[Addnan]

Enjoyed the race, looking forward to seeing what Kimi can do with a proper quali.

[SunhiLegend]

Still buzzin after that awesome race. Nice win for Button would have been nice for a 1-2, so happy Alonso was able to make 5th, thought for sure he was going to have a tough time making the top 8. Mercedes and Lotus seem to have very good pace in the race, will be interesting to see how they fair in the next race and over the season.

[avaya]

Lewis is right to be annoyed. Whoever got to T1 first would win. Wheel spin on the start is what got him. Still expect Hamilton to beat Button over the year.

[speedpop]

Top 3 interview on.

Should be interesting to see what Hamilton says.

[Psychotext]

Still buzzin after that awesome race. Nice win for Button would have been nice for a 1-2, so happy Alonso was able to make 5th, thought for sure he was going to have a tough time making the top 8.

Alonso did an amazing job. No-one else can get as much as he can out of a bad car.

[Lach]

Just realized that Perez pulled a one stopper again after all....

[Adamm]

Hamilton needs to cheer up

[Lucius86]

Still buzzin after that awesome race. Nice win for Button would have been nice for a 1-2, so happy Alonso was able to make 5th, thought for sure he was going to have a tough time making the top 8. Mercedes and Lotus seem to have very good pace in the race, will be interesting to see how they fair in the next race and over the season.

You sure you mean Mercedes? Surely you mean Williams?

[oipic]

Apologies for what may be deemed blatant patriotism, but I'm so, so happy for Dan Ricciardo that he snatched some points from what looked to be a hopeless situation on lap 1. Great stuff.

Entertaining stuff that - it's great to have F1 back. So much to digest, but all the signs are that we're in for some great battles all the way through the field in 2012. Bravo!

[FootballFan]

Great race to be honest, was disappointed about Schumacher`s exit. Button was excellent and Alonso, Vettel, Maldonado(unfortunately didnt finish), Raikonen and Kobayashi all had great races too. Safety car kinda sucked out some of the enjoyment out for me, but it was necessary.

Off to the next Round...C`mon Schumi get me a podium finish.

[Stop It]

I think the cold, hard truth is that for the last year Button has been the better driver.

Totally agree. He was faultless today from start to finish. If he drives like this all season it's going to take something very special to beat him. I look forward to how this season pans out, so glad that no cars are totally dominant too.

[speedpop]

Just realized that Perez pulled a one stopper again after all....

Crazy. He really pushed it and slightly suffered for it. Still must have had major balls for a call like that and it will be interesting what the calculations would be like in the did/didn't department.

Apologies for what may be deemed blatant patriotism, but I'm so, so happy for Dan Ricciardo that he snatched some points from what looked to be a hopeless situation on lap 1. Great stuff.

He's being groomed to be in the seat in Webber leaves the team/retires so Ricciardo will be around for a long time and I'm sure he will be a great driver to watch in the future. Let's hope he keeps the momentum going and formulate it in to a successful year for the team status.

[Lucius86]

Just realized that Perez pulled a one stopper again after all....

Safety car helped massively with that. He wouldn't have made the points otherwise.

[RomanticHeroX]

Lewis is giving the absolute most minimal answers he can, isn't he? Sulky Hamilton surely isn't good for anyone, so hopefully he doesn't take a disappointment too hard.

[Britprog]

Lewis is right to be annoyed. Whoever got to T1 first would win. Wheel spin on the start is what got him. Still expect Hamilton to beat Button over the year.

Lewis didn't have the pace today, was watching on live timing. Jenson was just faster.

Don't know why Lewis was slow, he looked pissed in the PC

[Psychotext]

So did anyone see any bbc guys in the background anywhere?

[SunhiLegend]

You sure you mean Mercedes? Surely you mean Williams?

Maldonado had very good race up until his crash, but I don't think they will be able to keep up with the development of the car like Mercedes can.

[TylerD]

I suggest a lot of caffeine before the race to enjoy Crofty. Didn't mind his energy at all as I was bouncing up and down on my pilates ball computer chair the whole race. :D

Button and Vettel battling to the championship would make me happy.

Congrats to WEBBAH! on his best ever AUS finish.

That was a good show and thank goodness F1 is back, it had been too long.

[avaya]

Clearly Merc are fucked without an EBD like the others.

[Norante]

So did anyone see any bbc guys in the background anywhere?

No, I was actually looking. Maybe they're actively avoiding the Sky crew.

[Choc]

Ricciardo 9th!!!! Yes!!!! After that start he still beat his team mate. Fantastic effort.

slow and steady wins the race. Clearly the other bloke was taking mega risks as he kept almost having offs

[cilonen]

Massa won't be finishing this season in a Ferrari I think... If he doesn't improve the next two races it may be over for him. Did Ferrari ever change a driver mid-season due to lack of performance?

Prost called the car out on being shit in 89 or 90 I think (hazy memory) and was dismissed, but I can't remember if they waited till the end of the season.

[Juicy Bob]

I'm happy for Williams that they show genuine pace and although I dislike Maldonado after what happened at Spa and think he was overly-aggressive in shoving Grosjean on Lap 1, he had a cracker of a race until the final lap.

[ANDY_098]

Prost called the car out on being shit in 89 or 90 I think (hazy memory) and was dismissed, but I can't remember if they waited till the end of the season.

They sacked him with 1 race of the season left. 1991

[Choc]

No, I was actually looking. Maybe they're actively avoiding the Sky crew.

in Australia we got them on Channel Ten/ONE a lot

James Allen (BBC Radio) and DC/EJ on the Grid

We also saw the Sky crews and are taking the sky commentary (thank fuck, our commentators are horrendous @ F1)

[SunhiLegend]

This sky post race isn't very good. I might have to turn it off, it's getting quite boring. I'm sure BBC will still do the forum for all the races.

[Lucius86]

This sky post race isn't very good. I might have to turn it off, it's getting quite boring.

It's shocking.

[cilonen]

They sacked him with 1 race of the season left. 1991

Nice, cheers :)

Not sure who Ferrari could call on mid season; is Fisichella still in the background? Trulli out of retirement?

[RomanticHeroX]

Nice, cheers :) Not sure who Ferrari could call on mid season; is Fisichella still in the background? Trulli out of retirement?

Kobayashi! They could certainly do worse.

[speedpop]

in Australia we got them on Channel Ten/ONE a lot James Allen (BBC Radio) and DC/EJ on the Grid We also saw the Sky crews and are taking the sky commentary (thank fuck, our commentators are horrendous @ F1)

Who in their right mind made the decision that the post-race "commentary" be placed in a public place filled with collar pimps and idiots?

I can shake my head at the ridiculous pro-Webber agenda (which is slowly morphing in to the pro-Ricciardo agenda), but there is so much shit located in those seats.

[cilonen]

Kobayashi! They could certainly do worse.

Good call, that would be fantastic.

[Norante]

I tried, but the post race on Sky is terrible. I will watch the BBC one later.

[herod]

Great race, and good balanced job by Sky throughout the weekend too. I especially enjoyed being able to record practice sessions. Brundle was the weak link, rattling on about Hamilton a bit too much.

Won't miss the 'Team GB' beeb coverage at all.

[Kepler]

Nice, cheers :) Not sure who Ferrari could call on mid season; is Fisichella still in the background? Trulli out of retirement?

I heard something about Perez, but I could be wrong :D

[SunhiLegend]

Great race, and good balanced job by Sky throughout the weekend too. I especially enjoyed being able to record practice sessions. Brundle was the weak link, rattling on about Hamilton a bit too much. Won't miss the 'Team GB' beeb coverage at all.

His one of the only reasons to watch the SKY coverage.

[ANDY_098]

Nice, cheers :) Not sure who Ferrari could call on mid season; is Fisichella still in the background? Trulli out of retirement?

Fisichella moved to AF Corse in the Le Mans Series, they are essentially the Ferrari factory team. No idea if he is still there though. Fisi or Trulli would both be stopgaps rather than realistic replacements though.

I reckon they would call up Bianchi, it's not like they have a winning car anyway so may as well take the opportunity to give him a proper run in a few races to evaluate him.

[Leunam]

Isn't Bianchi their third driver? I would imagine he would get first crack at it.

[Britprog]

Well, on to Malaysia, only a week away thank god!!!

Gonna be interesting to see if McLaren keep up the pace.

Will Lewis fight back, I hope so!

[Foliorum Viridum]

Great race, and good balanced job by Sky throughout the weekend too. I especially enjoyed being able to record practice sessions. Brundle was the weak link, rattling on about Hamilton a bit too much. Won't miss the 'Team GB' beeb coverage at all.

Brundle the weak link? He's the one holding it all together.

[Lach]

Ahahaha Vettel in an Interview with german TV: "On the last lap there was a marshall on the track with only one yellow flag as warning. That guy....well let's just say he has big balls (in his pants)"

[Timbuktu]

Sky isn't great after the race. Oh no... The skypad now. What's the point ofnthis Georgie person

[cilonen]

Great race, and good balanced job by Sky throughout the weekend too. I especially enjoyed being able to record practice sessions. Brundle was the weak link, rattling on about Hamilton a bit too much. Won't miss the 'Team GB' beeb coverage at all.

Generally agree. This post race stuff is getting a bit tedious and as some wag on Twitter's just said I wouldn't be surprised if they just continue straight through to the Malaysian preview show. Those 8 hours live from the flight to KL are going to be tortuous.

Seriously though, no EJ is a massive plus.

[Myoclonic Jerk]

3,000 posts and 60,000 views by the end of the first race. We might just hit OT3 this year.

We should fight to get it sticky on race weekends

No matter how shit Massa is, he's still preferable to Badoer. Not that that's a particularly high bar to clear.

They should get an Italian youngster and groom him for next year. Use this year as training for him

Massa is truly a waste of a seat

Enjoyed the race, looking forward to seeing what Kimi can do with a proper quali.

I don't think he would do much more. Their race pace isn't impressive at all

[Psychotext]

Anyone know when we should expect to see this show up on Sky player? Want to go and get it set up for my mother to watch.

[ANDY_098]

Isn't Bianchi their third driver? I would imagine he would get first crack at it.

I think Bianchi is Force India's third driver this season. He basically 'belongs' to Ferrari though so if they want him back they will take him.

[PedroPanache]

I've been so impressed with the way that Button has developed as a driver over the past three or so years. Ever since winning the championship in '09 he seems more confident, more assured and, most importantly, he's a quicker driver. I'm in good company in thinking that moving to McLaren was a mistake and that Lewis would prove too much for him, but that hasn't been the case and the two have been evenly matched; personally I'm glad to be wrong.

Shame about Ferrari though, they just don't seem to be able to develop a solid, championship contending car and the tragedy may be that Alonso will potentially retire with just those two championships to his name. I think the story of this season will be McLaren Vs. Red Bull, or more accurately, McLaren Vs. Sebastian Vettel.

Roll on Mayalsia.

[Adamm]

So did anyone see any bbc guys in the background anywhere?

Lee mckenzie was shown by the world feed,.she was about to interview grojsean.

[CiSTM]

Kobayashi! They could certainly do worse.

Kobayashi fever is on again, but it won't last :D Kobi driving at Ferrari wouldn't be really that crazy tho, they want drivers who can get big sponsors (like Alonso) and Kobi would get big sponsors from Japan no doubt in there. Too bad he isn't really that good of a driver. In the end I think they want some Italian driver so they will keep scouting.

[herod]

Generally agree. This post race stuff is getting a bit tedious and as some wag on Twitter's just said I wouldn't be surprised if they just continue straight through to the Malaysian preview show. Those 8 hours live from the flight to KL are going to be tortuous. Seriously though, no EJ is a massive plus.

Yes, it's no contest for me. Being able to watch practice is far more important than EJ blathering nonsense to clueless Jake about a race I saw with my own eyes. Get the driver interviews done (the only useful post-race insight), then move on.

[Salacious Crumb]

The analysis of the start with Anthony Davidson was pretty good.