Went to Planica sky flying today, so i can watch Q without any interruptions tommorow at 7 am

Risk Breaker said:

So you think it would be better to swap Total for Mobil 1 for example and upgrade something else?

Click to expand...

Not sure. I have my old $/points charts for last year, but I just noticed the change this morning and I wont have time to re-run the numbers before tonight. I will do it before the second race though. I just hope that if I picked the less point efficient one, one race with the wrong fuel won't put me out of the running altogether.

Risk Breaker said:

Another straight-hairpin-straight-hairpin track? Not sure if want.





So you think it would be better to swap Total for Mobil 1 for example and upgrade something else?

Click to expand...

edit: bah, everything is difficult. fuel is a safe bet thou because of the high spread

So, who's going to be here at 03:00 (GMT) to see P3?

It's time to separate the men from the boys.

kanugo said:

So, who's going to be here at 03:00 (GMT) to see P3?

It's time to separate the men from the boys.

Click to expand...

meh, i'm still debating whether i should squeal out of bed super early in the morning for quali. FP3 is a no go

Thanks guys, I'll keep an eye on the thread

S. L. said:

meh, i'm still debating whether i should squeal out of bed super early in the morning for quali. FP3 is a no go

Click to expand...

Yeap, Q is scheduled for 06:00 (GMT).

Does anyone know it it's going to rain on FP3? I'm super curious to see what the Mercs (and Schumi) will do. It's going to be insane if he manages a second line start. Epic hours ahead.

mclaren777 said:

Few things in life make me happier than a Ferrari in distress.

Click to expand...

kanugo said:

Yeap, Q is scheduled for 06:00 (GMT).

Does anyone know it it's going to rain on FP3? I'm super curious to see what the Mercs (and Schumi) will do. It's going to be insane if he manages a second line start. Epic hours ahead.

Click to expand...

Isolated showers (apparently) clearing in the afternoon. FP3 is at 2pm local time, so I guess it depends on how close "afternoon" is to 2pm.

God damn it. Stupid Bernie and his fucking 'make it TV friendly for Europe' bullshit means I won't be able to watch the damn race in my own country. Fucking hell. Stupid 1630 start time, I have to be at work by 1700. Fucking shite. Fuck.

kanugo said:

So, who's going to be here at 03:00 (GMT) to see P3?

It's time to separate the men from the boys.

Click to expand...

I will be here. So tired from last night still so going to get a few hours sleep in first. My sleep pattern is going to be screwed by Monday. I got 2 hours sleep last night and I'm not going to get much more than that tonight.

Looks like there will be no rain at all today. Will be a good and busy FP3 with the rain stopping serious work being done.

Is the iPad timing app really not free this year? Last year there was the free version and the paid version, but when I use the "free" version this year I get non-stop popups about going to the store to purchase the paid version. I don't see a place to login either.

kanugo said:

So, who's going to be here at 03:00 (GMT) to see P3?

It's time to separate the men from the boys.

Click to expand...

Sorry I've got a paying job to go to tomorrow so bed time for me.
I'll be up early though for qualifying.

I'll try to participate in this thread! For some reason I don't think I saw a single race last year but I saw both practices last night and I'm crazy hyped now. It'll be good to get back into F1 and this seems like a good season. I'm also the only male Jason Button fan on earth!

kanugo said:

So, who's going to be here at 03:00 (GMT) to see P3?

It's time to separate the men from the boys.

Click to expand...

I'll be here, though it'll only be 2pm for me .

There's not a cloud in the sky where I am about 500km from the circuit, hopefully it'll be nice and sunny for FP3.

clemenx said:

I'll try to participate in this thread! For some reason I don't think I saw a single race last year but I saw both practices last night and I'm crazy hyped now. It'll be good to get back into F1 and this seems like a good season. I'm also the only male Jason Button fan on earth!

Click to expand...

No sir, ButtonGAF is a pretty big group around these parts. Glad to have you aboard!

I was just watching a bit of the fp1 replay on the sky hd channel. Croft with Davidson commentating, and Ted in the pit lane. The only thing different is the logo in the corner of the screen! Crazy stuff. Just a pity the main race commentary pair isn't staying the same as well.

Leunam said:

No sir, ButtonGAF is a pretty big group around these parts. Glad to have you aboard!

Click to expand...

Button-GAF supporter here, his super smoking hot girlfriend helps things though.

How can you not love this:

moojito said:

I was just watching a bit of the fp1 replay on the sky hd channel. Croft with Davidson commentating, and Ted in the pit lane. The only thing different is the logo in the corner of the screen! Crazy stuff. Just a pity the main race commentary pair isn't staying the same as well.

Click to expand...

Yeah really gonna miss Coulthard and Brundle, they had really good chemistry in the commentary box

Good joke on Twitter:
How many Red Bull mechanics does it take to change a lightbulb?
7 - 1 to change it, 6 to stand in front of its diffuser.

Just to clarify, qualifying starts in 7 hours right? 1:55 AM EST. Sucksssss. I got a wedding to go to tomorrow but I'll suck it up and stay up.

2011 Race Summary

Speculation before the race suggested that Red Bull were using a "start-only KERS" device that had been deliberately designed to be used to aid their drivers at the start of the race at the expense of using the device for the duration of the Grand Prix. This was seemingly supported by telemetry that showed Sebastian Vettel did not touch his KERS button during his qualifying laps, but team principal Christian Horner revealed post-race that the team had never fitted either of their cars with KERS during qualifying or the race and kept the decision a secret so as to mislead their opposition.

Vettel made the best start from pole whereas the McLarens of Hamilton and Jenson Button started slowly from second and fourth on the dirty side of the grid. This left Vettel unchallenged into the first corner, with Hamilton's KERS button allowing him to just keep second from Webber. Button was unable to defend his position as he was under challenge from Fernando Alonso and Vitaly Petrov. Petrov took fourth and Alonso was pushed on the grass and dropped back, while Button dropped to sixth behind Felipe Massa. In the middle of the pack, there was a collision between Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari as a result of which both drivers had to pit for repairs; Schumacher for a puncture and Alguersuari for a front wing. The rest of the field passed through the first lap safely.

Sebastian Vettel was 2.4 seconds ahead of Hamilton at the end of the first lap, and he increased it to 3.2 seconds at the end of lap 2, with Webber right behind Hamilton. Hamilton then began to respond to Vettel's fast laps, easily pulling away from Webber and keeping the gap to Vettel around 3 seconds. Webber and Petrov were comfortable in third and fourth, with the main battle on the track being Jenson Button's repeated attempts to get fifth from Massa. Button tried many times to pass Massa, but his attempts were to no avail until lap 11 when he went around the outside of the Brazilian at the fast Turn 11 chicane. Button was forced to cut the chicane to complete his overtake and was given a drive-though penalty despite stating in a radio transmission that he felt he had the position when he was forced off the circuit. Massa lost momentum and was passed by the recovering Fernando Alonso in the sister Ferrari, compromising Button's position further, as in order to give the position back to Massa he would have had to let both Ferraris past. At the front, Vettel was only 1.5 seconds ahead of Hamilton when he made his first stop and rejoined fourth behind Button who was yet to serve his drive-through and make his tyre stop. Button made an attempt to hold Vettel up in order to aid teammate Hamilton, though Vettel quickly passed him and set the fastest lap of the race on new tyres. Hamilton pitted two laps later, but this proved to be a disadvantage as he rejoined nearly seven seconds behind Vettel. Webber, Petrov, Alonso and Massa followed; the former rejoining on hard tyres unlike all the others.

Pastor Maldonado was the first retirement of the race, pulling over to the side of the circuit with an undiagnosed technical problem that the team later traced back to a problem with the transmission. He was joined several laps later by Michael Schumacher, who had sustained damage from contact with Alguersuari, and the Mercedes team felt it was better to retire than to continue on and risk further damage to the car. Heikki Kovalainen retired his Lotus T128 on the same lap with a water leak, whilst Timo Glock was initially parked in the garage with a mechanical failure before he was able to return to the circuit. As he completed less than 90% of the race winner's distance, he was not classified in the final standings.

Later in the race, Alonso and Webber made their second stops much earlier than the others, and a greater picture began to emerge. The new Pirellis afforded several different pit strategies; where Vettel, Hamilton and Petrov were all running two-stop strategies, Alonso and Webber nominated a third stop each. Further down the field, rookie Sergio Pérez defied all expectations by making a single stop in his Sauber. Jenson Button was also running on a two-stop strategy, and had managed to climb back up through the field to be in the points at the halfway point despite his drive-through penalty. Elsewhere, Nico Rosberg joined team-mate Schumacher in retirement when Rubens Barrichello attempted a pass up the inside into turn three that damaged the Mercedes' side pod, and turned Barrichello around. Rosberg's car gave off blue smoke during the half-a-lap after the collision and he was able to park the Mercedes safely by the circuit, removing the need for the safety car to deploy. Rubens Barrichello later retired his Williams with a similar problem to team-mate Maldonado, leaving the team pointless.

With the race moving into its final phase, Webber and Alonso both pitted, rejoining the circuit some twenty seconds behind Petrov. Lewis Hamilton had an off-track excursion at the first corner that damaged his undertray. It was enough to stop him from mounting a challenge towards Vettel, but he was able to remain in second place as Webber and Alonso closed on Petrov. Vettel went on to win the race by twenty-two seconds from Hamilton, to become the first driver to win three consecutive Grands Prix since Button won four races in succession in May and June 2009. Alonso rapidly caught Petrov, but Petrov held on long enough to secure third place, his maiden podium. With Alonso fourth, Mark Webber equalled his best result at Albert Park, finishing fifth. Jenson Button finished sixth ahead of the Saubers of Sergio Pérez in seventh and Kamui Kobayashi in eighth, while Felipe Massa crossed the line ninth, almost ninety seconds behind Vettel. Sébastien Buemi claimed the final championship point in tenth, one lap down.

Circuit Info

[Click map for onboard lap]




Laps
Circuit length
Race length
Lap Record
Most Wins (Drivers)
Most Wins (Constructors)

Previous Winners


Videos highlighting the Australian Grand Prix

Highlights from the 2007 Australian Grand Prix


Changes from 2011

-“Speed bumps” will be installed behind the kerb of turn 4 to prevent drivers running wide on the exit of turn 3 and rejoining between turns 4 and 5.
-A new section of kerb will be added after the existing kerb on the exit of turn 4.
-The kerb on the apex of turn 5 will be extended by approximately ten metres.
-The kerb on the apex of turn 13 will be extended by approximately six metres.
-The angle of the wall relative to the track on the left on the exit of turns 4 and 12 will be reduced.
-The tyre barrier on the drivers’ left after turn 12 will be shortened where the wall is parallel to the track.
-The tyre barrier on the drivers’ right after turn 12 will be extended.

GP Facts

-It is the first time in Formula One history that six champions will line up on the grid. They are: Michael Schumacher (1994-’95, 2000-’04), Fernando Alonso (2005-’06), Kimi Raikkonen (2007), Lewis Hamilton (2008), Jenson Button (2009) and Sebastian Vettel (2010-’11).
-Ricciardo’s presence on the grid alongside countryman Mark Webber means that for the first time In F1 history two Australians will start their home race.
-The arrival of Grosjean, Pic and Vergne has given Formula One a French flavour from the first time since Grosjean raced in ‘09. Indeed, it’s the biggest contingent of French drivers since the Brazilian GP of 1999, when Stéphane Sarrazin made his single race appearance, lining up alongside Jean Alesi and Olivier Panis.



[Standings for the drivers, constructors, and fantasy league championship will be updated after the first race]

Awesome preview as ever Leunam! I won't be able to watch qualy but I may have convinced a coworker to cover me for a couple hours so I can watch the race.

Awesome work as per usual.

Fuck me F1racemanager is gone to the dogs again. I'm struggling to login and make some changes.
God help those waiting till FP3 is over.

i would love to watch qualy and practice 3 but i just got back from a work dinner and im tired.

will watch tomorrow without spoiling myself

HYPED!

Can't wait for Quali. The Ferrari looks properly like a dog. I feel for 'Nando, guy's prime is being wasted.

Also, Schumi?! I wonder if that AMG actually can keep this leading pace.

Thanks guys.

Racemanager gets really slow right before qualifying and right after the race. I hope to hear feedback from those in the other league as to how well the website runs around the same time. We may move on to that other website next season.

So, buildup to qually starts at 6AM [CET]? Its a shame that vip*** site will be my only solution for watching, but better something than nothing.

kanugo said:

So, who's going to be here at 03:00 (GMT) to see P3?

It's time to separate the men from the boys.

Click to expand...

3am is but early for me, cya at 6am though!

Speaking of which, bed time!

Reckon I'll get up at 6, watch the qualy, then head back to bed for a lazy extra hour or four. I love weekends! Or rather, days off work which may or may not be weekends.

Do I get up at 5 for pre-show or 6 for just quali? Hmm.

Scarbs has a short piece up about the Merc F-duct

Mercedes: Are they blowing the Front or Rear wing?

It would be awesome if this was another double diffuser for Brawn's team and his pair got a good head start before red bull and mclaren got caught up to make it a really interesting 3 way fight by the European leg.

Jenson FTW!

..I'm going to miss qualy live which means I'll have to boycott this thread. Same deal for the race. I'll be in here with comments, but way too late.

Leunam said:

2011 Race Summary

Click to expand...

You know it's a race weekend when Leunam's great previews are up.

Great as always.

Juicy Bob said:

We think we should do an F1-GAF avatar thing to identify us all and celebrate the start of another glorious season.

Click to expand...

Can we use drivers from older eras of F1?

Wouldn't mind using a Cervert avatar for a bit.

I'm still thinking about the app Norante was using yesterday. Damn, that looked good.

sky F1 will be repeating the quality through the day on their channel, right? with the new ipad to play with no way I will be awake at 6am, 6 hours from now heh.

Best place to check the f1 channel time table?

finally watching practice2. will be a bit better more towards summer. used almost all my vacationdays towards f1 race weekends :-D

kanugo said:

So, who's going to be here at 03:00 (GMT) to see P3?

It's time to separate the men from the boys.

Click to expand...

practice3 OF COURSE. but not here for qual. or race. hehe

Oh god, I went out drinking and can only get about 5 hours sleep.

I'm going to feel terrible.

can we start pooling our streaming links before the race starts

I have......nothing, your turn.

Current radar image. Doubt it'll rain at all today.

Forgot how much I hate Greg Rusts voice. And head.

Well dang, might be missing the live broadcast of the race. My friends birthday is tomorrow and mine is on race day and since the race is at 1 AM here, I might be out at the time. Hope I can make it home on time.

wow superkk end of practice2. :O

When does p3 start?

35 Minutes till P3.

Went to bed early, now I'm back up. \o/

Hum...sunny

The Medium and Hard compound tyres have a very similar colour. That's going to be a nightmare for the commentators.

PRACTICE 3 !