FORMULA 1

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Giovinazzi's Australian GP "more or less over" on first lap

Antonio Giovinazzi’s Australian Grand Prix was compromised by floor and front wing damage sustained on the opening lap.

The Italian's Alfa Romeo Formula 1 car picked up floor damage at the start when he ran over debris from Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault.

He then had contact with the McLaren of Carlos Sainz at Turn 9, which damaged the front wing.

Struggling for pace and unable to fight other cars in the first stint, Giovinazzi lost around five seconds at his pitstop while the team made adjustments to balance the car.

He eventually finished a distant 15th, ahead of only the Williams drivers, while teammate Raikkonen took eighth place.

“I had damage on the front wing from lap one, we did a touch, I think with a McLaren,” said Giovinazzi.

“After that it was just a difficult race, especially on the first stint with the first tyres.

“Then on the pitstop we tried to repair a little bit the front wing to not lose too much time.

"In the end I think the pace was better, but the car was just with a lot of damage. We need to focus on the next rounds.”

Alfa team boss Frederic Vasseur said he was encouraged by Giovinazzi’s weekend, and especially qualifying. The Italian was fourth in the first session with a time that would have got him into the top 10 had he repeated it in in Q2.

“Antonio did very well in Q1,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com. “But in the race he had contact on the first lap.

"He had a loss of downforce, and it was more or less done.

"He started with the medium tyre and he had to survive a little bit and hope for the safety car or something like this. But he did a good job.”

Vasseur was encouraged to see his Alfa team in the thick of the midfield battle, with Raikkonen taking the chequered flag just behind Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault and within sight of the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who finished best of the rest behind the top teams' cars.

“It’s close, I think," Vaseur said. "It’s difficult from the pitwall because you have to focus on your car, but I think it was a mega race from P7, Hulkenberg, down to P11.”

“After the second week in Barcelona we were not very optimistic, and in the end we were quite close to catching Hulkenberg in the last laps.

"We will have to see in Bahrain, it’s a more usual track. If you look at last year, what happened in Melbourne and what happened in Bahrain, it was absolutely not the same story.”

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Watch how close both Ferrari came to disaster in Australia

The Australian Grand Prix didn’t go according to plan for Ferrari, with the team missing the Melbourne podium for the first time since 2014 as Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc could only finish a distant fourth and fifth. But it could have been much, much worse for the Scuderia, as the video above shows...

Going through Turns 1 and 2 at the start, the Ferrari duo came agonisingly close to wiping each other out, with a tell-tale puff of white smoke clearly visible from the onlooking Max Verstappen's perspective as Leclerc’s front wing touches the left-rear tyre of Vettel’s car.

Not only did they avoid an accident, Vettel also escaped a puncture - talk about a close call!

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Stroll revels in ‘proper wheel-to-wheel racing’ of Australia midfield fight

Less than three seconds – that’s what separated Nico Hulkenberg’s seventh-placed Renault and Pierre Gasly’s 11th-placed Red Bull when the chequered flag fell in Melbourne on Sunday evening. And bang in the middle of that furious five-car train was Lance Stroll, who was delighted to pick up ninth place and two points in his very first race for new team Racing Point - but even more happy with the manner in which his result had come about.

“It was a great race, a good start and I picked up a few points,” said Stroll. “We had great pace throughout the whole race.”

And in a midfield as closely contested as in Australia, great pace was essential, with Stroll saying the new-for-2019 wider, simpler front wings had helped keep the pack close.

“It was tight,” he said. “There was not a lap where I was not pressuring someone in front of me or not under pressure. It was a race from start to finish and I hope we can see more of that this season. It looks like potentially the racing could be closer, I think the aerodynamics are working a bit better behind cars.”

After a disappointing qualifying session, Stroll lined up 16th on the Melbourne grid, six places behind new team mate Sergio Perez. But by way of some good tyre management (he opted for a medium to hard compound one-stop strategy) and some good fortune (benefitting from Antonio Giovinazzi’s damaged Alfa Romeo holding up several cars who pitted early) he was able to climb the order.

Ninth place was then sealed after the 20-year-old successfully held off a spirited attack by Daniil Kvyat, the Toro Rosso driver running into the gravel after trying a late-braking move up the inside at Turn 3.

“It was about managing tyres at a certain part of the race and then pushing on when we wanted to attack the cars in front, which made it very challenging,” he said. “It was wheel-to-wheel. One time Kvyat went down the inside, he went a bit deep and I got him on the exit. It was proper wheel to wheel racing.”

Stroll admitted to some discomfort with his back after the race, saying Racing Point are “still making a few mods to the seat”. He added: “New team, new car – we’re not quite there yet.”

Not quite there yet, but his haul of two points means he has already scored a third of the tally he clocked up in 2018 with Williams, when he achieved six courtesy of eighth place in Baku and ninth in Italy.

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Bottas Bites Back, Plus All The Best Team Radio | 2019 Australian Grand Prix

 

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2019 F1 Australia Full race ~ Formula1 Australia grand Prix 2019 HD

 

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Watch F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton Bring Up The Moon Landing Hoax To Actual Astronauts

Believe it or not, Formula One drivers are real people, too. They have heroes and they can get awkward when faced with those heroes, just like the rest of us. Sometimes, it can be comforting to know you’re not the only person out there who brings up absurd subjects at the wrong time—sort of like Lewis Hamilton asking actual astronauts about the moon landing hoax while he’s visiting NASA.

The visit wasn’t a sponsor event or a media drive—it was something that Lewis Hamilton did in his own free time ahead of 2018's United States Grand Prix because, like most of us, astronauts were his childhood heroes. He gets a comprehensive behind-the-scenes tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston—including the International Space Station mission control, the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, and the ISS mockup—and he even gets a chance to take NASA’s Modular Robotic Vehicle for a spin.

The highlight of the video, though, is that after completing most of his big tour, he takes advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to ask actual astronaut Doug Hurley about the moon landing hoax.

“I guess it’s a touchy point, but the big question is—there’s the theories that you didn’t land on the moon. So... why would people have that theory?” Hamilton asks as he stands in the mockup of the ISS, because what else is left to discuss after you’ve had a chance to try on bits of an astronaut’s space suit?

I can’t judge him, to be entirely honest. While I don’t think I’d actually, y’know, ask about the moon landing hoax after being treated like royalty in the Johnson Space Center, I would definitely, 100 per cent be thinking about it. Maybe it’s the confidence to actually ask that separates the F1 drivers from the common folk.

That said, the video is actually all kinds of incredible, and you need to take a few minutes out of your Monday to watch it. It’s a great look behind the curtain of one of the coolest organisations of all time.

[avaldes]

On 3/17/2019 at 6:24 PM, In-A-Gadda-Davidoff said:

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.

 

 

We would be having a different conversation if Leclerc was 5mm further forward in turn 1 and took out himself and Vettel. Then it would be how foolish Ferrari was for letting them race.

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20 minutes ago, avaldes said:

 

We would be having a different conversation if Leclerc was 5mm further forward in turn 1 and took out himself and Vettel. Then it would be how foolish Ferrari was for letting them race.

It was great and I stand by my point that Leclerc was the more mature driver here by lifting when he did.  

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PIRELLI ANNOUNCE TYRE CHOICES FOR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

Pirelli have announced the tyre choices made by different teams for the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend from 29 to 31 March in Sakhir.

During the race weekend on the Bahrain International Circuit, the teams have at their disposal the three hardest compounds, those are the C1, C2 and the C3. The C1 (the hardest compound) is the white striped tyre, while the C2 (medium) and the C3 (soft) are respectively yellow and red striped.

Both drivers of Mercedes, Ferrari and Max Verstappen as well, have all made the same tyre selection for the race, which will take place under artificial light. These gentlemen have opted for nine sets of the soft compound, three sets of the mediums and one set of the hard compound tyre.

Pierre Gasly differs slightly: the Frenchman driving for Red Bull has swapped one set of the softs for one set of the hard compound tyre.

McLaren and Williams have both chosen a more reserved approach and have selected eight sets of the softest tyre compound.

Nico Hülkenberg and both Scuderia Toro Rosso-drivers are on the attack as they have opted to run on no less than ten sets of the soft compound, two sets of the mediums and just one set of the hardest compound.

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VIDEO: STEERING WHEEL OR $60,000 PC?

 

[avaldes]

I'm excited to see what he can do. Vettel is prone to mistakes under pressure. It was good to see Leclerc off to a good start to the season.

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26 minutes ago, avaldes said:

I'm excited to see what he can do. Vettel is prone to mistakes under pressure. It was good to see Leclerc off to a good start to the season.

Vettel quite often drives over the kerbs and is prone to many mistakes. I honestly think Leclerc can beat him.

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MULTI-21 BACK TO HAUNT VETTEL IN THE FORM OF LECLERC

Karma is a bitch. Over five years since ‘Multi-21i grabbed headlines it has come back to haunt Sebastian Vettel in the unlikely form of his new Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Late during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Leclerc with good pace came upon his slower teammate, upon which he was promptly ordered by the Scuderia pit-wall to hold station. The youngster did what was asked of him as team orders came into effect very early in the season.

Prior to the weekend in Melbourne, new Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto insisted his two drivers race. In Melbourne, it was a different story as they were clearly ordered not to race.

From the pitwall it was the right call because there was little to gain swapping the cars, no way was Leclerc going to catch Max Verstappen in the Red Bull who had made easy meat of Vettel before disappearing into the distance.

So much so that the German asked his team over the radio where his pace had gone, the mystery still lingers – but that’s another story.

Rewinding to the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, during Red Bull’s dominant era, with Vettel trailing Mark Webber and instructed to obey Multi-21, which was the team’s code to hold position. The German reneged on the deal and went on to win the race.

In contrast, on Sunday Leclerc obeyed team orders despite having the better car at that late point in the race. Would Vettel have done the same thing? Whatever the answer, going forward he will have to, he will need to show the kind of restraint that went absent at Sepang years ago.

Ferrari explained the decision in their post-race report: “Charles could run a good pace and in the final stages closed on Vettel, but the team decided the drivers should hold position, given that the cars ahead were too far away and so an assault on the podium was unlikely.”

Leclerc sang the team tune when he said, “Towards the end, I closed on Sebastian, but the team decided to keep our positions, given that the top three places were not within our grasp today.”

They also opted not to pit their 21-year-old driver for fresh rubber to have a stab at the one point on offer for the fastest lap, preferring to be safe than sorry.

For now, Vettel has the number one status in the team, while Leclerc is happy to play second fiddle. However, the four-times F1 World Champion will need to up his game before he gets the dreaded: “Seb, Charlie is faster than you…” message on the radio.

When that day comes, or Ferrari’s version of Multi-21 is deployed, he has no option but to play the game or lose credibility forever.

As for Leclerc, he ticked the boxes but it was hardly a stellar start to his career in Red. There were a few mistakes, including a hairy Turn 1 moment where he just avoided contact with the sister Ferrari and a time-consuming ‘cross-country’ excursion on lap 8.

He did well to hang in there and recovered to end the race able to challenge his teammate, but fifth was his reward in what can be summed up as a scrappy weekend for the Monaco Kid.

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BRAWN REPORT: BOTTAS PERFECT, NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED TO FERRARI

Valtteri Bottas promised to be new and improved in 2019 and the flying Finn lived up to his promise on Sunday with an emphatic Australian Grand Prix win ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Is this the shape of things to come in 2019, are Red Bull-Honda destined to be a major power player this season, and why did Ferrari fizzle at Albert Park?

F1’s Managing Director, Motorsport Ross Brawn runs the rule over a fascinating season-opener down under:

“The first grand prix of the new season produced an unexpected star in the shape of Valtteri Bottas. Many, if not all, expected a duel between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, or possibly Charles Leclerc, or even as an outside bet, Max Verstappen.

“But, stealthily Bottas began by getting to within a tenth of Hamilton in FP2 and then, in qualifying, delivered a magnificent lap that forced Hamilton to pull something truly special out of the bag to make sure of pole position. Finally, after getting away better at the start on Sunday the Finn simply disappeared into the distance.

“He drove a perfect race from start to finish, running at a pace that none of the others, including his team-mate could match. Towards the end, he treated himself to taking on Verstappen in a fight for the race fastest lap, thus becoming the first driver in 60 years to pick up a championship point for that honour.

“It was a great response to all those who believed Bottas had yet again resigned himself to playing only a supporting role to his five-time world champion teammate.

“Ferrari arrived in Australia with the wind in its sails, after going very well over the eight days of winter testing. It seemed certain they would be fighting for victory, but instead, they didn’t even make it to the podium.

“From the outside, it’s hard to tell what went wrong and, listening to the drivers and engineers, it seems that even within the team they have not yet been able to identify what on earth happened. Neither Vettel nor Leclerc were ever really competitive at any point over the weekend.

“Apart from lagging behind Mercedes, more surprising was the gap to the Haas team. The US squad uses the Ferrari Power Unit and had closed on the works team considerably since Barcelona testing.

Even if it’s true that the Albert Park circuit is unusual and does not really reflect the true pecking order, it’s also true that the same number of points is given out after the race than at any other track.

“Mattia Binotto, still settling in to his joint role as Team Principal and Technical Director is very experienced and knows that the first job now is to study the data from the weekend and see what it throws up, without getting into a panic. It’s only mid-March and the championship ends in December.

“In Melbourne, we got a first chance to experience the effects of the various changes introduced this year in terms of the technical and sporting regulations.

“The return to awarding a point to the driver and team who set the race fastest lap livened up the closing stages of the race, as Verstappen tried to nudge out Bottas, who had his hands on that particular prize. On lap 54, the Dutchman posted a 1.26.540, beating Bottas’ time from lap 42 by 0.199s.

“The Finn then got close with a 1.26.830 on lap 55 and, after allowing his tyres to cool, put an end to the duel with a decisive 1.25.580 on lap 57. Hamilton also gave it a shot towards the end, but the Englishman never got below the 1m 26s barrier, his best on lap 57 being a 1.26.057.

“In a race in which the podium positions seemed set from early on, the fight to claim that one extra point, in the knowledge that it could be vitally important in the closing stages of the championship, certainly livened up the closing stages of the race. That was exactly what we and the FIA had in mind when it came up with the idea.

“The other major change seen for the first time in Australia, relates to the cars’ aerodynamics with changes to the front and rear wings aimed at improving a car’s behaviour when following in the wake of another.

“Judging by the number of passing moves in the race; 14 this year (6 without DRS) compared to three in 2018, the initial signs are encouraging, especially as apart from the actual overtakes; we saw some thrilling battles.

“Clearly, those weren’t all down to the new aerodynamics, as the performance of the mid-field teams especially has closed up dramatically. However, several drivers said the cars felt more neutral when following another when compared to previous years.

“Here too, the Australian track isn’t the most accurate test, so I’d prefer to wait for at least another three races before drawing any conclusions. However, the initial signs are encouraging.

“The first grand prix of 2019 was witnessed by an amazing crowd. A little over 324,000 spectators turned up over the four days in Albert Park, which is the largest crowd here since 2005, and represents a 10% increase over last year.

“On Sunday, 102,000 people flocked to the track, with customary Australian enthusiasm and passion for this event.

“There were so many activities for them to enjoy in the park, not to mention on track where a huge number of cars in various categories, open and closed wheel, produced some fantastic racing to the delight of the crowd. Of course, Australia has a great motorsport tradition and that was very much on show this weekend.”

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HORNER: HONDA HAVE GIVEN US A GREAT PRODUCT

The joy and delight were palpable, as Red Bull F1 chief Christian Horner and Honda Motorsports General Manager Masashi Yamamoto headed to the Albert Park podium to celebrate Max Verstappen’s third place at the 2019 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

It was a big day for the partnership, a gamble to a certain extent for the energy drinks organisation which got off to a very encouraging start for all concerned, while no doubt piling agony on McLaren for obvious reasons.

The Japanese auto-giant was finally back on the podium after an eleven-year absence, adding to the 174 podiums celebrated by Honda-powered drivers over the years.

After running the gauntlet of high fives, bear hugs and big smiles, Horner summed up the sentiment in his team, “A great day for us to get a podium. Max’s drive, his pass on Seb, was a fantastic performance and to get a podium with a new power unit is a dream start.”

“Honda have given us a great product, the engine has been reliable and given us good power. “We’ve performed in the race and were more competitive then we felt we would be on Friday.”

“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.”

Indeed late in the race, after effortlessly despatching of Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel to take third place, Verstappen chased down the second placed Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton but was a lap short of making a proper stab at it.

Afterwards, the World Champion claimed he had the #33 Red Bull covered.

In the wake of the race Down Under, pundits are describing the Melbourne episode as an “anomaly” while claiming that Bahrain is where the real pecking order will re-establish itself.

Buying into the theory, Horner explained. “Bahrain is a completely different track. We all came here expecting to be trounced by Ferrari.”

“So Bahrain I’ve got no idea what is going to happen. This is Honda’s first podium since Rubens Barrichello in 2008 so they have great motivation too.”

“With the fastest lap, we were even wondering if we take it with Pierre, who was not in the top 10, just to take it away from everyone else. It added an element which was really interesting.”

While Verstappen shone, splitting the Ferrari duo in qualifying to claim fourth on the grid and the next day got to celebrate on the podium, his newly promoted teammate Pierre Gasly had a forgettable debut for the senior team.

They did him no favours, botching his Q1 with an over-optimistic strategy which kept him in the pits and as a resulted relegated him down the order to 17th.

Then, on race day, he never found the sweet spot, perhaps over cautiously he laboured to 11th place, unable to find a way past Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso. He spent much of the race behind the Russian without finding a way past.

On Gasly’s perfromance, Horner said, “I thought he drove a good race, it is a very difficult race to overtake at. It is still early days for him, there is always pressure. His feedback is strong, we just have to give the kid a bit of time and it will come good for him.”

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AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX ATTENDANCE HIGHEST SINCE 2005

An estimated attendance of 324,100 fans at Sunday’s Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 helped smash a 14-year record.

Fans flocked to the Albert Park in big numbers to watch the Formula 1 season opener – Daniel Ricciardo’s debut for Renault – and the Beaurepaires Supercars Melbourne 400.

The support categories proved popular, too, while the glitz and glamour off track was a highlight as always.

The estimated four-day crowd figure is the highest recorded since 2005 and CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Andrew Westacott, fondly reflected on another successful event.

“What a sensational four days it has been to be in Melbourne and at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019,” Westacott said.

“We broke crowd records – an estimated 324,100 people attended this year’s [race] which was the highest four-day attendance since 2005.

“The racing action across all categories was non-stop, off-track entertainment had crowds pumping and we had Valtteri Bottas take home his maiden Australian Grand Prix victory.

“New driver lineups and anticipation for the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship contributed to the busy crowds, as plenty of event goers came to Albert Park to experience their first Formula 1 Grand Prix.”

Westacott added that the event brings “something significant and different” to Melbourne and thanked fans for their brilliant support.

“The  crowds saw lots and lots of people who had never been to Formula 1 before come along, enjoy it, and realise that’s in an international event of stature,” he added.

“It brings something significant and different to Melbourne, and as a result of that, we have won over lots and lots of hearts and minds because they had a fantastic time.

“We got to offer more variety, more value for money – and that’s what Melburnians, interstate and overseas visitors loved. What we have shown with is that this is the best event from an entertainment point of view, and there’s so much to see and do around Albert Park.”

“We had new facilities, we had enhancements from everything to GP Advantage and the Kids’ Zones to the activities down at water’s edge at the lake. Heineken Village and the stage went off on Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening.

“The support for this year’s event has been phenomenal. The fans are what Formula 1 is about and without you the sport doesn’t exist.

“You came out in droves to support Australia’s number one international sporting event and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Bring on the 25th anniversary in 2020.”

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Renault warns F1 over 'serious' B-team situation

Renault Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul has warned that Formula 1 must tackle the “serious topic” of so-called B-teams in the championship.

The Haas F1 Team uses the regulations to out-source as much of its parts as possible – holding a close relationship with Ferrari – while Alfa Romeo has also forged a close alignment with the Italian operation.

Red Bull and Toro Rosso this season have a much closer connection courtesy of both teams – under the ownership of the energy drink brand – using Honda power units.

That has prompted some independent teams to question the status of a Constructor, with Abiteboul suggesting the current model has inadequacies that could backfire in the future.

“It’s already a challenge for a team like us to compete against the top three teams who have 30 to 40 per cent more resources than us,” said Abiteboul. 

“But if they are now capable of combining their resources with other teams, or getting the benefit of synergies within the scope of a budget cap, that’s a problem. That’s a problem for us. That’s a problem for at-least two other teams in the field.

“And I don’t want to talk for them – but that could also be a problem for a new entrant, willing to enter Formula 1 and willing to be competitive. 

“So, that’s a serious topic because it’s maybe that we are now saying “OK, we have three top teams and that will be it. And anyone joining with have to accept they will not be in a positive to be competitive. 

“I’m not here to complain or moan: we know the regulation but obviously we are extremely careful about what’s going to happen in 2021. 

“For now, we are not convinced about the safeguards or the containment measures that have been put forward, despite the fact that you can trade some parts in the context of a budget cap – but we will continue to work with governing bodies to hopefully get to a more satisfying outcome.”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Ferrari chief Mattia Binotto countered Abiteboul’s perspective, pointing to the emergence of Haas and cost-saving ability for Toro Rosso.

“There wouldn’t be a Haas if that model wasn’t available,” said Horner. “I think the affordability of Formula 1 is extremely expensive. So, Toro Rosso, they’re using an awful lot of components from RB14. So, it’s effective for them within the non-listed parts they’re permitted to do. They don’t have to have the design resource, the R&D infrastructure – so therefore the cost for them to go racing is affected by that. 

“I think that there’s ultimately a sensible offset between needing to be a full-blown Constructor team and being able to acquire those non-listed parts. So, personally, we don’t have an issue with it, and feel that, for the smaller teams, it’s been demonstrated that it’s cost-effective and works.”

“The Haas model has shown how good it is for such a team, and I think at the end it’s a good thing for F1,” added Binotto. 

“As we’re looking ahead, I think if there are any concerns, it’s up to us to understand what are the concerns and make sure that we are mitigating, or avoiding them – but I think that the model in itself is the right model.”

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Lewis Hamilton's Australian GP floor damage explained

 

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How Williams and Red Bull changed up their designs between testing and Australia

For every team the gap between the final pre-season test and the first Grand Prix weekend two weeks later is more than just a logistical blur. It’s also a vital opportunity to make further tweaks and additions to the car, most of which will have already been planned even before the final test.

Red Bull aero updates
At Red Bull, long renowned as a team that can get new parts from design stage to the car extraordinarily quickly, they produced a new aero package that included a new front-wing endplate and a slightly revised bargeboard. The latter part of this had been briefly on the car in Barcelona, but was destroyed when Pierre Gasly had his second crash. The original plan was to have this on the car in Barcelona only for data gathering and correlation prior to its planned introduction – along with the new endplate – at the Chinese Grand Prix. But with some reorganisation, the team realised it would be possible to have the whole package ready in time for Melbourne and it was on the RB15 throughout the race weekend.

The modification to the endplate comprises a small cutaway at the top rear corner, helping the airflow to be guided around the tyre with a bit more force, albeit with a small sacrifice in how much downforce the wing elements themselves are creating. The endplates are there to create a ‘fence’ preventing the vortices that would form off the end of the elements from disrupting the flow over the elements. They thereby help the wing produce more downforce than if the ends were just in free air.

But there is a trade-off in overall effect between creating downforce from the front wing itself and having the optimum airflow further back. This trade-off in essence is what the two opposing philosophies of front wing chosen by Ferrari and Mercedes are about. Red Bull’s wing is much more like Mercedes’ than Ferrari’s, in that even at the outboard ends in front of the tyre, it still fills the permitted depth with wing elements, rather than cutting them back like Ferrari (and Alfa Romeo). Creating this cut-off in the endplate – which Mercedes also did with their wing in the second week of testing – represents a small tweak to that trade-off.

It will be working in concert with the small change made to the bargeboard area. Some parts of the bargeboard are directing the air towards the sidepod area, those further out are part of maintaining a pressure wall that keeps the outwashed airflow that’s travelled around the tyre from interfering with the flow going down the bodysides. In this way, the speed of the flow down the bodysides can be maximised.

What was initially a conjoined outer vane (main image above) has been split into two parts (inset image above) to decouple the flow in that region for a more precise control. The lower part of the new arrangement features vertical slots that should help more precisely condition the flow down the body sides and prevent it straying towards the out-washed flow.

Williams suspension changes
At Williams they were equally busy between testing and race weekend – but unfortunately for different reasons. Hasty modifications had to be made to the FW42’s front suspension after the original (inset image above) was deemed not to be in compliance with the regulations, which state a maximum of six suspension elements. The addition of a narrow leg just behind and below the lower wishbone was deemed to be a seventh element, despite the argument that it was not a suspension element but merely a component that ran parallel to part of the suspension. Having it mounted closely below would accentuate the lower element’s power in directing the airflow downwards. Whatever its nominal function was (carrying cables has been speculated), it has now been incorporated into a single-piece lower element.

 

[avaldes]

There is no way I buy the argument that the little corner of the floor on Hamilton's car is the reason Bottas pulled away. I am surprised to hear people trying to sell this theory. If that corner is good for .5 sec per lap, then why have the rest of the aero? Just put those corners everywhere! Complete nonsense.

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

Bottas had a way better start than Hamilton.  Bottas had better pace than Hamilton the entire race.  Bottas stayed out for a long time on his softs, and was churning out fastest lap after fastest lap.  Hamilton's early pit strategy to cover Vettel probably hindered Hamilton.  He lost more pace while running the medium tires, but he wasn't going to catch Bottas anyway.  All credit to Bottas, he was a man on a mission.  In my opinion, floor damage on Hamilton's car or not, Bottas wasn't going to be beaten by anyone.

I know the season is long. Ferrari better find some pace and Gasly's qualifying strategy better improve, or Red Bull and Ferrari are going to be an afterthought for the Constructors Championship.

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3 hours ago, avaldes said:

There is no way I buy the argument that the little corner of the floor on Hamilton's car is the reason Bottas pulled away. I am surprised to hear people trying to sell this theory. If that corner is good for .5 sec per lap, then why have the rest of the aero? Just put those corners everywhere! Complete nonsense.

This!!!! Hamilton was trounced fair and square.... Bottas flew!

[MIKA27]

1 hour ago, In-A-Gadda-Davidoff said:

Bottas had a way better start than Hamilton.  Bottas had better pace than Hamilton the entire race.  Bottas stayed out for a long time on his softs, and was churning out fastest lap after fastest lap.  Hamilton's early pit strategy to cover Vettel probably hindered Hamilton.  He lost more pace while running the medium tires, but he wasn't going to catch Bottas anyway.  All credit to Bottas, he was a man on a mission.  In my opinion, floor damage on Hamilton's car or not, Bottas wasn't going to be beaten by anyone.

I know the season is long. Ferrari better find some pace and Gasly's qualifying strategy better improve, or Red Bull and Ferrari are going to be an afterthought for the Constructors Championship.

I personally think Gasly will be there short term. Just a feeling.

[MIKA27]

VERSTAPPEN: BACK HOME AND TIME TO RELAX ON MY SIM

Credit to Max Verstappen for embracing the racing life, while his Formula 1 rivals jet home to their luxury pads, the young Dutchman got home and almost immediately jumped into his simulator rig to start pounding virtual laps the day after he claimed a splendid podium at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix… in the real world.

Keep in mind the Red Bull driver had just completed the 16-hours-plus flight from Down Under to Europe , before slipping into his pretend race car to carry on where he left off in Melbourne – racing – and then tweeting it!

On Monday, during a Skype-chat with Ziggo Sport, Verstappen explained how he handles the long-haul journey’s,”I try to sleep as much as I can during the flight.”

The 21-year-old is of the new generation of drivers – of all disciplines from karting to tin tops – who have never known the world without internet and computer games, hence no surprise that they dabble in sim-racing, which is now booming as an e-sport.

He and the likes of Lando Norris as well as numerous drivers in other series’ are actively involved with online racing, while some of their peers chill out on yachts or do unrelated extreme sports in exotic locations, the lads are happier in the virtual racing world fine-tuning their already incredible skills.

Redline (one of the oldest and potent virtual racing teams) team manager Atze Kerkhof said in an interview last year that Verstappen’s immense talent crossed-over to the virtual world, in which he is also “breathtakingly fast” online and now capable of “beating the established order”.

“Sometimes you do a lap and you think it’s perfect, but then Max enters the [virtual] track and goes another three tenths faster. Where he finds that time, is a mystery to everyone.”

“It’s about very small details. The steering angle, the slip angle of the car, the way of trail braking or downshifting. It’s very small things where he makes the difference,” explained Kerkhof of the Red Bull driver’s sim-racing prowess.

Back to the real world, on Sunday Verstappen got his team’s new Honda power era to a great start finishing third, only bettered by the dominant Mercedes team while Ferrari imploded on the day, which again proved that preseason testing performance counts for nothing.

During the Skype chat, Verstappen commented on the subject, “This goes to show that you cannot deduce anything from testing. Everyone thought that Ferrari would be very strong. I even think that Ferrari themselves were a bit surprised that they were not so fast after all, but on the other hand, Melbourne is a quite strange circuit.”

Indeed it was strange to watch Verstappen ease past the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel to claim third place during the race at Albert Park but, perhaps more so, how the blue car stalked the silver one of Lewis Hamilton also raised eyebrows.

In the wake of his ‘duel’ with both a Ferrari and a Mercedes, Verstappen was able to compare, “The medium corners were not very optimal for us, I am talking about the fourth and fifth gear corners, they could have been a bit better.”

Until this year Red Bull were not privy to the much vaunted and essential Party-Mode their rivals had available for their drivers when required. eg. qualifying or Hammertime.

Now Honda have delivered their version of Party-Mode and as a result, Verstappen was able to split the Ferrari duo on the Melbourne grid and then have enough to take the fight to Vettel, beating him with relative ease.

Asked if there was a temptation to keep his finger on the Party-Mode trigger, Verstappen replied, “No, because then you know that the engine won’t last.”

And revealed that when overtaking Vettel “we had the Party-Mode on and then you see that, regarding the top speed, everything is alright. For Honda, it was also super nice to be able to overtake a Ferrari on track.”

As for Bahrain, he added, “We still need to wait and see, of course, it’s a completely new car and we could perform well on that circuit. Normally speaking, our car doesn’t have any issues running there.”

[skalls]

Who would red bull replace gasly with though?  Would they trust kyvat with that seat again?

Best option would be to poach Ocon but I'm not sure Mercedes would give him up.   As an aside I think he's a solid driver but he's not better then VB.