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Australian GP this week.
It really is a make or break year for McLaren. They must already be living on their savings given the lack of visible sponsors on their cars. Pre-season testing didn't look that bad but they will need a few podiums this year if they ever want to become relevant again.
Toro Rosso could become a surprise this year if Honda got their act together, not sure they have the driving talent needed, however.
Otherwise I think we may be gearing up for a three horse race at the front, if Merc don't run away, that is. Exciting times (once we get over that halo/roll bar thing)
Comments
Certainly, it does seem that MB have again get a genie in their engine bottle, but even so, there may be some action near the front.
Here's hoping anyway.
Very ominous from Merc. The most frightening thing is to see how shocked they were when they did not win. Good drive from Alonso to keep out Max, who said he had a car problem. Well, time will tell on that one.
With Bottas' drive and the rankings being relatively clear, we will now see if MB & Ricciardo come to terms earlier than otherwise expected.
Unfortunately this is not an inspiring start to the season. With the desert next, it doesn't loo like things will get any better.
Great Fernando, although a bit helped by VSC.
Bets are open on when we are going to see Kubica replacing Sirotkin......
What really surprises me is how close all the teams are together this year, maybe with the exception of Williams. You really have to ask yourself what went wrong some time in 2003
All in all Forza Faenza!
This was a race that could have been very interesting, but fizzed out in the end. If we can see all 6 of the top cars running around China, with the second tier close behind, then we can say that the season may be OK.
Ferrari looking very good, Hamilton hasn't quite found his rhythm and the Red Bulls are too far off the pace.
In any event, you do not give Dan Ricciardo a chance like that and not expect him to have a real crack. He is turning out to be one of the great in-car strategists, and seems to see how a situation will play out when there is a disruption to the status quo.
Max really is his own worst enemy. I was re-watching Erik The Viking last night and I made a connection between Sven the Beserk, and Max. You can just hear Joss in his earphones saying 'you'll never make a beserk if you let it all out too soon'. The Vettell thing was just dumb. Compare that to Ricciardo on Bottas. It was pretty marginal, but importantly, Ricciardo's front wheels were lined up with Bottas' before the corner entry. Not only that, but in post-race interviews, he noted that there was a plan B. One point to mention though. If the Red Bull ever gets to be the quickest car again, Max will just blow everyone away. He is the quickest driver out there. He just can't do it when there are other cars close by.
My own view is that Dan will likely go to TOIT next year. Too many negatives to remaining where he is, and too many synergies with that move to ignore.
Some good drives further down with Hulk his usual solid self, and Alonso doing everything that was possible with his car. Kind of feel sorry for Valteri on this one though. He finally gets a weekend when Lewis goes on holiday, and then Danny Ric comes and spoils everything. What's a Finn to do???
The Red Bull crash is fascinating in a Titanic kind of way. There just seems to be so much involved. Jos....er Max doing his thing is fairly predictable, but what I thought was interesting was it seemed to me that Ricciardo was taking the opportunity to play mind games with the boy. This was a weekend where Ric had the upper hand so I think he was really trying to mess with Max's view of himself and dish out a little bit of a confidence hit. I'm also of the view that Ric very possibly set the crash up to show Max what will happen in the future. Just my thoughts. Ric is very tough mentally, and I think he has come to the conclusion that unless he has a big impact on Max, then the younger driver's confidence will grow, and Ric will be let out the back door.
Magnussen starting to look like the new Maldonado. And that appears to be more words than he is worth.
Vettel looks very fragile at the moment. I almost wish that Ric does sign for TOIT just to see what happens to Wunderkind.
Monaco is more of a media show these days, and that is where most of the interest lies. At least there was some drama in the form of Ricciardo's win. Also highlighting the way to beat Max is to just put pressure on him until he does it to himself.
I read the transcript of the woman with the accusations against Kimi. They were certainly plausible, but equally could easily have been fabricated. How is anyone to know? The complainant has every right to feel violated if her story is true, but one has to wonder about the timing of the complaint, and also seems a bit odd that she went back to the table after getting warning signs that the players there were not in a mood to be respectful of boundaries. When will rich guys work out that they are not exempt from the social contract, and when will opportunists cease to parlay a chance encounter into a money-grab? Ummm......never.
The season needs an interesting race quickly, or there will be more leaching of viewing figures.
This one was all about the money. No matter what he says publicly.