[Monster Hesh]

A few shots of setup.

So what are we thinking? 

Slam dunk Merc? It's 2016 all over again, front row lock out, easy cruise. Unless, tyre issues surface, which would be good from the neutrals perspective as races could get unpredictable. But they had so much pace through the corners in Melbourne, that their DF level might take care of the tyres as suggested in the F1Tech preview article.
Top drawer Bottas needs to turn up this weekend. For the championship sake, for the sports sake, it needs to be competitive. Praying he can put on a show in qualifying like last year, although Melbourne looks like Lewis still has that magical 0.3s pace gap.

Ferrari were at the top of the speed traps in Melbourne, but only by a few KPH. I expect Ferrari to do alot of running all weekend, to further their understanding of their newer wheel base concept, and unlock the efficient downforce that  should come with it.
Raikkonen likes it here so I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the podium, especially if Vettel is struggling with the rear still.

RedBull, erm, moaning about engine, best chassis claim. They will shine in sector 2, so much so, maybe even mixing on the second row.

Haas should shine again, they have done in the past here.
Renault and McLaren are going to suffer, even more of a gifting to Haas. Due to the top speed deficit. Perhaps McLarens upgrades bring a more efficient cooling package, that allows them to run a little high tuned.

The Mercedes customers, big questions are already being asked of Williams. Less so of FI, but both need to show they haven't lost their way in a year. i'm gonna say FI will do well, certinally in the race.

A real test of TR and Honda, anyone know if it was a full engine failure after the MGU-H failure at AUS? Last I read they were back at the factory seeing what they could save.

We could start to hear more "who's got the best chassis" with the very lower speed corners into straights, traction is a big aspect, hope we get some good slow mo's from those corners.

[Jody Barton]

The "best" chassis argument is confusing. High speed corners both Ferrari and Mercedes were more nailed than RBR. So I think RBR's claims aren't really legit. As to pecking order? I think Ferrari will be much closer to Mercedes. We'll have to see the race stints on Friday, but you'd be foolish at this stage to back anyone but Mercedes. All we're really waiting to see is how close Ferrari and Mercedes are, and if Mercedes have rear tyre problems.

I think here Ferrari and Mercedes will be a step ahead of RBR, so I expect the front two rows to be all silver and red, with the Bulls locking out the third row. I too think if Vettel still has issues inside his Ferrari that Kimi will seize on that and again be the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers. Outside the big three I'm expecting Haas to potentially lock out row four, but with Renault and McLaren not far behind.

I think both Force India and Williams will be struggling in Bahrain, just don't think Williams have the drivers to work out the kinks from that car, whether it has potential to unlock or not, they don't have the drivers to work it out. Whereas with Force India it's too soon for them to bring significant upgrades to move them massively forward. Maybe the Mercedes power will be enough to get them in amongst Renault and McLaren.

Obviously Toro Rosso and Sauber will be fighting for the wooden spoon. I expect Toro Rosso to still have an edge. However, you're spot on Hesh, this weekend will be a big test for the Honda engine. As I understand it it was just an MGU-H failure, but Honda are already bringing an upgraded engine... when Marko said Honda would be aggressive in their development I didn't know he meant this aggressive. I think RBR are sacrificing Toro Rosso this season to help Honda get up to speed.

[Monster Hesh]

I hear ya about the chassis argument Jody. I'd say its more annoying for outsides, due to the fact that we just don't have enough info at our disposal, to make informed judgments. It's only "propaganda" from team personnel saying so, or media outlets saying "so n so carried more speed through turn # n #". On that note, I did read that RedBull were as much as 20 kph faster through the high speed turns of 11 n 12, which was according F1 app speed data. RedBull were insanely close to being 2nd quickest at Aus qualifying, closest they have been for years. It could be quite exciting behind Merc.

A nice little tyre insight. Posting this as more a reminder for my car setups in the game. I really struggle at Bahrain, maybe its all to do with the tyre settings, mainly pressures.


DRS wise, no added zone. Only start/finish straight zone extended by 100m. It'll make it all the more easier to glide by before turn 1. I know folk see DRS as an F1 impurity, but personally I would of liked to see another zone on the straight down to the final turn. I hoped it would of stacked cars ontop of each other going into a critical corner causing more excitement down the main straight. 

In this day and age, I'm assuming they ran simulations to see what configurations produced the best results. Unfortunately, I get the ever increasing sense, sims are never run and decisions are just made. Which is amazing considering computing power available.

Qal:
1 Bot, 2 Ham, 3 Rai, 4 Ves, 5 Vet, 6 Gro, 7 Ric, 8 Oco, 9 Mag, 10 Per

Race:
1 Ham, 2 Rai, 3 Bot, 4 Vet, 5 Ves, 6 Ric, 7 Gro, 8 Per, 9 Alo, 10 Sai

[Monster Hesh]

Well, apparently there was a "small fire" at the circuit, in one of the stands, yesterday. Cause believed to be electrical, no impact on race prep.

[Jody Barton]

I too would have liked a DRS zone going into the final corner. I am a purist and believe DRS is a sin against God, but, if they do insist on having extremely wide and complex front wings, with sidepods and barge board areas more complex than spaghetti junction I accept there needs to be something to allow following cars to actually get in the wake. I even had to agree with someone yesterday that the triggering point for DRS should be extended to 1.5 seconds given the increased effect of the wake on wider cars.

As for pole position, after his spin in Australia I just can't see Bottas having the confidence levels needed to really go for it. So my top 10 is as follows:

1) Hamilton
2) Vettel
3) Bottas
4) Raikkonen
5) Verstappen
6) Ricciardo
7) Magnussen
8) Sainz
9) Alonso
10) Perez

Sorry Moanjean, just don't like you. Plus he's never gone well at Bahrain, and neither has the Hulk, I don't think the stop start nature of the circuit suits the Hulk. I do expect him to turn in a lap in China though.

[PapaofGags]

Hoping for a better race this weekend, though with Liberty putting forward their vision of the future to the teams, I'm expecting a proper bun fight, the teams fighting each other & Liberty, bring it on.

1) Hamilton.
2) Raikkonen.
3) Bottas.
4) Ricciardo.
5) Vettel.
6) Verstappen.
7) Magnussen.
8) Grosjean.
9) Alonso.
10) Ocon.
Edit, Oki after FP1/2 this is looking unlikely Haha.

[Monster Hesh]

Caught a bit of the F2, their medium tyres were literally falling apart. Bits flying everywhere. Not sure how much of the construction and compound matches the ones used in F1.

[Monster Hesh]

A good testing session for all teams, except Max's RedBull. FP2 is the only representative practice session, I'll start to get excited if its a similar result at the end of FP2.

[Jody Barton]

If the grid looks anything like that after Q3 I think we'll all be happy. However, given how rapid Lewis was out of the box without even trying, he still looks the man to beat. However, we might actually have a two stop race.

[Jody Barton]

Ok... either Mercedes are sandbagging and saving engine modes massively... or their car does not like this track at all. If their pace was genuine today, and RBR and Ferrari were running their normal programs? Well, Mercedes could be third quickest here.