5 obvious observations from the Aussie F1

Normal service based around procrastinating from working in the Mitsubishi will resume shortly, but with the F1 starting back up I thought I would put down my thoughts from the first race in Melbourne.

1. Qualifying sucked

worst qualifying format ever

A lot of changes in F1 appear to the fans (well, to me) to be developed by committee, often with the best interests in mind and often they get it wrong. But it will invariably favour one team over others so some will push to keep a change and others push to change it again. I think this is the first change I can remember which has every team principal unanimously wanting it gone, and gone ASAP. 

The new format involved each session running for a while (different lengths depending upon session) and then once a certain time was reached, every 90 seconds the slowest driver would be knocked out. This was intended to promote more racing on a Saturday, instead it meant there were more cars in the garage for longer without the end of session surge for people trying to set hot laps. This also meant pole was set a good two minutes before the final session was over.... fail. Here's hoping they see sense and revert the format. 

2. Alonso had a crash

As you can tell from the footage the crash was rather serious, and enough to stop the race temporarily with a red flag. Both Alonso and Gutierrez were lucky enough to walk away from this. But it goes to show how dangerous a sport motor racing can be.

I like this version, its well cute! But for those who would rather see the proper footage, that's below.

3. Mercedes still seem to have the pace

So, Mercedes 1-2.... who would have ever guessed? Well.... everyone really. The surprise to some people will have been the seemingly united front from the two drivers, even a congratulatory hug between the two drivers post race!

Rosberg-Hamilton hug Post Australia 16

My bet is by race 4 (maybe 5) this honeymoon period will be over again as one driver starts to demonstrate a better start to the season than the other. (Go Lewis!)

4.  Ferrari were fast off the line

AThug life Vettel

Ferrari were quick off the line. This year there is only one clutch and the Ferrari boys really showed the rest of the pack how the new style launch should be done. Had it not been for the red flag I imagine Vettel would have won the race. Maybe we will see more of a Ferrari threat this year, especially if they can keep up those electrifying starts.

5. Rosberg won
For Hamilton fanboys... myself included... this may actually be a worse thing than it sounds.

Australia Podium 2016

For those who watched the Sky Sports F1 coverage, rather than that of Channel 4, you may have picked up on an interesting statistic highlighted by Ted Kravitz. He pointed out that every time a team had a 1-2 finish in the first race of the season, the winner of that race has gone on to secure the Drivers Championship that year. (I wanted to actually check this fact but my computer is playing silly beggars so have a feeling I may be editing this later, but for now its a quote so it stays). If anyone can go against the statistics based on the form of recent years its Lewis #TeamLH and either way it will be interesting to watch how the team dynamics unfold over the next couple races.

Also notable:

Mclaren seemed to have improved their pace from last season, still not where they should be given their heritage, but no longer look like they'll be fighting just not to come last. Roll on the next rule change for their return to the top? Also a respectable finish for Haas, one to keep an eye on this season.

In other news: 
The Abarth may be going. I will be test driving another car within the next couple of days. I hope to publish either a review or an unveil at some point over the Easter weekend, wish me luck!

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