[TorqueyTechie]

Man oh man who would have predicted a Ferrari win! I knew that they can give a fight but didnt know they are so fast! Hope they continue in the same vein for the entire season. Ferrari and Mercedes going neck to neck and Red bull to joining the party sooner would be great for the F1. Its time that we had serious competition.

P.S I am happy for the Ferrari but I dont like Vettel!

[deetjohn]

Well done Ferrari! A win much needed for the sport.

Mercedes made a strategic blunder and made it easy for Ferrari. Think they got too influenced by Lewis' comments over the radio as he was not too comfortable in the car early on while leading.

Some experts like Craig Scarborough were predicting Ferrari to be strong early in the season based on the testing form but were wondering whether the team has it in them to continue development as the season goes on. He expects Mercedes to be very strong once we get to Europe.

Looks like a good season even though the opening race was a bit boring.

Anyways, what better way to start a season than with a win. Looks like Ferrari' strategy of shutting the media out and working hard behind the scene is paying off. Kimi got the fastest lap I think. It was funny to hear Horner telling Max the fastest lap is just too fast for them at the moment to go for.

[jfxavier]

2017 could not have started better. Advantage Ferrari.



What a start for Vettel and Ferrari for 2017.



Mercedes made a costly mistake with the strategy to call for undercut.
Looks like the cars are not going to be easy racing close behind one another.

[fz_rider]

Well this will put pressure on Raikonnen. He was no where near in terms of performance. Ferrari looks competitive, Raikonnen needs to finish in top 4 to bring Ferrari the elusive constructers championship.
A bit of action in the from the SFI's was exciting.

[GTO]

I was very hopeful of a good fight after seeing how the gap to Mercedes has shrunk in qualifying. Then, after the lights went out, the way that Vettel was able to hang onto Hamilton's tail, I knew the game is on.

A flawless drive by Vettel - congratulations to him & Ferrari . Italy will be partying like mad tonight. This might just be the shot in the arm they needed and I'm sure that Ferrari are going to put all their might & money behind this year's championship. They now know they can beat Mercedes. It's good for the sport too - Formula Yawn just became Formula One again.

Am disappointed by the rather mediocre drive put in by Hamilton, and the quick tyre wear of the Mercs. The challenger has just given the champions a knock out punch - that has got to be a wake up call for the reigning team. Kimi & Bottas put in even poorer drives today, being completely outpaced by their team mates.

Solid performance by return-from-retirement Massa & Sergio Perez . Amazed Fonso brought that truck up to 10th position in the race!

This is going to be an exciting season. And the cars are looking menacing as ever.

[shibujp]

Great to see that the new Ferrari is upto speed. This augurs well for Formula 1 as if today is any indication we are going to see a great fight between Hamilton and Vettel. Bottas, Vestappen, Riccardo and Raikkonen also have the firepower to throw a spanner in the fight as well.

Can't wait to see what a race would look like if Hamilton was not held up by Vestappen like today. This should also tell Lewis that Vestappen is no pushover.

I think Bottas put in a great drive given he is in a new team with a new car. The only disappointment to me today was Raikkonen who should have been able to challenge for a Ferrari 1-2.

Drive on,
Shibu

[Hatari]

That turned out nicely for Ferrari!

Very interesting to see Mercedes have the qualifying pace but are slightly down on race pace mainly due to tire wear. With the new rules this year making for lesser overtaking and fewer pitstops this could actually give Mercedes a big advantage. Track position is key and without being held back by Verstappen, Lewis would have won.

I see this trend continuing, makes for an exciting contest ahead.

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

2017 could not have started better. Advantage Ferrari.

Mercedes made a costly mistake with the strategy to call for undercut.
Looks like the cars are not going to be easy racing close behind one another.

Just a role reversal of 2016 Australian GP where Ferrari blundered with their strategy while leading the race. But today, I would say it was the hot pace set by Vettel in Ferrari made Mercedes for that hasty pit stop with Hamilton.
With all the hype about new regulations, wider tyres, fast cars and close races, it seems the advantage still remains with the top 3 teams. Just see the time gap between them and other cars



And this is what Alonso has to say about the Mclaren-Honda performance.

"I think we are last," Alonso said after the race. "That's the performance we have now.

"We were [running] 10th because the qualifying lap we had yesterday was extremely good [to take 13th on the grid].

"The start, I was lucky to gain one position and the [Romain] Grosjean retirement gave us the second one. I think in normal conditions in the normal circuit we should be last.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-1...rdict-despite/

[amitoj]

I recorded the race and watched it today morning. McLaren got their strategy wrong and Ferrari got theirs spot on and that made all the difference in the end.
It was also nice to see both the pinks in the top 10!
And the way Bottas was able to catch up to Hamilton, I think Hamilton might be fighting a challenge from within the team as well, although McLaren will probably rally behind Lewis rather than Bottas
EDIT: For me, Ocon's move on Alonso was the highlight of the race

[narayans80]

I couldn't quite understand why Mercedes even pitted Hamilton at the first place. Verstappen is quite a defender, wasn't a good idea even if overtaking was easier. Vettel did keep the pressure on, keeping within 2 seconds to Hamilton for a good 20 odd laps.

Even if they can keep the race pace going, I don't see wonders happening without quali pace.

[GTO]

For the unlucky few who missed the race, here are the highlights. The new F1 management has promised to become more 'online' friendly (something they lacked in the Ecclestone era):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3cfJCOSq8Q&t=261s

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

I would say it was the hot pace set by Vettel in Ferrari made Mercedes for that hasty pit stop with Hamilton.

IMHO, that was a face saving measure. The way that Vettel was catching him, being overtaken was inevitable. Better to lose a position in the pits than be overtaken by your arch rival in the opening race!

[sgiitk]

I am wondering whether Merc is harder on the Tyres that the Red Devils. The latter got a much longer run with the Ultra softs. Also, it was good to see Ferrari get their pit strategy right, in having Vettel pit when he did, and then leave Hamilton stranded behind a slower car.

[sun_king]

Originally Posted by narayans80

I couldn't quite understand why Mercedes even pitted Hamilton at the first place. Verstappen is quite a defender, wasn't a good idea even if overtaking was easier. Vettel did keep the pressure on, keeping within 2 seconds to Hamilton for a good 20 odd laps.

Even if they can keep the race pace going, I don't see wonders happening without quali pace.

I don't think they had much of a choice. By lap 14 Kimi was 14 seconds behind HAM and losing about half a second per lap. Push the pit stop any further and the Merc would probably emerge right behind Kimi, what if Kimi is deliberately slowing down to hold back Hamilton?

And then again, if you cannot overtake the car that would eventually finish fifth on track, there is nothing much to whine about. Seb had the faster car, I believe Merc's gamble denied us the delightful sight of the red car easing past the silver machine in a DRS zone. The Merc hegemony of the hybrid era is finally over, as Seb said "... we are here, here to fight".

Source: http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formul...information-19 "History Chart"

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by GTO

IMHO, that was a face saving measure. The way that Vettel was catching him, being overtaken was inevitable. Better to lose a position in the pits than be overtaken by your arch rival in the opening race!

Spot on, better to beaten on strategy than on the track with pure pace. More so because of the domination of Mercedes over the past 3 years. Saving grace.

Interesting times ahead. Hope the fight continues even in the qualifying.

[Knowall]

Im happy for the sport that Ferrari won, I wish Red Bull had a faster car to add to the mix. Renault, Toro Rosso and Haas look to be at par or slightly above Force India, while Williams is clearly 4th, only with Massa though.