The Finishing Straight - Australia (by HappyDude88)

THE first grand prix of the season is over and it is time to reflect on the opening weekend of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship in Albert Park.  Watch out everyone, because this is my personal take on the events in ‘The Finishing Straight!’

     To start off, the new rules and regulations need more time to bed in before anyone can judge them officially.  We learnt a lot today about the new formula, but it won’t be before we get to Europe when we can say whether the items that are meant to shake-up the order do so.  On first reflection, the Pirelli tyres are going to do the job required.  Well done to Pirelli for producing a tyre that not only wears down, but keeps the spectators interested all the way till the end of the race.  Once again, the race strategy effect, taken away by the refuelling ban at the end of the 2009 season is going to play a significant part.  Today, it seemed like Mark Webber and the Ferrari drivers were the ones struggling to keep their tyres in decent condition, hence their three stop strategies.  Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel seemed to have little trouble, which led to two tyre stops.  I think the nature and characteristics of the tracks will play a more pivotal role on the Pirelli tyres in relation to driver style.  As for the new DRS system, it made an unspectacular and unpromising start.  However, Melbourne is never the easiest track to overtake and the new moveable rear wing device did at least give drivers the chance to close up on one another.  Button was the beneficiary of this, passing both Kamur Kobayashi and Felipe Massa with the DRS control.  I think the DRS will work on more free-flowing circuits better, such as Shanghai, Silverstone and Brazil.  I think the FIA will tinker with the device and maybe, allowing the drivers the chance to use the device two opportunities in a single lap will help.  That decision now lies in Jean Todt’s hands.

ACTION: Massa and Button were engrossed in an early battle

     To the key moments of the race, and the best action was the early scrap between Jenson Button and Felipe Massa for fifth position.  Button made a poor start and was swamped by Vitaly Petrov and a fast-starting Massa.  It was clear that the Brit was much faster than the Ferrari, but couldn’t find a way past.  Massa was defending as if his life depended on it, and on Lap 11, Jenson had enough.  He tried to overtake the Brazilian through the fast Turn 11 chicane.  Massa gave him no space, and consequently, Button cut the chicane to gain an advantage.  McLaren alerted race control about what to do, but got no response.  Eventually, the race stewards handed Button a drive-through penalty and it was the correct decision, no matter what Jenson thinks about Ferrari pitting Massa deliberately to avoid him having to allow Felipe back through.  The replay is crystal clear and you would have thought that Button and McLaren, with the experience they have, would have done the sensible option and given the place straight back.  Alonso got penalised for a similar incident at Silverstone last year, which wasn’t as clear-cut, so there can be little symphonies with Button’s plight.  Ultimately, his actions cost him a podium position.

     The other contentious incident was the kamikaze move by Rubens Barrichello that took Nico Rosberg out of the race.  Barrichello was clearly quicker than the Mercedes driver, but came from a hopelessly long way back; expecting Nico was going to see him coming.  Rosberg had every right to turn in and would have been surprised to see the Brazilian whack his sidepod.  Rosberg’s reaction of leaving his helmet on the way back to the pits suggested his fury.  Barrichello spun and got a drive-through penalty, but a grid penalty for Malaysia might have been a bit more appropriate, because his race was screwed here anywhere and he had no chance of getting any points.  For Barrichello to claim Rosberg braked early is a barbaric comment!  More looked like you braked far too late Rubens!

SPRAYING: Hamilton's second place was a surprise to McLaren

     McLaren touched down in Albert Park in a load of trouble.  The car was not very quick, had only done an 18 lap stint, which left reliability seriously questionable and frankly, the team looked in an appalling mess.  They leave with heads held high and a chance of fighting for some competitive results.  Lewis Hamilton was terrific and looked buzzing and happy all weekend.  He put everything into the race and second place was a fair reflection of his commitment to the cause all weekend.  Button had an adventurous day by his standards, but points are better than nothing.

DISQUALIFIED: Both Saubers were thrown out after the race

     Another team that were meant to come away very satisfied were Sauber, until their double disqualification for a technical infringement.  Sergio Perez put in a phenomenal performance on his debut and thoroughly deserved his seventh place.  Kamur Kobayashi had an unexciting day by his high standards, but also picked up points.  The Sauber team have a generally fast car and could be a serious threat in the midfield.  The disqualification sounds a bit confusing and harsh.  They might as well appeal, but I can’t see them getting the points back, which feels a bit wrong for Perez and Kobayashi.  After all, they didn’t design the car, they only drove it!  A loss of constructors points sounds like a fairer outcome.

     Mercedes GP and Williams will leave the weekend with heads very well down.  Williams had a quick car in testing, but flattered to deceive badly in Melbourne.  Apart from smashing into Rosberg in the race, Rubens Barrichello spun off in qualifying with an uncharacteristic mistake and also went off on the first lap.  To make matters worse, the car looks totally unreliable, as neither car finished.  They aren’t in as much trouble as Mercedes GP are, whose pace in the final pre-season test in Barcelona looks like a storm in a teacup.  Michael Schumacher was still smiling all weekend, and was unfortunate to be hit by Jaime Alguesuari on the first lap, whilst Rosberg was the innocent party in the Barrichello crash.  However, the car lacks ultimate speed, both on one lap and more especially, in a long stint.  Even if he had survived the shunt with Rubens, I don’t think Rosberg would have finished in the points anyway.  Mercedes have a lot of work to do to turnaround a situation that looks even worse than 2010.

     Speaking about worse than 2010, the three new teams still look a country mile off the pace.  Team Lotus was a major letdown, especially in qualifying; still two seconds off the midfield!  Jarno Trulli did finish and Heikki Kovalainen was keeping up with the likes of Barrichello and Alguesuari before his retirement, but they simply haven’t delivered on what they should be capable of.  Virgin Racing also got a car to a finish in the form of Jerome D’Ambrosio, but look distant backmarkers and more like road traffic blocks.  However, in comparison to Hispania Racing, they look world class.

     Hispania Racing arrived without turning a wheel in testing and did no running in practice.  To shakedown a car in qualifying for the first race of the season is absolutely ridiculous!  Both cars failed to make the 107% cut-off and some will have to question what on earth Vitantonio Liuzzi is doing in that team!  Surely he would have been better off in a third driver role with a midfield team.  Hispania is a waste of time, a waste of money and a waste of petrol.  Quite frankly, The Simpsons could do better if they were a racing car team and not a hit cartoon family!

     Once again, Mark Webber had a disappointing weekend on home soil.  It wasn’t quite as bad as his mere of a performance in 2010, but the gap between him and Vettel in both qualifying and the race was absolutely staggering.  More remarkably, he could only equal his best ever Albert Park result, which was 5^th in a Minardi way back in 2002.  His expression after the race spoke volumes in abundance.  We have seen him fightback before in crushing fashion on numerous occasions, so it’s dangerous to write him off at your peril.  However, Vettel already has the upper hand in Red Bull from the word go this season.  Vettel was untouchable all weekend and has sent a warning to his rivals.  He looked very relaxed, calm and polished.  Considering Red Bull decided not to run KERS for the weekend, and they still had a clear advantage shows the confidence in their team.  McLaren, Ferrari and the rest will be hoping that Red Bull’s concerns over KERS reliability continue for a while to come, because once they make it work, surely they will be even quicker.

     Final word of this first blog on the ‘Finishing Straight’ has to go to the star of the weekend, which for me was Vitaly Petrov.  Petrov earnt his best ever qualifying performance and then matched it up with his first visit to the F1 podium.  The Russian is very popular within the paddock and seems to have grown massively in maturity over the winter.  When Renault signed him up on a two-year deal before Christmas, I was amazed.  Petrov really struggled in his debut season, made a load of mistakes and was especially lucky to keep his drive.  However, he showed flashes of speed last season around the glaring errors and with Robert Kubica going to be missing for a long while, looks like the real deal this season.  I sincerely hope Petrov keeps his new found form up for a long time to come.

     So, that’s it folks for round one.  I’ll be back after the Malaysian Grand Prix for more damming verdicts, more judgemental calls and more drivers being praised.