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From GMM

Although visibly annoyed, even Sebastian Vettel late on Saturday could see the bright side under gloomy skies in Melbourne.

The reigning world champion is unlucky 13th on the Melbourne grid, while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo delighted the partisan crowd by driving through Red Bull's crisis and splitting the dominant Mercedes cars with P2.

"This shows what our car can do," Vettel told German television RTL.

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko agreed: "Our car is good, as we have seen (with Ricciardo).

"Again we have had a software problem with Sebastian, so the poor performance, it was purely a software problem," he insisted.

Vettel is unlucky 13 on the grid (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

The sport might now be called "formula engine", at least in the early phase of 2014, according to Mercedes' Niki Lauda.

The German marque has got a jump on its rival suppliers Ferrari and Renault after the revolutionary switch from normally-aspirated engines to the significantly energy recovery-boosted turbo V6s.

Mercedes is in good shape as the first race approaches (Photo: WRi2)

The milder tones of the engines got the thumbs-down from the Melbourne punters on Friday, who pined for the old days of earplugs over these 'sewing machines on wheels'.

Mercedes' Toto Wolff is unapologetic.

"This is modern technology, this is where road cars are going," he said on Friday. "Downsizing is the motto and I think we just need to accept that the formula has changed."

It is not just the sport's noise that has changed. Lauda said that even though the drivers are still in the spotlight, F1 is effectively now 'formula engine'.

"For the first five races we're not going to see formula one, but a 'formula engine'," he told the Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

"Only from the sixth, seventh race will the drivers again be driving (as before)," he explained.

What he means is that the drivers are now operating very much under the control of the engineers, who are carefully monitoring fuel consumption levels and battery recharge rates.

"You can't overcharge them (the batteries), nor undercharge them," Lauda said. "Not too slowly, not too fast."

And he said a big job-list in the practice sessions is not car setup, but careful calculations to determine how Sunday's race can be run with just 100kg of fuel.

"Without engineers there is no driving at the moment," said Lauda.

And to avoid unnecessary trouble, Mercedes, which is expected to dominate this first "formula engine" race, discussed team orders beforehand.

Toto Wolff is planning ahead (Photo: WRi2)

Earlier reports suggested drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's charge for victory would be unfettered by team play.

But actually, "conversations" about team orders took place behind closed doors in Mercedes garage and the conclusion was that Rosberg and Hamilton most likely won't be taken by surprise during the race.

Wolff admitted: "We went through some scenarios and I think we're in a good place.

"We have explained to (Rosberg and Hamilton) how to respond in more than two dozen scenarios, for example if one of them is ahead but suddenly has a fuel problem. They have to be clear what to do."

From GMM

Niki Lauda has admitted Mercedes upped its F1 budget in the quest to chase down the sport's top teams.

As the German marque looks set to dominate the 2014 season with a superior 'power unit' for the new era, paddock rumours indicate Mercedes might have spent a staggering EUR 500 million on the development of its turbo V6.

The German newspaper Welt said that figure is wildly wide of the mark, but team chairman Niki Lauda admits Mercedes did make a decision to spend more.

"The budget under the dictate of the RRA (voluntary resource restriction agreement) was the first major stumbling block," said the great Austrian, "because in practice it was not respected.

"The Mercedes executive board understood that we were fighting a losing battle with the resources we had available, because McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull were not respecting (the RRA limits)," added Lauda.

You are looking at a lot of $$$ (Photo: WRi2)

Welt newspaper claims Mercedes still spends less than Ferrari and Red Bull, but a more even playing field has allowed the Brackley team to step towards the front.

The result is the new car for 2014, the W05, which according to McLaren's Jenson Button is at least a second per lap faster than any rival circulating this weekend in Melbourne for the season opener.

"They're very quick," Button told reporters late on Friday.

"We were two seconds off them in the test and I think everyone's about a second off them here," Button added.

Button said the similarly Mercedes-powered Williams cars are next best, and the Grove team's Valtteri Bottas agrees that Mercedes are all alone at the front.

"Those times that Mercedes did (on Friday) ... it doesn't matter how much fuel they had in the tank, they were really fast," the Finn told Turun Sanomat newspaper.

After a disastrous winter, it appears world champions Red Bull have taken a major step forwards for Melbourne, but team boss Christian Horner thinks there is still "quite a gap" to the front-running "Mercedes and Ferrari" cars.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, however, thinks Red Bull is in even better shape than that.

"For me," he is quoted by Speed Week, "Red Bull are (only) behind Mercedes and pretty darn fast.

"It's not a real surprise," said the German, "as Daniel Ricciardo showed in Bahrain that the car is fast when it's working on the track. Now it seems like they're getting their problems under control.

"That should be expected with a team such as that," added Hulkenberg.

From GMM

Red Bull may have had a disastrous winter, but designer Adrian Newey's attention to detail is as sharp as ever in 2014.

Keen-eyed observers noticed throughout the winter and again in Melbourne on Friday that the new RB10 did not have the FIA camera mountings installed as per normal.

Because it was only testing, the nose configuration was not 'illegal' at Jerez or in Bahrain, but the camera mountings are mandatory at the actual grands prix.

So how is Red Bull getting away with it in Melbourne?

A much closer look at the nose of the Newey-penned 2014 car at Albert Park reveals that a hole for the television camera lens has been cut between the 'Casio' and 'Pirelli' logos in the nose.

Good luck finding the camera (Photo: WRi2)

"The trick by aerodynamics guru Newey, who reads the rules carefully, means no inconvenient parts are in the wind," said correspondent Michael Schmidt.

The rules say the mountings must not be located inside the carbon structure, but Newey has found a loophole by putting the camera inside the 'vanity panel', a non-structural covering introduced last year to hide the unseemly nose steps.

Newey's solution also means Formula One Management can no longer use the Red Bull for a rearward-facing television view, whose images last year led to suggestions the title-winning 2013 car had an illegally bending floor.

From GMM

Renault is still "about a month" behind its rival F1 engine suppliers.

That is the admission of the French marque's Remi Taffin, despite the fact premier partner team Red Bull has taken a big step forwards in Melbourne after a disastrous winter.

Asked if Renault have been surprised by the superiority of Mercedes and Ferrari with the very same revolutionary rules, he told the French-language news agency AFP: "No, we are not surprised.

"This (Mercedes and Ferrari's level) is what we wanted, and what we imagined we would achieve.

Renault-powered teams are still a long way off (Photo: WRi2)

"We're not there yet, because we've had reliability problems and that caused a bit of a delay. We are about a month behind," said Taffin.

And Mercedes' F1 chairman Niki Lauda said no engine supplier is currently giving full power to its customers.

"Not even Mercedes," he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

From GMM

Sir Jackie Stewart on Saturday admitted he has a "very, very big" safety concern about F1's revolutionary new era.

"I see a very, very big problem," the F1 legend told German newspaper Die Welt in Melbourne.

Indeed, it is believed the very sort of concern raised by Stewart, F1's safety-pioneering driver of the 70s and a triple world champion, was also raised by experienced current drivers including Jenson Button in the FIA briefing in Australia.

The worry is that the new 100 kilogram per driver race fuel limit could mean some cars are aggressively saving fuel at the very same time as others are still racing flat-out.

Drivers beware (Photo: WRi2)

"Drivers who are six seconds slower than the fastest cars is a huge safety risk," 74-year-old Stewart said.

"And when you're talking about safety in formula one, it is the question of life and death," the Scot added.

"If I understand the problem, I cannot understand that others seem to have thought so little about it," he said.

Lewis Hamilton helped Mercedes stay on top of the early season's hierarchy by snatching pole position away from Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, round one of the 2014 F1 world championship.

Photo: WRi2

The Brit took his W05 around a wet Albert Park Circuit in 1min44.231s to top the timing sheet at the very last moment of Q3. This is the 2008 world champion's 32nd career pole position, and Mercedes 100th.

"It's been an interesting weekend so far here in Melbourne," commented Hamilton.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo will start on the front row (Photo: WRi2)

"It's the first time I've driven the car on the limit in the wet, but it felt great and I'm so happy with the job the team has done. To be on pole here today is a fantastic result for us. It was great fun and I'm really looking forward to the race tomorrow.

"It's going to be tough, but we'll do our best and see what happens."

Kevin Magnussen rocked his first career qualifying session in F1 (Photo: WRi2)

Hamilton's teammate Nico Rosberg qualified third, five hundredths of a second behind second-place man Daniel Ricciardo.

Mercedes-powered cars took six of the top ten positions.

Where is Sebastian Vettel? Answer: behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo (Photo: WRi2)

Qualifying results* - Australian Grand Prix (round 1 of 19)
1.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 1'44"231 - Q3
2.Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'44"548 - Q3
3.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 1'44"595 - Q3
4.Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'45"745 - Q3
5.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'45"819 - Q3
6.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'45"864 - Q3
7.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'46"030 - Q3
8.Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'47"368 - Q3
9.Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'48"079 - Q3
10.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'44"437 - Q2
11.Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'44"494 - Q2
12.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 1'44"668 - Q2
13.Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'45"655 - Q2
14.Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'45"867 - Q2
15.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'48"147 - Q3 **
16.Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'47"293 - Q2
17.Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'34"293 - Q1
18.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'34"794 - Q1
19.Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'35"157 - Q1
20.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'36"993 - Q1
21.Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - no time - Q1
22.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'35"117 - Q1 **

* Unofficial timing
** Five-place grid penalty for gearbox change

Difficult start for Lotus (Photo: WRi2)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has started off 2014 on a hot streak. He won the Daytona 500 and followed that up with second place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Although he won two Nationwide Series (then Busch series) championships in the past  he's yet to win the vaunted NASCAR Sprint Cup title, but he remains the series' most popular driver.

His early success in both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series occurred at the time of NASCAR's greatest growth. That begs the question that Dale Junior's success brings NASCAR's success or does it?

Brian Z. France, NASCAR's CEO thinks so.

Junior isn't quite sure. In fact he said he's “uncomfortable” being the face of NASCAR.

The face of NASCAR (Photo: Facebook.com/Dalejr)

“It's hard for me to kind of have my finger on the pulse and know exactly how much the needle is moving,” Earnhardt said in a press conference in Bristol, Tenn.

“They say we can't really look at the Daytona because of the rain out. The network broadcasts are about the same if not a little bit, a percentage point one way or the other. I guess my fans have been tuning in all along.”

On a personal note he's enjoying the strong run which actually started late in 2013 after a bad start to the Chase.

“We just enjoy what we do. I try not to really worry about - I can't concern myself with how much I move the needle. I think that goes outside of my comfort zone and what I feel is and what I think you need to concern yourself with if you're as an individual. I just don't think it's something -it's relevant to me of course but not important to me.

“I want the sport to be healthy. And I want to do things that help the sport and make an impact on the sport. I try to do those things always taking opinions and advice on what I can do better and what I'm not doing that I could be doing to help the sport. You want to leave a mark of some kind. We all do.

Dale Earnhardt Jr (Photo: Facebook.com/Dalejr)

“Everybody here wants to have some sort of mark left in their field and in the sport because we all care about it. There are so many personalities and other drivers and new guys coming in. It's an ebb and flow of personalities. So, I try not to get too caught up in it.

“It ain't always gonna be that way. You know, something could happen this weekend between two different drivers that reach far beyond what I could do, and that will be great. That's how the sport survives. It definitely doesn't live and breathe on everything that I've got going on. It would be perfectly fine without me, but I'm glad to be a part of it.”

Although NASCAR has had two popular seven-time champion's Dale Jr.'s late father, Dale Earnhardt, and Richard Petty you could argue that it was strong competition from other drivers which made the series so popular. Without a good fight this year Dale Jr. may be right. It's going to take other drivers, too, to bring the series back to the levels of the past.

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