Formula 1 - 2013

[Unclefester]

A new Formula 1 season starts this weekend in Melbourne - Australia

Any fans or critics want to discuss the season and past memories ?

At the end of last year Lewis Hamilton was looking a long shot to be the next World Champion. Recently though, he and fellow Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg posted some impressive times in winter testing.

[Unclefester]

... Melbourne

This year it's a 19 race season.

There are some big differences in ticket prices for the race days.

To see the action at Melbourne this Sunday costs £66 for the cheapest tickets. Compare this with my home British Grand Prix (Silverstone) - £145.

A ticket to the glamorous Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo costs just £30.

The cheapest ticket is for the Malaysian race at just £13 and you also get access to Friday & Saturday practice & qualifying !!!!

[LD]

I can report (live 2km from the Albert Park track) that leading up to the GP weekend we had a record 9 days in row over 30°C. Blue skies and balmy nights, barely a breath of wind.

The GP rolls into town and monsoon-like weather hits. Don't know if any watched the scheduled last qualifying session (Saturday afternoon Melb time), but the track was more like a river and cars were aqua planing all over the place.

Car racing's not really my thing but the whole circus that comes to town with F1 is fun...fighter jets flying around the place and an A380 doing a low fly-over you house is interesting

re ticket prices....Melbourne is becoming one of the most expensive cities in the world

coffee: $4 (about £2.80)
beer: $8-$10 (typical bar price for Stella, Peroni, Corona, Heiniken etc)
steak dinner $30 - $40 (standard pub or middle end restaurant, nothing fancy)
adult movie ticket: $19 (except tight-arse tuesday nights when cinemas drop prices to $13)

[Unclefester]

Some circuits do put on a good show for the fans besides the actual race.

...but the track was more like a river and cars were aqua planing all over the place

I was up early UK time hoping to see qualifying, and after a delayed start, it finally got underway, then more monsoon delay and sessions 2 & 3 were cancelled until the next morning (race day) ... well at least it kept me out of my bed Saturday morning !

The race itself was more about strategy than going out and passing cars.

... tyre graining

Kimi Raikkonen won by looking after his tyres and only making two pits stops for new tyres compared to his main rivals who made three stops. The Pirelli tyres are purposefully designed to have a short life necessitating pit stops. I did prefer the days when drivers used to go racing, and not have to drive within the limits of such tyre wear !

[Unclefester]

Malaysian Grand Prix - 24 March

Just a week after Australia the F1 circus has moved to Malaysia.

... Sepang International Circuit - hot and dry with the ever-looming threat of a monsoon

The track is built on the site of a former oil palm plantation - 5,000 palm trees were planted around the circuit to replace those lost in construction.

Sebastian Vettel took pole position after another rain affected qualifying.

[Unclefester]

I enjoyed the Malaysian Grand Prix

Race result : 1^st Sebastian Vettel, 2^nd Mark Webber, 3^rd Lewis Hamilton

As most sports fans will know, the race hit the headlines for Vettel disobeying team orders and passing team mate Webber after the final round of pit-stops. Whereas Hamilton's team mate Rosberg obeyed team orders and stayed behind Hamilton as he tried to save fuel.

Comedy moment of the race was when Hamilton drove into his old team McLaren's pit box. Obviously forgetting after 13 years with the team he had switched to Mercedes this year. He's not the first driver in F1 to make that mistake and I doubt he will be the last


... spot the mistake - Mercedes car & McLaren pit box

[Unclefester]

Chinese Grand Prix - 14 April

F1 finally arrived in China after a three week wait for the next race.

... Shanghai International Circuit

Shanghai has over 25 million inhabitants and growing fast. It has been said that since the 1990s, half the world's tower cranes were in Shanghai.

The circuit was built on reclaimed marshland in 2004 and required 40,000 stone pillars, each 40-80m deep to stabilise the land before building the circuit could begin.

Lewis Hamilton took pole position - his first for Mercedes.

[Unclefester]

... all the talk before the race weekend was the aftermath of the Vettel team orders incident.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Sebastian Vettel's decision to ignore team orders in Malaysia had not undermined his authority - time will tell ??

[LD]

Vettel certainly doesn't subscribe to the mantra, there's no "I" in team

[Unclefester]

lol ..... but there is an "I" in WIN