To the delight of F1 purists, Finland’s man of monotone Kimi Raikkonen won the Australian Grand Prix.
As the cars fire up in Sepang today for the Malaysian race on Sunday, what were the big talking points on the flight from Tullamarine to KL?
The results from Albert Park may be irrelevant
Those of us who survived the boredom of the Michael Schumacher Championship years are now risking heart failure at the level of on track action in the average race.
The race on Sunday had seven leaders! Over 50 passes for position! To top it all, there was a victory to a popular driver who was not fastest or even right up the top in any other session of the weekend.
To make matters even more confusing, the results of the Australian Grand Prix are not a benchmark for the rest of the season.
The temperature was much lower and the track much more slippery then what the drivers can expect for the rest of the year. This weekend’s race at Sepang will prove a much better barometer of what we can expect for season 2013.
Outstanding beginning for Lotus
Kimi won his second Australian Grand Prix with a terrific drive, making key overtaking moves when he needed to, and looking after his tyres well enough that he could use one less set then Alonso and Vettel and still cover them at the end of the race.
I have never been a Raikkonen Raver but must acknowledge that his return to F1 has seen a far more mature and thoughtful attitude to temper the recklessness or indifference he often showed at McLaren and Ferrari.
Lotus lacks the resources of Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren to develop their car but right now, they have a terrific machine being driven by an in-form top quality driver. I don’t know if they can keep it up but they certainly started the season better than anyone else.
Red Bull has the fastest car, BUT!
And it is a significant ‘BUT’. Just as he has for the last four years, Adrian Newey has produced the fastest car for an unimpeded lap of a race track.
Indeed when Sebastian Vettel steamed off the start line and gained his customary two second first lap lead, the race appeared to be following the usual pattern. Instead he inexplicably fell back into the clutches of the Ferrari’s and Raikkonen who jumped past him, leaving him stuck in third.
This is probably because his car is very slow in a straight line. During practice alarm bells should have been ringing when he barely topped 300kph on Albert Park’s main straight while Lewis Hamilton was doing over 320kph.
Knowing this, it was no surprise that both he and Mark Webber found it almost impossible to pass a similarly paced car.
Speaking of Webber, if he seemed unusually positive for a man who had again collapsed in a heap for his home race, it was because he was relieved just to have started the race.
Internal gremlins again sabotaged his machine leaving him fighting Jenson Button for position, a man who in normal trim, was a staggering two seconds a lap slower.
It is likely that Red Bull will sort themselves out and be more suited to the warmer and more abrasive tracks. But until they do they will haemorrhage points.
The Mercedes and Force India Garages are already getting a little chilled
Each season brings new partnerships and there is always a guilty pleasure trying to spot the teammates who are going to fall out or at least have a titanic on-track rivalry. This being the case, it will be well worth keeping a very close eye on the Mercedes and Force India garages over the next few races.
I was fully expecting Nico Rosberg to get annihilated by Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes but he is clearly a match in pace for the Brit and up for a fight.
Hamilton will be especially fun to watch, since his gushing enthusiasm for his new team is likely to calm somewhat after yet another weekend toiling away without possibility for a win.
This could be especially hilarious since he has been making numerous unkind remarks about McLaren for having the temerity to pay him millions of pounds of drive one of the fastest cars on the grid for six years and expecting him to do PR work as well.
Honestly, the nerve of these people!
The failure of McLaren and Williams
Hamilton is unlikely to be homesick for Woking as McLaren has produced a very disappointing car. It was clear from the first session that last season’s front runners were right back in the midfield.
Indeed, new drier Sergio Perez found himself behind the man who replaced him at Sauber, Nico Hulkenberg. Further back on the grid an even worse scenario was played out at Williams with Maldonaldo and Bottas behind the Toro Rossos and struggling to stay in front of the Marussia of Jules Bianchi.
The good news for McLaren is that they have the resources and know how to turn the car around and be back at the front by mid-season. The same cannot be said for Williams who lack the funds for a fast turn around and will probably be mired at the rear for the next 19 long race weekends.
Jules Bianchi, Wow!
I could easily get carried away about Bianchi but instead will let you ponder this. The last time a driver debuted at Albert Park and spent his very first race way in front of his teammate and harassing the established teams, it was 2001 and he was named Fernando Alonso.
We are being treated this weekend with prime time action with the race on ONE at 7pm Sunday night, coverage kicks off at 6:30 AEDST. Qualifying will also be broadcast in the same time slot the night before.
If it is anything like the Australian Grand Prix, we are in for another treat.
Dippa666
Guest
I can't believe what happened last night! Gutted for Mark. Fifth to first only to have his team-mate rob him by disobeying team orders. Well done to Mark for keeping it together enough not to knock Vettel out, both on & off the track! I'm not sure i could have done the same.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Gday Dippa Do you remember he qualified like 2nd for Jaguar in 2003/4? at Malaysia? And ended up out of the top ten by the first corner? I'm with you mate, you watch them in the flesh and you realise there is a guy in there (normally a very short agitated European guy) trying to wrestle a bull in front of you. The sound, the violence of the acceleration, the ability of them to stop so quickly. It is an incredible experience. I work at Olympic Park, and I dragged one of my work colleagues down to free Practice for the V8 Supercars this year. She was blown away, and I asked her to try and imagine the F1 as being so much louder and faster and brutal that they make the V8s (A very good race series) look slow in comparison. Enjoy the race bro and keep all your fingers crossed for Mark!
Dippa666
Guest
I have worked as a marshal at both Adelaide & Melbourne. Adelaide had more of a party atmosphere but Melbourne is a better run event. Both GPs had something going for them and each city brought something unique to the event. Let's face it though, if Melbourne were to lose the GP Bernie would take it overseas. I'm sure they could squeeze another one into the Middle East or maybe a second Chinese GP. Shanghai or Hong Kong anyone? I think seeing the F1s in the wet Qualifying session on Saturday afternoon has rekindled my passion for the sport. Over the last few years with the introduction of DRS and other regulations i had come to see it as too regulated and the overtaking as artificially created. But standing by the wall on the exit to Turn 9 during the wet qualifying and watching them struggling to put the power down for the back straight i renewed my appreciation for the power of the cars and the skill of the drivers. Bring on Malaysia! Let's hope Mark can do a lot better at what is traditionally one of his better tracks.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Good on you Johnno! Hope you enjoy the season. You make an interesting comment about Adelaide, the members of the F1 fraternity who went there, always preferred it to Melbourne, citing that the city embraced the event a lot more since it was a smaller town then Melbourne. That is one of the reasons that the new Grand Prix in the US is being held at Austin, quite a small city in American terms but one that thoroughly embraced the event. You are right though, if we lose the GP it won't be coming back unless some Mining Magnate pays squillions to have them race around Port Headland!
Johnno
Guest
There is an old saying, careful what you wish for. I liked the F1 Grand Prix in Australia. And for all the knockers, saying get rid of it, about 2 years later everyone will be saying bring the F1 grand prix back. Keep an F1 grand prix in OZ, and ignore the haters i say. Many people like F1, if you don't like F1 or appreciate some seriously fast machines, and dedicated drivers don't watch it. Gonna be good at KL too. And looking forwad to rest of season, I used to love F1 in the 80's and 90's and then forgot about it post 2000. But now am getting back into it, it was a good race on weekend. If it leaves Melbourne bring it too sydney, but I think Melbourne will keep it. Be great though watching a F1 race if it went over the harbour bridge, be awesome. Love the street track of Monaco, and did enjoy Adelaide grand prix, but moving it too Melbourne was the right move. But Adelaide did have a special energy too it, but the timing to Melbourne was right, but i still preferred the Adelaide grand prix, it just felt so right in Adelaide not he street circuit and the whole city got into it, it was the highlight of the Adelaide yearly calendar. And it does bring big tourism ad to Australia too, so keep F1 in OZ, coz if we give up on it, it will be very hard to get it back if we want it back.