenty-two cars had become stuck in the gravel, then fair enough, I'd accept that. But no. That's the point of racing in the wet. Nobody got injured...it was exciting and unpredictable.

F1 has got to the point where mistakes no longer get punished. You have tracks with miles of run off zones, so it doesn't matter if you make a mistake. Then, when they do go to a rare circuit where if you get it wrong, you are going to get punished, they throw the red flag whenever there's so much as a threatening cloud in the sky.

[Massa 0]

There was that qualifying they didn't run...

...but there's also the qualifying they did run!

I didn't see it, but my impression was they were on slick tires by the end. Seems like Mercedes has a fast car, though there's a lot more to this than fast, and that Red Bull's carrying some serious speed. Massa ahead of Alonso is a nice treat for those of us who like when things that aren't supposed to happen do.

Hey, the F1 season is starting for real in a few hours. Always a highlight of every season! We're about to have a Grand Prix!

[BradSpeedMan 6]

another pole for Vettel...so, order has been restored...here's hoping for dry race with no mechanical failure for Vettel.

[Rainmaster 7]

Qualifying notes:

Mercedes have a very good car in the wet, and not such a bad one in the dry, come to mention it

Rosberg looked much faster than Hammy until it dried up

Red Bull are still by some way the slickest operation out there, getting Vettel's final lap in by about a second (not that he needed to finish that lap)

Massa continues his run from last season of looking like the driver who used to match and beat Raikkonen - if it lasts you can expect trouble

Not sure this season will provide the same opportunity for teams to produce surprises on race day, looks more normal than last year to me, which isn't saying much

Some other things I don't remember

The only question that remains is whether to stay up for the race.

[LabradoRacer 2]

Not much has changed from last year, other than Mercedes & Macca swapping places.

Nice to see Lewis up there, though I won't be able to stand the sight of a smug Lauda.

A pity Webber fluffed his lap.

As Rainmaster has said, Massa seems to be in fine fettle.

[Quiet One 15]

Anybody else noticed that the F1 site and James Allen's both have the time of race wrong? The hour shown is 1 hour later than the actual one, if what happened in qualy is a guide.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

_{Argh!!!My nerves can't take this s&^T!!!!}

[BradSpeedMan 6]

GUYS, i'M TO THE POINT OF CRYING HERE!!!!! WILL kIMI MAKE IT!!!!!

[LabradoRacer 2]

Wow, Kimi! Very happy to see him win. Good drive by Alonso too. Would have liked Massa on podium, too.

Strangely arousing that Mercedes is still garbage. Hamilton still did a good job of maximizing.

Webber continues to be the champion of slow starts. Real talent, that.

[The Shadow 0]

Nice win by Kimi.

I take back all I said about Sutil

[Rainmaster 7]

Always a pleasure to see Kimi on his finest form. Good race!

[LabradoRacer 2]

Loved that Kimi cranked out a fastest lap at the end. Typical of him.

[LabradoRacer 2]

Lewis vs Sutil was fun while it lasted.

[HandyNZL 1]

Webber continues to be the champion of slow starts. Real talent, that.

Still, he'd do it better than you with one hand tied behind his back....

[HandyNZL 1]

So the fastest car didn't win...hmmm

[LabradoRacer 2]

Nice to see the podium trio clinking bottles.

[LabradoRacer 2]

Still, he'd do it better than you with one hand tied behind his back....

Making it personal? Real classy. I never slagged you when you ran Schumi down.

[Quiet One 15]

Nice. Nice. Nice.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

I never expected this guys, that that Lotus could be a contender for the win.... Or is it just Kimi???

What a pleasant suprise...Vettel getting points as usual, good drive by Alonso too, I think he overstressed his tyres, Kimi was superb in his managment of it!!!

[LabradoRacer 2]

I never expected this guys, that that Lotus could be a contender for the win.... Or is it just Kimi???

If Lotus up their game in qualifying, Kimi's a serious contender for WDC.

[The Shadow 0]

Don't forget Ferrari. With their resources and the clear no. 1 status driver, it would be silly ignoring Fernando throughout the course of this season. Let's see how things shape up over here in Sepang next week, though that could be another rainy lottery considering the weather over here at this point in time

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Don't forget Ferrari.

Very strong in the race, to me it's going to come down as who wins the development battle between RBR and Ferrari.... Lotus is the dark horse, can they pull it off during the course of the season with less budget???

[Quiet One 15]

With regards to extrapolations, Melbourne has always beena special case. A cold, wet Melbourne even more so.

Don't jump into conclussions. So far they all have the same potential as Van Der Garde. By the way, my future good boy (Jules Bianchi) did well in the back!

Here it's me jumping into conclussions:

1) Great displays of racecraft from almost everybody, considering the break for some and the debut for others. No cucumber moments from the backfielders, no grosjeans from the Romains, no pastors from the Maldonados and Massa and Lewis didn't touch each other!! Hallelujah!

2) Kimi and Alonso at the top of their game. Ditto for Massa, he was unrecognizable from last year. Hope he can keep this form throughout the year.

3) Quite a scare for all the usual suspects from Sutil nonetheless! An anonymous but great drive from Vergne, too. Lewis did great, considering the car was again going backwards as it is the Mercedes trademark. Lovely battle with ALonso.

4) RBR: for the car that looks again so ominous, the drivers didn't play the part as much. Vettel was ok, but lost the strategy war and ended up 2 places behind his fantabulous pole. Webber...well, it pains me to say this but YOU ARE WORTHLESS!!!!! Geez!!! His umpteenth year in F1 and he STILL didn't get the grasp of how to start a Grand Prix? RBR has a clear number 1 status, but it is not as if he has done that much to shake that situation! Grrrrr.

5) Everybody else did good, all things considered.

[Kati 0]

With regards to extrapolations, Melbourne has always beena special case. A cold, wet Melbourne even more so.

Don't jump into conclussions. So far they all have the same potential as Van Der Garde. By the way, my future good boy (Jules Bianchi) did well in the back!

Here it's me jumping into conclussions:

4) RBR: for the car that looks again so ominous, the drivers didn't play the part as much. Vettel was ok, but lost the strategy war and ended up 2 places behind his fantabulous pole. Webber...well, it pains me to say this but YOU ARE WORTHLESS!!!!! Geez!!! His umpteenth year in F1 and he STILL didn't get the grasp of how to start a Grand Prix? RBR has a clear number 1 status, but it is not as if he has done that much to shake that situation! Grrrrr.

Id go as far as to say Webber has the worst starts in the whole grid.