Welcome, one and all to my very first review of the 2011 Formula 1 season! My plan for these reviews is to provide you, the reader, with the highlights and points of interest for each race, rather than give a blow-by-blow account of each and every lap. Having said that, please feel free to make suggestions about what you’d like to read here!
So, 25-27 March saw the Qantas Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and we had our first taste of drama before the race even began. Saturday’s qualifying session saw HRT-Cosworth and their drivers, Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi, being disqualified from the race proper following their inability to lay down a lap within 107% of the fastest set. This is the first time that we’ve seen this ruling enforced and I have a feeling that we’ll see it again, with HRT-Cosworth often feeling its brunt.
Although this could not be described as the most exciting race Formula 1 fans have ever seen, it was far from dull with a number of surprise performances and excellent tactical and technological strikes. Following impressive practice and qualifying laps, we saw a strong first 6 line-up with Sebastian Vettel in pole, followed by Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and, to the surprise of many, Vitaly Petrov at number 6. Other surprises in the grid line-up included Felipe Massa at 8th and Michael Schumacher starting at a lowly 11th. Following a puncture at the beginning of the race, Schuey limped along for 19 laps until finally having to retire following damage sustained to his car, surely an early blow to this skilled, powerful driver so early into the season. His retirement was one of five during the race, the two most notable being those by Williams-Cosworth drivers, Pastor Maldonado in the 9th lap and Rubens Barrichello in the 48th, who both suffered transmission failures.
Now we’ve got the starting grid and retirements out of the way, let’s look at some of the big highlights of the race. First off, let’s look at Button’s drive through penalty. During an exciting battle with Felipe Massa, Button attempted an overtake, which saw him cutting a chicane. The rules state that, when a chicane is cut and a car overtaken in the process, the driver that cut the chicane must relinquish the lead. Rather than allow Massa to pass immediately, Button waited for instructions from McLaren on how to proceed. This did not happen and a steward’s inquiry ruled that a drive through penalty must be served. Following what many are describing in a major error in the judgement of a skilled and experienced driver, Button finished in 6th place overall.
On now to, in my opinion, the drive of the race: Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. Petrov spent much of last season becoming overly familiar with the walls guarding many a racetrack. But on this, the first race of the new season, he started on the grid in 6th place and put in a storming performance, earning him a startling third place on the podium. This was by far Petrov’s best ever drive: His finishing qualifying in 6th place was quite the surprise but for him to finish 3rd overall knocked this fan’s expectations out of the park! Petrov’s performance was strong from start to finish, with well calculated and executed pit stops. All in all, a shining example of how a driver and team can work together to pull a surprise performance out of the bag. Renault are no doubt incredibly buoyed by Melbourne’s results and are hoping for a repeat performance.
Now, on to 2 drivers making their début for Formula 1 and proving that they’re talent to be watched. Firstly, Paul di Resta. A strong, confident drive from Force India’s new driver, who started in 14th place and finished 10th, getting himself onto the drivers’ championship scoreboard. The second impressive début drive came from Sauber’s Sergio Perez, who started the race in 13th place and finished in a mighty 7th place after a spectacularly bold 1 pit race. But, the celebrations were deeply short-lived when both Perez and Sauber’s other driver, Kamui Kobayashi, were disqualified following a ruling by the FIA that their rear wings contravened technical regulations. Sauber originally pledged to appeal this decision but, following closer inspection, conceded that the mistake lay with their internal checking process in relation to the wings’ dimensions. The disqualification of Perez and Kobayashi, who finished 8th, resulted in Di Resta finishing 10th and earning his point.
Finally we turn to Red Bull who, without the aid of the re-introduced KERS system, went on to finish 1st and 5th from 1st and 3rd. It should be noted that, since the race, Red Bull have looked into the settings and calibrations on Webber’s car and advised that changes will be made prior to the next race in Malaysia because, although it was originally thought by them that the power output was the same for both cars, this has turned out to be – as many Webber fans thought – slightly inaccurate. As a follower of both Red Bull and Webber, I await the result of these tune-ups with great anticipation.
Well folks, there it is! My first ever Formula 1 review! I hope it hit the spot for y’all but, please, feel free to let me know if I’ve missed out stuff you’d like to see covered. Until next time, fair F1 fans, I bid you adieu.
