Sky F1's Simon Lazenby swaps microphone for keyboard to review a fascinating weekend of two halves at the Australian GP
Tuesday 22 March 2016 09:20, UK
It was an opening weekend that teetered between the sublime and the ridiculous.
As proportionally alluring for the fans on Sunday as it was embarrassing for those attempting to crowbar equality into the competition the day before with the revamped qualifying format.
Let's start with the ridiculous.
What became apparent on Saturday was that the new tyre regulations had been developed in accordance with last year's qualifying format. The late change and the chaos that ensued showed just how great an effect one can have on the other. Despite the thrill of seeing every car out on track and turned around simultaneously in the pits in Q1, the subsequent dearth of activity at the end of the second two sessions meant that the fans were starved of any meaningful crescendo. Isn't it amazing how quickly decisions affecting the sport can be made when they serve the collective interest? The U-turn over qualifying was swift and unanimous and we will revert to last year's format in the desert in a fortnight.
Equally discombobulating was the decision, an hour before lights out from the FIA to pop a technical directive into the team's inboxes contradicting its predecessor and allowing strategy calls to be relayed over team radio. The original point was to reduce the perceived influence of engineers this season in deciding the outcome of races, giving more power to the drivers. The teams thought the "communication breakdown" had gone too far though and Charlie Whiting relented late in the day allowing a more sensible 'portfolio' of phrases to be discussed during the race. In a sport where there is so much risk, adaptive reasoning and solutions must surely be sought but shouldn't these matters be decided much earlier?
Also, what happened to driver of the day? I thought F1 was trying to engage the younger viewer. I've got a pair of fashionable glasses and a baseball cap whose peak I could flatten if I took it out of the bottom of my golf bag. I'm almost young. I want to vote. Who do I write to?
And so with all of the above being resolved it leads us to the sublime, of which there was plenty.
The sight of two Ferraris screaming off the line and taking the challenge immediately to Mercedes was what we were all pining for and as relieved as we also were to see Fernando Alonso walk away from a crash that resembled Martin Brundle's in 1996, it was a shame that the red flag diluted what could have been even more thrilling.
It was a race that Ferrari should have won. Circumstance and a poor strategy decision to stay on the super softs at the stoppage cost them but as Martin said in commentary, "They just didn't trust the medium tyres". Mercedes did. Their relentless running on the white stripped tyre at testing had given the Silver Arrows an intimate knowledge of how far they could push them and credit to the team for getting it right under pressure. They might need to work on their starts though. With three tyre compounds in the mix this year, the scope for variety was demonstrated on Sunday and we saw real evidence that it could improve the racing.
Would you want to work with Daniel Ricciardo? There is steel behind the 1000 watt smile. Sebastian Vettel has seen that before and he lost to the Australian when they partnered at Red Bull in 2014 but their similar sense of humour means they still get on well and Ferrari might seem keen to nurture that chemistry in the future. Again Ricciardo showed the home fans his talent and also that Red Bull could be a threat as the season develops. If he is trying to engineer a move to the Italian team he certainly keeps reminding everyone just how good he is...and of his Italian heritage!
The driver market will be fascinating this year. Toto Wolff is not alone in his admiration for Max Verstappen. The 18-year-old Dutchman swore like a Rotterdam docker on Sunday. Blaming the team for strapping on the wrong tyres and then his team-mate for holding him up. Teenagers! He must have forgotten Singapore last year when he did the same to Carlos Sainz but the rivalry at Toro Rosso looks like being as lively as the one up front at Mercedes. It was also heartening from a British perspective to see Jolyon Palmer giving as good as he gets in holding them both off for a period. He was cool, calm and collected and his Dad was a very proud man afterwards. He was really unlucky not to finish in the points.
And finally what about Haas? Yeehaa, they might have a Ferrari but they've also got Romain Grosjean. It was Vettel who quietly announced in the driver's press conference on Thursday to "Watch out for Haas". The best debut since Brawn in 2009. They could just be the biggest surprise of all.
From famine to feast in the space of a day, the opening weekend had just about everything....Roll on Bahrain.
SL
Don't miss the F1 Report for all the reaction and analysis from the Australian GP. Natalie Pinkham is joined by David Brabham and former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Sky F1.
