2017 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, 24 - 26 March

[hichamo]

Sure, but still on the same day , we had more rubber down than this year, it's just an opinion though.

That's gonna be the case on every race this year, it might be magnified on the Melbourne tarmac, but there's no getting away from the fact that these tires are gonna leave less rubber behind.

[Vasconia]

Why on earth only 1.7 faster than 2016?? I expected 1.20s...

Temperatures maybe? it was a little bit "cold" I think...

So Ferrari is not ahead but not half a second behind either, it was a good qualy and I hope Vettel can push Hamilton a little bit, lets see which pace Ferrari has.

Mclaren better than expected, Alonso has done an awesome lap.

[Phil]

I am going to predict a better start by the Ferraris, but it might be not enough to get around by turn 2...

[iotar__]

(Haven't watched, too early, so based on results)

- Grosjean - give the man better car now FFS or at least better brakes , 6th under 0,6 behind Red Bull, driver making a difference again

- Ferrari - very close to Merc/on par, if not ahead (personal opinion), Red Bull - did drivers mess up anything? I see Ricciardo did so you can add some tenths, make it 1 s behind. Australia - not a representative track but still.

- Stroll, Palmer - who needs drivers in F1, at last they're paying for stupidity although not often enough, hooray for the new rules. Bottas - average, track, new team and other factors (tyres), he'll be better.

[bucker]

Cars look very fast in the corners, wide and low and we have four cars at the front very close together. First race will be interesting.

[Goran2812]

I wonder who will mess up the start tomorrow... new clutch rules and everything...

[PlatinumZealot]

The australia track shows a few interesting effects. Most of all it nullifies aero to some degree and magnifies suspension ability. I think it explains why the lap times are barely faster than last year. Short turns and point and squirt is not enough space for the new aero to show its stuff.

The Haas has Ferrari underpinnings. The engine is arguably stronger than mercedes now and the Ferrari suspension is working well at the track. Creates an illusion that the Haas car is better than merc customers but it really isnt. Just engine and suspension is better.

[bonjon1979]

I do feel we saw drivers making the difference today. Great job by grosjean and clearly a good lap from ham. Could vettel have got more? Perhaps, but looks like a good start to the season to me.

[bonjon1979]

Bottas clearly on different aero setup as he's 2kmh faster by the start/finish mark but ends up 4kmh slower on the end of the straight

Or Hamilton got a slight tow

[hichamo]

Indeed, the Ferrari engine is a strong one this season, all you have to do is look at Haas, romain was flying with the car he have underneath him.

[ferkan]

Vettel should have taken a pole. He had big moment in S2 and made mistake in S1.

Personally think Ferrari is slightly better car this time around. Hamilton is a beast here though

[Juzh]

The Haas has Ferrari underpinnings. The engine is arguably stronger than mercedes now and the Ferrari suspension is working well at the track. Creates an illusion that the Haas car is better than merc customers but it really isnt. Just engine and suspension is better.

You just made that up Also, merc still clearly has the best ERS deployment. Was pretty obvious on the onboard channels.

[Phil]

I second that. I think its unlikely that Ferrari closed the gap to Mercedes on the engine front. They might have improved, but this year with added drag and aero efficiency playing a huge role, assuming the engines are close enough, means that aero and set up could play a big role. I also think Melbourne is very uncharacteristic, surface and all. Wait for a track with lots of downforce and high cornering speed...

[proteus]

Indeed, the Ferrari engine is a strong one this season, all you have to do is look at Haas, romain was flying with the car he have underneath him.

This is the first race u know. Many times some team surprises and takes the oportunity to make some results when other teams struggle. If Renault, FI and Mclaren sort their problems, Haas will be trailing behind. Same as last year.

[Schuttelberg]

To be honest, the result is exactly as expected. Ferrari have always made decent cars, their challenge is in season development. Red Bull have a decent package but should out-develop the competition and Mercedes are still reaping the rewards of a PU formula.

My expectations are that Ferrari might win a race if Mercedes slip up in the first third of the year while slowly falling in the clutches of the Red Bull who might win a race or two themselves if Mercedes slip up but in general, Mercedes remain the team to beat. While they were 0.5-0.7 seconds faster than the competition in the hands of Hamilton, the gap now seems to be 0.2-0.5 seconds depending upon the track. I genuinely feel that Bottas & Rosberg have similar speed, while Rosberg is better over one lap and Bottas with better race craft. The issue here is that Hamilton is hungry and because the gap has shrunk to the competition (still comfortable in the hands of Hamilton) Bottas' reputation will suffer. Mercedes massive advantage in the last 3 years often sold the illusion of Rosberg being neck and neck with Hamilton. While that always remained true in terms of points because the worst a Mercedes driver could finish was second, the real exciting races only happened when Hamilton was behind Rosberg, for whatever reason.

In my opinion, this season is Hamilton's true opportunity to demolish everyone. I won't be surprised in the least if he wins 15 odd races.