Lessons learned from Melbourne

The opening race of Formula One’s new era delivered a pleasantly surprising outcome, yet many departed Melbourne lamenting the racing spectacle as teams and drivers adapted to the overhauled regulations.

Ferrari realised the expectations which testing produced, raising the prospect of a salivating showdown with an erstwhile peerless Mercedes, though a lack of overtaking was condemned as the aerodynamic age commenced.

Aside from these themes, the circus ventures to China in a fortnight with little tangible insight gleaned from the events in Australia as the grid evolves at a furious rate, thus plenty remains to be uncovered in coming weekends.

Ferrari finds its voice
Confidence, strategic precision, a little luck and most pertinently, a fast car, culminated in Ferrari proving they’re capable of more than keeping Mercedes honest in 2017.

Sebastian Vettel sat patiently behind Lewis Hamilton from the lights, never allowing the Briton to escape his sight during the opening stint, the latter blinking first on lap 17 with his tyres bereft of life.

The German proceeded to set flawless laps in clear air, while Hamilton floundered behind Max Verstappen, and once Vettel emerged from his solitary stop on lap twenty-three ahead of the pair, the race was his and Ferrari’s to lose.

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That Ferrari was brave enough to leave the four-time champion on circuit for six laps following Hamilton’s stop, laid the foundation for Vettel’s triumph. It’s telling that pitwall allowed fate to unwind – namely Hamilton’s inability to pass Verstappen despite inherent pace on fresh rubber, rather than adopting a conservative approach, which gripped them so devastatingly in 2016.

If Maranello has rediscovered its swagger and fundamental confidence paramount to success, utilising Melbourne as a template, the ambivalence which has transcended the race track in recent times can be discarded and they can move forward certain of its direction.

Mercedes boast a slightly faster car over a single lap if qualifying was any indication, though if Ferrari can remain within earshot from the outset on Sundays, and remain kinder on rubber as evidenced by Vettel’s opening stint, results could swing towards either’s corner.

Early days in aerodynamic era
Despite Ferrari’s welcome rejuvenation, sentiment was strong that overtaking has been neutralised in the wake of renewed aerodynamic emphasis following a largely processional affair at Melbourne

The fight for victory was dictated by strategy, while the solitary on-track pass didn’t occur until the dying stages when Esteban Ocon relived an ailing Fernando Alonso of tenth position.

Whether there is trepidation from drivers in close quarters or the cars are simply a handful to lie in another’s slipstream, at least there weren’t any accidents throughout the race on account of the brutality of the new designs, which caught several drivers out through practice and qualifying.

The notion that passes will carry greater incentive when they’re earned rather than by deploying DRS is appealing, and the impending development cycle as designers learn more about the cars should witness greater overtaking, though it’s a matter of patience and refinement if necessary.

The aesthetic of the new cars rendered viewing instantly more desirable, though it’ll prove academic unless the ‘show’ is enthralling, thus calls for a rethink won’t be far away if the lack of fanfare on the weekend persists.

Ferrari is back which nobody is bemoaning, though it’ll be negated if results are dictated from pitwall. Even so, labelling the new era an immediate failure would be dismissive, let China provide a more definitive reference point.