Mega Melbourne

Wow, what a brilliant race we've had this weekend! There were plenty of great performances from a whole host of drivers and teams which made for a really exciting race, though I'll admit Vettel was extremely lucky with that safety car. Well done to Button for a great win, hard luck Lewis, but I'm sure he'll bounce back. Onwards with #FanFormula!

Q1) Williams appear to have come back strong with a great battle between Maldonado and Alonso. But what did you make of the 'midfield' teams today battling against the like of Ferrari and Mercedes?

A: I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It was great to see Williams fighting for those points after such a torrid couple of seasons and I was genuinely gutted for Maldonado when he had his hefty shunt, despite some questionable moves earlier on in the race. Watching the 'midfield' teams mixing it up with the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes was so exciting to watch; Sauber's tussles with the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg made up half the action that went on in the race, and it was so wonderful to see them have a really good go at getting some points. The battle between Alonso and Maldonado was gripping too, kudos to Fernando for managing to stave off Pastor in the end, as it was no mean feat with that extra DRS zone this year. All in all it was just such an exciting first race, helped a lot by Ferrari and Mercedes' performances seemingly becoming the opposite of their qualifying pace.

Q2) What do you make of the rule that lets back-markers unlap themselves under the safety car? Does it just prolong the safety car period, or is it fairer on those that would be out of place due to lapped cars?

A: Let me start by saying that knowing Hamilton would be pushing for Vettel, unhindered, after that safety car today was a quite a nerve-wracking thought! It certainly makes for a much more exciting spectacle for the fans, but for sure it prolongs the safety car period by quite a distance. I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking 'just get on with it' by the fourth lap under it, but I think it'll be something we'll get used to eventually. Given more time, the positive of drivers being able to have clear runs at each other on the restart will outweigh the negative of waiting longer to see it happen.


Q3) If you watched via Sky what is your overall opinion of the new team and coverage? If you watched via BBC, how did you find watching the highlights show rather than live coverage? Did it lack the excitement knowing that the race was already over?

A: I watched both the Sky and BBC coverage as I'm still in two minds as to which provider I'm going to stick with this season.

Sky Sports F1

Sky need to be given some space for the first few races, as they're new to covering the sport and the team will need time to gel and properly understand how they'll work together. A lot of people have argued that Simon Lazenby seems to be a little 'wooden' and lacking some knowledge and charisma, but the guy is relatively new to Formula 1 and I imagine must have been quite nervous (it's shown, with him sometimes interrupting Martin Brundle and/or Damon Hill in full flow to get a word in), so I'll be giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. Getting Ted Kravitz as part of the team has been a major coup, because the money Sky have to invest in technology has allowed him to really delve deep into the technical side of the sport; I've really enjoyed him explaining about the new innovations with the SkyPad, particularly Mercedes' rear-wing 'F-duct' and the different solutions teams have come up with in trying to cope with the double diffuser ban. In the commentary box David Croft and Martin Brundle seem to be a great pairing, you can tell they get on well and both have a raft of knowledge - Crofty made a few mistakes today but it was a pretty hectic race, and you can't deny that the guy has passion.

Having said all that, up to now I've been a little disappointed with build-up and post quali/race round-ups. This may just be because I have a short attention span, but 30 minutes build-up for practice and 90 minutes for the race seems much too long, so much so that at some points Simon seemed to struggle to think of what to bring up for Martin and Damon to discuss. Keep in mind that this is being written prior to the airing of the F1 magazine show, but I can't see what Georgie Thompson is bringing to the coverage up to now, apart from being something pretty to look at. When she's presented analysis on the SkyPad it's been clear that she doesn't really understand what Anthony Davidson is saying. Again, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, but I'm sure she knows that she'll need to do her homework to keep up to speed. Overall I think Sky have made a very promising start and that given time, they'll improve even more.

BBC F1

Watching extended highlights will of course never be the same as watching a race live, but the BBC seem to have coped incredibly well with the budget cuts imposed on them. I wasn't too keen on the idea of Ben Edwards taking the lead comms helm but I take it back now - he may get a bit over-excited, but him and David Coulthard have already established a good rapport and were pretty much flawless during the race. Gary Anderson's technical input has also been a very interesting addition, while the camaraderie between Jake, DC and Eddie Jordan is still great to watch despite the shirt jokes being very old now. It's this in particular that gives the BBC a much more casual feel, which is perfect for them as the casual F1 fan is their target audience after all. It's not to everyone's taste, but they're doing a good job and I'll look forward to watching their live race coverage.


BONUS) What was your favourite moment of the weekend?

Vettel's pass on Rosberg in the first couple of laps was sublime, it was very brave of him to try that on the outside of a corner and it payed off beautifully. And who said he couldn't overtake?

Globe Trotting

Hi guys, here's my very first extended #FanFormula entry. Hope you enjoy it!


Q1) Which Grand Prix do you look forward to most in the season and why?

A: There's a couple of races I look forward to, Canada in particular because I love the track, Montréal itself and how the people really embrace the event and make it their own. Not to mention the suicidal groundhogs and marshals.

But for the all-round experience, I'd have to say Australia. There's just such a buzz around it and it's nice to see fans old and new talking about the upcoming season, especially on social media like Twitter. The air of uncertainty over what the pecking order's going to be makes for an exciting build-up, and the racing is generally great too. But I think the main thing that makes it so special is it being a flyaway race, especially when it's the first race on the calendar.

Picture the scene. You wake up in the middle of the night, most probably in a bad mood due to lack of sleep. Groggy and cursing the light hurting your eyes, you stumble to turn on your TV, wondering whether it was worth getting up at such an ungodly hour. And then you hear the engines firing up in anger for the first time - your ears prick up, you get comfty in you chair/bed and wonder why you were complaining to yourself, because the sound is glorious! It's not quite up there with waiting for the five red lights to go out on raceday, but it's very close.


Q2) If you could go to any Grand Prix, where would you choose and why? (Please feel free to mention if you are going to a Grand Prix this season)

A: Again, it would have to be Australia and Canada, for all the reasons above. I also have family in Australia so it would be nice to visit them at their home for a change. Apart from those, I'd love to go to Monaco just to experience the glitz and glamour.

I'm going to at least one race this season. I'll be back at Silverstone after my first ever Grand Prix there last year, so if you're staying at or near Windmills campsite, come and say hello! Money permitting I might be going to Catalunya too, though it's looking much less likely.


Q3) What is your favourite corner in all of the F1 circuits?

A: It's a cliché, but Eau Rouge. I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching the cars go through there, most of them flat out, because seeing the elevation change is just brilliant to watch. I love Turn 8 at Istanbul too, especially watching the front-runners taking the apexes like they're on rails. Precision driving and engineering combined into a bundle of exhilaration. I'm sure I won't be the only one that'll be missing it from the calendar.


BONUS) Of all the countries that don't have a race currently or planned (e.g. Russia), where would you like to see a Grand Prix being held?

A: I've been thinking about this question since Sunday evening and even now I can't settle on one particular place! So this answer is split into three sections:

South Africa - even though Formula 1 likes to claim it's a global sport, I don't think it can be truly considered global until there's a race in Africa again. And of all the states in Africa, South Africa seems to be the most suitable. I'm no expert in African affairs, but from a complete outsider's point of view it seems to be the most politically and economically stable state, and also has prior experience of holding Grands Prix. The main questions are whether it could afford to host a race in the first place, and where it would be held. The most recent addition to the calendar, the Korean Grand Prix, was instated via a contract worth $264 million - could South Africa match or better that? On a possible venue, Bernie Ecclestone has suggested he'd like to see a street circuit in Cape Town, with the cost of upgrading the Kyalami circuit to Formula 1 specs seemingly too high to be commercially viable. Either way, as long as the locals and fans were up for it I'd love to see Formula 1 return to South Africa, but only if they could afford it.

Scandinavia - we all know that Scandinavia has a rich history of high achievement in motorsport. And with the return of Kimi Raikkonen, as well as Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham team on the verge of entering the midfield, why not hold a Grand Prix there? Again it comes down to cost and where it would be held, but perhaps more importantly for European races, where it would fit in the calendar. Mr Ecclestone has long stated that 20 races is the maximum he's prepared to have, so somewhere would have to give... *cough*Valencia*cough*

Portugal - when I've been watching Classic F1, I've found myself drawn to the Portuguese Grand Prix. The racing at Estoril seemed brilliant and given another chance I'm sure it still would be, though the cost of improving facilities for F1 could be problematic. The new F1-spec circuit in Portimão has also seen some great racing, particularly from the lower single-seater formulae. Once again it comes down to money and space on the calendar, with the former point particularly concerning given the current financial crisis in the Eurozone. However, I was reading a thread about a return to Portugal on F1Fanatic the other day, and a comment from one member suggested the idea of an Iberian Grand Prix. Although they advocated removing both the European and Spanish GPs to make it happen, it got me thinking - why not alternate Catalunya with Portimão? Yes, it doesn't fit in with Formula 1's expansive ambitions, but it's no secret that Catalunya is trying to negotiate a reduction in race fees and the Spanish GP isn't all that exciting nowadays. By sharing the rights, Catalunya could cut their losses, Portimão could potentially keep costs down too and fans would see some exciting racing at a new track. It's a win-win situation.


Hope you enjoyed the read and that you all have a lovely week. Until next Sunday, much love xxx