Australian GP 2009 ( finally! )

[marcosp]

Hamilton always manages to squeeze some points, it's unbelievable!

[jamsbong]

OMG! what a great race. I was watching it all along with my friends on a big projector it was really fantastic. Overtakings, drama and crashes.

Too bad Vettel and Kubica could not negotiate well. good job Trulli and Hamilton for ending at such high despite a lot starting position.

Finally, Ross Brawn you deserved to be worshiped! This man is a real genius.

Oh yes, how can I forget... Honda must be swallowing the MOST BITTER pill they have ever tasted. hahahahahaha.......

[roost89]

My reaction at the start was: "what a boost having KERS is for Ferrari" They really used it off the line. I believe it also helped Hamilton alot, when he didn't use it he was being dropped by Toyota but when it kicked in he got quite a bit closer. Good drive.
Excellent drive from Trulli, from the pits to 3rd.

A few strange moments with Kimi and Kazuki dropping it under acceleration. I think Kimi's may have been KERS induced, maybe firing it a tad early.
Vettel and Kubica's crash was pretty odd too! I think the blame lies with Kubica on this one, closing the door too much.

Overall, it appears that the OWG has worked and KERS is a bigger boost during the race than anywhere else. I'd be interested to know why Massa went out.

Very good first race!

[Vasco]

BTW what happened to Renault? After the last test they were quite optimistic about their pace and they just didn't feature here. I guess there is still a little bit of uncertainty regarding the pace between Macca, Ferrari, Renault. They seem pretty close to each other and just 1-2tenths off Toyota,RBR,BMW,Williams...

[Conceptual]

So, Malaysia is next week?

[myurr]

Oh, and Trulli was even more impressive with his finish, so whats your point?

He dragged himself up past Massa (on the same first stint strategy) and Alonso as well! A bit lucky with the SC but a stunning drive in an inferior car.

Trulli was in the Toyota, a much better car than the McLaren, and Hamilton still kept him honest.

The point is that everyone's been bashing him, saying he needs a stint in a slower car, and I think he really proved himself today. On a day when other drivers in vastly faster cars dropped the ball.

[myurr]

BTW what happened to Renault? After the last test they were quite optimistic about their pace and they just didn't feature here. I guess there is still a little bit of uncertainty regarding the pace between Macca, Ferrari, Renault. They seem pretty close to each other and just 1-2tenths off Toyota,RBR,BMW,Williams...

Heidfeld as well, having KERS didn't seem to help him at all compared to Kubica.

[Jersey Tom]

I'd put the blame way more on Vettel than Kubica. Vettel knew Kubica was going to go for position, and he knew (or should have known) there's no way in hell he could defend it till end of race. Absolutely no way. He could have been smart and backed off as Kubica was coming up on him into the corner, in which case he'd be on podium right now. Instead he stuck with it. Dumb dumb dumb. But yea, BK was also partially to blame.

So Vettel is supposed to race the car and read Kubica's mind at the same time, I know he is the "wonderboy" but gimme a break! It is allways the overtaking car's responsibility to pass safely and in this case it meant not driving Vettel off the track till he cant slow down and thus run into the side of you.

Kubica sideswiped him plain and simple.

It is the overtaking car's responsibility to pass safely, but it is amateur to hold up a clearly much faster car and put both in jeopardy.

No mind reading involved. Over the radio you know very well that the team engineers would have been telling Vettel the splits and intervals. He'd know the BMW had heaps more speed. Not "fight it out" grip difference of a tenth or so a lap, but almost a full second! He'd also clearly see him in the mirrors. He knew perfectly well what the situation was.

Yea, you always want cars to battle it out for position and what have you... and if its close, that's great. But it is dumb to try to fight off a car that's lapping at better than 8 tenths a lap faster, and to throw away a podium finish because of it.

The fact that he came over the radio immediately afterward saying "I'm an idiot, I'm so so sorry" rather than being frustrated with Kubica, speaks to that point.

[casper]

I always believe race craft will win a driver the race. I was tracking laptimes throughout the race and it seemed Lewis is 1 second off Jenson's pace, yet still finished 4th at the end of the race. Fast and aggressive driving may count but as we have seen in this race, there is a point where it becomes counter-productive.

The driver's who have previously complained that Lewis is an arrogant driver, are now eating crow! They took each other out of the race literally!

In this race, Ferrari still have reliability problems, and Nelson Piquet's antics continues to be a game changer (but it did not help Alonso win).

Overall, a good race, but I am reserving congratulations to the BrawnGP team because they have an unfair advantage over the pack by of using an illegal diffuser design.

[myurr]

Overall, a good race, but I am reserving congratulations to the BrawnGP team because they have an unfair advantage over the pack by of using an illegal diffuser design.

I agreed with you up to that point. I 100% agree that the diffuser is outside the spirit of the rules, but the FIA has deemed it legal by the letter of the law. Only half their advantage is the diffuser, the rest of the car is aerodynamically ingenious as well so lets just concede that the diffusers are here to stay and move on.

[jon-mullen]

BTW what happened to Renault? After the last test they were quite optimistic about their pace and they just didn't feature here. I guess there is still a little bit of uncertainty regarding the pace between Macca, Ferrari, Renault. They seem pretty close to each other and just 1-2tenths off Toyota,RBR,BMW,Williams...

Alonso was second of the non-diffuser cars and Piquet was looking really racy before he lost the car under braking. The season's outlook depends a lot on the outcome of the diffuser debate, which I think is a little unfortunate. I'm glad the pecking order is shaken up, but this could've all been avoided with a drawing.

[Avto]

For all of you guys who are laughing at Honda right now, what are the guarantees that the deal between them and Brawn doesn't allow them to buy the team out, I don't know maybe next season?

[PlatinumZealot]

I think Vettel is Like Hamilton in some ways. He will never give up his lead. But his inexperience shows..

Kubica is Wild and needs to be tamed.. But i blame it on two of them..

first Vettel For not yielding and then Kubica for not opening up.


The Driver of the Race is... HAMILTON!! =D> IMO

This is what a real champ drives like.. He was murdering people left right and center.. 18 to 4th.. =D>

[i70q7m7ghw]

So was Rubens? So where so many other drivers. Trulli was behind Hamilton but he finished 3rd.... He isn't your driver of the day?

Its funny how now Hamilton has a 'bad' (which probably isn't as bad as we think) car any result he gets in it must be down to driving brilliance.

He's a good driver granted and I like him, and he did drive a good race today, but it wasn't the best drive of the day by a long margin. His biggest triumph was his composure, he was racing wheel to wheel without banging wheels as and taking himself out of the race.

[meves]

Did anyone else find the deployment of the safety car 2 laps late just after Button pitted a little suspect? So glad Brawn won and what a cool Grand Prix!!!!!!!!