…from the new Red Bull #2 and some guy named Vettel (h/t Michael):

So the cars are heavier but have less fuel and produce more torque with 2 KERS-type devices and also have an 8-speed gearbox. The engines are a throaty V6 Turbo rather than that old familiar high-pitched screech of the normally aspirated V8. Revs are also capped at 15k instead of 18k, the DRS slot is 20mm wider for better overtaking, the front wing is smaller so less downforce and the tire compounds from Pirelli have also been changed (and will hopefully be less prone to catastrophic delamination).

As with any major change in F1 — and these are fairly huge — there is a massive amount of grumbling up and down the paddock and from fans, with special vitriol reserved for the new safety-mandated lower noses (“Ugly!”) and the loss of the screaming engine note we’ve come to know and love (“It doesn’t sound like Formula 1!”). But with everyone starting from a clean sheet of paper it should shake up the field and perhaps limit Red Bull’s easy dominance of the last few years. In fact, it looks as if Mercedes has the jump on its competitors with many more testing hours than anyone else. Reliability will be a major issue, especially as regards overheating, and so will fuel management because there is still no refueling in F1 despite the reduced capacity. Therefore, tactics and excellence in engineering may outshine the individual brilliance of the drivers. But the cars themselves seem at this early stage to need to be “driven” more with throttle application coming off the corners particularly important as they are quite squirmy, so in the end the pilot will probably still have a great percentage of the responsibility for his team’s success.

While Red Bull and especially their fellow Renault-engined team Lotus seem to be particularly behind the 8-ball, it is never a good idea to make judgements this early in the season. If any team has the monetary, technical and driver resources to dramatically improve as the season progresses, it’s Adrian Newey, Sebastian Vettel and their very commited energy drink company. The truth will out after the summer break when the technical improvements really come into play. With these radical new regulations it will be fascinating to see if Red Bull and Vettel can again outpace the field as the season wears on or if it will finally be a different constructor and driver’s time to shine for the first time in 4 years.

Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix has already happened overnight (more on that later) and the race will air at approximately 2AM EST Sunday on NBCSports here in the States.