FORMULA 1 - 2015

[MIKA27]

RENAULT: THE WEEKEND HAS BEEN VERY FRUSTRATING

Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo opened his points’ scoring account in today’s Australian Grand Prix. The Australian finished the first race of the year in sixth position.

Team-mate Daniil Kvyat had a frustrating start to his season after he failed to start when a gearbox problem struck on the formation lap.

Scuderia Toro Rosso’s new recruits Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen enjoyed impressive debuts in Australia. After qualifying in seventh, Sainz secured his first points with ninth overall despite a long delay in a pit stop. Verstappen also looked set to score on his maiden race but a technical issue brought his race to a premature end.

Key race points:

Just 11 cars finished the season opening race after a litany of issues throughout the field.

Daniel Ricciardo qualified in sixth position and held station throughout the race. The Australian made two pit stops.

Daniil Kvyat pulled up on the formation lap with a gearbox problem and did not start the race.

Carlos Sainz was running in fifth however a problem with the left rear tyre in his first pit stop dropped him out of the top ten. He made a strong recovery drive, just losing eighth position to Marcus Ericsson two laps from the end.

A suspected problem with the ICE on Max Verstappen’s car on lap 34 caused the Dutchman to pull up on the side of the track while running in the points.

Rémi Taffin, Director of Operations: “From the start of the weekend we’ve faced a number of technical issues, both at Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Reliability has been below par, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen suffering ICE problems. The two are not related and we are already investigating a recovery programme to make sure we do not see a repeat. The biggest issue has been the driveability, which has made it hard for all the drivers to feel comfortable in the cars. It affects pedal application and confidence in the corners so has cost lap time and points this weekend. It’s related to the maps, or the way the Power Unit is configured, so while it’s definitely not an easy fix, it does not require a complete redesign. We have got a lot of work to do before Malaysia but equally a lot of motivation to not repeat the same issues we had this weekend.”

Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director: “The weekend has been very frustrating. We know that we made genuine progress over the winter but we could not show it here and in fact we would even seem to have moved backwards. Given the pace at which we conducted our development programme towards the last few weeks of the winter, there may not be lots to change to be able to access these improvements. Now, we need to react, but not overreact, and get back to some basic common sense that has always driven our approach in all these years of F1 engine development. The season will be long, we have the time and the capacity to react and get this very bad start of the 2015 season behind us.”

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FORCE INDIA: A POSITIVE WAY TO START THE SEASON

Sahara Force India scored seven points in today’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg racing to seventh place and Sergio Perez picking up the final point in tenth.

Nico Hulkenberg: “I am very pleased with today’s result and starting the season with two cars in the points is always positive. It was a good race; I didn’t make any mistakes and, while the reliability of our car helped us take advantage of the problems of others, at this stage in the season it is important to capitalise on any opportunity. We were ready when it counted; we had a good strategy and we delivered under the pressure. In terms of performance we are not yet where we would like to be, but everyone is working really hard to get there and make our car quicker. With points on the board we can now look forward to Malaysia in a couple of weeks and hopefully take another step forward.”

Sergio Perez: “It was one of those unusual races where so many things happened, but I’m certainly happy to come away with a point and see Nico also score good points for the team. We went for a different strategy compared to Nico to maximise the team’s chances so I started on the medium tyres in order to have the advantage on the softs at the end of the race. Unfortunately, after the safety car the FIA asked me to give a place back to Ericsson, which also meant dropping behind Button, and that was really painful for my race. Button was on the soft tyres and, although I was quicker, it was not easy to overtake and I lost a lot of track position. Still, I’m focussing on the positives of scoring a point from a difficult race, which is a good result for the team.”

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: “A double points finish is a positive way to start the season and a reward for all the hard work everyone in the team produced over the winter. In a race with high attrition, we made the most of the reliability of the VJM08, which at the moment is one of our strengths. Nico completed an excellent race, without putting a wheel wrong from lights to flag; he looked in control and we were never in doubt he would score well today. Sergio had an eventful race, recovering from contact and a spin early on: he made the most of his ability to manage the tyres with a very long stint and was able to score a point. Unfortunately, Sergio had to relinquish the positions he made at the start, otherwise he would have been very close to Nico. Still, it is always good to start a season with two cars in the points and we can leave Melbourne feeling positive.”

[MIKA27]

Jensen: Points don't matter right now

Jenson Button may have been the only driver not to finish in the points in Melbourne, but he felt it was a "good day" for McLaren.

The Woking squad's new partnership with Honda got off to a poor start during pre-season testing and that form carried over to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this weekend.

Button and Kevin Magnussen were the two slowest cars in qualifying on Saturday and they started 17th and 18th. Well they were meant to start there, but Magnussen never made it to the grid as his MP4-30 picked up an engine problem while he was leaving the pits

Button battled valiantly and he was the last driver to take the chequered flag in 11th place despite a downshift problem late in the race.

"Points don't mean anything to us now anyway, there's so much more to achieve and to do," the 2009 World Champion told reporters. "Really, [it's a] good day for us to get to the end, [the] longest stint was 12 laps before this weekend so I think it's impressive, we're a long way off but it's a good starting point.

"I still enjoyed it, little bit of a battle with [sergio] Pérez for 20 laps which was fun but after that it was just bringing it home.

"It's all step-by-step and the car doesn't feel too bad, there's so much we're doing with it which hurts the handling to look after fuel and the car which is a pity but [it's] a good starting point and hopefully more in Malaysia."

[MIKA27]

Double disappointment at Lotus

A promising weekend for Lotus turned miserable when both Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean retired on the opening lap of the Australian GP.

Qualifying ninth and tenth for Sunday's 58 lap race with Grosjean ahead of Maldonado, the latter's race was the first to come undone.

With all drivers squeezing one another for space and track position, Maldonado was hit by the Sauber of Felipe Nasr and put into the wall.

"Racing is like this," he said.

"It was quite busy start, going into a narrow corner. I just felt a big hit on the back and didn't see what happened.

"It's disappointing because it was a great chance for us to have a great race."

As for Grosjean, he pulled into the pits almost immediately after the start having suffered a loss of power.

Despite his early exit, the Frenchman says he is feeling encouraged for the season ahead as Lotus have shown signs of improvement.

"We had a loss of power on the formation lap; there was a technical issue which we are investigating," he revealed.

"It's not how you want to end your race, but we know the car is good and we're miles ahead of where we were last season.

"We have a good baseline with the E23 and a good engine. We also have new pieces that we are bringing over for the next races, so more performance coming.

"The first race is always a bit of a tricky one, you never know what might happen and, unfortunately it was bad luck for us today but it doesn't matter: I'm still very hopeful for the year."

[MIKA27]

Ferrari delighted with Vettel podium

Sebastian Vettel labeled his podium finish on his Ferrari debut in the Australian Grand Prix as “a very big honour”.

Vettel defeated the Mercedes-powered Williams of Felipe Massa in a race-long tussle over third place, but finished 34 seconds behind the Mercedes of race winner Lewis Hamilton.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “Obviously it’s a great start to the season for us after a very good winter already. The team has worked phenomenally hard, and we can be very proud of this result.”

Ferrari technical director James Allison also believes this is a sign of Ferrari’s big step forward over the winter after a major backroom overhaul.

“In the whole of last year we got one podium,” said Allison. “It’s the first race, and we’ve got a podium, and that’s going to make you happy on any level.

“We are aware as anyone that the gap to the front is big, and we’ll do our best to chase it down during the year. It’s an interesting year this one, because we’ve got a lot more development possibility with the engine and stuff, so we’ll see where that takes us.

On the subject of Kimi Raikkonen, who exited the race after a botched pitstop with a loose rear-left wheel, Allison added: “Kimi was pretty decent in pace terms as well, although we’re very fed up with what happened in the pitstop.

“We don’t know what the problem was until we see the car.”

[MIKA27]

Massa concedes Ferrari faster than Williams

Felipe Massa conceded Ferrari is faster than Williams after losing out to Sebastian Vettel in their fight for a podium finish in the Australian Grand Prix.

The Brazilian lost time behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and was passed by Vettel for third on lap 20, eventually finishing in fourth position less than four seconds behind.

Williams driver Massa said Ferrari had the quicker car, but he reckons he could have kept Vettel behind if not for the time lost behind Ricciardo.

"It's true that Ferrari had a little bit of an advantage on the pace - maybe a couple of tenths, it's difficult to be sure about it - but maybe they had a little bit better pace," said Massa.

"But being in front was the best I could do to fight because it's not an easy track to overtake.

"So to lose the position like that is not nice, it's a bit disappointing but it's just the first one, we're still in the fight.

"We know that they are better, they are more competitive so the championship is not easy. We are in the fight but it's always good to start with more points."

Big engine progress

The Williams driver believes Ferrari has made huge progress on the engine side, as proved by the fact that both the Ferrari-powered Saubers had a strong weekend.

"Yeah, 100%," he said when asked if Ferrari's engine had improved. "Who finished fifth? Sauber. From where they were last year and not having any money to put in the car.

"It's a team that doesn't invest so much in the team and they just improved a lot which I think is coming from a different part.

"Surprise? No, because I saw in the tests and I saw here on Friday. So it's not a surprised; Mercedes is for sure even better than everyone expected."

[ptrthgr8]

This season is off to a shitty start. Mercedes had another cake walk and only 11 cars finished the race. Completely lame. And I suspect this race will be the season in a nutshell. I think I'll be looking for other things to watch on Sundays this year.

Oooo! Maybe NASCAR!!!

Bah.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Oooo! Maybe NASCAR!!!

Thems fighting words....

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: FOR FERRARI IT FEELS LIKE A VICTORY

A yawning 34 seconds might have separated third-placed Sebastian Vettel from Australian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton on Sunday but the podium spot felt like a victory for the four-time world champion on his Ferrari debut.

German Vettel endured a horror final season with Red Bull last year, outshone by new teammate Daniel Ricciardo and plagued by reliability problems throughout a winless campaign.

Jumping ship to a shaken-up Ferrari was a leap of faith for Vettel after the Maranello team laboured to fourth in the championship, their first winless season in over 20 years.

Though buoyed by a positive winter testing, Vettel was apprehensive about what to expect on the first race weekend but was relieved when his car behaved during qualifying at Albert Park on Saturday.

Starting fourth on the grid, Vettel survived a chaotic start that saw him nearly hit teammate Kimi Raikkonen and after holding off Williams driver Felipe Massa for a well-earned podium spot, spoke of truly ‘living the dream’.

“It’s really an honour to sit in the red car,” the 27-year-old told reporters. “Certainly when the chequered flag came out it was a great feeling.

“Of course, it’s not a victory, but for us it feels like a victory. It’s a great relief after a horrible season last year.”

Vettel was under no illusion about Ferrari’s distance from reigning champions Mercedes but said it would not be “impossible” to catch the Silver Arrows.

“Well, you have to be realistic. For sure, as I said, they have a great package at the moment,” he said. “It will be difficult to beat. Thirty four seconds down the road is a lot for everyone else.”

Vettel’s fellow championship-winning teammate Raikkonen had a far less memorable day, his race seemingly cursed from the start.

Fifth off the grid, the Finn lost ground when hit from behind during the chaotic early exchanges and again on the side at a traffic jam at the second corner.

He would then suffer two botched tyre changes, the second one forcing him to retire after his rear left wheel was not attached properly.

“Kimi was pretty decent as well in pace terms although we are very fed up with what happened in the pitstop,” Ferrari technical director James Allison said. “But the race was OK. It’s the first race and we’ve just got a podium… On any level, that’s got to make you happy.”

[MIKA27]

DANIEL RICCIARDO: IT WAS A BORING RACE

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo labelled the Australian Grand Prix “boring” on Sunday after dominant Mercedes claimed first and second spots more than 30 seconds ahead of the field.

Winner Lewis Hamilton and his teammate Nico Rosberg lapped all but three drivers in Melbourne in an ominous sign for the season ahead.

“I feel a bit for the fans,” said Australia’s Ricciardo, who finished sixth in his Red Bull. “It was a boring race. It was frustrating. It wasn’t the most exciting race.

“We finished the race and got some points which was positive, and there are things we can learn. I think on paper sixth was the best for us today.”

Hamilton, from pole position, and Rosberg, from second on the grid, were never challenged by a field reduced to just 15 cars – the lowest number for a season-opener since 1963.

With new team Manor unable even to take part in qualifying, Valtteri Bottas pulled out with a back injury and Daniil Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen withdrew before the start with mechanical problems.

“For sure it’s not great for the people,” Vettel said of the sparse field, of which only 11 cars reached the chequered flag. It is complicated – maybe it got a bit too complicated.”

Mercedes last year ran away with the drivers’ and constructors’ titles and won a record 16 races.

Hamilton won 11 times as Mercedes also set a new record of 11 one-two finishes in a season. The team also equalled Red Bull’s 2011 record for most pole positions with 18.

On the evidence of Sunday’s season-opening race, little has changed.

[MIKA27]

CHRISTIAN HORNER: RENAULT ENGINE IS UNDRIVEABLE

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has laid the blame for his team’s terrible start to the Formula 1 season with their Renault engine, describing it as undriveable.

Once the most powerful team in the sport, Red Bull won the constructors’ championship four years in a row before finishing second to Mercedes last year.

And while Mercedes continued their dominance with world champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg finishing first and second in Sunday’s Australian opener, Red Bull fell even further behind.

Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth in his home race while his new Russian team mate Daniil Kvyat withdrew before the start with a gearbox failure.

“It’s been a very tough weekend for Renault,” Horner told reporters. “The engine is just quite undriveable. You can see and hear that from the comments the drivers are making…you’re not able to drive the car properly.”

Horner has become increasingly critical of the French engine maker after they experienced problems adapting to the new V6 turbo hybrid era last year.

He first raised his concerns with Renault in 2012 and is frustrated that things seem to be getting worse rather than better.

“It’s frustrating that we’re effectively even further back than we were in Abu Dhabi (last November) in both power and driveability,” he said. “Ferrari have made a good step. Renault, at this stage, appear to have made a retrograde step.”

Horner estimated that Renault’s power unit was 100 horsepower down on Mercedes and he said it was paramount that the gap was closed.

“It’s important after this weekend that we re-group with Renault and try and offer our support where we can, because they’re obviously in a bit of a mess at the moment,” he said.

To compound Red Bull’s problems, Ricciardo used up one of his four power units during practice, leaving him with three for the rest of the season.

“The positives are that we finished,” Ricciardo said. “The reliability was there for one car at least. I feel for Dani (Kyvat) but we’ll turn it around and try and learn from the laps I did today and move on.”

“We know where a lot of (the problems) lie but there’s some more as well which was unexpected. Definitely behind but it is what it is and we’ve got to try and make the best of it. I’m sure we’ll get there but it could be a little while.”

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN POSITIVE DESPITE DISMAL START TO NEW HONDA ERA

Jenson Button found a glimmer of hope in McLaren’s dismal start to the Formula One season when he at least finished Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

The Englishman was last of the 11 cars that completed the race, and was twice lapped by race winner Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, but the 2009 world champion saw some positives.

“Today has been a good day,” he said. “We’re still a long way off, but this is a good starting point — and I enjoyed the race. I even had a good little battle with Checo (Sergio Perez).

“Today also really helps in terms of development. If we’d done three laps, we’d have learned nothing, so we’ve learned a massive amount by completing a race distance.”

Button missed out on a championship point but he said that was almost irrelevant after a weekend when everything went wrong for the sport’s second most successful team, who have not won a race since 2012.

“It was also a good opportunity for me to get used to the car and to play around with it, making adjustments in the cockpit,” said the Briton, whose longest stint before Melbourne had been 12 laps.

“There’s a lot of work still needed — on power, driveability, downforce and set-up — but we can make big strides. And, by improving one area, it tends to snowball.”

McLaren had low expectations after Button and Kevin Magnussen were the slowest qualifiers. Things only got worse on Sunday when the Dane failed to make the grid after his Honda power unit blew.

“Even though I couldn’t make the start, the team can learn something from my car’s problem,” said Magnussen, who was recalled after Fernando Alonso was ruled out on medical advice following a crash in testing.

“We can take positives from Jenson finishing the race, too – we came here to learn, and that’s what we did. Finishing is a small victory for the team – I don’t think we expected to be able to do that. Now we can get a car to the finish line, we can start to accelerate our learning.”

Racing director Eric Boullier also found a silver lining from a dark weekend, “It’s not easy to find positives, but in fact there are some. We can take positives from Jenson finishing the race, too — we came here to learn, and that’s what we did.”

[MIKA27]

ALONSO: SEE YOU IN MALAYSIA

Fernando Alonso has given a firm indication that his return to Formula 1 action in Malaysia in two weeks is on track.

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis revealed he had been text-messaging with Alonso in Australia and the Spaniard – whilst training in Dubai – had said he relishes the opportunity to return to the team as soon as possible.

Spanish media report that Alonso will now travel from Dubai to McLaren’s Woking headquarters, to work on the simulator between Tuesday and Friday.

Alonso, meanwhile, confirmed after watching the grand prix on television that his Malaysia comeback is on track.

“Congratulations to Carlos Sainz for the great weekend in Australia!” he tweeted. “And of course to Hamilton and Mercedes for the win! See you in Malaysia”.

Meanwhile as the teams packed up their equipment late on Sunday to be shipped directly to Kuala Lumpur, McLaren boss Eric Boullier was unable to confirm if star driver Alonso will also definitely be going to Sepang.

“I have said 100 times this weekend that it is the decision of the doctors,” Boullier told reporters late on Sunday.

“I don’t know where these tests will take place, in Paris or in Switzerland,” he added, “but after that the doctors will allow him to participate in the race or not.”

Certainly, however, Alonso and McLaren are planning for a Malaysian reunion, even if the team’s woeful performance in Australia had some observers wondering if the 33-year-old even wants to drive the MP4-30.

His car, in substitute Kevin Magnussen’s hands, broke down even before it got to the grid in Australia, but was only due to start the race dead last anyway.

MIKA: I think Alonso has a better podium chance on his bike...

[MIKA27]

FERRARI SURPRISE BY OVERTAKING WILLIAMS IN PECKING ORDER

At the Formula 1 season opening weekend in Australia, Ferrari confirmed it has returned to better form after the struggle and turmoil of the 2014 season.

Although the gap to ultra-dominant Mercedes was in excess of half a minute, Sebastian Vettel began his new career in red with a podium finish.

It appeared to confirm the appearance that, having struggled notably in the power department last year, Ferrari has closed the gap to Mercedes with regards to its turbo V6 engine for 2015.

Ferrari customer Sauber, for instance, finished fifth in Albert Park, despite its courtroom dramas and Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s claim that the Swiss team was using “last year’s wings” in Melbourne.

“The difference is the engine,” the disgruntled Horner insisted.

Another sign of Ferrari’s engine progress was the fact Mercedes customer Williams has apparently slipped behind the Italian giant.

“Ferrari are quicker than us,” admitted the Grove team’s technical boss Pat Symonds.

Former F1 driver Mika Salo said Ferrari’s leapfrogging of Williams was a surprise.

“I did not expect that,” he told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3 in Melbourne. “The Ferrari looks good. Vettel was able to beat (Felipe) Massa and Kimi’s race pace was also faster than Massa.”

“They’re a long way from Mercedes, though,” the former Ferrari driver added.

On Sunday, however, Williams was missing the skilful services of Valtteri Bottas, who is now working with doctors to recover from a torn disc in his back.

Salo said: “It would have been nice to see what he was able to do.”

He also warned that the apparent pecking order in Australia, with Ferrari ahead of Williams, should not be overly trusted.

“Australia is always a bit of a strange race while Malaysia is more of a ‘normal’ track,” said the 48-year-old, who last raced with Toyota in 2002.

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ECCLESTONE NOT TO BLAME FOR GERMAN GP DEMISE SAYS LAUDA

Organisers, not F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, are to blame for the demise of the German Grand Prix according to Niki Lauda, after the sport’s supremo Ecclestone declared the race essentially dead for 2015.

It will end Germany’s six-decade run on the annual F1 calendar, and deprive Mercedes – for whom Lauda is the team chairman – of its home race.

“Of course it would be a shame if there is no grand prix in Germany this year,” the triple world champion told Tagesspiegel newspaper.

“But in this case you have to say ‘If the host is not able to organise a race, then this is not the fault of Bernie Ecclestone’,” Lauda added.

This year, the Nurburgring was scheduled to host a mid-July round of the world championship, so if the circuit succumbs to financial troubles, “No one else can be blamed for it”.

Lauda continued: “It is up to the organisers to make it a whole weekend event, as Austria, Silverstone, Spa and Melbourne are able to do so well.”

[MIKA27]

SAUBER: WITHOUT MONISHA THERE WOULD BE NO SAUBER

Sauber team founder and boss Peter Sauber has defended Monisha Kaltenborn after the courtroom saga which tarnished the team’s 2015 Formula 1 season opener in Australia.

Ultimately, Kaltenborn was smiling as the sun set on the Melbourne paddock, as Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson scored more points in a single race than the Swiss team did in the whole of the 2014 season, with Nasr starring on his way to an impressive fifth place in his debut.

In fact, Sauber is an astonishing third overall so far this year, ahead of Williams and Red Bull.

But earlier, the now low-profile team founder Peter Sauber was moved to leave his native Switzerland and make the long trek to Australia, as the Giedo van der Garde saga threatened to pull the curtain on the team’s 22-year history.

As recently as Friday, the press was asking Kaltenborn if she will step down as boss. But Peter Sauber says that is not going to happen.

“Without Monisha Kaltenborn,” the 71-year-old Swiss told Blick newspaper on Sunday, “there would be no Sauber.”

Sauber also told the Neue Zercher Zeitung newspaper: “I would not have bought the team back (from BMW) six years ago if she had not declared her willingness to participate.

“It was a joint decision,” he revealed, “and for me I was very, very lucky to have her in this position. Many other teams in the paddock would also be very lucky to have this woman.”

In the end, just as he was touching down in Melbourne, Kaltenborn had managed to settle the courtroom dispute with the disgruntled Dutch driver, even though the saga is likely to now roll into Malaysia.

“I can’t talk about any of that,” she said late on Sunday, but at least Sauber’s terminal lack of pace now seems solved, perhaps thanks mainly to the engine improvements brought by supplier Ferrari.

Kaltenborn argues: “The whole package is better, although Ferrari has made a giant leap in the engine. But we have also managed a step forward with the chassis.”

Still, Sauber’s troubles are not over, she acknowledged, “I do not believe that new sponsors will suddenly come, but I would love to be surprised.”

Indeed, potential new backers will look not only at a good result for Sauber in Australia, but also the enormous criticisms aimed at Kaltenborn’s handling of the van der Garde situation.

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LAUDA DENIES PRIVATE LIVES TO HURT MERCEDES DRIVERS

Mercedes F1 chief Niki Lauda has rubbished suggestions the private lives of Mercedes’ race drivers could affect their championship hopes in 2015.

World champion Hamilton has broken up with his long-time girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, while the newly-married Nico Rosberg’s wife is expecting their first child.

“It has absolutely no influence,” Mercedes team chairman and F1 legend Lauda told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

“The story that you slow down when your wife is pregnant is complete nonsense,” he said. “Formula 1 drivers are true professionals who want nothing else than to win. It’s what they are paid for.”

As for the heart-on-the-sleeve Hamilton’s personal life, Lauda explained: “I have talked to Lewis about it.

“Whether he has brought his private life in order or not is very much overrated by journalists,” said the triple world champion. “Lewis simply gets in the car and does his job.”

Part of Hamilton’s job at present is to personally negotiate a new contract, but Lauda denied that the protracted talks have stalled and might fail altogether.

“Not at all,” said the great Austrian. “Everything is very relaxed. “He negotiates very well, and we do too. Lewis will be with us in 2016, definitely.”

Mercedes kicked off its 2015 campaign in utterly dominant style on Sunday, but team boss Toto Wolff vowed to keep his feet on the ground.

“From the pure performance of the car,” he told German television, “we are probably in a separate category but Ferrari showed today that they have made a big leap.

“They have all the resources and the people to be able to keep improving,” added Wolff.

[JohnS]

I think you mean Mercedes, McLaren finished dead last in the race.

Yes, I meant Mercedes. I've edited my original post. Oops, McLaren were definitely not in the same league for this race in Australia.

[wabashcr]

As only a casual fan of F1, it's disappointing to see that this season appears to be a repeat of last year, with Mercedes processions every stop. FIA have tweaked the rules in the past to peg back manufacturers who have too much of an advantage, and it will probably happen again here soon with Mercedes. I've never been in favor of such moves by the governing bodies, but the alternative is an awfully boring show. Not sure F1 has the stomach for another season with such a disparity at the top.

[joeskow]

As painful as the Australian GP was we need to give credit where it's due, Mercedes has developed a fantastic power unit and chasis with 2 great drivers at the wheel. The other manufacturers aren't able to catch up so they cry foul, it happens every year. The FIA shouldn't penalize Mercedes for achieving superiority but allow more in season testing and development. The 4 power unit max is a joke and will be a major problem later on (probably sooner than later). I would maybe like to see the in season testing and development solutions where the bottom teams get more tokens along with test days and the top teams get less tokens depending how they finished in the prior season.

And it seems the more the FIA try to cut costs the more expensive it becomes to field a team??

The V6 unit is not Ecclestone's fault he has fought it every step of the way, though today Bernie is clearly a major problem with the downfall of F1, the media coverage is a disgrace for such a major global sport.

[joeskow]

And btw Renault's power unit is a complete joke and I do feel bad for Newey and RBR as the Chasis is probably superior in every way.

I can understand his wanting to leave F1 for the Americas cup as his brilliance with aerodynamics is much more useful there than on race cars as he has no worries about engine woes only the wind mother nature provides.

[MIKA27]

As painful as the Australian GP was we need to give credit where it's due, Mercedes has developed a fantastic power unit and chasis with 2 great drivers at the wheel. The other manufacturers aren't able to catch up so they cry foul, it happens every year. The FIA shouldn't penalize Mercedes for achieving superiority but allow more in season testing and development. The 4 power unit max is a joke and will be a major problem later on (probably sooner than later). I would maybe like to see the in season testing and development solutions where the bottom teams get more tokens along with test days and the top teams get less tokens depending how they finished in the prior season.

And it seems the more the FIA try to cut costs the more expensive it becomes to field a team??

The V6 unit is not Ecclestone's fault he has fought it every step of the way, though today Bernie is clearly a major problem with the downfall of F1, the media coverage is a disgrace for such a major global sport.

Mate, couldn't have said it better myself - So when are you joining the FIA and have these rules made a reality.

Seriously, agree with you in every aspect wholeheartedly.

[MIKA27]

And btw Renault's power unit is a complete joke and I do feel bad for Newey and RBR as the Chasis is probably superior in every way.

I can understand his wanting to leave F1 for the Americas cup as his brilliance with aerodynamics is much more useful there than on race cars as he has no worries about engine woes only the wind mother nature provides.

I can't believe Renault have made such a mess!

Instead of moving forward after last season, they have avalanched, backward... Unbelievable.

Their days are truly numbered.

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ECCLESTONE: RED BULL ARE ABSOLUTELY 100 PER CENT RIGHT

Red Bull is right to argue for rule changes after Mercedes utterly dominated the 2015 season opener, Bernie Ecclestone said on Monday.

A report by the Reuters news agency said the F1 chief executive played down former champions Red Bull’s threats to quit formula one, not least because the team has committed to the sport contractually through 2020.

“Whether they will (quit), who knows?,” Ecclestone said, but he insisted Red Bull was right to argue that something should be done to bridge the big gap between Mercedes and the other engine makers under F1’s turbo V6 regulations.

Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, on the other hand, advised the bosses of the energy drink owned team to go to Jeruselum and join the others at the ‘Wailing Wall’.

But Ecclestone said: “They (Red Bull) are absolutely 100 per cent right.

“There is a rule that I think (former FIA president) Max (Mosley) put in when he was there that in the event that a particular team or engine supplier did something magic – which Mercedes have done – the FIA can level up things.

“We need to change things a little bit now and try and level things up a little bit,” he added.

MIKA: Unbelievable! What happened to levelling things up for the 4 seasons RBR absolutely blew other teams away and made races processional?

Isn't this a sport where there are winners and losers? The losers should just put a sock in it and move on...

[MIKA27]

WOLFF: RED BULL GET YOUR F*CKING HEAD DOWN, WORK HARD AND SORT IT OUT

Mercedes F1 chiefs have lashed back at those calling for immediate rule changes after the opening race of the 2015 season.

Amid a diminished grid and earlier courtroom dramas for F1, the Mercedes giant’s domination of 2014 then appeared only to have been extended further in Australia.

Lewis Hamilton was 1.4 seconds clear of any rival in qualifying, and then stood accused of sandbagging in Sunday’s race — even though the nearest non-Mercedes rival, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, was 34 seconds behind at the chequer.

“That wasn’t Mercedes’ real pace today,” Williams engineer Rob Smedley said on Sunday. “The real pace is what we saw in qualifying.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff denied Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were not racing one another in the grand prix, but he did admit fuel-saving was a priority.

“Nico never had the weapons to fight back against Lewis,” he said, “because you have to save fuel on this track.”

Former world champions Red Bull, however, were lashing out in every direction as the Melbourne sun set on the first round of the new F1 season.

Australian journalists were busily writing up stories of a ‘boring’ race, while Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were slamming engine partner Renault and warning that Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz might quit F1 in protest of the current rules.

“Yes,” said Marko, “there is a danger that Mateschitz will lose his passion for F1. The technical regulations are incomprehensible, too complicated and expensive. We have let F1 be governed by engineers.

“But our designer Adrian Newey has his creativity castrated by these engine regulations. They are killing Formula 1!”

Wolff lost his temper, “I think ‘just get your f***ing head down, work hard and try to sort it out’,” said the Austrian.

He then suggested Marko and Horner should take their ‘wailing’ out of the F1 paddock and to a famous wall in Jerusalem.

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda also hit back at the post-race complaining, “Those who continuously criticise have no idea what they are talking about.”

“We are all here to bring the maximum in technological innovation, the best car, the best engine, the best drivers and try to win the grand prix,” Lauda told the Austrian news agency APA.

“That is the goal in formula one. If others are here because of other things, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” he insisted.

Lauda said there was nothing wrong with the image presented by F1 on Sunday, “Ferrari is back on the podium, so how is that bad for Formula 1? Everything comes from Red Bull because they’re annoyed their car doesn’t work.”