2009 Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne (Central Park)

The FIA really dropped the ball here—they should've dealt with this back in January when those diffusers first popped up during testing, instead of dragging their feet until the absolute last second... It’s honestly ridiculous that they've already been cleared as legal three or four times and yet it's still not enough.

Donna Nelson23 said:The FIA really dropped the ball here—they should've dealt with this back in January when those diffusers first popped up during testing, instead of dragging their feet until the absolute last second... It’s honestly ridiculous that they've already been cleared as legal three or four times and yet it's still not enough.

Where on earth are you getting "three or four times" from? This is the very first time this has even come up... You can't just start questioning the legality of things right before the first race hits. During testing, people could practically be using parachutes for all the rules they were following.😉

At the end of the day, we really don't have a clue how any specific team managed their engine usage, fuel levels, or any of those other technical details, etc.

hollowhawk412 said:Where on earth are you getting "three or four times" from? This is the very first time this has even come up... You can't just start questioning the legality of things right before the first race hits. During testing, people could practically be using parachutes for all the rules they were following.😉

1. Once the teams submitted their blueprints and designs to the technical commission and were told that specific diffuser was within the rules.
2. It wasn't official, but Martin Whitmarsh actually visited the teams during the Barcelona testing and gave them a heads-up if anything looked illegal—like how Williams stripped those fins off the cockpit because he told them they wouldn't pass.
3. Yesterday's measurements right after they were approved.
4. Approval following the team appeals, where things were being deliberated until 1 AM.

And it looks like everything might end up in court in Paris after Santiago...

😁

Donna Nelson23 said:1. Once the teams submitted their blueprints and designs to the technical commission and were told that specific diffuser was within the rules.
2. It wasn't official, but Martin Whitmarsh actually visited the teams during the Barcelona testing and gave them a heads-up if anything looked illegal—like how Williams stripped those fins off the cockpit because he told them they wouldn't pass.
3. Yesterday's measurements right after they were approved.
4. Approval following the team appeals, where things were being deliberated until 1 AM.

And it looks like everything might end up in court in Paris after Santiago...

it’s all just unofficial... behind-the-scenes advice...

While I’d prefer not to jump to any final conclusions before tomorrow's practice sessions, certain things are becoming quite apparent:

The teams utilizing that controversial diffuser certainly hold a significant advantage, and they really ought to capitalize on it this weekend.👎
It seems Ferrari is hovering close to that top trio—perhaps even closer than the current standings suggest.👎
As I suspected, Renault and BMW just aren't in that same league right now; they've taken a massive step backward, and their reality has shifted to merely fighting for points. Winning is currently a distant dream for them.😠
Red Bull is an absolute disaster... it's one of those "when it rains, it pours" situations for them.🙄
Force India is performing better than anyone anticipated.😁
Given how Toro Rosso handled their preseason preparations, they couldn't really ask for much more, though they probably didn't expect to find themselves sitting at the very bottom of the pack either.🙂
As for McLaren, I have no comment.☕

Donna Nelson23 said:1. Once the teams submitted their blueprints and designs to the technical commission and were told that specific diffuser was within the rules.
2. It wasn't official, but Martin Whitmarsh actually visited the teams during the Barcelona testing and gave them a heads-up if anything looked illegal—like how Williams stripped those fins off the cockpit because he told them they wouldn't pass.
3. Yesterday's measurements right after they were approved.
4. Approval following the team appeals, where things were being deliberated until 1 AM.

And it looks like everything might end up in court in Paris after Santiago...

By the way... Whitmarsh isn't the one who decides what's legal...

And points 3 and 4 are actually just the same single event...

The stewards—just the three of them—decided they were legal. The FIA hasn't made its official call yet...

hollowhawk412 said:By the way... Whitmarsh isn't the one who decides what's legal...

And points 3 and 4 are actually just the same single event...

The stewards—just the three of them—decided they were legal. The FIA hasn't made its official call yet...

It's not crap, the dog just pissed itself.😁

hollowhawk412 said:By the way... Whitmarsh isn't the one who decides what's legal...

And points 3 and 4 are actually just the same single event...

The stewards—just the three of them—decided they were legal. The FIA hasn't made its official call yet...

Obviously Whitmarsh won't be the judge of legality; he just gave his advice to his colleagues 🙏 😁

Everything is totally up in the air—we're looking at a situation where nobody can actually pick three favorites for the race with any certainty, which honestly might be a first for Formula 1. In previous years, you always had those 2-3 drivers fighting for the win, and anything else would've been a massive shock. This whole mess has just created total chaos. At least until the diffusers are back in play 🙂

I’m definitely not exactly an expert when it comes to the greasy, technical side of things—so, could someone please explain the whole deal with these diffusers in plain English for a layman?

Nico Rosberg's hat-trick!

Ugh, I seriously can't wait for qualifying 🙂

Donna Nelson23 said:Nico Rosberg's hat-trick!

Ugh, I seriously can't wait for qualifying 🙂

Saturday, free practice
Pos. Driver Team Tyres Time Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:25.808 21
2 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:25.811 19
3 Jenson Button Brawn GP 1:25.981 20
4 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:26.020 17
5 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1:26.078 18
6 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP 1:26.348 19
7 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:26.355 16
8 Timo Glock Toyota 1:26.410 25
9 Robert Kubica BMW 1:26.514 18
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:26.555 19
11 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1:26.652 13
12 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:26.714 18
13 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:27.009 12
14 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:27.062 12
15 Sébastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:27.152 16
16 Sebastian Buemi Toro Rosso 1:27.192 17
17 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:27.357 18
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1:27.492 20
19 Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 1:27.739 22
20 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:28.801 5

Everything is insanely tight. It looks like qualifying is going to be pure stress.🙏

I just find it weird how much the kid is struggling with the Renault.😕

Well, we really blew it, didn't we? Just completely fell apart. 😢

morning everyone 🙂

let's go Renault 👋

come on Alonso 👋 👋

they don't look super promising, especially after that last practice session, but hey, maybe they're just playing mind games to throw the other teams off 😬

It’s certainly a relief to see someone performing even worse than McLaren🤣

Morgan Murphy7 said:Well, we really blew it, didn't we? Just completely fell apart. 😢

I don't know, something feels off here. Every single practice session has been worse than the last one. Except maybe for the PKT guys—they've been so bad from the jump that they can't possibly get any worse. 😂

Could they have maybe broken these lap times down into smaller increments? 😁

Reporter: "Where in Australia is the best place to utilize KERS?">
Kimi Räikkönen: "Wherever I feel like using it.">

🤣