Formula 1

Great to have F1 back and as FMS says above those cars look fantastic especially the speed they seem to be throwing them into corners.

May as well just hand Hamilton the championship now and just have a few battling it out for 2nd and 3rd and then the rest like Alonso who are literally just making up the numbers they are that far off.

This season will be a lot more entertaining watching the cars battle it out right down the pack, looking to scrape into the points than at the front.

May as well just hand Hamilton the championship now and just have a few battling it out for 2nd and 3rd and then the rest like Alonso who are literally just making up the numbers they are that far off.

This season will be a lot more entertaining watching the cars battle it out right down the pack, looking to scrape into the points than at the front.

Vettel is just 3 tenths behind Hamilton and splitting the Mercedes in the process suggests that there is definite competition in Ferrari.

If Ferrari can keep development of this car going then I think Lewis will have a lot to think about this season with regards to Vettel and I certainly would not put it past Seb to get past Lewis in turn 1 tomorrow morning.

Really looking forward to this season. Incredible aggressive cars that should separate the men from the boys.

Vettel is just 3 tenths behind Hamilton and splitting the Mercedes in the process suggests that there is definite competition in Ferrari.

If Ferrari can keep development of this car going then I think Lewis will have a lot to think about this season with regards to Vettel and I certainly would not put it past Seb to get past Lewis in turn 1 tomorrow morning.

Really looking forward to this season. Incredible aggressive cars that should separate the men from the boys.

Could well be closer than what the betting market suggest. I'm getting up early for this one.  Come on Hammy 

Could well be closer than what the betting market suggest. I'm getting up early for this one.  Come on Hammy 

Remember to set your clock an hour forward!

Yea I missed most of last year - actually pretty much all of last year...

Remember to set your clock an hour forward!

I did that at 4pm yesterday  We've got another German on our tail now 

Not the start we wanted Franky 

Not the start we wanted Franky 

Ferrari are much better than the last 6-8 years. Hopefully, I will be happier this season

Ferrari are much better than the last 6-8 years. Hopefully, I will be happier this season

Looked pretty obvious on today's performance. It's good for the sport though so hopefully exciting times/races too come. 

Finally got to see somebody challenging Mercedes for once. Was so gutted when Alonso got passed by Ocon & Hulkenberg and then had to retire from the race with just a few laps to go. If I was him I'd be thinking of F***ing McLaren off ASAP because he's too good for them and they're too busy putting together a sh*t car & engine with Honda.

Not the start we wanted Franky 

Brilliant performance from Ferrari and Vettel this morning. Even as a fan of Hamilton this is a better result for the sport - it really sets us up for what could be a titanic title battle between Lewis and Seb this year.

Got to question Mercedes and Hamilton's strategy call to come in early. Pitting that early was a surprise and I really think Lewis overreacted to the pressure from Vettel behind. I'd be fascinated to know the lap times between Verstappen and Hamilton just before Lewis's pit stop. If Lewis was going faster than Max then there's no excuse as to why they didn't keep him out for an extra lap or two so they could come out in front of the Red Bull driver. If they had done that then they wouldn't have lost the lap time behind Max and subsequent position to Vettel who came out JUST in front of Lewis. I also reckon Mercedes were conducting strategy from last year when the 'undercut' was a lot more effective given the nature of the tyre.

It was maybe a wee bit of naivety in thinking that the state of Verstappen's tyres were done for, completely forgetting that these new tyres are much more reminiscent of the Bridgestones from a few years back. Perhaps.

No doubting that Seb was a deserved winner.

Cannot wait for the Chinese GP and see what the response is from Mercedes.

Going to an exciting season between Vettle & Lewis..

Ferrari & Merc...

You can guarantee Alonso will be off next season with a possibility of a Merc seat..

Looked pretty obvious on today's performance. It's good for the sport though so hopefully exciting times/races too come. 

I'm a Ferrari fan, the only concern is that Kimi R. is not challenging. Bottas yesterday was catching Hamilton fast until faced with the blue flags.

I'm a Ferrari fan, the only concern is that Kimi R. is not challenging. Bottas yesterday was catching Hamilton fast until faced with the blue flags.

If Hammy was in a Ferrari I would also be a Ferrari fan.   Bottas  not proven yet but hopefully going to be a exciting season regardless of your driver/team. 

Going to an exciting season between Vettle & Lewis..

Ferrari & Merc...

You can guarantee Alonso will be off next season with a possibility of a Merc seat..

Couldn't agree more Shabs. Alonso in a top team would always be a massive danger. Verstappen also danger in the right set up.

There's been a barnstorming row regarding the lack of overtaking that occurred in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. But the number of overtakes in a race/season does not equate to the quality of the Grand Prix or the season as a whole. If you look at the charts in the link below you'll see an obvious spike in overtaking since DRS was introduced in 2011. But who in their right minds would say (with the possible exception of 2012) that the past few seasons have been better than the years between 1996-2008 where overtakes per GP roughly averaged around 14-15 per race? In those years I'd say only 2001, 2002 and 2004 were undramatic.


http://cliptheapex.com/overtaking/

Wrote this last week hoping for Ferrari's pace to be real.

http://motorsport.ie/2017/03/23/f1-2017-a-new-hope-has-a-true-challenger-to-mercedes-finally-emerged-ausgp/

Wrote this last week hoping for Ferrari's pace to be real.

http://motorsport.ie/2017/03/23/f1-2017-a-new-hope-has-a-true-challenger-to-mercedes-finally-emerged-ausgp/

Great stuff racer. Really enjoyed that read. Quick question - Do you think an engine man like Mattia Binotto can keep Ferrari at pace in the development war throughout this season compared with the more aero focused Allison at Mercedes?

Great stuff racer. Really enjoyed that read. Quick question - Do you think an engine man like Mattia Binotto can keep Ferrari at pace in the development war throughout this season compared with the more aero focused Allison at Mercedes?

I do have a concern that Ferrari might not keep up in a development war.
Although I think we've had a glimpse of Mercedes missing Paddy Lowe already.
Mercedes got very little wrong tactically last season.
This year Ferrari are much closer and we've already seen them capitalise on Mercedes not managing Lewis with regards to the gap to Max. Maybe that was Lewis chewing up the tyres, but if it was tactical it could be a sign of things to come.

Allison is a great aero man, but Lowe is a presence they will miss on the wall on race weekends.

I do have a concern that Ferrari might not keep up in a development war.
Although I think we've had a glimpse of Mercedes missing Paddy Lowe already.
Mercedes got very little wrong tactically last season.
This year Ferrari are much closer and we've already seen them capitalise on Mercedes not managing Lewis with regards to the gap to Max. Maybe that was Lewis chewing up the tyres, but if it was tactical it could be a sign of things to come.

Allison is a great aero man, but Lowe is a presence they will miss on the wall on race weekends.

As a big fan of Williams I was delighted that he moved over to Williams. Signing of the season.

Never really considered the impact of Lowe's loss in light of the fact that Allison was in effect replacing him. From Hamilton's and Mercedes sake you'd hope that the mistake made to bring Lewis in early, putting him behind Verstappen in the process, is not going to be repeated. That said, given how far in front Mercedes have been in the last few years it's probably not surprising to see such complacency slip into the reckoning.

Bit worried about the limitations, as you note, about the fact that Williams can only make do with what Mercedes provide them in the power unit stakes in contrast to the fully integrated setup that comes with Ferrari and Mercedes producing their cars as one. Perhaps Williams can entice a manufacturer back into the sport in an exclusive partnership? Audi perhaps? I think the idea would be much easier to sell now that they have a man as reputable as Paddy Lowe in charge of proceedings.

China this weekend. I've long been a fan of this track - one of a select few Tilkedrome's that has some appeal. Some really good memories particularly from 2006 when Schumacher won his 91st and last victory in F1, taking the chequered flag in wet weather Bridgestone tyres that were nowhere near the level of competitiveness of the Michelin runners. A fitting last victory for the great man! And of course, one season later, who can forget the moment Lewis Hamilton slid off into the gravel when entering the pit lane on shot tyres? It was a mistake that would ultimately cost him the championship!

Excited to see how Hamilton and Mercedes respond to the challenge posed by Vettel and Ferrari. Also the struggles of McLaren are going to be fully exposed with reports saying that the Honda engine will have reached maximum power only 2/3rds along the near 1 mile long straight in Shanghai. I think I'll be covering my eyes for this one. How long will it be before Fernando says 'enough is enough'?

Lots of speculation that Sauber will sign a deal to race with Honda engines from next season. Given recent events you'd be forgiven for wondering what on earth they're smoking at the Swiss outfit. That said, with two extra cars running the engine it could only be a plus for Honda and ultimately McLaren.

Also Giovinazzi gets a second race weekend to prove his worth after Wehrlein announced that his fitness won't be up to speed until at least Bahrain and possibly Russia after it.

edit:

https://twitter.com/Rowlinson_F1/status/849596572170113024

This year's edition of the Malaysian Grand Prix will be the last. Shame. Very good circuit. Looked great as well. Far removed from the awful Sochi and Abu Dhabi circuits.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/39525076