Tyre Management
Throughout testing, teams and drivers were saying that tyre
management, while important, will not be as crucial this year. That could be
true later in the season but not in Melbourne. The heavy rain will have cleared
any rubber from the track after Q1 so it’s hard to tell at this stage just how
much tyre management will be needed in the upcoming races but the standout team
for tyre management would have to be Lotus. Kimi Raikkonen not only managed to make
a two stop strategy work for him but he did while pushing when needed,
especially at the latter stages when Fernando Alonso started to chase. This is
a crucial factor for the teams to analyse. The Lotus may not be the quickest
car on raw pace but if they can manage their tyres better at every race, the
fewer pit stops will pay dividends. The confusing thing was the Raikkonen’s
teammate, Romain Grosjean, could not match his pace and he finished much
further back.
Mercedes started off on a two stop strategy as well but had
to make a third stop later on that dropped Lewis Hamilton out of a podium
finish. It seemed, at first, like they could emulate the Lotus and survive on
two stops but it was not to be. Nevertheless, it is an encouraging sign for the
team who did not publicly expect to be competing for those positions at this stage
in the season. Whether they were more confident behind closed doors is
something I can’t answer.
Ferrari did well with their tyres but still needed three
stops and surprisingly, the Red Bull are behind them! On outright pace, the
latter is the faster car but come race day, the effect of that pace on the
tyres is clear and is something that will be looked at with earnest.
The Ferrari Dynamic
It’s common knowledge that Alonso is the number one for
Ferrari. He will get the preferential treatment and it’s a shame that Felipe Massa
is his teammate. The man has exceptional skill and the latter half of 2012
showed that he was just as fast as Alonso. You can argue that Alonso is the
better driver for his outstanding performance throughout the entire 2012 season
but Massa can do well, win races and even a championship one day. The pits
stops seemed to come at the wrong time for Massa and you have to wonder if it
was engineered that way to get Alonso past him, even at this early stage of the
season.
Problems for McLaren
During testing, the McLaren team seemed to be the most open
about their car and place in the grid. There is something wrong with the car
and it is not working how they expect (and want) it to. It was a risk changing
their car so much, considering where they ended the 2012 season but if they can’t
solve it within a couple of races, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the return of
the 2012 car with a whole array of upgrades. They cannot spend too long
deciding what to do about this, as every point counts and the signs of a tight
championship are already clear. Ninth place for Jenson Button is small
consolation and there will be a lot of work being done back at HQ.
Force India Making
Progress
It was a solid race for the Force India team. Sutil’s return
to F1 racing has to be considered a success. A different strategy paid off and
saw him leading the race for a time before his last pit stop dropped into the
lower half of the top ten. A few more laps and there would have been an
exciting battle between Paul Di Resta and Sutil for who was going to win that
internal race. Sutil clinched it this time but the resumption of a good rivalry
will be good to watch throughout the season.
Summary
I do love the race at Melbourne. Part of it is the results
of testing, part is the first race of the season and the final part is a great
circuit. Some of what we have seen in testing has proven to be correct, and
others not so much. There are still some mechanical errors to fix and the
weather definitely mixed things up a bit more than usual. Marussia have stepped
up from last year and with KERS on their cars, are taking the fight to Caterham
and scored an early victory. Both teams are still behind the rest of the field.
Mark Webber is still looking for a podium at his home race
and I hope he gets it one day. Mercedes could spring a few surprises but
Raikkonen has taken the first victory and if they can continue development with
the big teams with bigger budgets, they will once again be right in there in
the championship hunt. For McLaren, time is running out and they will have to
make a decision about their car in the very near future.
Results
1 – K. Raikkonen (Lotus)
2 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)
3 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)
4 – F. Massa (Ferrari)
5 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)
6 – M. Webber (Red Bull)
7 – A. Sutil (Force India)
8 – P. Di Resta (Force India)
9 – J. Button (McLaren)
10 – R. Grosjean (Lotus)
11 – S. Perez (McLaren)
12 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)
13 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)
14 – V. Bottas (Williams)
15 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)
16 – C. Pic (Caterham)
17 – M. Chilton (Marussia)
18 – G. van der Garde (Caterham)
19 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – Did not finish
20 – Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – Did not finish
21 – P. Maldonado (Williams) – Did not finish
22 – N. Hulkenburg (Sauber) - Did not start
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