Lovin' this seasons new tyres..........Back to the Old Skool!

And McClaren engine failures, just like last season

Oh, round, black, and with a hole in the middle

They need to get rid of those shark fins!

2016 vs 2017

Crikey they're a lot bigger than I expected.
Lets hope they produce some spectacular cornering and late braking.

Drivers will be under some pressure with extra downforce an g impact from what I have read, survival of the fittest on some circuits maybe

They miss the point. More mechanical grip + less downforce + earlier braking + enormous cojones = less interference with downforce from car in front = more overtaking in corners.

Not failed, just issues First problem was due to oil pickup on Monday. Tuesday was an electrical issue, today, amazingly hasn't broken down on the installation lap

All signs are pointing towards less overtaking this year. Looks like getting pole is going to be the target again and with wider cars too, there will be less space to pass, even if you can cope with the dirty air and get close enough.

I hope Honda get their problems sorted and we have another competitive team. 8+ drivers fighting it out for the wins is better than 2.

Stroll the new Maldanado?

3 off's yesterday? Not a good start.... Just seen how much his Dad is worth!

"Just a stroll in the park"

Honda in trouble again! How much longer will that contract last if they don't get on top of whatever ails them this time? Alonso must be rueing the day he signed up!

Cars looking good , but the sound , there is a lot room for improvement, It seems that everybody is driving in the safety modus, Hope that McClaren and Honda fooled us.

Last minute new title sponsor for Force India .......... Sales decline in Force India Merchandise........

It's certainly different!
Doesn't matter what colour it is as long as its fast though.

I was at Renault F1 yesterday. Really fabulous to see what they are doing - quite some money being spent there. Crazy that it takes 2400 people to get those two cars out there

Oh dear - looking more like a one-horse race than the last 3 seasons...

Indeed, it's a bit grim and the Sky coverage of the practice session has been awful. They have not put the leader board on the screen during the sessions, well maybe for a few minutes, but it needs to be there all the time.

I was hopeful the changes may have mixed things up but it looks to be the same boring procession behind Mercedes

FTFY

Well, given that they 'very sensibly' increased the aero, what did you expect?

It's *not* about who can get round one lap quickest, it's about who finishes the race first. If the pole-sitter wins nine times out of ten, there's not a lot of point...

There have been a few "resets" that might (should) have shaken things up. The aero has changed in emphasis and the cars are pretty different - that alone should have given the others the opportunity to catch up. Added to which, there's no longer a token system on engines so there's an opportunity for other to have caught up there. Instead McLaren Honda seem to have gone backwards, Ferrari looked to be much better (and seem to be matching Bottas) but Hamilton is imperious.

Today was more interesting (albeit predictable outcome).

Interested to see that Ferrari overalls have the Alfa cloverleaf badge on them. Thought that would be too subtle for most of the public.

Just watched the first ten minutes of C4 coverage from Melbourne. Truly vomit inducing: rose tinted arse licking with the promise of the next segment being about Ecclestone's successors.

No thanks.

recorded it, fast forwarded it...

Well that was a surprise!

Yup - should make it more interesting

Toto Wolff slamming his fist on the desk in total frustration was priceless first blood....Ferrari

Too much bloody aero!

Don't think much of that vertical plank behind the airbox, or the coathangers, either!

I agree the aero package looks messy and despite the downforce increase following closely behind another car seems to have more of an impact this year. Hope we get some closer racing
)

Nice to see a Ferrari win for a change but I find it a bit odd that Hamilton couldn't pass Verstappen.
It was almost as if he didn't want to and was saving his engine/gearbox etc?
Stroll just looked way out of his depth.

I'm afraid that if Hamilton on fresh tyres could not get past a Red Bull with aging tyres, the points might as well be awarded after Saturday afternoon

I doubt he was holding back. That did come later in the race though.

Melbourne is not typical and overtaking is especially hard there but the signs are not good for seeing lots of action.

Its on the car too....with a less subtle Alfa Romeo script.

Yes the script has been on a while but first time I've see the Cloverleaf. Must be a big push for the Giulia/Stelvio

Not strictly F1 but I'm rooting for Alonso at Indy. Seriously impressive stuff in Qualy. Anyone else see Bourdais' crash? Damn lucky with a horrible angle on the wall....

Looking forward to seeing how Alonso does. Also will be interesting to see how Button gets on at Monaco.

Button back in Monaco :-O Yay!!

Button started off slow this morning but has got within a tenth of Vandoorne in FP1. Looks like he's settled in quickly.

Did anyone else see the Formula E race at Monaco? The shortened track was frankly ridiculous. Instead of going up the hill at Sainte Devote they cut through and ran parallel behind the run from the post tunnel chicane to Tabac. There was barely enough width for one car let alone any side by side action!

Monaco is a crazy track in full lap form never mind a shortened version. I watched about 10 minutes of it before I got bored.

I fell asleep in front of the television watching FP 2 this afternoon. If I weren't going to a 625 Squadron RAF memorial service in Lincolnshire on Sunday, no doubt it would happen again during the race.

EditAnd there will be the BBMF Lancaster flying over the memorial too.

Well yes virtually zero overtaking..........I still don't think Ferrari planned that but I don't think I've ever seen anyone so p*ssed off to be on the podium at Monaco.

I was playing Golf last week right by Biggin Hill Airport. When I saw one of those Honda jets land

http://www.hondajet.com/#1

Made me wonder... If they offered one of these to Alonso... would he politely decline

Holey Moley - I liked the look of those until
I saw it had Garmin avionics. Judging by how terrible my Garmin bike computers have been (mostly launched long before they were ready) I'd be scared to set foot on that.

Unusual wing-mounted jets?!

Yeah. I wonder if they're there for noise abatement - wingover jets are quieter on the ground as the wing gets in the way of the noise. But they're not as efficient - they block the wing surface - so perhaps these pylons improve matters?

I was surprised to see a plane with so much weight above the wing and no visible dihedral; it can't be stable without continuous correction, perhaps from the electronics?

Interesting- wing seems to have a high aspect ratio looking at the shape and the winglets. Perhaps the pylon doubles as a wing fence? Bit worried about what happens if the engine fails/gets hit as its going to affect the upper wing surface?

Wing fence isn't going to make a lot of difference, there, surely? It's the tips where it'll have the most effect, where the vortices form.

Anyway to Canada and a hydraulic leak after just one timed lap for Fernando in FP1. Think we're safe to say he'll be off elsewhere asap....

What a mess of a race in Baku, I can't believe Vettel can get away with that move on Lewis!

I can understand Vettel feeling that Hamilton slowed down excessively, but to then deliberately swerve into him is a nailed on disqualification in my book. And I quite like Vettel.

I don't think Hamilton slowed - he just didn't accelerate. Vettel was completey out of order.

Great finish.

Still waiting to see any post-match interviews with the two of them. Vettel's response was right out of order, but asking 'when did I drive dangerously?' in such a tone of injured innocence when the pit told him he had to box was extracting the urine...

I don't think Hamilton did anything wrong, but from Vettel's viewpoint, I can see why he felt Hamilton had brake tested him. What followed was totally unacceptable and I'm disappointed that no further action will be taken.

BBC reports data from Hamiltons car show neither acceleration nor deacceleration. Vettel made an error and compounded it with some real road rage. He should be banned.

A one race ban would be fair given Vettels actions but not likely now even with the data from Hamiltons car clearing him. He is already at risk getting some points on his racing license!

Agreed Gents but what a terrific race - best I can remember for a few years. A Vettel fan too but he went too far today. I think he knows it now and expect some sort of penalty for Spielberg. I think he knew Lewis got the hop on him from the last restart so was determined to stay close but blew it. Brilliant to see Fernando back in the points and pleased for Mc / Sauber and nice to see Stroll do well - and I've not been a fan of his. Did anyone else initially think he slowed down too soon as if he'd got the wrong line to finish. Bottas' finishing acceleration was amazing. Baku looked nice too. Oh and fair play to Ocon as well - one for the future.

A great race packed with action! Well done to Stroll for hanging in there in 3rd.
I didn't think he would ever make a good driver but showed plenty of potential in Baku.

Vettel has disgraced himself with the wheel banging.
It looked like proper road rage and should be rewarded with a 1 race ban minimum.
There is no place for that sort of temper in a race car!

All drivers know, if you hit a car from behind.. it's your fought... and when he went in from the side. I can only think this is the equivalent of a head butt in football.. instant red card and 3 match ban.. Seems his left hand was too busy waving to notice his right hand wasn't holding the wheel straight... and Sky caught him leaving the track and he didn't seem to know anything about the side ramming incident??

Had Hamilton genuinely "brake tested" Vettel, then Vettel would never have blown a fuse?
Vettel's reaction was more the action of someone who thought he had blown it!
(He had not had time to access any potential car damage and his first thought was he had been caught out).

The FIA will not want to impose an onerous penalty as they want to keep the show on the road, so far as the championship battle goes.
Still a bit of Senna-Prost type rivalry should help boost viewing figures?

Maybe they could deduct 14 points from Vettel's total as a penalty! That would keep it nice and even

He only got away with it! That may have some consequences in the future and Hamilton must be shaking his head.

Yup - it's Ferrari

Well I enjoyed that race. A bit of everything. one total donut spoiling it for others. Dodgy Tyre wear, gambling whether to keep or swap them... right at the end a close fight for 1st & 3rd. And hopefully a 3rd contender for the title... and Brundle being offered tips on how to 'look like' you are drinking from a sweaty boot!!