Australian GP 2009 ( finally! )

[alelanza]

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.

Certainly apparent that the season will shape up to be interesting. Will have to see how car developments shape up.

Don't think I'd consider Honda's management idiots. Switch from Honda engines to McLaren is a big one for BrawnGP. Had Honda stuck around and powered the cars I don't think they would have been quite as quick, though still certainly better than they had been. Still a huge capital expenditure.

Not very impressed by Bridgestone's performance. On the one hand I'm sure FIA made a significant stipulation on the compounds to be brought.. and the difference was definitely there. But the balance from front to rear... that rear tire sucks.

First Bernie saying that drivers don't do enough to overtake, and now you say that the drivers don't do enough to let people pass.

I call it 50/50 to be honest. They were both in a bad position, and neither did the right thing, and paid for it with a DNF each.

Exactly, damned if you do damned if you don't, and again I wonder if toxic dwarf watches these races at all. I agree 50/50, both had responsibility. RK went from the outside which is a very hard and risky maneuver, Vettel never gave the line despite being clearly slower. Basically what would have happened tween kimi and lewis at spa had the latter not pulled out via escape route. Which leads me to my next point, while Lewis may have a 5% chance of winning this year, if he keeps up today's showing then he will use the other 95% chances to prove why he's the well deserving 08 WDC.

All in all magnificent race, we have witnessed one of the classic races gentlemen.

[myurr]

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.

Kovalinen in the same car could only qualify 14th on merit and I seriously doubt Hamilton had the pace to qualify in the top 10. I'd say the car is worse than the Toyota, and by some margin.

The fact that he managed to split the Toyotas even though he effectively started alongside them speaks for itself.

Part of it was tactics - he took the same strategy as Ferrari but made it work. There is no way the McLaren is a faster car than the Ferrari, and yet he was ahead of both of them before they crashed out. The Toyota is arguably faster than the Ferrari.

So it was a very good drive from Trulli, but an exceptional one from Hamilton.

[freedom_honda]

This race proves that although Vettel does have the talent, he is lacking some experience.

[PlatinumZealot]

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.

LOL.. Don't Deny it.. He is the Real Stinger.

I would Give Trulli if he had overtaken Hamilton one on one on the Track. But he just cruised through the rubble.

I think everybody did great..Except Piquet (sucks) lol

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!!!!!!!!

Yes,

This is on of the best races i have ever seen!

I hope all the races this year are like this..

[PlatinumZealot]

See how RK's BMW caught up due to Vettel's Soft tyres wearing quite fast?

This is what i like.. I want the two grades of tyres to be vastly different. Everybody has the same tyres so it's all good. The true strategists will come out on top.

[myurr]

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!!!!!!!!

Yes,

This is on of the best races i have ever seen!

I hope all the races this year are like this..

Yeah I did wonder about that. Especially as they're usually so quick to deploy, as they were later in the race. Smacks a little bit of race manipulation, but I'll reserve judgment until we see a couple more suspect decisions. I don't want to ruin my memory of what was a very good race.

[gcdugas]

Wasn't there a big row in the recent past about the trophies having to be in the form of a traditional cup? In Australia they all had these satellite dish shaped things on the podium. They looked like chrome plated contact lenses. Has there been a change in the trophy rule? Clicky

[myurr]

See how RK's BMW caught up due to Vettel's Soft tyres wearing quite fast?

This is what i like.. I want the two grades of tyres to be vastly different. Everybody has the same tyres so it's all good. The true strategists will come out on top.

I agree. I think it added something to the race, bringing in some more strategy that affects the on track action rather than passing people in the pits.

[ringo]

hello everyone on F1technical

I have been reading this site for a while, and i enjoy the discussions.
This race was pretty great; the KERS came into play pretty well for the teams with the speed handicap. ferrari were doing quite well with it until they messed up.
Congratulations to brawn, that man is a genius.

Any body else realise how fast the redbull is? I saw how quickly vettel left kubica on the straight right after leaving the pits; that car was moving like a rocket!
Think the Renault engines are responsible for the great advantage of the RBR here?
Vettel completely messed it up in the end.

[roost89]

With regards to the Kubica vs Vettel crash. The post-crash incidents where both cars hit the wall. I noticed that 2 Kubica's wheels came off, are they not supposed to be tethered to the car? To prevent the wheels coming off and a possible later incident involving the loose wheels.

[gcdugas]

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.

Rubens had his diffuser partially damaged at the first corner by Kovi and thereby lost some precious downforce. It is a fast car, not just a fast diffuser bolted onto an average car. And the REd Bull also looks fast. When Newey gets down to adapting the diffuser interpretation to the RB5 we will start to see what is what.

[Vasco]

Kovalinen in the same car could only qualify 14th on merit and I seriously doubt Hamilton had the pace to qualify in the top 10. I'd say the car is worse than the Toyota, and by some margin.

The fact that he managed to split the Toyotas even though he effectively started alongside them speaks for itself.

Part of it was tactics - he took the same strategy as Ferrari but made it work. There is no way the McLaren is a faster car than the Ferrari, and yet he was ahead of both of them before they crashed out. The Toyota is arguably faster than the Ferrari.

So it was a very good drive from Trulli, but an exceptional one from Hamilton.

Yup I agree, that Toyota is quicker than the Macca/Ferrari. I just can't wait for the season to develop and see how the well funded teams try to catch up, especially with the in season testing ban and the use of 60% scale models in the simulators.

[casper]

What happened to Weber? He has an unforgettable race. What's his excuse this time?

[ernos5]

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>

Trulli's pitlane to 3rd was better

[roost89]

What happened to Weber? He has an unforgettable race. What's his excuse this time?

His excuse: He was punted off at turn 1 and sustained damage.