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Posted on 03/15/2012 4:36:47 PM PDT by Chode
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Venue: Albert Park, Melbourne
Date: Sunday 18 March
Lap length: 3.295 miles
Race laps: 58
First grand prix: 1996
Lap Record: 1:24.125 - M Schumacher (2004)
Fri Cloudy 22c
Sat Pt/Sunny 21c
Sun Pt/Sunny 22c
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Stuff...
Sebastian Vettel has warned his rivals he is hungry for more success in Formula 1 as he bids to secure a third consecutive World Championship title. "I have never had to ask myself the question, do I want this again or why am I here? Nothing has changed," Vettel says. "I am still hungry, and I am still getting upset when there is someone else beating me - which is a good thing for sure."
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso believes first few rounds of the 2012 season could be a struggle for his team, but he is confident they can resolve their development struggles before it is too late. "Sure, we will have to grit our teeth for the first few races, but first of all, we have to see exactly where we are in terms of being competitive and then give our all to bring home as many points as possible in this early stage of the championship," Alonso says.
Full story : Formula1.com
Kimi Raikkonen will not bow to convention as he prepares to make F1 race return with Lotus in Melbourne. "I do what I want," Raikkonen tells the paper. "If I want to go out and have fun with my friends I can. There's no one who tells me I'm not allowed to do it. As long as you do your work at 100 per cent then I don't see the problem."
Full story: the Telegraph
F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said Ferrari should appoint someone like Red Bull design legend Adrian Newey as an answer to their current woes. He believes Ferrari's problems are not from a lack of leadership, but are more technical and that someone like Newey could change their fortunes.
Full story: Corriere dello Sport (in Italian)
There are going to be some big surprises during the early part of the season, according to Lotus boss Eric Boullier. "Yes, it is going to be a freaky one! Qualifying in Melbourne and the first races are going to be unpredictable. The tyres are going to make things very interesting. If you push too hard in qualifying then you are going to be screwed for the first part of the race - and if you pit too early it may mean you need to make an extra stop."
Full story : Autosport
Damon Hill has said he understood why something "cracked" for Lewis Hamilton last year, but believes he will be back to his best in 2012: "Lewis was a child prodigy - this is the problem. When you have been brought up from an early age to be a product, at some point something will crack. It is an artificial, overprotective development. It is almost a form of brain-washing and not healthy for anyone. I really hope Lewis has found what he has been looking for. It certainly looks as though he is settled."
Full story: the Sun
Lewis Hamilton has admitted that last season he did not get the balance right between socialising and focusing on his job. "It's all about sacrifices," he says. "It's about the travelling that you do, the decisions you make in your life, keeping your focus when you're training, not wasting energy. If I get a call from a friend saying, 'Why don't you come out tonight?' I stay at home ready to get up and train. Last year there were quite a few times when I went out and enjoyed myself."
Full story: Daily Telegraph
Another from Lewis. This time he believes his recent move to Monaco has helped increase his feel-good factor ahead of the new Formula 1 season.
Full story: Daily Mail
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says he is "realistic" about the team "not reaching our targets" in terms of the performance of the new F2012 car. He says the team are still working on the "extreme" exhaust design that they had to abandon after it overheated the rear tyres at the first pre-season test. A revised version will be tried at the Mugello test after the fourth race of the season.
Full story: Ferrari website
Robert Kubica has returned to the cockpit for the first time since his rallying accident more than a year ago. The Polish driver took to the wheel of a Skoda Fabia for a test on Thursday in Genoa.
Full story: Joe Saward's grand prix blog
Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says he would "welcome" a budget cap restricting the spending of the top teams compared to the level of the smaller teams as a way of allieviating the financial problems being encountered by a number of outfits. He also adds that it would be a "surprise" if Sebastian Vettel did not win a third consecutive world title this year.
Full story: Formula1.com
F1 race director Charlie Whiting says it is "quite likely" the regulations restricting exhausts will have to be tightened again at the end of this season, despite major restrictions being introduced this year to stop the teams using exhausts for aerodynamic effect.
Full story: FIA
Michael Schumacher has insisted he remains one of the best drivers in the world. "I was out [of F1] for three years, I'm now 43 and I don't know if I can compare myself to when I was 30," he said. "But I know I'm still one of the best in the world, that I'm motivated, that I enjoy myself and that most people are happy to have me still in F1."
Full story: Gazzetta dello Sport (Italian, requires subscription)
Yes! I’ve been waiting months for this. Albert Park is one of my favorite cicuits so Bernie can go screw himself.
yup... when Bernie goes down for the dirt nap, the grass will never stand a chance
.
.
I want to move there.
2nd Practice
One of my college roomates worked there for three years. He loves Australia.
Schumi looks strong and consistent in all 3 practice sessions. Not sure he has the stamina for the whole race.
i'm just curious what the fuel loads are/who is running in race trim?
Back in the late eighties we had an operation in Sydney. Every year four or five of our higher mid level managers would go down under for a two year assignment. On average, one would come back.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:26.800 | 1:25.626 | 1:24.922 | 14 |
| 2 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:26.832 | 1:25.663 | 1:25.074 | 15 |
| 3 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:26.498 | 1:25.845 | 1:25.302 | 21 |
| 4 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:26.586 | 1:25.571 | 1:25.336 | 18 |
| 5 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:27.117 | 1:26.297 | 1:25.651 | 17 |
| 6 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:26.773 | 1:25.982 | 1:25.668 | 18 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:26.763 | 1:25.469 | 1:25.686 | 16 |
| 8 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:26.803 | 1:26.206 | 1:25.908 | 20 |
| 9 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:27.464 | 1:26.314 | 1:26.451 | 18 |
| 10 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:27.024 | 1:26.319 | No time | 16 |
| 11 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:26.493 | 1:26.429 | 12 | |
| 12 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:26.688 | 1:26.494 | 12 | |
| 13 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:26.182 | 1:26.590 | 12 | |
| 14 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:27.004 | 1:26.663 | 16 | |
| 15 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:27.469 | 1:27.086 | 16 | |
| 16 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:27.633 | 1:27.497 | 16 | |
| 17 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:26.596 | 11 | ||
| 18 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:27.758 | 9 | ||
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:28.679 | 7 | ||
| 20 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:29.018 | 8 | ||
| 21 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:30.923 | 10 | ||
| 22 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:31.670 | 9 | ||
| DNQ | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:33.495 | 6 | ||
| DNQ | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:33.643 | 6 | ||
| Q1 107% Time | 1:32.214 |
Schumacher was the best starter last year, always made up a number of places. Hamilton, not so much. Could get interesting tomorrow.
yup... and six champions on the track at the same time has got to be a record!
One of the things I look forward to at the start of the season is resuming the pre-race race pool with my sons:
We guess how many spots Webber will have lost by the time he exits turn 1.
Considering he’s back a bit I say only two this race.
I think he’s been doing that on purpose - to roll up the field from behind later. That race in Montreal last year was one of the best in years. OK, the wheather played a big role, but still.
Anyone else relieved the cars don’t sound like a flock of vuvuzelas anymore?
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