FORMULA 1 - 2014

[MIKA27]

Horner adamant they acted within the regulations

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is adamant that the team fully complied with the fuel flow limit regulation and is confident they will win at appeal. Daniel Ricciardo was stripped of his second place finish in Australia after the FIA deemed his car had exceeded the 100kg/h flow limit.

Speaking after the decision to exclude his driver, Horner insisted they were within the allowed limits, but blamed "immature technology" for providing an incorrect reading.

"Hopefully through the appeal process it will be quite clear that the car has conformed at all times to the regulations," said the Briton.

"These fuel flow sensors that have been fitted by the FIA to measure fuel which have proved problematic throughout the pitlane, and since their introduction at the start of testing, there have been discrepancies.

"We had a fuel flow sensor that was fitted to the car that we believed to be in error, and therefore based our calculation on the fuel that the injectors were providing to the engine, which is a calibrated piece of equipment that is consistent and standard across the weekend that we’ve seen zero variance in.

"We wouldn't be appealing if we didn’t think that we had a defendable case."

The FIA requested that Red Bull, as with all the teams, apply an offset to the sensor to ensure it remained within certain parameters, but Red Bull believed their data was more accurate and therefore chose to ignore the request. Horner says doing so would have damaged their performance and created an unfair situation up and down the grid.

"That offset we didn’t feel was correct, and as we got into the race we could see there was a significant discrepancy between what the sensor was reading and what the fuel flow, which was the actual injection of fuel into the engine, was stated as. That’s where there was a difference of opinion.

"It's immature technology, and it's impossible to rely 100% on that sensor, which had proved to be problematic in almost every session that we've run in.

"We informed them that we had serious concerns over their sensor. We believed in our reading, otherwise you are in a situation where you are reducing significant amounts of power with the engine, when we believed we fully comply with the regulations. If we end up with that situation, depending on the calibration of your sensor, the plus and minus, it will dictate quite simply who is competitive and who isn’t."

[MIKA27]

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

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Agree on all accounts. The fun in F1 has long gone prior to this season.

What I truly believe is that even if there are rules to abide by, race stewards can't be making decisions AFTER a Formula 1 race has come and gone. If punishment/disqualification, whatever is required, those decisions must be made on and during the race.

The past couple years we have seen a great many driver(s) punished long after a race had ended, ruining the results. In this case Button should have been on the podium in P3, Magnussen in P2 yet that didn't occur. Would have been great to see Button up there after having lost his father. A darn shame about Ricciardo, I'm an Aussie, I was proud to see him up there but if his team did the right or wrong thing, that's not Daniels fault.

Now what? RBR will appeal, they believe they have data to use, so... if they win this appeal, Button will be stripped of P3, Magnussen of P2 and the entire teams below who gained more championship points will now lose a point or two which is a pretty big deal when it comes to money at seasons end. Pretty stupid.

It's not the teams or drivers who are ruining F1, it's the FIA and rulemakers who keep chopping and changing in the pursuit to make F1 more entertaining. What the FIA don't realise, is that Formula 1 has always been entertaining as a purists sport without the constant rule changes.

Rules have always been tweaked but they really started to change when Michael Schumacher and Ferrari dominated the sport. The FIA thought people were switching off as F1 was becoming boring with the same guy winning. IMO, isn't that what any sport is about, winning? So if you are the best, why not keep winning?

Same for Sebastian vettel. I'm not a fan, I admire the guy for winning but again, 4 time WDC deserves to be winning if he can rather than the FIA yet again, changing the rules, now the engines among other tweaks for aero... What aero!?

Forget green technology, bring back re-fueling, bring back V-10's, bring back the tire wars THEN I would be happy!!

[ptrthgr8]

Agreed on all counts, Mika. Pirelli needs competition, races need to be longer and/or fuel tanks smaller so refueling can be done (I would prefer longer races), and the FIA should pound sand for trying to manage who wins/loses through silly rules changes. Let them race. For the love of god, let them race. Innovation in the sport has gotten pretty stale. I want to see another Tyrrell P34 or something else equally awesome and mind blowing. Let the designers design and the drivers drive. That's what it should be.

But thank god the cars are greener now.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Renault: We have come short of our own expectations

New recruit Daniel Ricciardo raced his Renault-powered Infiniti Red Bull Racing to second position in the 58 lap race. Starting from second, the Australian kept his position throughout the race, withstanding pressure at the end of the GP from McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen. Sebastian Vettel retired on lap 5 after a misfire on the Power Unit caused a loss of power.

*Daniel Ricciardo was later excluded from the race following a breach of Article 3.2 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and Article 5.1.4 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations. The Team has notified the FIA of its intention to appeal with immediate effect.

Scuderia Toro Rosso

The Scuderia Toro Rosso-Renault Sport F1 partnership achieved a double points finish in its first race together. Running reliably all weekend, the team finished with Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne in 9th and rookie Daniil Kvyat 10th on track. Vergne was overtaken by Raikkonen early in the race but got back ahead after the safety car period. Vergne was later passed by Bottas and then repassed by Raikkonen but remained on the tail of the cars in front. Russian Kvyat lost one position to Bottas midway through the race, but challenged Raikkonen for 9th until the Finn passed his team-mate on lap 47.

Caterham F1 Team

Kamui Kobayashi retired at the first corner following a collision caused by an electrical problem with his brakes that had developed on the formation lap. Marcus Ericsson performed exceptionally in his first race, remaining in the top 12 until his pit stop. Unfortunately he retired on lap 29 when the oil pressure in the Power Unit began to drop. To safeguard against damage to the engine he stopped the car out on track.

Lotus F1 Team

After a difficult start to the weekend, Lotus F1 Team took the start with Pastor Maldonado 22nd. Romain Grosjean started from the pitlane. The two cars moved into the top 12 and ran until mid-distance, until an MGU-K failure on both cars forced a double retirement.

Rémi Taffin, Head of Track Operations:

Today there are definitely mixed feelings. Having cars retire is not acceptable and shows we need to improve our reliability across the board. This race was always going to be a baptism of fire but we have come short of our own expectations and we need to look at this before the next race. Some failures are similar, such as the MGU-K on the Lotus, but others are not related, which shows that we have to improve across the board.

This is something we will look keenly at before the Malaysian Grand Prix to allow every team the chance to show the maximum potential of their cars.

However the other cars performed very well and we are pleased with the achievements. Naturally we will now support Red Bull as they appeal the Stewards’ decision to regain the position.

[MIKA27]

Marussia: It has been a tough journey to get to this point

The Marussia F1 Team’s love affair with the chequered flag continued into the new season today when Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi achieved the Team’s first two-car finish in the season-opening 2014 Formula 1™ Rolex Australian Grand Prix.

57 laps earlier, the result had not looked quite so promising, as both drivers suffered car-stopping problems before the start lights were even illuminated. Max experienced an engine kill at the start of the formation lap whilst conducting normal start procedures. The car was stuck in gear and he had to be pushed back to the garage, where the Team were able to reset the car, resolve the issue and get Max in a position where he could start the race from the pit lane, which was an impressive turnaround. He ended the race in 14th position.

Meanwhile, Jules had completed the formation lap but on returning to the grid he experienced a separate engine kill. He too was pushed back to the pits but it was six laps into the race before he finally left the garage, ground he was never going to be able to make up. Although Jules finished the race, he was unclassified.

Max Chilton: “Today’s race was by no means perfect but we have started the season with a two-car finish, and on my side a 14th place as well, so we have to be pleased with that. The start was obviously extremely concerning. I was on the grid preparing for the formation lap with the usual procedures and suddenly everything just cut out. At that point I was worried that my race was already over, but the Team did a fantastic job to push me off the grid and back to the garage where they reset the car and I was able to start the race from the pit lane. From that point on I knew we had an important job to do to get the car home, but at the same time do the hard work to we needed to be able to evaluate the car over a race distance. It was quite pleasing to be able to catch Ericsson in the process. We’ve learned an awful lot today that will stand us in good stead as we prepare for the next race in Malaysia and also to start developing the car for the longer term. After a tough time in testing when we did not achieve all the mileage we had hoped for, it’s good to take home a 14th place finish from the first race of the season. It’s a nice reward for all the hard work across the whole Team.”

Jules Bianchi: “The problem at the start was really quite worrying and I did not expect to be able to race, but the Team got me to the garage and fought hard to get me back on track. I was six laps down when I did rejoin and of course I was never going to recover from that, but that was not the point. Being in the race – and finishing it – enabled us to gather the maximum amount of information and test various strategies for maximising the power unit. In many ways it was more like a test than a race for me, which was far from ideal, but as is the case in testing, the mileage was important and this will be crucial for the engineers to start moving us forward. Hopefully I will be able to benefit from this next time around. I am pleased that we have some reward for all the hard work and we look forward to better things in Malaysia.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “It was a heart-stopping start to our race, to say the least, but the way we recovered from the issues we experienced with both cars was very pleasing and ultimately we achieved our objective of a two-car finish, albeit Jules missed the first six laps. Our performance did fall shy of our overall target, due to the specific problems we encountered and, more generally, being a little on the back foot. Having said that, this race was by no means a reflection of our potential and we are encouraged by the feedback from both drivers, which points to very good signs for our development. We seem to have a car that is reliable for the race and as a result we leave Melbourne with a mountain of data for the engineers to pore over in order to begin the work of fully optimising our package. What this means is that from Malaysia we can start to focus a little more on extracting more performance from the car. It has been a tough journey to get to this point and today is actually a big achievement for the Team and our partnership with Scuderia Ferrari. We can feel proud and positive for the season ahead.”

Claudio Albertini, Head of Customer Teams Power Unit Operations, Scuderia Ferrari: “On balance the race debut for the partnership between Scuderia Ferrari and Marussia F1 Team was positive. We were able to get both cars to the finish in the first race of the season, which is an important achievement, but above all we have a good starting point for further improvement. It’s a shame that neither Max nor Jules managed to start from the grid; the handicap for Max has not substantially affected his final position, but the same cannot be said for Jules, who saw his race compromised even before the start. The data that we could collect this weekend and, in particular, this afternoon will be very useful to improve the contribution to the performance of the team going forward.”

[MIKA27]

Mercedes: It was a day of light and shadow

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team today entered the new era of F1 with a composed victory for Nico Rosberg from P3 on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix.

Nico claimed first place off the line and led every lap of the race to win by 24 seconds at the chequered flag.

He made two pit stops on laps 12 and 38, running a tyre strategy of Option/Option/Prime, and set the fastest lap on lap 19.

Lewis was forced to retire his car after two laps owing to a misfiring cylinder, which had cost engine power since the start.

Nico’s win marks the 100th F1 victory for a Mercedes-Benz engine, with the first achieved by Juan Manuel Fangio in 1954.

Nico Rosberg: That was an incredible day for us. To start the season with a win is unbelievable and I have to say a big thank you to everybody who was involved in building our car over the winter. I always dreamed of having such a strong Silver Arrow and now it seems we are there. In the race, everything went perfectly for me. My start was great and I was able to push from there until the end, with our fuel consumption well under control. However, despite our success today, we also know that there is still some work to do. We saw over the weekend that reliability is still a concern and it prevented us from having a strong two-car finish. We have two weeks to improve that. I am very much looking forward to Malaysia and I would love to race again tomorrow!

Lewis Hamilton: My start didn’t feel great today and I had a lot less power than usual when pulling away, so it was obvious immediately that something was wrong. It looks like we only had five cylinders firing and, while I wanted to keep going, we had to play safe and save the engine. It’s unfortunate but that’s racing and we will recover from this. We have a great car and engine, and the pace was really strong today as Nico clearly showed. Big congratulations to him and the team for achieving the win, it’s a fantastic result for us. Of course I’m disappointed with my own race and when I think about all the work that has gone on back at our factories, it’s tough to have a costly hiccup. However we have achieved an incredible amount to get here, to be at the front and to be so competitive; we will bounce back and learn from this. There is a very long way to go this season.

Toto Wolff: It was a day of light and shadow for us. Nico did a perfect job this afternoon: a great start and a really controlled drive all the way to the final lap. He delivered the car’s performance how he needed to, when he needed to, and took a very composed and deserved victory. On the other side, we were disappointed to lose Lewis so early after a misfiring cylinder forced him to retire. He had done everything right this weekend until that point and it was a situation beyond his control. We know that reliability will be crucial to this long season and we will be working hard to improve the situation for the race in Malaysia. Finally, this victory has a very special meaning for us, too. I would like to dedicate it to Michael, who has been in all our thoughts this weekend. He will keep fighting, as only he knows how, and we are sending all our strength to him today.

Paddy Lowe: Today’s race was all about delivering on the potential we had shown in testing and on the hard work that has been put into this project since its beginning. It was fantastic to get the win on behalf of the hundreds of people in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart who have contributed to our performance over several years. A special mention must also go to Ross. I have come relatively late to this campaign and would like to thank him for the contribution he made in the years leading to this point, which we can now build upon. It was hugely disappointing for all of us that Lewis was not able to convert his pole position but this is a day to focus on our success rather than failures. We know that this season will be more of a marathon than a sprint and that reliability will play a decisive role. After taking a moment to savour this win, we will be hard at work to improve further for the next race in Malaysia.

[Bartolomeo]

The Russian was impressive along w Mags, felt bad for Lewis, too bad about Vettel (kidding), no speed for Alonzo....all in all a good race but engine noise still is weak

Bart

[MIKA27]

This Race Between An Australian Air Force Jet And An F1 Car Is Flawed, But I Don't Care

The idea of racing a fast car against a fighter jet is nothing new. Top Gear‘s race between a jet and the Bugatti Veyron comes to mind. Red Bull doesn’t care though. It’s pitted Daniel Riccardio and his F1 car up against the might of the Royal Australian Air Force. It’s a flawed race, but who cares.

Presumably, the clip is to illustrate the power of an F1 car being able to hold its own against a fighter jet. They take off from the start line on the runway and presumably race to the end.

The jet seems to abandon the race halfway through, however, and begin a vertical ascent. Either way, though, it beat Riccardio hands-down.

Sure, the F1 car might have it off the line against a fighter, but nothing beats that giant jet engine in a fight.

It’s a flawed race, but I don’t care. Watching these two go at it is mesmerising.

When Riccardio is upset about being disqualified from the Melbourne F1, he can just remember the fun he had on this day.

[nikonNUT]

It doesn't look like the Hornet was on full afterburner (no fire coming from the nozzels) and from the way he pulled up and to the right I can only assume that the jet wash would have blown the car completely off the track so yes, I would say it was flawed but still very cool!

[MIKA27]

Button: Papa Smurf will have a big smile on his face looking down

Jenson Button’s first race weekend since the death of his father John was always going to be a tough one emotionally for the 2009 world champion, but he did his best at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The McLaren driver’s hopes of a fourth win at Albert Park were all but dashed in qualifying when Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen crashed and brought out the yellow flags toward the end of a rainy session.

Condemned to start 10th on the grid, the 34-year-old Button worked patiently through the traffic to finish fourth on the track but ended up third, after Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified.

With Danish rookie teammate Kevin Magnussen taking Ricciardo’s second place on a brilliant debut, McLaren had two drivers together on the podium for the first time since China in April 2012.

“Yesterday was a painful day because I wanted to do really well for him,” Button said of his father, a constant source of support and popular paddock regular, who died in January.

“It’s been a tough weekend emotionally, I’m not the sort of a person who likes to show it in front of a TV camera.

“I don’t think that’s right. So in the background it’s very, very tough. But I’ve had the most amazing support from the paddock. My family, friends…it really does mean a lot.

“He’ll have a big smile on his face looking down and knowing that everyone’s talking about him right now. He loved that.”

Button battled hard to beat his 21-year-old teammate, but Magnussen showed him a clean pair of heels.

“It’s a great day for us,” said Button before Ricciardo’s exclusion was announced.

“A great result for the whole team, Kevin drove really well. First podium, first race. I was fighting all the way to chase him down and also Daniel at the end. But there just wasn’t quite enough in the tyres.”

[MIKA27]

FIA said ‘Zero tolerance’ regarding fuel limit

I recalled a story that Jonathan Noble posted at AUTOSPORT a while back in which the FIA’s Charlie Whiting said there would be zero tolerance on the fuel flow limit which is the very issue at hand over Red Bull’s disqualification of Daniel Ricciardo. Charlie said:

“The 100kg is the maximum and, if they go over, they have exceeded the limit and there is no tolerance,” explained Whiting.

“We are confident of the [fuel flow measuring] meter’s accuracy. It will always be correlated with data we have from injectors to make sure there is not a wide divergence, but from what we have seen so far that will not be the case.”

Red Bull maintain that the sensor is dodgy and that they were monitoring the fuel flow rate at the injector instead because they didn’t trust the FIA sensor. Charlie seems to admit that the sensor can be hit or miss:

“It is very apparent right from the beginning whether or not that sensor is going to work,” he said. “It is either very, very good or a long way out, so you can identify whether or not that meter should be used.

“We monitor them all the way through the race and, if we see a fault, we have a fallback solution.

“For example, we would know what the fuel used was at the end of lap 24, and that is the starting point for our new calculation. So we are in good shape there.”

Charlie believes the infraction would be a post-race inspection that would reveal it and that it could mean disqualification. In Sunday’s case, it happened during the race and the deliberations were held immediately after the race with a disqualification handed down.

Makes you wonder if the sensors provided to the FIA couldn’t be improved to make sure you don’t get a few “long way out” units doesn’t it? Red Bull argue that the small changes can mean a big impact on performance telling AUTOSPORT:

“We end up in a situation where, depending on the calibration of your sensor, of plus or minus, it will dictate who is going to be competitive and who isn’t.” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

It does bring up a question of flow rate versus total fuel load. If the team used a higher flow rate, would it matter as they only have 100kgs total to use. A reduced flow rate could be very tactical if they were allowed to carry whatever fuel load they wanted but were reduced to 100kgs per hour. This would call for more efficient engines certainly. The answer is most likely int eh symbiotic nature of the MGU-k, MGU-h and the V6 ICE along with the Turbo Charger or TC.

The reduced flow rate is coupled with the total load in order to get the car to the checkered flag. There would not be enough power from the ERS alone to keep the car at pace if they ran out of fuel, that’s not how the system works. They are not independent systems rather they rely on each other to work. Therefore, you need to make sure you have fuel for the entire race in order to generate power to be harvested for redeployment to the drive train for added power but not complete replacement power. The reduced flow also limits the overall power output as well.

[MIKA27]

Aus organisers claim breach of contract

Despite only recently extending their deal to host the Australian GP, the race's organisers are now crying breach of contract after F1's sound failed to impress.

For the first time this past weekend, fans listened to the new-look Formula One and its quieter 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines.

And although the on-track action was worth watching, that didn't stop some from taking to social media to voice their complaints about the sound.

One person who is not happy is Australian GP chairman Ron Walker while Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive Andrew Westacott says it could even be deemed a breach of contract.

"One aspect of it was just a little bit duller than it's ever been before and that's part of the mix and the chemistry that they're going to have to get right," Westacott told Fairfax Radio on Monday.

"Ron spoke to (Ecclestone) after the race and said the fans don't like it in the venue.

"We pay for a product, we've got contracts in place, we are looking at those very, very seriously because we reckon there has probably been some breaches."

[MIKA27]

Vettel: No doubt we’ll fix this issue, the question is how soon?

Quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team could not have made a worse start to the defence of their Formula 1 driver and constructor titles after finishing outside the points in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Starting from 13th on the grid, Vettel lasted less than five laps on the Albert Park circuit when he was forced to retire with engine problems.

Vettel’s new Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo initially looked to have fared better, qualifying second before finishing behind Nico Rosberg to become the first Australian to take a podium at an F1 Australian Grand Prix.

His celebrations were short lived after he was later disqualified when stewards ruled Red Bull breached F1′s new fuel-flow-limit rules during the race. Red Bull has appealed the decision.

Daniel Ricciardo was second for a few hours until he was disqualified

Vettel said his new V6 turbo hybrid car lacked power from the start of the race.

“We tried to recover as much as we could. At some stage I thought it was a slight improvement, but obviously we realised there was a bigger problem with the engine,” he said.

“For some reason we lost a couple of cylinders. When you don’t have the power from the engine, you can’t make the whole system function properly and you lose even more power.”

A switch to six-cylinder turbo engines has forced a radical redesign of all this season’s F1 cars, with the aim of making the series more relevant to the car industry and tempting major automakers back to F1.

After winning the last nine races of the 2013 season, pre-season testing was problematic for Vettel, and his first race of 2014 disappointing to say the least. But he maintains he is still in contention for a fifth straight driver’s title.

“For sure were learned an awful lot (about the car). We learned the car is quick, we just need to get everything together,” Vettel said. ”No doubt we’ll fix this issue, the question is how soon?”

Despite disappointment at the early end to his own race, Sebastian reserved his sympathy for his team-mate, saying “I feel very sorry for Daniel, as there isn’t anything better than a good race result at your home GP.”

[MIKA27]

Magnussen shines brightest as F1 rookies signal their arrival on the big stage

Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen put Formula 1′s old guard on notice on Sunday with a stunning second place for McLaren on his Australian Grand Prix debut in Melbourne.

The 21-year-old’s performance at Albert Park made him the first Dane to stand on an F1 podium, as well as the highest placed debutant since Canadian Jacques Villeneuve made a sensational start with Williams in 1996.

The Woking-based team had been off the podium since 2012 but Magnussen, son of former F1 racer Jan, led the way back with teammate Jenson Button joining him in third after Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from second in his home race.

“It does feel incredible. It’s now crazy to think that we are here,” Magnussen told reporters before Ricciardo’s disqualification, which Red Bull have appealed.

“Today I’ve done my first Formula One race, I got on the podium and I did it with McLaren. It’s such a dream come true. I can’t explain how it feels, it’s just unreal.”

The Dane was fast-tracked into Formula One by McLaren after he won the Renault 3.5 World Series title last year and impressed in a young driver test.

Lewis Hamilton, in 2007, was the last rookie to make a Formula One debut for McLaren and he finished third in Melbourne that year and challenged for the title all season before winning it in 2008.

McLaren felt Magnussen was so promising they dropped Mexican Sergio Perez to make way for him.

The Dane, whose father’s F1 career stalled and ended with just one point after he made his McLaren debut in 1995, said it was a “gamble” that had paid off.

“To take a rookie is a gamble in Formula One, especially in a top team,” he told Sky television. “They listened and believed in me and I can’t thank them enough. This has been the best day of my life but I’m sure I’ll have better days ahead.”

Though Hamilton and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel were sidelined by reliability problems, Magnussen put two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso (fourth) and his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen(seventh) in the shade.

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

The season-opener in Melbourne had promised to be a lottery as teams grappled with the sport’s new technological revolution which includes V6 turbocharged hybrid engines instead of the screeching old V8s.

While Ricciardo’s disqualification left a sour note for Red Bull and local fans, the 24-year-old’s composure over his first race weekend with the team will not be forgotten.

Toro Rosso’s Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat finished ninth to become Formula One’s youngest points scorer at the age of 19, eclipsing the previous record set by Vettel at the 2007 US Grand Prix.

“It’s a great feeling. It was quite a good race for us, we managed to keep the rhythm very high,” the confident Russian said.

“I think we did a really good job. We were quite good on tyres. It feels like a good step, every session we are learning something.”

Toro Ross principal Franz Tost was sure there was much more to come, ”I’m very happy for Daniil…This is very promising and I’m convinced that this is the first of a long series.”

For the only other rookie in the field Marcus Ericsson the day ended early when an oil pressure problem on his Caterham forced him to retire on lap 27, but on the bright side he ran as high as 12th at one stage.

““Even though my first race in F1 ended with a DNF I’m still proud of the way we fought today. It’s been a very difficult weekend overall, one of the hardest in my whole career, but we still showed a bit of the potential we have in the first laps of the first stint when I passed Sutil and was running well in twelfth,” said Ericsson of his afternoon at Albert Park.

[MIKA27]

Alonso: I have a very strong opponent in the team and I am very happy about that

Fernando Alonso insists he is very happy to have a strong opponent in Kimi Raikkonen to fight against at Ferrari this year, and in fact relishes the prospect.

Some believe the Spaniard cannot possibly have supported the team’s decision to replace the subordinate Felipe Massa with the former Ferrari champion Kimi Raikkonen.

But Alonso insists Massa was no pushover.

“Sometimes he was even faster than Michael Schumacher when they were together,” he told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. ”But my four years were fantastic with Felipe, so I expect nothing other than my coming years with Kimi to be fantastic too.”

Finn Raikkonen had a poor race return with Ferrari in Australia, but Alonso tipped him to get up to speed quickly.

“He’s very, very fast, perhaps the fastest of us all, or at least he is considered as such by some,” he said.

“Last year, he battled for the title with a Lotus, an achievement I rate highly because I do not think Lotus are so strong,” Alonso added.

“I have a very strong opponent in the team and I am very happy about that, whether you believe me or not.”

He said all the recent speculation about their relationship was “understandable”, given the new season and a “winter in which nothing much happens”.

“This has become a routine for me, especially since I’ve been with Ferrari, because it was also said it would be very difficult for me with Felipe,” said Alonso.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull confident of reversing Ricciardo disqualification

Ex Formula 1 team owner Paul Stoddart has tipped Red Bull to win its appeal against Daniel Ricciardo’s disqualification from second place in the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

In a complex ruling, Ricciardo’s car was excluded after the team rejected the accuracy of an FIA sensor and relied on its own measurements to comply with the rule governing the maximum allowed flow of fuel into the engine.

“We wouldn’t be appealing if we weren’t extremely confident that we have a defendable case,” said team boss Horner.

Stoddart, who sold his Minardi team to Red Bull in 2005, tipped Red Bull to prove to the FIA that it didn’t cheat.

“The Renault engineers would’ve known exactly how much fuel was going into that engine,” the Australian told Melbourne radio 3AW on Monday.

“We’re talking teams with budgets of $400, $500 million here — they have far better equipment than the FIA.”

The correspondent for the London newspaper The Times, Kevin Eason, wrote: “In the other corner [to Red Bull] is the FIA, essentially an organisation with a budget a fraction of the Formula 1 teams.”

Stoddart tipped Red Bull to be able to prove that Ricciardo “did not gain any advantage” and that it decided to ignore the FIA because it was the “right” thing to do in the circumstances.

Horner explained: “We could see a significant discrepancy with what the sensor was reading and what our fuel flow was stated as.

“These (FIA) fuel flow sensors have proved problematic. So we relied on our own data, because otherwise we would have lost a lot of engine power,” he is quoted by Speed Week.

The FIA’s Charlie Whiting, however, said that he advised Red Bull repeatedly throughout the race weekend to “take the necessary steps” to comply with the rules.

“If they had followed the advice we gave them at the time, we would not have had a problem and they would not have been penalised,” he said.

“If their sensor was kaput, then things would have been different,” Whiting added. “It is a human thing because they have the ability to do what was needed to comply.”

Red Bull’s case is further weakened by the words of Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell, who said the way the fuel flow is measured is “accurate and reliable”.

“All the teams have their own consumption measurements via the injection data,” he is quoted by the German-language Spox.

“In the case of irregularities, the FIA will compare its values with those of the team. So we have a safety net.”

MIKA: Will they, won't they (THE FIA) reverse the decision? If this is the case and it's reversed, what does that say about the FIA? Pretty stupid really and a good example of how they are ruining the sport with their post race penalties.

IMO - If you can't lay out a penalty 'during' a race, then don't hand one out at all.

[MIKA27]

Lauda fears Formula 1 facing giant hole without Ecclestone

Niki Lauda has revealed that he is worried Formula 1 as a sport will struggle if Bernie Ecclestone is no longer at the helm.

Formula 1′s long-time ‘supremo’ could even be jailed if he is found guilty of bribery and corruption in a criminal trial that begins in Germany next month.

“Without him and his knowledge, Formula 1 would fall into a giant hole,” Lauda, the Chairman of the Mercedes team and a triple world champion, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

He said it would be “incredibly difficult” for the sport if Ecclestone, 83, is no longer able to run Formula 1 “from one day to the next”.

Given the sport’s size, many insiders find it hard to believe a succession plan is not ready to be unfurled, but Lauda said: “I don’t know if Bernie can be so easily replaced.”

The great Austrian said that the diminutive Briton has done a “perfect job” for the sport over the years.

“He made some small errors, but each of us has done that,” Lauda insisted.

Even Ecclestone admits that paying the jailed former Formula 1 banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to quieten him about his tax affairs might have been a mistake.

“I regret paying him,” he told the Formula 1 business journalist Christian Sylt.

“I should have let him write to the [british] Revenue and let them prove what he said,” Ecclestone is quoted by the Express newspaper. ”It is a wonderful thing, hindsight.”

[MIKA27]

Button pushing for new McLaren deal beyond 2014

Jenson Button, now the most experienced driver on the Formula 1 2014 grid, must prove to McLaren that he is also a man for the future.

The 2009 world champion is out of contract at the end of this season, and in Australia he was out-qualified and out-raced by his new rookie teammate, Kevin Magnussen.

McLaren’s new team boss Eric Boullier said Magnussen’s was “one of the finest performances by a Formula 1 rookie in living memory”.

Formula 1′s oldest driver last year was Mark Webber, and although still competitive he explained in Melbourne at the weekend that he chose to retire as he realised his performance curve was dipping.

“I’ve had a great career,” Button is quoted by the Telegraph. “But for me it’s definitely not near the end.”

“People have said ‘Ah, he’s 34, end of your contract, what are you going to do at the end of this year?’ It’s going to be the same as any other year,” the Briton insisted.

“It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a contract, if a team don’t think you’re doing a good enough job then they’ll get rid of you, and if you’re doing a great job they’ll want you for 10 years more.”

Button said he has not considered what he would do if his only option would be to leave McLaren and join a smaller team.

“I’m here at McLaren and that’s where I’m happy to be. I’m not going to get worried either way,” he insisted.

The situation could, however, ramp up the tension between Button and the 13 years younger Magnussen this year, but Boullier insisted that he is not worried.

“I think you should ask that question to Mercedes or Ferrari,” he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport. ”For us there is no problem.”

[MIKA27]

Formula 1′s vacuum cleaner engine sound a big disappointment

Organisers of the Australian Grand Prix are furious with Formula 1′s new low volume engine sounds, which simply lack the wow factor of previous generation power units.

Even some of the sport’s stalwarts were alarmed in Melbourne when the 22 cars purred towards the first corner in Melbourne on Sunday.

“At first I said ‘Just take out your earplugs, it’s the same as before’,” triple world champion Lauda told the German broadcaster RTL.

“But I have to honestly say I was slightly disappointed today on television, especially at the start. Simply something was missing,” he added.

“Before, [the sound] was right down to the marrow. We need to get used to it but it has lost some of its attraction,” said Lauda.

World champion Sebastian Vettel said driving in Melbourne felt more like being at the wheel of “a vacuum cleaner than a racing car”.

Formula 1′s most experienced active driver Jenson Button is also worried, especially after a V10-powered demonstration car did laps at Albert Park at the weekend.

“Oh my god I miss that,” he said. “It sounded amazing. Those were great years for the sound of the engine, but that is no more.”

Most in the Formula 1 paddock are disappointed, but Australian Grand Prix corporation Chief Executive Andrew Westacott has revealed that he is actually angry.

“We pay for a product, we’ve got contracts in place, we are looking at those very, very seriously because we reckon there has probably been some breaches,” he told Fairfax Radio on Monday.

But Lauda, who is dominant Mercedes’ Formula 1 Chairman, said it would be wrong to tinker with the engine rules just because the sport is now quieter.

“Everyone wants to do something about it, but you can’t just change the exhaust pipe, you’d have to redevelop the whole engine and the mapping,” he said. “That’s just way too expensive.

“Please do not change the engines just to make a bit more noise,” he exclaimed.

[MIKA27]

Williams chasing a return to the front

Claire Williams is not only determined to see the Williams legacy survive but she also wants it to thrive.

After far too many lean years, many are expecting Williams to get back in the fight this season with the new Mercedes-powered FW36.

Already, after just one race, the team has scored more than doubled their points tally from 2013.

Valtteri Bottas brought his Williams Martini racer home in fifth place in Sunday's season-opening Australian GP, netting 10 points, five more than the team managed the whole of lat season.

It was a welcome result for the team and what Williams, the deputy team principal, hopes is the start of a revival.

"I would hate for the Williams legacy to fade away," she told The Independent.

"There are stories that it will go the way of Tyrrell. Well, over my dead body. No way. That's not going to happen.

"My dream is to make this a World Championship-winning team again."

Williams, the daughter of team founder Frank Williams, also weighed in on being a female in F1 and argues that it doesn't make any difference in her job.

"Everyone is interested in the female element which is really weird because I've never, ever considered it.

"I grew up in F1, so I've been surrounded by men all my life and am used to that. When I was put into this role I never thought, 'Oh God, will people take me seriously because I'm a woman?'

"I've never really found that it's been more of a challenge doing this role because I'm a girl. I'm just there to do my job. The girl thing just doesn't come into it."

[MIKA27]

WHAT I THOUGHT OF THE NEW LOOK AND SOUND OF F1: GUEST BLOG

by Ed Gorman, former F1 Correspondent, The Times

I always loved the Australian Grand Prix. Even though I used to experience it through a haze of jet lag – mere newspaper journos were never given enough time in-country to adjust – you could not help enjoying the setting, the people and the passion for the sport. Albert Park is right up there with the best of them – in my day in the paddock that would include Silverstone, Monza, Spa, Monaco, anywhere in Japan, Montreal and Brazil.

From the comfort of my sofa 10,500 miles away and without the need to get on a cheap flight all the way there, those hugely positive vibes about Formula One still come over loud and clear. The Grand Prix is taken seriously in Melbourne, it gets genuine support and it remains a worthy setting for the season opener.

In the last few years, particularly from a British perspective, the sport has been struggling a bit. The success of Sebastian Vettel and the corresponding lack of it among the main British teams and British divers has sapped enthusiasm in the UK. So like many armchair followers I was looking forward to something a bit different and boy did we get it.

The combination of the sweeping rule changes, the new sounds and technology and the new driver talent on show, plus the complex challenge of managing fuel loads made for a real sit-up-and-take-notice race weekend. The opener should be at the very least an amuse-bouche for what is to come and I found myself thinking about all the might-have-beens and the intriguing unanswered questions once the chequered flag had come down.

For example, the season looks massively promising for Lewis Hamilton, assuming he can get past Nico. It is not looking too bad for Sebastian Vettel either, given the performance of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull, which finished second prior to being disqualified. And what about Williams? Where would they have finished had Valtteri Bottas not hit the wall and Felipe Massa not been shoveled off the track by Kamui Kobayashi? And where are Ferrari in the pecking order? Was the electrical fault on both cars enough to consign them to the upper middle order or is this another not bad, but not great, offering from Maranello?

The sport’s administrators have given the teams a proper challenge and the single most positive element I would argue is that they have returned some of the skill back to the cockpit. The cars are powerful, unruly and complex and they are proving a handful for the world’s top drivers. No doubt things will settle down and the drivers and teams behind them will gradually learn the new ropes, but in the meantime it looks like we could be in for some exciting racing in the early part of the season.

Rookies catch the eye

Driver wise, you could not but help be impressed by the new kids on the block – Daniel Ricciardo stepping up in class to Red Bull with a mature performance in front of his home crowd and Kevin Magnussen putting on an astonishing debut for Ron Dennis’s team. And then there is Daniil Kvyat, the new teenage star in the Toro Rosso, who started eighth and finished tenth, becoming the youngest points scorer in Formula One history as he did so.

And what of the teams? The resurgence of Williams is very exciting. After years of being also-rans, the proud outfit now under Claire Wiliams’s control looks a force to be reckoned with. One of the best shots in the television coverage was a cut-away of her in the garage, barely being able to look at the screen as she watched Bottas whack his rear wheel into the wall, on lap 10. She looks like someone who wants to win badly and maybe – like her father – she will be tough on her drivers. Mercedes are clearly a step ahead of everyone and Nico Rosberg did not put a foot wrong in his impressively packaged new Silver Arrow. His performance is encouraging from a Lewis Hamilton perspective but slightly worrying if the team runs away with the season. Red Bull clearly have a useful if unprepared car and cannot be discounted yet.

The look of the new cars

Looks-wise there are some seriously ugly machines knocking around. The rules on nose height have forced designers into some ungainly solutions with Ferrari taking the title for worst of all (Lotus as runner-up?). The red cars look like a couple of old prize-fighters with noses that have been broken and flattened after years in the ring. I can’t imagine Luca di Montezemolo – who guards the style of Ferrari with a passion – is all that pleased with his latest Formula One thoroughbreds.

The new sound of F1

I know the thorny question of engine noise – or lack of it – has been heavily debated already but, for what its worth, here’s my view, having tuned in for the first time this weekend. I am torn on this. In some ways quieter cars are better for everyone, speaking as one of the thousands of people whose hearing was damaged by being too close to Formula One. They are also a lot more interesting in the sense that you can hear much more about how the car is performing with the new cars – the engine note, the gear changes, the screech of lock-ups. You can also hear ambient noise around the cars, including the crowd occasionally and even the circuit commentator – the redoubtable Bob Constanduros. There were moments when it felt, or sounded like, a Grand Prix from years ago.

But there is no doubt that something has been lost. The sheer roaring, full-throated extravagance of the V8s was enough to send a shiver through my spine every time I heard them close up. The old cars physically invaded your space as they approached, hammering the ground like a tank on speed. I will never forget standing in the tunnel at Monaco feeling the chest bursting impact of cars rifling past towards the sunlight. Somehow Formula One – the pinnacle of motor sport – felt just right being ludicrously loud.

I admit I spent quite a lot of time this weekend trying to put my finger on what the new cars sound like. Lawn mowers? No. Motor bikes. Maybe. Powerboats. Yes. My guess is that the main loss here will be felt by people at the tracks. On TV, the new “noise scape” is less impressive but more interesting and after a while we will all have forgotten what some of us are missing. There will also be more people around not needing hearing aids.

Two final thoughts

It was great to hear Kamui Kobayashi so honestly and completely accepting responsibility for his fairly embarrassing crash at the first corner. It is not often you get a driver putting his hand up and doing that when there is always someone else to blame. It turned out anyway that the rear brakes had failed.

It is a relief that the length of quali has been looked at. But it is a pity the changes weren’t more radical. Cutting the most boring section – quali one – from 20 to 18 minutes is hardly a big step and does not make enough of an impact. More controversially, I found the race very long and not as interesting after the safety car as before it. Does Formula One have to stick to such a long-winded format? A shorter, more intense Grand Prix might be the way ahead…I’ve got my fingers in my ears on that one.

[MIKA27]

Sepang boss says Malaysia not in mood for grand prix

Malaysia is not in the mood for next weekend’s Grand Prix at Sepang, says track chief Razlan Razali, even as he confirmed that the race is on despite the country’s real focus being on the mystery of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

On 8 March, the Boeing 777, its crew and 227 passengers disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to China, and despite the involvement of 25 countries in the frantic search, the missing flight has yet to be found.

Now, Malaysia is set to host the second round of Formula 1′s 2014 season.

“People are not in the mood for an event like this,” Sepang Chief Executive Razali told the AFP news agency. ”Everywhere, be it on radio, newspaper, TV or social media, it is all about finding MH370.”

However, Razali said there is no doubt that the race will go on.

“Whatever it is, Formula 1 will go on and the concert after that will proceed but we will be sensitive and not go overboard,” he explained.

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone: If you bought strawberry jam at the supermarket and you got peanut butter you’d be a bit pissed off

A commotion about Formula 1′s new quieter cars – which have greatly upset fans of the sport – could hit the sport’s revenues and lead to teams getting less money if promoters take legal action, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Monday.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker said after Sunday’s season-opener that he was not happy with the reduced decibels and Formula One was “clearly in breach of contract”.

“It’s not what we paid for. It’s going to change,” Walker told the Melbourne Age newspaper, adding that he had spoken to a ‘horrified’ Ecclestone about it.

“It will be an issue for promoters all around the world.”

Ecclestone told Reuters in a telephone interview that Walker was “probably going a bit over the top with what he’s saying” but added that the Australian was not alone in his concern.

“I’ve had one or two promoters get in touch with me today and they said how unhappy they are,” said the 83-year-old billionaire.

“I spoke to (Ferrari president) Luca di Montezemolo just now and Luca said he’s never had as many emails on his desk complaining and saying this isn’t Formula One.”

Formula 1 ditched the old and raucous 2.4 litre V8 engines at the end of last season and replaced them with less fuel-thirsty and more muted 1.6 litre V6 turbo power units with expensive and complicated energy recovery systems.

Ecclestone has long been a critic of the change and has warned repeatedly that the sport risked losing a key ingredient for the paying public by turning down the volume that was such a big part of the show.

“I’m disappointed that I was right when I said what was going to happen. I’m sorry that it’s happened,” he said.

Asked whether promoters might see an opportunity to renegotiate their contracts downwards as a result, Ecclestone acknowledged that might become an issue.

It’s not [a concern] at the moment but it could well be,” he said. “If the promoters say ‘Listen, this ain’t what I bought and I ain’t going to pay for it or I don’t want to pay as much’ or whatever, then it is a concern.

“We give the teams a percentage of the revenue we receive. So if we are receiving less revenue, whatever the case may be, certainly the teams wouldn’t get as much. So it’s going to cost them,” he added.

The Briton, who has seen the global glamour sport go through numerous engine eras from V12 to V10 and V8, questioned whether promoters like Walker could win their argument in any court of law, however.

“I don’t know whether he has [got a point],” he said of Walker’s comments about a breach of contract.

“Let’s assume he hasn’t got a point as far as the legal side is going. Then you have to look at it from a moral side. If you went into the supermarket today and bought some strawberry jam and you got peanut butter you’d probably be a bit pissed off.

“It’s good quality peanut butter, but he’s saying it isn’t what he bought,” added Ecclestone.

“Whether the contract describes what he’d bought, the strawberry jam with so many strawberries, I don’t know. I doubt it. I think he bought the FIA Formula One world championship. Which is what he’s got.”

Nico Rosberg won Sunday’s race for a dominant Mercedes while quadruple world champion compatriot Sebastian Vettel, who won the last nine races of 2013 for Red Bull, retired early on with engine trouble.

Despite dire predictions of no cars finishing the race, so uncertain was their reliability, 13 of the 22 drivers were classified in the final results.

“I am surprised that as many cars finished. I didn’t think the racing was super,” said Ecclestone of what he had seen.

“What was good from the public’s point of view I suppose was that we didn’t suddenly see Sebastian disappear into the night. Whether we are going to see [Mercedes' Lewis] Hamilton or the other one [Rosberg] do that, I don’t know.

“I’ve got to suspect that we will.”

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo: I still stood there on the podium and that was a great feeling

Daniel Ricciardo’s headline grabbing second place finish at the season opening Australian Grand Prix was a short-lived experience for the ever smiling, popular Red Bull driver.

Nevertheless it lasted long enough for him and to enjoy a memorable podium ceremony, talk from the heart in the post race press conference, savour the fact that he had just scored his first Formula 1 podium in his first race as a Red Bull driver and also become the first Aussie to stand on the top step of a podium on home soil – but a few hours later he was robbed of these accolades as FIA stewards disqualified him for a fuel flow infringement.

Needless to say Ricciardo was disappointed with what transpired, but he took it on the chin and remains very proud of what he achieved at Albert Park.

Speaking on Monday after the race, Ricciardo said, “I still feel obviously really good about what I did. It doesn’t change much. But obviously it would be nice to get the 18 points. I still stood there [on the podium] and that was a great feeling.”

Red Bull have said that they will appeal the decision, but Ricciardo is not prepared to speculate about the outcome of the legal proceedings. As it stands there is a zero beside his name on the championship table, instead of 18 points.

“We’ll see what happens. I’m not really in a mind space to talk about it right now,” he told reporters.

But when pressed about the grounds of the appeal he added, “It’s a lot of time for them and some money as well so they have confidence that we can turn it around, but it’s going to take a while until we know.”

“They feel that it’s not black or white, it’s a little bit shaded, so that’s why they’re going to fight it and we’ll see how they go.”

In the end Ricciardo was an innocent victim in the whole fuel flow saga, his job is to drive very fast and bring the car home in one piece. This he did impressively.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner insisted, “It’s extremely disappointing that this has happened, it’s certainly no fault of Daniel’s.”

On Monday Ricciardo flew to Perth to spend quiet time with his family, before heading off to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend starting on 28 March.

[MIKA27]

Williams banish the ghosts of a dismal 2013 and look like contenders for 2014

Valtteri Bottas scored twice as many points in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix than Williams managed in all of last year but the Finn and his Formula One team still left Melbourne knowing they could have done better.

The 24-year-old finished fifth, thanks to the disqualification of Red Bull’s second placed Australian Daniel Ricciardo hours after the race, in a car that showed pre-season`optimism was not misplaced.

Although Germany’s Nico Rosberg took a dominant win for Mercedes at Albert Park, after team mate Lewis Hamilton had retired from pole, Mercedes-powered Williams laid down a marker for the future.

They are still a long way from where they want to be but there is a new sense of optimism, and purpose, about the former champions as they fight back from the wilderness of last year.

“I think Mercedes are a standout team in terms of pace – and I still think there’s another team that’s very quick, they just didn’t really show it today or they made mistakes,” said McLaren’s Jenson Button – who started out with Williams in 2000 – after the race.

Both McLaren drivers ended up on the podium, with Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen second and Button third, to send that team top of the constructors’ standings.

Bottas and new Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa felt it could just as easily have been them.

“If we had a good qualifying, a clean race, we had a car here to fight for the podium,” Bottas said, and Massa – whose car was rear-ended at the start by Caterham’s Japanese Kamui Kobayashi – agreed.

“I would say Australia was a race where we could finish both cars and in a similar position to McLaren, so maybe we were going to be first in the championship,” the former Ferrari driver told reporters.

Both Williams had qualified in the top 10 and ahead of Button, but Bottas dropped to 15th on the grid due to a five place penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

He had climbed to sixth when he clouted the wall and had to limp back on three wheels and a rim, with the safety car coming out to enable marshals to clear up debris. The Finn dropped back to 16th – and charged through the field again.

“I’m quite mad about myself for the mistake,” he told Britain’s Sky television. “I just need to learn from it and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to do that kind of mistake again.

“The team have done such a good job here during the winter. It’s going to be a good season,” he added.

Claire Williams, deputy principal of the team founded by her father Frank, said the former champions – winners of nine constructors’ titles between 1980 and 1997 – had come a long way since last year when they scored only five points.

“I think we entered the weekend with lots of high hopes and there was a lot of expectation on us from the media as well but we were really trying to dampen that a bit and not get anyone’s hopes up too high,” she said.

“But coming into the race we really were hoping for both cars to get some strong points.

“It was so disappointing for Felipe to have been knocked out on the first corner but Valtteri drove such an amazing race…I think he overtook more than 20 cars which was phenomenal.”