FORMULA 1 - 2014

[Lotusguy]

Cars sound and look like ass. Glad to see that Red Bull does indeed have some pace after all. This will definitely be an interesting season.

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[OZCUBAN]

Daniel Ricciardo podium finish in doubt over excessive fuel consumption

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo's first Formula One podium finish at his home Grand Prix on Sunday was cast in doubt after he was found to have "consistently" exceeded permitted fuel consumption during the race.

Ricciardo finished second behind Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg at Albert Park but was under investigation, a statement from technical delegate Jo Bauer said.

"During the race car number 03 has exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow of 100 kg/h," Bauer said. "As this is not in compliance...I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration."

McLaren's Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen finished third in the race, with team mate Jenson Button fourth.

This is what I mean about this years rules over regulated ,you have a 100 litres of fuel in your tank how you use it should be the teams or the drivers discretion

I feel for Daniel should he be stripped of second place

[ptrthgr8]

So far this new season has left me underwhelmed. As many others have stated, the new "power units" sound like complete crap. I can honestly say today's start was the most horrible sounding start I've ever heard. The new sound is gutless and hardly awe-inspiring. I did like seeing some new faces on the podium, so that was certainly cool. I think, though, that the new systems are contrary to any sort of concern about driver safety. If these guys are so busy pushing buttons and flipping switches to optimize their power units all race, how are they supposed to pay attention to what's going on around them on the track? Look at all the problems Kimi had. I also felt really bad for Massa. Love seeing Martini back, but was a shame he got taken out like that on the first corner. I bet he's not too happy about Kobayashi's return. LOL

So, yeah, I'm not a big fan of the new season. Seems like it's degraded the awesomeness of the sport.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Dream second place for Ricciardo turns to nightmare as he is disqualified from Australian GP

Under pitch black skies in Melbourne, FIA stewards took away Daniel Ricciardo’s popular second place Australian Grand Prix finish, turning his dream start as a Red Bull driver into a nightmare while igniting a technical controversy, as Formula 1′s all new V6 turbo era begins.

Hours after the chequered flag waved and the champagne flowed in Melbourne , Ricciardo’s Red Bull RB10 was ruled to have breached the new regulation governing a maximum rate for the flow of fuel.

The reigning world champions argued that there have been “inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter – all weekend up and down the pitlane”.

The Daily Mail reported that Red Bull therefore decided to use its own sensor, but the FIA insisted that the team cannot do that “without the permission of the FIA”.

Race director Charlie Whiting reportedly warned Red Bull about illegal fuel flow readings throughout the weekend at Albert Park and also during the race.

“The team chose not to make this correction,” read the stewards ruling.

In a statement Red Bull said it will appeal Ricciardo’s disqualification, ”The team and Renault are confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the regulations.”

Australian Grand Prix FIA Stewards Report:

The Stewards, having received a report from the Technical Delegate, heard from the team representatives, have considered the following matter and determine a breach of the regulations has been committed by the competitor named below and impose the penalty referred to.

No/Driver 3, Daniel Ricciardo

Competitor Infiniti Red Bull Racing

Time 20:17

Session: Race

Facts: Car #3 was not in compliance with article 5.1.4 of the FIA Formula 1 technical tegulations.

Offence: Breach of article 3.2 of the FIA Formula 1 sporting regulations and Article 5.1.4 of the FIA Formula 1 technical regulations.

Decision: Car #3 is excluded from the race results.

Reason:

1) The technical delegate reported to the stewards that car #3 exceeded the required fuel mass flow of 100kg/h. (article 5.1.4 of the Formula 1 technical regulations)

2) This parameter is outside of the control of the driver, Daniel Ricciardo.

3) The fuel flow is measured using the fuel flow sensor (Art. 5.10.3 & 5.10.4 of the technical regulations) which is homologated by the FIA and owned and operated by the team.

4) The stewards considered the history of the fitted fuel flow sensor, as described by the team and the technical delegate’s representative who administers the programme. Their description of the history of the sensor matches.

a. During practice one a difference in reading between the first three and run four was detected. The same readings as Run 4 were observed throughout practice two.

b. The team used a different sensor on Saturday but did not get readings that were satisfactory to them or the FIA, so they were instructed to change the sensor within parc ferme on Saturday night.

c. They operated the original sensor during the race, which provided the same readings as run four of practice one, and practice two.

5) The stewards heard from the technical representative that when the sensor was installed on Saturday night, he instructed the team to apply an offset to their fuel flow such that the fuel flow would have been legal. He presented an email to the stewards that verified his instruction.

6) The technical representative stated to the stewards that there is variation in the sensors. However, the sensors fall within a known range, and are individually calibrated. They then become the standard which the teams must use for their fuel flow.

7) The team stated that based on the difference observed between the two readings in P1, they considered the fuel flow sensor to be unreliable. Therefore, for the start of the race they chose to use their internal fuel flow model, rather than the values provided by the sensor, with the required offset.

8) Technical directive 01614 (1 March 2014) provides the methodology by which the sensor will be used, and, should the sensor fail, the method by which the alternate model could be used.

a. The technical directive starts by stating: “The homologated fuel flow sensor will be the primary measurement of the fuel flow and will be used to check compliance with articles 5.1.4 and 5.1.5 of the F1 technical regulations…” This is in conformity with articles 5.10.3 and 5.10.4 of the technical regulations.

b. The technical directive goes on to state: “If at any time WE consider that the sensor has an issue which has not been detected by the system WE will communicate this to the team concerned and switch to a back-up system.” (emphasis added.)

c. The back-up system is the calculated fuel flow model with a correction factor decided by the FIA.

9) The FIA Technical Representative observed thought the telemetry during the race that the fuel flow was too high and contacted the team, giving them the opportunity to follow his previous instruction, and reduce the fuel flow such that it was within the limit, as measured by the homologated sensor – and thus gave the team the opportunity to be within compliance. The team chose not to make this correction.

10) Under Art. 3.2 of the sporting regulations it is the duty of the team to ensure compliance with the technical regulations throughout the event.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, Australian GP 2014, Melbourne

Thus the stewards find that:

A: The team chose to run the car using their fuel flow model, without direction from the FIA. This is a violation of the procedure within TD/01614.

B: That although the sensor showed a difference in readings between runs in P1, it remains the homologated and required sensor against which the team is obliged to measure their fuel flow, unless given permission by the FIA to do otherwise.

C: The stewards were satisfied by the explanation of the technical representative that by making an adjustment as instructed, the team could have run within the allowable fuel flow.

D:That regardless of the team’s assertion that the sensor was fault, it is not within their discretion to run a different fuel flow measurement method without the permission of the FIA.

The stewards find that car #3 was out of compliance with the technical regulations and is therefore excluded from the results of the race.

(Signed by stewards of the meeting: Gerd Ennser, Tim Mayer, Emanuele Pirro and Steve Chopping)

Prior to the weekend the FIA declared a zero tolerance approach to the strict fuel consumption rules that have come into effect in this new V6 turbo era.

We reported earlier that after Ferrari was warned at the Bahrain test, fellow engine supplier Mercedes then caught the FIA’s attention in Melbourne practice, regarding the new rule limiting the flow of fuel which has now been highlighted.

We then reported on Sunday that while Daniel Ricciardo thrilled the Australian crowd with second place at Albert Park, teammate Sebastian Vettel has been grappling with new software since Qualifying after his fuel flow sensor alerted the FIA that the Red Bull is exceeding the maximum rate.

“Ricciardo’s worked, Vettel’s did not,” said Auto Motor und Sport.

Earlier Red Bull’s Helmut Marko indicated that new software for the Renault engine was only being run on Vettel’s car, with poor results.

But now Ricciardo’s second place is in doubt, with the FIA confirming that his car “exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow” rate during the race.

“As this is not in compliance with (the) technical regulations, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration,” said Technical Delegate Jo Bauer.

The seeds of the controversy date way back to October of last year, when the company awarded the contract to supply the mandatory fuel flow sensors struggled to improve on its error rate.

In January, the company – Gill – said its improved sensor “fulfils the FIA’s accuracy requirements”.

But just before the Melbourne season opener, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo warned the FIA to be ready for team “trickery” in the area of “fuel, software” and “consumption” as a result of “grey areas” opened up by the new regulations.

[OZCUBAN]

What a load of crap like I said in an earlier post give the teams a 100 kgs of fuel and let them use it as they see fit ,next they will be telling them how fast they can go

[OZCUBAN]

MARCH 17, 2014 - 3:00 AM ARTICLE 5 OF 25

Roar of the driver: Nico Rosberg could be making more noise than his Mercedes. Photo: Wayne Taylor

Formula one could be dying a quiet death

MARK FOGARTY

ANALYSIS

It might not have been the day formula one died, but on Sunday at an Australian Grand Prix that was lacklustre by most measures, it began what could be a terminal illness.

The sound of the cars was dreadful, the racing was somnolent and the spectacle completely underwhelming as Nico Rosberg confirmed Mercedes-Benz's pre-season favouritism with an easy season-opening victory.

F1 authorities, along with the teams, have to urgently address the failings of the radical new regulations that have neutered much of the cars' traditional visceral appeal.

If it weren't for new Australian F1 hero Daniel Ricciardo finishing second in his debut outing with the world champion Red Bull Racing team - he was later disqualified over a technical violation - the big crowd attracted by his stunning performance in Saturday's qualifying would have had nothing to get excited about.

The 57 laps of the Albert Park circuit was the quietest F1 race in history, with the hushed drone of the new turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 engines barely troubling the noise meters.

In racing terms, the event was conducted in an almost eerie silence that was in complete contrast to the high-pitched screams that split the air in all eras going back to the F1 world championship's inception in 1950.

Loud, piercing engine notes have been part of motor sport since the first automobile competitions began at the start of the 20th century and the absence of the traditional sonic assault at Albert Park, on top of the largely uneventful action, was metaphorically raucous.

While the new F1 machines have been pitched as being greener, they are much less meaner despite predictions that they would be more difficult to drive and look more exciting.

But they didn't look at all unruly and the cheers of the grandstand crowd along the pit straight as Ricciardo took the chequered flag 24.5 seconds behind Rosberg drowned out the whooshing and off-key hum of the cars as they flashed past.

If F1 rulers, teams and the engine-makers don't take urgent action to make the motors louder and more tuneful, there is a very real risk that interest in the remaining 18 races of this season will wane to a worrying extent.

As a spectacle, F1's future is threatened by the sort of boring procession that largely played out during the Australian GP.

The only real surprise was that the cars' new power units didn't fail in the numbers that was feared, with only seven of the 22 starters dropping out - and two of those were due to a first-corner crash.

Lewis Hamilton's pole-winning Mercedes and defending four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel's Renault-powered Red Bull suffered power unit problems that stopped them both early, causing the only real ripples of interest.

The competition between the top teams is likely to improve over the next few races as they continue development and learn more and more about their complex new machines.

But making them sound like racing cars rather than slightly agitated blowflies must be a priority to avoid fans deserting the sport.

Ricciardo's performance over all three days, culminating in overshadowing Vettel, whose displeasure was evident by his departure from the track well before the finish, confirmed what F1 insiders already knew - that he will be a serious contender this season.

His speed and composure mark him as a more-than-worthy successor to Mark Webber, and already the ever-smiling West Australian appears to be blessed with the good fortune that always eluded Webber.

Ricciardo, 24, set out his marker at Albert Park, withstanding the pressure and expectation of starting his career with Red Bull Racing at his home event with a convincing and crowd-pleasing result.

[MIKA27]

Australian Grand Prix: Rosberg cruises to victory as young guns steal the show

Note this report was published before Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from second place in the Australian Grand Prix.

It was a walk in the Albert Park for Nico Rosberg, after capitalising on the early retirement of pole winner and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, he proceeded to notch up an historic Australian Grand Prix win in the first race of the Formula 1 V6 turbo era and Round 1 of the 2014 World Championship, while behind him young guns Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen heralded their arrival in the big league with podium finishes.

Rosberg managed a great start from the second row, leading into Turn 1 and simply blasting into the lead as pre-race favourite Hamilton struggled off the line, and got swamped by the pack. By lap three he was out of the race.

Up ahead Rosberg proceeded to edge away, and even an early race Safety Car period failed to give the others a chance. As he crossed the finish line he bellowed over the radio: “Fantastic boys. What a car you have given me, what a car!”

On the podium Rosberg added, ”It has been an amazing time in Melbourne. The support has been fantastic, Daniel got more support than me, but that’s normal. It has been an amazing day. Everyone has worked so hard over the weather and to have such an amazing Silver Arrow is unbelievable. The reliability was good and it’s the perfect start to the season.”

Mercedes lived up to their pre-race favourites tag afforded them by all and sundry, thus the big story was behind Rosberg where Ricciardo in his first race for Red Bull, finished second, scoring his first podium in Formula 1 and that it happened on home soil was a double bonus for the big smiling Aussie who drove a controlled race.

“Just two or three weeks ago, I would not have bet we would be standing up here but full credit to team for an unbelievable turn around. And thanks to the Aussie fans. The support has been completely overwhelming,” declared Ricciardo.

Two seconds behind the Red Bull, Magnussen became the first Dane to finish on a Formula 1 podium, remarkably taking third in his debut grand prix and leading home his veteran McLaren teammate Jenson Button who finished fourth after starting tenth, ensuring that McLaren leave Australia top of the constructor’s points.

Magnussen’s mature drive belied his experience, he even had a look at Ricciardo late on in the race, before containing his second place ambitions and settling for a solid third place.

“It’s hard to believe and it seems so surreal. The car was so much better than it has been and I had just exactly what we needed for the whole race. The preparation we have done have been fantastic. I have never had a Formula 1 race and you only get limited time for testing, so congratulations to the team for doing such a good job,” said Magnussen afterwards.

After the dust settled it would be fair to say that the season-opener was hardly a thriller, but then this was the first race of a new era with far too little testing allowed for such a complex new formula and new technology. The prophets of doom who had predicted no finishers, or Mercedes lapping the field by two laps were way off the mark.

Nevertheless, right from the start there was action as Kamui Kobayashi blotted his return to the pinnacle of motorsport with a charge into Turn 1 which saw him plough into the back of Felipe Massa’s Williams – their races over almost before it began. Credit for the Japanese driver for accepting the blame, albeit cryptically, on Twitter: ”Sorry to Felipe but was not my mistake.”

Needless to say Massa was not happy, ”It’s a shame. He can’t start like that and every time he does it will be the same outcome. I did a very safe start but if someone hits you, you can’t do anything about that. It’s not a big difference from what [Kobayashi] did to what [Romain] Grosjean did at Spa and he sat out one race for that.”

Grosjean got a one race ban for his Spa shenanigans in 2012.

On lap three Hamilton pitted for good, after being told to bring it in and retire. The Briton did an extra lap but to no avail, ”We knew reliability could be an issue but of course it surprises you when it happens, but it’s early stages and there’s a long way to go so I will remain positive and focus on the next race. You see people pulling away and I felt like I didn’t have power. I kept going as long as I could, but there was no point.”

Six laps into the race Sebastian Vettel’s weekend also came to a premature end as he too coasted into the pits. The world champion explained, ”On the second formation lap we lost power for some reason, we don’t know why. It’s going to be a long season. At the beginning I thought it was OK, but I didn’t get any power from the battery and the engine failed.”

If McLaren enjoyed a renaissance relative to last year, it was another disappointing start to the season for Ferrari. Clearly the F14T is not a challenger for race wins at this point, and yet again the Maranello outfit starts the season on the back foot, with a sub-standard race car which made two of the sport’s most experienced drivers look decidedly ordinary.

Fernando Alonso started fifth and finished fifth, apparently unable to mount much of an attack at any time, while Kimi Raikkonen turned 11th on the grid to eighth when the chequered flag dropped to end the race. For a team who have structured their driver line-up and hired some of the greatest minds in the sport with the sole objective to challenge for the titles, this was a poor start to that master plan.

Grand Prix 247 Man of the Match Award goes to Valtteri Bottas, who recovered after early on slamming the wall exiting Turn 10, which resulted in a cracked wheel rim and the tyre flying off. The Williams driver then drove slowly to the pits, changed rear wheel and proceeded to deliver a stirring drive on his way to sixth after rejoining the action in 16th. He received a boisterous ovation as he entered the Williams pit garage after the race.

Nico Hulkenberg at one stage was running as high up as fourth place, and mixing it comfortably with Alonso and the like. But the Force India VJM07 appeared to run out of steam and he eventually finished seventh, ahead of Raikkonen.

Toro Rosso will leave Melbourne pleased with their qualifying performance which saw both cars manage to make it through to Q3, and then 24 hours later both cars finishing in the points with Jean Eric Vergne and teenage rookie Daniil Kvyat finishing ninth and tenth respectively – another great debut on the day as the young Russian bagged a point in his first grand prix.

As expected neither Lotus finished, but at least Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado managed to do some laps, any of which will be of value for the beleaguered outfit.

Marcus Ericsson endured a disappointing grand prix debut, retiring on lap 28 and bringing to an end a torrid weekend for Caterham, perhaps the only glimmer of hope being that the Swedish rookie ran as high as 12th early on in the race.

It was an equally forgettable day for Marussia, which badly before the race even got underway when both Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton stalled their cars on the grid and were forced to start from the pitlane. Chilton survived to finish 14th, while Bianchi finished eight laps behind the winner in 15th.

Force India newcomer Sergio Perez had an inconspicuous debut for his new team, finishing 11th but he was completely overshadowed by teammate Hulkenberg, while Adrian Sutil also had a low key debut for Sauber on his way to 12th place. Teammate Esteban Gutierrez was 13th.

Thus ends the tale of the first round of the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship, and the beginning of the sport’s brave new era. Our verdict? Could have been much worse, but the foundation has been laid for what is going to be a cracking season of Formula 1 racing.

Australian Grand Prix, Race Result – Sunday, 16 March 2014 (Revised)

1: Nico Rosberg

2: Kevin Magnussen

3: Jenson Button

4: Fernando Alonso

5: Valtteri Bottas

6: Nico Hulkenberg

7: Kimi Räikkönen

8: Jean-Eric Vergne
9: Daniil Kvyat

10: Sergio Perez

11:Adrian Sutil

12: Esteban Gutierrez

13:Max Chilton

14: Jules Bianchi

Ret: Romain Grosjean

Ret: Pastor Maldonado

Ret: Marcus Ericsson

Ret: Sebastian Vettel

Ret: Lewis Hamilton

Ret: Felipe Massa

Ret: Kamui Kobayash

DISQ: Daniel Ricciardo

Fastest Lap: Nico Rosberg 1:32.478

Note – Bottas qualified P10, drops 5 (gearbox change penalty); Gutierrez qualified P19, drops 5 (gearbox change penalty); Maldonado did not set Q3 time within 107%, starts race at stewards’ discretion; Grosjean starts from pit lane (parc ferme changes)

[MIKA27]

Kobayashi: Sorry to Felipe but that was not my mistake

Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi wasted no time in making an impression on his return to Formula 1, ploughing his Caterham into the back of Felipe Massa’s Williams as they entered the first corner of the Australian Grand Prix.

The mishap took both cars out of the race instantly, leaving Brazilian Massa fuming on his aborted debut for his new team and Kobayashi red-faced in his first race back after a year on the sidelines.

The former Sauber driver, popular with crowds for his daring and willingness to overtake, joined Caterham after agreeing to race without a salary and pay $1 million raised from fans through online donations.

Massa, who joined from Ferrari at the end of last year, seethed at the Japanese before Caterham absolved their driver by recognising the car had suffered a brake problem.

“It’s difficult to find a word to say what’s happened. starting the first race of the season…you cannot do anything,” said the Brazilian.

“It’s even dangerous. I think what he did in this race is not so different than what (Romain) Grosjean did in Spa and he took a race ban,” added the 32-year-old, referring to the French Lotus driver who caused carnage at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix with an aggressive start.

“So it’s dangerous and you cannot do that. I’m sorry, but you cannot do that.”

Williams technical chief Pat Symonds denounced the collision as “sheer madness” on the part of Kobayashi.

An investigation later cleared the 27-year-old, who tweeted: “Find out system fail was no rear brake so this was problem of accident. Sorry to Felipe but was not my mistake.”

And added in his post race review, “That isn’t how I wanted my first race back to go, and I’m sorry for the team and for Felipe that both our races ended early.”

“I had a really good start but then into turn one I made contact with Felipe. From the initial data it looked like I had a brake system issue which obviously meant I couldn’t do much about the contact and when we got the car back and looked at the information in much more detail it was clear that was the problem.”

“After the race I went to the Stewards and they went through the data from the car and confirmed this was the case. We’ll have a close look at what caused that problem and make sure we fix it,” concluded Kobayashi.

[MIKA27]

Rosberg: This thing was unbelievably quick, it was just the perfect start to the season

Formula 1 career win number four was not the hardest fought affair for Nico Rosberg, nevertheless he made the most of a strong car and firmly established himself and Mercedes as hot favourites for the 2014 World Championship title, but perhaps more importantly victory in the Australian Grand Prix is historic by the virtue of being the first of the all new V6 trubo era. Rosberg spoke after his triumphant afternoon in Melbourne.

What a great start to the 2014 championship. A great start to the new era of Formula One.

Nico Rosberg: Yes, I mean, already it’s been an amazing time here in Melbourne. Thanks to all of you, you’ve made it all the more special, all your support has been fantastic this weekend. Even though Daniel got a little bit more support than us. Anyway that’s normal. It’s been an amazing day. I’m just over the moon really. It’s incredible, everybody has worked so hard over the winter and now to have such an amazing Silver Arrow to drive is just unreal. This thing was unbelievably quick today and the reliability was good also, so it was just the perfect start to the season. I’m really thankful to Mercedes, they have done an amazing job over the winter.

Well, all your hard work has paid off well and truly.

NR: Yeah, for now yes. Today, definitely.

What are you going to do now between here and the next one?

NR: We’ll definitely evaluate everything that we’ve learned now from this weekend because for sure there’s some way to go. We still can improve a lot. We must, because our competitors aren’t going to be asleep. Definitely they are going to try to catch up quickly, So just try to learn as much as we can, improve the car, go on holiday a little bit next week and then get ready for Malaysia.

What a start, what a race, what a win.

NR: Yeah, the start was just… off like a bullet – or off like a Silver Arrow – thanks to Evan he did a great job on my start – my engineer who’s responsible for that. And then after that the car was just really, really quick today and the whole team did such a good job on it. Engine: really good engine, not much of a problem with fuel consumption, didn’t have to worry much about that, pretty much as usual. It just all worked perfectly. Reliability was great. So, fantastic. I’m just so happy for everybody. They work so damn hard, I don’t think people can really imagine how hard everybody works in my team and I’m sure in other teams too – so that’s just the best reward possible. To dominate in such a way the first week, the first race out.

Big winning margin, obviously a lot of pace in the car and there was a lot of radio communication about extending that middle stint – which you seemed to be able to do quite comfortably.

NR: Yeah, got into a bit of a strange situation in that middle stint because I got graining on the front and then somehow I was losing temperature and somehow it started to get really difficult out there. So, I thought I was going to have to come in soon and they just said try to stay out, try to stay out and I did and then the graining cleared on my tyre and I was off, I was able to go again. It was a bit of a strange period but then it was fine again after that.

How does it feel to lead the championship for the first time in your life, and actually be the first Rosberg in front since Keke in 1982?

NR: Mr Statistics! It feels… I don’t think about that. I’m really just in the moment. I have an unbelievably quick car or I had an unbelievably quick car today. That gives me a lot of… you know, it’s such a pleasure to drive. It’s such a great feeling and I really look forward to the next races so much now, having this.. it’s so fast, it’s great. Of course, it’s still going to be tough and reliability is not 100 percent sorted, there’s still lots of work we need to do and there’s a lot of work ahead of us but it’s a great start and I’m just excited about the result today and sharing it with the whole team. It’s just fantastic.

You talked about the reliability of your car but obviously a different story for your teammate in what happened to him in first practice and also at the start of the race today. Does that bring any concerns for Mercedes, for yourself going forward as well, that the car isn’t as bullet-proof as we perhaps saw during testing?

NR: Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to the other car but for sure it’s a fact that we’re not 100 percent sorted yet. We know that and the team did a great job to get my car working so well in the race today but there’s still work to be done. We have two weeks now. We need to identify all the things that we can still do better because even leading up to this weekend, there were still a lot of changes on the car and you don’t really want to be doing that just going to the first race. And also in testing there were still a couple of problems at the end there, so great job, but still things to get sorted.

That was the first start with a V6 turbo. Has it been any different to the starts you have been used to with the V8s?

NR: There are some small bits and pieces that are different, yeah, and then getting away, upshifting through the gears, getting that right, but in the end it’s not too far apart. I think my start was spectacular today, it felt great, felt like last year.

How difficult was it to manage the fuel during the race? Was it easy?

NR: Yeah, yeah, honestly our engine I think even there, they’ve just done a power unit not just engine, they’ve done a great job because it’s not much different than last year, a little bit more than last year but it’s really straightforward and quite easy and this being the most difficult track, it’s really impressive.

A certain Mr Ecclestone predicted that you would win this year’s championship. Do you think that favouritism is now justified by this result today?

NR: Of course I heard about that and I’m thankful for such a statement. It’s always a boost when it comes from Bernie but other than that, I don’t think about that too much at the moment. There’s a long way to go and it’s just been a great day today, great win, great start to the season and just leave it at that.

Malaysia is normally the next week after Australia. This time it’s two weeks away. Is it an advantage for you to have that two weeks or is it a disadvantage because it allows everyone a bit of extra time to get their cars closer to where you’re at?

NR: I don’t know whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage but for sure we’re going to use that time well to further improve our car, make it quicker, more reliable, so it’s going to be a very useful gap now in between the two races.

Today we saw you dancing a little bit to Get Lucky going to the drivers’ parade. It looks like you were really confident, in spite of having Lewis on pole position. I want to know if you’re going to dance a little bit more to get Get Lucky in every race?

NR: I was very optimistic for the race today because we just prepared really well for it and so I was confident that we could do well and so I looked forward to it and from the start it just all went fantastically.

[MIKA27]

What a load of crap like I said in an earlier post give the teams a 100 kgs of fuel and let them use it as they see fit ,next they will be telling them how fast they can go

Mate, I'm devastated to hear this news but rules are rules and considering Charlie Whiting warned RBR earlier the Grand Prix weekend, they failed to listen.

Would you be saying something different if it were Sebastian Vettel in Daniels position...?

Thanks for all your posts by the way, simply brilliant!

[MIKA27]

So far this new season has left me underwhelmed. As many others have stated, the new "power units" sound like complete crap. I can honestly say today's start was the most horrible sounding start I've ever heard. The new sound is gutless and hardly awe-inspiring. I did like seeing some new faces on the podium, so that was certainly cool. I think, though, that the new systems are contrary to any sort of concern about driver safety. If these guys are so busy pushing buttons and flipping switches to optimize their power units all race, how are they supposed to pay attention to what's going on around them on the track? Look at all the problems Kimi had. I also felt really bad for Massa. Love seeing Martini back, but was a shame he got taken out like that on the first corner. I bet he's not too happy about Kobayashi's return. LOL

So, yeah, I'm not a big fan of the new season. Seems like it's degraded the awesomeness of the sport.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Firstly - I'm over the moon the Grand Prix has commenced for 2014.

Second, I agree. I'm an F1 fan BUT am not completely sold on the new engine sound. Whilst the cars may be faster on the straights compared to the V8's, the sound is half the attraction as a spectator. 10-15 Db's extra couldn't hurt and I'm sure they could make this happen and perhaps will as the season progresses.

As for wheel to wheel, there was a fair bit of it which I really enjoyed watching so am pleased thus far albeit the sound.

[MIKA27]

Due to the complex nature of these new engines /power plants I think it would be a good idea to reintroduce the T car or spare car ,so that drivers don't miss out on anything if an engine change is required i.e. between FP3 to Qualifying

Just a thought

Ahhhh.... Steve you have a way of bringing back memories. How about refuelling also, THEN I would truly be happy!!!

[MIKA27]

Magnussen: It’s hard to believe, it’s not a win but it definitely feels like a bit of a win

The words fairy tale inevitably pop up when reviewing Kevin Magnussen’s grand prix debut in Australia as the rookie justified McLaren’s faith in him by claiming third place, a Formula 1 podium spot for the first time, not only for him but for any Danish race driver after a remarkably mature drive in Melbourne. He spoke after his great afternoon.

First Dane on a Formula One podium….

Kevin Magnussen: It’s hard to believe really. It just seems so unreal. What can I say. The car was so much better than it’s been at any point. We just keep improving the car. I had just exactly what I need the whole race. The preparation we’ve done this winter has been fantastic. I’ve never done a Formula One and testing is so limited, so big congratulations to the team for doing such a good job.

Well, your father is racing on the other side of the world this weekend as well, so he’s got something to live up to.

KM: I think they did the race already, so I’ll need to see how it went. I wish he could have been here. It’s a great day.

No podium for McLaren in 2013. You go on the podium in your first appearance in Formula One. You were pinching yourself in the press conference here on Thursday to be in the company of world champions and race winners and stars. You’re a star yourself today.

KM: Yeah. Nico [Rosberg] was just saying, ‘Mate, you’re on third!’ I can’t believe it. It’s not a win but it definitely feels like a bit of a win because, as you said, the team is coming off a difficult season and they really wanted to come back and they’ve worked so hard over the winter. And working with a rookie as well who hasn’t got experience. It’s been tough for them, for sure – but they’ve done such a good job, made me feel really at home and made me feel comfortable with everything. Yeah. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Just talk us through the final stint because you started closing up quite a bit on Dan, then you started pulling back a bit, then it was a bit erratic.

KM: I think me and Dan [Ricciardo] had pretty similar pace but obviously you can do stuff with the engine to try and push for a few laps and then you have to back off because you have to harvest the energy again. And you’re fuel saving as well and then stop for a few laps and then you begin again and you have to do more and catch that up. I guess it makes it exciting from the outside because it creates opportunities for overtaking but it just wasn’t enough today. I didn’t have enough pace to get past Dan.

Can you say if you had any problems with your car today?

KM: If I had a problem? No, no issues with the car that we weren’t expecting. We didn’t really know what to expect but luckily we didn’t have anything really that came up that we couldn’t handle so again, big congratulations to the team and to Mercedes for providing such a reliable power unit. It’s quite impressive in the first year.

How about the fuel, was that ever a concern?

KM: No, I probably saved a bit too much in the beginning which turned out to be alright because then I could give Daniel a little bit of pressure at the end and I didn’t have to save fuel so much which was good. It’s something I will certainly learn more about and get into a rhythm with.

McLaren is leading the Constructors championship, do you think you can hang on there with a rookie and a champion driver together?

KM: Yeah, who knows? We will certainly try our best. I know the team is massively motivated to stay on top and they are a team that should be at the top of Formula One. So, what can I say? I’ll do my best and they will do their best. Who knows?

So you’re looking forward to the next one obviously?

KM: Yes I am – great things ahead.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari endure lacklustre start to their season with a car desperately lacking pace

Ferrari recognised they had work to do after Fernando Alonso finished Australian Frnad Prix, Formula 1 season-opener fifth and 35 seconds behind Nico Rosberg’s winning Mercedes in what can only be described as a lacklustre day for the Maranello outfit

“Today, we achieved our objective in terms of reliability, but the gap we need to make up, especially to Mercedes, was clear to see,” said team principal Stefano Domenicali.

“The information we have gathered this weekend clearly points to the direction we must take and what areas need the most work… Our engineers know what the priorities are and which areas need the most immediate attention.”

Anyone expecting to see immediate sparks between Alonso and new team mate Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn returning to the team with which he won the 2007 championship, would have been disappointed.

Raikkonen, who started 11th after a crash in qualifying, finished eighth but both Ferrari drivers suffered reliability problems throughout the weekend.

“We cannot be happy with the positions that we finished in,” said Raikkonen, who won the race with Lotus last year. “But obviously at least we got something out. It has been a very difficult weekend.”

Raikkonen was hit in the first corner by Kamui Kobayashi’s Caterham and then lost a place in the pitstops when he had to wait for Alonso ahead of him.

“The car felt pretty OK at some points but then at some points it was a bit tricky. The only positive thing is that we ran the whole race and scored some points,” he said.

Two-time world champion Alonso was also searching for positives before the next race in Malaysia in two weeks’ time.

“We all had problems probably but at the end of the day both Ferraris crossed the line which is a good effort from the team and a good achievement,” said the 32-year-old Spaniard, a distant runner-up in the championship last year behind Red Bull’s quadruple winner Sebastian Vettel.

“On the other hand we finished 35 seconds behind leader Rosberg so this is probably too much and we need to do better in Malaysia.

“But we are Ferrari, we are a strong team. I think these guys know what they are doing. After the first race you probably have a little bit better picture of which areas you need to improve the car.

“We need to analyse, we need to take care of every detail for Malaysia and be a little bit stronger there.”

[MIKA27]

Williams: On balance we leave Australia on a positive note

Valtteri Bottas finished in Fifth place in today’s Australian Grand Prix, with Felipe Massa retiring on the first lap after being hit from behind by the Caterham of Kobayashi.

Valtteri had a strong start, moving from P15 to P10 on the first lap, and was running in P6 before a puncture forced him to pit and pushed him back to P16.

He then showed strong pace to make his way through the pack to finish in the top ten. The FW36 looked competitive all weekend and the team will be looking to demonstrate the car’s full potential in the next race in Malaysia.

Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer:

Valtteri drove a fabulous race and the team worked really well together, handling some tricky situations that came our way. Valtteri managed his race well and had a strong start getting up to P6, but a mistake unfortunately forced him to pit for a tyre change and he had to overtake the same cars for a second time, showing some great race craft in the process. It was very unfortunate for Felipe to be knocked out of the race at the start and we can only wonder where he might have finished if that hadn’t happened. On balance we leave Australia on a positive note. The car has performed well and the team has worked very well together on what proved a busy race for the pit wall, so we head into the next race with good momentum.

Valtteri Bottas:

The car performed very well today which is looking encouraging for the season ahead, and on the whole as a team we can be pleased that we have made a good step forward from last season. I’m a little disappointed with myself because I was pushing a bit too hard and hit the wall which caused a puncture and put me back a long way. I spent the rest of the race trying to make up for that mistake and managed to make some good overtakes, but I need to learn from this and make sure it doesn’t happen again. It felt great to be able to race hard with people around me and I want to say a big thank you to the race team and everyone back at Grove and Brixworth who have done a great job with this car. We should have finished higher today than we did with the pace we had and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in Malaysia.

Felipe Massa:

I’m obviously very disappointed as I had the sort of car capable of challenging for a podium today, but the incident in the first corner ruined my race. I tried to have a calm start and not take any risks, but was hit from behind after Kobayashi braked too late and there was nothing I could do to avoid being taken out of the race. It’s a shame but there are a lot of positive things that the team can take from this weekend in terms of pace and reliability, so I’m just thinking about the next race and having a strong result there.

[MIKA27]

Sauber: Our main issue was a lack of pace

Overall the start of the new Formula One era at the Australian Grand Prix at the Albert Park in Melbourne was definitely exciting and ended with a surprising result at the front. The Sauber F1 Team had to be satisfied with 12th for Adrian Sutil and 13th for Esteban Gutiérrez. The Team was able to gain a lot of experience during the race, which can now be used to work on improvements and to increase the performance up to the next Grand Prix.

Esteban Gutiérrez: “It was a different kind of racing today, but definitely something we take as a reference. In general we are missing speed and it’s a challenge to be able to compete at the front like this. As a team, we need to make sure we put everything together because the lack of speed we have on the straight is quite significant. However, we can be very happy that we both finished the race today. This means a step forward for the team and its reliability.”

Adrian Sutil: “It was an exciting race, and especially the start, but luckily I went through without any incidents. We had a few issues with the powertrain during the first stint, but after the pit stop that improved. Nevertheless this cost us a lot of time that we couldn’t recover. I was on a two stop strategy, but we switched to a one stop because of the safety car. This could have worked well, but the safety car phase didn’t help us. In addition we were simply too slow, but we managed to finish the race, which was our goal. We came close to the points, but we need to improve our speed. There is a lot of data now to analyse and we can only improve. I hope that we will progress quickly.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “Overall it was a positive start to the new Formula One Era with a surprising result. We knew that our performance was not where it should be. Therefore we concentrated on finishing the race with both cars and being ready in order to take any opportunity, should there be one. Unfortunately we didn’t make it into the points. However, we gained a lot of insight this weekend and we know what we need to work on in order to improve. We now take this experience into the next race weekend.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “Esteban started on the harder tyres, but because of his incident on lap one he had to pit immediately. We took the opportunity to change to the soft tyres and split the remaining race in two sections. He was on the safe side with the fuel and was able to push, but in the end we were not fast enough. Adrian on his side had a problem with one of the electric motors in the first stint and lacked electric power. Finally, we managed to recover and re-activate the system. After the safety car period we reverted his strategy to a one stop race, but this didn’t change much. Our main issue today was a lack of pace, and we know that we have to work on this.”

[MIKA27]

Force India: We are pleased to see both cars make the finish

Sahara Force India enjoyed a positive start to the 2014 season as Nico Hulkenberg scored six points with seventh place at Albert Park. Sergio Perez just missed out on points in P11.

Nico Hulkenberg: “Sixth place is a positive way to start the season. I was very happy to see the chequered flag – the first time I’ve done so in Melbourne – and it’s important to score some good points early on. I made a strong start and enjoyed good track position for the first two stints when I was running up in fourth. The only real issue I had was some front left graining on the soft tyres, which never really cleared up and that compromised my first two stints. It was a shame to lose two positions at my second stop [to Button and Alonso] but it looks like some of the cars around us have a bit more pace at the moment. I want to thank the team for the amazing job they’ve done over the winter and this weekend to get us to this point. It’s been a great effort and it’s nice to reward everyone with some points at the first race.”

Sergio Perez: “I’m satisfied to finish the race, but disappointed not to score points. My race became very difficult on lap one when I got hit by the Sauber of Gutierrez at turn three. It gave me a puncture and I had to return to the pits very slowly, which dropped me to the back of the pack. After that I just tried to keep a consistent pace on the medium tyres and I was quite fortunate that the safety car came out, which helped me recover some positions. Points were close, but my progress was hurt by being stuck behind the Sauber of Adrian for such a long time. It’s positive to finish the race because it gives the team lots of information and hopefully that will make us stronger for Malaysia.”

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: “Starting the season with points is what we were aiming to do so we’re happy with today’s result. Nico drove an excellent race and was able to fight near the front for most of the race, eventually earning us six points. Sergio’s race was much more challenging with a puncture on lap one making it difficult for him to show the pace of the car. The safety car allowed him to catch up, but he just missed out on reaching the top ten. Overall we are pleased to see both cars make the finish in this new era of Formula One and we have learned a huge amount. I congratulate everyone in the team for all their hard work over the winter and I look forward to Malaysia in two weeks’ time where we will aim to build on what we learned this weekend.”

[MIKA27]

Button: A really good feeling

After a disappointing 2013 season, Jenson Button says leaving Melbourne as the Constructors' Championship leaders is a welcome boost for McLaren.

Last season McLaren failed to secure a single podium finish, this year, though, they already have one on the board after just one grand prix.

Rookie driver Kevin Magnussen brought his MP4-29 home in third place in Sunday's Australian GP while Button was three seconds down the road in fourth.

"Yes it is," he told Sky Sports F1 when asked if was a 'big boost' for McLaren. "It's been a long time since we were leading a Constructors' Championship [China 2012].

"It's a really good feeling. You always want more but this is a good starting point and we have some improvements for Malaysia.

"We are not leading the Constructors' because we're the quickest, we're leading the Constructors' because we got both cars home and we're relatively quick.

"With some updates hopefully we can challenge the Mercedes and Williams, who I think are very quick."

Button's fourth was even more enjoyable as the 35-year-old was made to work for it having started 10th on the grid.

"Starting tenth was always going to be tricky and I said to the guys 'I want to get a good start'.

"It's the easiest place to gain places but it's also the easiest place to have a shunt and especially with the way the cars are under braking there were so many accidents on lap one so I actually found myself going backwards a little bit.

"But an enjoyable race and the team did a great job in the pitstops. Also when the safety boards flashed up I saw it and quickly dived in the pits, which made a big difference as well."

He also thanked those in the paddock who wore special pink shirt buttons in remembrance of his father John who passed away in the off season.

"It's been a tough weekend emotionally. I'm not the sort of person who likes to show it in front of a TV camera, I don't think that's right," he said.

"In the background it's very, very tough but I've had the most amazing support from the paddock, my family, friends, and all the guys within the team. They've been wearing this little pink shirt and it really does mean a lot.

"He'll have a big smile on his face looking down and knowing everyone's talking about him right now, he loved that!"

MIKA: A real shame Button wasn't up on the podium in P3 which is where he has now been placed after Ricciard's Disqualification. Would have been pretty emotional for Jensen.

[MIKA27]

Kvyat breaks Vettel record

It wasn't a good day for Sebastian Vettel in Australia as he not only failed to finish the race, but also lost one of his records to Daniil Kvyat.

At 19 years and 322 days, the Russian became Formula One's youngest points scorer as he crossed the finish line in 9th place, beating Vettel's previous mark by 27 days.

In his first race weekend in F1, the Toro Rosso driver showed maturity beyond his years as he first managed to make it into Q3 and started Sunday's race in sixth place following a penalty to Valtteri Bottas.

He didn't look out of place and finished behind his team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne.

"It was a very intense afternoon and finishing my first race with a point is a great feeling," said the Toro Rosso driver. "It was a fantastic first Grand Prix weekend with the team, everyone worked really hard and scoring points was a great way to end it. The start was a bit messy, but after that I managed to get into a rhythm and the car seemed competitive compared to those around us.

"It was close at the end with Jean-Eric, but I had to save fuel towards the end, so I was not going to attack him. I never expected to score a point in my first race, so it feels amazing. It's a real boost for us and now we have to keep on working hard and if we keep on the way we are going, then we can look forward to a really positive season."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton remaining 'positive'

Although his first grand prix of the season was undone by an engine failure, Lewis Hamilton is refusing to let it get him down.

Having claimed pole position in Saturday's wet qualifying, the Mercedes driver was the firm favourite to take the chequered flag on Sunday.

However, even on his very first lap it was apparent there was a problem.

Pulling away from the line on the start, Hamilton was unable to find the power needed to stay in front and immediately began to drop.

The Brit attempted to stay in the race but after three laps was told to pit it to "save the engine."

Explaining to the BBC what went wrong, he said: "As soon as I left the lane I had a lot less power than I usually have.

"They asked me to come in, but I said 'no, no, I can keep going', but I then had to come in.

"I think of all the work that has gone in from the guys in the factory and all the days and nights stressing.

"We looked so strong but to then have a hiccup is tough for everyone, but we will bounce back."

However, Hamilton admits Mercedes went into this weekend's grand prix well aware that reliability could

"We knew reliability could be an issue but of course it surprises you when it happens, but it's early stages and there's a long way to go so I will remain positive and focus on the next race.

"You see people pulling away and I felt like I didn't have power. I kept going as long as I could, but there was no point."

[MIKA27]

Vettel: Engine failed for some reason

Sebastian Vettel has confirmed that it was an engine failure that put him out of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

An engine software problem with his Renault unit cost the German in Saturday's qualifying and he lined up 12th on the Melbourne GP grid.

However, even under the formation laps - there were two in light of yellow flags on the grid - the Red Bull driver reported an engine issue.

The problem meant Vettel was unable to make any inroads on the start and instead found himself dropping and was even 17s off the pace on one lap alone.

He eventually pulled into the pits and parked his RB10 having stated "this is ridiculous, guys."

Vettel later confirmed an engine failure.

"On the second formation lap for some reason we lost power," he explained.

"Everything is linked to each other so the battery didn't charge and I didn't get any power from the battery.

"We know by now that the engine failed for some reason."

Vettel, though, saw the one positive and that was the fact that team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was still in the race and was up there near the front.

"50 per cent is down but the other 50 per cent - Daniel - is still running and in a very, very good position.

"I think the most important is that the car is quick.

"Obviously there is still a lot to do in terms of reliability.

"It's disappointing when happens to you but what can you do now?"

[MIKA27]

Heartbreak for home hero Ricciardo as Rosberg and Mercedes dominate

Every year the mantra of Melbourne is that the first race of the year tends not to give an accurate impression of the season to come.

Last year Adrian Sutil led a chunk of the race and Kimi Raikkonen won it – two things which never happened again.

Albert Park is something of an outlier as F1 circuits go. It’s a temporary facility which isn’t shaped in the derivative mould of more recent additions to the calendar. It tends to produce unusual results.

That counts double when qualifying is disrupted by rain, as happened on Saturday. And again when many teams arrive at the first race of the year with so much potential still untapped in their new designs.

But the emphatic, assured manner of Nico Rosberg’s cruise to success affirmed every suspicion around Mercedes pre-season test form. They are in very strong shape indeed, and in the opening phase of the season the contest for victory is likely to be exclusively between their two drivers.

Engine failures sideline champions

On this occasion it was decided before the race even started, though it took a few laps to become apparent. Having taken pole position Lewis Hamilton found his engine had turned into a V5 instead of a V6.

Rosberg blasted past from third to take the lead as the race started, and Daniel Ricciardo lunged down the inside to reclaim second. Further around the opening lap Kevin Magnussen – following in Hamilton’s footsteps as the first rookie to make his race debut for McLaren in seven years – also dispossessed him.

Mercedees quickly took the decision to save Hamilton’s power unit – one of just five he may use this year – and pulled him in the pits to retire.

Minutes later Sebastian Vettel took the same course of action due to problems with his Renault V6 turbo. “In the beginning I thought I just had no power from the battery,” he said afterwards, “but it turned out that the engine failed in some way”.

He was much less sanguine at the time, angrily telling his team about the loss of power from his engine and MGU-K: “Do something! I’ve got no power, less ICE than normal And no K. That’s ridiculous guys.”

Kobayashi eliminates Massa

At this point it looked like the fears over mass retirements during the season-opening race were being realised. Three drivers had started from the pits due to various problems, including Jules Bianchi, who was unable to get away from the grid at the original start, forcing a second start.

Two drivers had got no further than the first corner. Kamui Kobayashi suffered what later turned out to be a failure in his brake-by-wire system on the run to turn one.

He ricocheted off Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari, somehow not breaking its left-rear suspension, then ploughed into Felipe Massa, taking the Williams driver out of the race with him.

Both drivers were unharmed. But worryingly Massa’s car was lifted off the ground by Kobayashi’s in the impact, indicating the lower noses mandated by the FIA this year on safety grounds may put the new cars at grater risk of ‘submarining’ – something Adrian Newey warned about earlier this year.

Bottas hits the wall

Rosberg extended his lead steadily over Ricciardo, holding a five second advantage after eight laps. Nico Hulkenberg had taken up fourth behind Magnussen. Fernando Alonso closed within a second of the Force India but even with the aid of DRS he couldn’t pass the Mercedes-engined car.

The sole remaining Williams of Valtteri Bottas was also having its Mercedes power plant wielded to good effect. He picked off the Toro Rosso drivers in the opening laps, then put a superb move on Kimi Raikkonen at turn three.

Alonso was his next target, but on lap ten Bottas swiped the wall coming out of turn ten. Vettel did much the same in qualifying but dealt the wall a glancing blow square-on. For Bottas the rear stepped out – easily done with the torquey new V6 turbos – and he wrecked his right-rear wheel.

Bottas had fortune on his side, however. Not only was the damage slight enough that it could be repaired with a trip to the pits for a new wheel, but the chunk of debris he left behind was large enough that the Safety Car had to be deployed, cancelling out much of the time he lost.

As the Safety Car boards appeared Jenson Button was heading towards the final corner. He reacted immediately, diving for the pits before anyone else could get in. That instinctive response bought him three places.

Most of the other drivers pitted on the following lap. The unfortunate Raikkonen had to wait behind new team mate Alonso and the delay dropped him behind Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso.

Button makes places in the pits

When the race resumed Rosberg pulled away more quickly from the chasing pack more quickly than he had at the start. Even so he set his fastest lap on the 19th tour and was clearly maintaining a steady pace thereafter, staying off the kerbs and not stressing the car too much.

Button made his second pit stop early as well and this one was also beautifully timed and well executed – apart from a mechanic knocking the tip off the MP4-29′s nose. The McLaren driver had been running behind Alonso, who still trailed Hulkenberg, but after all three had stopped their running order had been reversed.

The slow running behind the Safety Car and the shortening of the race distance by one lap served to ease concerns about fuel consumption under the tight new rules. In the closing stages the drivers were clearly exploring the limits of their cars more fully and several battles for position developed.

Most drivers had a fresh set of medium tyres for their last stint but Ricciardo had to make do with a used set. Magnussen now had Button behind him and the pair pressed on after the Red Bull, but never got close enough to mount an attack.

Bottas, however, was regaining lost ground. He passed Raikkonen again – both Ferrari drivers had electrical problems but his were more acute. Bottas then passed Vergne when the Toro Rosso driver got out of shape in the final corner, one of several points on the track which the combination of lower downforce and increased torque have made much more challenging for the drivers.

Hulkenberg was the final scalp for Bottas, meaning he finished the race behind Alonso, the position he had occupied before his brush with the wall. A case of what might have been.

Rookie Daniil Kvyat began to close on team mate Vergne at the end, so much so that the elder Toro Rosso was reminded not to hold him up. The order remained unchanged at the finish, and Kvyat made history as the youngest driver ever to score a point in Formula One.

Sergio Perez finished out of the points in 11th – though that would change – followed by the lapped Saubers and twice-lapped Marussia of Max Chilton. Bianchi was still running at the end, albeit eight laps down and not classified following his earlier problems.

Ricciardo stripped of second

Three jubilant drivers stood on the podium after the race.

Rosberg basked in the glory of victory and the realisation of two-and-a-half years’ work on the new engine by his team in Brackley and Brixowrth – masterminded, it must be remembered, by the now-absent Ross Brawn.

Ricciardo was greeted by rapturous applause as he became the first Australian to stand on the podium at his home race. And Magnussen had brilliantly and unobtrusively taken a podium finish in his first ever start.

But one of them was about to be cruelly disappointed.

It took well over five hours for the stewards to decide to disqualify Ricciardo from the results. His car had exceeded the maximum fuel use rate of 100kg per hour on multiple occasions, something his team had been repeatedly warned about. Though it was no consolation to Ricciardo, the stewards’ lengthy report conceded “this parameter is outside of the control of the driver”.

The race had given an intriguing glimpse of the competitive order in 2014 and the nature of racing under F1′s new rules. But it ended under a cloud and with a disappointingly familiar storyline: one of a race decided long after the chequered flag had fallen and the crowd departed.

An already complicated sport has become even more nuanced and more tightly policed in 2014. The FIA still were still rewriting the rulebook mere days before practice began in Melbourne.

As the stewards pored over the myriad new regulations governing fuel flow rates and their measurement in order to decide who finished second the first lesson of the year became clear: Making Formula One ever more complex has its consequences.

[MIKA27]

Boullier praises “faultless” Magnussen’s rookie drive

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier described Kevin Magnussen’s drive in the Australian Grand Prix as “one of the finest performances by a Formula One rookie in living memory”.

Magnussen finished third on the road and was promoted to second place by Daniel Ricciardo’s exclusion.

“Despite his youth and inexperience, he drove like a man who’d notched up 100 grands prix already,” Boullier.

“It was a complex and challenging race, yet he managed those complexities and challenges faultlessly.”

Boullier also praised Jenson Button’s climb to an eventual third place from tenth on the grid, following his setback on Saturday.

“Jenson recovered skilfully from his disappointing qualifying result, which was the result of his not being able to put in a final quick lap owing to inopportune yellow flags, and drove the sort of measured yet combative race that he’s become famous for,” said Boullier.

“Kevin scored 18 of the 33 constructors’ world championship points we racked up today, Jenson 15, and both guys drove superbly,” he added.

“To be in first place in the constructors’ world championship is a very nice feeling, but let’s not forget that today’s race was only the first of 19, and I’ll be a lot happier if we’re still in first place in the constructors’ world championship after the 19th race.”

[MIKA27]

Bottas ‘disappointed with himself’ after contact

Valtteri Bottas admitted he was disappointed with himself after making a costly error during the Australian Grand Prix.

Bottas made contact with the wall at turn ten while trying to pass Fernando Alonso. He was able to continue in the race but only after a pit stop to replace a broken wheel.

He eventually finished sixth behind Alonso, but believed he should have been in the top five.

“I’m a little disappointed with myself because I was pushing a bit too hard and hit the wall which caused a puncture and put me back a long way,” said Bottas.

“I spent the rest of the race trying to make up for that mistake and managed to make some good overtakes, but I need to learn from this and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“We should have finished higher today than we did with the pace we had,” he added, “I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in Malaysia”.

MIKA: Drive of the day IMO making up places and points, I kept thinking he'd run out of fuel.

[ptrthgr8]

Mate, I'm devastated to hear this news but rules are rules and considering Charlie Whiting warned RBR earlier the Grand Prix weekend, they failed to listen.

Would you be saying something different if it were Sebastian Vettel in Daniels position...?

Thanks for all your posts by the way, simply brilliant!

Can't answer for OzCuban of course, but I agree with him on this one. And, yeah, I would say the exact same thing if it were Vettel instead. But, to be honest, Seb is my favorite driver too.

Rules like this one are simply stupid. The FIA is doing what the NFL did when they started becoming the No Fun League. These cars are supposed to be the pinnacle of racing, yet they're hamstrung by eco friendly nonsense and silly rules that seem to be mandated just to catch someone making a mistake (as opposed to really be aimed at making F1 better). F1 should be all about pushing the envelope... it should really be an unlimited sport. Shouldn't be unnecessarily unsafe like it was back in the day, but it almost feels like more of an IROC deal now.

I won't completely write the season off after only one race because, really, I do love F1. But if they don't make some serious changes during this year it's going to be hard to keep getting excited for each race.

Here's to hoping for improvements by the next race.

Cheers,

Greg

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