F1 2014 Australian GP Thread - Spoilers of Practice/Qualifying & Race - Sponsored by the RAC in a combined effort with Green Flag

[Fernando]

he so-long awaited F1 season of 2014 will be underway on Friday, when the 22 drivers, and their testing team-mates, start the V6 turbocharged engines for the first time this year in a Grand Prix venue. The first stop is Melbourne, for the 2014 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix.

A lot of changes came to place during the pre-season, from drivers to regulations, going through a ‘green revolution’ in F1. Starting with the engines, the 2.4-litre V8s were replaced by a less-consuming option, the single turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 engines. To add to this, the energy-recovery systems were also improved and the ‘turbos’ are back almost three decades later to F1 racing.

Still according to ‘greener’ resolutions, a fuel limit was imposed to teams, obliging them to start each race with only 100kgs of fuel in the tank, around 60kgs less comparing to 2013. Amongst many other changes, the cars’ nose height was lowered (which caused the birth of an ‘ugly-nose’ generation), in order to avoid lift-offs in accidents.

2013 Rolex Australian Grand Prix statistics
Pole position: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull 1:27.407

Fastest lap: Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus 1:29.274

First place: Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus

Second place: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

Third place: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull

The ‘double point final race’ regulation was probably the most controversial of the pre-season, but was validated by FIA, and a new track was added to the 2014 calendar, with the Russian GP taking place in the 12th October. Austria returns to the ‘circus’ after the historical A1 Ring was renamed and rebuilt by Red Bull. The Austrian GP will be held on the 22nd June. The two venues replace the Indian and Korean GPs.

The big changes continued with the re-establishment of driver-chosen numbers to feature in the racing cars and a real revolution took place in the driver seats. Kimi Räikkönen made an exciting return to Ferrari from Lotus, replacing Felipe Massa, who joined Williams. There was an ‘Aussie’ switch in Red Bull, with Daniel Ricciardo moving from Toro Rosso to take Mark Webber’s seat, left vacant after the retirement of the veteran driver. Three rookies joined the F1, namely Kevin Magnussen (McLaren), Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) and Marcus Ericsson (Caterham). To sum up, only two teams – Mercedes and Marussia – retained their 2013 driver pairing.

With all this exciting news, the 2014 season kicks-off in Australia, and boy we’re excited. One of the main reasons is the apparent collapse of Red Bull’s total domination, given the pre-season test results, in which the Austrian team struggled. This opens a window of opportunity for the likes of Mercedes, Williams and Ferrari, who seemed quick in the first tests featuring the 2014 car regulations.

Melbourne will be the first real test to the 11 teams and 22 drivers and will give the fans the opportunity to decide who to cheer for in 2014. Sebastian Vettel will surely be a contender, even if Red Bull may be underperforming, but some new names will join the World Champion and Ferrari’s all-star line-up in the race for the Drivers Championship.

With 58 laps to race in this venue, spread along more than 307km of road, Albert Park has been the home for F1 kick-offs and iconic moments since 1996 (except for 2006). Mark Webber was amongst those who made their impressive F1 debuts in Melbourne, with the Aussie driver finishing the 2001 race in 5th place.

On a slippery track with reduced overtaking spots and bumpy braking points as Melbourne, the rookies Magnussen, Kvyat and Ericsson will have to test themselves while avoiding the track’s walls in order to try to repeat Webber’s feat in 2001. At the same time, Pirelli will have to finish their tyre compound developments during this week and struggling teams like Red Bull and Lotus need to sort out their machines’ problems by next Saturday’s qualifying sessions.

The first media, organisations and teams’ reports state that the 2014 season has everything to be one of the most exciting of the last two decades. With the veterans Räikkönen, Button and Massa, adding to the everlasting contenders Alonso and Hamilton, fighting for glory, will this be their season? Will there be any surprises from the rookies, especially from McLaren’s Magnussen? And what will be the 4-time World Champion’s reaction to their title hopes? The only way to find out the first indicators is to tune in to the F1 2014 season starter, in Melbourne. The race takes place on Sunday, 16th March at 1700hrs local time (0600 GMT).

Did you know?

Jenson Button (McLaren) is the driver with most victories in Melbourne (3) on the current F1 roster and Kimi Räikkönen, the 2013 winner, is second, with two victories. Michael Schumacher holds the track’s fastest lap record (1:24.125).

The Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will make his Red Bull debut in front of his home fans.

Marcus Ericsson is the first F1 Swedish driver lining-up for a GP in 23 years, after Stefan Johansson retired in 1991. The most successful Swede was the late Ronnie Peterson, with 10 wins, 26 podiums and a total of 206 points. Ericsson will be the 10th Swedish driver in F1.

Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Jenson Button (McLaren), both 34, are the oldest drivers in the 2014 roster. The Toro Rosso teenager Daniil Kvyat (19) is the youngest.

Sebastian Vettel starts the 2014 Australian GP as the most victorious driver, with 39 race wins. Fernando Alonso is second, with 32, but still leads the all-time points table (1606), against Vettel’s 1451.

Turbocharged engines will be back to F1 since 1988.

The first ever Russian GP will be held in a totally new street circuit, located in Sochi Olympic Park.

The Magny-Cours French GP almost made it back to F1 in 2014, after an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone was reached, but the deal ultimately collapsed.

Australia is the only country to have hosted two consecutive F1 races – the final round of the 1995 season (in Adelaide) and the 1996 season-opener (in Melbourne).

Source: RaceDepartment.com

[Guest]

It's been a long winter, looking forward to this immensely & seeing how this new era of F1 is going to pan out. Expecting an exciting, if not farcical start to this Championship, as the teams & driver enter the unknown.

C'mon Lewis!  

[Fernando]

If Lewis does win it John prepare for the "He had the best car" Argument since that's what most keep throwing at Vettel

[dyrewolfe]

If Lewis does win it John prepare for the "He had the best car" Argument since that's what most keep throwing at Vettel

Yes, but when he won in 2008 the McLaren was only one of the best cars on the grid, not THE best.

Vettel has always had cars that were a second or two quicker than anything else on the grid by the end of the season (though admittedly he's had to play catch up on some occasions).

Anyway, back on topic, I think I'll see what odds the bookies are offering and maybe have myself a small wager. Genuinely excited for the first time in a while, as there are so many unknowns.

[Fernando]

If Lewis does win it John prepare for the "He had the best car" Argument since that's what most keep throwing at Vettel

Yes, but when he won in 2008 the McLaren was only one of the best cars on the grid, not THE best.

Vettel has always had cars that were a second or two quicker than anything else on the grid by the end of the season (though admittedly he's had to play catch up on some occasions).

Anyway, back on topic, I think I'll see what odds the bookies are offering and maybe have myself a small wager. Genuinely excited for the first time in a while, as there are so many unknowns.

2010? there was no best car of that season & Ferrari was up about there as well until he met the back of Vitaly Petrov's Renault. He won 5 races all season and was still World Champion due to consistency. Alonso won 5 races, Hamilton 3, Webber 4. It's hardly the best car by a second or 2  

Personally with their reliability from testing id plump for a Williams

[dyrewolfe]

Okay - 3 seasons out of 4 Vettel has had a significantly better car.

I was leaning towards McLaren or Williams myself as more of a "dark horse" bet.

[Guest]

If Lewis does win it John prepare for the "He had the best car" Argument since that's what most keep throwing at Vettel

We've had those discussions all before, no point bringing up old ground. I just want Hamilton to get another title, he's been plagued with bad fortune for years & he made a significant, risky move away from McLaren in order to pursue his Championship dreams. Even if Mercedes are the best car, you still have to deliver the drives & the consistency & hopefully he can do that, like Vettel did. I'm expecting no easy ride though this season for Lewis, plenty of up's & downs & controversy usually follow him which is unfortunate.

As dyrewolfe says, just generally excited about this season. I will probably be complaining about the conservation & general racing but you know me...  

As for Williams, good shout. No team has shown bulletproof reliability, therefore even if Williams are slightly off pace, they are still a good bet for the opening races.

[daraghj82]

really looking forward to this season, RB will prob be playing catchup just like they were in 2012 but they will be comeback to the front, i think lewis or nico for the win this weekend, i hope williams form in pre testing shows up in terms of getting good results

[Fernando]

First Practice
Albert Park, Friday 14 March 2014

Driver Car Team Fastest Lap
1 Fernando Alonso 14 Ferrari 1:31.840
2 Jenson Button 22 McLaren 1:32.357
3 Valtteri Bottas 77 Williams 1:32.403
4 Felipe Massa 19 Williams 1:32.431
5 Daniel Ricciardo 3 Red Bull 1:32.599
6 Nico Rosberg 6 Mercedes 1:32.604
7 Sebastian Vettel 1 Red Bull 1:32.793
8 Kevin Magnussen 20 McLaren 1:32.847
9 Kimi Raikkonen 7 Ferrari 1:32.977
10 Jean-Eric Vergne 25 Toro Rosso 1:33.446
11 Nico Hulkenberg 27 Force India 1:33.533
12 Sergio Perez 11 Force India 1:33.855
13 Daniil Kvyat 26 Toro Rosso 1:34.272
14 Esteban Gutierrez 21 Sauber 1:35.578
15 Adrian Sutil 99 Sauber 1:36.445
16 Jules Bianchi 17 Marussia 1:40.859
17 Max Chilton 4 Marussia 1:46.922
18 Marcus Ericsson 9 Caterham No time
19 Lewis Hamilton 44 Mercedes No time
20 Kamui Kobayashi 10 Caterham No time
21 Pastor Maldonado 13 Lotus No time
22 Romain Grosjean 8 Lotus No time

Second Practice
Albert Park, Friday 14 March 2014

Driver Car Team Fastest Lap
1 Lewis Hamilton 44 Mercedes 1:29.625
2 Nico Rosberg 6 Mercedes 1:29.782
3 Fernando Alonso 14 Ferrari 1:30.132
4 Sebastian Vettel 1 Red Bull 1:30.381
5 Jenson Button 22 McLaren 1:30.510
6 Daniel Ricciardo 3 Red Bull 1:30.538
7 Kimi Raikkonen 7 Ferrari 1:30.898
8 Valtteri Bottas 77 Williams 1:30.920
9 Kevin Magnussen 20 McLaren 1:31.031
10 Nico Hulkenberg 27 Force India 1:31.054
11 Jean-Eric Vergne 25 Toro Rosso 1:31.060
12 Felipe Massa 19 Williams 1:31.119
13 Sergio Perez 11 Force India 1:31.283
14 Adrian Sutil 99 Sauber 1:32.355
15 Esteban Gutierrez 21 Sauber 1:32.468
16 Daniil Kvyat 26 Toro Rosso 1:32.495
17 Jules Bianchi 17 Marussia 1:33.486
18 Romain Grosjean 8 Lotus 1:33.646
19 Max Chilton 4 Marussia 1:34.757
20 Marcus Ericsson 9 Caterham No time
21 Kamui Kobayashi 10 Caterham No time
22 Pastor Maldonado 13 Lotus No time

[sportform]

Red Bull look quicker than people may have thought they were. The big question for them though maybe reliability. Mercedes look quick and could dominate qualifying. Still think Ferrari will be stronger in the race. Was alson expeting Force India to be doing a little better.

[dummy_half]

sportform

The suggestion from pre-season tests was that the Ferrari engine is a bit thirsty (compared with the Merc - no-one really knows with the Renault engine because it has finished so few longer runs), and so with only 100kg of fuel for the race they have to either turn it down or have a spell during the race driving at a fuel-saving pace. Thought to have reasonably good outright speed for qualifying thorugh.

Interesting that RB have come back strongly and are in the 'best of the rest' group behind Mercedes. They also did a reasonable number of laps (from recollection 30-odd for each car in FP2), although I guess are a bit behind in understanding the long run performance of the car, particularly the engine and fuel consumption questions. After pre-season it looked unlikely they would even be challenging for points this race, but they could potentially be in the hunt for the podium.

[Guest]

Interesting practice sessions, clearly Mercedes have the advantage but it's all about reliability. Agree with dummy_half, it's expected that Ferrari will actually struggle in the race & drop down because of this issue with the 'thirsty' Ferrari engine that they need to address.

As expected, we knew RB underneath all the issues had a fast car & it's looked very good. They will continue to get stronger, faster & challenge Mercedes over the season. Still a big question over reliabilty but that's a case for everyone. Lotus are just in a state.

Qualifying might be a Mercedes lock-out but you never know. One small issue this season & you face missing a whole session, so let's see what happens. Be interesting to see how much running teams do in FP3, in case something goes wrong & they don't have the time to fix or replace parts & miss qualifying.

[dummy_half]

The reliability issue is clearly significant - cars are failing for all sorts of trivial reasons as well as occasionally because of more significant failures.

Lewis missed FP1 because of a wrongly calibrated sensor in the oil system - the F1 equivalent of a 10p part. Other failures in testing have been for similarly minor reasons, suggesting that the increased complexity of the engine / KERS / turbo system has led to unforeseen problems for the electronics and computer guys. Yes, it's better that these are found in testing and free practice, but it must be somewhat annoying.

Be interesting to see how many cars actually have a trouble free run to the end of the race on Sunday.

[CaledonianCraig]

An exciting qualifying session saw some surprises but a Mercedes ending in pole position which was expected. Lewis Hamilton nailed the pole position right at the end to deny Red Bull a surprise pole position. However the Red Bull was that of Daniel Ricciardo with Seb Vettel not making it through to the final session for the first time in ages. Rosberg will start third and rookie Kevin Magnusson impressed qualifying the McLaren in 4th. The two Toro Rosso thrived in the wet conditions with healthy spots in the top ten. The resurgent Williams team will be slightly disappointed finishing only 9th and 10th and Alonso had to settle for 5th on the grid without really threatening a spot any higher on the grid.

It should be a cracking race tomorrow morning.

[GSC]

Hamilton and Rosberg put it where it was expected

Ricciardo underscored the belief that the RB is fast when it doesn't implode. Similarly Vettel underscored that the car tends to implode. Big step forward for them this weekend, ominously on the right track.

Impressive from Magnusson and Ricciardo. Still think Ferrari have something up their sleeve.

Lotus an absolute shambles.

[CaledonianCraig]

I know the weather helped but a special mention to Kubui Kobayashi in the Caterham who will start 14th on the grid (due to Bottas five place grid penalty).

[liverbnz]

Interesting qualifying. Good to see Williams somewhat resurgent. Perez disappointing, Renault embarrassing. TR also carrying on their form from the tail end of the last year. RB do look much improved but the Mercs are the cars to beat so far.

Oh yes, the cars look and sound hideous.

[Bull]

Interesting stuff, Merc ahead like everyone expected. Well done to Ricciardo who was awesome and got cheered on by the fans.
Looks like Fire takes round one for qualifying over Ice but who knows Kimi might get something done in the race.

Oh and great to see Kobayashi up there with the Caterham, hope he does well tomorrow and can get a cheeky point if the cars do fail around him.

Expected more from Williams but maybe their race pace is better. Oh and congrats to K-Mag as well, did exceptionally well to get the car that high up.

Oh and what has happened to Lotus looks like the worst car on the grid. Oh and well done to Torro Rosso who I'm guessing wouldn't be that high up if it wasn't for the weather.

Looking forward to the race hopefully its a good one and hoping Kimi/Fernando can do some damage up the grid.

[Guest]

Outstanding qualifying! Brilliant pole from Hamilton but it does look ominous for the season ahead that RB is looking quick, as expected, when reliable. Vettel's had it easy for a number of years, hopefully Ricciardo can challenge him consistently & go to prove how poor Webber was. Disappointed for Williams, they need dry conditions & Massa is notoriously bad in the wet. Ferrari are still an ?, especially race pace.

I know the car's sound different, however, how refreshing was it too hear the Aussie fans cheering & booing Ricciardo & Vettel respectively. Great to hear the passion & support from the TV.

As for the race, huge first corner & then it's about reliability. Great to have the excitement & unpredictability back in F1.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Was a great qualifying session I thought, as John says good to have some unpredictability back

[Guest]

Ricciardo underscored the belief that the RB is fast when it doesn't implode. Similarly Vettel underscored that the car tends to implode. Big step forward for them this weekend, ominously on the right track.
.

Agree, massively. You can tell that RB has huge amounts of downforce though, able to keep those intermediates at a working temperature, whereas Alonso & Massa struggled. The Mercedes were on full wets but just shows you the downforce & pace this RB has. Vettel might of had a bad day but can see him challenging for this years title.

Hamilton's final q3 lap for anyone that missed it. Drifting galore throughout, especially at 0.42 - would of lost even more time.

[GSC]

Ugh at that noise. Sounds like an airplane at very low speeds. Can imagine that has to be a priority over the winter

[Guest]

Marussia  

Hamilton`s had a shocker, Vettel power issues.

[sportform]

Good start. Mixed messages there from the pits for Lewis Hamilton.

[Fernando]

Hamilton/Vettel/Massa/Bianchi & Kobayashi out by lap 4.

[sportform]

Vettel power issues.

Best commentary line. Max Chilton goes past Sebastian Vettel.

[dyrewolfe]

Wow - nightmare starts to the season for Hamilton & Vettel.

Really surprised as Mercedes have been virtually bullet-proof through the winter.

Hoping Magnussen can win it now...

[Fernando]

Bottas is marching his way through the field.

[sportform]

Bottas was marching his way through the field.

[Fernando]

Poor Valteri

[Fernando]

Safety Car

[Guest]

That Williams looked quick before that mistake, will be even faster in clear air. Shame.

This is why, as a Hamilton fan, I'm never confident. Mis-firing cylinder. The guy is just plagued with issues year in year out. Expecting plenty more DNF`s, safety car should help Ferrari out with fuel conservation.

[sportform]

It will be interesting to see if they can stay with Rosberg now or whether the Mercedes is just quicker than everyone else.

[beninho]

More overtaking then most of last season already. Mercedes did have issues at times in testing but looks like nicos race. I like the unreliability it's how it used to be.

[Fernando]

Was expecting to see Nico go off into distance but didn't really get that far up the road.

[sportform]

That Williams looked quick before that mistake, will be even faster in clear air. Shame.

Will Bottas be able to make his way through the field again now? He would have been near favourite had he not hit the wall and there been a safety car for some other reason. In other news, slight chance of rain.

[Fernando]

Hamilton a beacon of positivity. Suspect may be down to finally getting his missus a ring.

[beninho]

Good drive by hulk again. Big race for some smaller teams to get some points.

[sportform]

Just to reiterate what I said in another thread, good to see Kobayashi back.

[Guest]

Reliability is the only thing that will stop Rosberg. Ferrari`s look pretty average

[sportform]

New word, FWAG (Formula 1 Wives and Girlfriends).

[sportform]

I thought Ferrari were going to be a little quicker too but they did do more laps than anyone else in testing and possibly have more reliability than other teams.

Hulkenberg looked a bit shaky there. It seems saying someone is doing well on here is a bit of a jinx.

[Guest]

Yeah, questions were asked about long run Ferrari pace, we now have an answer. They`ve apparently got an electrical issue but they still wouldn`t be anywhere near Rosberg. Kimi / Alonso partnership is only exciting, if the car was competitive, its clearly not. Mercedes look like Brawn, over a second a lap quicker pushing & they will improve reliability. Magnussen is catching Ricciardo.

[beninho]

I'm 33, and first memories of f1 are Williams cars. So I'm liking bottas.

[Guest]

Good interesting race, not spectacular. Mercedes look like the new Red Bull, dominant win for Rosberg, usual story for Hamilton with issues. Great drive from the number two`s of Ricciardo & Magnussen. Ferrari were a major letdown, albeit with electrical issues.

Should be an interesting season ahead.

[sportform]

I wonder were Bottas would have finished if he didn't clip the wall?

[dyrewolfe]

Well, not that interesting as a race, apart from the Magnussen / Ricciardo duel near the end and Bottas progressing up the field with a few overtakes. Perhaps not surprisingly more interesting for the number of DNFs...was that 5 out of 6 Renault-powered cars that failed to finish (plus Hamilton & Massa)?

Slightly depressing that fuel conservation seemed to be one of the dominant topics in the radio transmissions. At least the tyres seemed to hold up okay. Doesn't look like they will be too much of an issue, despite the higher torque engines and increased spinning up of the rears.

Convincing win for Rosberg...nice to see him back on the podium. Great drives by Ricciardo and Magnussen as well. Reckon they will both be future stars.

Good recovery drive by Button after a poor quali to give McLaren a 3/4 finish. Also nice to see Bottas score some points for Williams. If they can keep both cars in the race, it looks like they've got the potential to get a decent haul of points.

[CaledonianCraig]

A decent race that. Watching it you got the feeling you were watching the beginning of new future rivalries with the emergence of the likes of Ricciardo, Magnusson and Bottas showing great speed. The Mercedes (of Rosberg anyway) was flawless and never really looked in danger of losing the race. You have to feel sorry for Massa as he may have been a contender if not taken out on the first corner. Still a lot happening but would have been better if the fight for the lead was more interesting.

[Guest]

Someone said they could see another Brawn season & I dismissed it but, looking at Mercedes, you feel its possible, with increased reliability. Over a second a lap when pushing was reminiscent of RB, which is worrying. I was worried about fuel conservation prior to the race too, even more concerning is we had an aborted start & a safety car & still they needed fuel conservation at the end.

As for the tyres, they do look more durable but let's not forget this is a street track & has few long demanding corners that punish tyres.

Wasn't the greatest race, plus removing exciting drivers like Vettel & Hamilton from a race is always going to take away that added edge.

[Gerry SA]

Daniel Ricciardo has been DQ'd for exceeding 100kg fuel limit.

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