2015...so far, so average..?

Justin:

At the start of the year I tipped Rosberg to come back stronger this year and push Hamilton even closer for the world title.

At this point in time, I cannot see anyone other than Hamilton winning the world title.

He steamrollered Rosberg in Australia and is threatening the same again this weekend in Malaysia. He is on a roll of 7 wins in the last 8 GP's.

Rosberg needed a strong weekend this weekend, but no matter what he does or how strong he is, Hamilton has an answer.

Lewis didn't get as much prep time during the free practice sessions, but still stuck it on pole. Job done.

Nico will have to use everything at his disposal to try and put Lewis off his game. It's a different dynamic to last year, in that Lewis has the confidence of a world champion and with Nico giving soundbites such as "yeah, he is driving like a champion" - fighting talk that is not.

Having said that, there was a brief bit of petty handbags again as Nico disrupted Lewis' final pole run, then Lewis got in Nico's way a bit. Whether either was deliberate, who knows, but they were both piddling around for clear track position to get a clean lap.

McLaren

Interesting looking at the pictures on BBC when Alonso hopped out of his car, Ron Dennis turned around as if to address him and Alonso walked off. Whether he knew he was there is another matter.

There is still loads of speculation about Alonso's testing crash. McLaren say there was nothing wrong with the car at all. He stated this weekend that he felt the steering go heavy. Everyone else has written about this, I'll leave it to you to decide whether you want to let this rest or not.

I'm not exactly looking forward to watching two world champions piddle around fighting to see who finishes next to last (assuming the Marussia's conk out).

Red Bull and Renault

Who knows what the future holds for these two? Rumours abount that Renault want to purchase Toro Rosso and have it as a works team. What definately seems to be the case, is that this is a marriage of convenience right now.

Ferrari

Ok, you would have to say Vettel seems to have made the right move. Red Bull have gone backwards and Ferrari have gone forwards.

I still say he ran away from Red Bull. He admitted in an interview today in fact "there were a couple of things on the other side" - alluding to him not being too happy at being beaten soundly by Ricciardo. But, heyho, Ferrari now seem to be the closest challenger to Mercedes.

With Rosberg seemingly in Hamilton's pocket for the time being, Ferrari entering the fray is the only hope we have of a good season.

Driver of the day in Australia had to be Felipe Nasr. Awesome stuff!

Is F1 in good health?

My co-blogger and I were talking about this the other day. I'm not sure F1 is in great health right now. 15 cars started the race in Oz. Not great. McLaren are floundering at the back, Bernie is having a pop at "disgraceful Marussia", no German GP...

Bernie goes where the money is - ie the money paid by whomever to stage a race. He doesnt go where paying fans are. The stands and viewing areas were pretty empty in Malaysia FP. OK, possibly a naff example as it's one of the more popular newer races and is generally well attended for qualy and the race.

The old one of Monza again being under threat has come round again. Talk about ripping the heart out of F1. Spa, Silverstone, Suzuka, Monza, Monaco...these are the essence of F1 and must stay.

That said, I'm not sure about the special "bargain" price of £99 GA for a weekend at Silverstone. Most European races are cheaper. It cost me £82 for a 3 day grandstand seat in Hungary!

The reverse is that you have a lot of interesting teammate battles this year - Kimi Vs Seb, Alonso Vs JB....Ricciardo seems to have the measure of Kvyat for now. Nico needs to come back and sort Lewis. This season is shaping up like last season without the Mercedes battle - not good!

Predictions for Malaysia? As they line up on the grid - Lewis, Seb, Nico.