Australian GP 2017 - Race thread - Ferrari wins

[steelstallions]

I had a feel good factor all this race, then hearing the German and then Italian anthem with the fans invading the track before the cars were parked felt like the old days. A good day, one I have not had in a long time.

[Greig]

it was 6.8 when came from pit

And he lost more time when in clear air.....we were quicker get over it

[MJ]

Greig, i think he can't be convinced that we had the win on merit.. let's leave him be..

[Greig]

Greig, i think he can't be convinced that we had the win on merit.. let's leave him be..

Yeah true, we had the fastest race car and used it to with the race that's all that matters

[fmatiasii]

now it's time to look forward to the next race, we will know for sure if we can really win the WDC.

[MJ]

agreed! Forza!!

[KimiBot]

And he lost more time when in clear air.....we were quicker get over it

we will see in next few races, I hope you are right

[Greig]

now it's time to look forward to the next race, we will know for sure if we can really win the WDC.

Yeah China will show a lot more, and the development of cars will be crucial. But we are starting from a good base so no reason we can't push on as much as others

[Greig]

we will see in next few races, I hope you are right

We are talking about this race, not next race

[fmatiasii]

in the meantime, i'm gonna enjoy this time and watch the race again.

[Fiondella]

Wooooo
hoooooo

[wacc]

Besides Ferrari and Merc, RedBulls have quite a quick car to start with too. We can not count them off. I bet they are goin to be a factor later in into the season.

[alfa84]

Celebrating with caution. First, we must keep our head down couse seson is long. Second, qualifying is a real prob. Imagine to have bottas and Ham ahead.

[Rishu]

We clearly had better pace than Mercs, no question about it. Mercedes doesn't work well in traffic, been seeing that for past couple of years, I think that's where we have even better advantage as Seb was hustling Hamilton

[alfa84]

And we must admit that one pitstop races at all races will be a little boring

[ibanezz]

Two fastest laps by our drivers. This car is the animal :)
We won the race by pure pace and good strategy. It really looks good.

[pongchanok]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/h...essity-886547/

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton says the early stop that left him vulnerable in the fight against Sebastian Vettel in the F1 2017 opener was down to “running out of grip”.

Hamilton led the Australian Grand Prix off the line, but was hassled by Vettel throughout the opening stint and eventually came in for his only stop 17 laps into the 57-lap race.

He was instantly on the pace with the set of fresh softs, but soon found himself stuck behind Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen. He was told passing the Dutchman was "race critical" and replied: "I don't know how you expect me to do that."

As Vettel pitted from the lead a few laps later, he emerged right ahead of the battling duo, completing a successful 'overcut' and going on to comfortably win the race.

In the podium interviews, runner-up Hamilton explained the early stop: "In the race we struggled with the tyres. I had to stop earlier as we ran out of grip. We pitted and got stuck behind one of the Red Bulls."

The Briton elaborated further in the post-race press conference: "We were struggling with the grip from the get-go, Seb was able to always answer the laptime - and the majority of the time he would do faster laptimes.

"Towards the end, I got in traffic and started to overheat tyres and struggle with grip. The gap was closing up and I was slowing down.

"I came in and got stuck in traffic - which is a bit unfortunate, but that is motor racing."

Bottas says Ferrari "no doubt" quicker

Mercedes newcomer Valtteri Bottas had followed the Hamilton/Vettel battle early on, but soon dropped off, going on to a third-place finish on his debut with the Silver Arrows.

And just like his teammate Hamilton, the Finn reported he was missing grip in the opening stint on ultrasofts.

"We as a team we did a good job with the car we have," Bottas said. "Ferrari was quicker today – there is no doubt about that. They did a great job and better job for this race.

"From my side, the main thing was first stint, I struggled quite a lot with ultrasoft, felt I was sliding around, missing front grip and rear grip, especially after 10 laps, that wasn't easy.

"But once we put the soft tyre on, it was actually quite a good feeling, really nice to drive. But it was a bit too late and we're still missing pace.

"Overall, not a disaster first race weekend with the team but I do have points I will take to do better next time."

[fmatiasii]

And we must admit that one pitstop races at all races will be a little boring

maybe for now but wait for the time when it rains during race.

[vcs316]

Yes, so we were lucky or not?

The faster you are, the luckier you get.

[KimiBot]

“Obviously got a bit lucky when Lewis came out in traffic but the tyres were there, the car was working good so excellent job."Seb

[Greig]

“Obviously got a bit lucky when Lewis came out in traffic but the tyres were there, the car was working good so excellent job."Seb

Bottas said. "Ferrari was quicker today – there is no doubt about that. They did a great job and better job for this race.

"We were struggling with the grip from the get-go, Seb was able to always answer the laptime - and the majority of the time he would do faster laptimes.

[vcs316]

Less than an hour after Sebastian Vettel claimed a famous victory for Ferrari, the ideal way to begin a year in which the Italian manufacturer is celebrating its 70th anniversary, company president Sergio Marchionne congratulated his team on its success in Melbourne.

"It was about time," he said. "I am delighted for the team and for our tifosi who stood by us throughout this whole period.

"We've been waiting for this victory for almost a year and a half," he continued. "Hearing the Italian national anthem again was very moving.

"Sebastian delivered a great race and I am sure Kimi will be soon up there battling alongside his team-mate.

"Of course, this victory is something to share with the entire team, both at the circuit and back in Maranello, because teamwork is the only way to achieve major goals.

"Congratulations to Antonio for his debut in Formula One," he added, referring to to Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi who was on duty for Sauber.

"Now, however, it is absolutely essential to remember that this is not the destination but the first step on a long road that must see us all focused on improving each and every day."

[Cemz85]

Guys, what is that website where you can compare any drivers times with each other?

[vcs316]

“Obviously got a bit lucky when Lewis came out in traffic but the tyres were there, the car was working good so excellent job."Seb

Wolff pounded his desk twice in anger as Vettel held his lead after stopping from fresh tyres and his ire was well-placed, as Hamilton never looked like returning to the front.
By the end of the race, however, the Austrian had calmed somewhat. And he conceded that Ferrari had merited their victory in the season opener.

'Some you win some you lose and today Ferrari was the quicker car and they put us under pressure straight from the beginning and that's how we lost it,' he told Sky Sports.

[PURE PASSION]

Besides Ferrari and Merc, RedBulls have quite a quick car to start with too. We can not count them off. I bet they are goin to be a factor later in into the season.

Where did you see that??

[vcs316]

Toto Wolff throws pitlane strop after watching Lewis Hamilton give up Australian GP lead... but Mercedes boss admits Ferrari were quicker

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff slammed his pitlane desk in rage as Lewis Hamilton relinquished the Australian Grand Prix lead, and with it victory, to Sebastian Vettel.

Wolff was captured by TV cameras throwing a strop after Vettel, who started second on the grid, emerged from a lap-25 pitstop still in front of Hamilton as the Brit struggled to get past Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Hamilton had begun the race on pole but slipped down the rankings when he pitted on lap 17 and found himself stuck behind Verstappen, much to the frustration of both driver and team boss.

Wolff pounded his desk twice in anger as Vettel held his lead after stopping from fresh tyres and his ire was well-placed, as Hamilton never looked like returning to the front.

By the end of the race, however, the Austrian had calmed somewhat. And he conceded that Ferrari had merited their victory in the season opener.

'Some you win some you lose and today Ferrari was the quicker car and they put us under pressure straight from the beginning and that's how we lost it,' he told Sky Sports.

'There was not a lot of difference but you saw how close we came out behind Sebastian and we were held up but and this how the racing goes. Verstappen was fighting for position and it's normal.

’The Ferrari was the strongest package today because they were able to follow us.’

'There is of course some frustration, but some you win and some you lose.

'Sebastian Vettel is a worthy winner. Perhaps we thought that the tyres was degrading faster than it was, you have to keep them in the right window and we have to learn the lessons.'

Mercedes' frustration had earlier been evident in a conversation over the team radio between Hamilton and his race engineer Pete Bonnington.

After Hamilton came out of the pits behind Verstappen, Bonnington was heard to say: 'It is race critical that we get past Verstappen.'

'I don't know how you expect me to do that,' Hamilton responded. 'There is no way I can overtake this guy.'

Verstappen eventually finished fifth, with Hamilton's new Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas claiming a place on the podium in third.

[fmatiasii]

Toto Wolff throws pitlane strop after watching Lewis Hamilton give up Australian GP lead... but Mercedes boss admits Ferrari were quicker

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff slammed his pitlane desk in rage as Lewis Hamilton relinquished the Australian Grand Prix lead, and with it victory, to Sebastian Vettel.

Wolff was captured by TV cameras throwing a strop after Vettel, who started second on the grid, emerged from a lap-25 pitstop still in front of Hamilton as the Brit struggled to get past Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

Hamilton had begun the race on pole but slipped down the rankings when he pitted on lap 17 and found himself stuck behind Verstappen, much to the frustration of both driver and team boss.

Wolff pounded his desk twice in anger as Vettel held his lead after stopping from fresh tyres and his ire was well-placed, as Hamilton never looked like returning to the front.

By the end of the race, however, the Austrian had calmed somewhat. And he conceded that Ferrari had merited their victory in the season opener.

'Some you win some you lose and today Ferrari was the quicker car and they put us under pressure straight from the beginning and that's how we lost it,' he told Sky Sports.

'There was not a lot of difference but you saw how close we came out behind Sebastian and we were held up but and this how the racing goes. Verstappen was fighting for position and it's normal.

’The Ferrari was the strongest package today because they were able to follow us.’

'There is of course some frustration, but some you win and some you lose.

'Sebastian Vettel is a worthy winner. Perhaps we thought that the tyres was degrading faster than it was, you have to keep them in the right window and we have to learn the lessons.'

Mercedes' frustration had earlier been evident in a conversation over the team radio between Hamilton and his race engineer Pete Bonnington.

After Hamilton came out of the pits behind Verstappen, Bonnington was heard to say: 'It is race critical that we get past Verstappen.'

'I don't know how you expect me to do that,' Hamilton responded. 'There is no way I can overtake this guy.'

Verstappen eventually finished fifth, with Hamilton's new Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas claiming a place on the podium in third.

because he knew then that when vettel is in the lead, there was no catching him.

[MJ]

oh man.. just keep pushing with the luck thingy and you might just get lucky next time..

[bondilad]

Kimi probably set up the car wrong....thats what he said in the interview. They couldn't change it after qualy was done. Plus he did some fuel saving as well.

[KimiBot]

oh man.. just keep pushing with the luck thingy and you might just get lucky next time..

Come on now man. Honestly, do you think we have won if Seb had been behind Lewis after he pitted?