I thought I was going to like the new qualifying format, but that Q3 session was garbage. Bring back the old qualifying!

Mercs still looking like they outclass the field by a considerable margin, but the McLarens are much more competitive. Manor still on the bottom, even with Mercedes power. The new format prevented us from really seeing the pace of the Haas cars, it looks like they both could have maybe made Q2.

Agree new format sucks. I'm fortunate to be at the race this weekend and everyone was confused and also started to leave with 4 minutes left.

That being said the cars sound pretty good. Not V8 screaming good but nice enough. Also the Mercedes look and sound on a different level than the rest of the field. When they go by its like a fighter jet blowing by.

What's with the giant air scoop on the mercs? They're the only ones with it, so it probably adds 50hp and a bunch of downforce

How do the Haas entries look? I didn't expect much but 17?, 18?. I'd hoped for a little more.

Hmm not too sure. I think it just channels air to different components; radiator, batteries, etc. I haven't kept up to date this off season but F1 Technical and Scarbs F1 are always good sources for stuff like that.

Haas looks good. Grosjean had a rough third practice but that's how it goes sometimes. They also, from what I gather, miscalculated things with qualifying. All the talk from commentators has been that they have a good car but it is going to be a tough season.

Bloody Hell! Alonso is a very very lucky chap. Watch the video of his accident.

Crazy race, glad Alonso is OK. Vettel should have had Hamilton but happy to see Lewis fight back for a podium. The atmosphere was pretty good for the race and among the best that I've been to. Thumbs up!

Haas scores more points in their first race than Manor has scored in their entire existence. Great to see.

While I don't like the qualy changes, I think I'm really going to like the tire changes. Looks like that's really going to add to the strategy options available to the teams, as we saw today.

Didn't the boys from Maranello have a schizo weekend?
They clearly have improved pace and the cars looked good, but they made mistakes at the track that costs their drivers. That bobble in the pits cost Seb P2 and Kimi, man what luck. Those cars aren't supposed to have flames shooting out of the air scoop are they?

Tire strategy may have cost them 1st. Even with the bungled stop

We'll never mind. New qualifying format will remain for at least one more race. I guess it's a bit reactionary to scrap it after one week, but the changes are a solution in search of a problem.

Alonso out. I guess that crash was a little worse than it looked, and it look pretty bad.

Watching Q2 now, hopefully this is the last time we see this new qualifying. This is terrible.

Where is it? Direct says 11:30 NBCS

I was watching from the DVR. I think it started at 10:00 on CNBC live.

What the hell is going on with Ferrari?

Haas!

Interesting race. Hamilton blew the start again, but then ran a pretty damn good race considering the damage he sustained from Bottas in turn 1.

Nico had an uneventful, yet very good race.

How about Grosjean! I'll be rooting for him and Haas all season. A podium isn't as crazy as it sounded before the star of the season!

If Hamilton doesn't get his starts figured out Nico is going to make it very interesting. I know Bottas got the penalty, but it's not obvious to me that he was at fault. Seemed like Hamilton shut the door on him pretty hard.

And I know he wanted that spot back, but I thought it wasn't very smart to try the over/under move right there anyway. You got beat off the line, but you both managed to get clear of the 2nd row. Take your medicine and get clear of the field, then you can take it to Nico. Forcing the issue right there is only going to open the door for bad luck.

I don't think either driver was really at fault. I'd probably lean a bit towards Bottas, but when it happened, I told my wife that it was a racing incident, and nothing would come from it. The stewards decided otherwise.

Qualy is going back to the 2015 format starting China. So glad they're scrapping the ridiculous system they've been using, and that they're not going back to aggregate like they've talked about.

Nobody?

what a weird season so far.

I watched it on the DVR on Tuesday evening. Crazy opening lap that led to some great drives by Vettel, Ricciardo, and Kimi. Lewis was unfortunate, probably did the best he could. Nico was on cruise control.

What the everlovin' hell is going on with Merc?

Kvyat continues to win friends and influence people. Man those post race comments were brutal, even his teammate.
Grosjean, Hass! Good job fellas.

I'm not much of a Seb fan, so I thought that was pretty humorous, getting rear-ended twice by the same guy in two consecutive corners. Not really sure what Kvyat was doing, though.

Rosberg was dominant again, without anyone to challenge him. Thought Lewis was going to catch him with several laps left to try to make a move, but then misfortune struck again. Seems he's getting all his bad luck out of the way to start the season. I really would like another team to be able to take the fight to Mercedes, otherwise it's going to be a boring championship race at this point.

Glad to see both McLarens in the points, and to see Grosjean back up there.

not gonna lie I rewound several times to listen to Vettel's radio tirade. my favorite part is that he's spinning out of control at over 100mph and before he even hits the wall he lets go with "Oh For F*$!ks Sake!!" like he just got rear ended in the Walmart parking lot.

And DK gets the demotion to Toro Rosso. No pressure or anything, Max.

At least he still has a ride. I though he was going to be gone altogether. I wonder if he's bringing $ to the team? Maybe that's why they kept him. Don't know.

Brutal the way Kvyat was demoted. His move in China was bold but in my opinion perfectly fine. Russia was a mess but people make mistakes. I was always indifferent towards him but will be rooting for him now.

quote:

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Brutal the way Kvyat was demoted. His move in China was bold but in my opinion perfectly fine. Russia was a mess but people make mistakes. I was always indifferent towards him but will be rooting for him now.

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i agree, but I'm also excited to see what Verstappen can do in a more competitive car.

Merc! Oh. Snap.

That's on Nico. You get to block, but not when your teammate is along side.