No mention so far of Pat Symonds in any of Sky’s tweets/articles talking about the coverage of the upcoming season. Is it safe to assume that means he won’t be part of Sky’s coverage this year?

Channel 4 schedule for the first three races - no show lengths.

Source channel4.com/f1

 

Australian Grand Prix

 

24th Mar

13:00 - Qualifying

25th Mar

14:00 - Race

 

Bahrain Grand Prix

6th Apr

12:00 - Practice 1

16:00 - Practice 2

7th Apr

13:00 - Practice 3

16:00 - Qualifying

8th Apr

16:10 - Race

 

Chinese Grand Prix

14th Apr

13:00 - Qualifying

15th Apr

14:30 - Race

10 past the hour for race starts is f***ing stupid.

Brace yourself. the Formula One theme music:

 

Aside from the engine noises it sounds like the music for the montage sequence in a Rocky film

We're underway, FP1 has finished! We can't jump to too many conclusions after one FP session but at the top as usual Hamilton reigns supreme; Red Bull and Ferrari look on a par a few tenths down the road; and the midfield battle is once again a further second back - albeit a lot tighter than last year which will be incredibly exciting.

 

 

I'm liking the new-look graphics this year!

Mercedes sandbagging in testing?! I never would have guessed it

 

 

Sport would be so much better without them

Hopefully the weather will play a part this weekend in qualifying and the race.

 

 

Nobody bothered about the new season starting? :o

 

That was some shunt for Bottas, and some lap for Lewis! I think the gap is a case of Lewis pulling it out of the bag and the others not doing so - but I think the real gap was still about 3-4 tenths of a second (given Raikkonen has qualified 2nd of the next lot). Love how close the Ferrari and Red Bulls were - within 0.1s of each other on their best qualifying laps. Haas look like a surprise package but I expect them to fall back through the grid as the year goes on. Force India seem to have dropped from 4th to 7th best team at the moment, while Sauber have made leaps up to the back of the grid - they have managed to occupy the 9th row of the grid, beating the Williams of Sirotkin and the Toro Rosso of Gasly!

 

Danny Ric has received a 3 place grid penalty for 'driving too fast under red flag conditions'. For me it should've been a warning and a fine at most. They haven't got the fans best interests at heart by throwing out such a harsh penalty this early. Ridiculous. Mercedes have had to change Bottas' gearbox, so he has received a 5 place grid penalty.

 

Expected Australian GP grid:

 

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari

4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

5. Kevin Magnussen, Haas

6. Romain Grosjean, Haas

7. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault

8. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

9. Carlos Sainz, Renault

10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren

 

11. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren

12. Sergio Perez, Force India

13. Lance Stroll, Williams

14. Esteban Ocon, Force India

15. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes

16. Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso

17. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber

18. Charles Leclerc, Sauber

19. Sergey Sirotkin, Williams

20. Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso

Edited March 25, 20187 yr by Midge

Missed quali as I was busy. Planning on catching the 5pm replay of the race but I already know the results

 

 

Fantastic to see every single Renault engine in the points for the first time in the hybrid era

 

Brace yourself. the Formula One theme music:

 

 

Just seen this for the first time. My reaction

 

 

Nein Danke.

Really glad Vettel won but let's face it, that was another dull race. Compare that with the opening Indycar race which featured 366 on track passes, 11 lead changes and a rookie driver about to win the race until he got taken out with a couple of laps to go.

 

Still, hopefully Ferrari can build on that win and not blow their own chances prematurely for the second year in a row. Nice to see Alonso back in a car capable of a (lucky?) podium this year

Edited March 25, 20187 yr by Severin

More overtakes than last year but yeah Australia is never the most thrilling of tracks for racing.

Apart from the two Haas stopping, who were desperately unlucky. It was a very boring race. Hardly any overtaking. I think the first legitimate overtake was Ricciardo on Lap 5.

 

Good to see Ferrari win the first race of the season, the Haas cars look quick they look the best of the midfield at the moment. A solid effort from Renault with both drivers in the points.

 

Great effort from Alonso to hold off Verstappen for 5th.

 

I find it bizarre that a car stopping near the track surface was considered a 'major incident' from the graphics.

 

 

I know it's all about regulations nowadays, but or the life of me I honestly cannot see how somebody in second place, "desperate" for a win and his 5th world championship can ease off to save engines, fuel and tyres.

If I was in 2nd place looking for a win, I'd be looking to put the fear of Christ up the geezer in front.

It's not racing anymore.

It does feel a lot more about tactics and careful mathematical planning and constant recalculation. Which is okay with me. But there is a huge flaw in the virtual safety car ruling with regards to the pit lane speed - Vettel should NOT have been able to come in and get out ahead of Hamilton given the gap prior to Hamilton's stop.

Liberty chiefs are set to reveal their full blueprint for the series' future to teams and manufacturers in Bahrain next week.

So there have been some complaints about Haas in regards to their car:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula-one/43568043

 

 

 

Which F1 graphics set did you prefer or were your favourite?

Hopefully that was just a one-off in Australia with the borefest.