2016 Australian GP

By the time the Australian Grand Prix finished, our time clocks were all mixed up. That Sunday was a sleepless blur and my post race blog never got written.

The sixth place “Win” by Romain Grosjean was simply incredible. All along I’ve been touting the engineering prowess of Gene Haas, and in the first race it all proved effective.

The Haas F1 Team is still in testing mode in my Book.

Our instant prayers were answered when we saw Fernando Alonso emerge from the obliterated carcass of his McLaren MP-4-31. And Esteban Gutierrez was not a welcoming way to start his stint in his new ride. But perhaps the safety demonstrated by both cars will further inspire the drivers to push their limits…

But I’m sure Esteban Gutierrez has had a burning nag since Australia to get back to it. All drivers are anxious for their next race. But to have a car taken out surely must also hold some unshakeable anticipation that never got unleashed.  that pent up ambition for Esteban will push him. I just hope he does not dance over the edge.

I suspect Haas F1 Team crew chief is also feeling a bit of pent-up stress, waiting for that first ever pit stop under fire. I’m not exactly clear if it  is Matt Borland run pit crew or not. But a F1 pit stop is like orchestrated landings on an aircraft carrier deck, but quicker. An effort on that magnitude of performance is driven from the top down, and it speaks to the team culture and discipline. I suspect and expect good pit times from the start. Anything under 4 seconds is acceptable, under 3.3 seconds would exceed expectations!

I must comment on Max Verstappen. I’ve now categorized him in the same group with Johnny Manziel and Justin Bieber. Arrogant is not the word I’d use… snot mouth punk is more like it. He seems to have an air of entitlement about him. All I’ll say is this… if this were the 1970’s Philadelphia Flyers NHL locker room, Fred Shero would have a picture of Vax Verstappen on the locker room wall and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz would have a new mission in life. There is a reason rookie hockey players don’t shoot off their mouth.  Regardless…

GAME ON TORO-ROSSO!!!

And a final thought…

There seems to be a common understanding that thee Haas F1 Team exceeded expectations. I expected an 8th finish, so 6 is definitely better. But i was not surprised. I expected the car to be competitive. And Gene Haas seems to have an expectation that he can win in F1.  He’s a super smart engineer that designs CNC machines… how fucking complicated is that? Plus he’s run a NASCAR “racing outfit” since 2003. Based on the 80/20 rule, enough of that experience will translate into a substantial benefit!

I’ll leave it at that for the 2016 Australian Grand Prix.

And for my BadgerGP team, the Epic Carbon Burners, we finished 293 out of 6667. Not bad, about the top 4%. and for the record my selections are posted at the bottom.

Hey Haas F1 Team, you notice I was all in Haas!