F1 2025 Australian Grand Prix - Race Weekend Thread

[ITCHY EYEBALLS]

Oscar just needs to out qualify Norris, simple as that. I think he’s a better race day driver, just needs to nail that one lap.
That overtake on Hamilton was f*****g insane.

 

[happy_eagle]

I understand the call to an extent because they were coming up on the back markers but once they cleared the two Haas cars they should have been allowed to race.

You mean like when they said exactly this to Oscar after they passed the backmarkers?

 

[gaskin]

You mean like when they said exactly this to Oscar after they passed the backmarkers?

They delayed a lot longer than they should have. It wasn't until Oscar made a mistake and lost 2 seconds that they told him they can race. McLaren had no intention of letting them do it otherwise they wouldn't have waited so long.

 

[happy_eagle]

They delayed a lot longer than they should have. It wasn't until Oscar made a mistake and lost 2 seconds that they told him they can race. McLaren had no intention of letting them do it otherwise they wouldn't have waited so long.

You know the radio messages are broadcast on delay yeh ?

 

[gaskin]

You know the radio messages are broadcast on delay yeh ?

Yes. But, if they had have done it sooner then Oscar wouldn't have been hanging back like he was and would have attacked Lando.

 

[happy_eagle]

Yes. But, if they had have done it sooner then Oscar wouldn't have been hanging back like he was and would have attacked Lando.

My point is that you don't know when that radio message was made to Oscar.

 

[Duck Farmer]

Oscar just needs to out qualify Norris, simple as that. I think he’s a better race day driver, just needs to nail that one lap.
That overtake on Hamilton was f*****g insane.

Will be tough. Norris is phenomenal in qualifying and is also improving as a race day driver. His last third of last season was much better than Oscar's and he showed great composure in Abu Dhabi where one mistake would've cost McLaren the Constructor's. His drive today was excellent.

 

[gaskin]

My point is that you don't know when that radio message was made to Oscar.

Considering the original message said they wanted to hold until the crossover point you can make a guess that they weren't allowed to race until Oscar made the mistake.

 

[Jatz]

Oscar can only have himself to blame unfortunately. Did bloody well to get points in the end.

As we discussed ad nauseum though, until he can outqualify Lando, he will always be on the back foot.

 

[Jatz]

Very entertaining race that one. Surprised to see some of the names that binned it (Alonso/Sainz).

Person of the weekend goes to Anthony Hamilton. That was an incredible moment.

 

[Jatz]

On a side note, I wonder how much Red Bull may regret having Lawson in over Yuki.

It's only one weekend but they look to have got this badly wrong. The sister team is there to help develop drivers to step up into the RBR seat. They had the perfect candidate and then ignored him to promote the kid who's clearly going to take a while to develop.

I know Honda is leaving (and therefore Yuki probably will as well) but it feels the perfect scenario would've been to give Yuki the RBR seat for a year and let Liam learn the ropes in the sister car.

 

[Barrybran]

Surprised to see some of the names that binned it (Alonso/Sainz).

So were they

 

[Not Important]

yep! it was a test of drivers.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

They delayed a lot longer than they should have. It wasn't until Oscar made a mistake and lost 2 seconds that they told him they can race. McLaren had no intention of letting them do it otherwise they wouldn't have waited so long.

Oscar had a significant pace advantage when he caught up to Lando, but would only have been able to overtake with a dive under brakes or great DRS. Both would be problematic around backmarkers (especially a rookie) so I understand the hesitation, but it's just another example of McLaren being "fair" - just a little more "fair" to Lando.

Team radio on the broadcast is delayed, but you can still watch it live on some of the Youtube channels. The pit call came out about 15 seconds earlier when Oscar was in turn 2. He was only 1.5s behind at the time - then he ran wide on turn 5 and ended up 3.8 seconds behind before the TV made the call.

Also - all the live timing seemed to be working, so not sure why the broadcast was only updating every lap or so.

 

[largebus]

The team orders to hold position doesn't have much substance to it because Oscar made a mistake a lap later and released any pressure on Lando. If he can't outdo in qualifying all he can do is snap at his heels on Sunday. This weekend he did neither

 

[Acinath]

He's a nice guy but I don't think he's good enough.
That said he's younger and redbull have no viable alternatives (assuming other top drivers like sainz etc won't consider them unless Max/jos is gone) so he's going to get a full season at best. The fact that they put hadjar in when he's clearly not ready tells you all you need go know about their lack of options.

Remember when RBRs four drivers were Verstappen, Ricciardo, Sainz and Kyvat

Very little talent has come through since then (Gasly the exception)

 

[banzai]

Considering the original message said they wanted to hold until the crossover point you can make a guess that they weren't allowed to race until Oscar made the mistake.

And that's going to keep happening at stages of races between teammates. If he wants to win, he needs to be in front early. Maybe can jag one race for the season with a late pass. Last year the qualifying was 21-3 to Lando. For the last 23 races if it's any worse than 12-11 to Lando, Oscar has no shot at the title.

Lando won't make the mistakes he made last year, nor as many bad starts, he cracked under the pressure, but now has the experience of being in the championship battle. If McLaren are miles better it will tough for Oscar and Lando might have it too easy, maybe if Max is right with them, he can crack Lando again and it gives Oscar a chance to pounce.

 

[BomberFan355]

Also - all the live timing seemed to be working, so not sure why the broadcast was only updating every lap or so.

It wasn't working on the broadcast for a fair period of time but did start working again. So annoying when you can't see the gaps and who's catching who.

 

[happy_eagle]

Helmut Marko is a dinosaur. I don't see what value he adds to that organisation anymore. Still riding on the coattails of signing Max and Seb years ago.

 

[Barrybran]

Helmut Marko is a dinosaur. I don't see what value he adds to that organisation anymore. Still riding on the coattails of signing Max years ago.

Yeah I saw this. The sooner Red Bull moves this guy on, the better.

 

[MKMatty]

Helmut Marko is a dinosaur. I don't see what value he adds to that organisation anymore. Still riding on the coattails of signing Max and Seb years ago.

This and calling Bortoleto a ‘B Class Driver’ when he outperformed Lawson all weekend. Dude needs to be put in a home.

 

[StFly]

Yeah I saw this. The sooner Red Bull moves this guy on, the better.

Yep, class with Lewis' dad, Helmut once again showing why RBR should jettison his arse.

 

[imadodgyumpire]

Idk, Hamilton's dad is a bit of an attention whore.

 

[Jatz]

You'd have to believe him to be quite the egotistical w***er to try and create attention out of that situation...

 

[Cromulant]

You'd have to believe him to be quite the egotistical w***er to try and create attention out of that situation...

Im sure its been done before (not by him FWIW), but this isnt one of them