2019 Australian GP Thread *Spoilers*

Current Formula One related news, information and discussion.
Post Reply
User avatar
Everso Biggyballies
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 48993
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Chris
Favourite Motorsport: Anything that goes left and right.
Favourite Racing Car: Too Many to mention
Favourite Driver: Kimi,Niki,Jim(none called Michael)
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife, Spa, Mt Panorama.
Car(s) Currently Owned: Audi SQ5 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo
Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#16

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Bottom post of the previous page:

Michkov wrote: 5 years ago
PTRACER wrote: 9 years ago Image

Where did you find that picture?
Yes, @PTRACER a great find. I managed to find a source when doing the preview stuff, on https://services.land.vic.gov.au/DELWPm ... photomaps/ but the images there are split in the middle of the lake. I was in too much hurry, and too lazy to blend them, so either Paul did it or found a source that had!

Big scale (I mean big, much bigger than the image Paul posted) so click these image links to enlarge and then scroll in on the track. (If I post the links as images they wont fully enlarge). Would recommend not trying it on a phone or tablet! My monitor is 29" and wont fit it all!

http://services.land.vic.gov.au/photoma ... 848B4D.jpg

http://services.land.vic.gov.au/photoma ... 848B4B.jpg

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
User avatar
Kai-Star
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 360
Joined: 8 years ago
Real Name: Cameron Petie
Favourite Motorsport: Formula 1
Favourite Racing Car: Williams FW14
Favourite Driver: Jim Clark
Favourite Circuit: Spa Francorchamps
Car(s) Currently Owned: Subaru Forester
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

#17

Post by Kai-Star »

Nice intro. Good to read about the early days. Always so much racing beyond the Grand Prix seasons.

I met Lex Davison's grandson when I lived in Beijing. An odd place to meet but he was part of sponsoring their race track there, so there was a link to the past.
"Speed is relative and I knew that I was going faster in my head than he was in his head. If you keep seeing objects going by quickly, well then going quickly becomes normal for you."
Joann Villeneuve
User avatar
theracer120
Elite Member
Elite Member
Posts: 6218
Joined: 15 years ago
Real Name: Simon
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

#18

Post by theracer120 »

Which grandson was it?
User avatar
Everso Biggyballies
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 48993
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Chris
Favourite Motorsport: Anything that goes left and right.
Favourite Racing Car: Too Many to mention
Favourite Driver: Kimi,Niki,Jim(none called Michael)
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife, Spa, Mt Panorama.
Car(s) Currently Owned: Audi SQ5 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo
Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#19

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

theracer120 wrote: 5 years ago Which grandson was it?
Could be one of three I think.... all in Motor sport (Alex, Will, and James)

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
User avatar
erwin greven
Staff
Staff
Posts: 20027
Joined: 19 years ago
Real Name: Erwin Greven
Favourite Motorsport: Endurance Racing
Favourite Racing Car: Lancia Delta 038 S4 Group B
Favourite Driver: Ronnie Peterson
Favourite Circuit: Nuerburgring Nordschleife
Car(s) Currently Owned: Peugeot 206 SW Air-Line 3 2007
Location: Stadskanaal, Groningen
Contact:

#20

Post by erwin greven »

Australian V8 Supercars deputy race director Michael Masi will take control of all three [vacant] positions for the season-opening race in Melbourne, after the passing of Charlie Whiting.
https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2019 ... rand-prix/
Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
User avatar
Picci
Advanced Member
Advanced Member
Posts: 1304
Joined: 8 years ago
Real Name: Stephen
Favourite Motorsport: Formula One
Favourite Racing Car: Ferrari
Favourite Driver: Kimi Raikkonen
Favourite Circuit: Spa Francorchamps
Car(s) Currently Owned: Honda Fit
Location: Swieqi, Malta

#21

Post by Picci »

I am getting the impression, from Gunther Steiner's comments and other articles, that there was never quite a good backup plan in place. There were a couple of deputies but they had left for Ferrari I think. I hope Masi knows how to start the lights.
User avatar
PTRACER
Forum Administrator
Forum Administrator
Posts: 42138
Joined: 20 years ago
Real Name: Paul
Favourite Motorsport: Formula 1
Favourite Racing Car: Lotus 49
Favourite Driver: Gilles Villeneuve, James Hunt
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife
Car(s) Currently Owned: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X JDM
Contact:

#22

Post by PTRACER »

FP1 isn’t quite over, but Ferrari and Mercedes are pretty much even on lap times. Verstappen is down in 5th a few fractions off. Interestingly, it’s Raikkonen in 6th place. McLaren are 15th and 18th. Williams are 5 seconds off the lead pace and 2.5 seconds off everyone else, being in last, and second from last place. What a shame.
Developer of the 1967v3 Historic Mod for Grand Prix Legends: viewtopic.php?t=17429

King of the Race Track, Destroyer of Tyres, Breaker of Lap Records
User avatar
Everso Biggyballies
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 48993
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Chris
Favourite Motorsport: Anything that goes left and right.
Favourite Racing Car: Too Many to mention
Favourite Driver: Kimi,Niki,Jim(none called Michael)
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife, Spa, Mt Panorama.
Car(s) Currently Owned: Audi SQ5 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo
Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#23

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

P1 underway, and into the last 10 minutes. Hamilton fastest from Vettel, Leclerc, Max, Bottas and Raikkonen.
Early pacesetter Bottas spins at penultimate corner after breaking with a rear on the grass.... and came very close to smacking the wall as he did a spin turn.
Albon had early contact with the wall but not much damage, although it brought out a red. He drove back to the pits but not been seen since.

Hulkenberg has had very few laps due to an electrical issue. Still faster than Danny Ric though.

The two Williams 2 seconds slower than anyone. :sorrow:

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
User avatar
PTRACER
Forum Administrator
Forum Administrator
Posts: 42138
Joined: 20 years ago
Real Name: Paul
Favourite Motorsport: Formula 1
Favourite Racing Car: Lotus 49
Favourite Driver: Gilles Villeneuve, James Hunt
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife
Car(s) Currently Owned: Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X JDM
Contact:

#24

Post by PTRACER »

Everso Biggyballies wrote: 5 years ago Albon had early contact with the wall but not much damage, although it brought out a red. He drove back to the pits but not been seen since.
It was about 20 mins from the end. He hit the wall pretty hard with both ends of the car exiting T1 and damaged the nose, rear wing and diffuser, although everything at the rear looked pretty intact as he drove it back to the pits.

It looks like the carcass was coming through Kvyat’s tyre towards the end, which is a worrying sign.
Developer of the 1967v3 Historic Mod for Grand Prix Legends: viewtopic.php?t=17429

King of the Race Track, Destroyer of Tyres, Breaker of Lap Records
User avatar
Everso Biggyballies
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 48993
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Chris
Favourite Motorsport: Anything that goes left and right.
Favourite Racing Car: Too Many to mention
Favourite Driver: Kimi,Niki,Jim(none called Michael)
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife, Spa, Mt Panorama.
Car(s) Currently Owned: Audi SQ5 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo
Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#25

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Hamilton quickest in P1.

Hamilton ends Practice 1 fastest for Mercedes with a 1:23.599s. Close to half a second quicker than P1 last year (1:24.026)

Practice 1 Top 10: Practice one result: 1 Hamilton 1m23.599s; 2 Vettel +0.038s; 3 Leclerc +0.074s; 4 Verstappen +0.193s; 5 Bottas +0.267s; 6 Raikkonen +1.217s; 7 Kvyat +1.233s; 8 Gasly +1.333s; 9 Magnussen +1.335s; 10 Hulkenberg +1.416s

11 Giovinazzi; 12 Grosjean; 13 Albon; 14 Sainz; 15 Stroll; 16 Perez; 17 Ricciardo; 18 Norris; 19 Kubica; 20 Russell

Other than Williams the mid field was close in times...... 0.6s covers fifth to 16th, and 1.1s from fifth to 18th.

Ricciardo ends up in P17 while Hulkenberg slots into P10.

Image

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
User avatar
Everso Biggyballies
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 48993
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Chris
Favourite Motorsport: Anything that goes left and right.
Favourite Racing Car: Too Many to mention
Favourite Driver: Kimi,Niki,Jim(none called Michael)
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife, Spa, Mt Panorama.
Car(s) Currently Owned: Audi SQ5 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo
Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#26

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

P1 Review
Lewis Hamilton topped the first free practice session of Formula 1 2019 for Mercedes, but Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was just 0.038s behind.
Hamilton had warned that Mercedes faced a clear deficit to Ferrari in pre-season testing, but kicked off Friday afternoon’s first running in Melbourne as if it was business as usual.

The five-time title winner set a 1m23.599s around the Albert Park circuit to head Vettel by 0.038s, with Charles Leclerc only 0.074s behind in his first grand prix session for Ferrari.

Max Verstappen gave Red Bull and Honda an encouraging start to life together by clocking the fourth-best time, 0.193s off the pace.

Mercedes spent almost all of FP1 on top, as Valtteri Bottas became the first frontrunner to set a meaningful time and head the leaderboard until Hamilton went quickest once the two switched from medium to soft tyres.

Bottas’s soft-tyre run left him 0.267s slower than Hamilton and restricted him to fifth-fastest, but it could have been worse after a near-miss down an escape road.

As he approached the penultimate corner, the Finn touched the grass on the outside and went straight on, locking up briefly and then booting the throttle to perform a neat pirouette – barely avoiding the barrier on the outside as his car swung round.

New Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly failed to make the sort of impact as team-mate Verstappen, and lapped 1.3s off the pace in eighth.

That allowed Kimi Raikkonen to hold best-of-the-rest behind the big three, giving Alfa Romeo an early boost on its first grand prix weekend as a full entrant.

However, Raikkonen was 1.2s off the pace, indicating the midfield group is no closer to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull than before.

Gasly’s lack of pace in FP1 meant he also ended up behind his old team, Toro Rosso, and the driver he replaced at the Red Bull junior outfit in 2017 – Daniil Kvyat.

The Russian, making his F1 comeback after a year as Ferrari development driver, set the seventh-best time and was only two-hundredths of a second slower than Raikkonen.

His new team-mate Alex Albon fared less well on his grand prix weekend debut, setting a respectable 13th-fastest time but causing a red flag when he nosed his car into the barriers on the exit of Turn 1 in the final half an hour.

Haas was considered to be the midfield favourite after testing but Kevin Magnussen was only ninth-quickest in FP1, albeit only a tenth behind Raikkonen.

Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10 after losing time early on to an “electronic error”.

McLaren and Racing Point had a muted start to the season with its best drivers 14th (Carlos Sainz Jr for McLaren) and 15th (Lance Stroll for Racing Point) respectively.

However, those teams were at least latched onto the back of the midfield group, whereas Williams was detached at the back of the field.

Robert Kubica set the team’s quickest time but was 4.3s off the pace and a full two seconds slower than the next driver, McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Formula 2 champion George Russell ended FP1 slowest, 0.8s slower than team-mate Kubica.

It continues a troubling early 2019 for Williams, which was late to pre-season testing, has lost its chief technical officer Paddy Lowe and made changes to its car design to ensure its legality ahead of the weekend.
https://au.motorsport.com/f1/news/austr ... e/4352793/

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
User avatar
Everso Biggyballies
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 48993
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Chris
Favourite Motorsport: Anything that goes left and right.
Favourite Racing Car: Too Many to mention
Favourite Driver: Kimi,Niki,Jim(none called Michael)
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife, Spa, Mt Panorama.
Car(s) Currently Owned: Audi SQ5 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo
Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#27

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

P2 underway now.

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
User avatar
erwin greven
Staff
Staff
Posts: 20027
Joined: 19 years ago
Real Name: Erwin Greven
Favourite Motorsport: Endurance Racing
Favourite Racing Car: Lancia Delta 038 S4 Group B
Favourite Driver: Ronnie Peterson
Favourite Circuit: Nuerburgring Nordschleife
Car(s) Currently Owned: Peugeot 206 SW Air-Line 3 2007
Location: Stadskanaal, Groningen
Contact:

#28

Post by erwin greven »

Mercedes sigh.. Williams cry...
Brian Redman: "Mr. Fangio, how do you come so fast?" "More throttle, less brakes...."
User avatar
Everso Biggyballies
Legendary Member
Legendary Member
Posts: 48993
Joined: 18 years ago
Real Name: Chris
Favourite Motorsport: Anything that goes left and right.
Favourite Racing Car: Too Many to mention
Favourite Driver: Kimi,Niki,Jim(none called Michael)
Favourite Circuit: Nordschleife, Spa, Mt Panorama.
Car(s) Currently Owned: Audi SQ5 3.0L V6 TwinTurbo
Location: Just moved 3 klms further away so now 11 klms from Albert Park, Melbourne.

#29

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Already into the mid 22's halfway through P2..... last years pole was a low 21. Gasly is the only one close to the two fastest Mercedes atm, with Vettel 4th and Kimi 5th.
P2 here last year and Hamilton was the only one in the 23's.... just with a 23.931.

So much for a second and a half slower this year!

Mind you, still the two Williams propping up the timing sheets: 19th Russell +3.853, 20th Kubica +4.055. That is nearly 2 seconds slower than Norris in the McLaren, the 3rd slowest. :sorrow:

* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left


“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)

* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
Michkov
Advanced Member
Advanced Member
Posts: 1533
Joined: 18 years ago

#30

Post by Michkov »

Everso Biggyballies wrote: 5 years ago
Yes, @PTRACER a great find. I managed to find a source when doing the preview stuff, on https://services.land.vic.gov.au/DELWPm ... photomaps/ but the images there are split in the middle of the lake. I was in too much hurry, and too lazy to blend them, so either Paul did it or found a source that had!

Big scale (I mean big, much bigger than the image Paul posted) so click these image links to enlarge and then scroll in on the track. (If I post the links as images they wont fully enlarge). Would recommend not trying it on a phone or tablet! My monitor is 29" and wont fit it all!

http://services.land.vic.gov.au/photoma ... 848B4D.jpg

http://services.land.vic.gov.au/photoma ... 848B4B.jpg
Thanks for the link. Is there a full Australian version of the page?
User avatar
Picci
Advanced Member
Advanced Member
Posts: 1304
Joined: 8 years ago
Real Name: Stephen
Favourite Motorsport: Formula One
Favourite Racing Car: Ferrari
Favourite Driver: Kimi Raikkonen
Favourite Circuit: Spa Francorchamps
Car(s) Currently Owned: Honda Fit
Location: Swieqi, Malta

#31

Post by Picci »

Firstly, thanks for the thread intro, that was wonderful!

To be honest even though the field is a bit closer together, it seems like the order is pretty much the same as was end of last year. I was expecting a bit more variation (McLaren being a bit higher up for example). Alfa seems to have a really decent car though.

Good heavens, what have Williams done?
Post Reply