The top 7 were all within 0.15 of a second with a few minutes to go. Albon in the Williams with a fastest middle sector… All very exciting… until Max went 0.53 ahead with a minute to go in a car he’s struggling with this weekend. Just a shame that it’s all so close except that one car! We’re so close to a thrilling season, except that gap to red bull.
@themightyant I couldn't quite bring myself to get up for quali live but just watched the 9am rerun as if live.
You're right, if RB is taken out of the mix it is an incredibly close battle for the rest. Hulk and Albon were smashing it all through quali. I don't recall Melbourne Park being great for overtakes but hopefully things remain close and there some good battles tomorrow. I'll make the effort to get up for the race tomorrow but might not catch the usual hour and half build up.
Just 0.236 between P1 and P2. And with the car concept Mercedes is looking to ditch for more performance. Interesting 🤔 I just hope it is cold and wet during the race
@Mr_B021 Does make you wonder if some in Mercedes will start to wonder if they really do need to scrap the concept and not just develop it. Dry start, then some rain which stops and starts to dry up again normally makes for some good fun.
@Mr_B021 Worth bearing in mind when you look at Max's lap that he was struggling with the car in these conditions, lots of corrections, as was Checo with disastrous results. Max was also out of sync with the others on that final run, having just pitted, everyone else had an additional warm up lap.
I'd LOVE it to be closer. But I think this is more of a blip. This Red Bull, on this track, in these specific conditions, with their strategy, etc. rather than anything longer term. And STILL, despite their struggles, Max got P1 by almost a quarter of a second and I think the REAL gap is still larger.
More worryingly they have generally set up their car for race pace rather than qualifying this year as they have so much in the tank. All in all i'm still expecting Max to disappear into the distance tomorrow, but who knows off the line, crazy things can happen!
It is interesting on Mercedes side, but I think the reality is they want to be winners, not P2 and they don't think this car can win against Red Bull.
I can understand some people getting annoyed at them and their drivers for 'moaning' about their cars performance when they end up scaping a podium or here get P2&3 in Quali, but the reality is they are marking themselves against that Red Bull. It's a winners mentality, not to be happy with second place.
@BearsEatBeets I've got the alarm set for 6. Warm up lap etc. then the race. Not doing all the grid walk etc. either.
@themightyant I'm going to try for about 5:30, catch just the grid walk and any incidents or events that may have affected the grid/start. Plus it gives me more time to rouse from my morning zombie state. I will likely still be watching from bed though 🙂
Wow! Gone from looking great for Russell to terrible in a blink of an eye. Don’t like that they can change tyres with a red flag, think they should change that and only allow it for weather condition changes.
I agree with Jensen that the Red Flag seems overly cautious and spoils the race. Unlikely to be any pit stops now.
Odd one for Albon, only seen it back once as I took the opportunity to grab a cuppa but the backend just seemed to flip out suddenly.
Definitely an odd one for Alex and super dangerous for the others who wouldn’t have been able to see with the dust cloud, yet slowing down suddenly just as dangerous with cars around. Cross yourself time
@BearsEatBeets Yes on the hards. Though they all changed about the same time. Who are the usual Tire Whisperers? Lewis, Checo (who’s only made up 3 places!!! EDIT: he’s carving the field now), Jenson (oh he’s been pitted for a while)
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