Shuffled grid expected for Australian Grand Prix

45 comments on “Shuffled grid expected for Australian Grand Prix”

1. 

   Bleeps_and_Tweaks (@bleeps_and_tweaks)
   16th March 2012, 11:47

   Wow, what an intriguing couple of sessions that was. It would have been great to see a bit more sunshine for FP2, but if anything the rain has prolonged the agony of trying to spot an order before Quali.

   Horner said afterwards RBR still haven’t done a low fuel run, and I don’t think Mclaren have either – just my opinion but I reckon it’s too close to call between Mclaren and RBR at the front, with Mercedes not too far off in third.

   Literally counting down the hours until Quali now!
   1. 

      S.J.M (@sjm)
      16th March 2012, 21:05

      Well, the dry running was limited and with a green track, its a fair assumption that not many will have done a low fuel/qualy run tests on the track.

      Expect it in FP3 however, thats when we see whose going to be the benchmark. Or atleast get a good idea.
2. 

   vickyy (@vickyy)
   16th March 2012, 11:49

   Keith,just a suggestion, it would have been great if the sector times are color coded for say top 3 or 5, or just sector time rankings are mentioned in bracket.
   It would give more insight about the relative performance of cars in different sectors, specially in technical circuits like Catalunya.
   1. 

      timi (@timi)
      16th March 2012, 12:35

      This.
3. 

   McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm)
   16th March 2012, 12:27

   Seen on Twitter that Vettel has apparently told an interviewer that he was not happy with the car at all today. Tomorrow’s target is to just try and make Q3…
   1. 

      timi (@timi)
      16th March 2012, 12:37

      I saw that as well. However, I think a lot of that was due to the fact that this was probably the second day (I think there was one in Barcelona) of having the new cars on a wet track so they were unpredictable.

      If they don’t make Q3 I will cut my arm off. I do believe there was actually a time last season when he made a similar quote about making it to Q3 and then going from there. Hmm.
   2. 

      raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
      16th March 2012, 12:43

      @mclarenfanjamm yes but if you read the article he goes on to say that he was a lot happier in FP2. That is – if we read the same article.
   3. 

      Jake (@jleigh)
      16th March 2012, 12:52

      any links?
      1. 

         Enigma (@enigma)
         16th March 2012, 12:56

         “It’s difficult to say. Tomorrow the target is to get into Q3 and then we go from there.” So he’s not settling for 5th row of the grid, he just doesn’t know what’s going to happen and whether they’ll be fast enough to fight for pole position.
         1. 

            Jake (@jleigh)
            16th March 2012, 13:29

            to me that’s a meaningless statement. He says in the BBC interview he wasn’t happy at all in the morning but it got better
      2. 

         JeffS86AZ (@jeffs86)
         16th March 2012, 18:55

         Here’s a link to the SpeedTV article.

         http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-messy-day-for-sebastian-vettel-in-australia/
   4. 

      Mikemat5150 (@mikemat5150)
      16th March 2012, 17:13

      Probably just mind games
4. 

   Estesark (@estesark)
   16th March 2012, 12:29

   Luis Perez-Sala, team principal of HRT, thinks that his team’s season might not start until Malaysia, or even Shanghai.

   I can’t say I’m going to miss them.
   1. 

      AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
      16th March 2012, 13:08

      I was a bit shocked to read that. I wonder whether Luis Perez-Sala is just being cautious, or whether they are really in worse shape than last year.

      I would miss them, however, even if only a little bit. The teams at the back of the grid add their own stories to a Formula One season, even if those stories are not as interesting as the fight for the championship (not that last year’s championship story was very interesting…) Last year, for example, I found it interesting to watch Ricciardo come into the team and see how he compared to Liuzzi, and also to see the HRTs regularly fighting with the Virgins.
      1. 

         AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
         16th March 2012, 13:36

         @adrianmorse I imagine they will miss this weekend but will be back for Sepang. They’re just far too off the pace and haven’t set any reasonably good practice times either.
      2. 

         Estesark (@estesark)
         16th March 2012, 13:36

         I don’t find their story to be exciting. It’s not that I’m only interested in the championship battle, it’s just that I want every season to mean something for every driver. For example, picking one driver from every team: Will Vettel become only the third driver to win three titles in a row? Will Hamilton put his personal troubles behind him this year? Will Massa salvage his reputation? Will Schumacher do enough to merit another year in the sport? Will Räikkönen make a successful comeback? Which semi-rookie will cement their reputation by triumphing at Force India? Will Pérez do enough to put him in contention for a Ferrari drive next year? Will either of the Toro Rosso drivers impress enough to move up to the senior team? Will Senna flourish at a team so strongly associated with his uncle? Will Caterham move up into the midfield? Will Pic show that he deserves his place in F1, having never won any other series?

         Then we get to HRT. de la Rosa is too old to have any significant future in the sport (I know Schumacher is older, but the difference is that Schumacher is still pretty good), and I think he has mainly been hired by the team for his nationality. It was the same Spanish kick which prompted the team to massively disrupt their off-season by moving to Spain – so it should come as no surprise that they don’t have a car ready. Meanwhile, Karthikeyan is only driving because he has sponsorship from Tata, and even that means so little to the team that he was dropped last year as soon as Red Bull came calling with a more tempting offer. Those aren’t stories that interest me, sorry.
         1. 

            verstappen (@verstappen)
            16th March 2012, 13:56

            But those stories do cover almost half of your comment… ;-) @estesark
         2. 

            fyujj
            16th March 2012, 15:00

            I think DeLaRosa is, at least, in as good a shape as Schumacher.
            In 2010 he was only dropped by Sauber ‘cos of ‘pay driver’ Perez.
            1. 

               Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
               16th March 2012, 15:08

               De la Rosa wasn’t replaced by Perez – Sauber dropped him five races before the end of 2010 and replaced him with Nick Heidfeld.

               Perez may bring sponsorship but he was also GP2 runner-up in 2010, in his second year in the series, which is a respectable accomplishment and good enough for any driver to get a seat in F1 on merit. Indeed, six out of the seven GP2 runners-up have done just that.

               And Perez had an excellent first season in F1 last year – so much so I picked him as my rookie of the year.
            2. 

               fyujj
               16th March 2012, 15:21

               That’s right, I forgot.
               I just meant to say that’s he was performing quite well that year.
               As for the ‘pay driver’ thing, I put it quoted just to say that almost everyone there is one, no matter how good they are.
               (I’m replying to myself as keith’s comment has no reply button).
            3. 

               dkpioe
               16th March 2012, 15:52

               Perez has shown enough speed and skill to suggest he is not a pay driver, so get over yourself.
            4. 

               Paxter (@paxter)
               17th March 2012, 1:19

               de la Rosa is no where close to Schumacher, from a Career point or from his form this year. That’s an insult on its own, also to put down Perez is silly he has gotten into f1 by his own merit yes he may be funded by the richest man in the world but almost every new driver brings with them sponsorship and drive money. I don’t see why Perez should be singled out.
      3. 

         tigen (@tigen)
         16th March 2012, 17:47

         They’re too slow to want them to be in the race. They’re pretty much just a safety hazard for the other drivers, unfortunately. And an interference in Q1. And a random DRS boost for drivers lapping them.

         I don’t mind them trying to compete but when they are clearly unprepared I don’t really have sympathy. I think they should be allowed to try to qualify, if they can’t them keep them out.
5. 

   arporter (@arporter)
   16th March 2012, 12:41

   I recon Marussia where doing lots of lower fuel runs so in case they don’t get within the 107% tomorrow they can point to their practice performance today and be allowed to race on Sunday.
   1. 

      raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
      16th March 2012, 12:47

      @arporter it doesn’t work that way. They basically have to set a laptime that is within 107% of P1 time of Q1 qualifying. 107% of a free practice time doesn’t count.
      1. 

         mrgrieves (@mrgrieves)
         16th March 2012, 12:51

         Yeah but they could say to the FIA look we were posting competitive thats what the car can do. Much better than were just miles off in qualifying and have nothing else going for them
      2. 

         arporter (@arporter)
         16th March 2012, 12:53

         I know but if they fail to meet the 107% in qualifying, they can justify their participation through their performance in practice sessions so dispensation can be given
      3. 

         vjanik
         16th March 2012, 12:57

         it does work that way. if they fail to reach the 107% mark, its up to the stewards to decide if they race.. and the stewards will be looking at FP1 in context to see if they will allow them to race. (as happened several times last year)
      4. 

         Alex W
         16th March 2012, 13:12

         They can have “faulty cars” for qualy and may be allowed in, on practice results…
      5. 

         raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
         16th March 2012, 19:50

         @mrgrieves @arporter @vjanik If they don’t make the 107% cut in qualifying – they have to have a free practice time that is FASTER than that – which DOES make qualifying 107%.
6. 

   Dave (@davea86)
   16th March 2012, 12:46

   I just hope the predictions are right and it’s really close. While I have a huge amount of respect for what Red Bull have done the last couple of years, I’ll be really annoyed if they do their usual trick and smash the field in quali.
7. 

   brum55
   16th March 2012, 12:50

   I really do worry for Ferrari and Alonso’s chances this year. But then Merc & RB don’t seem happy either whilst McLaren seem eerily quiet.
   1. 

      James (@jamesf1)
      16th March 2012, 18:46

      I think everyone is just nervous and anxious to know where they stand so they can get to work to catch up or stay ahead. There is much less downforce, tweaks in the regs and, as ever, everything to play for.

      The lack of dry running today is only going to make P3, qualifying and the race 100 times better. Bring. It. On.
8. 

   Theoddkiwi
   16th March 2012, 13:29

   I really don’t get the feeling that Redbull are going to dominate qualifying. Remember they were using different engine maps for qualifying for periods last year. Thats gone.
   I think it is not only going to be closer amongst the top 3 or 4 teams but also amongst the team drivers to.
   I think all the drivers are quite genuine in saying they have no idea where they will qualify as in they have no funny tricks up their sleeves.
9. 

   Bigbadderboom (@bigbadderboom)
   16th March 2012, 13:30

   Alonso

   There’s no point looking at the time sheet from today with a view to making predictions for qualifying.

   I guess Fernandos waiting until after P3 to make his first F1Fanatic prediction of the season!!!!! :)
   1. 

      AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
      16th March 2012, 13:39

      @bigbadderboom I hope he took a leaf out of Glock’s book and hasn’t decided to bet on the outcome! http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/09/22/glock-bet-vettel-f1-singapore/
10. 

    rdpunk (@)
    16th March 2012, 13:48

    A very interesting sesion. Just finished watching them and the merc’s look quick. However, how much feul, and how much was he going for it? It is vvery hard to predict as no-one really wanted to push. Interesting point made my AD during the sesion, I didn’t know teams had that little spares at this stage in the season! I would of thougth that they would have pleanty of spare parts available.
    1. 

       dkpioe
       16th March 2012, 15:27

       judging by the testing times and by the top speed advantage shumacher had over mclaren that use the same engine, he was obviously on much lower fuel then redbull and mclaren, oh and being ahead of rosberg also suggests it was lower fuel that made the time. ;)
       1. 

          Jack (@)
          16th March 2012, 20:14

          @dkpioe

          judging by the testing times and by the top speed advantage shumacher had over mclaren that use the same engine, he was obviously on much lower fuel then redbull and mclaren

          Not necesarily…. It is common knowledge that Mercedes, being an engine supplier for McLaren Mercedes, obviously won´t give them a better engine than what they use too. They are customers… Just as Ferrari sells engines to Toro Rosso… I don´t see Toro Rosso up there! Get my point?
          They have an obligation to provide a good product BUT, they will always keep the best for them… It´s just common sense.
          1. 

             Postreader
             16th March 2012, 20:55

             He was probably being ironic, Jack.
11. 

    mrgrieves (@mrgrieves)
    16th March 2012, 14:39

    This pre season has been soooooooo frustrating. I can never remember any season where after every session the picture of where everyone is is less clear. A Schumacher fan i really hope this isnt a false dawn even though i keep telling myself practice means nothing the race is Sunday but where is everyone! Usually we have clues through pre season tests and pre race practice but this years showing nothing!
    1. 

       Tete
       16th March 2012, 19:26

       And it could be even worse if it rains in qualifying.
12. 

    Himmat
    16th March 2012, 18:01

    Caterham seem to be doing fine. Add that to the fact that Kovalainen was o.7s off his absolute best time and yet finished comfortably in the Top 10 is just great. Cant wait for Q1 in less than 12 hrs time!!!
13. 

    Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
    16th March 2012, 22:37

    @keithcollantine – I know this might be an impossible request given that you need twenty-four colours, but would it somehow be possible to change the colours used in the graphs? The problem is that I’m red-green colour-blind, so I have some trouble making out the graphs and the key if I want to compare drivers. It’s not that big of a deal if it can’t be changed, but colour-blindness is so common that I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one experiencing trouble with it.
    1. 

       matt
       17th March 2012, 3:07

       I’m not in your boat re: colour blindness but do find it hard sometimes to distinguish the graphs. Maybe as an alternative to colours, perhaps different styles of line e.g. dashes, dots etc like in a CAD drawing. Maybe to reduce colours / line styles, it could be a combo of the 2 each tam has a dash style with driver A in Blue and Driver B in yellow for example.

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