2018 Australian GP Free Practice and Qualifying

[nani_s23]

dude did you manage to find any of that long race sim lap comparison things? how far are we behind Merc and RB?

Difference between mercs & Ferrari on US is around.3ths this compared to vet & ham.
If we take Kimi & Bottas into consideration, then it’s on same level.
RB’s especially max is further .2ths down on kimis pace.

Interesting thing is vet’s pace on softs he did 1.27.8 compared to 1.28’s on US & SS.
So Ferrari can go for softs over SS if needed. But I don’t know abt tyre allocation left.

It all depends on start, I think mercs ham having bit of understeer. If he’s behind any other car, he will struggle.

[nani_s23]

from racefans twitter

Mercs PU & engine mapping is superior. They are interpreting the rules in clever way.
Quali dominance can’t end for them anytime soon till regulation change.

[Nick Singer]

I've been a long time fan of F1, almost 20 years now and I've only been following this forum towards the end of the season last year and now for this season, but the amount of negativity and sadistic posts from people here is diabolical.

I was lucky enough to witness the Schumacher/Brawn era where Ferrari dominated the championship for a good 5-6 years and what we have seen in the last 3-4 years is Mercedes do the same, with Red Bull prior to that.

Yes it's unfortunate and frustrating that Ferrari are not up there with Mercedes, but to write off the championship/season after the qualifying session really highlights the incompetence of some you here. I'm not the biggest fan of Lewis but credit where credit is due, he pulled off a pole lap that did not go wrong in any way or form, unfortunately for us Vettel did not have a strong Q3. I do not think we are 0.6 seconds behind, in reality I think and we will see tomorrow that we are actually much closer and during the season we will see that transition hopefully.

Either way, I'm going to continue supporting the team and I know it's only a matter of time before Ferrari regain the position as the top team in F1 and I'm very much looking forward to that.

Also looking forward to attending the Singapore GP this year, can't wait!

Well said.


Followed GP since 1972!! Ferrari (via Tyrrell and Wolf) since Jody went there. The Schuey years were worth the wait! Then we had the Red Bull domination and now Mercedes' superiority. Ferrari will win again. Anyway, who'd want a Mercedes road car rather than a Ferrari? I was lent an E-Class and it was horrible next to my 5 Series.

[mwk360]

Difference between mercs & Ferrari on US is around.3ths this compared to vet & ham.
If we take Kimi & Bottas into consideration, then it’s on same level.
RB’s especially max is further .2ths down on kimis pace.

Interesting thing is vet’s pace on softs he did 1.27.8 compared to 1.28’s on US & SS.
So Ferrari can go for softs over SS if needed. But I don’t know abt tyre allocation left.

It all depends on start, I think mercs ham having bit of understeer. If he’s behind any other car, he will struggle.

Mercs PU & engine mapping is superior. They are interpreting the rules in clever way.
Quali dominance can’t end for them anytime soon till regulation change.

Thank you! looks like we will be racing mad max until we can get some gain in development. What is engine mapping exactly? and why is ferrari so inferior? is it the raw power or the inferior intellect to convert raw power or something like that?

[nani_s23]

Thank you! looks like we will be racing mad max until we can get some gain in development. What is engine mapping exactly? and why is ferrari so inferior? is it the raw power or the inferior intellect to convert raw power or something like that?

Peak power, where it’s used in quali consistently for a lap rather than in race for more laps.

[Nick Singer]

Yes, and less critical supporters. What a sad morning this was. Woke up to see Ferrari p2 and p3 - how sad is that!
Kimi has been faster of those two all weekend so far, must be something wrong in Seb car - obviously. Alonso would took pole by 2 sec. marging in a red car - obviously.
Season is over, let's concentrate 2019.

Despite the fact that this is a unique and dirty track which needs a lot of downforce - we are ahead RB. Bahrain will tell where we really stand at this moment.
Until that we could cry how misearable the whole team and drivers are, or enjoy the entertainment and support our guys. Not Kimi of course, he is slow, fat, old and should retire - obviously.

Tomorrow Seb can have a good start. He is on clean side of the grid which makes a big difference. P2 is like a punishment here, all that dirt is on that side. Let's see.
Hope we get good points from this kind of tracks. I am really surprised if we beat RB.

Well said!

[mwk360]

Peak power, where it’s used in quali consistently for a lap rather than in race for more laps.

thank you so its just the "party rapper mode" thing? yeah but what regulation could change to stop that?

[mwk360]

Peak power, where it’s used in quali consistently for a lap rather than in race for more laps.

Sky said during FP/Quali that hamilton does the drs thing manually, could that be an advantage in anyway?

[gazoz]

Well said.


Followed GP since 1972!! Ferrari (via Tyrrell and Wolf) since Jody went there. The Schuey years were worth the wait! Then we had the Red Bull domination and now Mercedes' superiority. Ferrari will win again. Anyway, who'd want a Mercedes road car rather than a Ferrari? I was lent an E-Class and it was horrible next to my 5 Series.

Quote Originally Posted by nhel1te View Post
I've been a long time fan of F1, almost 20 years now and I've only been following this forum towards the end of the season last year and now for this season, but the amount of negativity and sadistic posts from people here is diabolical.

I was lucky enough to witness the Schumacher/Brawn era where Ferrari dominated the championship for a good 5-6 years and what we have seen in the last 3-4 years is Mercedes do the same, with Red Bull prior to that.

Yes it's unfortunate and frustrating that Ferrari are not up there with Mercedes, but to write off the championship/season after the qualifying session really highlights the incompetence of some you here. I'm not the biggest fan of Lewis but credit where credit is due, he pulled off a pole lap that did not go wrong in any way or form, unfortunately for us Vettel did not have a strong Q3. I do not think we are 0.6 seconds behind, in reality I think and we will see tomorrow that we are actually much closer and during the season we will see that transition hopefully.

Either way, I'm going to continue supporting the team and I know it's only a matter of time before Ferrari regain the position as the top team in F1 and I'm very much looking forward to that.

Also looking forward to attending the Singapore GP this year, can't wait!

100% Agree

[Rishu]

Reasonable Quali, 6 tenths looks big though but again race is a different story. This is supposed to be a Redbull suited track so not sure if we are on the same level as them, however the way they develop as season progresses, I can see them as real threat by Spain. Ferrari 1-2 tomorrow, anyone?

[mihael]

Yes, and less critical supporters. What a sad morning this was. Woke up to see Ferrari p2 and p3 - how sad is that!
Kimi has been faster of those two all weekend so far, must be something wrong in Seb car - obviously. Alonso would took pole by 2 sec. marging in a red car - obviously.
Season is over, let's concentrate 2019.

Despite the fact that this is a unique and dirty track which needs a lot of downforce - we are ahead RB. Bahrain will tell where we really stand at this moment.
Until that we could cry how misearable the whole team and drivers are, or enjoy the entertainment and support our guys. Not Kimi of course, he is slow, fat, old and should retire - obviously.

Tomorrow Seb can have a good start. He is on clean side of the grid which makes a big difference. P2 is like a punishment here, all that dirt is on that side. Let's see.
Hope we get good points from this kind of tracks. I am really surprised if we beat RB.

If you look right you will see I am here from 2004. I'm Ferrari supporter 30 years! Believe me I know what I talking. Ferrari whait 16 years for title. Now we didn't win since 2008.

[gazoz]

Agree 100%

I've been a long time fan of F1, almost 20 years now and I've only been following this forum towards the end of the season last year and now for this season, but the amount of negativity and sadistic posts from people here is diabolical.

I was lucky enough to witness the Schumacher/Brawn era where Ferrari dominated the championship for a good 5-6 years and what we have seen in the last 3-4 years is Mercedes do the same, with Red Bull prior to that.

Yes it's unfortunate and frustrating that Ferrari are not up there with Mercedes, but to write off the championship/season after the qualifying session really highlights the incompetence of some you here. I'm not the biggest fan of Lewis but credit where credit is due, he pulled off a pole lap that did not go wrong in any way or form, unfortunately for us Vettel did not have a strong Q3. I do not think we are 0.6 seconds behind, in reality I think and we will see tomorrow that we are actually much closer and during the season we will see that transition hopefully.

Either way, I'm going to continue supporting the team and I know it's only a matter of time before Ferrari regain the position as the top team in F1 and I'm very much looking forward to that.

Also looking forward to attending the Singapore GP this year, can't wait!

[enjaybel3]

I think we are in this race with a chance to get both cars on the podium. We were right in it until the final lap by Hamilton. That was something special. You have too give credit where it's due.
If Seb had put in a similar level final lap we would have been very close.
Don't confuse the great lap Hamilton put in on that one final lap. He made the Merc look significantly better than it is IMO. In the same car I doubt anyone would have gotten within 2 tenths of him today.
Comparing both Mercs to both our cars I think our package is at least as good. Depends on how development goes through the season but we are in with a chance for both titles this year IMO.
Silly to get carried away with the result of one on lap.
I also think it's a good thing having 3 teams competitive. Should make for a good season.
What a great team effort by Haas both in the cars they've built and their efforts today.
Looking forward to tomorrow's race and the whole season - with all its ups and downs.

[PURE PASSION]

Although it looks preety obvious that Ham use the "party mode" in the 2nd run , thats why the big difference, i have 1 question.Why he didnt use it in the 1st run?? Dont tell me that he kept it for last just for the hype . Drivers just don't through away their 1st attemp for silly reasons.What if something happend to him in his 2nd run??? They are going flat out in both runs. So i just dont believe that he didnt use the q mode on 1st run and use it on the 2nd. And on the other hand you dont find 9 tenths from just a perfect lap. Its just odd that he found so much time between his 2 attempts in q3!!!

[Christopher]

Although it looks preety obvious that Ham use the "party mode" in the 2nd run , thats why the big difference, i have 1 question.Why he didnt use it in the 1st run?? Dont tell me that he kept it for last just for the hype . Drivers just don't through away their 1st attemp for silly reasons.What if something happend to him in his 2nd run??? They are going flat out in both runs. So i just dont believe that he didnt use the q mode on 1st run and use it on the 2nd. And on the other hand you dont find 9 tenths from just a perfect lap. Its just odd that he found so much time between his 2 attempts in q3!!!

That engine has to last until at least Monaco so he probably didn't want to stress it.

[FerrariSteve]

I didn't watch qually and I won't be watching the race live, but all I can say is: FORZA FERRARI!!!!!
Go Seb, Go Kimi and a pox on Hamilton.

Looking at the timesheets though is rather a downer, Merc still can pull so much time out of the bag when they need to. I am so effing sick of their domination of the sport,
I just hope I live long enough to see someone (hopefully Ferrari!) blow them away and take both titles off them.

[Ferrarichamp]

Bottas crashing right off the bat on the first weekend. I just wonder, could that be an omen for Merc, that their season will be more complicated than they think...

[darkchild]

Tbh not even that unhappy. Seb drove worse in Q3 then in Q2 while Hamilton drove perfect lap after scruffy one. I think difference is much smaller then it looks and once we get on top of few issues we should be ready to go. Also Bottas looked scruffy entire qualifying so their car cannot be that good. Max is amazing yet even with scruffy lap from Seb we are ahead. No reason for panic as car looks solid as a base and engine looks very competitive.

[barzini77]

Kimi is on it, that's great. Hopefully he can jump Lewis.

[mwk360]

Helmut Marko: "Mercedes demonstrated in the last lap that they were just fooling around with us. When Mr Wolff says that Ferrari has the best engine, I can only laugh. Ferrari hopefully woke up now. Mercedes has finally put their pants down. Probably by mistake."

translated by someone i think on twitter

https://www.formule1.nl/nieuws/red-b...d-te-verslaan/

Its sad, but until ferrari can catch them or rb switch to a better engine we stuck with boring mercedes dominating everything

[mwk360]

I didn't watch qually and I won't be watching the race live, but all I can say is: FORZA FERRARI!!!!!
Go Seb, Go Kimi and a pox on Hamilton.

Looking at the timesheets though is rather a downer, Merc still can pull so much time out of the bag when they need to. I am so effing sick of their domination of the sport,
I just hope I live long enough to see someone (hopefully Ferrari!) blow them away and take both titles off them.

100% agreed man, im sick of them and their smugness

[mardyrt]

Question for everyone. Looking at Bottas' crash, I notice either fluid or something evaporating out of the rear wing pillar. Did anyone else see this? If so, can anyone explain? Is it where Merc is exhausting the oil burn like we do out from underneath the rear light?

*Edit - Maybe it's just the hydraulic fluid that operates the DRS.

I do not think it uses hydraulics, they use a solenoid, so its a electrical connection, that is why it is so fast close, fast open, hydraulics would be a bit slower. So you found something! Good EYE!

[mardyrt]

Difference between mercs & Ferrari on US is around.3ths this compared to vet & ham.
If we take Kimi & Bottas into consideration, then it’s on same level.
RB’s especially max is further .2ths down on kimis pace.

Interesting thing is vet’s pace on softs he did 1.27.8 compared to 1.28’s on US & SS.
So Ferrari can go for softs over SS if needed. But I don’t know abt tyre allocation left.

It all depends on start, I think mercs ham having bit of understeer. If he’s behind any other car, he will struggle.

I think Vettel used softs at the end, so the fuel burn off will make them faster. I am curious to find out, which tiers used at which time. I know Vettel had softs at the end. Did we use SS at any time during Friday practice?

[mwk360]

Vettel: I don’t think it was very close, seven-tenths obviously is quite big. So, some homework for us, but yeah, as I said, tomorrow, we’ve seen many times now, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 that, usually on Sunday, things get a little bit closer. We bet on that.

[Michal2_F1]

The start of this season reminds me of Schumacher 2004. Great car and driver in harmony, continuing their dominance after previous season's struggles. Hamilton is a great driver, he did a great lap, but he hasn't gained 0.6s on his talent alone. Everyone hails him as the "greatest driver" but what Alonso has done since 2015 to lose out? Yeah, car performance, though if we had stopped them they would achieve the same in reverse.

Hamilton is super confident this year. He is already playing games. He knows he has time in his pocket and his team-mate is struggling. People really think Merc, Red Bull and Ferrari were on one level in qualifying and Hamilton made the difference... Hamilton was the only driver to start a flying lap so his tyres weren't ideal and that's why his first Q3 time was relatively slow.

Kimi win would be great, his P2 very pleasant surprise, but I wouldn't hold my breath. How many times he had a shot only to miss out? And Hamilton has the advantage nonetheless.

[WS6TransAm01]

A bit disheartening to be honest. Really looked like Seb and Kimi could be closer to the Merc. Didn't get to see Q3 since the red flag for Bottas caused the recording to end before cars returned to track. After seeing a great lap by Seb at the end of Q2 I got my hopes up only to be disappointed when I went online to see the results.

Oh well, yet again.

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

[barzini77]

Kimi win would be great, his P2 very pleasant surprise, but I wouldn't hold my breath. How many times he had a shot only to miss out?

And how many times he delivered when he had that shot? That's right 20. Not so bad, is it?

[nani_s23]

I think Vettel used softs at the end, so the fuel burn off will make them faster. I am curious to find out, which tiers used at which time. I know Vettel had softs at the end. Did we use SS at any time during Friday practice?

Kimi used it after US race sim.
Vet used softs after US race sim

[Michal2_F1]

And how many times he delivered when he had that shot? That's right 20. Not so bad, is it?

But how many for Kimi post-2013? His normal, old version, was considered in line with Vettel, Hamilton or Alonso. I really hope that version is back this season, but that would be one of the most surprising things in recent years really.

To be fair, he had his share of bad luck and team wasn't helping him in Monaco and Hungary (if we consider Monaco letting them race, then they did opposite in Hungary).

[Giallo 550]

I didn't get to see the last minutes of Q3 because by DVR cut off due to Bottas's botched run. 2 and 3 with Bottas starting tenth is a good result. I don't like the .7 second gap, but can Hamilton really manage to do that in every single Q3 without sacrificing the reliability of his three motors? We will know where we stand after tomorrow's GP. I have a feeling we'll have them everyone on race pace, and if Raikkonen and/or Vettel can get the jump on Hamilton, they should be in excellent positions.