2018 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne, 22 -25 March

[matt_b]

Only 5 overtakes, not a very promising start for the season

Its one of those tracks where you need a massive time delta to the car in front to overtake. I think Lewis mentioned his engineer saying it was 1.8 seconds in the post race press conference. In fact I cant even remember the last time I saw an overtake for the lead that wasn't either in the pits, off the line, due to a mechanical problem, or team orders, it must be going back some.

[Nonserviam85]

Melbourne apparently needs 7 DRS sections.

Or everywhere! Seriously, I believe with the current cars they need to increase the DRS window to 1.5-2 seconds.

[johnny comelately]

Only 5 overtakes, not a very promising start for the season

Its one of those tracks where you need a massive time delta to the car in front to overtake. I think Lewis mentioned his engineer saying it was 1.8 seconds in the post race press conference. In fact I cant even remember the last time I saw an overtake for the lead that wasn't either in the pits, off the line, due to a mechanical problem, or team orders, it must be going back some.

Well said re overtaking.
when I see the words drive to a delta i get ever so slightly annoyed .

[mclaren111]

Melbourne apparently needs 7 DRS sections.

Or everywhere! Seriously, I believe with the current cars they need to increase the DRS window to 1.5-2 seconds.

Change the track !!

Cut out corners 1, 2, 3 & 4 and lengthen main straight to re-join at turn 5.

[NathanOlder]

In China SC was deployed 2 laps after VSC and then all other drivers also went for slicks, including Hamilton. This shows that Vettel was right by already going to the pits under VSC. The track didn't dry out after just 2 laps for other drivers to change their minds. They just realized it was good enough for slicks. So in fact it was Hamilton who got lucky. Otherwise he would have stopped later and lost much more time.

I dont think the track was quite ready for slicks, Vettel and Co just took a gamble (worth a go). The track was not faster for Slick tyres at the time, but if you get an almost free pit stop it makes the gamble all the more tempting. "IF" the track was dry enough for the slick tyres to be faster than the inters everyone would have done the same. Vettel Pitted at the end of lap 2. The race resumed on lap 8. Plus 4 or 5 of those laps were behind the safety car. It was only 6 laps but it was probably 15+ minutes and had time to dry further.

All I'm saying is that day, Hamilton didnt get lucky. He won deservedly. Led every lap if i recall correctly after starting on pole. Completely different story to yesterday, and all I was replying about was "what goes around comes around" or "it evens itself out" is 100% rubbish.

[garyjpaterson]

Seriously, I believe with the current cars they need to increase the DRS window to 1.5-2 seconds.

I don't think that is necessary tbh, we saw the cars having no problem getting up to that 1-1.5s window without DRS, from further back DRS isn't going to help passing whatsoever.

I really wouldn't stress about lack of overtaking here, it's always the same at this circuit, just like Monaco which no one seems to fret about the lack of passes on.

[Sieper]

Well, Monaco can also be quite lame, but usually we have a few crashes there as the walls are everywhere. How many overtakes did we have with the pre 2017 smaller wings (and less wide tires). Was it any/much better?

[rogazilla]

The 3 PUs rule is destroying the race. For years, the last 10 laps where the drivers fight it out have now become to try a couple of time then let's turn it down and save the engine... I guess gone is the day when someone would put on a fresh softer rubber to chase down someone with worn medium.

[digitalrurouni]

I agree the 3 PU rule is destroying not only the race but the weekend. In the rain it seemed more and more people were inclined to not bring their cars out during free practice so that' s horrible for fans.

And I don't understand the need for Mercedes to always run a tiny gap with the cars behind them. From what I could see Lewis could extend his gap at will. He was in the clear air, he had no traffic. A 3 second gap with 2 Ferrari's right behind you and no Bottas means they were just asking for it. Simple as that. It's utterly mind boggling an outfit like Mercedes would run a race with so tiny a gap. I do not believe that they did not have pace in their car to have extended to at least 5 seconds.

[dans79]

I really wouldn't stress about lack of overtaking here, it's always the same at this circuit, just like Monaco which no one seems to fret about the lack of passes on.

I personally hate Monaco. To be frank I dislike a lot of the tracks that so many hear call the heart and soul of F1. The layouts don't work well with the amount of DF cars have today.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Well, Monaco can also be quite lame, but usually we have a few crashes there as the walls are everywhere. How many overtakes did we have with the pre 2017 smaller wings (and less wide tires). Was it any/much better?

While the cars have gone through massive changes in the past 20 years, the circuits themselves haven't, to accommodate the modern day demands of the cars. Australia, Spain (to large extent), Monaco, Hungary, Singapore, 3rd sector of Abu Dhabi, all these circuits offer no opportunities to overtake, unless the performance margin between the two cars is around 3 seconds (except Monaco, leading cars never overtake). Once a car is ahead after turn 1, pretty much the race is over unless some SC/VSC drama happens. Worst of all is Monaco.

"Racing" should not be about a faster car getting stuck behind a slower car, only because the circuit doesn't allow an overtake. It should be about a driver in a slower car showing his skills to hold a faster car behind. Even if the chasing car is a couple of tenths behind on performance, a driver's superior racing skills should be enough to pull off an overtake, without being restricted by the circuit limitations.

[vanburin]

Well, Monaco can also be quite lame, but usually we have a few crashes there as the walls are everywhere. How many overtakes did we have with the pre 2017 smaller wings (and less wide tires). Was it any/much better?

Overtaking at Albert Park was poor, but still better than what we saw on Sunday (source:https://www.pitpass.com/58686/Why-overt ... urne-alone):

The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit has never been great for overtaking. If you go back to the last Australian Grand Prix run under a stable set of regulations, without any major incidents or too many cars starting out of position, you will find precious few passing manoeuvres to note. 2015 featured 13 overtakes - 10 of which were completed using DRS. 2014 was a similar story, with 24 total overtakes - eight with the help of DRS.

Yes, this year's Australian Grand Prix featured only 12 changes of position - including two "normal" overtakes and three overtakes with the assistance of DRS. But the variability year-on-year at this event can be significant. In 2016, a race with a red flag, three Safety Car appearances and plenty of cars starting out of position featured 40 changes of position on track. 2017, by contrast, saw none of these factors, with cars qualifying pretty much as expected and performance differentials throughout the field not sufficient to make changes of position an inevitability.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

And I don't understand the need for Mercedes to always run a tiny gap with the cars behind them. From what I could see Lewis could extend his gap at will.

Mental scars (China, Russia and of all, Malaysia) of 2016, I guess.

[dans79]

And I don't understand the need for Mercedes to always run a tiny gap with the cars behind them. From what I could see Lewis could extend his gap at will.

Mental scars (China, Russia and of all, Malaysia) of 2016, I guess.

No to mention if they are out front leading by 20 seconds people complain like children that they are destroying the sport.

[Sieper]

Well, Monaco can also be quite lame, but usually we have a few crashes there as the walls are everywhere. How many overtakes did we have with the pre 2017 smaller wings (and less wide tires). Was it any/much better?

Overtaking at Albert Park was poor, but still better than what we saw on Sunday (source:https://www.pitpass.com/58686/Why-overt ... urne-alone):

The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit has never been great for overtaking. If you go back to the last Australian Grand Prix run under a stable set of regulations, without any major incidents or too many cars starting out of position, you will find precious few passing manoeuvres to note. 2015 featured 13 overtakes - 10 of which were completed using DRS. 2014 was a similar story, with 24 total overtakes - eight with the help of DRS.

Yes, this year's Australian Grand Prix featured only 12 changes of position - including two "normal" overtakes and three overtakes with the assistance of DRS. But the variability year-on-year at this event can be significant. In 2016, a race with a red flag, three Safety Car appearances and plenty of cars starting out of position featured 40 changes of position on track. 2017, by contrast, saw none of these factors, with cars qualifying pretty much as expected and performance differentials throughout the field not sufficient to make changes of position an inevitability.

thanks vanburin, and I agree GPR-A, Monaco is the toughest to overtake on and racing should be about the thrill of a real overtake, a real fight, that is what gets me jumping from my seat and cheering.