Australian F1 GP - Vettel off to a good start to title defence

The 2011 F1 season finally got on its way with the Australian F1 Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel got his world championship defence off to the best possible start in Albert Park.  Vettel took the checked flag with Hamilton about 22 seconds behind him.  


Mercedes' Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg did not have a good day.  Both having to not complete the race.   


Vettel now leads the world championship with 25 points to Hamilton’s 18, Petrov’s 12, and Alonso’s 10, while Red Bull lead the constructors’ title chase with 35 points from McLaren on 24, Renault on 15, Ferrari on 14, Sauber on 10 and Toro Rosso on one.


     

Button wins Melbourne GP

Jenson Button moved within six points of the world championship lead on Sunday with a superb victory for McLaren in a dramatic Australian Grand Prix. Who says F1 racing was boring .... there were lots of action and incidents.

A rain shower just before the start saw the field start on intermediate Bridgestone tyres, and after a brush between Button, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher, then a heavy crash involving BMW Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi, Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg in Turn Six, the safety car was deployed.

When racing resumed on Lap Five drivers then had to judge the best time to switch to slick tyres as the track began to dry out in places. Button made the decision first, but it seemed premature as he momentarily slid off the road as he rejoined from his pit stop on Lap Six.

By Lap Eight, however there were wholesale pit stops as the road dried out, by which time the Englishman had climbed back up the order. When the final stops had been completed by Lap 11 Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel had a one-second lead over Button, with Robert Kubica third for Renault ahead of a mighty scrap between Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, fast-starting Felipe Massa for Ferrari, Red Bull’s Mark Webber and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton as, further back, Alonso recovered having been spun to the back of the pack at the start.

On Lap 56 Hamilton got alongside and fractionally ahead of Alonso, but the Spaniard braked super late, locked up and just maintained the position, and as Hamilton was obliged to back off a fraction Webber charged into the back of him, spinning them both off. The Australian was subsequently reprimanded for causing the collision.

Thus Kubica brought the Renault home a brilliant second from Massa, with Alonso fourth from Rosberg and the recovered Hamilton, who had put in the drive of the race. The final point went to Schumacher.

After a gripping race Alonso still leads the world championship with 37 points to Massa’s 33, Button’s 31, Hamilton’s 23 and Rosberg’s 20. In the constructors’ stakes, Ferrari still lead with 70 from McLaren on 54, Mercedes on 29 and Renault and Red Bull on 18.

Australian F1 GP - Guess who won?

Not Ferrari, not McLaren. It's Brawn GP !!!!

Who would have expected a team, which few months back was practically non-existent after Honda announced its withdrawal from F1 GP, would emerged winners and taking the top 2 spots on the podium.

Imagine ... with Honda pulling out, both Jenson and Ruben were practically looking at losing their job in the driver's seat. Then came Brawn GP, with their sponsor Virgin. With their new technical director, Ross Brawn at the helm, the car was blowing away its competition during the testing phase.

Despite the official protest on the Brawn's car diffuser design, Jenson Button led the race from start to finish. This was a historical win for Brawn. Its maiden F1 GP race and Brawn clinched the top 2 spot on the podium. This car is really looking to be way ahead of the rest of the field.

Ferrari clearly struggled during the race with steering problems (Massa) and tyre problems (Raikkonen).

Looks like Brawn GP will be giving Ferrari and McLaren a run for their money this 2009 season. Next stop ..... Malaysian F1 GP at Sepang.

Australian F1 GP - 27-29 March 2009

Time flies .. and it is the month of March already. That means that we are coming to the start of the 2009 F1 Grand Prix season.

The 2009 season will start with the race in Australia on the 27 Mar 2009, with the actual race on 29 Mar 2009. Can't wait for it to start. I hope that the red car will triumph this season.

Season's race schedule: http://singaporef1gp.blogspot.com/2008/11/latest-2009-schedule.html