86 replies to this topic

[Snic]

Please rate the race objectively and not on your favourite drivers result
 
Best Driver
Worst Driver
Best Team
Best Overtake
Best Moment
DRS + Tyres
And the race in a sentence...

[Disgrace]

Brilliant race. Not a peep from Hembery or his maison du fromage all weekend.

Edited by Disgrace, 16 March 2014 - 09:16.

[KingTiger]

Better that 2012/2013.

[st99]

Best Driver: A tie between Rosberg, Magnussen and Kvyat for me.
Worst Driver Kobayashi for that start
Best Team Mercedes without doubt
Best Overtake Bottas was on fire today
Best Moment When that mechanic broke JB's FW, that was funny, but also Dan and Kevin getting their first podiums.
DRS + Tyres Not too relevant today.

 

The race was OK basically because it was the first one of the new season, but if we change Rosberg's name for Vettel's and put this one with some of last year's season, I don't think it was that much better in terms of racing or excitement.

Edited by st99, 16 March 2014 - 09:18.

[LHamilton0810]

I'm a Hamilton fan so I didn't really enjoy it at all... But in general, I did enjoy watching the race pan out and the many overtakes Bottas made!

Best Driver - Magnussion

Worst Driver - Kobayashi

Best Team - McLaren

Best Overtake - Bottas on Raikkonen, around the outside of turn 3 putting him on the inside for turn 4

Best Moment - Lewis interview, I was very glad he remained positive and is still pumped for the next race (in the race, Ricciardo getting a podium in front of his home fans was great to see!)

DRS & Tyres - DRS worked like a treat and the tyres seemed to not be a major issue compared to fuel saving

The race in a sentence - A major disappointment in terms of Lewis after such an amazing lap in qualifying and a lot of effort during the winter and testing (but the race in general, a slow but great start, just want to see some more racing now/overtakes and battles at they often just seemed to be following each other to the finish)

[SonnyViceR]

'Meh'. Yes of course better than the god awful 2012+2013 (and 2011) borefests but that's like saying that Jaws 2 was slightly less shitty than Jaws 3 and 4, it's not really much of a compliment. Now I can skip rest of the F1 season again, nothing of interest here.

 

Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge supports actually had the most exciting races all weekend...

Edited by SonnyViceR, 16 March 2014 - 09:26.

[Buttoneer]

Not many votes so far but I will say that my expectation was very high and it just wasn't met.  I voted 6/10 but perhaps I ought to have stuck and extra point in there really.

 

Although a starving man will probably think an unlucky cockroach is haute cuisine.

[DrProzac]

Wasn't bad, but nothing special.

 

The cars are quite racy, maybe they could drop the DRS nonesense..

Fuel saving wasn't extreme, the tires weren't awful.

No spectacular engine failures, only two retirements.

Good showing by the young drivers.

Edited by DrProzac, 16 March 2014 - 09:25.

[FenderJaguar]

Honestly. I have been looking forward to this all winter. What I got was partly a fuel economy run, technology that hasn't been tested enough, cars that aren't as pretty as they should be and so on. Halfway through the race I started to think who are the guys running this? and why don't they give the fans what they really deserve? Racing! So I am negative today. Hopefully there will be a big improvement and it will look as the cars are racing again. Soon.

[rjsports]

Best Driver - Rosberg, but I think all drivers on the podium did a super job.
Worst Driver - Maybe it's a bit harsh but Kimi was really poor today.
Best Team - On points McLaren, but Mercedes are ahead and we will probably see that in Malaysia.
Best Overtake - I've only seen Bottas do some nice overtakings so one of his.
Best Moment - There wasn't really a moment.
DRS + Tyres - DRS worked alright, tyres where managed. But than again people didn't really had the chance to push.
And the race in a sentence... I was expecting fireworks, but instead it was a pretty straight forward race. The mid group is close, but from P12 it's a big gap. Mercedes  are ahead but Red Bull is coming, the only weakness for them is the engine.

[skid solo]

Waking up at 5am doesn't help matters. I was nodding off towards the end.
The cars look like beasts to drive and I love to see a little snap oversteer.
Big chunks of time gained between different strategies is cool and overtaking and racing looks like it might be ok.
I haven't worried about a stalling car on the grid for many years and wondered if they were ever going to see the green light!
Mercedes is in a league of their own which could turn out to be a complete borefest like with Redbull.
If it continues Hamilton's luck needs to improve so at least we have a race.

[GoGro]

Best Driver - Rosberg, perfect job.
Worst Driver - Pérez, he was absolutely nowhere during the whole weekend.
Best Team - McLaren seem to be the most consistent, and they had a good strategy about Button pit stops.
Best Overtake - All Bottas overtakes.
Best Moment - The Marussia farce at the beginning, I was starting to think all cars would end up this way.
DRS + Tyres - No one pushes its car, so the tyres looked good. DRS useless as usual.
And the race in a sentence... The race was a bit disappointing after all this long wait, but the season looks promisiing and full of surprises; good job by the rookies and Ricciardo!

[wrighty]

Best Driver - Nico by miles
Worst Driver - Kobayashi, ridiculous error which a struggling team didn't need.  I have subsequently read that he suffered a kers/rear braking failure so that would be unfair, so i'm gonna say Vettel for being such a dick to the team as the result of a mechanical issue, given the strides they've made since testing his petulance is pathetic.
Best Team - Merc, did well not to panic when Lewis had a reliability problem, worked well all day
Best Overtake - Bottas again and again ;) (his early round-the-outside sticks in the mind)
Best Moment - My heart says Vettel breaking down and spitting the dummy but really it was Bottas working back through the field
DRS + Tyres - unnecessary and very good respectively
And the race in a sentence...'in with the new!'

 

8/10 here, really enjoyed it 

Edited by wrighty, 16 March 2014 - 09:55.

[seahawk]

I gave it a 3.

 

Reason: I do not like the fact that it seems obvious that having the Merc engine gives you a clear advantage. The aero changes seem to have worked fine, but they could have been done with the old engines as well. We traded a RBR domination for a Merc domination. In fact it looks like we will soon have to cheer for RBR to hope that the season is not going to be another 2004.

 

Rookies were good race was not bad but F1 as a whole seems a little lost to me. 

[dreamer]

Best Driver - Magnussen, Rosberg and Kyvat
Worst Driver - Kobayashi
Best Team - Mercedes for the speed.... but overall McLaren!!!
Best Overtake - Bottas... He gave us some action.
Best Moment - The start
DRS + Tyres - Never liked the Drs... Tyres were ok...

And the race in a sentence... 
Dissapointing... I was expecting more 5/10

[GT Racing Online Magazine]

Please rate the race objectively and not on your favourite drivers result

Best Driver: Rosberg did not have one mistake in the race so easy choice
Worst Driver: Koba at the start was really terrible
Best Team: McLaren, thank you Ron - Goodbye Martin...
Best Overtake: Bottas on the outside
Best Moment: slim pickens, but the start I guess
DRS + Tyres: same old, different package
And the race in a sentence; Mercedes' bench mark

looks like a 2013 repeat coming up but with Merc RB switch. Alas the best thing we can hope for is good intra battle at Merc.

Edited by GT Racing Online Magazine, 16 March 2014 - 10:21.

[Nonesuch]

Rated it 4/10. I don't recall being this bored by a first race of the season in a long time.

 

Best Driver: Magnussen. We already knew Rosberg could win from the front, but Magnussen had a nice début indeed!
Worst Driver: Räikkönen's mistakes were the most prominent, but Pérez was no match for his new teammate. You'd be forgiven for thinking he wasn't even there.

Best Team: McLaren. Solid performance by both cars.
Best Overtake: I recall one from Bottas, but it was slim pickings today.
Best Moment: Erhm ... well ... Bottas' short battle with Kimi I guess.
DRS + Tyres: Same old spec-parts.
And the race in a sentence: Dominant team doesn't bode well for the rest of 2014.

Edited by Nonesuch, 16 March 2014 - 10:33.

[Massa_f1]

Being a Vettel and Massa fan obviously I didn't really enjoy todays race much. 4/10

 

No different from last year expect Red Bull have been replaced by Mercedes with an even bigger advantage.

                    

 

 

Best Driver: Magnussen Best debut from a rookie I have ever seen considering the car.
Worst Driver: Pérez Has a Mercedes engine no excuses for no points .

Best Team: McLaren.
Best Overtake:Nothing that really stood out

Best Moment: Dan on the podium at the end, but looks like that wont stand.

DRS & Tyres-  Nothing to say here

 

I was expecting drama and fireworks ,and it ended up being like a 2013 race all over again just with a different car and driver at the front with crappier looking and sounding cars.

 

All in all - Not good.

 

Edited by Massa_f1, 16 March 2014 - 10:52.

[P123]

Best Driver- Magnussen

Worst Driver- not sure, Kimi and Bottas made important errors, and Koby either had brain or brake fade at the start...

Best Team- McLaren- both cars ran trouble free

Best Overtake-  nothing stood out

DRS & Tyres- both not part of the story, so a positive there

Race in a sentence- first day back at school

 

Overall- 6/10

[0Fritz]

A solid 1 from me. Fuel flow limit, engine noise (or lack of), post race FIA shenanigans and safety car made me uninterested. Well done FIA. 

[joshb]

'Meh'. Yes of course better than the god awful 2012+2013 (and 2011) borefests but that's like saying that Jaws 2 was slightly less shitty than Jaws 3 and 4, it's not really much of a compliment. Now I can skip rest of the F1 season again, nothing of interest here.

 

Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge supports actually had the most exciting races all weekend...

 

Not sure how you can say 2012 was god awful but anyways, especially if you only watch 1 race per year.... at least you can watch the WEC where there's 5 laps between each position by the end- all played out on tracks which are plagued by the heath and safety brigade ...

 

FWIW, thought it was a typical 2011-13 race. German wins easily, some good battles behind. Move on to the next one.

Edited by joshb, 16 March 2014 - 11:01.

[Cyanide]

Best Driver: Magnussen/Rosberg

Worst Driver: Perez (I didn't even see him during the entire race)

Best Team: McLaren

Best Overtake: Bottas on Kimi

DRS & Tyres: OK

 

6/10. It was interesting in the beginning but lost all the glamour towards the end. 

[RedBaron]

I rated it 6/10
 
Best Driver: Magnussen
Worst Driver: Perez, beaten by Hulk easily. Kobayashi was not at fault apparently car failure.
Best Team: McLaren. Mercedes are fastest but if they only get 1 car to the finish they will be weakened for the constructors.
Best Overtake: Bo77as - but once everyone got to grips he wasn't showing as well in comparison.
Best Moment: Daniel no the podium, regardless of the current situation
DRS + Tyres: Nothing to say

 

Race in a sentence: It wasn't a race. There were cars in the track but the majority weren't racing just getting to the end with issues, which was to be expected for race 1.

 

Most disappointing team: Sauber (Lotus actually did better than I expected!)

 

Edit: I am not disappointed, the foundations are in place for a big improvement.

Edited by RedBaron, 16 March 2014 - 11:30.

[ANF]

7/10. Extraordinary opening laps, a rookie on the podium, impressive drive by Bottas, and reliability once again a factor in Grand Prix racing. I'm in love with this year's cars and I can't wait for Malaysia.

[Lee Nicolle]

'Meh'. Yes of course better than the god awful 2012+2013 (and 2011) borefests but that's like saying that Jaws 2 was slightly less shitty than Jaws 3 and 4, it's not really much of a compliment. Now I can skip rest of the F1 season again, nothing of interest here.

 

Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge supports actually had the most exciting races all weekend...

The celebs had some excitement F1 style. Cars that did not run properly and went backwards. Cars that STALLED on the grid, cars that ran out of brakes. And one car had a tyre fail, seemingly not from a crash. All this in a 5 lap race. Not really a good look for Mazda.

[Zoetrope]

Best Driver - K-Mag
Worst Driver - We can't measure Bottas performance compared to Massa, so can't complain or praise for his pace, but his mistake was costly.
Best Team - Mercedes even assuming their reliability is average. I would rather win 6 races by 20+ seconds and retire 4 times than be bulletproof but only podium capable.
Best Overtake - Rosberg start was mega (even if Lewis's car was damaged, the speed differential between Rosberg and Ricciardo itself was immense) and then Bottas did a nice move on Kimi
Best Moment - Start
DRS + Tyres - DRS seemed ineffective when everyone was cruising and probably not really feeling comfortable wihile outbraking opponents. Tyres - no problem

I expected more, but probably was just naive and didn't take into consideration how much they have to save the engines. Potential was there, great mixed up grid and big unknown of each car's pace. Overall 6/10 only due to higher expectations. In 2013 I would give 8 I guess?

[Jamiednm]

Fuel saving didn't obviously affect the racing and the tyres were just right. The cars were racy and DRS felt redundant - all good points.

There was a lull in the middle of the race, but it got more exciting towards the end.

Overall, a promising 6/10.

Malaysia and China are usually amongst the more exciting races of the season, so I expect things to get better.

Great to have a race not dominated by rubbish tyres!

[SonnyViceR]

The celebs had some excitement F1 style. Cars that did not run properly and went backwards. Cars that STALLED on the grid, cars that ran out of brakes. And one car had a tyre fail, seemingly not from a crash. All this in a 5 lap race. Not really a good look for Mazda.

 

Yes but at least it's not as bad publicity as the Lola Mazdas in the USCC, now that's really pitiful PR for the marque. Also for the Celebrities, the first race in particular offered some great door to door battles before the upside down car led to shortened end. Same sort of vibe as at the Toyota Celebrity Pro event @ Long Beach

 

Meanwhile, double points copycap crap ruined the V8 Supercars event (even if Volvo coming first was nice), also the races itself weren't that exctiting at all... only little less duller than the Grand Prix.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 16 March 2014 - 12:13.

[Currahee]

 
Best Driver            Rosberg, Magnussen and Bottas
Worst Driver          Raikkonen and Perez. 
Best Team             Williams
Best Overtake        Bottas on Kimi.
Best Moment          Meh
DRS + Tyres          Meh
And the race in a sentence...  Glad it's started

[SpreadingSalmonella]

Best Driver: Rosberg
Worst Driver: Kobayashi
Best Team: McLaren
Best Overtake: Bottas vs Kimi
Best Moment: Kobayashis kamikaze attack
DRS + Tyres: -

[Atreiu]

Six, but maybe I expected too much.

[Jon83]

Best Driver - MAG
Worst Driver - KOB
Best Team - Mercedes
Best Overtake - BOT on RAI
Best Moment -Can't think of any
DRS + Tyres - Ok I guess
And the race in a sentence...  - Its not for me at the moment. 

[Jimisgod]

Best Driver

- Ricciardo & Magnussen

Worst Driver

- Kobayashi & Gutierrez & Perez

Best Team

- McLaren (for improvement)

Best Overtake

- One Bottas made

Best Moment

- Bottas passing

DRS + Tyres

- Didn't feature

And the race in a sentence... 

- Tragedy for Ricciardo. Fairly decent introduction to the new rules, but not as exciting as 2012.

Edited by Jimisgod, 16 March 2014 - 13:26.

[demet06]

Take Rosberg out of the equation and it was a cracking race. No doubt Mercedes have the fastest car but its not bullet proof. Williams, McLaren and Red Bull look quick too. Magnussen looks the real deal as does Kvyat. A shame Kobayashi took Massa out as I think the pace that Bottas showed, then Massa despite his moderate start could have been a podium contender, as would Bottas himself if he'd not clouted the wall.

[Jamelon]

Boring, boring, boring, boring...

 

F1 used to be so much better... and they expect us to pay extra to watch this (in the UK at least)? Yeah right...

[rhukkas]

We were promised retirements and unpredictability - on the whole we got none

We were promised with all the extra torque we'd see sliding cars - we didn't

We were promised exciting racing - it was utterly devoid of anything interesting (DRS overtaking is terrible)

 

It would also appear the lack of EBD means that getting traction while close to another car is even more challenging. Add the lack of any noise from the engines I'd say that's probably the dullest F1 race I've ever seen. We're lapping 10 minutes slower over a race distance than 2004... TEN MINUTES.

 

Today, for me, there were no redeeming feature. Zero. Terrible. If people think that was a good race I shudder to think what they think a bad race is.

 

There's always intrigue in F1 because it's a development formula, but for me it can't sustain my interest any longer. 

[Longtimefan]

I would like to have rated it 4-5/10 but Seb and Lewis's DNFs alone put the rating up to 8/10.

Btw Kamui had brake failure so the crash wasn't his fault, so can't really say he was the worst driver.

Edited by Longtimefan, 16 March 2014 - 13:42.

[BenettonB192]

5/10

 

Best Driver: Magnussen and Bottas. Outstanding debut from Magnussen. Bottas because despite his mistake was the only one who really put on a show and made the race halfway enjoyable.
Worst Driver: Would have vote Koba but can't blame him if it was indeed a technical defect. So maybe Perez? Just nowhere to be seen compared to his teammate.
Best Team: Mercedes
Best Overtake: Bottas v. Kimi
Best Moment: Happy faces on podium
DRS + Tyres: overshadowed by new regulations
And the race in a sentence: Brrrr brrrr

 

Didn't really care much for this new F1. Don't like the sound, don't like the new regulations and micromanagement of them. Expected a lot more excitement from this first race.

Edited by BenettonB192, 16 March 2014 - 13:42.

[Massa_f1]

We were promised retirements and unpredictability - on the whole we got none

We were promised with all the extra torque we'd see sliding cars - we didn't

We were promised exciting racing - it was utterly devoid of anything interesting (DRS overtaking is terrible)

 

It would also appear the lack of EBD means that getting traction while close to another car is even more challenging. Add the lack of any noise from the engines I'd say that's probably the dullest F1 race I've ever seen. We're lapping 10 minutes slower over a race distance than 2004... TEN MINUTES.

 

Today, for me, there were no redeeming feature. Zero. Terrible. If people think that was a good race I shudder to think what they think a bad race is.

 

There's always intrigue in F1 because it's a development formula, but for me it can't sustain my interest any longer. 

 

I have to say I pretty much agree. I really struggle to see how people found that race thrilling even if your favourite driver did well. Seriously if it was not for Bottas being out of position due to a mistake I don't think much would of happened in the race at all!  The next few races will be a real test of my 20 years of following this sport.

[OSX]

The Best Driver: Magnussen

The Race: A disappointment

[midgrid]

An interesting rather than spectacular race, and much of the interest came from seeing the new formula on action rather than the racing, although there were some good moments. I think the new formula is sound and this race was decent considering that everyone was being cautious - certainly a damn sight better than Bahrain 2010 - so I gave it a seven.

[Emilvang]

Best Driver: Magnussen and Bottas
Worst Driver: Koba
Best Team: McLaren
Best Overtake: One of Bottas'
Best Moment: As a Dane and as a Magnussen fan, seeing him finishing the finish line was great.
DRS + Tyres: Tyres were pretty solid, and DRS didn't really had a notably effect, imo.
And the race in a sentence... Welcome to Formula 1, Kevin!

[Cenotaph]

There really wasn't much of a difference between this and the typical race of the last few years. Some reliability woes and a possibly more shuffled pecking order, but the race was a borefest in terms of action, perhaps even more so than last season's races.

 

Best driver: Rosberg, Ricciardo, Mags, Button

Worst driver: Kobayashi

Best Team: McLaren

Best Overtake: what overtakes? Bottas on Kimi, i guess...

Best Moment: Button getting his dicknose broken

DRS + Tyres: DRS was overpowered, Tyres were stable, so nothing to declare.

And the race in a sentence: Mercedes 2014 champions

[garymoore]

Well,now I know what to do when I cant sleep at night? just watch a re run of this rubbish!!

 

Crap sound,crap looks but most of all CRAP `racing`

 

Cant believe people pay to watch this dross? Ill give it a couple more races and if it doesnt improve,thats it for me after 46 yrs following F1.

R.I.P.

[ANF]

We were promised retirements and unpredictability - on the whole we got none

We were promised with all the extra torque we'd see sliding cars - we didn't

We were promised exciting racing - it was utterly devoid of anything interesting (DRS overtaking is terrible)

 

It would also appear the lack of EBD means that getting traction while close to another car is even more challenging. Add the lack of any noise from the engines I'd say that's probably the dullest F1 race I've ever seen. We're lapping 10 minutes slower over a race distance than 2004... TEN MINUTES.

 

Today, for me, there were no redeeming feature. Zero. Terrible. If people think that was a good race I shudder to think what they think a bad race is.

 

There's always intrigue in F1 because it's a development formula, but for me it can't sustain my interest any longer. 

They were lapping 2 minutes quicker over a race distance than 2003.

[icecream_man]

Best Driver - Magnussen
Worst Driver - Perez (I assume he was in the race ?)
Best Team - McLaren did the best job overall today
Best Overtake - Bottas on Kimi
Best Moment - Rosberg flying through at the start
DRS + Tyres - err yeah, noticed Kimi at times wasn't using his DRS when within a second of the Torro Rosso which was odd
And the race in a sentence...Started really well but got a little bit processional, still, enjoyed it and looking forward to Malaysia which should be better. Pleased to see fuel saving didn't play a noticeably huge part          

[HeadFirst]

Best Driver - Rosberg for execution, Bottas for effort.
Worst Driver - Perez (Is he on the same team as Hulk?)
Best Team - McLaren (2 on the podium and after last year .....)
Best Overtake - Bottas on Kimi
Best Moment - the above pass
DRS + Tyres - thankfully not an issue
And the race in a sentence... Not the best in history, but it kept me awake with the assistance of only 1 espresso.  

[chipmcdonald]

Best Driver ?
Worst Driver ?
Best Team Mercedes
Best Overtake ?
Best Moment ?
DRS + Tyres ?
And the race in a sentence...

 

Boring.

 

 

 

 

 

F1 is lost.

 

You can't tell if someone is being passed because of their pace, or if they're saving fuel, or "?".

 

You can't tell what the driver is doing based on the sounds.

 

It looks slower than a BTCC race.

 

There is no more "pushing", no more 10/10ths. 

 

Vacuum cleaners and dirt bikes cruising - softly, economically, in a parade.  F1 is losing me. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by chipmcdonald, 16 March 2014 - 16:53.

[Seanspeed]

I thought it was quite boring. I mean, I have enough interest in F1 to find things to watch for, but it was far from an entertaining race.

If it had been Vettel flying away in the distance like Nico did, this would get loads and loads of 1/10's and complaints.

Edited by Seanspeed, 16 March 2014 - 17:02.

[thegamer23]

Best Driver: Kevin Magnussen
Worst Driver: Sergio Perez 
Best Team: McLaren 
Best Overtake: Bottas vs Raikkonen on the outside
Best Moment: Bottas on fire after the mistake
DRS + Tyres: Nothing to see here
And the race in a sentence: So so