Well guys, here we are again, the Formula One season is back in full swing and we’ve defiantly got a lot to talk about!
Firstly apologies to all of our readers for the technical hiccups we had during the race commentary – I wont bore you with the details but it was incredibly frustrating that we where unable to offer our normal service, it has been investigated and we hope wont happen again.
Now onto the weekend, Ferrari started incredible strongly on Friday setting good times in First practice, exactly what happened to them over the rest of the weekend I’m not sure but it does look as if there may be a slight limp with the prancing horse at the minute, only time will tell in that score though and there is no question they will get the speed back before too long.
Now what did the UpdateF1 team think of it all?
James - I have to say I’m massively impressed with the improvements made by a large part of the field but especially that of BMW who seem to have put together a very strong package for this season and could really get in amongst the McLarens and Ferrari’s and I can see them bagging a few podiums this season. Williams as well realty have launched themselves back up to the pointy end of the grid with a strong car and I can see them nipping a few more podiums themselves as the season progresses.
Lita – For me I’d have to say Williams and Honda. Williams for the pure fact that both of their cars finished and one got on the podium. Honda since they qualified so well when you compare it to last season. Fair play to Rubens for getting the car all the way up to third, and for keeping Kimi behind him for a good portion of the race. I felt bad that he was disqualified in the end; I thought the ten second stop-go was enough. Who knows where Button would have ended up?
Steve - McLaren. The naysayers who reckoned the spygate affair and the loss of Alonso, plus the recent hoo-ha about Ron Dennis, have all been punched in hard. That was a rout, and an easy one, too. Part of that may have been down to Ferrari having an off-weekend, but the F2008 looked like a dog all weekend, and is clearly not easy to get the best from at the moment.
BMW seem to have upped their game a little - contrary to what people believed - and Williams are bang on where I expected them to be. Surprise of the weekend was the relative performance of Honda.
Braden - I’d say the biggest improvement made in the field was by Williams. They were mid pack last year for most of the year with the occasional good result and now they look like they are heading for a good season thanks to Nico’s maiden podium result.
James - Well it looks like a resounding cheer for Williams, and a well deserved one too!
What about the drivers then, a fair few new faces and the podium had a definite ‘new world order’ look about it. I have to say I was very impressed with Nico Rosberg; he had a very good weekend and a very strong race considering everything that went on around him. I’m sure a lot of people will say Lewis deserves the vote but he never looked under threat and was never under any sustained pressure but for me Nico is definitely my Driver of the weekend
Lita – Yeah I would give it to Rosberg for getting 3rd and to Alonso for doing a stellar job with a difficult car. His overtaking move on Kovi and Kimi was absolutely class!
James - Well I’d say young Mr Kovalainen handed the place back to Alonso after accidentally hitting the pit lane limiter just after getting past the Renault myself but there you go!
Steve - Hamilton, without a doubt - faultless from Saturday on, and effortlessly classy in the race. Kudos to the BMW pair, and fine stuff from Kovalainen.
Braden - Driver of the day for me was definitely Lewis Hamilton. Although I’m not his biggest fan I still respect him as a driver and he made no mistakes on his way to a perfect result. Heidfeld was just as good but his qualifying wasn’t as impressive compared to his team mate.
James – so mixed views on that score with us split between Rosberg and Hamilton.
I have to ask though, what was with Kimi this weekend he had a couple of errors that cant be put down to anything other than mistakes on his part, at times I was really wondering what was going through his head on Sunday!
Lita – definitely Kimi when he tried to overtake Kovi and ended up throwing 3rd place away!
Steve – yeah Raikkonen for me too - in too deep too fast; a frustrated man at his most frustrated.
Braden - What on earth was Kazuki Nakajima thinking under safety car? Sure Kubica probably brake tested him, but he looked asleep at the wheel, on more than one occasion this weekend.
James – well it looks like a bad weekend for the Ferrari man. I’m sure it’s a one off and he’ll be back before long.
As I said at the start we’ve got some new faces in the field so who does everyone think was the best Rookie? For me there is no question, Mr Bourdais in his Toro Rosso. Great drive and he was desperately unlucky not to finish the race.
Lita – agreed, Bourdais. He did a great job when you compare his performance to that of say Piquet or Nakajima.
Steve - Bourdais - overcame lacklustre qualifying to drive a very solid race indeed; helped by the timing of his second stop, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Piquet, on the other hand, looked out of his depth from the word go.
Braden – no question! The most outstanding rookie was Sebastien Bourdais. The main reason is because he was one of the few rookies to make the finish, but he drove nice and cleanly to the finish.
James -Well that settles that one doesn’t it!
OK guys time is pressing on so finally why can’t you wait for the next race? I’m just so intrigued about this season, what with Ferrari’s poor form, BMW and Williams great form and the drivers having to do all the work, this weekend is going to be great fun to watch, especially that last hairpin; I think we’ll see a few people in the gravel over the course of the 3 days!
Lita – what can I say? F1 without traction control rocks!
Steve - I think it will be another McLaren whitewash, and I loved seeing Ron up on the podium again collecting the trophy.
Braden - Next race will be exciting because we may get to see Webber finish a race! He also has pace and has done well before in Malaysia with Jaguar and Williams.
James – OK so there we have it folks! Those of you familiar with our weekend debriefs will know about “Brades Grades” but these have changed slightly for this year but that’s all explained below!
Brades Grades
Season 2008 brings us new drivers and new tracks, but it also brings up a new and improved Brades Grades. Last season Brades was giving everyone a grade for almost all the races, but this year Brades will be doing something different. Brades has decided to change the system and there will now be a top five drivers, getting five points for first and one for fifth. Added to this, to single out drivers who had a day to forget, Brades will be doing a worst three drivers. The worst driver will be losing three points and the third worst loses one. At the end of each weekend a leader board will show who is doing the best and at the end of the season, the top driver will be crowned “Brades Best”. So sit back and enjoy the opinions of Brades.
Top Five Drivers
1 – Lewis Hamilton
Lewis drove the perfect race on route to victory in Melbourne this weekend. After Kimi Raikkonen was forced to start from 15th, Hamilton was never headed from pole and never looked anything but calm and tidy, even after three restarts
2 – Nick Heidfeld
Heidfeld drove well through the carnage and leapfrogged three cars thanks to safety cars and good driving. He would have been disappointed with his qualifying performance, but his race made up for that with his best possible position.
3 – Nico Rosberg
As with Heidfeld, Rosberg drove a clean and controlled race in which he was as every bit as good as Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg didn’t have the ultimate pace of the front runners, but was never in danger of missing a podium as he was one of a few drivers to keep his nose and tyres clean throughout the race
4 – Sebastien Bourdais
Bourdais was the unsung hero of the race until he was sitting in a good fifth thanks to safety cars and accidents. However once he got noticed, his race was over as the Ferrari engine in the back of his car blew. But it was not all bad news as he managed to pick up two points. He also drove a calm race and even when threatened by a double World Champion in Alonso, he kept his nerve. His lap times were very consistent too.
5 – Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki was one of the unluckiest drivers on the day, but slightly more lucky than those who went out on lap one. He was in a good third position before the second safety car, which forced him to wait to pit and put him to the back of the order. He then was on Alonso’s hammer and was on for fourth place, but a brain fade gave the position back to Alonso after Kovalainen pressed the pit speed limiter. Even still, he drove a lot better than his previous race at Albert Park.
Worst Three Drivers
1 – Felipe Massa
Oh Felipe, when will you learn how to drive your red car in a perfect race. Once again Massa proved why he is not a top driver and why Ferrari is looking towards Vettel. After a decent start and pushing Kovalainen for third place, Massa decided to stamp on the throttle. What he forgot was that there is no more traction control and he speared off into the barrier, broke a nose cone and was forced to fight from the back. He then proceeded to knock off Coulthard in a fifty-fifty accident, which ended Coulthard’s race and caused damage to his own car.
2 – Kazuki Nakajima
Nakajima was on for a possible top four spot when he decided to ram into the back of Robert Kubica and end the Pole’s race and damage his own chances. This was not his only accident on the weekend as he made Takuma Sato look amateur. At the start of the race, he rammed into the back of button, causing him damage. Then after doing that, he tried to go three wide into turn four and caused Davidson to touch the rear of Mark Webbers car, forcing both of them out of the race. It was almost a worst driver effort, if it had not been in the unicorn effect of the start of the race.
3 – Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi started off the weekend in fantastic fashion by blitzing the field in first practice, but after that his weekend started getting worse. The next two practice sessions he was nowhere near where Ferrari expected to be and by the time the end of qualifying one came around; Kimi’s weekend had reached disastrous. He started in 15th position and made it up to eighth by the end of the first lap. He battled well but then had brain explosions when he went way too deep trying to overtake Kovalainen. He also managed to drop a wheel off the grass at the same turn when chasing down Timo Glock. Hopefully he’ll learn from this and we can have a serious battle at the front of the field.
Well that’s it from Australia; looking forward to seeing you all this weekend for Round 2!
Written by James Ray on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:42:50
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