I thought it would be a good time to do a recap of the races that have already happened. What else are we going to do for the long break. It feels a bit of a strange season and like we never really got properly started. I must admit I hate the fact that it’s now a shorter season as well. I can’t help but think if things don’t get sorted then the season might even end in Vegas. Which would be a shame. How are we finding the new regulations? I was a bit torn to start off with but actually things feel more exciting again. I am slightly worried about Max though. I kind have hoped I would get to see him race before he retires but that isn’t looking likely now. Glad that Hadjar appears to be doing well though! Looks like the second seat has finally found its rightful owner. Cadillac haven’t exactly made a great impact but it’s not to be expected in the first year. I think with having two very experienced drivers, they will improve. I think it’s clear Mercedes are the ones to beat this year. There car just seems to be miles apart from the others. Anyways, enough of my rambling, shall we get into the Australia recap?
We start of with the three practice sessions at the Albert Park circuit. P1 kick started with a brief yellow flag as there was trouble for Piastri who reported to have no power. The home favourite got going again. We also saw a virtual safety car due to Lindblad’s car stopped at the exit of the pit lane. Aston Martin was a driver short as the car of Fernando Alonso also had a suspected power issue. It was Ferrari fans who were left excited as Leclerc topped the charts as quickest. We then move onto practice session 2 which consisted of lock-ups and taking a trip across the gravel. There was also a small collision in the pit lane between Russell and Lindblad. A better session for Oscar as he topped the timesheets and Leclerc slipped down to fifth. Lastly in practice three, we saw a different driver again go to the top with driver George Russell. Not so good for teammate Kimi Antonelli who suffered a significant crash. The problems didn’t end there. Trouble hit for Carlos Sainz who’s car came to a halt near the pit entry. Following more suspected power issues, Stroll never even made it out on the circuit to do a lap.
George Russell claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. After suffering a crash in practice 3, Kimi completed the front row in qualifying second. It was not the day for Max Verstappen, as he triggered a red flag in Q1 due to crashing out. There was some benefit for Red Bull in qualifying. Hadjar was able to claim third after edging out Leclerc for fourth. The McLaren duo were next in line with Oscar claiming fifth ahead of the reigning world champion Norris. Which led the Ferrari drivers separated with Lewis qualifying in seventh. Racing Bulls had an impressive qualifying with Lawson and rookie teammate Lindblad making his mark in eighth and ninth. Unfortunately, Bortoleto broke down on the way into the pit lane at the end of Q2. He was unable to participate in Q3 and so qualified in tenth. Then we move to the second half of the grid. Audi’s Hulkenberg qualified in eleventh. Bearman placed in twelfth. Ocon qualified in thirteenth. Gasly and Albon placed in fourteenth and fifteenth and Colapinto in sixteenth. At the back of the grid we have in seventeenth Alonso and in eighteenth Perez. In nineteenth and twentieth we have Bottas and Max. Then lastly we have the two that never made it out, Sainz in P21 and Stroll finishing in P22.
Despite Mercedes having a great qualifying day on the Saturday, they had a less impressive start on the Sunday. Charles Leclerc snatched the lead from Russell into the first corner, whilst Antonelli fell back into seventh. Ferrari’s usual behavior led to loosing that lead. They did not pit their cars during either of the two virtual safety cars that followed. This then meant that they were behind both of the Mercedes as they brought in both Russell and Kimi first. This meant they could potentially need a second pit stop. However, both drivers impressively made it to the chequered flag without one, scoring them a 1-2 points finish. A great start for the silver arrows. Although there was possibly potential for Ferrari to finish higher, Leclerc claimed the final podium spot. Another positive for Ferrari was Hamilton taking fourth and nearly catching his team mate. Not the best start for McLaren as Piastri’s home race was over before it started. The Australian spun off track after losing control at the exit of turn 4 and hit the wall. The damage to the car was too significant to continue. Norris on the other hand finished fifth.
We all know what Max can do despite a bad qualifying session and he did not disappoint claiming sixth. Gaining impressively 14 positions from where he started. Unfortunately struggles with graining forced him into a two-stop strategy but still points nonetheless. Hadjar could not finish the race. After 11 laps, he was seen slowly pulling onto the grass with smoke coming from the car. There was in fact five cars that didn’t finish the race. These being Alonso, Bottas, Hadjar, Piastri and Hulkenberg. You could technically add one more as Stroll never completed every lap of the race. It was a bit of a disaster for Aston Martin and they used the race like a practice session. On a more positive note Ollie Bearman puts Haas in the points due to achieving seventh place. We also have an impressive start to the season from Lindblad, scoring points on his debut. Lindblad claimed eighth, whilst Bortoleto took ninth. Taking the last place for points was Alpine’s Gasly finishing in tenth. It was nice to see 8 different teams taking points in the opening race. This gives us hope for a more interesting season!
There was a few stand out performances from Sundays race as previously touched upon. Both Mercedes drivers put on an impressive performance achieving a 1-2 finish. Antonelli is competing in only his second Formula 1 Grand Prix. I think he is showing as a strong replacement for Lewis. He exhibits a lot of potential. Russell must be a little worried and feeling the pressure to keep on top of his game. I know some of you may say I’m bias but we can’t not mention Max’s performance. To go from P20 to P6 is quite something. I think anyone watching would immediately rule a points finish, so to get as many as he did is remarkable. Proof if you ask me that he is one of the greatest drivers in formula 1 history. Some improvements are clearly needed with the pace of the car. Hopefully, the team addresses this issue quite quickly. Lastly, I think we need to give Lindblad the recognition he deserves on his debut. Racing Bulls have got themselves a strong lineup of drivers this year. I’m looking forward to seeing what Lindblad can do in future races. It certainly looks promising!
Let’s take a look at some of the comments from after the race. Aston Martin’s Alonso said speaking to Sky Sports, “We need to take the positives and we need to move forward. I think everyone is determined to change the situation and is working really hard.” Let’s be honest, it can’t get any worse. It was a very disappointing race for the team and I’m sure one they would like to forget. McLaren’s Lando Norris alos speaking to Sky Sports said “We finished where we deserved to. I think it was quite clear that the Red Bull was quicker. Max came from last and almost beat us.” Personally, I don’t think they were awful but it is clear they aren’t were they were last season. This is to be expected with the new regulations and it’s keeping things interesting. Lastly it wouldn’t be right without hearing from the winner himself. George Russel said “I’m feeling incredible, it was a hell of a fight at the beginning. We knew it was going to be challenging. I got on the grid and I saw my battery level had nothing in the tank. I made a bad start and obviously some really tight battles with Charles. I was really glad to cross the finish line.”
Overall this has been one of my favourite openings to a season for a long time. I can say that it was very rare that I found moments boring. Usually getting up that early for a race, I regret because it’s usually a boring one. I can honestly say it had my attention from start to finish and I went back to bed after. My overall rating would be a 9/10. I’m not going to lie it’s slightly concerning about Max. I do wonder where his head is it and interviews from him aren’t sounding good about his future. He doesn’t like the car and now he doesn’t enjoy racing either. I don’t know what I would actually do if he retired from formula 1. Aston Martin clearly have some issues they need to sort as well. Especially when the drivers are physically struggling to drive it. It’s a difficult one and it’s definitely a new era for the sport. I think it’s going to be an interesting season. The drivers as well as the viewers are going to have to get used to the new changes. I think the positives we can take from this is that we can now see more overtaking. The next race we have to recap is China which we didn’t have too long to wait for thankfully!
What do you make of the new regulations?
Amy x
littlemissminor.com 