Review of Australian Grand Prix

March 18, 2008

What an outstanding race. The rule changes (no traction control, no control of engine braking) really had an impact, with the cars sliding all over the place. In addition, it means that the drivers will occasionally make mistakes (Kimi?) that will allow more passing.

McLaren looks very strong, with both Lewis and Heikki having a great race (even with Heikki’s mistake on the final straight), and the Ferrari car looks fast, even though they had a lot of reliability issues. If there is one thing we can be sure of, it is that Ferrari will solve these problems. The BMW and Williams cars also look strong with Nick Heidfield and Nico Rosberg coming second and third. Additionally, Red Bull, Toyota, and Toro Rosso all looked strong. The Honda was  suprisingly fast, especially Rubens.

It is unclear how fast the Renault is. Fernando had a decent race, but it looks like it is more down to his incredible driving skills rather than the capability of the car. Nelson had a terrible debut (similar to Heikki’s debut last year). We will see in the next few races. Force India’s cars didn’t run long enough to give any idea on how fast they will be. Super Aguri was really using the race as a testing session as they have done almost no testing.

It looks to be a great season, based on the first race. Let’s hope it continues in Malaya next.

Posted in Australian Grand Prix