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A qualified outcome in Melbourne

Daniel Ricciardo needs everything to go right to claim the Australian F1 Grand Prix. (Source: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)
Roar Guru
25th March, 2017
8

The disappointment which accompanies unrealised expectations reared its inevitable head on Saturday at Melbourne, as Mercedes reasserted their dominance in qualifying.

Following the winter of eternal optimism, these 60 minutes at the season opening event always break somebody’s heart, and in this instance, the German marque’s rivals are left to contemplate another campaign making up the numbers for want of a better phrase.

Lewis Hamilton spent pre-testing insisting that Ferrari had established itself as favourites, yet the Briton swiftly rebuked his feined concern with a galling display during the first session of relevance in 2017.

Establishing a fresh pole position lap record by a considerable margin with a 1:22.188, was a devastating statement of intent that Mercedes aren’t going anywhere.

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“I’m so proud of our team… the guys have just worked so hard to make this car what it is today”, expressed an elated Hamilton.

While Sebastian Vettel admirably split the Silver Arrows, the Maranello outfit continues to lack the final crucial tenths as feared.

Hamilton’s sixth pole at Albert Park and fifth in the past six seasons is testament to his inherent single lap pace around the street circuit. The sole respite is that the three-time champion has failed to convert this to victory twice in his past three attempts. In each case, his Silver Arrows teammate triumphed.

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The Brackley outfit cannot be accused of anti-competitive conduct, having dealt with the regulation upheaval following three seasons of peerless domination. Conversely, their opponents must accept their collective failure to seize the initiative which tearing up the rulebook presents.

This invites the notion whether the changes were necessitated in the first instance, though it merely consolidates Mercedes’ looming entry into the lexicon of all-time greats in transcending eras.

Ferrari’s wisdom in topping the timesheets at Barcelona, only to leave the ultimate objective to be desired once the season commences poses the renewed question of its presence in the sport outside of selling cars. Even if Saturday confirmed that inroads have been made, boasting the second fastest car on the grid isn’t synonymous with greatness.

For the frustration of the Prancing Horse continuing the myth, thirteenth on the grid, despite labelling as “nothing to celebrate”, represents a huge triumph for Fernando Alonso and McLaren – on account of the Spaniard’s tenacity despite his obvious discontent, belying the crisis presently gripping the Woking outfit and its besieged supplier Honda.

Red Bull affirmed the reality that they remain a way short of the mark, with the quiet impatience manifesting in Daniel Ricciardo’s accident in the third session, while Max Verstappen wasn’t in the mood to wait behind his teammate in the preceding session.

A central theme in coming weeks and months will be to witness when the bloodletting takes effect at Milton Keynes if progress isn’t forthcoming, and Renault clearly has a job on its hands to avoid a recurrence of 2015’s finger pointing.

Mercedes has swept all before it in recent times, yet time doesn’t stand still and the need to evolve was placed before them.

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Saturday at Melbourne established that its competitors are immediately faced with returning to the drawing board.

Confirmation that the bandwagon which hasn’t stopped rolling since 2014 remains in motion will be realised by Sunday evening.

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