Home race opportunity for Webber as season starts

2011 Australian GP preview

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Start, Australian Grand Prix, 2010

Those waiting impatiently for the end of F1’s four-month off-season will have been frustrated by the two-week delay caused by the postponement of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

But while F1 can’t race in Bahrain at the moment, the reward for the wait is having the season start at Albert Park – a circuit that seldom fails to entertain.

Webber’s chance

The consensus after testing is that Ferrari and Red Bull will resume their late-2010 battle once the season begins.

With Red Bull likely to have the fastest car, this race is a crucial opportunity for Mark Webber. After seeing the world championship slip from his grasp last year, it’s vital he re-asserts himself in the team as soon as possible.

An ideal start would be putting one over Sebastian Vettel at home. Remarkably, Webber has never finished better here than the fifth place he scored on his debut for Minardi in 2002.

A big question mark hangs over McLaren heading into the first race of the season.

They’ve abandoned the unusual exhaust system they ran in testing and will have a new package on the car which they hope will make them a second per lap faster. But reliability will inevitably be a concern.

Mercedes made a late step forward in testing and they let set to capitalise on McLaren’s difficulties.

Renault showed occasional flashes of pace but it remains to be seen how badly their programme has been disrupted by the loss of Robert Kubica.

Down the length of the grid we wait to see how the balance of power has shifted in the off-season. But we should be wary of drawing too many conclusions based on this first race.

An unusual track

Melbourne is an unusual circuit which will only partly answer our questions about the year ahead. The most aerodynamically efficient cars, which will thrive on more typical tracks like Sepang and Shanghai, will not have as great a performance advantage around the stop-start Albert Park course.

This is a temporary facility, closely bordered by barriers and often hit by unpredictable weather. That throws even more variables into the mix in a season where much has changed before the cars have even turned a wheel in anger.

The track conditions should improve over the race weekend as the surface cleans up and rubbers-in. However testing has shown that lap times on the new Pirelli tyres do not improve as quickly as they did in the Bridgestone days. They also produce much more ‘marbles’ – fragments of rubber which lie off-line, presenting an additional obstacle to drivers trying to overtake.

Overtaking has been the focus of many of the changes over the off-season. The reduced performance of the Pirelli tyres – which, we should remember, is by design – and the banning of the powerful double diffusers should play a role here.

Wings and tyres

But inevitably all eyes will be on the new Drag Reduction Systems (adjustable rear wings). Not just to see whether they help drivers overtake, but whether fans can enjoy a DRS-assisted pass – with its taint of gimmickry – as much as a ‘pure’ pass.

Tyre management will be the other running theme of the race weekend. The fragility of the Pirelli rubber means any drivers who can eke out a few extra laps of tyre life more, without sacrificing too much pace, could make one pit stop fewer in the race, handing themselves a strategic advantage.

That could prove a welcome improvement from last year’s damp squib of an opening race in Bahrain. But Melbourne has rarely been a Grand Prix that needed ‘spicing up’.

Despite that it’s become a depressing tradition that the running of the Australian Grand Prix be dogged by speculation over the future of the race. If it really is going to fall off the calendar when its contract expires in 2015, let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

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    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    49 comments on “Home race opportunity for Webber as season starts”

    1. Full weekend coverage on ONE HD, **** yeah!

      So pumped!

      1. trulli dead09
        24th March 2011, 9:57

        too bad they took ONE SD off, now i can’t record on Foxtel IQ

        1. Record it on free to air TV!

          If it’s not HD it isn’t worth watching, IMO!

          1. So what did you watch before HD?

            1. Well, I had to watch the standard widescreen of course. Even that’s better than nothing. :-P

              My point is that if a HD option is available I always take it.

    2. I quite fancy a chance for Webber to win it. I put him on top of the predictions for pole at least.
      It seems to be pretty cold right now and with a bit of rain, it remains to be seen how much it will actually rubber in.

    3. I would absolutly love to see Webber win at home. Please do it Mark! :D

      1. somerandomguy
        24th March 2011, 9:37

        Yes it has to be Mark. It wont be a good result result if anyone else won he must win now or never! Podium please please please!

        1. i think your right about the “now or never” bit,webber(especially @ his home race) NEEDS to put 1 over vettel NOW,before vettel gets going and swings all the team to do his bidding ! tho tbh, red bull showed last year,how much vettel is their “prodigal son” ! so good luck mark…..

    4. I honestly can’t wait anymore, I have had to wean myself off of F1 videos on Youtube because I’m just so desperate to see how the first few races of the year will pan out.

      Roll on FP1 tomorrow, it’l be on early, but I’ll be up to watch it!

      1. I’ll be at TAFE :(

    5. did the FIA specify where the overtaking zone will be? probably in the start/finish straight but how many metres before the breaking zone? and where will be the timer that determines the gap between the cars?

      the first corner in Melbourne is not normaly an overtaking place. plus the straight is not that long.

      1. peter windsor said that it will go from before the final corner, right down to the braking zone of T1

      2. They really don’t have anywhere else to put a 600 meter overtaking zone so my guess is it will be on start-finish straight.

        1. DeadManWoking
          24th March 2011, 11:56

          They have extended the zone to 867 meters and moved the activation point to before the final corner.

          http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90128

          1. I’ll be interested to see if in the race anyone deliberatetly breaks deep into a corner and sacrifices their exit all so they can be 1 second away from the car they are chasing. They would then be able to use the wing on the straight. I don’t think though that it will work on this track because the straight is too short. The interesting thing about the way the zone is set out on this track is that they have 2 corners to play with. If they could get close at the first corner, but sacrifice their exit, they could then use the next corner to try and recover the time they had lost. It will be interesting to see how it works.

    6. Elliot Horwood
      24th March 2011, 9:33

      Bring on te 2011 Season, C’mon Hamilton

      1. Yeah bin it on!

    7. I’m so excited. I’ve already set my alarm for Sunday morning :D

      1. Sunday morning? We have Friday morning before that!

    8. I don’t think tyre-saving will be important at all.

      Let’s say the best drivers can eke an extra 4 laps out (and that’s being generous). By even the gloomiest predictions, you’d need a 4-stop race to make up enough laps to cover one stint. Then there’s the fact they’ll be going a little slower to save the laps, so it won’t work anyway.

      Disappointing, but like I said elsewhere, better than what we had. And it would be rubbish if you could win by saving tyres, but not by maxing them out (as they will probably be driving them near the limit anyway, as Webber, Brundle and Schumacher have all said or suggested).

      Can’t wait!

    9. I’ve been hibernating for too long… Hi guys!!! I miss live blogs during race weekends. Your commentary there are great! Let’s go go go !!!

    10. Bigbadderboom
      24th March 2011, 11:02

      Going to bed early tonight get up at 1 watch FP1 then get 40 winks back to watch FP2. I’m not going to be getting much kip this weekend!! Working 9 hour days Fri, Sat and Sun, But joy as it’s in Aus I don’t miss a minute!!! (Well actually miss F1 Forum on BBC after race, But hey thats what they invented IPlayer for)

    11. 4 months! this is what we’ve all been waiting for!
      for anyone at the track this weekend, a meetup will take place on saturday.
      link’s here! https://www.racefans.net/f1-2011-season/2011-f1-calendar/2011-australian-grand-prix-discussion/comment-page-3/#comment-624580

    12. Isn’t it nice that we’ve got a proper circuit hosting the season opener? I mean, it’s a shame about Bahrain but getting up in the middle of the night to watch the first GP of the year is what separates us true Fanatics from the casual viewer.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        24th March 2011, 17:53

        You’re right. I work 6 days a week getting up early. Here in Peru, the European races start at 6am, and the Asian ones at 1 or 2am. Then I’m a mess on Monday but I never miss a single race!!! And it should be great having Webber winning the race. I’m not a fan of him but that would rock!

    13. I don’t fancy Webber’s chances. He’s never had much of a track record on home soil. And if he should win, the Australian press are going to be intolerable.

      1. Bigbadderboom
        24th March 2011, 11:21

        I think it gets to him, I should imagine he has extra media work and it probably becomes more of a weight round his neck by the time he gets in to race on Sunday. Like you PM I don’t give him much hope, maybe a podium.

      2. You mean, the Australian press who has only recently discovered F1 existed?

        You are right in saying the press will be intolerable if he wins. They are at a fever pitch now, adding a home win, leading the championship into the mix will result in hundreds of articles saying “Webber: Will he be champion.”

      3. It is kind of annoying how he’s been completely ignored until last year when he was doing well. Ah well, we love to kick losers when they’re down – it’s the only way we know how to encourage them.

        (I am not saying this is a good thing, but admittedly it does seem true)

    14. In regards to the DRS, the following driver will need to be within 1sec when they hit turn 14. Then it will be activated by turn 15, giving the driver the chance to use it out of turn 16 and 600m down pit straight.

    15. It’s finally here! It’s only been 4 months but that’s long enough.

      I plan on being up at 5:30am to watch FP2 tomorrow morning…not sure if that will materialise though.

      I’d like to see a strong start for Webber, I don’t have any particular affiliation to him but it’s always nice to see a driver win their home race, especially as he is the only one representin’.

      After FP2, i’ll be scrutinising the hell out of F1F to get my predictions in :D

    16. I am so excited, can hardly contain myself!FP1 is at 3h30am and would have loved to watch it live, but won’t cause my husband will complain. He thinks I’m obsessed. The wait is over finally.let’s go Mclaren.

    17. I’ve admired Webber since that points finish in the Minardi, and i always think it’s nice to see a great driver win at home, takes a special kind to win infront of thousands of expectant compatriots!

    18. And i should add that all above means i hope he does well, which i didn’t really point out there….

    19. We know Red Bull are the reigning champions but please give us a break…It’s becoming annoying!

      1. How do you mean?

        1. Just feel as if there is too much publicity around them. Hmmm i hope people get surprised or even shocked lol.
          When everyone is behind one team i naturally tend to be against it. I am an all Mclaren fan and i think people understating us puts us in a stronger position.

          Good Work Keith after FP2 i will be giving my prediction and also i loved your participation on yesterdays flying lap episode.

          1. Just feel as if there is too much publicity around them.

            I don’t think I’m giving them an unduly large amount of coverage compared to the other teams, particularly the other front-running teams.

          2. And even if any team is due the most coverage, surely that should go to the reigning champions.

    20. Seriously, I’ve not lost any sleep ever since I heard about the cancellation of Bahrain (Boreeerain)…. I’m loving the fact that the season will open in Australia, a real race track, I cannot wait – HD is a big plus too!!

      I just hope they don’t try to squeeze Bahrain as the last race, it would be a shame to miss Brazi as the season ender.

    21. question for fellow uk residents, i’m i right in thinking that FP1 will be on red button tonight ’bout 1-ish am? this is cheaper then 118118 lol

        1. Thanx keith! not long now

    22. Cannot wait for FP tonight (in HD!). The viewing times aren’t horrendous here in Colorado, roughly around midnight for Quali and the Race. I’ll even be able to watch the race, get some sleep, and go skiing on Sunday!

      1. Can’t imagine a better weekend. Very jealous!

    23. The new word is that the tires cannot be “preserved.” So it will be hammer down all day. Button thinks people will have to manage the tires in the last stint, but what would he say. If the tires are dropping off to 3-5s per lap of degradation, with a ~20 second pit delta, the ability to do one less stop will amount to little.

    24. The super-slow mo shots they took on apices last year will be amazing in HD.

    25. I walked the kids to school this morning, listening to the dulcet tones of a Minardi two-seater doing it’s corporate runs. Goosebumps did occur. :D

    Comments are closed.