What a ripper of a race as Hamilton triumphs at Albert Park

For those of you who got up to see the Australian Grand Prix, it was more than worth the effort as one of the most exciting, chaotic and incident-filled races in recent memory kicked off the 2008 Formula One season - oh and Lewis Hamilton won it.

The young Briton in the McLaren Mercedes kept his head while all around him others lost theirs in the first race of the new era in Formula One in which traction control and other drivers aids have been banished.

Hamilton drove a mature and controlled race surviving three safety car periods, as one car after another fell by the wayside. After a catalogue of dramatic crashes only seven cars made it across the finish line with Hamilton leading Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber and Nico Rosberg in the Williams across the line.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was a creditable fourth for Renault while Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was fifth after superb opening drive in his new team and a great battle with Alonso in the closing stages.

Among the most dramatic incidents was a spectacular smash for David Coulthard in the Red Bull after a coming together with Felipe Massa of Ferrari, a huge shunt for Timo Glock in the Toyota which saw his car spinning across the track, and a dangerous incident in the pitlane for Rubens Barrichello in the Honda who drove away while the fuel hose was still attached. Fortunately no one was injured.

The race, which took place in punishing heat, proved a terrible start for Ferrari with neither of their cars finishing. World champion Kimi Raikkonen eventually retired after an incident-strewn race which saw him climb at one stage from 16th to as high as second.

For Hamilton, his second season in Formula One could hardly have got off to a better start.

Comments

[Anon]

Well, I hate to say it, but congratulations Lewis. An incredible drive, and a solid race win. I sincerely underestimated him.

But now the negative. He never was seriously challenged during the race, apart from Kubica at the beginning. He still hasn't fully proved himself.

The Impressive

Poor Kubica. His hour will come.

For a bit I had lost confidence in Alonso. As I saw my racing idol not make it into Q3 I thought that maybe he was such a whining loser. Not at all. You all saw him fight tooth and nail with Heikki. You saw him lose- and then win, in such a worse car. No one would ever have given him P4.

Bourdais- awesome! May get a point even though he retired (I thought you actually had to finish the race).

Heidfeld and BMW- Great start for the Swiss- German team and for Heidfeld. Will he get a win?

Barrichello- amazing. His fight with Kimi was intriguing and made everybody feel awed a the sheer experience and coolness of the man. Unfortunately he probably will fall to a penalty.

Rosberg- nice.

Sato- Banzai! With by far the most horrible car EVER, he eats up half the field.

The Losers

Ferrari- WHAT ON EARTH? This isn't 2005! I don't think that they have a bad car but rather that they were unlucky. Massa got hit by DC (though DC had a really cool- looking crash). Kimi was - well Kimi...

Raikkonen- what is he doing? It seems like the guy I most expected to have fun without TC is truggling the most! That weird decision to stay after the safty car pitted was reckless. It seems like, yet again as in Fuji, he will never catch Heikki. but not to worry, he'll dig his teeth in his countryman one day. He had too much fun.

DC and Timo Glock- beautiful crashes. Really spices up the sport.

Heikki- feel the bitter taste of jealousy. Lewis gets acclaimed for winning, and everybody is forgetting on how you held off Kimi and sent him into the gravel. And to add a particularly mean stinger, Alonso crushed you.

Nelson Piquet- axe him. Next! Well, maybe not. But he needs to get better fast. A Swiss- French guy named Grosjean, I believe, tests at Renault. He is fast and needs a seat.

Webber- no comment. But please Mark, stop eating that tire and go exert your rage somewhere else.

Honorable Mention

Vettel, for racing well and still looking cheerful as Bourdais went on.

[Prasoon]

While no-traction contriol rule is good that it makes the race unpredictable, I fail to see how this is going to be a step forward in terms of safety. Leave the issue of emphasis on driver n not car behind when answering this.
Kimi slipping on grass - Glock launching into air after a tiny stint with grass and then a kerb - isn't all this a step behind?
If Australia turned out with just 7 finishers out of 22, what'll happen in Monaco n likes where braking is utmost important.

Toufie!

Extremely sad for fanboys because now, every race can be chaotic. I feel sad for David Coulthard though am a Ferrari fan - had it been with traction, he could have controlled his drive. Kimi in P2 would have stayed there.

[A Parker]

Well, what can I say? I knew Hamilton was special - but his critics take a lot of convincing. I laugh in the face of those who said Hamilton's success was down to Alonso's set up skills. I laugh in the face of those who said the McLaren car wouldn't be competitive this year as they had to stop development of any Ferrari data (I bet Ron Dennis is relieved to have a pure McLaren car). I laugh in the face of those who think Hamilton is a "fluke" and "lucky" and "egotistical" and "unpopular". In fact I have a huge smile on my face right now!!!

[Nadie]

Great race of Lewis, he make it seem easy. He was so superior that he has pitted early to protect himself of SC.

Heikki did it very well also, until just at the end, when he has pressed the wrong button as Hamilton did last year. It was fun to see how Ron Dennis has celebrated his overtake over Fernando ;-)

Alonso supporters have to be happy because of his unbelievable 4th place, but also very worried about R28 performance. It's slow and probably unreliable.

But the great surprise of the weekend are the Ferraris: they are not reliable and their drivers seemed rookies today. It's very soon to do predictions, but if Lewis wins the Championship as easily as this race suggests, next year Alonso will drive a red car....

[IDR]

Lewis Hamilton dancing with the angels! (And no red devils around…)

How long will it take to see Jean Tod again on the paddock? (Officially, just for fun).

What a disaster for the Italians, the last time the two Ferraris didn’t finish the race was in 1997 (Silverstone).

Kimi’s incident during qualifying bring back to my memory a funny answer of Ross Brown some time ago in which it seems they had a similar problem than yesterday.
He answered:
“Yup, we had a problem with the fuel pump, there was no fuel to pump.”

Has not been now the same during q3, and the pump just working without any fuel to pump and, consequently, went down in Q2?

If so, Domenicali has to think a little bit about how to manage and organize the team.

On the other hand, the best possible prize to a man driving a “mule”: F Alonso, 4th position was just unimaginable after seeing the very poor performance of Renault, and the clear luck of top speed of Renault cars (17th & 18th in the ranking).

Have you seen btw, the rear wing of the BMW? It seems a “wall”! (quite a lot vertical).

And poor kovalainen, a new “finger’s slip” giving all F Alonso fans the pleasure of seeing something almost impossible at that stage of the season.

Anyhow, was very funny to see Briatore’s “poker face” after the race talking about the “extraordinary performance” of Fernando. There is a lot of work to do in Renault and I hope they work hard to see Renault at least fighting with the Williams and not too far from BMW. I’m afraid that this will take some time.

Last question, the battery of Trulli exploded under his bal**! I hope trulli still having his “natural colour” in that crucial part of his body instead of “Hulk Hogan colour”. First advice for De la Rosa, high temperature means explosion risk for batteries.

[Txus G.R.]

ANARCHY IN THE A.P. (Albert Park)

Beautiful caos,what a race!...I can't wait till the Malaysian G.P.!

Congratulations to Lewis's & Fernado's fans,we all must be happy today,and congratulations to "ANON" the most loyal BMW-Sauber fan around here,it's a pity what happened to Kubica.Also a great performance from Rosberg and from the rookies Bourdais & Glock.

My heartfelt condolences to the Ferrari supporters (Me included) what a disastrous weekend and for Heikki for pressing the wrong button at the worst moment...He could had won the race,or at least try it,why didn't he launch an attack to Lewis after the safety car?
The McLarens looked today like they are in another league...What a twist from what was expected from Ferrari after the winter tests.

Anyhow nothing is lost or won yet,I hope we can see another "destruction derby" race at Malaysia.

Regards.

[PM]

Great race - best Australian GP for a long while!
Well done to Lewis - great to see him and Rosberg up there on the podium together.Though with all this constant talk of the young guys a word for Barrichello who drove a blinder in the heat on a tricky track.Though all for nothing in the end!

[Roger L]

Great race. F1 shows signs of being human - probably too many mistakes from both drivers and teams, but great to watch.

As much as the missing TC gives the possibilty of passing (ie. if a leading car/driver lacks/loses grip), it appears to actually make it harder to pass (?). Clearly Kimi and others really struggled. The dirty aero air hasn't changed - you can only get so close - but missing TC/diff control/engine braking in the chasing car makes it just as hard to get into a good passing position (no matter the status of the team); so many recent passing moves seem to be a matter of getting the car into a position to make someone relent (who wants to race another day). No more computer diving under brakes ... good thing. Sort some of the aero out next year, sweet.

Clearly the deck hasnt been entirely re-shuffled, but make a mistake and IMHO this season you will pay more than ever.

[Lorenzo - Rome]

red at morning
(Ferrari) sailors take warning
red at night
(Ferrari) sailors delight.

Championship is still long, what matters is the end, not the beginnig (as most of you must have learned wery well... ;-)

Do not expect we give up!
Go Ferrari Go

[ABL]

Today Alonso performance was great, but I'm afraid this is unlikely the place for R28 at the very end of the season. Natural place might be 6 to 10. only in a chaotic race like in Albert Park or in wet conditions we'll see so good result for renault. Lewis only is good if he stars in pole with the best chances on his side, we´ll see when the problems will come.
Ferrari will win with Kimmi, but Massa is very poor for this magnificent car.
Alonso is clearly the only one guy able to withdraw the best of a car even this rubbish R28

[Pau]

It was a fun race, as usual a lot of fighting in the middle of the standings but no real fighting at the top.

I think this will be Hamilton's year, he did great and Heikki is not up to the standards and won't challenge him as Alonso did.

Alonso showed he is not dead, his fight with Heikki was incredible, but in races where 15 cars finish he will not stand a chance to score points.

[javiervivaespania]

Smashing race by Magic Alonso. He said for TeleCinco after the race: "Kovalainen pressed the wrong button, too, the one that slows down your car (great joke, Fernando, you are cunning and so funnily ironic) and that was fantastic, I was really upset when he overtook me two laps before but when I overtook him, well, I think that was the best passing of the whole weekend. I really wanted to finish before at least one of the McLaren's cars and we did it"

He is cool, isn't he? Go, go, Alonso.
I take my hat off for Hamilton too, he has made the most of Alonso's teachings. I have to admit he has learnt a lot from the master. But Alonso is still the master.

[Insider]

CONCLUSIONS:

Hamilton: good, solid race. Made no mistakes. Had fantastic support from Kova and no real pressure (so he had a calmed race). Under those circumstances, no likely to make mistakes. Probably this was the easiest race he is going to have this season.

Massa: no comment. The only one who could have put pressure on Hamilton and failed in the first corner. Pathetic and very poor. Made things easy for McL and Hamilton. Also making things easy for Luca di Montemezolo - Alonso in Ferrari next year?

Kimi: chaotic, brainless driving. He had to risk, but what on earth was he thinking?

Kova: he is not that good, is he? He assumes very well his role as second team driver. This will help Ron Dennis and Hamilton. No internal Team fights as last year.

Alonso: Good drive. Better result than expected. Took advantage of Kova and Kimi's particular fight. Unfortunately for him, he is not driving a good car. No driver could win a championship with a car like that (not even Senna, Schumacher or Fangio) - unless the R28 evolves more than the rest (and quickly).

Kubica: now becomes clear that P2 was achieved with the lowest fuel load. He got P2, but timing of first pit stop proved costly. Bad strategy. He is a good driver and will have more chances.

Heidfel: well, just Heidfel

Rosberg: I am happy for him. Solid performance in what appears to be a good car. Expect more from him this year.

To all of you: It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish

Long live Ferrari

[sakkarin]

Prasoon

"what'll happen in Monaco n likes where braking is utmost important"

They'll have to learn to DRIVE the bloody things, that's what they're paid for.

[Paddy Andrews]

Paragraph 2: Surely it would be difficult to fit the whole of young Britain into a McLaren Mercedes... Maybe the proofreaders were a bit spaced out after their early rise.

[Liam Russell]

Why has everyone forgotten about Jenson Button; he hardly figures a mention?

[Anon]

I HATE DAMN PENALTIES

Kimi in qualifying. Glock ten positions. Drive- thru for Rubens.
Disqualification for Rubens. Penalty for Nakajima in Malaysia.
I was wondering how funny it would be to see Hamilton jump on the scales and than realize he was much too heavy.

The regulations are much too complicated. These pilots are men, and they should be allowed to race like they want to. If someone impedes the other in qualifyig, great, let them crash out together in the race.

Well, with Barrichello disqualified, Kaz takes three points (putting Williams second in the constructor's, but BMW is one point behind), Le Seb takes 2, and Kimi takes one.

[marie]

I completely agree with the post that said the race was a step behind, sure there were overtaking but it seems more like a carnage than a race not taking away the fact that we did see some good moves from Alonso and Kimi---the two world champions in the grid but I remember Monaco a couple of years back where there was a huge incident and only 9 finished. What would happen now without TC. I must admit at first I like the idea of driving without TC because of the overtaking opportunities, but when Coulthard pointed out that it is a bad rule, I began to wonder why he said so...the Australian GP proved that without TC, it would just be crash after crash, and I believe it would be more luck rather than driver skill that would be highlighted here rather than the racing itself. However, I'm still optimistic that the next races would prove me wrong and that more cars would finished and actually race.

[Agustin]

Congratulations to Hamilton's supporters for a great race! I'm glad to see fresh blood on top; nice to see Heifeld and Nico up there. Sorry about Heikki doing such a silly mistake, but I'm also glad Alonso made the best of it. Is it going to take Ferrari very long to sign a couple of worthy drivers? Is it me the only one who wonders what did they see in Massa? He's not at Ferrari level, no way. Can you imagine Hamilton and Alonso driving for Ferrari? Races would be so deadly boring...

[Verbal]

Lewis drove well but nothing to write home about really (start first finished 1st) Alonso and Kubica were probably more exciting and surpprising on the day

[DANIEL NEW YORK]

HAMILTON WAS BRILLIANT AND ALONSO WITH THAT RUBBISH WAS FANTASTIC,
PLEASE.... FERRARI HIRES ALONSO TO SEE A WONDERFUL BATTLE.
IT WOULD BE THE BEST FOR FORMULA 1

[Gary Pepworth]

We have had just one race and people are making all sorts of crazy extrapolations about the season and where drivers will be next year.

I only partially agree with Insider "It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish". So far Lewis Hamilton has only been able to win a race starting from pole. It will be interesting if and when he can win a F1 race starting from a position other than the front row.

The biggest off race disappointment was David Coulthard's comments broadcast to a worldwide audience. In what is likely to be his last year in F1, it would be nice if he were to avoid following in Damon Hill's footsteps and end his F1 driving career with some dignity.

I recall that last year Scott Speed was fined for abusing DC in the privacy of steward's room. I hope the FIA penalise DC for his unsporting and possibly criminal conduct.

[javiervivaespania]

I think that after the race today Ferrari will do everything to sign in Magic Alonso next year. But they will have to pay a lot of money.

And McLaren should have chosen De La Rosa instead of Kovalainen, as he seems to have trouble with the speed pedal.

I will get a bit more technical now. I think we have seen a lot of wheelspinning and skidding out of control in the bends in this race, and Kovalainen certainly did not know how to take care of the throttle after overtaking our Champion. Drivers will learn as the season progresses. We will be assessing the results carefully, but they will have to hurry before the two-times Champion improves enough the R28. We know that he can do things with his racing cars that engineers can only dream about.

[D]

^
Iceman, Miceman!

See what happens when a Snow Leopard tries to become a Siberian Tiger?

(Do I hear a German lion chuckling naughtily in Switzerland?)

I’ve replayed that moment a dozen times, trying to decide whether Heikki deliberately suckered his fellow Finn into making a Pink Panther of himself. If so, he picked exactly the right instant to open the door and watch the resulting pratfall.

If Heikki can play the Gerhard Berger to Lewis Hamilton’s Senna (complete, sadly, with yellow helmet) both on and off the track, the two of them in unison will form a formidable combination.

Equally useful is the combination of different talents at BMW Sauber. Nick Heidfeld’s quiet determination is the perfect complement to Robert Kubica’s dazzling flair. Put them together and you have the right tool for every circuit and circumstance.

Of the two champions on the track, Fonzie’s gritty application was greatly more impressive than the antics of the Dalek. And little Nelsinho need not have gone quite so far to prove his stated desire not to threaten his celebrated team-mate with his talent.

Sebastien Bourdais’ performance should come as no surprise to anyone: he was mighty in Champ Car for many years.

[eteditor]

So good to see Ferrari comprehensively trouncing McLaren again. They can score no points without any other team's help.

[Phil J Noonan]

Overused, but Highly accurate:
A race of attrition.

I dont want to see young men giving their lives up for entertainment, but come on, this race proved that the creme de la creme of racing now have to combine skill at high speed instead of a degree in IT.

I`m sure the arguments on both sides have valid points, but I for one believe today`s race proved exactly what Sterling Moss has been saying for many many years...
Formula 1 had become pedestrian and sanitized to such a degree that the thrills and skills, AND spills, had been all but eliminated by electronic wizardry and trickery.

i`m also pretty sure that as the season settles in, and the drivers become more used to their instincts at 180 miles an hour, there will be less retirements.
Spending the winter testing a car without all the safety gizmos is one thing, but the heat of a race will ahve been a totally different thing.

Plaudits go to Hamilton for his cool head and steady drive, but big shouts for Kubica, Kovaleinnen, Heidfeld, Rosberg, and yes, Alonso.
Bourdeis was a total revelation, and definitely a must-see prospect for the rest of the year.

All in all :
Love the changes, love the excitement, love the unpredictability.

F1 is back... I , for one, am very pleased to see it and say it.

[Noel Falconer]

I was more impressed by his performance on TOP GEAR, where he drove an ordinary car apparently very ordinarily - except faster by far than we road drivers could. Britain may have its greatest track star since Jim Clark.

[Antonio Xixon but in UK]

Well, well, well...How utterly interesting opening of the season. I hope that everyone has enjoyed the result of TC being thrown out of the window...although more some than others.

I will never hide the fact that I'm an anti Hamilton person ( better put, an anti "all the circus" around Lewis, father, RD, and biased British press included. Probably without them I even would support the chap ), but today I have to give him and McLaren a 10/10: boring race for him, but job done that is what counts.

Someone was saying somewhere that where were the Alonso fans now?...well here we are, with a rubbish R28, with all the jokes and all that...4th. Yeeeees, this is one off. I agree with everyone, when all the Ferrari, BMW, and Williams will finish, THAT will be another history, and will see Renault strugling to get a 6th post...if so, but meanwhile...I'm enjoying...and more because if you saw Ron's antics when Heikki overtook Fernando...I wish they put him on the TV when seconds later happened the opposite. As Fabio said: Ron have 12 hours of flight to Malasia to digest that. Because...not being funny: does Kovalainen have the same car as Lewis. If so, he should be far quicker than Alonso, so, why he couldn't overtake him. I guess it is because:
a)He is not as good driver as Fernando, in which case what they were playing at McLaren when they let Fernando go.

b)He does not have the same car as Lewis, so cut all this talk about being equal, etc.

Never mind, fact is that now we know why BMW never wanted to hear about Fernando when he was looking for a team. Theay have, probably, apart from McLaren, the most solid team in the paddock. Kubica ( How unlucky today!! ) and Heidfeld, what a pair!. I guess that this season is going to be a brilliant one for the Munich firm. And Williams will be joining them with Nico.

What to say about Ferrary...If they want another exciting end of season, they are starting soon to drop points. Maths may not work so well this season, asFernando is not there to take some points out of Lewis, so, boiler suit and start to work, because this starts to resemble very much the last Michael's season. Anyway...what's Massa playing at?. Why they didn't realized before thay had such a mediocre driver?...what is worst. Why didn't they contrcted Fernando?. Did they think that he is uncompatible with Kimmi?. Different scenario than Lewis, Ron, his father and the British media. Maybe they are reconsidering now...

And of course the unsong heroes like Bourdais and Barrichello ( lollipop man's kerfufle included ), same that Toro Rosso has a Ferrari engine ( they should consider to upgrade the Fiat 500 one, maybe more reliable ).

I looooooooooooooooove this new season. ;)

[Targ8]

Great 1st race but lacking manufacturers that can stay on the road. Is 'alfa romeo' coming back to f1. Preview of potential alfa is available at http://www.targ8.com/f1

[doggin hq]

I agree with Noel Falconer. We have a legend in the making.

[Mazagoitia]

Give a man a onion with wheels, named R28. Put the onion with wheels in one GP F1 race.

Put also one MP24 "last generation" in the same race.

Go to the bar to drink some beer while during the race.

Look for the results, and read that the onion with wheels win the MP24.

Surely in your mind the name Alonso will appear before keeping on reading.

do you agree?

[Anon]

For all you spectators disgruntled with Lewis and McClaren, don't turn off your TV yet. I admit McClaren won the first hand mightily, but our time will come. Just like last year, Ferrari will band together and finish like they did last year in the four last races: they had two one- twos and one one- three.

Why?

1.) Rivalry. Kimi's ego must have taken some blow yesterday, and he must certainly understand that Massa is not going to be behind him all of the time. Meanwhile, at McClaren, Heikki must be feeling slightly ticked at Lewis's victory and the fact that he had better moments (like sending Kimi into the gravel, overtaking Kimi) and that everyone will forget them, but everyone will remember Lewis's win.
Oh and while he couldn't even approach Alonso in a McClaren with a Renault last year, he gets overtaken by an even worse Renault while he is in an even better McClaren!

2.) Ron Dennis. Sure, keep him on board. PLEASE keep him on board.

3.) Lewis versus ... um, a minute worth of Kubica. He scores his normal style win- pole followed by a stroll in the park. Apart from the beginning, no good moment.
no moment of challenge. We still have not seen a Lewis overtakes half the grid moment. Alonso has done it, Kimi has done it, everybody can overtake, but Lewis doesn't shine at that. I heard he overtook Alonso at Australia last year, he overtook Kubica at one point last year (right after Kubica had overtaken him), and i don't really remember anything else (there's one or two moments more, but I don't have the time to think of them all). And when he tried to overtake Alonso in Belgium and in Brazil, he ridiculed himself. As for Belgium, remember the Massa- Kubica fight in Fuji? They both pulled stunts like Alonso on Lewis in Belgium (shoving each other to the side of the road). Tey did it in a downpour of deadly rain. Alonso did the same thing to Lewis in bright sun. While everyone lauded Kubica and Massa for their cool and reckless driving, Alonso was called a murderer. But I digress.

4.) Who will strike next? BMW? Ferrari? Williams? Or even perhaps (especially in Monaco) Alonso? McClaren will be taking hits on all sides, and they don't know who is more dangerous. By a stroke of luck, Williams is behind them in the championship. I doubt it will be for long, so they don't have a clue as to whom to fear.

But let's be fair. I don't want to be a sore loser. McClaren are very good, much better than anyone would have expected. Lewis is great, much better than I would've expected. Ferrari will have to lick their wounds and get back up on their feet. Give a spanking to Kimi and Felipe, and double- check their cars for glitches. As like last year, Ferrari will have to band together, rethink their approach (lawyers!) and strike back as one whole family. They can do it. Although I'm a BMW fan (thanks Txus G.r., regards)and hope that BMW can beat McClaren too, I feel
part of a sort of Ferrari band of brothers, like the one that was humiliated time and time again last year until they made McClaren seem like paltry in China and Brazil (and of course, Paris).

Meanwhile, Alonso's grandmaster plan of getting to Ferrari seems to be working extremely well. He finished ahead both of their cars, even overtaking one. His Renault isn't good and so he can come back out of it for '09.

And then, hopefully we will get the treat of Alonso- Hamilton again, this time with equal weapons.

[teamwork-toronto-ON]

Very refreshing to see the McLaren team this year!

After a few caos years with jpm and then fa! .. so happy to see the team function the way they know best!

Thrill to see Ron so happy! well done, well needed, well deserved!! thanks to Lewis and Ron!

McLaren forever!

[ELCROWLEY]

BEST MOVEMENT ON RACE:

Alonso overtaking Kovalainen and Raikkonen on just one movement.

Remember that, only champions can do that.

[ELCROWLEY]

Hamilton said: "it's the best race I've had so far".

This guy is stupid or what?

You have raced starting 1st. So you have 95% options to win.

Ham is very good doing poles but racing...... he doesn't show how to race hard last year neither last australaian GP. Ham, the driver that can't overtake (well, just overtake last year to a "handcuffed" Kimi in Monza).

Put Ham on a medium car (Red Bull, Renault, Williams) let's see what happen.

Ham just demostates he is good and fast with the best car. A lot of drivers (not all of them) can do it .

Now i hope it is understood why Ferrari concentrate on perfecting board room politics. I am almost sure the Italian magistrate will be revisiting Woking soon following their Australian fiasco - or a possible 2nd spygate with papers this time planted directly in RD's wife's study!

On Lewis - interesting to note that he has another driver friend in Nico besides Massa. I have to gloat about Nico - he bested my expectations which were very high despite his useless qualifying runs.

I always thought there was an unspoken something between RB and Brawn - i am starting to fear i maybe right on this ground. I loved seeing the Brazilian back into his old masterful form but i will have to give him the benefit of the doubt for a few more races before i gloat.

I am also one of the few who never understood why Mercedes picked Kimi over Heidfield from Sauber to McLaren when the German had outscored the Finn - i hope Nick shows more consistency.

I loved the Podium - for once.

So all those who thought Renault was sand bagging during winter testing were right? Otherwise what the hell was Alonso doing in P4? Any front runner should keep their eyes on the tantrum thrower - he maybe weak emotionally but he is no slouch in driving cars.

[ELCROWLEY]

It seems that Kovalainen's girlfriend (briton) was VERY UPSET seeing how McLaren staff celebrated Ham's pole.

[Big D]

I think it's very disappointing to see the comments attacking LH after this great drive.

LH can't really be blamed for a lack of overtaking when he set his car up perfectly, drove great in qualifying (finishing on pole) and then controlled the race from the front: saving his car when possible, matching the speed of 2nd place and pitting - with a touch of luck - at the right times.

Kimi was the real let-down of the weekend for me. He had the opportunity to make passes (qualifying so far down the grid) and did so, but showed more than anyone that driving a F1 car is going to be a lot harder than the cars of yester-year with TC. I expect more from the current champ (I hope he'll get on top of it!) even if it is the first race of the season...

FA has made his own bed and is now sleeping in it - he wanted to be named as the #1 at Mclaren and stropped when told that the long-established Mclaren principal of driver equality would be kept to. Ferrari have seen how much of a "team player" FA is and I don't think that they want (or need) him, with Kimi having won last year in a pretty comparable car. He did show what a good driver he is by being one of the 7 finishers and having the presence of mind to dodge round Kovalainen having a "moment".

I really think that the F1 authorities are now on the right track - gradually reducing driver aids and increasing safety. We want to see bad driving punished with spin-offs or retirements but no-one wants to see another driver killed.

[D]

^

The question that perhaps arises most is whether what we are seeing is the momentum that kept Ferrari going after the amazing Todt/Schumacher/Brawn/Byrne team disbanded and went its separate ways - and which brought Ferrari one more brace of titles (with FIA assistance) last year - is now finally petering out and old ways are creeping back in.

Old ways that left Ferrari out in the cold for two decades.

It would be ironic if an ungrateful Fernando Alonso again abandoned Renault instead of committing himself to it and jumped ship to Ferrari just as it went into a decline that he was unable to arrest.

[ELCROWLEY]

It seems Ferrari's headquarters are crazy to get Alonso on team and kick Massa out.

[F1 Bet King]

Lost amongst the Hamilton lovefest was Kovalainen's first race with McLaren. He had a good race, held off Kimi well, giving LH some protection and was very unlucky to finish off the podium. The McLaren's seem to have speed and reliability (on the strength of one race weekend, I know) so I'd expect him to be in mix, if he's allowed to race Lewis.

still, I always say (and said after Kimi won Australia last year) that the first 3 races are no indication of how the car/the pack is performing really.

When Europe comes is when you start to see who's got it an who hasn't. It'll always be the way when you start in a different continent to your factory and with brand new systems (test all you like you can't prepare for the race).

[Paul]

Lots of comments here suggesting that because Lewis has won his first 5 races from pole position he is somehow inferior to Alonso. Apparently, Lewis' detractors love to use meaningless statistics to prove their point. Time for a few inconvenient and equally meaningless statistics to put things into perspective.

Alonso won his first three races from pole position. The next two victories were inherited from Raikkonen who retired while in the lead. So in his first five victories, Alonso passed no one for the lead other than a disabled Kimi on the side of the track.

Of Alonso's 19 career wins, 11 of them were from pole position; 4 other wins were inherited through attrition. One other win was a result of taking the lead during a pit stop.

Only 3 of Alonso's 19 victories were achieved by passing the leader on the track to take victory, and in each case he did not "pass half the field" as has been suggested, but started no worse than 5th on the grid. His first pass-for-win didn't occur until his fifth full season in F1.

(Summary of each of Alonso's victories at end of this post.)

Hamilton may have a lot to prove before being compared to the true greats like Senna, Prost and Mansell. However, I would argue that Alonso has a way to go as well before he is included in that group.

ALONSO VICTORIES:

2003 Hungary - Won from pole

2005 Malaysia - Won from pole

2005 Bahrain - Won from pole

2005 San Marino - Second on grid, inherited lead and victory when Raikkonen retired on lap 9

2005 Europe - Started 6th, worked his way to 2nd through attrition and incidents, inherited lead and victory when Raikkonen retired on last lap.

2005 France - Won from pole

2005 Germany - Third on grid, inherited lead and victory when Raikkonen retired on lap 35

2005 China - Won from pole

2006 Bahrain - Started 4th, took 2nd at start, passed Schumacher for lead and victory during 2nd pit stop

2006 Australia - Started 3rd, inherited 2nd at start after Fisichella stalled on grid, passed Button on main straight for lead after safety car recalled

2007 Spain - Won from pole

2006 Monaco - Won from pole

2006 Britain - Won from pole

2006 Canada - Won from pole

2006 Japan - Started 5th, inherited lead and victory when Schumacher retired

2007 Malaysia - Started 2nd, passed polesitter Massa at start

2007 Monaco - Won from pole

2007 Europe - Started 2nd, passed Masa for lead and victory on lap 56

2007 Italy - Won from pole

[Aaron James]

I read this elsewhere and confirmed it, it's hillarious. The best thing about this race wasn't even televised.

Watch the on-board replays and the most interesting bit of the video was the Kovaleinen "button incident". People, he wasn't cleaning his visor or whatever he said after the race. He hit the button by pumping his fist in the air to celebrate the pass on Alonso! This isn't up for debate like Hamilton at Interlagos last year, it's absolutely obvious on camera. I sympathise with Kovalainen, but the irony in this "celebration" was bleeding funny. He owes a beer to the FOM guys for not showing the replay to the entire world.

[Aaron James]

Oh the video of Kova's hero to zero moment :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izYIXA5-s4Q

Or also known as how not to celebrate an overtake :)

[CHIUNDA]

Lewis - at least we now know he has one other driver (Nico) apart from Massa who likes him. No wonder Rosberg was so highly sort after by McLaren to replace Alonso.

Nico - delivered in race conditions as usual; this kid never ceases to impress me; with William's pace this season, i wouldn't be suprised if he takes the fight to BMW - but that will depend on Nakajima as well. And there is always Alonso in Renault who one should never under estimate his abilities on the track even if his manners off it leave something to be desired.

Ferrari - of course these guys can't deliver on the track, that is why they are so good in orchestrating dubious scandals, arm twisting FIA and playing on Max Mosley's insecurities. Wonder what they will come up with on McLaren to salvage their season this year especially seeing their drivers are rookies on the non-TC stage.

Rubens - Is this the result of the personal influence of Ross Brawn? Do these two have a more than meets-the eye rapport? Just guessing seeing the only thing that has changed at Honda is a new boss that used to be with RB in Ferrari.

Heidfield - he whipped Kimi's backside when they were driving together for Sauber and Mercedes snubbed him for the McLaren sit. Can he prove that McLaren were really wrong then?

Alonso - so it was true Renault were sand bagging during the winter tests.

[D]

^
Aaron >

Thanks for the link, which Bernie's goons appear not yet to have spotted...

What I found really fascinating in it was to see Heikki's overtake of Fernando from the rear-facing camera on the Renault.

It was a beautiful move, well-thought out and perfectly executed against a double world champion.

Whatever happened after that does not detract from it. It was the best overtake in the race - in marked contrast to the World Champ making a World Chump of himself. (In a move that Heikki suckered him into?).

I'd love to know what the Finnish journalists and commentators thought of it all. Would be nice if Ed could get that guy from last year to come back and tell us how the Finn v Finn battles (this year and last) are going down back home.

A good moment, too, after the podium antics, when Heikki stood beneath the rostrum, caught the jeroboam of champagne from Lewis, took a big swig and then passed it over the fence to the guys.

It would be nice to think that if it had been Fernando down there, instead, that Lewis wouldn't have tried to drop it on his head!

^
Chunda >

You've been watching too much Mark Blundell.

Don't give up the day job.

[Kathryn S]

D,

"A good moment, too, after the podium antics, when Heikki stood beneath the rostrum, caught the jeroboam of champagne from Lewis, took a big swig and then passed it over the fence to the guys."

I could be wrong, but I believe that was Lewis's race engineer. It was most certainly not Heikki.

Heikki Kulta has contributed to the International Herald Tribune coverage and commented on the Heikki/Kimi issue preseason.

[Kathryn S]

Oops, member of his pit crew not race engineer...still recovering from sleep deprivation.

[D]

^
Kathryn >

That's not good enough, K; you haven't given us his name!. ;-)

It seems I must have been having my own champagne moment by the time it got to that stage. (One of the advantages of being able to be more indulgent than Ed and Sir J could afford to be over what to imbibe with my smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on the morning of that grand prix!)

Thanks for the heads-up on the ITH piece. In it, though, Heikki Ku did not address the Kimi v Heikki Ko question to the degree that would assuage my curiosity on the issue. I'd love to see Ed invite him back on here to enlighten us on that more comprehensively.

And Heikki Ku's comment that at Ferrari, "Ross Brawn was forgotten already last year, Michael Schumacher as well", serves to underline my own concern that at Maranello the disciplines that earned it six Constructors Championships on the trot may now be ebbing away.

My own most satisfying moments of the race were seeing that the wheels on both DC's and Timo G's cars remained tethered in extremis - that's been a terribly dangerous problem in the past.

And let us not forget that it was Sir J whose tireless (and unpopular, at the time) efforts changed the mentalities prevalent in motor racing sufficiently for precautions like that to be introduced.

Heikki Ku pointed out that, "Kimi is always saying, if you think it is too dangerous, stay at home," but Kimi owes his life to the fact that Sir Jackie didn't.

I wonder how much longer Kimi will be able to get by by letting everybody else do the work while he waxes macho with a bottle of vodka.

[Laura]

Wait wait wait. Ferrari had bad luck last season, but that doesn't mean that they are in bad conditions, we'll see. Alonso demostrated that he is very good rookie but he has a cycle, at least now, I don't know in some months. This championship can be very funny, with Australia i think is going to be.

Good luck to everybody, especially Fernando, because this year you need it, maybe a miracle.

[Antonio Xixon but in UK]

It was a bit difficult to find the video, because Aaron's link was not perfect, perfect. Try going to youtube and typing:"Kovalainen toca el limitador de velocidad" ( Spanish you see... ). It's amazing that at this level, drivers can make mistakes like this one. Hope that McLaren won't have to rely in only one point to win the constructor's championship.

In other order of things, all the people here saying that Fernando is not a great chap, that his personality is such and such, that he's not a team mate...have all of you being watching F1 recently, or only from last year?. Of course he is a very reserved person, not the joy and amusement of the paddock precisely, but that's nothing new to anyone who has bothered to follow his career a little bit. Exactly that was the start of his fall-out with Ron Dennis last year when he refused several invitations to his and his wife's private parties... Lewis looks like he enjoys the partying much more and more into it. Anyway, Ron is divorced now, so maybe some much partying didn't go down too well...: ).

Look at Schummy, he wasn't the funniest guy in town, and didn't go out much either, so there you are. When politics and free time socializing get mixed up together, then happens what happened to McLaren last year.

By the way is Lewis still at home with the Play Station when not at work?...think not. As he said to Heikki in one of the pre-race interviews, casinos are more of the liking now. Nothing wrong with that, but I hope that nobody will come this year selling Lewis' image as a "kid" one, like last one.

And don't worry about Fernando this year: no very much points, but might evolve the R28 so much, that maybe in 2009 won't be wanting to go to Ferrari...

[Anthony]

Raikkonen claimed after the race to have had the pace when he had the chance to use it, but this is disproved by the figures. He never caught up on the McLarens even when he was in clear air. Despite never being in a hurry, Hamilton did ten laps that were faster than Raikkonen's fastest lap. Hamilton’s fastest lap was half a second faster than Raikkonen's. Fuel loads may have exacerbated the differential, but it does seem as though the McLaren was comprehensively the quicker car.

Each team has circuits at which they do well and last year Ferrari was easily fastest in Melbourne. Subsequently flexi-floors were banned and thereafter the two cars were broadly equal in pace. Many said that this proved that they had indeed been cheating with their floor. However it was still possible that Ferrari’s claim not to have had an illegal flexi-floor was true - but only if their superiority at Melbourne was explained by it being a strongly pro-Ferrari circuit. Well, it doesn't look like it now.

I wonder whether Sunday's result will lead to it gradually becoming accepted that Melbourne isn't a 'Ferrari circuit' after all. From which it follows that Raikkonen's 2007 win there was almost certainly the result of cheating. From which it follows that his eventual World Championship victory by just a single point could not have been achieved had it not been for that cheating in the first race.

[J.A.]

Chiunda, you are completely right!, incredible those people from renault!, they were sand bagging during the winter, did you see the top speed achived by their cars?? They are the 17Th fastest!!!, with such a rocket, it's normal Alonso passed Kimi and Heiki at the same movement (hardly displayed on TV, by the way) and it's a "tough cookie" to pass him, then it's normal to push the "loser button" when you finally get to pass him again.

[Anon]

J.A., Chiunda:

You say Renault was sandbagging.

I don't know how qualifying 21 and 14 makes you sandbagging. The Renault is a slow ar, and if you see footage of Alonso in front of Heikki you see ho bad of a car it is. Piquet retired in it.

Can't you just admit that Alonso is a great pilot that can make the most out of difficult situations rather than go and congratulate the car?