Robert Kubica, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa
Wet Down Under
by Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright FerrariMedia
Jenson Button had his laughs on his old team as to why he didn’t stick around at Brawn by winning the Australian Grand Prix with the McLaren team. The reigning world champion was able to capitalize on the decision to go out on slicks ahead of the field and put the cruise control on.
It looks like the trend is in the data on the Red Bull chassis. Sebastian Vettel had control of the race through the mid point when a wheel failure caused him to DNF. The Red Bull cars are fast, but they need to last the race to win. Still, the young German can be reminded that there was another German who got his start in a Jordan back in the early 90’s when that wasn’t the best car on the grid, either. His
team mate, Webber, still managed to score a pair of points in front of his home crowd. The question will be if their team can manage to keep the speed up to be competitive, but turn the wick down so the car actually lasts.
Maybe not the best way to take a turn...
Kubica fans were pleasantly surprised by Renault’s second place on the podium. The Pole drove a clean race, moving quickly up the grid after the start. Many had doubted that the team was going to run at the top, but this result quickly quieted the critics. It is also likely a catalyst to hear Flavio Briatori start rambling to the press later this week.
Both Ferrari drivers paid attention to the directions given by Stephano Domenicali reminding them that it is about the team’s results first. Alonso seemed to be the faster of the two red cars, but it was Massa on the short step of the podium at the end of the race. The 3-4 finish was enough to keep Ferrari well in front in the constructor’s championship and proof that this season will be driven by wins. Fernando Alonso remains atop the lead in the driver’s championship. Most of the tifosi have warmed up to the Spaniard. Well, there is a bitter Finn out there that isn’t happy. Fortunately he has not ended up passed out in my vegetable garden. Yet.
Fernando Alonso
The Brawn team definitely didn’t develop an unfair advantage in the off season and the best any of their driver’s could do was Rosberg’s fifth place. Schumacher captured the last point available in 10th, but is still selling more tee shirts and hats by far. Even SLS sales are up.
Hamilton, on the other hand, was less than thrilled to be in Australia. Besides being hit by Webber and ending up in sixth place, the driver suffered the indignity of having his car impounded (it’s a C63 for those paying attention to German taxis with large motors) and being accused of “hooning.” For those that have not been to Oz, driving like a “hoon” is the equivalent of being a jackass. No word if the Melbourne police car that pulled him over had a Ferrari scudetto in the rear window…
Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa
Luizzi’s Force India and Barichello’s Williams finished in seventh and
eighth, but only Bernie was paying attention to them as he tries to
divvy up the TV money based on championship points.
The teams will only get one week to move the whole show to Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Hermann Tilke’s tracks tend to be very safe, but also very boring. Fans are hoping that the next race is as interesting as rain filled Melbourne was this weekend. Too bad that as powerful as the FIA claim to be, they can’t bring out the wet stuff on command.
Let's ask Mr. Whiting, shall we? Schumacher and Alonso talk things over.
Race Results
| 1 | BUTTON | McLaren-Mercedes | 1h33m36.531s |
| 2 | KUBICA | Renault | + 12.0s |
| 3 | MASSA | Ferrari | + 14.4s |
| 4 | ALONSO |
Ferrari | + 16.3s |
| 5 | ROSBERG | Mercedes Benz GP Ltd | + 16.6s |
| 6 | HAMILTON | McLaren-Mercedes | + 29.8s |
| 7 | LIUZZI | Force India-Mercedes | + 59.8s |
| 8 | BARRICHELLO | Williams-Cosworth | + 60.5s |
| 9 | WEBBER | RBR-Renault | + 67.3s |
| 10 | SCHUMACHER | Mercedes GP | + 69.3s |
| 11 | ALGUERSUARI | STR-Ferrari | + 71.3s |
| 12 | DE LA ROSA | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | + 74.0s |
| 13 | KOVALAINEN | Lotus-Cosworth | + 2 laps |
| 14 | CHANDHOK | HRT-Cosworth | + 5 laps |
| 15 | GLOCK | Virgin-Cosworth | + 17 laps, suspension |
| 16 | DI GRASSI | Virgin-Cosworth | + 32 laps, hydraulics |
| 17 | VETTEL | RBR-Renault | + 33 laps, wheel issue |
| 18 | SUTIL | Force India-Mercedes | + 49 laps, engine |
| 19 | PETROV | Renault | + 49 laps, spin |
| 20 | SENNA | HRT-Cosworth | + 54 laps, hydraulics |
| 21 | BUEMI | STR-Ferrari | + 58 laps, accident |
| 22 | HULKENBERG | Williams-Cosworth | + 58 laps, accident |
| 23 | KOBAYASHI | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | + 58 laps, accident |
| 24 | TRULLI | Lotus-Cosworth | + 58 laps, hydraulics |
| Fastest Lap | WEBBER | RBR-Renault | 1m28.358s |
Driver’s Championship Standings
| 1 | ALONSO | Ferrari | 37 Points |
| 2 | MASSA | Ferrari | 33 Points |
| 3 | BUTTON | McLaren-Mercedes | 31 Points |
| 4 | HAMILTON | McLaren-Mercedes | 23 Points |
| 5 | ROSBERG | Mercedes Benz GP Ltd | 20 Points |
| 6 | KUBICA | Renault | 18 Points |
| 7 | VETTEL | RBR-Renault | 12 Points |
| 8 | SCHUMACHER | Mercedes GP | 9 Points |
| 9 | LIUZZI | Force India-Mercedes | 8 Points |
| 10 | WEBBER | RBR-Renault | 6 Points |
| 11 | BARRICHELLO | Williams-Cosworth | 5 Points |
Constructor’s Championship Standings
| 1 | FERRARI | 70 Points |
| 2 | McLAREN-MERCEDES | 54 Points |
| 3 | MERCEDES GP | 29 Points |
| 4 | RENAULT | 18 Points |
| 5 | RBR-RENAULT | 18 Points |
| 6 | FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES | 8 Points |
| 7 | WILLIAMS-COSWORTH | 5 Points |