[F1] Alonso's the best in Malaysia

[JackWhite]

Are there other Formule One fans here that can't wait for the season to get going with the first race? Only 22 hours separate us from the first grand prix which is the one in Melbourne Australia. It seems to become a very interesting season with the two McLaren's that have taken the lead in the Qualifying. Vettel was only sixth behind his teammate Webber and the Ferrari's seem to have a lot of work to do since they only qualified 12th and 16th. Grosjean was probably the surprise of the day. We all knew that the Lotus was strong but I think no one was expecting him on the second row next to 7 times world champion Michael Schumacher.

All Qualifications

F1 Australia 2012 - Fernando Alonso Spins out

[Rinzler]

Another F1 fan here (even though I dislike cars and driving - weird, I know, but such is the way of things). So...the Macca's are on the front row. Quite surprised to see them there, as I'd heard they had some issue with the gearboxes. And Grosjean on the second row???? Bloody hell...good work.

[JackWhite]

Qualifications don't always give a good view on the racing speed and if there's really trouble with the gearbox of McLaren it could become very interesting. The fact that Grosjean is third means that Lotus is very competitive at the moment. He has always been a good driver and in a good car it is easier to do well. If the car really is as good as Romain shows it will only be a matter of time before Kimi will be in the top too.

Still a question though. The HRT's didn't reach the 107% rule, were they picked up or won't they start tomorrow?

“Today didn’t go quite as planned. There’s no issue with the car; I made a mistake and there was a communication issue so the timing wasn’t right to get another lap. It cost us a good qualifying position but that’s how it goes sometimes. We should have easily been in Q2. It’s not the best start but we’ll try to put it right in the race. There’s plenty of speed in the car. The steering was fine. It’s not perfect for exactly what I want but it doesn’t affect my driving. For sure we can do better than 18th tomorrow so we’ll have to see what happens.”

[Rinzler]

^I actually missed the qualifying - but I always figured that any cars outside the 107% percent rule won't start the race proper. Unless the rules have been changed since last year (and lord knows, in F1 that's always a possibility) I guess they won't be on the grid.

[JackWhite]

They got out of the 107% last year too (I know because the Belgian rider D'Ambrosio did once or twice I think) and they were picked up. That's why I asked. This time will probably it might be different because there's a difference of almost half a second with the rule.

[Rinzler]

This from the F1 website
:

HRT said that practice and qualifying were their pre-season tests, and struggled to learn the right things to do to the new F112. Both drivers received reprimands for hindering, and after failing to beat the 107 percent qualifying rule HRT applied to the FIA for permission to race. This was denied.

http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2012/3/13120.html

So it certainly looks like they won't be on the grid tomorrow.

[JackWhite]

Such a shame that this things can happen in the F1. Pre-season test on the first GP, they should do their things right before they come to Australia.

[JackWhite]

A good start of the season in my opinion. Button showed that he can win races in the same way Vettel did in 2011. Getting of to a quick start and just cotrolling it when you're far enough ahead. I would have loved to see Schumacher perform the whole race. I think that keeping Vettel behind wouldn't have been a realistic goal but he could have been 4th or 5th.

Alonso showed that his car wasn't as bad as we thought and that the fault he made in the Qualifying really was the cause of his bad performance. Massa on the other hand was terrible. Unbelievable that he's still in a Ferrari, he's a disgrace for what the team used to be.

Race: Albert Park (Melbourne, Australia)

"It was an unfortunate end to my race when I lost drive going into turn one. I was trying different gears and occasionally the drive came back, but in the end, I had to go onto the grass to avoid the risk of the car being forced into a spin. It was especially unfortunate as we have not had this problem during the winter tests and were very reliable. This is why I am not concerned, as I know things like this happen in racing, and our reliability is not in question. I believe I could have had a good race this afternoon, and I can still take some positives out of the weekend as we have seen our car was confirming our feelings, and is definitely a clear step forward. We can now build on that and start improving further."

[JackWhite]

Next up: China

[Rinzler]

Looks like those Ferrari engines are shaping up to be a force this season...

[JackWhite]

The engine is, the rest isn't as good just yet.