Red Bull off to a strong start as McLaren struggle

44 comments on “Red Bull off to a strong start as McLaren struggle”

1. 

   Nigelstash (@)
   15th March 2013, 16:03

   Red Bull look strong, but it will be interesting to see whether they still find that magic half a second at the climax of Q3, or whether less bendiness and limits on DRS eat into that advantage.
   Also, a lot has been said about Lewis, but through testing and so far in practise, Nico looks to have good pace in that car as well. Bring it on!
2. 

   Laurence (@mclozza)
   15th March 2013, 16:11

   As a McLaren fan, I sincerely hope they can work their magic and sort out the car issues. Both drivers seem focused on the race – the car is the issue here. I’m certain McLaren will have their car up to top notch again before Ferrari did last season. The rain is set to come out tomorrow, so laps won’t be as fast as they would be in the dry – so the MP428 should cope fine, especially with Button at the helm. Elsewhere, I’d really like to see Lotus start the season well. This will be interesting indeed.
   1. 

      James (@iamjamm)
      15th March 2013, 16:46

      Rain is usually a good leveller, but if McLaren are short of downforce in the dry it could cause them loads of problems in the wet. They weren’t very strong in the wet last season either, other than Malaysia, when they did have a good car.

      I just hope the Red Bull’s aren’t as far ahead of everyone else as they seem.
      1. 

         RagingInferno (@raginginferno)
         15th March 2013, 17:04

         I don’t think the McLaren was too bad in the wet towards the end of last season to be honest. They seemed to cope just fine in Brazil after all.
      2. 

         Snafu (@snafu)
         15th March 2013, 17:05

         I don’t think they’re short of downforce to be honest. I think their problem is more setup related because of pull-rod suspension. They need some time to get their heads around that just like Ferrari last year.
3. 

   Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
   15th March 2013, 16:14

   Sebastain in particular looks very strong over one lap and is in perfect sync with that car. It gives ominous signs for qualifying, but for the races I expect the deficit to be much reduced or even non-existent, so a rain-affected qualifying could really spice things up for Sunday. I can’t wait!
4. 

   Nirupam (@nirupam)
   15th March 2013, 16:17

   a couple of things:
   1. That Ferrari is not as quick as it looks
   2. When Alonso says the Ferrari is 3rd best car, not that he tries to build his “Superhuman” image, but may be actually Ferrari is well off pace
   1. 

      Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
      15th March 2013, 19:01

      If that’s the case, that’s the complete opposite to the majority of last season.
   2. 

      Aimal (@aimalkhan)
      15th March 2013, 19:23

      But Alonso IS “Superhuman”.
   3. 

      Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
      15th March 2013, 21:21

      I think Ferrari are there or thereabouts @nirupam – they aren’t top by any means but they’ll certainly be mixing it with the Mercedes’ and Lotuses in particular I imagine. 3rd best may be a fairly accurate assessment though.
      1. 

         Aimal (@aimalkhan)
         15th March 2013, 22:50

         I dont think we will get the most accurate picture of how fast each team is until Q3 has ended. the ferrari has had strong race pace in the last few seasons. so lets wait and see.. figures crossed. i am predicting a 3rd place finish for Alonso in the race.
5. 

   Master firelee (@master-firelee)
   15th March 2013, 16:19

   I half expect this season to be similar to 2010 in terms of RB getting most of the Poles but in the race it’s more of an open playing field.
6. 

   MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
   15th March 2013, 16:44

   The big problem for McLaren this year is that both their drivers are unreliable when it comes to establishing a good performance baseline. Checo has no frame of reference for the team, so they can’t assume that he’s showing them good data, and Button is notoriously sensitive to a bad car. With Hamilton, they had a driver who could be relied upon to almost always show exactly what the car is ultimately capable of. Now, with a car not showing good pace, they need to work out whether the car is fundamentally bad, or if the car is ok and the problem is simply that it’s not suited to Button, and Checo is simply not that quick in the first place. How do you even begin to address issues when you can’t even work out how fast your car is in the first place?
   1. 

      Advocat
      15th March 2013, 17:17

      Checo failed last 6 races in 2012, he had no points. Button every year half a season failed. I ‘ll be very surprise if Maclaren take high position in WDC and WCC.
   2. 

      Jason (@jason12)
      15th March 2013, 19:46

      What a conundrum…
   3. 

      Brace (@brace)
      15th March 2013, 19:56

      That’s my thinking too. Imagine Ferrari last year without Alonso. Probably even Luca would have fired himself along with the whole team. Running around 12th place for good 2/3 of the year.

      Last year, McLaren would have probably entered a critical meltdown phase if all they had was Button driving around 10th place, thinking their car is a horrible bunch of scrap-heap metal.
      Only thing is, they had Hamilton fighting for poles and victories at the same time, so they knew they actually have a great car.

      This year, they probably have no clue if their car is a pole contender or the worst crap they managed to make since 1995.

      I mean, car might actually be the masterpiece it was hyped to be, but Button is not “feeling it” and Perez is just no more adaptable either.
7. 

   Ash (@zodman)
   15th March 2013, 16:51

   What’s going on with Mclaren???? Hope they get their act together and get up there with the big boys tomorrow….i ain’t getting up at 06:30am to see them among the mid teams.
8. 

   Sounak Chakrabarty (@sonkky)
   15th March 2013, 16:52

   Jules Bianchi: Give him a proper Car.. The guy is a future World Champion
   1. 

      nidzovski (@nidzovski)
      16th March 2013, 5:01

      +1. He losted last years Renault series in the same way as Hill losted to Shumi in 1994.
9. 

   Häkä
   15th March 2013, 16:55

   error: On the speed trap table Mclaren has its own engines.
   1. 

      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      15th March 2013, 17:39

      That’s a new one! Fixed it.
10. 

    James (@iamjamm)
    15th March 2013, 16:57

    It’s tough to read a lot into the times from today other than the Red Bulls are quick! Hopefully the other teams are able to challenge them a bit in qualifying. I guess we’ll find out more in FP3. Let’s try and summarise…

    Mercedes look to be a close second on single lap pace, but their longer runs (especially Lewis’) were a bit erratic. I guess that could be down to traffic? If not then a final podium place could be the best they can hope for. The Lotus (in Kimi’s hands at least) looks quicker than the Red Bull on long runs and is well rumoured to look after it’s tyres a lot better, expect them to be contenders for a podium even if they miss out on the front two rows in qualifying. Ferrari, last season were stronger in the race than qualifying and that looks to have continued. You can never rule Fernando out in the race. McLaren, I don’t think anything extra can be said about their problems, but I would expect one of them to scrape into Q3.

    It’s going to be an intriguing Saturday and Sunday!
    1. 

       RagingInferno (@raginginferno)
       15th March 2013, 17:02

       I was just going to mention Lotus’ race pace, they are looking very solid. I’m surprised, as I was expecting them to slip back a bit this year, what with them having a smaller budget for development compared to their rivals.
       1. 

          Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
          15th March 2013, 19:52

          I’d love to see Lotus and Ferrari able to challenge Red Bull in the race. Raikkonen v Alonso v Vettel for the lead would be almost perfect, and Hamilton must surely also be a factor.
11. 

    Guilherme (@guilherme)
    15th March 2013, 17:05

    Exactly what was the extent of Massa’s KERS problem? I’m very (pleasently) surprised to see him to close to Alonso after failing so miseraby in up till last year’s summer break.

    I just hope that Ferrari let them race, should they find themselves close to each other on Sunday.
    1. 

       BasCB (@bascb)
       15th March 2013, 19:03

       I think Alonso had a short KERS glitch as well in one or two turns, lets hope these are just small things. I would love to see Ferrar actually have to solve the issue of getting Alonso stay in front of a pushing Massa.
    2. 

       Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
       15th March 2013, 21:18

       I too am pleasently surprised to see Massa back on form: if he can maintain it Ferrari will have a very strong line-up and it’s always good to see Massa challenging Alonso! Nonetheless though, it’s good to see him being more 2008 than 2012 recently! :)
12. 

    Advocat
    15th March 2013, 17:06

    Again RB . I feel again in 2011 year. I hope Lewis and Mercedes will be in position podium. Mclaren you did very big mistake choises not right a horse. Sorry if i did mistakes i know English not well.
13. 

    Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
    15th March 2013, 17:18

    While McLaren’s woes are the main talking point, I still can’t believe how strong Mercedes looks. I never thought they’d look like genuine contenders but amazingly they look like they could even be the second fastest team behind RBR. Ferrari are somewhere near the top but who knows where?

    I’d say keep an eye out for Lotus. Not much has been said about them but they’re quietly going about their business and the car looks pretty good to my eyes.
    1. 

       JerseyF1 (@jerseyf1)
       15th March 2013, 17:43

       Looking at the long runs data it looks to me like Lotus followed by Red Bull and Ferrari. Lotus just need to qualify their cars near enough to the front and they look very strong to me.
14. 

    Thomas (@smashnfanatic)
    15th March 2013, 17:29

    I think Lotus will be the ones to watch out for in the race provided they qualify good (second row at least). Nobody’s been talking about them.
    1. 

       Beto (@chebeto0)
       15th March 2013, 19:55

       I agree. I find Kimi’s longest stint quite impressive. So consistently quick. Grosjean’s wasn’t that bad either.
    2. 

       Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
       15th March 2013, 21:26

       @smashnfanatic – I think quite a lot of people have been talking about them actually! I agree with your assessment entirely, but I suspect that possibly the grid advantage Red Bull may have could tip it slightly in their favour, but all we need is a wet qualifying to throw everything into disarray!
       1. 

          Thomas (@smashnfanatic)
          16th March 2013, 3:06

          @vettel1 – Well, lets see what the weather and qualifying put up. Button could be a dark horse then?
15. 

    Mased (@mased)
    15th March 2013, 17:39

    Interesting to compare to last year:
    http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/03/17/australian-grand-prix-combined-practice-times/
16. 

    Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
    15th March 2013, 19:03

    As a McLaren fan, I am incredibly concerned. They may be further away from the front than Ferrari were this time last year, and there’s no way that car in its current state suits Jenson. Thankfully they have Lew… Oh.
    1. 

       BasCB (@bascb)
       15th March 2013, 19:14

       It seems Button already mentioned a hope of rain. And its supposed to be raining not far from the track right now, so who knows!
    2. 

       Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
       15th March 2013, 21:53

       @craig-o – they’ll have their work cut-out to do that badly, but yes I do see them being off the pace. I think a double points finish would be a great result for them looking at FP but I wouldn’t lose faith: McLaren are great at development. So I still fully expect a McLaren win at some point during the season despite the mediocre driver line-up.
17. 

    Martin (@aardvark)
    15th March 2013, 19:15

    Looking at the long run times, Button’s were very even compared to the others. It suggests he is cruising around in his comfort zone rather than pushing the car to find the limits.
18. 

    King Six (@kingsix)
    15th March 2013, 19:26

    Paul Di Resta already looking like he’s been found out, might be a long season for him.
19. 

    Carl Craven
    15th March 2013, 20:25

    Re Mclaren, it looks deceptive. While they don’t look fast over a hot lap and might struggle to qualify well, it doesn’t look like their long run pace is that bad if you actually compare. Infact, as I have often claimed, Button’s long runs are always far more consistent than many other drivers and while one might start of slow, their pace dips dramatically and Button’s does not.

    Even compared with Vettel it’s not THAT bad.

    We shall see.
20. 

    Palle (@palle)
    15th March 2013, 21:10

    The difference between HAM’s ultimate lap and his actual lap pushing him 2 places down, could indicate that he isn’t comfortable in the MERC as of yet.
    Surpricing to see McLaren so far down the pecking order, and I didn’t think RBR would be that dominant here in P1 and P2. Can’t wait till tomorrow. In my timezone I have to get up at 0600 to see P3 before qualifying (RTL – german television, not the same quality as Sky, but very cheap compared).
    Compared to last years P1 to Quali delta, this year should give us a Quali time around 1:24.575 oposed to 1:24.927 last year. But the rain might ruin that prediction as well as every other prediction:-)
21. 

    PlutocalypseNow (@asenna84)
    15th March 2013, 21:13

    Wow, van der Garde is way off the pace. I wonder how long he lasts before Caterham dump him for a better driver with equal or more money. Maybe Petrov will be back before 2014 after all. Who knows, maybe even Karthikeyan at mid-season, just in time for the Indian GP. Now that Fernandes and TATA are tied up, Karthikeyan would make a lot of sense from a marketing perspective.
22. 

    wigster (@wigster)
    15th March 2013, 23:34

    I’m slightly worried for Mclaren as I don’t think Button and Perez are the best at dragging performance out of the car if its hard to find or not there, as it seems to be at the moment. Hoping they don’t spend the season in mid grid obscurity.

    It’ll also be interesting to see come quali just how much closer Caterham and Marrusia have got to the back of the midfield. It looks like there’s still a gap, but they have to bridge it at some point, and it will make things more interesting when one or the other does.

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