Crown

WAY:
It's raining out here at the moment, 2:30 from the race. Hope it keeps raining even if it means we all get wet sitting here! :)

 Wayne...did you see the GT crash! Wow. Glad i wasn't in that one! (Stationary Ascari and a Porsche Cup car travelling at about 160km/h! Straight into the back!) Ouch! I would expect both to be written off. Expensive weekend for the GT boys! Glad my wallet was parked at home!!!

For the F1 race....i'm thinking there may only be a light shower. But conditions are quite diff to yesterday (gusty wind). Hopefully with the more agressive areo on Webber's car...he can make it all work!

So wayne...who invited you to the GP? Merc?

wow what crash? JB? GT? 

Very excited for the race now!!! go vettel, let there be rain!

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 
_____________________________________________________________________
1984 BMW 323i 5spd 2.3L 141 hp (105 kW) More door. Black on black (parting out) 
1986 BMW 325e 5spd 2.7L 121 hp (172 lb·ft) Le Mans Blau on Tan leather.
1986 BMW 325is 5spd 2.5L 168 hp (164 lb-ft) White on Tan leather (parted out) 
2005 Ford Focus S, 5spd 2.0L 136 hp (120lb-ft) CD silver on grey (sold)
1986 Porsche 944, 5spd 2.5L 150 hp (168lb-ft) champagne gold on grown leather. (sold)

Nice race.

Alonso doesn't seems to have the speed or the desire to overtake Massa, since there isn't suppose to be a team order, he could have tried himself, but he seems contend to just sit back and wait for the team to give him a hand, which never came.

Hamilton got pulled in for a tire change to ruin his race, his tires were fine as he said but he does have a reputation being hard on tires, while Button is easy on them.

Webber did himself no favor by being the idiot, ruining Hamilton's race even further.

Shummy the bully!!!!!

RE: Hamilton and Alonso.

Exactly what im talking about. They are no doubt the best skilled of drivers in the grid but both have shown today a lack in either will power (Alonso) or too much frustration (hamilton).
 
Alonso, common pass Massa if you are to be #1 driver. Stupid spin in the first corner, but AMAZING comeback passing so many...

Hamilton, the only reason you got pulled in the pit is cause you couldn't pass the Renault... makes sense. Then you complain to the team about a pitstop 20 laps ago while trying to overtake the Ferraris. I thought he could do it, but his approach left much to wish for. Then you pass super sketchy resulting in the Webber incident.

Vettel, that was really disappointing.

Also, OMG Schumi way off the pace, this is not good. MB has lots of work to do.

All in all, interesting race IMO. Good to see Red Bull really strong in the race, they just need to work on reliability. Renault also had a really good run and McLaren seems very strong. Best of all is the results: Massa > Alonso and JB > LH .


 

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 
_____________________________________________________________________
1984 BMW 323i 5spd 2.3L 141 hp (105 kW) More door. Black on black (parting out) 
1986 BMW 325e 5spd 2.7L 121 hp (172 lb·ft) Le Mans Blau on Tan leather.
1986 BMW 325is 5spd 2.5L 168 hp (164 lb-ft) White on Tan leather (parted out) 
2005 Ford Focus S, 5spd 2.0L 136 hp (120lb-ft) CD silver on grey (sold)
1986 Porsche 944, 5spd 2.5L 150 hp (168lb-ft) champagne gold on grown leather. (sold)

Vettel 

I feel your pain Eunice! I am SO sorry for Vettel.

And BRAVO Kubica!

There is no try. Just do.

After the boring Bahrain race, this was one of the most action-packed and exciting races I have seen in a very long time 

Well done Jenson Button - he looks so calm and relaxed at McLaren. This result completely answers those people who thought McLaren would not welcome him or treat him equally. McLaren proved today that they are not 'Team Hamilton'.

Button said he called for the tyre change - an inspired decision by him and the way he calmly drove his race looking after his tyres showed why he became World Champion last year.

Hamilton was super quick but the team decision to bring him in for another tyre change was a catastrophic error. He is feeling really frustrated and disappointed - his live radio complaint to the team asking who made the decision to bring him in for new tyres shows how angry he was.

I think that Button is psychologically much stronger, less vulnerable. It was very revealing that Martin Whitmarsh said that it was disappointing for Lewis but Jenson still won the race". It shows that McLaren just loves winners. They aren't biased IMO in favour of Lewis. I think there will be some real tension between Hamilton and his team.

I think Hamilton is faster and is a better 'out and out racer' than Button but Button is a more complete overall driver.

I feel dreadfully sorry for poor Vettel. A spark plug/exhaust problem cost him a near-certain victory in Bahrain - and today, a brake failure cost him probable victory in Melbourne. Red Bull's reliability has costly him dearly. He is desperate to do well and he is doing everything right - but the team is not giving him a reliable car. It's just tragic.

Massa had a great start this time but drove a mixed race - some mistakes but he still came out of the race with 3rd. He will be very pleased with that, especially given his poor record at Melbourne.

After a disastrous start, Alonso drove a very strong race. He did brilliantly to work his way back past virtually the whole grid. It was a pity he couldn't get past Massa and then his tyres suffered so he couldn't challenge further. Still, 4th was not too bad a result.

Ferrari made absolutely the right call not to bring Massa and Alonso in for a second pit stop. 

Kubica drove a perfect race - he is clearly outperforming the car - superb, flawless drive. Kubica might be a good candidate for Red Bull or Ferrari next year. He is wasted at Renault.

Webber was very poor today. He was quick because he has such a fast car but he made way too many mistakes. He was simply making rash mistakes through being so over-eager to do well at his home race. He took Hamilton off at the end - Vettel or Alonso wouldn't have made that mistake.

Yet another poor race for Buemi. I think Alguersuari did well to fight off Schumi for so long. But what on earth was wrong with Schumi? Totally outperformed by Rosberg and the other top drivers.

I don't buy the theory that he is just finding his way back to top form. As a 7 time champ, he was one of the very best ever. But IMO he is not the same man anymore. IMHO he is past it. I fear that, as the season progresses, he will just continue to embarrass himself further. His record doesn't deserve to be tarnished like this - but he is becoming a joke.

Well done Liuzzi - good race for him.

Sauber had a really poor race - Kobayashi took Hulkenberg out. Feel very sorry for Nico Hulkenberg. Barrichello was solid.

Kovaleinen looks so happy at Lotus - I feel very happy for him.

Another disastrous race for Virgin Racing. Their small fuel tank doesn't matter if the car can't finish the race. Very poor.

Well done to Karun Chandok - the first finish for HRT - but lapped 5 times. The HRT cars belong in GP2 not F1.

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

 Enjoyed watching this race.

I don't know if McLaren could have made a different call other than bringing Lewis in for a second pit stop. Even his second set of slicks was giving out before the end of the race. Can't see how his first set would have lasted the whole distance. 

/edit: ... I don't buy that he would have just been calmly sitting behind Kubica for the rest of the race and looked after his tyres. Believe he would have continued to push for overtaking first Kubica then Button.. and the tyres would have given out much before lap 58. 

Race result

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/results/8498627.stm

Very revealing - Rosberg's fastest race lap was 1min 28.489 secs. Schumi's was 1 min 29.185 secs. 0.6 secs difference...

--

RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

Lewis deeply upset at strategy error

www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx 

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

I was trying to reconcile the way I watched Schumi threading his way through the field in Monaco in 2006 (starting from the back of the grid, ending 5th), with the fact that he was trapped behind a Toro Rosso for most of today's race.

Doesn't add up to the same driver.. but then again, I had no insight into the Schumi/Alguesuari fight as the BBC cameras mainly focussed on the P3-P6 action. 

Great result for Button, proving that last year was no fluke!

This season that the mandatory stops for fuel (and chance to change the tyres at the same time without further dalay) are gone, smoother drivers will be rewarded. If Button manages to qualify in a good position he will have the best of aggressive Hamilton in the race.

Also, had Alonso not been smooth and therefore needed more than 1stop, he would end up way down at the finish.

Totally agree with you.

Jenson drove excellent race, despite also excellent Vettel IMHO Button show how mature he become. His driving style will be a huge denefite this year.

Whoopsy:

Nice race.

Alonso doesn't seems to have the speed or the desire to overtake Massa, since there isn't suppose to be a team order, he could have tried himself, but he seems contend to just sit back and wait for the team to give him a hand, which never came.

Hamilton got pulled in for a tire change to ruin his race, his tires were fine as he said but he does have a reputation being hard on tires, while Button is easy on them.

Webber did himself no favor by being the idiot, ruining Hamilton's race even further.

Shummy the bully!!!!!

 

Lol, how do you know Alonso was expecting Ferrari to handle team orders. Were you able to read his mind?

By the way, congratulations to Button in his first victory as a McLaren driver.

Interesting what will happen know inside McLaren's pit box, Hamilton is not going to be a happy camper and specially since Button had such a different result than him. It was a risky move from Button to pit early but it worked out and he capitalised on it by not making any mistakes and bringing it home, and is now ahead of Hamilton in the championship, even if it won't last long.

One thing is for sure, the McLaren car is poor at qualifycation but its race pace is right up there with Ferrari and RedBull, and its very quick in top speed in the straights.

The downside of the race was Vettel, he has the advantage of the fastest car in the grid, but the disadvantage of having one of the least reliable

Alonso spun the wheels at the start and set himself up to be mixed in the middle of the pack for the first corner melee, big mistake, he should be thankful his car was OK after it. But he went from 18th place up to 4th, unbelievable, looks like there IS overtaking in 2010, also proved by Hamilton too. His and Hamilton's were the best drives there today IMO.

Alonso was faster than Massa the whole race and eventually after starting 15 places behind him he still caught up with him! unfortunatley being his team member it may have called for a bit too much risk for Ferrari to pass him at that point of the race with both on soft tires that had 50 laps on them, and the team's OK never came and had to stick behind Massa and drop to his pace, afterall now Ferrari is 1 & 2 in the championship. I'm glad Alonso kept cool, was a good boyscout, and thought of the championship. On top of it he had to fight off a faster Hamilton on new tires, lucky for Massa because Massa's strongpoint is not defending positions. And yep... Webber did it again, in this race his victim was Hamilton after all the effort Hamilton went through in the race

Looks like its true that Ferrari is gentle on the tires since they managed to finish the race without coming in a thrid time. This will make it interesting for those GPs with hot tracks.

Schumacher was the whole race fighting Alguersuari   Does not look good. More pressure and more frustration for the kaiser.

Kubica is a tough bone to overtake, great race for him on a Renault.

--

Carlos from Spain:

Looks like its true that Ferrari is gentle on the tires since they managed to finish the race without coming in a thrid time. This will make it interesting for those GPs with hot tracks.

The smooth and measured driving style of the Ferrari drivers also contributed to the tyre preservation.

I don't think someone like Hamilton would have pitted only once even in a Ferrari.

Thats a good example Reginos, Hamilton on the contrary is very hard on the tires, in the way he throws the car into the corners because De La Rosa when he was in McLaren also comented to that respect about his driving style and the tires. Opposite to Button for example.

Andrew Benson's blog

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/03/f1_answers_critics_in_style.html 

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

easy_rider911:

Andrew Benson's blog

www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/03/f1_answers_critics_in_style.html 

very good commentsl

Exciting race much assisted by the wet start.  

I found Button's decision to make an early switch to slicks inspired, particularly as the weather forecasters were predicting more rain within 20 minutes..

Maybe Button has a secret method the Met Office should learn to use..

"Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out."

John H:

Exciting race much assisted by the wet start.  

I found Button's decision to make an early switch to slicks inspired, particularly as the weather forecasters were predicting more rain within 20 minutes..

Maybe Button has a secret method the Met Office should learn to use..

 

I think he got lucky imo, could have been an embarrassing scratching head decision..I have my tickets for Silverstone, very much looking forward to the "driver team wars", it really is hotting up..

throt

"I didn't do it"

easy_rider911:

Lewis deeply upset at strategy error

www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx 

Looks like a tantrum from Hamilton

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8591447.stm

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton accused his team of getting race strategy wrong at the Australian Grand Prix.

"The strategy was not right," he said after finishing sixth. "I drove my heart out and I deserved better."

"The worst part at the end was getting taken out," said Hamilton. "I think my move wasn't particularly the problem, I would have cut across and got past him, but unfortunately Mark wasn't thinking clearly and he took us out."

Does he honestly think he could have finished the race without stopping for the second set of slick? like Ente said earlier, his second set of tires were already worn out by the last laps, imagine with 60 laps on them

I think what upset Hamilton in reality is that Button got the GP trophy for the team

There will be some sparks flying soon in that garage   and also Schumacher's mood will be pretty hard to deal with these next days, hope Roosberg keeps it cool and does not let his comments get to him.

agree with WAY, this is the sad realization i made from this race. And this track is relatively easy to pass on compared to others....

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 
_____________________________________________________________________
1984 BMW 323i 5spd 2.3L 141 hp (105 kW) More door. Black on black (parting out) 
1986 BMW 325e 5spd 2.7L 121 hp (172 lb·ft) Le Mans Blau on Tan leather.
1986 BMW 325is 5spd 2.5L 168 hp (164 lb-ft) White on Tan leather (parted out) 
2005 Ford Focus S, 5spd 2.0L 136 hp (120lb-ft) CD silver on grey (sold)
1986 Porsche 944, 5spd 2.5L 150 hp (168lb-ft) champagne gold on grown leather. (sold)

BBC's Martin Brundle

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8592658.stm

Button worried by McLaren's lack of pace

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8592855.stm

Webber: I went down fighting

http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6059019/Webber-I-went-down-fighting

Hamilton: McLaren wrecked the drive of his life

www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6058942/-McLaren-wrecked-drive-of-my-life-

Massa: perfect start to 2010 F1 season

www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6058992/Massa-Perfect-start-to-the-season

Schumi: that's racing

http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6059621/Schumacher-That-s-racing

Button: Australia was just a taster

http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6060688/Button-Australia-was-just-a-taster

Kubica: one stopping was correct

http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6061000/Kubica-One-stopping-was-the-answer

McLaren: Button orchestrated his own win

http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6060746/Whitmarsh-Button-orchestrated-own-win

Vettel: I just want to go home

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/6060883/Vettel-I-Just-Want-To-Go-Home-

Hamilton: my tyres would have lasted

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/6060824/Hamilton-Second-Stop-Was-Unnecessary

Rosberg happy to collect points

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82493

Hispania Racing Team finishes its first race

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82499

Alonso: winning was possible

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82507

Hamilton: strategy cost McLaren a 1-2 finish

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82515

McLaren defends strategy

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82517

Red Bull says no panic over reliability

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82521

Q&A with Kubica

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2010/3/10600.html

Kubica thrilled with unexpected podium

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=48073

Race stewards reprimand Webber

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=48081

McLaren plays down Hamilton's reaction

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=48083

Ferrari happy with its stance on team orders

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=48088

James Allen's verdict

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=James_Allen&id=48086

Button not expecting regular wins yet

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=48089

Alonso happy with 4th

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8591634.stm

Vettel worried over car's reliability

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8591640.stm

Hamilton blames team for strategy

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8591447.stm

James Allen's blog

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/
 

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

I especially liked the final blog from James Allen that contrasts Button and Hamilton.

Button showed leadership from the cockpit whereas Hamilton showed his lack of maturity.

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

How could I forget - the important celebrities photo gallery from Melbourne

http://www.planetf1.com/photo-gallery/6059667/Celebs-On-The-Grid-In-Oz#photo=0

Miss Poland looks stunning IMO

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection