Kicks off in Melbourne as usual. Should be interesting for the new rules in qualifying, with the slowest driver getting dropped every 90 seconds after 5 minutes for each session.
Questions for the season...
1)Will Hamilton dominate again, or will Rosberg finally step up like he did at the end of last season?
2)Can Ferrari compete against Mercedes?
3)Force India was looking strong last season, can they maintain the improvements?
4)Any hope for Red Bull, or are they in a "rebuild year"?
5)Torro Roso has a Ferrari engine this year, will they be the party spoiler near the top of the grid? Their chassis was fast last year
6)How will Haas perform? It sounds like they are basically driving a Ferrari chassis, so they could do better than we expect for a new team.
7)Renault, where will they end up in the standings? Crappy engine and taking over a team that didn't do a lot of development in the past couple years
8)Ya, saved this for last. Mclaren-Honda, oh poor Honda. Any chance? The chassis is supposed to be fast, but that engine. Ugh.
EDIT:
SPOILER POLICY
Forgot to mention it, but spoilers are fair game here after each event, so fell free to talk about qualifying and the race as it happens or immediately after. I won't check the thread until I watch.
Last edited by Fuzz; 03-16-2016 at 07:41 AM.
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Despite all the troubles F1 has had recently I'm still a fan. I watch most races on a slight delay since I can't be bothered to wake up at 6am every weekend.
I want so badly to go to Montreal again this year. It was so much fun last year. Plus with no exchange rate to worry about it isn't crazy expensive.
Australia is fun because I can watch before I go to bed on sat night.
I would add two things to your list of questions for the season.
Will the new ultra soft tire compounds make any difference, especially with the new strategy that allows teams to pick which compounds they use from a choice of three.
And second will the cars be any louder. I didn't notice when I went to the race last year in Montreal but when I watch YouTube videos after that had comparisons it became really obvious. That's a minor one for tv viewers. Matters more live.
Here is an example in case anyone isn't familiar. I was amazed when I saw this video. I'd read the criticisms about the cars being quieter when I went to the race and the first time I heard them I couldn't believe people would complain they were so loud. But when you watch that video you notice that in the first example pretty much everyone is wearing ear plugs because they apparently were deafening.
Oh and if one more person asks if I like NASCAR when I'm wearing my red bull racing jacket I may kill myself. Or them. Probably them.
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I forgot about the tire changes. Overall I think Pirelli has done a pretty bad job at making things entertaining, but that also comes down to what they are asked to provide. Will see how this year turns out.
As for the noise, it doesn't bother me much on TV, and I can't imagine really wanting it that loud in person. Better not to have to wear ear plugs.
I always watch the race delayed, just because I am almost busy on Sundays doing fun stuff. I usually get to them Sunday night, but sometimes it takes a few days. I'll usually try to watch qualifying too, and only if I have a lot of time on an ugly weekend will I watch practice.
I keep trying to get into F1 again and again and just end up disappointed.
Don't get me wrong, I love the sport but I am still tired of the race outcomes being determined after the first lap when Mercedes gets a 3-5 sec lead on the field.
New Q-session does sound very interesting though.
I still long for the days of refuelling; or at least rapid tyre degradation.
I keep trying to get into F1 again and again and just end up disappointed.
Don't get me wrong, I love the sport but I am still tired of the race outcomes being determined after the first lap when Mercedes gets a 3-5 sec lead on the field.
New Q-session does sound very interesting though.
I still long for the days of refuelling; or at least rapid tyre degradation.
I think tyre degradation is an issue and something pirelli has failed at so far. I've been reading a lot about the tyre issues and it seems to me that pirelli has made the tyres too predictable because they are so worried about safety. Quicker, more unpredictable degradation means more pits and more mistakes, which is good for racing. I hate it that every race seems to be a predictable 1 or 2 stop. Even compared to a few years ago the number of stops has decreased.
As for Mercedes dominance, I just hope that Rosberg and Hamilton actually get to race. I honestly wouldn't be as disappointed if they finished 1-2 every race if they actually competed against each other. Last year by race 3 Mercedes had already put a muzzle on Rosberg and refused to let either drive change strategy to try and win from behind.
I watched a few races on tv last year where I swear they were only on tv for the first and last laps, and rightfully so. Mercedes "don't pass each other" strategy was awful.
Ya, they absolutely have to let them race, within reason. There was one race where Hamilton was BEGGING for a different tire strategy, and they wouldn't let him. Even if it wasn't a good strategy, they should have let him try. The whole "person in front gets first call on the pit" is silly. If they are on the same lap, and they both want to pit, sure the person in front gets the first call because they will be in front, but other than that, let it go.
The Mercedes seams to really suck in dirty air, so hopefully the new qualifying puts them behind in at least a few races. Might keep it more interesting at the front.
After Q1 I'd say I like this new format so far. It was chaos at first and interesting until the end I thought. Looks like teams don't quite understand it or haven't quite figured out how to properly budget time. Several eliminated while on their out lap or during their flying lap because they didn't give emselves enough time to finish the lap before he 90s was up.
Edit: Ok changed my mind. Q2 sucked. Since they start on Q2 tyres no one even tried to move up if they didn't get it on their first lap or two. At least I think that must be why none of the teams even bothered. Literally sat around watching the clock tick down.
Q3 was even worse. Sky sports guys are right. This will not last 3 races. It's awful. With tyres only lasting a lap then needing a change and no pit lane refuelling this just doesn't work. It's impossible to set a new lap by the time you know you're on the block.
Last edited by Cecil Terwilliger; 03-19-2016 at 12:57 AM.
Wow, that was horrible. Did these clowns not test this is a low level series first? Clearly that would have shown how it would have worked. Not having cars out for the last 2-5 minutes of each session is credulous. Not excitement whatsoever. The crowd shots are everyone looking bored out of their minds. Also, only 8 for the final session? Ugh.
Beyond that, to many tires. Seams like no real restriction anymore.
Holly hot potatoes Mercedes is fast. I guess that puts the season to rest...
Miss the BBC guys.
Renault is in a sad state, Haas I think got caught flat footed with these qualy rules, I don't think we have sense their pace. Looks like as I expected, Toro Rosso is faster than Red Bull.
Good start for the Haas team getting a points finish, finishing P6 with Roman Grosjean. That Alonso crash was terryfing, glad he walked away from that.
Got home late. I'm only on lap 17 or whatever when Alonso had his spectacular crash. Wow. That's a lucky to be alive crash. Look like Guitierrez very slightly veered left right before Alonso went for the pass.
I'm so surprised at how poor Ferrari has been strategy wise the last two seasons. Seems to me that Mercedes always nails it and Ferrari doesn't. I guess Malaysia and Monaco last year say otherwise but for some reason it always feels like Mercedes gets strategy bang on, Silverstone last year comes to mind. I'd be curious to see what would have happened if Ferrari would have gone Medium tyres at the red flag.
2016 Formula 1
