Australian Grand Prix (Los Angeles - Central Park) 03.26.2017

stormybadger8 said:It's basically over...
Right now, it looks like a repeat of 2015. Mercedes is half a second ahead of Ferrari, Ferrari is 0.3-0.5 seconds ahead of Red Bull... everyone else is just stuck in the rearview mirror.

Hamilton would stroll into the title easier than ever...
Seems like Valtteri is so slow that Ferrari might actually give him a run for his money, but they won't touch Hamilton.
If Mercedes stays reliable, Hamilton could easily pull off a perfect 20/20 podium run and clean up wins all season.

There’s just no way this plays out the way people think. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Ferrari fighting for wins as early as tomorrow. Plus, Red Bull is bound to find their footing and step things up later in the season... so I really don't buy that we're headed for total dominance this year...
Based on what we’ve seen from these first two practice sessions, one thing is becoming pretty clear: Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull are still playing in a completely different league than everyone else. They just seem to be miles ahead of the pack... I was really hoping this season we might see Williams finally step up and join that front-running group, or maybe see Force India keep that momentum going with some solid results and the occasional podium. And honestly, since McLaren seems to be hitting a bit of a wall, I'd love to see Renault actually make some real upward progress for once. But hey, we'll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds...

rustyridge10 said:There’s just no way this plays out the way people think. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Ferrari fighting for wins as early as tomorrow. Plus, Red Bull is bound to find their footing and step things up later in the season... so I really don't buy that we're headed for total dominance this year...
Based on what we’ve seen from these first two practice sessions, one thing is becoming pretty clear: Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull are still playing in a completely different league than everyone else. They just seem to be miles ahead of the pack... I was really hoping this season we might see Williams finally step up and join that front-running group, or maybe see Force India keep that momentum going with some solid results and the occasional podium. And honestly, since McLaren seems to be hitting a bit of a wall, I'd love to see Renault actually make some real upward progress for once. But hey, we'll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds...

Williams actually has a pretty decent car; the issue is they've got a disinterested Felipe Massa and a driver like Lance Stroll who's basically just there because of his checkbook.

mellowtiger83 said:It seems to me that Ferrari is just straight-up faking it. Let's just wait for qualifying tomorrow; there isn't any other way to know. We aren't any smarter than we were after practice.

The only thing that interests me is that Honda has clearly sorted out a massive chunk of their issues. My little Alonso-Perez bet doesn't feel quite as safe as it did before.😁

It wasn't for nothing that Hamilton insisted during the press conference that Ferrari has the edge on pure pace.

But then again, maybe this actually *is* Ferrari's true pace? Or perhaps they're just being cautious—maybe they're worried that if they show their full strength too early, Mercedes will just turn up the wick in qualifying and leave them in the dust.

We’ll just have to see how things look in FP3. If the times are still looking grim then, well, we're in trouble. It would be a real shame to see another season slip through our fingers like this.

jadeseal7 said:It wasn't for nothing that Hamilton insisted during the press conference that Ferrari has the edge on pure pace.

But then again, maybe this actually *is* Ferrari's true pace? Or perhaps they're just being cautious—maybe they're worried that if they show their full strength too early, Mercedes will just turn up the wick in qualifying and leave them in the dust.

We’ll just have to see how things look in FP3. If the times are still looking grim then, well, we're in trouble. It would be a real shame to see another season slip through our fingers like this.

As a Hamilton supporter, the last thing I want to see is Mercedes dominating yet again. Especially since there’s no Rosberg left to push him; I have zero interest in watching another one-man show. It's obvious Bottas isn't on Rosberg's level, and he never will be.

What we need is a competitive Vettel out there. This whole one-man show situation needs to end immediately.

It’s nice to see that Alonso still maintains a six-tenths advantage 😬

Kyle Edwards5 said:I don't get how Mercedes managed to pull even further ahead...
Logic dictates they had virtually zero room left to squeeze any more performance out of the engine side 🤔
Then you’ve got this total paradox where the Toro Rosso is actually showing better race pace than both Ferrari and Red Bull 🤔

Seriously? If that's actually true, then Red Bull is totally sandbagging...

Max Verstappen and Ricciardo mentioned that certain car modifications didn't quite pan out, and they're now hoping the team can revert everything back to its previous state by tomorrow. I'm honestly not entirely sure if they are referring to the changes made between the pre-season testing and the Australian Grand Prix, or if they mean the adjustments made between FP1 and FP2 here in Los Angeles.

In any case, Hamilton's performance today was a bit of a reality check for those of us who were actually looking forward to an exciting season. I truly hope everyone else was just hardcore sandbagging and that this Australian Grand Prix is completely unrepresentative, because if not, we are in serious trouble.

Los Angeles is honestly just one of those tracks that doesn't really reveal much about the cars' true potential.

jadeseal7 said:Los Angeles is honestly just one of those tracks that doesn't really reveal much about the cars' true potential.

True enough...
The only headache is that Los Angeles is a circuit where Ferrari and especially Red Bull tend to be faster than at other tracks, so they might actually stay closer to Mercedes than usual here. 😳

mellowtiger83 said:As a Hamilton supporter, the last thing I want to see is Mercedes dominating yet again. Especially since there’s no Rosberg left to push him; I have zero interest in watching another one-man show. It's obvious Bottas isn't on Rosberg's level, and he never will be.

What we need is a competitive Vettel out there. This whole one-man show situation needs to end immediately.

Morning...
Bottas couldn't even hold his own against Massa, who was way past his prime, so what chance does he have against anyone actually serious?🤦
Honestly, if Pascal or Ocon were in the mix, they'd give Hamilton a much harder time than Bottas ever could. Bottas doesn't stand a chance.
It’s debatable whether Bottas could even beat Ferrari or Red Bull regardless of the car. Let's be real—if Toto Wolff wasn't pulling his strings, he wouldn't even be in a Mercedes...

stormybadger8 said:True enough...
The only headache is that Los Angeles is a circuit where Ferrari and especially Red Bull tend to be faster than at other tracks, so they might actually stay closer to Mercedes than usual here. 😳

I'm well aware of that... but hey, let's not all descend into total despair before we even see FP3.

Besides, I’m personally expecting times to dip below 1:21. It’s always a bit of a guessing game with this much sandbagging going on.

Man, just saw that Hamilton was only within two-tenths of last year's pace. What a massive sandbag... seriously...

I'm calling it now—expecting Ricciardo to be right up there at the front.

neonfox65 said:Man, just saw that Hamilton was only within two-tenths of last year's pace. What a massive sandbag... seriously...

I'm calling it now—expecting Ricciardo to be right up there at the front.

That’s exactly my point—Los Angeles is a lot like Barcelona. It's a high downforce track, so if they were smashing records during testing, then these times from the two practice sessions are still pretty sluggish—which basically means we have no clue where everyone actually stands right now.

Anyway, there's still plenty of hope for this season once we hit Q3.

I see the betting odds have already dropped on Hamilton being a half-point favorite at 1.30, while Vettel is sitting at 8. Personally, I still think taking that bet makes sense. These practice times aren't really indicative of anything yet. Plus, you have to consider Hamilton's comments—especially what he said at yesterday's press conference when he claimed Ferrari is definitely the fastest team right now. It seems like Vettel and the others are just trying to dodge the hype, but everything comes to light tomorrow at seven...

Attributing everything to Vettel's balance issues still feels a bit too optimistic, doesn't it? Even Hamilton is claiming the car is significantly better than it was back in Barcelona, which makes him sound quite hopeful as well. In reality, we're essentially flying blind here. At this stage, the only one sounding truly pessimistic is Verstappen.

Ferrari looks like they're in deep, deep trouble...
Honestly, they might even be slower than Red Bull right now. 🤦

Just watch the team principals' press conferences. 😳
Ariverbene was acting like a guy who completely screwed up and is desperately trying to explain himself to his boss, even though he knows he's about to get kicked to the curb and fired within ten minutes... he looked like he was on the verge of tears and couldn't sit still for a second.
I actually had this feeling watching him, like he was genuinely about to burst into tears right there in front of the cameras. 😵
And I highly doubt he’s that good of an actor, plus why would he bother?

I have no clue what's actually going on, but it feels like something nasty is brewing behind the scenes. 🤔
Man, I hope it's just Ariverbene getting sacked for some stupid reason or some personal stuff unrelated to the team, but it looks more like the fallout from yet another disastrous season...

What a total letdown for Tibi... 😂

Mercedes seems absolutely thrilled with their setup, while Ferrari is clearly struggling. And yet, somehow Vettel is still ahead of Bottas, even though Hamilton is absolutely tearing it up here—outperforming Rosberg despite them being in identical cars.

It’s entirely possible that both Ferrari and Red Bull could have pulled off a one-stop race strategy based on the simulations. Let's not jump to any conclusions just yet.☕

stormybadger8 said:Ferrari looks like they're in deep, deep trouble...
Honestly, they might even be slower than Red Bull right now. 🤦

Just watch the team principals' press conferences. 😳
Ariverbene was acting like a guy who completely screwed up and is desperately trying to explain himself to his boss, even though he knows he's about to get kicked to the curb and fired within ten minutes... he looked like he was on the verge of tears and couldn't sit still for a second.
I actually had this feeling watching him, like he was genuinely about to burst into tears right there in front of the cameras. 😵
And I highly doubt he’s that good of an actor, plus why would he bother?

I have no clue what's actually going on, but it feels like something nasty is brewing behind the scenes. 🤔
Man, I hope it's just Ariverbene getting sacked for some stupid reason or some personal stuff unrelated to the team, but it looks more like the fallout from yet another disastrous season...

It always plays out like this, seriously, every single time.

It’s just pure stress, honestly. And really, who wouldn't be feeling the pressure when you're running the show at Ferrari? You don't exactly have much wiggle room—if you aren't sitting at the top of the standings, it feels like a total failure.

Though, to be fair, Ferrari hasn't exactly failed; if we're talking about a real letdown, look at McLaren—they've been struggling, whereas Ferrari is always right there in the mix alongside Red Bull.

If we could just magically remove Mercedes from the equation, we'd be looking at an absolutely incredible season. 😁