Greetings Internet,
The day in Australia started with a meeting between all of the team principles and powers that be to discuss the annoyance that was qualifying. A quick unanimous decision saw them reverse the decision they made in the preseason to go for the elimination qualifying. So in Bahrain we will go back to the older format which actually fits the way the current cars are configured. So there was positivity in the air - and by the end of the day it wasn't the only thing to be sailing through the air. The Sunday was considerably better than Saturday and delivered a race of extremes, from some questionable team radio, strategy decisions and of course some extreme destruction. But what we did have was a much better race than many of the outings of 2015 which does bode well for the rest of the year.
At the Start
Out of nowhere we were told that the start procedure had been reconfigured to a single clutch release approach in contrast to a double one - to give the drivers more control. Not that it mattered to Daniil Kvyat who broke down at the end of
Things settled down and started to look quite interesting, and it seemed like cars were having great difficulty passing each other - as Hamilton struggled to deal with Massa. That battle was interrupted when Magnussen rejoined and got in the way and allowed Lewis to move ahead. He next came across Max Verstappen, and at this stage the dutchman was not completely livid, that would come later. Normally this would not be a problem for a Mercedes, catching and passing a car with a slower engine... except this time Toro Rosso have got themselves a faster power plant. This confused Lewis as he called the team to ask what to do. New radio regulations meant there was no available answers to the question. Then the first round of pitstops came into effect and released Lewis to chase Nico.
Rosberg and Vettel also pitted reasonably early - and rejoined ahead of traffic. In a galling state of affairs for Hamilton, Nico caught him before the briton pitted indicating he was an entire pit stop ahead. A few more laps went by as others played the strategy game before the race got turned upside down
A McLaren Gets Redesigned
While we were staring at a Ferrari 1-2 the camera cut to Esteban Gutierrez sitting in the gravel with a deflated tyre. A wider shot didn't reveal much more until Martin Brundle pointed out that rolled into utter oblivion against a tyre wall was another car with Fernando Alonso staring at the anihilated wreckage of his McLaren. A slow motion replay revealed that Fernando touched the back of the Haas in front of him and fired into the wall before turn three, sheering off the entire left side of the car. It then hit the gravel trap and took off, completing a full barrel role in the air and flew for several metres before cartwheeling into the wall. Due to the magnitude of the shunt and the amount of debris the red flag was thrown. Which royally messed up the strategy for some drivers, but really helped others. Ironically it was the second Haas that benefited the most by gaining a free pitstop and tyre change.
Some teams were drawn into an interesting strategy decision - Ferrari went with the softest tyres and attempted to outrun the competition while Mercedes played the long game with the harder option.
On the restart
When everything got started again it seemed as if Ferrari had made a bit of mess of the strategy, as had several other teams at the front of the race - with the exception of Mercedes. Over the coming laps several drivers started to see the error of their ways - having to pit to get rid of the softer tyres they put on after the red flag intervention. Raikkonen was the first one to come trundling down the pit lane - not so much because he needed new tyres, but because the Ferrari was on fire. Not in performance terms but in literal terms, and two Ferrari's became one... and the other one was clinging on to a tenuous lead. Jenson and the Toro Rossos pitted first - and it was the Red Bull junior squad who were causing a bit of bother. Sainz was pitted first, despite being the second car on the road - likely for strategic reasons, but when Verstappen pitted the tyres weren't ready for him. Who knows why - Max claims it was a miscommunication of some sorts but who knows.
But things were more entertaining at the other end of the points as Jolyon Palmer was making friends with the Toro Rosso team - headed by Carlos Sainz. Behind the Spaniard was Max Verstappen, who seemed to be losing his mind and was already very cross. Now Mad Max was positively livid - swearing down the radio demanding the team to force Carlos to let him past. Which was childish and absurd - Sainz eventually passed Palmer and Sainz followed. Even though the battle with the Renault was over, the complaints were not... and Max issued a tirade down the radio which was bang out of order.
Elsewhere other drivers were also finding out that the soft and super soft tyres were not the right call, forcing them into the pits to ensure they could get to the end. When Vettel pitted it suddenly became a Mercedes 1-2, despite the carnage of the day the same result had already formed.
The end is nigh
With laps running down to the end of the race, the running order had mostly settled - Vettel was trying to make amends for the strategy problem by and late stop by hunting down Hamilton. It seemed like an unlikely prospect but when Lewis locked up into turn nine, the gap instantly closed up. Leading to a potential fight for seconds place. Alas much like qualifying that didn't pay off, Vettel slid off the track in the penultimate corner losing too much time avoiding some debris before re joining.
Where did that debris come from I heard a grand total no no-one asking, well remember Livid Max Verstappen and the fight he was having with Sainz and Palmer. Well having passed the Renault the caught a train of cars headed by Romain Grosjean in the remaining Haas car. Romain benefitted massively from Alonso's exploding McLaren and got a free stop and lots of free track position. They stuck the medium tyres on and were set for the rest of the afternoon. Behind Grosjean was Hulkenberg and Bottas - followed by the squabbling Toro Rossos. Max was clearly furious and was throwing the car everywhere, including a massive sideways moment out of turn 12. Somehow he kept the thing out of the wall and kept chasing Sainz, in the end he tried ramming Carlos out of the way - spinning himself in the process. Karma strikes when you least expect it.
So the race finished with a Mercedes 1-2 - with Rosberg taking a victory he earned at the first corner with a decisive move on Lewis in turn one. Vettel completed the podium for Ferrari - Ricciardo and Massa rounded out the top 5. A miraculous performance from Grosjean in the Haas, even if it was fueled by good fortune scored him 6th place. Hulkenberg, Bottas and the squabbling Toro Rosso's took home the final points.
Bonus Points
Today there will be full points, and lots of them - that was an entertaining start of the season and better than most of the previous one.
- 25pts - Romain Grosjean - 6th place for a completely new team is a very strong result, yes strategy handed Romain the place, but ability kept him there
- 18pts - Fernando Alonso - Walked away from an enormous shunt, but that moment where he sailed through the air was mind blowing.
- 15pts - Sebastian Vettel - A brilliant start and pulled away from Rosberg for a while, and a spirited recovery charge after the red flag
- 14pt - Carlos Sainz - Didn't get riled by Verstappen's rant and complaints and kept doing his job under the pressure
- 12pts - Nico Rosberg - After being mauled in qualifying Nico laid down the law in turn one and drove a very strong race after that
- 10pts - Kimi Raikkonen - Another fast starting Ferrari and held his ground until the strategy took over and then the car caught fire
- 8pts - Daniel Ricciardo - Barring an unfortunate strategy call Ricciardo was on track for a home podium in an underpowered car
- 6pts - Jolyon Palmer - A strong debut today, racing Alonso on lap one, Bottas later on and then the two Toro Rosso drivers
- 4ts - Pascal Werhlein - That Manor GP car gained so many places on the opening lap, but lost out under the red flag
- 2pts - Lewis Hamilton - Still recovered to take home a podium after falling to 7th on the restart
- 1pt - Martin Brundle - How he spotted that McLaren against the wall I don't know
- -1pt - Max Verstappen - Was very immature on the radio today, under the illusion he should have things his own way... well tough
- -1pt - Rachel Brookes - Wrong Haas Rachel, the F1 team is based on the NASCAR team with Gene Haas, not the CART/Indycar team which is Carl Haas. Rather mixed up the introductions there didn't we...
Bahrain Next
Well hopefully the fun we had in Australia can carry across to the Bahrain GP in a fortnight's time - on a track where overtaking is slightly easier and we might not have colossal accidents. Although, the last time that Gutierrez was at Sakhir he was also involved in an accident involving a car sailing through the air - in that instance it has his car performing the acrobatics. But we don't have Maldonado to help out this season.
The night race in Sakhir has seen incredible races, notably in 2014... when Esteban flipped, so maybe with a new/old qualifying format and a close field we might be in for one again.
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