F1: Ten Conclusions From The Australian GP

[Rory Phoulorie]

Aside from revealing that it's not a good idea to phone Frank Hopkinson at 8.45am, Pete Gill reflects on the lessons of Sunday...

1) Giancarlo Fisichella is not a team leader.
As Martin Brundle observed, the Renault team radio seems to be permanently tuned into cajoling Fisichella and, like an exasperated midwife, urging him to push harder. Despite denouncing Heikki Kovalainen's display as "horrible", it remains more likely that Flavio Briatore will lose patience with the Italian first.

2) Nick Heidfeld is the most insightful driver on the grid.
To quote from the press conference on Friday:


'Q. (Frederic Ferret - L'Equipe) "What is the difference between the two compounds for the race?"


'NH: "One is hard and the other one is soft."'

3) BMW are not yet a Big Four team.
Although they possess, as team boss Mario Theissen triumphantly boasted on Friday, the fourth-quickest car on the grid, the team displayed a small-team's mentality by low-fuelling Nick Heidfeld in qualifying. A disgruntled Ron Dennis claimed that the strategy "smacked of showboating". At the very least, it was a serious misjudgment, and one that neither McLaren nor Ferrari would have committed. Big Team status isn't exclusively determined by pace.

4) F1 is about to enter a whole new market.
When pundits talk about the sport requiring someone filling Michael Schumacher's void, what perceived void are they specifically referring to? A World Champion? Well, that's Fernando Alonso and he is still in F1, thanks. A driver capable of regaining the title for Ferrari? They've signed him, and he's dirty quick. Controversy? It follows in F1 the way Tuesday follows Monday.


The only unanswered question was whether somebody would emerge to be the new face of F1. In Australia, Bernie and chums found their answer. The arrival of Lewis Hamilton, the sport's first black driver, will be manipulated to propel F1 into a new world - or at least into a different part - whilst simultaneously injecting a huge dose of publicity into its existing markets.


Repeatedly likened to Tiger Woods, Hamilton should be compared to David Beckham because of his marketability. Articulate, bright and poised, it should hardly matter if Hamilton remains in Alonso and Raikkonen's wake. Beckham was the most recognised (and richest) footballer on the planet for five years without ever being classified as world-class.

5) There are some very slow cars at the back of the grid.
Considering that Jenson Button spent most of his qualifying lap going sidewards and applying opposite-lock, Williams' Alex Wurz must have driven a particularly terrible lap to qualify behind the Honda in a car which delivered the fifth-fastest race lap twenty-four hours later.


Oh, and as P-F1 mournfully asserted on Friday, if the Earth-liveried Honda is a metaphor for the state of the planet then we are all doomed.

6) Renault weren't sandbagging.
On Friday night, the rumour-mill was in full swing with claims that Renault were about to upset the formbook. Autosport quoted a 'leading rival technical director' warning that "Renault look like they are going to be the surprise package of the weekend. Fisichella's long run pace was better than McLaren's and quick enough to worry Ferrari." In the event, Fisichella's pace was a second-and-a-half slower than Ferrari's, with his rookie team-mate even further adrift.


Relative to their own pre-race expectations, Renault departed Melbourne as the most disillusioned frontrunner.

7) Fernando Alonso was right to leave Renault.
He sought a new challenge, and in Lewis Hamilton he certainly has one. The Spaniard didn't appreciate the question, but the highlight of the post-race press conference was the enquiry of "Fernando, what is the difference for you in having a team-mate who really pushes you for the first time in your Formula One career?". Tremendous.


More pertinently, McLaren have delivered a superior car to Renault's R27. The worst that was said - by Giancarlo Fisichella, to be precise - about Renault's ordinary performance in Melbourne was that it was "maximum" which could be wrung out of their car. At McLaren, on the other hand, there was confidence that Alonso had plenty in reserve after being wedged in behind Heidfeld and Hamilton, as well as bullish talk about improving the car on a race-by-race basis. On a not altogether incidental note, McLaren were outed last month as the team with the biggest budget in the F1 (an estimated $493.1 million).

A new star has arrived in F1.
Hamilton looks - and sounds - the real deal. Almost as impressive as his grand prix debut - which prompted former World Champion Niki Lauda to proclaim: "I've never seen anybody come into Formula One and drive such a perfect race" - was his poise and maturity in the face of unprecedented media focus.


More so even than his debut performance, it was Hamilton's ability to withstand such relentless pressure and scrutiy that suggested he is a potential World Champion.

9) Ferrari are out in front.
The only question is whether they can be caught - and if they can, how long will it take. McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh believes that his team can improve by as much as two-tenths per race, but a note of caution should be attached: Ferrari will not be standing still either.


While Alonso's pace in Melbourne probably wasn't fully reflective of the MP4-22's capabilities, Raikkonen may not have shown his full hand either. As Frank Hopkinson pointed out in the Winners and Losers column, one of the most instructive moments of Sunday's race was when, for no apparent need as the two McLarens were already fifteen second adrift, the Finn chose to put the hammer down and set his fastest laps of day. If, as suspected, it was a warning to Felipe Massa, McLaren and Renault, it was of the ominous kind.

10) David Coulthard needs to attach a horn to his Red Bull.

Pete Gill

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3265_2004352,00.html

[Plex]

Interesting conclusions..