Formula 1...

[Baldrick]

Another season, the same predictable outcome.

 

A Redbull on fresh soft tyres cannot get past a Toro Rosso on older hard tyres (I realise that it's Melbourne ). Could be a long season until new regulations are adopted.

 

At least the midfield battle has tighten up. Just need Williams to get their act together.

[BaGearA]

Summary after today

 

valtteri might show his fists this year

Redbull and Honda look very promising 

Ferrari under-performed today 

Kvyat and Lando are looking promising 

Williams ...well yeah 

[Capricorn]

what is with Haas, the Aussie GP and left side wheel changes. Drivers must be scared out of their little pips at the thought of having to pit.

[Starvin' Marvin]

Looks Like my McLarens are on the up.

[BaGearA]

So gutted for Charles

 

Seb making mistakes again under pressure?

 

And gasly doesn't seem to living up to his 2018 form

 

 

.... That was one damn exciting race tho

[Pure Savage]

What about the two Renault motors ending within seconds of each other... it was like I was watching a cheesy James Bond film.

 

Safety car saved le clerc from Max pain!

[Piston ZA]

Man, you got to feel for Charles. Did everything right (except his start), and to have the balls and skill to race and overtake Vettel was awesome to see. I know who I'm rooting for the rest of the season. My patience with Vettel is running out very quickly.

[Baldrick]

This DRS is becoming a bit like T20 Cricket to me. The overtaking is artificial, and now they have added more DRS zones. Either remove DRS or have DRS active over the entire lap.

[River Rat]

Another season, the same predictable outcome.

 

A Redbull on fresh soft tyres cannot get past a Toro Rosso on older hard tyres (I realise that it's Melbourne ). Could be a long season until new regulations are adopted.

 

At least the midfield battle has tighten up. Just need Williams to get their act together.

I can see the predictability of the current F1 environment being the death knell to this format as a spectator sport. Ferrari were desperately trying for a result and I believe that they had a 2 pronged strategy for this weekend, they took a huge risk in turning up the performance of Leclerc's car and it nearly paid off for them but it won't work all season long. Vettel's car was clearly slower but more reliable, however it wasn't quicker than the Mercedes in the heat of battle (add to that Vettel's brain fart to compound matters) , so once again Mercedes will dominate this season. The only thing worth watching is whether Ferrari will finish at least one car ahead of Max at the end of the season, but it really is a one car race.

 

In the meantime I glanced over to Formula E where the racing was tight and it's attracting more and more sponsors who are chasing the Chinese electric car market. The growth in this format is huge and I don't think F1 will be able to compete in terms of attracting sponsorship while it is so predictable. I think the blame lies with the top F1 teams as they try to dominate the grid at the expense of a spectacle.

[Long Wheel Base]

I haven't seen such an exciting race in years. The overtaking, especially at the start was top class. Those guys gave us some good action to watch. Feel so bad for Leclerc. But I think he won over a lot of fans this weekend and not only "us fans", listening to the podium guys in the cool down room it sounded like Hamilton is a big fan of Leclerc. If I was the big boss at Ferrari I would fire Vettal and put Mick Schumacher in his place.

 

Loved the one comment I saw about the Renault engine still preventing Red Bull from getting a podium. 

[Long Wheel Base]

[Capricorn]

I can see the predictability of the current F1 environment being the death knell to this format as a spectator sport.

 

Which one will impact survivability of F1 racing more: racing politics, or rise of the electric car+global environmentalism?

 

I haven't followed F1 for years now, so it's pretty much habitually off my spectating radar. However, that series: F1: The drive to survive has reminded me of how interesting F1 can be, and this weekend, I loosely followed the both the qualifying and racing via the internet.

there's life in them F1 legs, they just need to market is better. That F1 series was a really good start.

Edited April 1, 2019 by Capricorn

[River Rat]

Which one will impact survivability of F1 racing more: racing politics, or rise of the electric car+global environmentalism?

 

I haven't followed F1 for years now, so it's pretty much habitually off my spectating radar. However, that series: F1: The drive to survive has reminded me of how interesting F1 can be, and this weekend, I loosely followed the both the qualifying and racing via the internet.

there's life in them F1 legs, they just need to market is better. That F1 series was a really good start.

To be fair they're trying their best to create a contest with DRS, mandatory tyre changes etc but these are just putting plasters on a bleeding wound. The front teams are so far ahead of the rest that there's no chance they can catch up and as we're seeing this season Mercedes are way out front of Ferrari and Red Bull. I see Ferrari are reporting Charles had an engine failure which I believe is symptomatic of how desperate they are to compete without the tools to do so. However, if you're Mercedes fan it's great news as your team is most likely going to walk away with the championship, for the rest it going to be very boring as a contest, unless of course you get excited about the race for 3rd place..

 

So it's boredom that's going to kill F1 as viewers look for more competitive motor racing coverage and sponsors will follow the viewers. Formula E has the addded incentive in that it's a great proving ground for new technology in a growing market and that's where we find BMW, Jaguar, Mahindra and Audi investing their money. I somehow can't see F1 offering a viable alternative to Formula E in the long run as the top tier are so entrenched with the wherewithall to keep themselves there.

Edited April 1, 2019 by River Rat

[Berg Man]

Where are you guys watching Formula E?

[Baldrick]

I read a nice story about the Alonso - Toyota 2021 team. Pity about the date of the article

[Berg Man]

I read a nice story about the Alonso - Toyota 2021 team. Pity about the date of the article

Well I did see a photo of him and Giniel De Villers together in SA, so.............