F1 - General discussion and 2017

Massa and Bottas crack straight on to their first flying laps of the day.
 
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Race simulation time at Ferrari? @AlbertFabrega spots the team even has its 'grid' equipment out in the pits, to make sure every detail will be run through.
 
Bottas gets on the board with a 1m23.617.
Massa with a 1m25.341s.

Next time by Massa doesn't improve, but Bottas does – to a 1m23.515s.
He's 10th, Massa's 12th.

And we see Wehrlein in the Sauber for the first time today – a 1m24.408s.
 
Wehrlein, on soft tyres, sets a 1m23.536s.
That puts him two tenths away from team-mate Ericsson's best from the morning.
 
Busy track: Ocon, Magnussen, Bottas, Wehrlein and Massa all running at the moment.
Ricciardo's returned after that brief appearance in the Red Bull.
 
Personal best first sector for Bottas, but the rest of the lap's not as good and he almost matches his best time so far.
 
Wehrlein, Magnussen and Bottas pit in reasonably quick succession.
Wehrlein's resumed, just as Kvyat flashes past.

Vettel heads out in the Ferrari.
 
It was a quiet-ish morning for Red Bull (41 laps), who have the big boss, Dietrich Mateschitz, watching their progress today from the garage and trackside.

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We were expecting big updates onto the RB13 this week but, to the naked eye at least, there's been nothing headline-grabbing just yet. But it wouldn't be Red Bull and Adrian Newey if they didn't have something else in the pipeline for Melbourne...
 
NO ENGINE CHANGE FOR MCLAREN
Honda has confirmed they will not be changing the engine that caused Vandoorne trouble this morning.
No word on whether they will be back out or not.
 
Vettel came back into the pits after emerging on the softs, but he's on track again now.
Ricciardo's appeared on softs as well.
Massa pits in the Williams.
He's already onto 14 laps for the afternoon, with Bottas reaching a dozen and Wehrlein on nine.
The lunchtime substitutes are getting on with things after that early lull.
 
I'm trackside with ex-F1 driver and now TV expert Karun Chandhok this afternoon. Here are his first observations: "The Merc looks very predictable and predictably fast. The front end looks stiff - you can see it chattering over the bumps. But Valtteri has the confidence to drive on the same line lap after lap in a way I haven't seen anyone else do yet. Though I haven't seen the Ferrari or Red Bull run in anger yet..."

Ben Anderson

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Karun, you're facing the wrong way, chief.
 
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OCON'S TIMES ON THE SOFT COMPOUND
We spoke about how Ocon's on a long run, here are his lap times on the soft compound:
1:25.5, 1:25.4, 1:26.4, 1:25.5, 1:25.7, 1:25.6, 1:25.6, 1:25.5, 1:26.0 and 1:26.2.
 
Vettel catches Kvyat coming into the final complex, and is still behind as they cross the line.

Vettel's still behind the Toro Rosso and this is costing him on what we think is a race sim.
That last lap was 1.5s slower than his previous.
 
STILL Vettel is tucked up behind Kvyat through Turn 13 and into the chicane.
Another 1m26s. At least Ferrari's getting an idea of what its car is like in traffic...

Vettel has finally cleared the Toro Rosso and is straight back into the mid-1m24s.
 
The Ferrari and Red Bull have been out on track in recent minutes, but no return as yet for the McLaren after the MCL32's quick-fire double breakdown before the lunch break.

33 laps for Stoffel Vandorne only today....
 
Magnussen has pit, so it's just Ricciardo, Vettel and Kvyat on track.
There's not a lot between them on the circuit.
Maybe 10 or 15 seconds between Ricciardo and Vettel, and Kvyat's a few seconds further back.
 
Work done for the day for Lewis Hamilton, who just has tomorrow morning left on track before beginning his quest for a fourth world title in Melbourne.

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