The Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance

So .... with the 2019 season arriving this weekend, any motor (petrol) heads out there!?

Personally, with Australia FP2 done, here are my thoughts :
- Mercedes are WAY ahead, but that could be sandbagging by Ferrari
- Old man Raikkonen sits 6th in an Alfa Romeo, alongside the Ferraris! Is he really is that good?!
- Ricciardo looks decent in a Renault, but not world-beating!
- Holy poop did Williams sink! I didn't think they'd be this far back, even though being last was obvious.

Now just waiting for qualifying to arrive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZQlijoP0BU

Thoughts!?

Big F1 fan here! Forzai Ferrari.

Very predictable FP2, but we'll see if they can hold back Vettel in qualifying. I still don't agree with the Leclerc move, but I'll give him some time to adjust.

How about Kimi in that Sauber/Alfa Romeo?! You really see talent in performances like that.

I'm worried Vettel may be fading and can't match Hamilton's finesse. But I still think we'll see Ferrari ahead of RB all year.

And lol, still laughing about RIC moving to Renault. Good luck over there buddy.

Warriors wrote:Big F1 fan here! Forzai Ferrari.

Very predictable FP2, but we'll see if they can hold back Vettel in qualifying. I still don't agree with the Leclerc move, but I'll give him some time to adjust.

How about Kimi in that Sauber/Alfa Romeo?! You really see talent in performances like that.

I'm worried Vettel may be fading and can't match Hamilton's finesse. But I still think we'll see Ferrari ahead of RB all year.

And lol, still laughing about RIC moving to Renault. Good luck over there buddy.

Alright! An F1 fan in the PEBAverse! Nice!

Despite what most 'pundits' say, I don't think there is a gap between Mercedes and Ferrari. There is no way! I think Vettel will be right up there (or Leclerc, in some minor role) in qualifying!

3 hours until Australia qualifying!

I think Vettel will be right up there (or Leclerc, in some minor role) in qualifying!

I agree! Would love to see RB step it up this year. Have you watched the F1 documentary on Netflix yet? Haven't had a chance myself.

Warriors wrote:

I think Vettel will be right up there (or Leclerc, in some minor role) in qualifying!

I agree! Would love to see RB step it up this year. Have you watched the F1 documentary on Netflix yet? Haven't had a chance myself.

I watched the first few episodes and , man, Gunther Steiner of Haas has one hell of a potty mouth! haha.. and Horner and Abiteboul REALLY, REALLY, don't like each other
It's an almost orgasmic series! You gotta find a bit of time and watch it. It's totally worth it ! haha

I've been following as well. Being Dutch I naturally root for Verstappen. I think Vettel showed that he isn't the same class of driver as Hamilton last year, but I'd love to see him or Leclerc unseat Mercedes. I like Bottas a lot, so I hope he wins some this year.

AUSTRALIAN GP QUALIFYING SPOILERS AHEAD






Exciting Q!

Hard to deny the kudos due to Mercedes...but a few observations:

1) How about Lando Norris? Anyone who can take that McLaren POS and qualify with Alonso numbers is a winner to me. Very excited to see if this is luck or a baseline.

2) Mercedes may have locked out pole, but to me the car looks shaky. Did anyone else note this? Lewis straight up blew a corner in Q2, and I doubt it was user error. I think the Mercedes has some stability issues, and that's going to add up tomorrow. Possibly wishful thinking.

3) Thrilled for Charles Leclerc, even if I've been doubting him since I heard Kimi was demoted. He may have put on softs early, but he performed incredibly for a young, rookie Ferrari driver and really recovered well from that first Q1 lap.

4) Rooting for Haas this year to enter the competition for midfield. Grosjean and K-Mag have been so unlucky. If the cars hold up, look for these guys to be the new Renault.

Here is my race prediction :

- Bottas will be fast, and if he can get over his 'beta male' tendencies, he could challenge Hamilton tomorrow... he has the pace for it. But, his team could prevent him doing that.
- I think Red Bull will get the best of Ferrari. Obvs talking about Verstappen, as Gasly had a dreadful qualifying (welcome to the REALLY BIG big leagues, kid!)
- Haas will finish, probably quite well, in their paranoia to repeat their screw ups from last season. If they screw up a pit stop today, dude needs to be fired at this point
- Kimi will have a great radio quote at some point in the race, and he will finish somewhere in the points.
- Williams will majorly suck, and Claire Williams will get that much closer to getting her pink slip (if she wasn't the team's founder's daughter).

I expect a Mercedes win, but fought between the two drivers.
Expect Verstappen in 3rd on the podium.

Let's see how wrong I am

I predict a DNF for Lewis and a 1-2 lockout for Ferrari. Not biased at all!

Haas will both be in the points. Kimi will be high, VER will be 3 or 4. Bottas will crap out late.

My F1 fandom is a good 10-15 years out of date, as I remember watching JOS Verstappen behind the wheel Forza Minardi!

Trendsetters wrote:I expect a Mercedes win, but fought between the two drivers.
Expect Verstappen in 3rd on the podium.

Let's see how wrong I am

Just the part about the battle...

Well done!

Something definitely not right the the Ferrari PU. But I'm satisfied with Leclerc's drive.

Gasly has a lot to prove this year, and it wasn't a great start for him.

How about Bottas?! Such a dominant drive.

Leclerc could have definitely caught Vettel, to be honest. But, his career is still young. Lots of time to get business done. Looks like Ferrari potentially have the real deal for the future, though!

I couldn't believe how bad Gasly's weekend was! Gonna give him another few races, maybe it was just bad luck/timing/whatever, but man .... starting 17th and finishing out of the points in 11th in a Red Bull .... that's worrying.

Warriors wrote:How about Bottas?! Such a dominant drive.

Totally! What a beast!
I blame it on the new beard He finally found his Finnish 'sisu'

I don't think Gasly is used to having a car much better than those around him? I was surprised F1's Winner/Losers article didn't include his lousy showing.

so, the Bahrain Grand Prix is coming up next weekend. Any thoughts?

- Is "Bearded Bottas" really the alpha male he claims to have become, and willing to challenge his 5-time champ teammate Lewis?
- What will Ricciardo do in his second race in a Renault? Ripping off your front wing 200 meters into a race is not exactly a stellar start....
- Is Red Bull the real deal again with Honda power and Verstappen driving?
- Will hotshoe Leclerc challenge 4-time champ Vettel again in the battle within Ferrari? Is he really up to par with the champ yet?
- Gasly will need a stellar performance to prove he is Red Bull material. If not, Kvyat is frothing at the mouth...
- Williams. How bad will they be? Can Kubica legitimately keep up with his team-mate at all? If not, what do you do with him?