Red Bull dominate final practice in Melbourne

50 comments on “Red Bull dominate final practice in Melbourne”

1. 

   robbiepblake (@driftin)
   26th March 2011, 4:10

   Don’t tell me McLaren are faster than Ferrari? Obviously we don’t know fuel loads so we’ll have to see in qualifying but it’s certainly looking that way. Extremely surprising. What isn’t surprising at all is RBR’s pace. I’ll predict right now before they’ve even qualified for the first race that Vettel’s going to win another WDC and the team will get another constructor’s championship.

   Great to see DiResta beat his teammate and Kobayashi and Petrov in the top 10, also beating their teammates!

   HRT and Virgin – obviously HRT are well out of the 107% needed but what about Virgin?

   Anyway, time for an hour’s sleep.
   1. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      26th March 2011, 4:22

      Looks like Ferrari is not quite as good as they had us believe from testing. Massa struggling, Alonso having to battle that car. No, they will not be feeling satisfied here.

      McLaren look solid. But we do not know what Mercedes were doing. And Petrov is really showing just why I do not expect too much of Nick Heidfeld. He just needs to be pushed all the way to perform.

      Sadly it shows exactly where RBR are. A good second ahead possibly. Seb on the softs allegedly had still 30kg of fuel in. Webber did not even do softs. A Seb-Mark battle for pole then.

      Great to see the HRT actually turning a wheel. Narain tweeted he did a total of 4 laps (1 installation, 1 outlap, 1 timed lap and 1 inlap). Glock is within 107% and D Ambrosio only 3 tenths away.
      And it looks like the teams might allow everyone to start at the first race of the year anyhow. Good idea.
      After all the work these teams did to get to Melbourne in the first place and get the cars running, at least have them get milage on.
      1. 

         robbiepblake (@driftin)
         26th March 2011, 4:25

         But if the best that HRT can manage is 1:41 (which is 120%, way past 107%) that’s far too slow and dangerous for race conditions? How can the teams or anyone allow this?
         1. 

            mateuss (@mateuss)
            26th March 2011, 4:33

            They are just trundling round, and if they are allowed to do so by the teams in the race, I don’t think they’ll go long enough to be lapped.
         2. 

            BasCB (@bascb)
            26th March 2011, 4:40

            On the BBC commentary they had some information from the teams about an agreement to allow everyone to go into the race despite the 107% limit.
            It does make sense, no one really knew where they were before this weekend on speed. I bet that if Virgin would have known they were 6 seconds off the pace here they would have looked at bringing something extra.
      2. 

         US_Peter
         26th March 2011, 4:28

         And Petrov is really showing just why I do not expect too much of Nick Heidfeld.

         … and REALLY makes me miss Kubica. If Petrov’s that far up the time sheet with that car, where would he have been?
         1. 

            TFLB
            26th March 2011, 4:39

            I think you’re all reading too much into practice times. And anyway, on the tracks he knew Petrov was very close to Kubica last year in terms of outright pace, if not consistency.
         2. 

            BasCB (@bascb)
            26th March 2011, 4:45

            Exactly. Although I do think Petrov improved his game as well. Maybe he can cut out the mistakes a bit and do quite well, his getaways from the grid are pretty good.
            1. 

               US_Peter
               26th March 2011, 5:15

               Petrov’s certainly improved his game, but who’s to say Kubica wouldn’t have as well?
   2. 

      SparkyJ23 (@sparkyj23)
      26th March 2011, 4:23

      Sleep? pah! time for some munch lol

      Lets not forget last season Red Bull should have crushed everyone but they made some schoolboy errors. With another year of experience I don’t see them giving away wins this season. All be done and dusted after 12 races or so I reckon, with a mad battle for 2nd.
   3. 

      HxCas (@hxcas)
      26th March 2011, 4:44

      Ferrari said they were focusing on practice starts
2. 

   trulli dead
   26th March 2011, 4:11

   Jeez Narain, even Vincenzo Sospiri was faster than you in his 1997 Lola.
3. 

   Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
   26th March 2011, 4:11

   It just remains to see how Red Bull is actually planning to screw it up.
4. 

   RIISE (@riise)
   26th March 2011, 4:11

   Vettel has definitely put his mark on the timing sheets, what a lap.

   I predict 1.23.750 for Quali with Vettel setting it.
   1. 

      US_Peter
      26th March 2011, 4:31

      I put a 1:23.477 in the predictions, by Vettel.
      1. 

         BasCB (@bascb)
         26th March 2011, 4:46

         I had a 1:23.123 but changed it to a 1.24.123 yesterday and was not in time to go back to the initial time before FP3.
         1. 

            bosyber (@bosyber)
            26th March 2011, 5:21

            I forgot to update it before I went to bed – I would have changed it the other way though, into the 1:23s, not to longer times :)
   2. 

      butterdori (@butterdori)
      26th March 2011, 4:48

      I put 1:23.796
5. 

   the edge
   26th March 2011, 4:11

   If this session reflects true pace I shall be drinking champagne for breakfast

   Go Lewis, Go Mclaren
6. 

   Ron in Michigan
   26th March 2011, 4:13

   For the life of me I can’t tell if Alonso is sandbagging or not.
   1. 

      trulli dead
      26th March 2011, 4:15

      I wonder if HRT are sandbagging, ready to surprise us with a sub 1:35 time?
      1. 

         robbiepblake (@driftin)
         26th March 2011, 4:21

         LOL! That would be hilarious.
7. 

   Jake
   26th March 2011, 4:14

   looks to me as though Jenson has about a 10th over Lewis at the moment
   1. 

      Blog Raider
      26th March 2011, 4:20

      wait till they empty the tanks for qualifying and the car becomes slightly unsettled…
8. 

   Darren
   26th March 2011, 4:17

   F1 the pinnacle of motorsport? Watching Karthikeyan doing an installation lap in FP3 while others are going flat out was just horrendous and utterly dangerous. That just cannot happen again.
9. 

   Blog Raider
   26th March 2011, 4:17

   When is this “drinks company” going bust? its getting boring now :(
   1. 

      RIISE (@riise)
      26th March 2011, 4:30

      I’m inclined to agree haha.
   2. 

      the edge
      26th March 2011, 4:35

      I buy tescos ‘kick’ nowadays…not as nice but the taste of red bull was sickening me. Still it taste better than molborough

      Can’t wait for the mp4-12c to finally hit the streets…then I can stop driving my Ferrari…lol
      1. 

         just.daz (@nemo87)
         26th March 2011, 14:45

         I’ve always prefered Relentless haha
10. 

    Lachie
    26th March 2011, 4:17

    Ugh.

    This season could be the epitome of anticlimaxes.
11. 

    Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
    26th March 2011, 4:18

    Q should be very exciting… But I think strategy and race pace will be the order of tomorrow.
12. 

    Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
    26th March 2011, 4:18

    Alonso, Massa and Schumacher went slower than yesterday.
    Rosberg matched the time Schumacher did yesterday.

    Clearly they had other concerns than scaring us all like RBR is doing.
13. 

    rayan
    26th March 2011, 4:20

    zzzzz…HRT will not be racing
14. 

    RandomChimp
    26th March 2011, 4:25

    Button and Hamilton are satisfyingly close.
15. 

    Mild7Nick
    26th March 2011, 4:26

    Cant help but admire what Red Bull is doing, with that pace strategy will not matter on sunday as they can probably build up a pit stops lead over a stint.
    Aslong as there is a good title battle between Vettel and Webber I dont think it will be a dull season.
    Imagine if Ferrari had the best car by a mile, it would be dull then but aslong as teammates are close thats all you can ask for.
    The HRT looks like it was on the pace of an F3 car out there at best, most certainly shouldnt be allowed to race on safety grounds
    1. 

       TFLB
       26th March 2011, 4:42

       People don’t complain when Le Mans has such big differences, and it rarely causes an accident. The dangers of slow cars have been far over-hyped.
       1. 

          Eggry (@eggry)
          26th March 2011, 4:50

          Yeah. Unleas you do something silly like Webber and Heikki did :-D
          1. 

             TFLB
             26th March 2011, 4:54

             That could have happened between any two cars if they braked at different times.
    2. 

       robbiepblake (@driftin)
       26th March 2011, 4:51

       To be honest I don’t think Karthikeyan was pushing the car. It surely can’t be THAT slow…
       1. 

          BasCB (@bascb)
          26th March 2011, 4:59

          He was doing the first real lap in that car, so he was probably just going it slow finding out weather everyting works fine.
          I think they will be doing about the same times as Virgin when they do get some setup on that car.
    3. 

       ron
       26th March 2011, 4:59

       hrt are carrying out shake down lap for car and after what happen to tonio looked like they where takin it easy

       i dont expect them to qualify but they will be around 108% of fastest q1 time
16. 

    butterdori (@butterdori)
    26th March 2011, 4:30

    Petrov ahead of Alonso…. now that’s something

    Is that genuinely Ferrari’s pace?
    1. 

       Butterfly
       26th March 2011, 4:34

       No, they weren’t interested in going faster in FP3, that’s all. Alonso could take pole here.
       1. 

          bosyber (@bosyber)
          26th March 2011, 5:24

          I don’t expect they knew they had as much in store as Red Bull though. Let’s hope they do, or we again are back to hoping for Red Bull mistakes or something over the year to keep things interesting.
17. 

    troutcor
    26th March 2011, 4:31

    Blimey! Another season of hoping something breaks on a Red Bull? Argh!
18. 

    Eggry (@eggry)
    26th March 2011, 4:34

    No Way!! No more Redbull dominant!!
    1. 

       robbiepblake (@driftin)
       26th March 2011, 4:53

       These are practice times. Don’t even think that if they take the front row in qualifying they’ll dominate. Do not forget about the new rules and new tyres. This year will probably have a lot more pit stops and strategy will be much more important.

       That being said I do think RBR are gonna get the double championship again.
       1. 

          Eggry (@eggry)
          26th March 2011, 5:03

          I hope s…what? No, it’s worse! :P
19. 

    AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
    26th March 2011, 5:40

    Decent showing for Petrov, hope he keeps it up. Great stuff from Lotus too, looks promising.
20. 

    bosyber (@bosyber)
    26th March 2011, 8:18

    So FP3 was a pretty good indicator of the relative speeds it seems; Hamilton finding something extra, Alonso eking out Petrov, and Heidfeld dropping it in qualifying, Buemi finding his way; but roughly similar picture.

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