Perhaps worth bearing in mind that, now we’re back to a more traditional thread way of posting, there’s the potential for spoilers in here.
—— SPOILER ——
Well that was interesting! Good to finally see where everyone is in terms of performance and whilst I didn’t expect Ferrari to be miles ahead after testing, I did think they’d be fractionally ahead. Mercedes may look like they’ve got a big margin but it’s worth remembering that the first qualifying session in 2018 had a similar outcome and Vettel still won the race! Still, it’s nice to see the smile wiped off Ferrari’s (and Vettel’s) face. Shame Leclerc couldn’t outdo Vettel but he’s certainly quick enough and will challenge Vettel this season.
Feel sorry for Williams and Russell, who must be looking at Lando, his beaten GP2 rival from 2018, and wish he was in a car capable Q3. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if he can work some magic in the race - like Leclerc on several occasions in the Sauber last year. Seems to have the measure of Kubica so far. I’d be a bit alarmed that Kubica managed to drive into the wall on two occasions on Saturday though. Is it lack of arm movement that caused them?
Elsewhere, looks like Red Bull aren’t as quick as they’d hoped. I’m not a fan of Vestappen so I couldn’t be happier. Still a lot faster than Renault though. I’m sure Riciardo is thinking of the long game and hoping he pulls off a Hamilton-esk move, but we’ll have to wait and see if his decision was justified over time.