Round 1: Australia 2015 - Race

Greetings Internet, 

After yesterdays qualifying session I wondered if I recognised the sport in its new guise and I ended the day wondering if I had been a little harsh - after all there hadn't actually been a race under this new era. Today that race has taken place, and so we have a greater understanding of what lies ahead of us for the remainder of the season - even if the Australian GP is a bit of a unique case. From the evidence and scenes that unfolded on the other side of the world in Melbourne only served to confirm and reinforce the thoughts I had at the conclusion of qualifying. I think things are looking a little grim from many perspectives - McLaren have already written off the early part of the season as a testing and development phase. Manor are still not ready due to various technical incompatibility between the 2015 ECU software and the 2014 engine in the back of the car. Force India missed most of testing and are still in a development phase - so out of the ten teams on the entry list only 7 are actually ready to compete. To make matters worse in Australia the suspected injury to Valtteri Bottas was confirmed in the morning to be significant enough to prevent him from competing. If that wasn't enough, it has become apparent that Renault have lost ground to their competitors - affecting another four cars. So will all those issues considered, 20 cars arrived in Albert park - ten of them are already at a significant disadvantage.

Did that harm the event that is the Australian GP, undoubtedly for various reasons the race started with the field at only 75% of the approved entry list and 11 cars short of the ultimate grid capacity. It is an unfortunate state - the grid hasn't been this thin and depleted since the infamously poor 2005 US GP in which 6 cars started and finished. The last time the grid was this genuinely weak in a season was back in the 80s according to the commentators - it is an embarrassing state of affairs. As the season moves forward grids will improve as reliability improves and Manor get on their feet - and start races. The issue lies in how long will that take - will McLaren be staring at the back row for months or weeks, will Renault sort things out... nobody knows. It is a sad state of affairs when even the biggest of teams and a manufacturer with an extensive history can't pull together in time for round one.. We may as well gift wrap the title now because Mercedes are simply and effortlessly crushing the opposition.

The Race

Even before the start the grid population was dropping further - we were all set for an 18 car start, but Bottas' withdrawal dropped it to 17. On laps to the grid the 17 became 15 as Kevin Magnussen pulled over when bits started falling out of the back of his car... along with some oil and a lot of smoke. Alonso must be looking on at the car he is supposed to be driving with great despair. Kevin's departure was followed up by the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat - it appears the new Renault system doesn't respond to being stared at. A hydraulic failure put pay to his hopes of starting the race for the big team... and so there was 15.

Who ever was left for the start lined up on a minimalistic grid to welcome in the new season - and with so much extra room you'd think it would be so much easier to negotiate the frantic lap. The first three cars did have no problem getting safely through turn one - but the rest of the drivers less so. Raikkonen was the faster starting Ferrari and was ahead of Sebastian in turn one, Vettel remained on the outside and argued the case. This edged Raikkonen wide, Carlos Sainz Jnr than ran into the back of Raikkonen's Ferrari activating the anti-stall mode. As he recovered he moved across the track making contact with Felipe Nasr, Nasr then made contact with Maldonado and after a slide Maldonado made contact with the wall. The Lotus was out, and so was the safety car. The other Lotus was also out - a failure of the control system ended Grosjean's race also on the opening lap.

And then there were 13 - one lap of running and the grid was seven cars down

At the restart Rosberg and Massa were nowhere near the car in front, Hamilton was gifted an unchallenged lead into the first corner - and as we have seen so many times before, vanished off into the distance. Nasr was the only driver to make ground on the restart - easily breezing past Sainz in the chronically underpowered Toro Rosso, Riccardo also followed through before turn three. Raikkonen attempted to follow suit but was only allowed the outside line and couldn't make it through. Further back, not that there was much of a field to be at the back of, Perez was instructed to hand a place back to Ericsson whom he passed as the safety car was called for Maldonado's shunt. Unfortunately for Sergio, Ericsson was behind Jenson so the Mexican would have to drop to the back of the field in a lowly 13th place. Everyone else stayed in position and Lewis carved a 2.4s lead... a very ominous sight

The field had paired off into groups - Mercedes out front, Massa and Vettel for the last podium place Nasr with Ricciardo, and Sainz for company. Little Max, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg. Ericsson in a world of his own and then Jenson and Perez in a battle for the honour of being last. The majority of this groups of cars were fairly static, the following car unable to capitalise on a DRS advantage or even run in close proximity to the car in front. Vettel powersliding through turn four (not turn five as Verstappen thought it was) as the level of grip in the turbulent are faded away. Raikkonen was having a slightly more effective time in recovering lost ground on the opening lap. The Finn had to deal with the Toro Rosso of Sainz Jnr - and with ease drove round the outside of the Renault powered car before turning into the turn 9/10 chicane. Allowing him to catch up with the Nasr, Ricciardo battle.

Perez and Button were having fun fighting over 13th and last place - Sergio was forced to drop behind Jenson and Ericsson, but the Swede in the Ferrari powered Sauber was long gone. Button held off the attacks of the Force India driver as two teams who were not ready for 2015 cycled round at the tail of the field. Perez made an attempt down the inside of the fast turn 11, which is normally a done deal but Jenson held on round the outside. Perez clearly had the faster car, well everyone has a faster car than a McLaren at the moment. Sergio had another go at turn three, but it appeared Jenson didn't see the Mexican arriving on the inside and turned in.  Contact was made and Perez was turned around - Jenson looked to have taken the only damage but the McLaren is so far off the pace it doesn't really matter too much.

It was soon pit-stop time - and it with so few cars running you'd think that this would be a simple phase of the race... but no - teams still showed signs of not being ready. Ferrari, supposed to be the most influential squadron on the grid had difficulty putting on Raikkonen's rear wheel, Toro Rosso took even longer to sort out Sainz's tyre change and demoted both drivers back down the field. Raikkonen recovered some of the ground with a decisive move down the inside of turn 12 on Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber. Pit stop strategy was part of the things Williams were criticised about in 2014, being too conservative and passing up on potential race winning opportunities. Sadly for Felipe Massa they were out strategised again - this time by Ferrari - Felipe was called in for his stop and rejoined behind Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull. The time lost trapped behind the slower car allowed Sebastian Vettel to pit and rejoin in front of the Williams and claim the final podium place. In a way there was a almost nostalgic feel about today's race - many cars absent from the running order, and positional changes taking place in the pit-lane rather than the track...

After the round of the stops nothing too much happened - and to be honest not too much happened thus far. Verstappen was running long on the medium compound tyres inside the points, just ahead of Raikkonen who was recovering from his poor stop. The Finn had no problem dispatching his second Toro Rosso of the day - Ferrari power plus DRS easly trumps Renault power on old worn tyres. When Little Max finally pulled in for some new tyres, the car left the pit-lane trailing smoke from the exhaust - within a lap the car ground to a half at the start of the pit-lane entry. Another Renault related problem forcing another car into retirement... and then there was only 12. With only a couple of more retirements Jenson Button and the McLaren team might end up with a point. Further back another example of the development that Ferrari have made on the engine front as Ericsson in the Sauber - with the help of DRS eased past Perez's Mercedes powered Force India. There was once a time when a Mercedes powered anything was exceptionally difficult to overtake - even with the DRS. But I think it was more indicative of the struggles faced by Force India as a team - because Sainz in the Toro Rosso was able to easily catch up and we know that the Renault power unit is considerably sub-par.

Raikkonen was due a second stop - opting for an alternate strategy to move onto the medium compound tyres. But alas due to the damage done on the first failed pit-stop the rear wheel couldn't be fitted properly and Kimi powered away from the stop with a loose wheel. After a call on the radio, Raikkonen pulled the car over on the inside of turn four... and then there was only 11... It did mean that Button was now in the points after a third difficult pit-stop demoted Perez to the back of the field. This battle for last place was actually worth one point now, and a symptom of the current start of the sport where simply finishing the race could put you on the score board. Nothing to do with speed or performance, and it was both speed and performance that were missing from Jenson Button's McLaren. Sergio's Force India easily caught up to the Honda powered car, and opted to use the same corner to effect a pass as the one he collided with Jenson in earlier. This time the Force India gave the McLaren plenty of room and executed a safer, contact free pass. Demoting Jenson into the only non-points scoring position. 

With so few cars still running and those that were still on the track were reasonably well spaced apart - there were no real battles going on. Rosberg would occasionally close the gap to Hamilton, but Lewis would push a little harder and open the gap further, just to rub it in. Vettel and Massa were running a comfortable distance apart and a enormous margin behind the Mercedes pair. Nasr was still in fifth for Sauber - a huge improvement over a season with no points at all - Nasr did have Ricciardo in close company but the Red Bull, despite being slightly faster had no answer to the straight line speed of the Ferrari engine. Eventually Ricciardo began to drop back from the Sauber leaving Felipe alone, many, many seconds behind the other Felipe in the Williams. Hulkenberg and Ericsson circulated a considerable distance from each other - after Marcus had scythed passed Carlos Sainz's Toro Rosso. It looked like Sainz was starting to struggle on his tyre-set and even with the power disadvantage of the Renault engine he was easy pickings for the pace of the Sauber later in the race. 

Perez was on course to catch the Toro Rosso of Sainz in the remaining laps, but it time was against the Mexican, not enough laps to cover the distance and double his points total. It seems as if the positions were locked in to the end of the race. Hamilton and Rosberg cruised home to another effortless victory, starting 2015 in exactly the same dominant fashion they won 2014 with. The two Mercedes came close to lapping fifth place Nasr in the Sauber, but only five cars finished on the lead lap. Vettel brought the Ferrari in third on his debut for the red team ahead of a former Ferrari competitor - Felipe Massa. Felipe was followed by the other Felipe, this one an a Sauber, not bad for a rookie an unfavoured team struggling with legal issues. Ricciardo was the lead Renault powered car finishing in 6th, the first car one lap down for Red Bull. Hulkenberg took 7th for Force India - points for a team that were a long way behind in the development stakes. Ericsson scored more points for Sauber, in 8th ahead of Sainz and Perez. 11 cars finished the race, and therefore only one driver didn't take home any points. That fell to Jenson Button in the McLaren, the new Honda partnership is going to take a little longer to get right...

The Bonus Points Championship

With so few cars involved it becomes more challenging find enough drivers to assign points to but here goes.

25pts - Felipe Nasr - For someone who hasn't seen the track and missed FP1 due to the Sauber legal case, scoring a top 5 is a good result.
18pts - Lewis Hamilton - Utterly dominant, painfully so but deserves points
15pts - Kimi Raikkonen - Along with Nasr probably passed most cars today
12pts - Marcus Ericsson - After a poor year with Caterham in 2014, this Sauber drive is a massive improvement and the first Swede to score points in a very long time
10pts - Jenson Button - For getting that McLaren to the end and for the battle with Perez being one of the few good things going on
8pts - Sergio Perez - Made the race a little more interesting with the battle for last place with Jenson Button
6pts - Carlos Sainz Jnr - Another rookie getting involved with the battles around Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Nasr
4pts - Max Verstappen Jnr - Even as a toddler the little Dutchman did a good job of keeping out of trouble until the car decided he was past his curfew time 
2pts - Daniel Ricciardo - Has to have some points for being the lead Renault powered car  
1pt - Arnold Schwarzenegger - Putting the Terminator on the podium

-1pt - Ferrari - Surely after many, many years of competition putting a wheel on is not too hard for you
-1pt - The Stewards - For not penalising Ferrari, Red Bull have been penalised for the same thing as well as many others, but not Ferrari... yes the wheel didn't fall off but it wasn't attached properly and the regulations state that is a penalty.
-1pt - Toro Rosso - For completely messing up Carlos Sainz's stop and removing a car from a potential battle.

Will Malaysia be better

Probably not, yes we should have a larger compliment of cars taking to the grid - but there is no guarantee they will all function in the punishing heat and humidity of the tropical environment. Honda have already pointed out that they are keeping the engine power down due to worries about over-heating, if anything is going to cause overheating - it's the tropical climate. We do hope that Manor can get the car running and on track - it might be pushing it a bit to make it within the 107% rule in qualifying but at least they might be out of the garage.

The relative performances may not change, Mercedes will be out front and Williams will be fighting Ferrari for the final podium place if reliability doesn't get in the way. Red Bull, Sauber and everyone else who isn't McLaren are in a third class of cars behind them. But the gaps between cars may be even larger than they were in Albert Park - both engine power and chassis will be tested more considerably in Sepang on a bigger, faster permanent circuit. The middle of the pack may be re-arranged slightly but I think we'll see a more representative picture of the pecking order - if of course the traditional tropical storms don't get in the way.