The OFFICIAL 2013 Formula 1 thread!

[GillesBigCowboy]

Most popular driver with the coolest paintscheme are the pirelli marketing dream, especially with ferrari lurking.
Astounding lead change numbers.
I hope the Ferrari launch at start happens at every race.
I almost feel like the announcers couldn't keep up with strategies, but nbcsports did pretty well.
I like how matchy switched from liters to quarts... I could see the young minds leaving NASCAR.

[GillesBigCowboy]

And before the 1pm broadcast, as I surfed by the speed channel, I saw the winner on their rolling text, damnit.
Prolly need a dvr.

[pharow]

That was a great race. So happy with how things went. Kimi did an outstanding job... I can't wait to see how the rest of the season goes.

[z31maniac]

Weber....... keep practicing those starts.

Apparently there was a problem with telemetry so they weren't able to do the clutch bite point and stuff they would normally do on the formation lap.

But he's always had problems with starts for some reason.

[Alex Mc]

An excellent race to start the season. Very entertaining to watch and pleased to see Raikkonen strike first.

Was Kimi's win down to strategy or pure pace? A little Column A, a little Column B.

FTW:
-Ferrari
-Force India
-Lotus/Kimi
-RBR quali pace

Fail:
-McLaren
-RBR race pace
-Rosberg
-Webber starts

[TDE30]

Fail:
-McLaren
-RBR race pace
-Rosberg
-Webber starts

My thoughts exactly. It seems like RBR would have tried to fix Webber's atrocious start abilities during the off-season. I think Raikkonen is going to be strong this year, maybe even Grosjean as well; I see them taking McLaren's place as one of the top three constructors. There was/is some talk about McLaren reverting back to their 2012 (MP4-27) car this season if things don't improve, much like they did in 2003.

Should be a great season.

[naplesE30]

McLaren are in the same boat ferrari were last year trying to understand their suspension. Maybee they can hire some ferrari engineers to help them out. It worked well for them last time they did that.

[Jon325i]

McLaren are in the same boat ferrari were last year trying to understand their suspension. Maybee they can hire some ferrari engineers to help them out. It worked well for them last time they did that.

Ha! Good one.

Kimi's drive was awesome, Lotus definitely look strong this year. As does Ferrari....and with Alonso's consistancy I think we'll see a red car on the podium of nearly every race this year. Massa did really well too.

I was also impressed with Force India - nice finish for both drivers. Mercedes looked strong initially and Hamilton's 5th place is good for his first race with a new team but Nico's DNF means there's probably some teething problems with the new car.

Team McLaren will be struggling - how quickly they can react and resolve the new front suspension design is crutial if they want to be contenders.

Rookies to watch: Estaban Gutierrez and Valtteri Bottas.


Jon

[Alex Mc]

Tough to keep an eye on Bottas if Williams is going to play caboose!

[thatphysicsguy]

Kimi for the win, looking forward to a good season for him and RoGro.

Also kind of disappointed that sauber didn't see more action this weekend with Gutierez's poor quali and Hulk's failed fuel pump or whatever. I'm really excited to see how Malaysia goes for everyone.

Also on a another note: Does anyone around here follow GP2?

[unevolved]

Just bought tickets for the US Grand Prix! Whoo!

[E-Thirty]

Kimi for the win, looking forward to a good season for him and RoGro.

Also kind of disappointed that sauber didn't see more action this weekend with Gutierez's poor quali and Hulk's failed fuel pump or whatever. I'm really excited to see how Malaysia goes for everyone.

Also on a another note: Does anyone around here follow GP2?

I follow up on it a little and I'm curious as to how Conner Daly will do.

[thatphysicsguy]

I follow up on it a little and I'm curious as to how Conner Daly will do.

Yeah, He's a friend of a friend and I chat with him on FB sometimes. He's been posting some sweet photos from Sepang!

[Alex Mc]

The time sheets reflecting Lotus pace again this weekend but also Ferrari and RBR; Similar to Australia. Massa really strong out of the box this year. McLaren 1.3 off the pace. Williams... ugh, what a cluster! 2.2s off... Sauber pace also unfortunate.

Fingers crossed for a race half as exciting as Malaysia 2012!

[thatphysicsguy]

Just hope the safety car doesn't end up taking the checkered flag!