FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

"Drained" Ricciardo hints at new home race approach

A "drained" Daniel Ricciardo has hinted that he will take a new approach to the build-up to the Australian Grand Prix in 2020.

As usual, Ricciardo was a wanted man in the lead-up to the Melbourne race, with a packed media and promotional schedule.

His week included local press and Renault filming commitments on Tuesday, driving Rick Kelly's Supercar for a Castrol promo on Wednesday, the F1 Live event on Wednesday evening, and countless appearances for sponsors and through his tie-up with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport at Albert Park from Thursday onwards.

Following his disappointing debut race for Renault, Ricciardo said he felt "flat" for reasons beyond the DNF, adding that he feels like he can "never do enough" during the Australian GP week.

"It's tough. I feel like the whole week we're... this week is a tough one," he said.

"We're always pushing up hill. You can never do enough, but I feel we do more than enough.

"I don't want to blame [the race on] that, but I certainly didn't... I don't know, I feel flat for more reason that one."

He then hinted he could look to lighten his promo load heading into next year's Australian Grand Prix.

"[I'm] just drained," he said. " just try to please everyone this week and don't look after myself. We'll change it for next year."

[MIKA27]

Visor tear-off forced Raikkonen into early pitstop

Kimi Raikkonen says a visor tear-off stuck in his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 car's brake duck forced a compromising early pitstop in the 2019 season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen ran ninth in the first stint
Australian GP: Bottas takes dominant win as Ferrari struggles
FORMULA 1 / RACE REPORT
Australian GP: Bottas takes dominant win as Ferrari struggles
18h ago
, escaping a first corner brush of wheels with Lando Norris to slot in behind the two Haas and Nico Hulkenberg's Renault in the 'class B' battle.

The Alfa was the first car to make an ordinary pitstop in the race, on the 12th of the 58 laps, but Raikkonen said it was a compromised strategy.

"I think we had a small brake cooling [problem]," he explained. "One of the tear-offs fell in so we had to stop earlier than we wanted.

"The car had a lot of speed in my view, but it is still difficult to overtake here.

"It is easier to get closer but the last push is still tricky in this circuit."

Although the early stop was unscheduled, Raikkonen did not lose any places to the cars he had been battling with.

He ended up finishing close behind Hulkenberg in eighth place, holding off Lance Stroll's Racing Point, Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso and out-of-position Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly in a late five-car battle.

Asked if the race was everything he had hoped for on his first outing with Alfa Romeo, Raikkonen replied: "Not all, but I think we will take it.

"I'm happy how the car felt but generally if we would have tidied up a few things we could have got more.

"But for the first weekend with the team, I will take it. No major f*** ups – so we take it and try to make the car faster for the next one."

Raikkonen's teammate Antonio Giovinazzi finished 15th.

Giovinazzi ran an extremely long first stint and held up a number of top 10 contenders who had stopped early as he lost pace on worn tyres, before rejoining well adrift of the main midfield pack when he eventually stopped.

[MIKA27]

Why you should go to the 2019 French GP

Formula 1 returned to the spiritual home of Grand Prix racing following a decade-long absence in 2018, as the distinctive blue, white and red of Paul Ricard threw open its doors. Motorsport Live looks at the French Grand Prix, and beyond the obvious reasons to experience Provence in June, why this race is a must for 2019.

Grand Prix racing was the birthplace of motor racing, with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the governing body of motorsport, calling home its central Paris office overlooking Place de la Concorde. Since the first races in 1902, an array of venues across France have played host first to a display of wealthy amateurs before motorsport got professional.

With the arrival of Formula 1 in 1950,street circuits ruled, beforehand, Paul Ricard became synonymous with F1 throughout the 1970s and 80s, and played host to F1 testing, before losing out to the more northern Magny-Cours from 1991. With crowd numbers dwindling as a result of the all-conquering Michael Schumacher era, the French government pulled all funding in 2008, and with it, racing stopped altogether. Ten years later, in 2018 the French Grand Prix was back, to a now much improved and upgraded Circuit Paul Ricard, nestled on a beautiful plateau in the heart of the Provence region.

Last year there was action from start to finish as a clash between two of the main title contenders, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel came together, opening up the order at Turn 1, giving a handful of underdogs their opportunity to shine in the French sun. There was understandable enthusiasm for local heroes Romain Grosjean and Pierre Gasly – with the later now aligned with Red Bull Racing can the amiable Rouen-born driver deliver a victory on home soil? Not since Alain Prost has Le Marseillaise been blasted out at the French Grand Prix.

Or could it be Renault? At last season’s event there was a passionate following for the local automobile giants as thousands of spectators turned the grandstands yellow. With seven-time Grand Prix victor Daniel Ricciardo now on board, will this be the year Renault returns to the top step?

The circuit itself offers spectators spectacular view of some of the most iconic corners in motorsport. Watch as the drivers blast along the pit straight, the Mistral Straight, or capture a spot through the tricky double right-hander of Le Beausset, where action is almost guaranteed. The creation of a dedicated Park and Ride system, will ensure that there is no repeat of the teething troubles from last year.

Paul Ricard’s location within Provence also gives it’s a unique opportunity to mix high class racing action, with stunning local scenery, with quintessential cafes and restaurants offering great food, within a relaxed atmosphere. Fete de la Music, the nationwide music festive coincides with the weekend too, with both the circuit and the local showcasing the festive throughout the weekend.

Alternatively plunge through the jaw-dropping roads take you to the pristine Cote d’Azur, which itself is lined with dozens of charming towns each with their own unique offerings and resplendent views of one of the most famous coastlines anywhere in the world. And if you want to travel a little further afield then one of France’s most vibrant cities – Marseille – is less than an hour away. Marseille’s Marignane Airport, your likely point of call for getting to the French Grand Prix, services most major airlines from all of Europe.

For almost guaranteed warm summer weather, spectacular food, and most importantly all-out racing, then the French GP must be high on your list. What are you waiting for? Book up your trip to the French Grand Prix with Motorsport Live today.

[MIKA27]

Netflix series would have been "distraction" for Mercedes

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Mercedes did not take part in the Netflix series about the 2018 Formula 1 season because the team viewed it as a potential distraction.

Mercedes and Ferrari were the only two teams
Brawn wants all F1 teams involved in second Netflix series
FORMULA 1 / BREAKING NEWS
Brawn wants all F1 teams involved in second Netflix series
Mar 8, 2019
 not to open their doors for extensive behind the scenes filming, and Wolff conceded that the decision by the Italian team not to taking part influenced his own.

The sport's two frontrunning teams are featured in the 10-part series only in generic race and paddock coverage, with no behind-the-scenes insight.

"I think we had some good reasons not to join last year," said Wolff.

"The main reason was that I felt it was a big distraction, and could potentially be a distraction, especially also because our main competitor was not doing it.

"There is a different environment when you're within your inner circle in the team and you have to protect it and you have a microphone swinging over your head and a camera pointed at you.

"The media work already, as much as it makes F1 and we must be grateful, has become a very, very big part of the race weekends and I felt that doing more of it would harm us in our performance.

"This is why I decided that it was not for us."

Wolff admitted that after seeing the finished result he might now have second thoughts.

"I'm open minded. I watched the first three episodes on my way over. I liked some of the things in there. Certainly the production's great, how it's made is on a very high level.

"It shines a completely different light on F1. The narrative is interesting. It creates stories that are not the obvious ones. It's not about Ferrari against Mercedes. The sport is maybe not the primary narrative but interesting other stories.

"I get feedback from people that are not normally so interested in F1 and they said it's great. So therefore we need to make up our minds. Some of us will still our heads together and evaluate whether we want to do this or not."

Asked if his sponsors had questioned why Mercedes received so little coverage, he said: "No, I think in a certain way we got good feedback that we weren't in.

"Some of our sponsors, and FOM was the same, said 'Yeah it makes sense because you never get to see some of the other teams'.

"They felt that it was on purpose from our side and they understood that the distraction was a risk.

"This is the line that I still think it was the right thing to do. We've seen the result and it's good and now it's about deciding whether we're in."

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

8 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

MIKA: This is why I dislike Ferrari. Had that have been Vettel in P5, they would have asked Leclerc to allow him to pass. Charles was clearly faster and should have passed, gain or no gain for the team, but still a gain for the actual driver.

Exactly right.  Binotto apparently forgot when he said that Vettel and Leclerc would be allowed fight each other on the track.  How quickly that changed.  Ferrari better figure something out pretty quick if they expect to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull.

 

[Baccy]

Love or hate Ferrari, I want a battle damnit! So I'm pulling for them... Do you really want to watch any Mercedes dominant snoozefest? Please God no?

[MIKA27]

7 minutes ago, Baccy said:

Love or hate Ferrari, I want a battle damnit! So I'm pulling for them... Do you really want to watch any Mercedes dominant snoozefest? Please God no?

I don't dislike any team personally, the more "Closer" battles, the better.

I'm a Mercedes fan primarily for sure, but more so a fan of Formula 1 so I do follow other teams/drivers also. 

I'm still hoping Alfa Romeo and HAAS can get up on the podium this season. 

By the way.... It was so good to see so many members of our forum posting on the thread over the weekend. So good to see the interaction.  Thank you to all who read and posted, brilliant. I was at the Qualy and race so didn't post all that much. 

[LLC]

Tough day for Ferrari. I guess if Mercedes had to win, at least it was Botas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

1 minute ago, Baccy said:

Love or hate Ferrari, I want a battle damnit! So I'm pulling for them... Do you really want to watch any Mercedes dominant snoozefest? Please God no?

I feel the same.  I want to see competition.  Yesterday, Bottas was untouchable.  Verstappen can keep pace to a degree, but in order to keep pace he is on the edge of control.  What Ferrari demonstrated yesterday is that they need to go back to the drawing board.  The speed "advantage" they had at Catalunya in testing evaporated quickly in race conditions. 

Right now I'd rather watch the mid pack.  That is where the competition lies currently.

 

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

13 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

I'm still hoping Alfa Romeo and HAAS can get up on the podium this season. 

I'm hoping that this is the year that Haas starts pushing for podiums.  Both Magnuson and Grosjean have shown good speed.  Now if the team can figure out how to torque a wheel nut without cross threading it...

[Habana Mike]

51 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

Visor tear-off forced Raikkonen into early pitstop

Kimi Raikkonen says a visor tear-off stuck in his Alfa Romeo Formula 1 car's brake duck forced a compromising early pitstop in the 2019 season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen ran ninth in the first stint
Australian GP: Bottas takes dominant win as Ferrari struggles
FORMULA 1 / RACE REPORT
Australian GP: Bottas takes dominant win as Ferrari struggles
18h ago
, escaping a first corner brush of wheels with Lando Norris to slot in behind the two Haas and Nico Hulkenberg's Renault in the 'class B' battle.

The Alfa was the first car to make an ordinary pitstop in the race, on the 12th of the 58 laps, but Raikkonen said it was a compromised strategy.

"I think we had a small brake cooling [problem]," he explained. "One of the tear-offs fell in so we had to stop earlier than we wanted.

"The car had a lot of speed in my view, but it is still difficult to overtake here.

"It is easier to get closer but the last push is still tricky in this circuit."

Although the early stop was unscheduled, Raikkonen did not lose any places to the cars he had been battling with.

He ended up finishing close behind Hulkenberg in eighth place, holding off Lance Stroll's Racing Point, Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso and out-of-position Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly in a late five-car battle.

Asked if the race was everything he had hoped for on his first outing with Alfa Romeo, Raikkonen replied: "Not all, but I think we will take it.

"I'm happy how the car felt but generally if we would have tidied up a few things we could have got more.

"But for the first weekend with the team, I will take it. No major f*** ups – so we take it and try to make the car faster for the next one."

Raikkonen's teammate Antonio Giovinazzi finished 15th.

Giovinazzi ran an extremely long first stint and held up a number of top 10 contenders who had stopped early as he lost pace on worn tyres, before rejoining well adrift of the main midfield pack when he eventually stopped.

Well, it is an Alfa

Glad to see them back in it though!

[Lotusguy]

I feel the same.  I want to see competition.  Yesterday, Bottas was untouchable.  Verstappen can keep pace to a degree, but in order to keep pace he is on the edge of control.  What Ferrari demonstrated yesterday is that they need to go back to the drawing board.  The speed "advantage" they had at Catalunya in testing evaporated quickly in race conditions. 
Right now I'd rather watch the mid pack.  That is where the competition lies currently.
 

The only unknown is which Mercedes driver will win the championship. I pray it’s Bottas.

The new engine regulations can’t come soon enough for me.

[MIKA27]

1 hour ago, Lotusguy said:

 

The only unknown is which Mercedes driver will win the championship. I pray it’s Bottas.

The new engine regulations can’t come soon enough for me.

 

I'd love to see Bottas rub it into Toto for his Wingman comment last season. 

[MIKA27]

2019 Australian Grand Prix: Race Highlights

 

[MIKA27]

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX: TOP THREE PRESS CONFERENCE

Transcript from the top three press conference after the Australian Grand Prix, Round 1 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship, at Albert Park in Melbourne on Sunday 17 March.

Featuring race winner Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), second placed Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) in third.

Track interviews conducted by Martin Brundle

Q: Valtteri, the race of your life?
Valtteri Bottas: I think so! I don’t know what just happened.

Q: What a perfect start, to get away.
VB: I don’t know what to say. It was definitely my best race ever. I don’t know what happened. I felt so good and everything was under control. The car was so good today. So truly enjoyable. I need to enjoy today.

Q: You made it a one-horse race. Twenty-six world championship points with the fastest lap. You were determined to have that fastest lap.
VB: Yeah, definitely. It’s a new rule for this year. As I had really strong pace I wanted to go for that in the end and it’s always a bit risky with worn tyres but it was worth it. I’m just so happy and I can’t wait for the next race.

Q: A one-two for the team, congratulations Lewis, second place, but maybe a bit of a frustrating day for you?
Lewis Hamilton: No I’s been a good weekend for the team, so I have to be happy for everyone and a really fantastic job from everyone. Valtteri drove an incredible race today, so he truly deserved it. We’ve just got some work to do. Still, it’s a great, great start to the year, more than we could have hoped as a team.

Q: Max launched an attack on you at the end. Did you have it covered?
LH: Yeah, no problem at all.

Q: Any idea where the pace may have gone to?
LH: I do have some ideas, but I’ll wait until I sit with my engineers to go over it. Naturally, position at the start was a little bit frustrating, especially when you have a good weekend up to that point but that’s how the game goes and I’ll just train and work hard to try and improve the next time.

Q: Podium place for Max Verstappen. You had an interesting afternoon…
Max Verstappen: Yeah, I had to overtake Seb to get onto the podium, which is not easy around here, so I was happy to pull that move off, and also challenging Lewis for second, so, yeah, pretty pleased with that.

Q: You had the Ferraris covered. You had a little trip across the grass, probably took you back from behind Lewis. But you were still coming at him.
MV: Yeah, it was unfortunate but I don’t think it would have changed the end result.

Q: So, reasonably happy with today?
MV: Of course. To start the season on the podium, challenging the Mercedes car ahead, I think that’s a very positive start for us. Also a big well done to the team, after the difficult Friday we had. And also big thanks to Honda, also their first podium in the V6 era, so very happy for them.

Press Conference

Q: Well Valtteri you said on the podium that you had porridge for breakfast but was there any indication in practice that you were going to be able to unlock that sort of performance from the car?
VB: Well, first of all, as a team, in practice we saw that we were strong, both in short runs and long runs, but obviously it’s impossible to draw a proper conclusion but we saw the raw pace yesterday in qualifying, as a team, with a good margin to Ferrari, and today race pace was strong – much stronger than we expected coming into this weekend. That’s obviously good news. It shows that we have definitely done all the right things between the testing in terms of direction with the car. Also, for myself, it was definitely the best race I’ve had in my life. Obviously, the key thing for me was the race start, to get to the lead and then being at the front I could show strong pace and I could pull a gap. I think in the first stop I could also…. I stopped a bit later so I was a good tyre in the end. Just the car was feeling so good today, it was truly enjoyable.

Q: Well, many congratulations. Lewis, it all seemed to slip away from you at the start. Tell us about that moment?
LH: I don’t really remember much of it, honestly, it was quite a long time ago really. I don’t know, maybe I got wheelspin. It doesn’t really matter, Valtteri got a better start. Once we got to the first corner, we held position, we had the front row still. And Valtteri did an exceptional job throughout the race, so congratulations to him and after that it was just about bringing the car home.

Q: You talked on the radio about maybe some tyres issues. Did that play out?
LH: No, not really. I wasn’t entirely happy with the balance I had but it wasn’t the end of the world. It wasn’t a problem for me to finish second.

Q: Thanks. Coming to you Max: If we had said to you before this race that you would finish 35 seconds ahead of the lead Ferrari, what would you have said?
MV: I would tell you ‘we will find out on Sunday’. Winter testing doesn’t really show the true picture, as you can see this weekend. We had a good car. In the start, stayed out of trouble. It was just very hard to stay close to Seb, as my tyres were overheating very quickly. I just did my own pace, a manageable pace, and we could extend our stint a little bit and then when we did the pit stop afterwards we had a bit fresher tyres than Lewis and Seb ahead. I managed to get by Seb, which is not easy around this track, because it’s just so hard to follow. But very happy to get to third. Trying to challenge for second was a very positive feeling, especially after my Friday. At the end we couldn’t pull it off, but in general I’m juts very happy to be on the podium. I think we managed to turn it around in a very positive way after Friday and for Honda to have their first podium in the V6 era is a great start, so big congrats to them.

Questions from the Floor:

Q: (Yianni Mavromoustakos – talkingtorque.com.au) Question for Max. How did you find the Honda engine after your first race with it – and do you think you’ll be capable enough to compete for top spot?
MV: Well, I think in terms of speed we had throughout the race, it was again a very good step forward to last year. If I just compare top speeds against the other two top teams, so I’m very pleased for that. Also, in general, the engine has been performing really well, without any issues. So, that is also very important. I guess time will tell if we can fight for top spot.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Max, obviously the performance of the Red Bull Honda package, evidenced by the fact you finished third – but how encouraging was it that you were not only able to finish third on the road but were able to push Lewis and show performance all the way to the end. It didn’t look like you were having to manage the package at all towards the end.
MV: No, we didn’t. Well… you always have to manage the tyres because as soon as you get close to the car ahead they overheat, the tyres. In general, just very pleased, because I could at least have a go at it, in terms of top speed. Good progress, and there are a lot of positive things coming as well, and so far we have been working really well together. Very pleased with that. I think Valtteri was very far ahead still. It was a good result today, but we have to work hard to, of course, improve.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Congratulations Valtteri. For the first time in six years, a Finnish driver is leading the championship. How does it feel to be first time there as a leader?
VB: Congrats to you as well! Thank you. Obviously, I don’t think I was ever leading a championship. Obviously I know it’s only the first race of the year. I’m not so good with the numbers of the days and statistics but all I can say is that I’m really pleased with the way the season has started. First of all for us as a team, we have such a strong package going forwards and then, for myself, after quite a tricky last year, to have started the season like this. It’s very good and I look forward to the next race.

Q: (Roger Byron – Beyond the Racing Line) For everyone, how was it with the new aero package, following cars this weekend? In a race you find out more…
MV: Ask Valtteri how it was following!
LH: No different.

No different to previous seasons?
LH: No.

You were pretty close to Lewis at the end there Max…
MV: Yeah, I had no chance to get by. It is still very hard. The only positive thing what we improved is the DRS effect. So, as soon as it opens, it’s a lot more powerful than last year but following is still a lot of turbulence.

Anything to add Valtteri, when you were coming through traffic…
VB: It was quite… I didn’t get close enough to traffic ahead to really see a difference.

Q: (David Coath) Valtteri, you drove the perfect race and your pitcrew was perfect as well. How does that make you feel when you know how much everyone in the team is giving?
VB: It means a lot. It is teamwork and nothing comes for free. Or by one person’s efforts. We’ve all worked for this result we’ve got now as a team together, over the past years and over the winter, and over the weekend. I’m very proud of every single person here in the team at this race weekend but also at the factory. There’s many hidden heroes in Brackley and in Brixworth. Just want to say a massive thanks to them and I really know how much they work and how much it means.

Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today) Valtteri, was there any moment during the race that you had a flashback to Russia last year and you thought maybe someone might come on the radio and say ‘slow down’?
VB: No, I didn’t think of that, actually, and there would be no reason to think about that. We are all starting a new season with zero points, we are here to fight, both me and Lewis will want to fight this season, for sure, against each other and against everyone and we are still one team so no point in thinking about those kind of things.

Q: (inaudible – Finnish News Agency) Valtteri, you said yesterday that you approached the weekend differently, started from zero. Can you explain how your preparation was different from last year, for instance?
VB: Yeah, for sure every year you learn as a person, you learn about yourself, what works for you, what doesn’t work for you in terms of preparation and what preparation includes: how you rest, how you spend your free time, how you do the training, how much training, what kind, all those kind of things, travel plans, all sorts. So just trying to optimise everything for this year, try to maximise every single thing that is possible. I don’t know, it’s quite difficult to explain what’s been going on here last winter, inside of my head and definitely something changed in terms of the way I feel about things in life in general and in racing, but that’s all in my thoughts. I felt good in the car today and yesterday. That’s all that matters.

Q: (inaudible – The Age Newspaper) Max, I want to ask about your mindset and the first race without Daniel. Does it change not having to look sidewards and being able to focus on yourself and not focus as much on internals and have a weekend purely about your performance? Did it feel different today without Daniel?
MV: Well, I always focused on myself so it’s not like something changes, from my side. No.

Q: (Giusto Ferronato – Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, can you tell us something about (how much) wheelspin you had, wheelspin at the start?
LH: Yeah, probably too engaged with the clutch, probably, but I don’t really know because I won’t know ‘til I go back, but ultimately I didn’t do a good enough job.

Q: (Phil Branagan – The New Daily) Lewis, the build-up to this race has been very much about your team versus Ferrari, and many people in the room have written about that. Did we have it wrong? And you just fought off a Red Bull; is this now a three-way fight for the championship between those three teams?
LH: I don’t know if you wrote it wrong. It was supposed to be a three-way fight… I thought it was going to be a three-way fight so maybe you did write it wrong.

Q: (Jeremy Statis – L’Equipe) You really seemed to care about the fastest lap point at the end of the race. Would you say it will be a big deal during the season and will you be ready to take a lot of risks to get it?
VB: Yeah, obviously it’s a point and if you get three of those or more it’s going to make a big difference at the end of the year. You never know. One point can make a difference in the end. For sure we’re willing to risk but still knowing that if you’re about to get 20 or 18 points or 15, whatever, they are still more important than getting one extra so you need to calculate the risk but today was worth it, within a stop for an extra set of tyres for it, but with the worn tyres I went for a quick lap and it was worth it. I just want to say, again, thank-you Charlie and I want to say that this win is for Charlie and all his work for Formula One. He’s done a massive amount and it means a lot to all of us drivers. LH: It’s 21 points so we’re going to fight for them.
MV: There are 21 possible points you can get so it can help but like Valtteri said, at the end of the day it’s most important to score 25 or 18, 15, 10. Try to go for one more and then it goes wrong, it can happen sometimes but anyway, I think in some situations like today, I was pushing anyway to try and get Lewis so it happened that I was doing, at that time, the fastest lap. It’s nice if it happens.

[MIKA27]

Start panic, lost mirror, broken wing make for hectic Robert Kubica return

Robert Kubica ended an eight-and-a-half-year drought from the Formula 1 grid at the Australian Grand Prix but had a far-from-straightforward race.

Kubica’s previous race appearance came at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but for 2019 he has stepped up to a seat with Williams, eight years after he sustained severe arm injuries in a rally accident.

Kubica qualified last after clipping the wall in Q1 – on a weekend in which Williams struggled for pace – and went on to finish a thrice-lapped 17th in race trim.

But the Pole had a far from simple route to bringing up the rear of the pack.

“Actually it was my first standing start in eight years and four months,” he said.

“I never did a standing start on the grid since Abu Dhabi 2010, and actually it was quite good.

“But I actually had a bit of a panic because when I stopped I couldn’t see the lights. The rear wing of the McLaren was hiding it, so I could see the first block but not the rest.

“Then I had to move to the left and there was an additional light so it was a bit of a panic moment.

“I got a good launch but then I had a lot of wheelspin. Running into Turn 1 I took it very safe, I moved a lot to the inside over the kerb, and I once I thought ‘OK, this is over’, I went through the first corner and then from what I saw in car [Pierre] Gasly moved quite a lot to the right.

“I think there was contact with [Carlos] Sainz but I saw it on the video that he moved a lot to the right and he damaged my front wing, but I actually didn’t realise until 100 meters later I lost the whole wing. I thought I lost half of it. Then this wing caused other damage to the car so we had to pit.

“The car was not feeling great, then additionally three laps into the race I lost one of the mirrors, which makes it even more difficult with blue flags! So it was quite difficult.

“Once I was in clear air I was told the pace was not bad, actually it was good for the car with the state it was in, and I nearly started laughing because from the inside it felt very bad.”

Kubica was nonetheless upbeat regarding his own personal performance in the circumstances.

“I’m leaving Australia with definitely more experience, and reasonably happy,” he said.

“Although I would never think that I would say something like this having this pace and finishing so far behind, but that’s the reality.”

[Baccy]

I'd give anything if they would go back to an NA setup preferably V10, but I'm pretty sure that will never happen because of the mentality of the OEMs in F1. They would see this as a "backward" move. I don't see it that way at all. They did the same thing in the late 80s. NA engines can make tremendous power and they sound amazing. I'm just afraid that Mercedes will always dominate so long as the engine configuration is a V6 turbo hybrid setup. For 2021 they are talking about simply increasing the rpm 3k to improve sound and tweaking the MGU-K but this doesn't seem like enough changes to dice things up imho, maybe they should go a step further and mandate the use of an inline 6 cylinder setup to make things more interesting... F1 has always changed the "formula" every so often and it was usually a drastic change in engine configuration, like 2014, 2006, etc....

[skalls]

That was a seriously interesting race

  VB owned it from start to finish.  I also loved how he was hell-bent on that extra point.  If he keeps that edge it's going to be tough to beat him.

Williams is the dumpster fire I thought it would be.

Where the hell was Ferrari?

Grats to Honda.  It's very clear their failure with McLaren was not entirely their fault as they were forced into making poor engineering choices.

I think we're going to see many many more lost wings because they are bigger and lower?  I didn't think going on the grass was going to kill one like DR did at the start.

Damnit Haas, that was a 6-7 finish you lost bc your pit team again cross threaded a tire.

It's only race but I already don't like the Renault engine.

[MIKA27]

VERSTAPPEN: TO CHALLENGE LEWIS AND OVERTAKE SEB IS POSITIVE

With one overtaking manoeuvre and consistent speed, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen showed that the 2019 Formula 1 season is unlikely to descend into another two-team race.

Verstappen overtook two-time defending Australian Grand Prix champion Sebastian Vettel on the outside just after halfway through the season-opening race on Sunday and kept powering away from the Ferrari ace to finish third. It was his sixth consecutive F1 podium finish, and delivered automaker Honda its first since 2008.

Most of the talk after winter testing was about the pace of the Ferrari cars, and if that would be enough to end the domination Mercedes has had on the F1 championships in recent years.

Valtteri Bottas led five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in a 1-2 finish but then Verstappen split the two teams most expected to compete for the title, finishing behind both Mercedes and in front of both Ferraris.

“To be able to challenge Lewis at the end of the race and overtake Seb on-track, which around here is very difficult, is very positive,” Verstappen said. “Since we started working together (with Honda) it has been amazing and I am really enjoying the partnership, so this is a well-deserved third place for all of us.

“The car was working really well and we also look strong on the straights, which is hopefully a good sign for the rest of the season.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hadn’t been expecting to beat the Ferraris in Melbourne, “A fantastic start to the season with a podium finish at our first Grand Prix with our new power unit partner Honda, who haven’t finished in the top three since 2008.”

“Max put in a remarkable performance today and (made) a great pass on Sebastian. He went on to put Lewis under pressure for the rest of the race. It looked like we had a quicker car than Lewis in the second half of the race, and to do that here is very encouraging for us.”

Pierre Gasly started from 17th in his first GP for Red Bull, as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement this season, but managed to work his way back to 11th.

“He drove the wheels off the car and it’s a shame that it wasn’t rewarded with a point.” Horner said. “He raced hard and I’m sure his time will come. After a promising season opener, we now look ahead to Bahrain.”

Gasly is looking forward to returning to Bahrain, where he placed fourth in the Toro Rosso last year.

And Verstappen is determined to improve on his result there, too, after failing to finish that race in 2018. He went on to post two GP victories — in Austria and Mexico — and finish off the season with five straight podium finishes, and seven in the last nine races to place fourth in the drivers’ standings.

“In terms of speed we had throughout the race, it was a very good step forward from last year,” said Verstappen, whose best previous result in Australia was a fifth-place finish in 2017. “Top speeds compared with the other two top teams.

“The engine has been performing really well without any issues, which is important. Time will tell if we can challenge for top spot.”

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BOTTAS AND HONDA ARE BACK BUT FERRARI GO AWOL

A damaged car accounted for some of Lewis Hamilton’s lack of relative pace in Formula One’s Australian season-opener but the Briton can have no doubt that his winning Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas is a man on a mission reports Alan Baldwin.

The Finn, mentally battered after a winless 2018 season that left him dismissed as no more than a ‘wingman’ for five-times champion Hamilton, returned meaner and more determined for Melbourne.

Telling his critics where to go in blunt language over the team radio after taking the checkered flag 20.8 seconds clear of Hamilton on Sunday, Bottas showed he was ready to fight for his place at Mercedes and become a true contender.

The Finn will need plenty more of that inner steel against a teammate whose race was decided by a slow getaway from pole position before his car lost a chunk of its floor, compromising performance.

“It was really about bringing the car home in one piece and making sure we had the one-two. Pretty straightforward to be honest,” said Hamilton.

The Briton has won four of the last five championships, beaten only by then-teammate Nico Rosberg in 2016 when Mercedes were dominant, and also started last season with a second place in Melbourne.

He will be losing no sleep after a race that is always something of an outlier.

“I´ve been here a long, long time and I´ve never known after the first race,” he said when asked how he read the situation.

“You usually take from the first four races a bit of an idea of where we all stand. It could be like this for four races or it could be scattered. I don´t have a crystal ball so I can´t tell you but I can assure you we´ll be pushing onwards and upwards from here.”

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won last year’s opener but the Italian team’s lack of pace, after arriving as favorites following a strong showing in pre-season testing, provided a major talking point.

That could prove only a temporary blip, however, with the next race in Bahrain more of an indicator of the Italian team’s true position.

Honda, meanwhile, showed they have got their act together by powering new partners Red Bull to third place with Max Verstappen overtaking Vettel for a place on the podium.

That was the first top-three finish for a Honda-powered car since 2008 and Hamilton welcomed that.

“I remember growing up watching Ayrton (Senna) drive with the (McLaren) Honda and they were a formidable force back then and it´s great to seem them back up there,” he told reporters.

“The Red Bulls are there with us and I think they´re going to have a really, really great battle between the three of us,” he added.

“With Ferrari something´s not been right this weekend but I´m pretty sure that car is still good. I think it´s going to be a really interesting season.”

Further back down the grid, the midfield battle looked intense as predicted with Haas the best of the rest and then four drivers from four different teams filling the positions from seventh to 10th.

There was also no surprise from Williams, confirmed as the slowest team on the grid and with a chasm between them and the rest.

[MIKA27]

THE EXTRA LAP: MERCEDES GOT IT RIGHT, FERRARI LOST THE PLOT

MsportXtra on Twitter, run by Dutch uber-motorsport fan turned social media wiz Duurt Dijkman, gives his post mortem and thoughts in the wake of the 2019 Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Those who know him will agree that there are few people out there with a finger on the pulse of all the racing disciplines he follows, his Formula 1 coverage through Twitter left few stones unturned during a headline packed week Down Under.

Hence, this season MsportXtra has kindly agreed to pen a post-race column (and others when the need arises) sharing his insights through his social media presence and his private sources.

Here is his take on the weekend in Melbourne:

Where did Mercedes ‘new’ pace come from?
MsportXtra: Looking at testing, you would think Ferrari would be faster than Mercedes but the Champs did a lot of laps and gathered a lot of data. They to were surprised by their speed but I think the track conditions also played a part in it. When we come to warmer circuits, they could run into some trouble.

Where did Ferrari horsepower go?
MsportXtra: While Mercedes got it right, Ferrari lost the plot. Vettel said in an interview that the connection he had with the car in Barcelona, disappeared in Melbourne. This might also be because of track conditions as the Albert Park circuit needs a different approach to Barcelona. Knowing Ferrari, they will find out what went wrong and will rectify it when it comes to Bahrain.

How good was Max?
MsportXtra: Straight from Friday onwards, Max was on it. During all three free practice sessions, he was in the same ballpark as both the Mercedes and Ferrari. His start was good and he managed to overtake Vettel early, an important part of the strategy to give him a podium chance. The new Honda partnership meant before the race started we had no idea how competitive Red Bull would be, however after the race Max said he was pleasantly surprised with the power unit and he was even able to push and fight on the straights. He maximized the situation, drove a very mature race and a podium was his reward.

How bad was the Williams team?
MsportXtra: From testing forward, they were on the backfoot but seeing the times they did, it was obvious they would be a clear backmarker during the race. However, I wasn’t expecting them to be that slow. At the finish, both Williams cars were the only ones that were lapped multiple times with Russell 2 laps down and Kubica 3 laps down. Of course, Kubica had an issue from the start when he lost his front wing and I’m sure the car had damage that kept him from setting “faster” times but all through the weekend Russell showed quicker times than Kubica. I think we need to give Kubica a bit of time because he hasn’t raced in 8 years and is missing mileage in testing. Still, it would be very hard for them to close the gap to the midfield and this might turn out to be a bad year again. Fingers crossed they will find some solutions.

What were big trends on Twitter during the course of the weekend?
MsportXtra: There were a few trending stories. Redbull/Honda, Guenther “F*cking” Steiner, Sandbagging, Ricciardo and Kubica to name a few. But the one that stood out and is worth mentioning is the hashtag #ThankYouCharlie after the sudden passing away of race director Charlie Whiting.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my condolences to his family, colleagues and friends. On behalf of everybody at MsportXtra, our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Other talking points according to MsportXtra:

• As it is a new year with new cars and new engines, I was surprised about the reliability of the engines (except Sainz, although not sure yet what happened)
• All drivers and teams used to be a bit rusty at the start of a new season and little mistakes tend to creep in but this weekend, nothing much happened except the front wheel deja-vu at Haas. Furthermore, the stewards didn’t have much to do. Stroll got a 200 euro fine for speeding in the pitlane on Friday and both McLaren and Haas got a 5000 euro fine for an unsafe release. That was it.
• The fastest lap point went to Bottas and although it is a fun addition, I’m pretty sure only the top teams would be able to get them. Even if an “outsider” would try it, it seems the top teams still have some pace in hand to go for it. That said, after the Australian Grand Prix, it became clear that once again, the top three teams are way clear of the midfield and the 21 points total (fastest lap points) will only make the gap bigger.
• The midfield seems very close so that battle will be fun to watch as it unfolds. I think the team with the biggest development rate, will be the team that ends up P4 this year but which one is anybody’s guess at the moment.

Now it’s onwards to Bahrain and I’m already looking forward to penning the next “The Extra Lap” with MsportXtra.

[MIKA27]

Lando Norris felt he let McLaren down with race result

McLaren's Lando Norris felt as though he let his team down during Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after failing to finish in the points, despite starting eighth.

Norris put in a sensational qualifying performance on his debut, but struggled on Sunday after getting stuck behind Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi, who ran a long opening stint which cost the Briton a lot of time, benefitting those who had yet to stop, such as Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Daniil Kvyat, all of which started outside the top ten, but finished in the points.

Norris finally got past Giovinazzi, but had lost so much time he was unable to recover and finished the race in 12th, admitting he wasn't proud of his performance.

"Of myself? Not that much," replied Norris when asked if he was proud of his first race, adding: "Of the team, I’m pretty proud. I think I had a pretty good car today. Not perfect, but overall it had enough pace in it to be in the top 10.

"I just made a couple of mistakes that put me outside of it. That’s why I’m not as happy as I was [on Saturday]. Just nice to get my first race out of the way. I was quite nervous going in, but after finishing, I’m reasonably happy."

Speaking about passing Giovinazzi, Norris said: "It was too late. It cost me the positions on Kvyat and Stroll, which obviously put me out of the points in the end. I’m a bit annoyed because there was a lot more potential.

"The car had the pace to be in the top 10, and basically I let everyone down. So I need to make sure that doesn’t happen again."

Looking ahead to the next race in Bahrain, the 19-year-old said he would look to iron out the small mistakes he made in Australia in the hope of avoiding them.

"So the start, my initial start was OK, and then I just got a bit too keen and got wheelspin, and the lock-up, I think it’s just overpushing a bit too much. But apart from that, there wasn’t a lot [wrong]. Small things here and there. It’s just working on the mistakes, working on my weak areas, the team’s weak areas, and just trying to improve."

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Daniil Kvyat takes ‘most difficult point’ on F1 return

Daniil Kvyat marked his first Formula 1 race start in 18 months with a point, having emerged on top of a race-long battle with Pierre Gasly at the Australian Grand Prix.

Kvyat started from 15th but worked his way forward to emerge in contention for the top 10, keeping Gasly behind through the first stint of the race.

A challenge on ninth-placed Lance Stroll left Kvyat skating through the gravel but he regrouped and quickly re-passed Gasly, who had emerged in front from the pit lane on cold tyres.

The closely-contested train of midfield drivers retained their positions through to the chequered flag, with Kvyat capping the top 10, edging Gasly by four-tenths of a second. 

“It wasn’t an easy one, one of the most difficult points earned I would say, but very satisfying at the same time because we kept a quicker car behind us the whole race,” he said.

“It’s very encouraging for us as a team. We were catching a lot the teams ahead of us too. I tried to overtake, it proved to be very difficult here, but they [the team] said try.

“I wouldn’t have been happy with myself if I wouldn’t [try].

“I think there’s many positives from this race. Obviously, it’s always ifs and so on, but I felt I left a lot on the table in qualifying, so it’s good to analyse that.

“Those one and a half or two-tenths can prove very costly on Saturday, as we saw, so we need to work on that a bit too, and take this away from the weekend as a lesson, work on it in the next events. Racing, I think we looked very strong.”

Kvyat added that the ability to resist Gasly throughout the 58-lap race demonstrates the inherent pace of Toro Rosso’s STR14.

“He was quicker, especially on the red [Soft] tyres,” he said.

“When he went out of the box, he tried to make a move, and when I overtook him and saw he was on reds, I thought he might get back at me. I just had to close the door a couple of laps and he was in my dirty air.

“I was always able to have those 5-10 metres of breathing space every lap.

“It was important not to make any mistake on my side because he had a big pace advantage. I managed to keep him behind.

“It gives great confidence to the whole team that we can keep this kind of car behind us. From Lap 1, he was on my tail, and on Lap 58, he was still behind me. It was very good.”

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Mattia Binotto lauds team player Charles Leclerc on Ferrari debut

Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto heaped praise on Charles Leclerc’s approach during his first Grand Prix with the squad in Australia.

Leclerc had a subdued debut weekend for Ferrari, qualifying and racing to fifth position, but had closed on team-mate Sebastian Vettel through the second stint of the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc obeyed a team instruction to hold position and Binotto was pleased with the manner in which the youngster dealt with his first full event as a Ferrari driver.

“I’m happy with the way he’s behaving as a team player, not only as a driver, he’s very helpful for the team but as well he has a very bold claim to do his best, pushing hard on the engineers to try to prove himself and for a better car,” he said.

“I think if you judge the entire weekend it’s a very strong one.

“His qualifying wasn’t perfect, he’s aware of it, but I think he drove well also in Q1 and Q2, maybe not perfect in Q3, but generally speaking he had a very good weekend.

“I think that his second stint was strong performance as well so I’m happy with the way he’s approaching the first race and if that’s the starting point, then it’s a good starting point.”

Leclerc pitted later for his sole stop compared to Vettel and took on Hards as opposed to the Mediums employed by the elder Ferrari racer.

“We need to analyse the data but I was definitely more confident in the second stint than I was on the first stint with the Soft,” said Leclerc on his second stint pace.

“Somehow it was quite inconsistent, the balance, there was more wind, so might be also for this.

“The second stint was a lot better. For me the balance was predictable and I was a lot more happy with the car. But we need to get further into the data to understand exactly why that happened.”

[MIKA27]

What went wrong for Ferrari in Australia

Ferrari's deficit to Mercedes was a big surprise during the Australian Grand Prix weekend, particularly given the Scuderia ended Formula 1's fortnight of pre-season testing as the clear early favourite.

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel qualified third in Melbourne but was more than seven tenths slower than Mercedes' polesitter Lewis Hamilton, and dropped to fourth in the race after being passed by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

But despite the team's on-track struggles - Vettel said he had "way less grip" throughout the weekend than in testing at Barcelona - evidence of a change in atmosphere was clear after race as Vettel, new teammate Charles Leclerc and team boss Mattia Binotto were quick to admit Ferrari was not as fast as it had expected to be.

Jack Cozens and Ben Anderson join Glenn Freeman to analyse Ferrari's weekend and explain why there is no reason for the team to panic just yet.