2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian GP : Practice 1, 2, 3

To paraphrase Vince Lombardierfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

An F1 driver will always self critique and analyze each lap, mentally kicking himself in the head for not braking later, accelerating earlier, etc.

Kimi was being brutally honest. That's why I like him.

 

And a quote from "Superrat" in the past (1982, if my memory serves me well):
To a journalist that said to Niki: "perfection is not attainable", Niki responded: "I'm working on it!".

Rgds

 

Also why I like Kimi, he is his own worst critic. Being brutally honest is a trait that is often frowned upon (I am a perfect example), kudos Kimi.

 

Lol. He climbed out of his car @ Monaco 1975 while qualifying was still ongoing-he said that it was impossible for him to go any faster, even though there were rumors that poor tom pryce had beaten Lauda to pole. Turned out to be false and Lauda had pole and won the race.

 

Like me, Kimi has no future in politics whatsoever...

 

Engine tokens left for the season:

Renault 12
Ferrari 10
Merc 7

Which implies:

Honda 9

 

And he did the same, again at Monaco in 1978, saying that "it is the maximum that can be done with that car and those tyres", except this time it did not work: he was pipped from the front row at the very last minute by his own team-mate, John Watson...
Yep; those were the days...

Rgds

 

In general, I'd say don't get too caught up with P2 results, especially given Ferrari's trends from last year (strong practices, bad qualifying). Just looking at the in-car shots, though, it seems the car certainly has good power (unlike last year) but is not as clean in the corners as the Merc (seems like the drivers are fighting oversteer...not terrible, but enough to keep them from having an efficient lap).

When the dust settles in around 17 hours, I think Ferrari will be in the thick of things alongside Williams and Red Bull. Unlike last year, I believe their qualifying times will be within .5 secs of Merc. It will be encouraging, but there is still a gap.

I don't think anyone will touch the Merc on race day at this point. There is a long season ahead, though, so I hopefully a team like Ferrari can build on their platform and develop the car into a worthy competitor. I like Arrivabene's goal to win two races. If the team can stay near the podium and pick up a couple of wins, that will be progress they can build upon.

Regarding McLaren, I think they are still having teething issues (obviously). That car is not running at full power...the note sounds very rich. It's a good chassis by all accounts, they just need to get the power unit's reliability in check. They could still pull it together. I'd like to see Button/Alonso with a proper ride.

 

Nico had a different look in his eye. Last year was very, YAY I'm racing. This year is very "Kill 'em all!"

Poor Fernando. Vettel will be at the right place at the right time and is going to win 2016.

 

I don't think Nico was just happy to be there last year. He was hell bent on beating Hamilton in any way he could. I agree he's probably even more determined this season, but he needs to channel that properly.

When you want something too much, it leads to reckless mistakes...his focus must move from "beating Hamilton" to "becoming WDC", if you know what I mean.

 

I know what you mean. The only person who can beat Nico is Nico himself.

 

Or Toto.....

 

Don't get me wrong, I think Hamilton is more than capable of doing that on his own merits. Champions, in general, focus on their ultimate goal, not their opponents. Phil Jackson was a multiple title winner in the NBA because it was always about his teams and achieving the ultimate prize. Other coaches focused on beating Jackson and the Bulls/Lakers, but rarely did.

In short, putting your focus in the wrong place gives the advantage to your opponent. It makes the job that much harder and you do compete against your own self-imposed limits.

 

They may round up to 10!!!!!

 

I thought the cars were supposed to be much faster this year? The lap times are slow

 

already 2 seconds faster than Q1 quali last year and it's only FP2.

 

Yeah but last year's cars were ridiculously slow. Not really saying much.

Looks like the 2004 machines won't be touched anytime soon

 

Glad to see Ferrari showing some speed. Hopefully they can carry it into qualifying and race day

 

Cars should find another second easily...not sure what tires where used for the fastest time this morning but could be 1.5 even

 

haha

 

I think we'll see Merc in the 1:26's and others in the 1:27's. Last year's fastest lap was 1:32.44

Not as fast as 2004, but that was the fastest we've seen F1 cars go.

 

Or keep rounding up to 0 which is what they were always supposed to have

 

in FP2 they mostly started on mediums and then went to softs

 

Who is going to drive in McLaren instead of Alonso?

 

All teams are miles ahead of last years times. Apart from McLaren of course.... They would struggle in a GP2 race