2014 Rolex Australian Grand Prix

  • Thread starter Cap'n Jack
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With the tires, they were able to leverage off the "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" hysteria that came with the delaminations. It didn't take as much political pressure to push Pirelli into doing something.

Without the specter of crashes to push them, the FIA probably won't budge on this issue.
 
Hopefully so, it seems that the FIA are confident in the measurements of the sensor and the advice that IRBR were given.

IRBR's defence may be that they shouldn't have to disadvantage their race to comply with figures they didn't agree with. Hard cheese.

EDIT: Article from Aunty, I hadn't realised the Bernster wasn't actually at Melbourne... so he hasn't even heard the engines.

The article is good overall and might make an interesting read for those who think F1 has to p*** all its energy into the air :D
 
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Just heard Hakkinen speak (rare...) xD
He thinks Mercedes will be unbeatable this season, and Rosberg may edge out Hamilton for the World Championship. He also expects some (older gen) F1 drivers will retire this season because of the engines?

In terms of driving though, they handle very nicely... shows the skills of the drivers off!
 
ECGadget
Just heard Hakkinen speak (rare...) xD
He thinks Mercedes will be unbeatable this season, and Rosberg may edge out Hamilton for the World Championship. He also expects some (older gen) F1 drivers will retire this season because of the engines?

In terms of driving though, they handle very nicely... shows the skills of the drivers off!
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Well, certainly I do think Button's on his way out. The only other retirement prospects are Kimi and Fernando. We'll see about Raikkonen. Alonso I don't see quitting just yet.
 
zippy_the_cat
Well, certainly I do think Button's on his way out. The only other retirement prospects are Kimi and Fernando. We'll see about Raikkonen. Alonso I don't see quitting just yet.
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I wouldn't be surprised if Massa called it quits, but the season would have to be dire for it to happen or Williams would feel that another young driver with Bottas is best. Other than that I feel the field is quite secure.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
I wouldn't be surprised if Massa called it quits, but the season would have to be dire for it to happen or Williams would feel that another young driver with Bottas is best. Other than that I feel the field is quite secure.
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Massa appears to still have the fire in his belly, so I don't see him quitting prior to the 2015 season of his own accord.
 
zippy_the_cat
Massa appears to still have the fire in his belly, so I don't see him quitting prior to the 2015 season of his own accord.
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Yeah I agree, that's why I said unless Williams think Bottas in command and a younger driver would do better as a team. If it were to happen I don't see anyone picking him up next season. But I'm with you I doubt him leaving for another couple seasons really.
 
By the way, PM was even more right than he knew about the promoter's rattlings about the lack of engine noise. From Joe Saward:

"Ron Walker has announced that he will step down as chairman of the Australian Grand Prix next year. It is anticipated that he will be replaced by John Harnden, a former CEO of the event, who has been organising the 2015 Cricket World Cup. That event will be happening at the same time as the Australian GP next year but after it is completed Harnden can switch roles. Walker took the Australian GP to Melbourne in 1996 and has run the event ever since. Now 74 he has had some serious health problems in the few years and wants to retire."
 
So, um, where are the people damning McLaren for dropping Perez in favour of Magnussen? Considering their respective races, even if Magnussen turns out to be utter rubbish for the rest of the season, Perez didn't really make McLaren's decision look foolish last weekend...really I'm still left wondering why the hell anyone overlooks Hulkenburg still.

I fear that Hulk will have a Jean Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella or Rubens Barrichello career of looking amazing in midfield teams, getting one shot in a top team and suffering from either bad luck or a ridiculous level of over-expectation. But he has to surely be one of the most obvious candidates for a top seat to be so consistently ignored by the top teams in a long time, its not like the top teams have been locked out by clearly superior drivers.

Also, called the disappointing engines. I seem to remember people mocking me for comparing my experience last year of the Indy 500 with the Indycar turbo engines with the BTCC turbo engines at Oulton Park and remarking that F1 could possibly sound pretty disappointing. Well turns out they sound even worse than Indycars :lol:
Its nice to be able to hear the tyre squeal etc though.
Honestly I'm mildly entertained with this years F1 - much better than last years. I can deal with worse sounding engines if the racing is good. Still feel the BTCC is the best entertainment value in all of motorsports right now though.
 
Still lots of racing to go @Ardius, so while K Mag did a great job here, it's not like he's experienced everything GP racing is in Australia. Same goes for Perez in his new car, I feel like the difference between him and Hulk is similar to that of Raikkonen and Alonso and they'll be a lot closer over the coming months. We'll see though. Also, Hulk may have an advantage early on because he's so used to jumping from car to car every year.

Seems like you're trying to jump the gun way too quickly here. Also, Button got unlucky in qualifying and caught up to him pretty strongly in Australia. Mag still really hasn't shown speed, he's shown great maturity, consistency, and calm.
 
Ardius
So, um, where are the people damning McLaren for dropping Perez in favour of Magnussen? Considering their respective races, even if Magnussen turns out to be utter rubbish for the rest of the season, Perez didn't really make McLaren's decision look foolish last weekend...really I'm still left wondering why the hell anyone overlooks Hulkenburg still.

I fear that Hulk will have a Jean Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella or Rubens Barrichello career of looking amazing in midfield teams, getting one shot in a top team and suffering from either bad luck or a ridiculous level of over-expectation. But he has to surely be one of the most obvious candidates for a top seat to be so consistently ignored by the top teams in a long time, its not like the top teams have been locked out by clearly superior drivers.

Also, called the disappointing engines. I seem to remember people mocking me for comparing my experience last year of the Indy 500 with the Indycar turbo engines with the BTCC turbo engines at Oulton Park and remarking that F1 could possibly sound pretty disappointing. Well turns out they sound even worse than Indycars :lol:
Its nice to be able to hear the tyre squeal etc though.
Honestly I'm mildly entertained with this years F1 - much better than last years. I can deal with worse sounding engines if the racing is good. Still feel the BTCC is the best entertainment value in all of motorsports right now though.
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You can't go wrong with BTCC, with stronger cars and 3 races a weekend the drivers are more willing to take a chance on an overtaking manoeuvre instead of sitting behind someone waiting for the DRS to do the work.
 
IRBR's appeal will be heard on April 14th, that's after both the Malaysian and Chinese Grand Prix :(

niky
Without the specter of crashes to push them, the FIA probably won't budge on this issue.
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I really hope they don't. Everything I've seen the FIA say in public makes it seem that they're certain of the solidity of their readings and their advice to the team, let's see what happens when the lawyers roll up. Should this get a thread of its own now, otherwise this thread risks outlasting the as-yet-gestating Malaysian and Chinese GP thread?
 
TenEightyOne
IRBR's appeal will be heard on April 14th, that's after both the Malaysian and Chinese Grand Prix :(
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What's the alternative? To do it tomorrow?

That's hardly fair. Holding the hearing after two races might be less than ideal, but it gives both Red Bull and the FIA time to prepare their cases in detail.
 
prisonermonkeys
What's the alternative? To do it tomorrow?
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No, although given that this case rests on information on-the-day and each party's reactions to events based on their as-was understanding of the data and circumstances I'm surprised that so much time is required to formulate arguments, unless this is simply a standard time period for all appeals.

As I said earlier in the thread it would be best before the Malaysian GP but would probably be after, it's an unavoidable shame that the WDC table won't be verified until before the start of the season's 4th race. With some 'pundits' suggesting that similar protests could be a 'hallmark of the 2014 season' I just hope that the FIA demonstrate a firm stance and that the case doesn't end up implicitly allowing fudges.
 
If anyone would like to start a thread covering news regarding the "flowgate" situation, please do so. That way we can keep every one up on it and not have it seep/get lost into the GP threads.
 

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