F1 round one done - Scott's final Australian GP thoughts
Added 2025-03-17 19:00:09 +0000 UTCOne last Melbourne video for you from Scott (and a little request for even more of your questions) as he leaves Australia after an intriguing F1 season-opener.
Comments
With Chinas long back straight, how much do you expect mini DRS and Flexi wings to shake up the competitive order? Other than McLaren, are there any teams in particular that stand to gain an advantage of this.
Duncan Bertram
2025-03-18 14:08:43 +0000 UTCDid you have a chance to find out if all the teams have a spare chassis available to them to start this season. Thank you!
Gareth Jenkins
2025-03-18 11:59:05 +0000 UTCThere is already quite a lot of rotation with different departments where possible! It's the only way to survive. But some don't have a choice.
Scott Mitchell-Malm
2025-03-18 10:16:21 +0000 UTCAh, thank you! Cheers for saying hi, it's always nice. Hope you enjoyed the race!
Scott Mitchell-Malm
2025-03-18 10:15:02 +0000 UTCHow do the track characteristics compare to Melbourne? Which teams do they suit to?
Daniel Aeschbacher
2025-03-18 07:29:57 +0000 UTCThanks!
Paul Rissen
2025-03-18 06:46:03 +0000 UTCCars starting from the pitlane are released (i.e. the light is switched to green) when the last car starting on the grid has passed the pitlane exit - so yes, they are always going to be last.
Hanna
2025-03-18 00:22:13 +0000 UTCWith Hamilton first race with Ferrari done and the issues with communication and strategy during the race noted. Will we see drastic changes in the upcoming races with the drivers having more autonomy on the track?
Jack S
2025-03-17 21:49:06 +0000 UTCHow much can we take haas’ downturn as an ominous sign for Ferrari this season? As haas are Ferraris biggest customer, are haas’ issues indicative of issues with the Ferrari package or are they unique to the haas car?
Jamie Stark
2025-03-17 21:26:03 +0000 UTCNot a question, just wanted to say it was one of the highlights of the weekend for me having bumped into you and Edd on Sunday morning on the way in to the circuit. Thanks for giving me the time for a quick chat too. I hope that you enjoyed your stay in Melbourne.
Giuliano P
2025-03-17 20:42:48 +0000 UTCIn the right slightly chaotic circumstances, could Williams win a race this year…?
PK
2025-03-17 20:30:53 +0000 UTCWhere do you think Antonelli would have finished if he qualified, say, 6th? A couple behind Russell. Might he have been ahead of Russell…?
PK
2025-03-17 20:02:40 +0000 UTCHe had to start from pit lane because of changes to the car
James Patterson
2025-03-17 19:52:25 +0000 UTCPiastri signing his new contract has me reminded me of one of the things I've always wondered about F1 since I became a fan-why is there so much 'secrecy' around driver contract value? I'm American, and US sports (NBA, NFL) athlete salaries are always a major talking point, especially since most sports have a salary cap of some kind, but as far as I can tell, there is a lot of opacity around F1 driver deals for no obvious reason.
Chuck Aoki
2025-03-17 19:48:25 +0000 UTCWill the new rear wing deflection tests impact any team more than others? Lots of focus on Mclaren but could this impact others more? Presumably getting a mini DRS to work in China could be worth a huge amount of lap time based on the long back straight?
James Nicholson
2025-03-17 19:47:12 +0000 UTCA random question - I’ve noticed that often when cars start from the pit lane, they’re effectively at the back of the grid, and held until all cars on the grid have (presumably) crossed the start line. However, in Australia, Liam Lawson qualified 18th, ahead of Esteban Ocon & Ollie Bearman - I couldn’t see from the TV coverage, but did Lawson have to wait until after Ocon had started (effectively starting at the back of the grid, aside from Bearman), or was he let go just after Hulkenberg? Essentially, are pit lane starts always effectively “back of the grid”? I assume so?
Paul Rissen
2025-03-17 19:45:18 +0000 UTCThis question will be best answered after the race: how different does it feel in Shanghai now that Zhou is not on the grid? I’m sure the broadcasts will tell us about record numbers and incredible fan engagement, but what are you experiencing on the ground? Thanks for all the work you all put in - you are (and have been) raising the bar for F1 journalism!
Jason SPD
2025-03-17 19:24:36 +0000 UTCWhat do you think would be more exciting? A bit more of last years competitiveness across multiple teams, or a ROS/HAM style rivalry at Mclaren combined with a HAM vs VER 2021 style rivalry between Lando and Max?
Alex97
2025-03-17 19:17:35 +0000 UTCGiven The Race is moving to rotating the team around the 24 race season, how long until teams start having A teams and B teams for different races with only drivers doing all 24 races.
Chris Campbell
2025-03-17 19:10:11 +0000 UTCGiven Williams' bonkers success last week: heading into China, what can we expect their headspace to be? Alt: how much more exciting is Piastri's potential, given his wicked recovery drive (and after being listed as out of the GP momentarily)?
Stranded_Colourwork
2025-03-17 19:06:02 +0000 UTC
