I watched the C4 highlights and as far as I noticed (I was slightly distracted at points) there was no rundown of the grid before the race. It seemed very odd. It's the one thing you'd definitely have.

Only once has more than a 34 point lead in the standings ever been overturned (Vettel in 2012) so Leclerc is absolutely odds-on fave right now (to think he was 16/1 at the end of last season!)

 

Crazy that Red Bull had 1 retirement the whole of last season not counting crashes and they've already had 3 in 3 races this year. They've built a fast shitbox.

The way things are going the lead will probably grow even further. When was the last time Lewis Hamilton failed to win any of his opening 3 races?

Only once has more than a 34 point lead in the standings ever been overturned (Vettel in 2012) so Leclerc is absolutely odds-on fave right now (to think he was 16/1 at the end of last season!)

 

Crazy that Red Bull had 1 retirement the whole of last season not counting crashes and they've already had 3 in 3 races this year. They've built a fast shitbox.

I wouldn't place too much weight on that stat. It's skewed by the current points system which has been from eras with one team dominating (Red Bull or Mercedes). Leclerc's lead is only 1.5 victories which has been overcome many times.

 

He should be the favorite and as long as he keeps qualifying on the front row he should be fine. It's when he qualifies further back that his tendency to have an accident occurs. If Sainz can get his act together he could be a dark horse, Max is obviously a contender and I wouldn't discount the Mercs and Perez from disrupting things. Charles need to build that lead while he can.

When was the last time Lewis Hamilton failed to win any of his opening 3 races?

2018 - Vettel took two and Ricciardo the other

Best driver: Leclerc

Worst driver: Sainz

Best team: Williams

Worst team: Aston Martin

Best overtake: Perez on Hamilton

Worst overtake: Sainz on Schumacher

Best moment: Albon's bold strategy

Worst moment: Verstappen's retirement

Best thing about the race: Who doesn't love a Ferrari win?

Worst thing about the race: The nagging fear that Ferrari could walk it this year

 

And the race in a sentence: I fell asleep

Best driver: Charles Leclerc. (Honourable mention- Alex Albon)

Worst driver: Lance Stroll

Best team: McLaren (For the turnaround since Bahrain)

Worst team: Aston Martin

Best overtake: Perez on Hamilton

Worst overtake: Sainz on Schumacher

Best moment: Albon/ Williams strategy

Worst moment: Stroll weaving

Best thing about the race: McLaren's recovery

Worst thing about the race: The lack of action at the front

 

And the race in a sentence: Charles marches on as the Red Bull Let's It Go Again.

If Mercedes do manage to catch up and it takes Red Bull a while to sort out their reliability, it could be shades of Button's championship where Leclerc's lead is just too much for them to catch. I do think he needs to be fighting for every point like he is but there is a chance it becomes a boring championship if so.

 

After the shake up of the first two races it felt a bit odd for the race to look more like last season again, with 2021s top 5 teams all being well clear of the rest this weekend.

 

I was delighted when Albon came out tenth. Leaving Aston as the only pointless team, was only able to happen because Stroll did such a good job of holding off for a while, that fight with Gasly and Bottas was where most of that gap came from

After the shake up of the first two races it felt a bit odd for the race to look more like last season again, with 2021s top 5 teams all being well clear of the rest this weekend.

 

The cream always rises to the top!

Best driver: Albon [that stint on hards was outrageous]

Worst driver: Vettel [looked rustier than an old drainpipe]

Best team: Mercedes [another 3-4 is an amazing result right now]

Worst team: Aston Martin [new Haas]

Best overtake: Perez on Hamilton

Worst overtake: Sainz on Schumacher [guessing that was the failed move at turn 10?]

Best moment: Seeing Hamilton close back up to Perez

Worst moment: Sainz in the gravel

Best thing about the race: It wasn't an absolute borefest for once at Melbourne

Worst thing about the race: No battle for the lead

 

And the race in a sentence: Leclerc dominates as Verstappen disintegrates!

Edited April 11, 20223 yr by Dobbo.

Verstappen vs Leclerc should be the battle this season but reliability is getting in the way!

 

Love that George’s consistency has put him 2nd in the standings though. Hamilton needs to up his game!

Biggest gap since 2016

 

Hamilton 39 Rosberg 75

Verstappen vs Leclerc should be the battle this season but reliability is getting in the way!

 

Love that George’s consistency has put him 2nd in the standings though. Hamilton needs to up his game!

 

He got unlucky with the safety car timing, George got a much quicker pit-stop. That doesn't happen the gap is only 3 points between them.

 

Very pleased for George though he's jumped straight in and is already right on the pace. It's reminiscent of 2019 Ferrari with Leclerc immediately being at Vettel's pace and ultimately beating him that year.

Sanz was so unlucky this weekend, unbelievable

it's probably poor man's excuses but they said they said the steering wheel wasn't working so they had to replace it minutes before the race

thats why he started bad and also why he ended up out but not sure...

Also he was on the hard tyres which take longer to fire up, had a bad start and overcompensated by trying to make a bold move when the tyres weren't ready. It's a shame as he was on the longest run of finishes of the whole grid.

Love that George’s consistency has put him 2nd in the standings though. Hamilton needs to up his game!

As Dobbo said George got very lucky that his planned pit stop came at exactly the time the safety car came out. Hamilton also had overheating issues which prevented him from mounting a challenge near the end. Also in Saudi Hamilton missed his opportunity to pit before they closed the pitlane lane. So far Hamilton has had the better pace overall but the combination of luck and error has put George above him in the standings.

Sainz only has himself to blame for his retirement. Yes, his steering wheel was switched and the postioning of it meant the anti-stall system was triggered giving him a poor start but the DNF was down to him being both impatient and over optimistic. A driver of his experience knows his tyres wouldn't have enough grip at that stage and to his credit he has admitted the retirement was entirely his fault.

 

He should have finished on the podium with that car and unless he wins in Imola he will see Ferrari shift focus to Leclerc's title bid. As much as I like him, Carlos is a number 2 driver who doesn't yet know it and it won't be long before Ferrari acknowledge it if he's not careful.

It's true^ I've seen some comparisons with Bottas at Mercedes but actually I think a better comparison is Coulthard at McLaren. Able to beat his team mate sometimes in a midfield car but when it's the fastest he lags behind his team mate on sheer pace. Leclerc has that extra gear which is now most obvious when in the fastest car.

Good comparison I think.

 

Sainz is definitely in that category of nearly great drivers and he should pick up a handful of wins along the way but he'll be remembered alongside the likes of Coulthard, Webber and Barrichello

I think Sanz has still time to grow and improve, he's much younger than Leclerq

Maybe in the future he could be there but this year he'll have to settle for being Ferrari #2

 

wonder if Latifi could be sacked, he's been doing terrible this year + final races of last year

I know he brings big $$$ but sure not enough to account for all the cars he's crashing

To be fair the Quali crash was all Stroll being a moron