Oh Dear! I guess this is my Humble Pie blog!
Brundle and Coulthard I bow down in most humble apologies - Sterling job Martin and once again David not relying solely on his experience but also referring to notes when he feels it necessary. Nice to hear it. Only one small, small, very tiny quibble David - We get that the DRS system is the equivalent of 100 extra horses! But is it useful at all as a passing aide?
What did Quali tell us about the teams? it seemed a case of "plus ca change plus le meme chose" with Vettel literally kicking arse and then McLaren, Webbo, and Ferrari with Petrov doing a great job for 6th and Rosberg showing Schumi up yet again.
Heidfeld nowhere, Barrichello nowhere, Schumacher not making it through to Q3.
Overall Quali just showed us that there wasn't any major change.
The race? Well once again I eat a fair slice of Humble Pie! Vettel and Hamilton taking one and two - The DNF dream shattered by a bulletproof Red Bull (as Brundle says "ominous") and a strong McLaren with a floating floor.
Petrov third - what a GREAT drive! Calm, poised, professional, remarkable - once again holding off Alonso at the end.
Alonso, Webbo (equalling his best ever Aussie GP finish), Button, PEREZ & Kobayashi.
Drive of the Day must be Perez in the Sauber - making only ONE pitstop - WOW! how did that work? And he was right on the pace all the way to the end. That was an amazing drive.
Drive of the Day 2 is Petrov. Well done that boy!
Team of the Day - Should be Red Bull, Should be McLaren but it must be Sauber - 7th & 8th. I can see a whole lot of team spies having sneaky peaks at the Saubers to see how they treat their tyres so gently.
Red Bull Ran without KERS for both Quali and Race. Is that even legal? Last time KERS was in operation we had most teams reject it because the added weight was not compensated for by the increase in speed. Why are they all using it if this is still the case - as it would appear to be given RBR's performance?
The DRS system seems to be relatively ineffectual as an aide to overtaking though it does provide for greater speed down the start finish straight - I might have a little go at that tomorrow.
Most Improved Team must be McLaren coming into the race with hardly any testing and what appeared to be a poor car.
Overtaking maneouvre of the Day - Rubens on Rosberg (sorry that was Cock-Up of the Day) Steamed into the side of Nico who was doing an OK job for a first race outing. Tsk! Tsk! Rubens you should know better!
Overtaking Maneouvre of the Day Must be Vettel on Button - just out of the pits Turns 3& 4, needed to get past and make it stick, Go Seb!
Seems we're still in no-man's-land in knowing where everyone will end up - reliability and differing pitstop strategies providing for the show today. I wouldn't call it a great race but it was a good season opener.
Results: pts
1. Vettel 25
2. Hamilton 18
3. Petrov 15
4. Alonso 12
5. Webber 10
6. Button 8
7. Perez 6
8. Kobayashi 4
9. Massa 2
10. Buemi 1
