Yep, it's next week! The Australian Grand Prix is almost there! There are so many changes this year. Felipe Massa might actually win the championship if things remains the same but we know from experience that it won't.
I think it's only a matter of time before either Red Bull or Ferrari catch up and make it more interesting.
The problem is that this year Mercedes' advantage is mainly from their engine (all the other teams with a Mercedes engine have an advantage now; like David Coulthard said at China if McLaren didn't have Mercedes power they would be no where). Since the engine development is frozen this advantage will be harder for non-mercedes engined teams to overhaul, the last two cars to dominate (red bull and Brawn GP) had an aero advantage which, especially in the case of brawn, could be overcome. Even the mercedes powered teams may find it hard to close up the gap because of the way mercedes f1 has packaged their power unit (as detailed in this article).
What do you think of Marco Mattiacci as the new Ferrari team boss? Ferrari definitely took a leap forward last race. It was either a coincidence or they knew they were bringing good updates to the race and thought it was a good time for a new boss.
Red Bull only seem to be able to make one good car out of the two. I think they've given Webbers car to Vettel for this year. Ricciardo seems like a quality driver and more impressively a nice guy, though that isn't hard when you're next to Vettel.
I'm looking forward to the Spanish Grand Prix; historicaly teams bring big updates there, Lotus and Caterham have already said they're bringing big updates. It could shake things up a bit, I'd love to see Ferrari maintaining a podium challenging pace, and for Williams to show the pace they seemed to have in pre-season.
What do you think of Marco Mattiacci as the new Ferrari team boss? Ferrari definitely took a leap forward last race. It was either a coincidence or they knew they were bringing good updates to the race and thought it was a good time for a new boss.
I think it's all because of Alonso's amazing driving. If Ferrari keeps getting podiums then we'll know for sure that they improved.
Lauda actually said that Red Bull was the team to watch out for, seeing as they have a good track record of bouncing back strong in the past. And apart from Alonso's great driving, which can not be denied, I also think that the new racing manager is a boost in morale for Ferrari. Look at soccer teams getting a new coach? Same thing... =)
I managed to find the time to watch the China GP highlights only today, but here are some things that stood out for me...
[#] Early on in the race, even before the first series of pitstops, Hamilton was the only one being calm about the left front tire getting the hardest strain from graining. He actually was on the radio stating that it was not extreme and didn't have a bad effect on the overall car performance, whereas the other drivers on the track all struggled with a lot of graining, especially the Ferrari, which comes across as 'odd' to say the least... hmmm... =/
[#] The moment Ricciardo was allowed to pass Vettel was preceded by a telling radio conversation between Vettel and his mechanic.
Vettel: "Which tires is he on?"
Mechanic: "Primes. But he stopped later than you."
Vettel: "Tough luck..."
Both of the commentators of the BBC thought it was Vettel stating that Ricciardo was not going to be passing him and it was the 'tough side' of Seb showing here. But 1,5 lap later, he let him pass at the end of the main straight.
I think what he was saying actually showed a mature Vettel, stating that it was him who had the bad luck and that he was going to let him pass. Shows character and maturity if you ask me! =)
[#] A display of Vettel's frustrations occured when Kobayashi overtakes him and he goes on the radio, saying: "Are you kidding? Honestly... I would tell him to get out of the way! Of course he has new tires and he's quicker, but 2 laps on the way and then he's off." Just before he goes into the pitstop to change his own... hmmm... controversial to the part before! LOL =P
[#] What an amazing job Alonso has done once again! Managing to get a 3rd place podium with a car that is struggling all along the track throughout! That man deserves respect from anyone! =)
[#] And if only Ricciardo had a few more laps... he would have made it to the podium for sure! Even with Alonso's skills to race head-on with him for 3rd... I personally think he would have made it for sure. Well done Daniel, well done... =)
[#] And then... waving the chequered flag a lap early?! LOL Someone was eager to play his part in a Grand Prix obviously! Heheheh... at least the race was stopped in terms of results at that point to save any misunderstandings. Too bad for Kobayashi though, who is probably set back a place after passing Gutierrez in the 'normal' last lap, instead of the 'actual' one. =/
Edit: Forgot to add... Suzi's always a delight to watch the BBC broadcasting of Formula 1! Don't you all agree?
Oh my... this' just in... another great mind has been lost for Formula 1... Nigel Stepney was killed in a car accident at the age of 56 yesterday! Rest in peace... =(
Hamilton qualified 1st, Rosberg 2nd, and Ricciardo 3rd. Alonso is still far behind. I thought for a while that Ferrari improved a bit but I guess not. :/
Mercedes totally dominated the race again. I got impressed with Vettel, starting in 15th and finishing in 4th. The race was good but I still wait for Ferrari to catch up the other teams.
Vettel was indeed impressing and Ferrari dissapointed sadly... somehow there's only one team that has their package complete at the moment; Mercedes...
That was a pretty boring race. Ferrari kind of improved but still finished too far. Red Bull is back, Ricciardo did an amazing job as well as Vettel coming back from 15th to 4th, passing both Alonso and Raikkonen which makes me wonder if they found a new way to cheat. I think Monaco will be more interesting since the drivers can't make a mistake because they end up in the wall and everybody hit the wall at some point in their career, even champions did it so...
This is fun! Let's make it a frequent feature in here and brush up on our knowledge of the sports! (without usage of Google for your own benefit of course...) It won't need to be a competition, just for funz. And we can '@' link all the true fans... all in favor? =)
F1-TFT Question #2:
~ During what year did the Monaco GP have the fewest running cars at the end of the race ever and who then won his solo GP victory throughout his entire career?
Red Bull is back, Ricciardo did an amazing job as well as Vettel coming back from 15th to 4th, passing both Alonso and Raikkonen which makes me wonder if they found a new way to cheat.
Lol, if anyone is cheating it has to be Mercedes.
During what year did the Monaco GP have the fewest running cars at the end of the race ever and who then won his solo GP victory throughout his entire career?
