I was surprised when Mercedes brought in both cars during the safety car. Vettel knows how to take advantage of being at the front of the starting grid and the front of the pack during the race. I thought they might have left one car out just to block him...instead of the arrows being blocked for a few laps by the herd behind Vettel.

It was great to see a real race and not a domination - even if it was heavily attributed to pit strategy. Kimi's drive was also impressive given his complications.

Quote of the day: "A Ferrari that doesn't win isn't a Ferrari."

wow, what a race. you guys pretty much said everything.

Seb was masterful in tire wear and he just drives so well at the front.

Kimi what can be said? how in the hell he was able to wind up in P4 just blows my mind.

I think this season just got a whole lot better.

Seb is the master of driving up front in clean air, and he showed it again Sunday. He was driving so well, I don't think that Merc's mistake (in my mind it was a bad call, anyway) of putting Lewis on hards instead of mediums made much of a difference.

I'd like to see the Mercs and the Ferraris mix it up on track some in the next few races. IT would be nice if Honda can get its power unit up to par, too, so the McLarens can be up there as well. A 3-team battle between those three would be epic.

It wasn't the decision to go with hards over softs in my mind. The moment merc pitted and Ferrari stayed out, they we're toast. At that point they were committed to 3 stops instead of 2.

Their whole strategy was built around getting off the softs and being faster on the hards than anyone else. Which only works in clean air. As soon as they got in traffic they couldn't make the hards last long enough.

I forgot this thread existed. Went looking for it in the Auto board and finally found it here.

As budding Ferrari fan, I was pumped to watch Sepang. Ferrari's car excelled in the steamy conditions but I think everyone knows that Merc still has the lead in overall pace. Yes the times were close Sunday, but the environment favored the Ferraris and the Mercs were stuck on hards for most of the race.

I really want Ferrari to take it to the Silver Arrows if for no other reason than to make the show interesting, but I and many others suspect that won't be the case at cooler circuits which is pretty much every other circuit. Still, it was awesome to see a red car finish first and I actually think Seb will one day be considered one of the greats.

It's early but Mercedes is pacing the field. Seb and Kimi about a sec and a half off. RBR with a nice showing so far.Dietrich, don't let the door hit your $10billion arse on the way out. You'd think
a guy with that much money would have a little more fight in him

FP1:
1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 39.033s
2. Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 39.574s
3. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 40.157s
4. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 40.661s
5. Felipe Nasr BRZ Sauber-Ferrari 1m 41.012s
6. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull-Renault 1m 41.029s
7. Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull-Renault 1m 41.097s
8. Carlos Sainz Jr ESP Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 41.112s
9. Valtteri Bottas FIN Williams-Mercedes 1m 41.303s
10. Felipe Massa BRZ Williams-Mercedes 1m 41.304s
11. Pastor Maldonado VEN Lotus-Mercedes 1m 41.335s
12. Max Verstappen NED Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 41.575s
13. Jenson Button GBR McLaren-Honda 1m 41.845s
14. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber-Ferrari 1m 41.918s
15. Jolyon Palmer GBR Lotus-Mercedes 1m 41.967s
16. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes 1m 42.141s
17. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda 1m 42.161s
18. Nico Hulkenberg GER Force India-Mercedes 1m 42.184s
19. Will Stevens GBR Manor Marussia-Ferrari 1m 45.379s
20. Roberto Merhi ESP Manor Marussia-Ferrari 1m 46.443s

FP2:
1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 37.219s
2. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 37.662s
3. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull-Renault 1m 38.311s
4. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 38.339s
5. Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 38.399s
6. Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull-Renault 1m 38.737s
7. Valtteri Bottas FIN Williams-Mercedes 1m 38.850s
8. Felipe Nasr BRZ Sauber-Ferrari 1m 39.032s
9. Romain Grosjean FRA Lotus-Mercedes 1m 39.142s
10. Jenson Button GBR McLaren-Honda 1m 39.275s
11. Pastor Maldonado VEN Lotus-Mercedes 1m 39.444s
12. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda 1m 39.743s
13. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber-Ferrari 1m 39.751s
14. Max Verstappen NED Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 39.894s
15. Carlos Sainz Jr ESP Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 39.971s
16. Nico Hulkenberg GER Force India-Mercedes 1m 40.151s
17. Felipe Massa BRZ Williams-Mercedes 1m 40.423s
18. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes 1m 40.868s
19. Roberto Merhi ESP Manor Marussia-Ferrari 1m 42.973s
20. Will Stevens GBR Manor Marussia-Ferrari 1m 44.564s

Huge jump by the McLaren's compared to Sepang. Nasr still looking impressive in the Sauber. And I guess at least both Manor's are running!

My China GP predictions, same as my prediction for Malaysia (apparently I don't learn well from failure):

1. Hammy
2. Nico
3. Kimi

I participate in a pick em on another website. My Chinese GP picks there were:

1. Hamilton
2. Raikkonen
3. Vettel

I just feel like Rosberg is imploding mentally and the team is going to start playing favorites to preserve a win.

Wow, Nico was whiny post-race. It's not Lewis' job to manage your gap to the car behind.

I love F1, but those guys are some of the biggest titty babies on the face of the earth.

We're only 3 races in. This is like a 5/10 on the Nico crybaby scale

Pretty funny to hear a Bronx cheer in Shanghai when they finally got Verstappen's car out of the way.

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Pretty funny to hear a Bronx cheer in Shanghai when they finally got Verstappen's car out of the way.

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Yeah, I was laughing at that, as well. Felt bad for Max, though, as he had a pretty good race.

didn't get to see this race. it reads like i didn't miss much. Nico is clearly a beaten man already.

Yeah the race was a bore. Sounds like WEC was better. I watched my F1 recording during the last two live hours of Silverstone. Should have watched it.

The F1 race was evidently a lot better than that hot mess in New Orleans.

Re: NOLA, Robin Miller nails it, as ever.

So... more of the same in Bahrain?

I keep getting suckered in by articles and commentary claiming Ferrari is right there. Consistency and reliability is great but they're behind on pace and need Merc to make a mistake to even have a chance.

Also, Kimi has to get his **** together in qualifying. He was weak in qualifying the last two weeks and it nearly cost him in Malaysia. The fact that he's a stellar race driver and is finally comfortable with his car is making up for his qualifying miscues. He was even closing in on Seb in China. If Kimi can start on the second row, he's got a real shot at beating Seb a few times this year.

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So... more of the same in Bahrain?

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that's my prediction. Its going to take weather or an accident to beat Mercedes. Just like in Malaysia.

I'm a big believer in Kimi's race pace, and I'm hoping he can put it together for a good Q3 lap this weekend, and at least be right next to Vettel, so I'm sticking with my same prediction for the weekend that I've had all season:

1. Hammy
2. Nico
3. Kimi

This is going to be right eventually, damn it!

quote:

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I'm a big believer in Kimi's race pace, and I'm hoping he can put it together for a good Q3 lap this weekend, and at least be right next to Vettel, so I'm sticking with my same prediction for the weekend that I've had all season:

1. Hammy
2. Nico
3. Kimi

This is going to be right eventually, damn it!

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i'm a huge Hammy fan. but, i'd sure like to see Nico stop being such a whiny puss and take the fight to him. but, this is why there are guys like Schumi, Senna, Prost and Vettel and then there are guys like Barrichello and Webber. the former have the will to win and will do whatever it takes. the latter are nice guys that follow orders.

quote:

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quote:

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I'm a big believer in Kimi's race pace, and I'm hoping he can put it together for a good Q3 lap this weekend, and at least be right next to Vettel, so I'm sticking with my same prediction for the weekend that I've had all season:

1. Hammy
2. Nico
3. Kimi

This is going to be right eventually, damn it!

---

i'm a huge Hammy fan. but, i'd sure like to see Nico stop being such a whiny puss and take the fight to him. but, this is why there are guys like Schumi, Senna, Prost and Vettel and then there are guys like Barrichello and Webber. the former have the will to win and will do whatever it takes. the latter are nice guys that follow orders.

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Yeah, I don't think that's in Nico, though. If Ferrari keeps getting closer to Merc's performance, though, you'll see both Seb and Kimi surpass Nico and start pressuring Lewis, though, I bet.

For Bahrain I'm going with:

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Vettel

I keep waiting for Rosberg to implode or be sacrificed to ensure a Mercedes victory. I also keep wanting Ferrari to match them on pace but that's much less likely.

Strange FP1 today. The Mercs were working on setup or something, and finished 15 and 16. Ferrari 1-2 (Kimi then Seb).

I've given up trying to glean anything from practice sessions.

Temperatures during FP1 were in the 90s. It'll be a whole different animal during qualifying and the race and we all know Mercedes owns the pace in cooler temperatures. Still, it's fun to see how fast the red cars can be.

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Strange FP1 today. The Mercs were working on setup or something, and finished 15 and 16. Ferrari 1-2 (Kimi then Seb).

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wonder if they are working on a long run tire saving strategy set up in hot temps. take pole position. get out in front at the start. then, run strategy to stay in front of the Scuderia.

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quote:

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Strange FP1 today. The Mercs were working on setup or something, and finished 15 and 16. Ferrari 1-2 (Kimi then Seb).

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wonder if they are working on a long run tire saving strategy set up in hot temps. take pole position. get out in front at the start. then, run strategy to stay in front of the Scuderia.

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I wouldn't doubt that, actually.

That would certainly address any potential advantage that Ferrari could gain on hot circuits. And as boring as China was as a whole, Mercedes got wise last week and won the chess match. They won't blow it like they did in Malaysia again. Unless Rosberg goes all Prost-Senna on Hamilton.

We need rosberg to say effit and attack Hamilton from the start. Otherwise the championship won't be much of a battle.

And btw, he needs to do it for himself as well, not just for us. IF he wants to be seen as not JAG then he needs to fight for it.

Rosberg fastest in FP2, Hamilton 0.115 back. Kimi and Seb 3 and 4. Button down at the bottom between the Manors, but he did get in 15 laps after zero in FP1.

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We need rosberg to say effit and attack Hamilton from the start. Otherwise the championship won't be much of a battle.

And btw, he needs to do it for himself as well, not just for us. IF he wants to be seen as not JAG then he needs to fight for it.

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very much in agreement.

In GP2 news, Alex Rossi qualified in P8 for the Bahrain feature race, 0.635 off the pole. Hoping he has a good season and can jump into a Haas next season. Be nice to have an American on the grid.

I'd heard before that Haas had said that he wouldn't give an American driver a seat just for the sake of having an American driver, but apparently he and Rossi have been in contact with each other concerning a seat.

He's probably as good a choice as any among the ranks of test-seat-only F1-experienced drivers. At least he's had some success in the sub-series though his time in GP2 has been a little hampered the last few years by his on-again, off-again stints as a F1 test driver.

Regardless, it should be a nice shot in the arm for American race fans that don't follow F1. You have an American team with an American driver and a car that's mostly designed in America (powered by Italians and built by Brits). I'll be a fan, even if they have about a 0% chance of ever actually challenging for a podium finish, let alone a win.