Review : 2009 Formula One Air Gulf Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir - Race Day

Jenson Button made it three wins in four races. As competitive as the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel could be, he cannot challenge for the win. And in my opinion, Button has Jarno Trulli to thank for.

In the second part of the race, after the first pit stop, Vettel and Barichello got held up by the Toyota of Jarno Trulli, which is on the prime tyre. Since the Toyota is clearly under the pace set by Jenson Button and the fact that it took some time for Vettel to make it pass the TF109, it created a quite comfortable gap between Button and Vettel. And on the last stint when both the BGP001 and RB5 change to the prime tyres, it is simply too far a distance for Vettel to catch the leading Brawn.

Alex Yoong, supported by Steve Slater in his blog, stated that the win is clearly a win for Jenson Button and not Brawn. They simply concluded that the Brawn is not that competitive as indicated by Barichello, sidelining the fact that Barichello was held up not only by Trulli, but Timo Glock as well in the earlier part of the race. The only thing right Jenson Button had done is to wrestle the third place with Hamilton earlier. He passed the McLaren on the very second round, on the first corner. Had Hamilton maintain the position, Button may have one hell of a difficult time to overtake the KERS-equipped MP4-24. When the Toyotas pit, earlier than others as expected, Jenson assumes the lead.

And thus, marking the first win in normal race condition for Jenson Button. The first win is in the wet in Hungary 2006; the second is under the safety car in Albert Park; and the third is sitting still on the starting grid as the race got red flagged in Sepang.



Hamilton made a superb run to third upon starting the race and ended up in fourth. On the option super-soft, he nearly challenge for the podium. After changing to the prime medium-hard tyres, the McLaren simply went off pace as Hamilton went further and further away from Rubens Barichello.

Raikkonen scores the first three points for Ferrari this season, thus not making history as the worst season ever for Ferrari. The crucial moment for Raikkonen was when he wrestle back the seventh place he lost to Timo Glock when the Ferrari driver comes out of the pit lane. A few laps later Nico Rosberg makes his last pit stop and comes out ninth, just behind the last point scorer Fernando Alonso.

Felipe Massa meanwhile have issues with his ECU and had to turn off his KERS device, making him stopped earlier and thus losing precious place in the race. The earlier stop for the KERS saw him fuelled and made his F60 heavier than the rest of the field. And the extra 30kg without the precious 80bhp, making him seem very burdened to monster the car. As suspicious as it could be, Ferrari has been having problems with the ECU misfiring a lot and at the same time damaged the KERS device from functioning in normal parameters. Note that the ECU is a standard unit produced by McLaren.

Ferrari did not install any new parts on the F60, but they focused on fine-tuning the car - and in some way it paid off. Compared to McLaren that has been spotting interim parts on Hamilton's MP4-24, the Scarlett Car is not that far off.

Nelson Piquet made quite an improvement as he secure tenth, closing the performance gap to his teammate. Piquet has been consistently out-qualified by Alonso 4-0 this season. If we take it from last season, Sakhir mark the 20th back-to-back race where Alonso has out-qualified his teammate.

Alonso's drinking water pump malfunctioned early in the race, he virtually dehidrated when the race finishes. He brave the car to secure eight place although at the time, he was probably on the brink of losing conciousness. When he parked his car on the parc ferme, he fell down and has to be attended by the medical team. Luckily there's no permanent damage.

Mark Webber, impeded by Sutil in qualifying and started 18th on the grid, manage to finish 11th. Has he started further up the grid, we might see some drivers losing their points.

The worst qualifying turns out to be the worst ever race result for the BMWs. Both BMWs are forced to pit early to change their front wing assembly as they damaged their nose cones. The fact that they already opted for a one-stop strategy when the race started made them almost three seconds off the pace of the front-runners and they have no way defending against the rest of the field. Their strategy, is definitely a one-stop although they eventually forced to do a two-stop, the first one being only for front nose change. A two-stop strategy might see them secure better results as they are running on KERS and lighter on fuel. This is simply because on the long run, the Force India and Toro Rosso will definitely left behind; the KERS will make the difference. Furthermore, Sakhir featured three long straights.

The run-in with Kazuki Nakajima didn't do any help for Kubica, who in pre-season was aiming for the championship. Nakajima later retired from the race. It nearly became a rare event where all the car made it to the chequered flag.

Sakhir mark the last of the first flyaway races. When the Formula One circus comes back to Europe, we might see a different pecking order. And most probably the order that will last until the end of the season.

The circuit of Catalunya bears hope for teams like McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and BMW that their upgrades will translate into a better performance. It is time for them to take back the lead, to claim what they know to be theirs - glory.

Review : 2009 Formula One Air Gulf Bahrain Grand Prix, Qualifying

It was hot, dry and dusty. In the first 30 minutes of the first practice session, it was reported that no teams are willing to go out, as everybody only have 14 set of tyres each in a race weekend and they would not want to ruin their tyres by running on the dusty track of Sakhir. The first car will effectively became the sweeper to clean the track.

And that role falls on Giancarlo Fisichella, the first VJM02 to run. Then the whole field follow suit.


PRACTICE 2



Lewis Hamilton topped the first practice, giving a much needed motivation to the McLaren team. Not only they are having issue with the car's pace, they are also in the midst of the lie-gate scandal which the result will be revealed on Wednesday. The fact that Hamilton topping the timesheet also meant McLaren are going in the right direction with their upgrades, as shown by the improvements they made in China a week ago.

For Practice 2 Nico Rosberg again topped the timesheet. This is officially the seventh time he did that this season. In an interview Nico said that the Williamses performed marvellously in a single lap but not over a race distance. The time 1:33:339 is just slightly a tenth the time Kubica clocked when he secure pole position last year in Sakhir. But the trend built up in the season so far dictate the time to be much lower in qualifying.


PRACTICE 3



Practice 3 indicates that the track have improved much better, as the times clocked are under the 1:33. Raikkonen, Hamilton and Massa seems to have found the pace that they need to challenge for a better spot in Q3.

The fact that Practice 2 left rubber laid onto the racing line improved it, shows what will happened in qualifying and in the race itself. Besides the dust, Sakhir is known to be slippery and in the path of crosswinds. It will not be as slippery on race day as the track has been cleared of dust and rubber laid in. But crosswind will challenge drivers' skills, especially on corners. Luckily Sakhir don't have high speed corners. It only depends on whether the wind is strong or not. This happens the same on the famous Silverstone.


QUALIFYING



In qualifying, I noticed that McLaren have somewhat a new structure for their air intakes. Either they have a new car or it is just an accessory to the air intake, neither can be confirmed as of now. In Australia, Malaysia and China, they spot air intakes which is similar to last year's MP4-23, but in Bahrain it looks more like the one on the BGP001.

No other source of reference mentioned about this either.

Trulli and Glock score a first Toyota 1-2 and earned it at the very last minutes of Q3. Sebastian Vettel, who secured third, was adamant that the Toyotas are running light. And he is right, as shown by the post-qualifying weighing :

1. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 648.5 kg
2. Timo Glock, Toyota, 643
3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 659
4. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 652.5
5. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 652.5
6. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 649
7. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 650.5
8. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 664.5
9. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 670.5
10. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 671.5
11. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 678.5
12. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 680.9
13. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 698.6
14. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 696.3
15. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 677.6
16. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 678.5
17. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 652
18. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 656
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 679
20. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 667.5

From this list, we can expect Timo Glock to pit first and Trulli a lap later. Assuming the average amount of fuel per lap, that is about 3.3 litres, Vettel have more than three laps to create enough gap for him to take the lead before pitting.

All other top ten drivers are on a conservative fuel load, except for the Ferraris and Nico Rosberg who seems tu run significantly heavier. The Scuderias might opt to run a different strategy since they know they are not there with the top runners.

Interesting to note is that the option tyres are performing better than the prime here in Sakhir. According to the teams, they recorded almost a second per lap slower for the prime tyres.

We can safely say that the Ferraris will be starting on the super-soft Bridgestone thus expecting to run longer on it. This will lessen their time running on the prime, at least theoretically. The strategy will be much the same for other top tens, except the Toyotas. They might be forced to use the prime on the last stint. This is simply because the other teams are running longer on the super-soft, and thus are most likely to have the luxury to use the prime on the last stint.

Alonso again demonstrate his mastery in driving his R29. While Piquet forced to satisfied qualifying in Q2 for the first time, Alonso managed to monster his machine further up the grid, securing seventh place.

It is another bad qualifying for the BMWs, as they struggle to find grip with their F1.09. The BMW opt to run with KERS on both cars, as well as Ferrari. NIck Heidfeld was never at the pace with the car, KERS or no KERS. Kubica, meanwhile might struggle to cope woth the extra 30kg at the back. The 80bhp might not propel him as fast as the other light drivers.

Force India fare better, emptying the last spot for the Toro Rosso of Bourdais. With a few more upgrades, the VJM02 might become a regular midfield contender. In the process, they might secure their elusive first points.

The track and ambient temperature registered to be hotter than last year and it could be as well the hottest race this season.

Review : 2009 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai - Race Day

It is definitely Schumacher-esque.

A superb drive in the rain legitimise Sebastian Vettel's status as the wet-race master. Two career wins, both in the rain, and both in Red Bull chassis. To make it sweeter, Mark Webber made it home second, completing a first Red Bull 1-2.

The performance so far, however, is not surprising as Vettel has shown remarkable pace since the opening race in Albert Park.

Jenson Button provide half of the entertainment in the race as he got to fight wheel to wheel for second place with Mark Webber. In the post race interview he later confessed that his BGP001 simply lack the pace in the rain.



The race started under safety car, which work well for the Red Bull strategy, but not so kind to Fernando Alonso. Alonso, although starting second on the grid, did not make most of his strategy. His Renault is only two lap lesser fuelwise, but his first pit is enough to stranded him in the midfield. He misses the point by finishing ninth, just in front of Raikkonen.

Kimi Raikkonen meanwhile, finished in his best result so far, a mere tenth place. The Ferrari team got it all wrong again this weekend as the rain forced Raikkonen to be under pace and to make it worse, got held up in the midfield after his pit stop.

Felipe Massa, running as high as third, retired with an electrical failure, which caused his F60 to misfire a few times before halted to a dead stop. At first it was thought the car got issues with the KERS system but later it was confirmed the issue is with the ECU unit.

Ferrari, according to principle Stefano Domenicalli, will not be integrating new components before Catalunya. It appears they will take longer to come up with a double rear diffuser solution, as the car have issues with KERS, which must be address first. BMW, McLaren, and Renault has been working on the rear diffuser for some time now.

Both McLarens finished in points, pointing out the improvements they made with the car. They used new front wings and an interim double diffuser at the back to provide extra downforce. This goes the same with Renault, with a new rear diffuser for Alonso.

The last of the big boys, BMW finished a low 12th and 13th. The car simply lost the handling in the rain, aquaplaning everywhere as shown by the BMW of Heidfeld. Robert Kubica have a suspense moment piggy backing Jarno Trulli in the front. Luckily he was on the way to the pit lane, and thus saving him time. But Trulli end up in the pit garage as his rear wings are destoyed in the crash.

This is the second time after Malaysia that BMW with all its Computational Fluid Dynamics research, do not handle well in the wet. A few races ahead has the risk of raining, i.e Spa-Franchorchamps and Fuji. Mario Theissen has a lot to think of in terms of improving the BMWs.

Glock was the best Toyota, finishing seventh as Trulli retired. The Williamses seems to be the only diffuser gang that has failed repeteadly to make use of the double diffuser. Although topping the timesheet in practices, they failed to deliver in racing distance.

Review : 2009 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix, Qualifying

A new force has arrived in Shanghai. No, it is not Force India.

The Red Bulls have dominated the qualifying session like they know how it will end. Mark Webber, who topped Q2, like the rest of the field went out more than 20 laps in the qualifying session, including in-laps and out-laps. Sebastian Vettel meanwhile, went out only 10 laps. In qualifying laps, that means three laps : one lap each for Q1, Q2, and Q3. And he got pole.

In one of the most exciting qualifying since Silverstone 2007, the Brawns have been relegated to fourth and fifth. And this time Barichello has out-qualify Button. And who out-qualify them instead? Fernando Alonso - the technical genius.


PRACTICE 2



Practice 2 saw Jenson Button topping the timesheet and teammate Barichello went third. Usual suspect, Nico Rosberg, did not continue his practice time streak when he topped the time in Practice 1.

It was also reported that in Practice 1, Fernando Alonso's R29 was running on interim rear diffuser and they broke. That must have compromised other components on his Renault, as he clocked two second off pace in both Practice 2 and 3.


PRACTICE 3



In Practice 3, Nico Rosberg continues his dominance as he topped the timesheet the sixth time in nine practice sessions. Formula One analysts and followers will be having tough times figuring the Williams performance. Are they competitive or are they not? Most of us already agreed that they are like the Scuderi Ferraris - just plain bad luck.

It is noticeable that both Hamilton and Kovalainen are clocking better times. The MP4-24 of Hamilton is on new aero package, explaining his better pace. McLaren are really quick turning their performance his season, as proved by Heikki Kovalainen's car. While Ferrari, BMW, Renault and Red Bull busy protesting the double diffuser, McLaren have long develop a rear diffuser solution for their machines.

The Ferraris are as usual lingering withing the reach of top ten places. But plain bad luck and error in strategies made them unable to maximize the F60 package.


QUALIFYING



Back to qualifying. Alonso's mechanic are to be praised for. They have managed to repair the Renault to the extend that the double World Champion grabbed front row.

The Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel reportedly have mechanical concerns, that's why he minimize his qualifying laps. The issue occur on Mark Webber's RB5 as well but the mechanics solved it. If it happen Vettel did not finish tomorrow, then Fernando Alonso will have a bright chance to secure his first win of the season.

The Brawns are a little bit under the pace. To me it is simply Ferrari doing Massa's qualifying. They have broken the cardinal rule of competition - they underestimated their rivals. That alone is more than enough to push Barichello and Button to fourth and fifth respectively.

Felipe Massa did not make it to Q3 as well as Kovalainen. The surprise of the season, aside of the Ferrari, is the performance of the BMWs. Especiallt Robert Kubica, who struggle without the KERS. Although he run as high as third in Australia, it is obvious he's not going to be in point scoring pace. Heidfeld fare better, almost made it to Q3.

According to the weather forecast, there is 85% chance it is going to rain in Shanghai tomorrow. If it does rain heavily, it might halt the startup. If it is just a mild one, they might start behind the safety car until Charlie Whiting believes it is safe to go race pace.

If it rains, most probably Vettel will repeat his performance at Monza last year, even more, he is starting from pole. But we cannot brush off both the Brawns and Alonso, as Malaysia is not a definite reference to this year's cars performance in wet.

And since we know the weight of the cars, we can expect a few surprises if it does rain.

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 644kg
2. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 637
3. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 646.5
4. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 661
5. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 659
6. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 664.5
7. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 650.5
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 673.5
9. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 679
10. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 673
11. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 679
12. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 697
13. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 690
14. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 682.7
15. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 690
16. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 697.9
17. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 659
18. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 648
19. Timo Glock, Toyota, 652
20. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 679.5

Alonso is the lightest in the top ten. That might not be good in rain pace, or if they started behind the safety car. Heikki Kovalainen and Felipe Massa is heavier than the rest, they might score some unexpected points tomorrow.

Review : 2009 Formula One Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang - Race Day

A torrential Malaysian Grand Prix. Something that has not happened in a while. Thank you to the FIA for moving the race later in the evening, which all of us know, a time when rain is expected. Almost unavoidable.



Congratulations are in order for Jenson Button, the other Briton, who won his second consecutive Grand Prix. Even with all the chaos ensues because of the rain, he still manage to come up top when the race was red flagged. At the start, he was overtook by Nico Rosberg who lead the pack for quite some laps. As we can see on the above lap chart, Button took the lead back on lap 17.

Equally impressive are the two world champions, Alonso and Raikkonen. They had wonderful start, passing a few cars each. Alonso passed 5 cars. Raikkonen initially was behind him but got hold off a few turns later before he got to see the back of the Reanult. Alonso had his R29 under the race pace, but he manage to hold off Kimi Raikkonen for some time before both Raikkonen and Webber secure the 5th and 6th place by overtaking him. Alonso, at one point ran wide off the track, managed to navigate the boundary of the gravel trap and ashtonishingly got back into contention. As good as he is, this could be the first time in recent memories a driver managed to out-trap the gravel trap!



The big gainer is Nick Heidfeld. With just one pit stop, he manage to cater the car for both wet tyres and fuel. The situation played into his hand when the race was stopped and later declared over. At first there was confusion that Heidfeld is the third place driver, but the FIA officials re-arranged the field in possibility of a restart.

Timo Glock, who did a splash and dash pit stop, gained the most strategically. This is because he simply don't have enough fuel to continue the race all the way. The race stopped means he can keep his third place. In accordance to FIA rules, all the drivers that finished in points will be only awarded half the point as they didn't run at least 75% of the race laps.

Malaysian GP also saw tyre strategy at its best as most drivers have to pit 3 times to change from slicks to intermediate, and then to full wet. Renault doesn't seem to have the advantage of superior accurateness in meteorological forecast like previous seasons anymore. Usually we can see that rival pit crews peeking at Renault weather forecast to decide when to call in the cars.

Astonishingly, Raikkonen was the quickest to change to full wet. Again, this is an example of Ferrari making error in strategy. Kimi was forced to run the full wet the entire 3 laps before it got to rain. And only one side of the track is wet! And even then most drivers are running on intermediate. The track was simply not ready for full wet. In the first few laps, the track surface temperature is about 50 degree Celcius. So you can imagine how his full wet Bridgestone Potenza must have deteriorated.

At the end Kimi was classified 14th, blatantly the last on the grid. When the race was red-flagged, he don't even have the patience to wait. While most of the other drivers are still in their cars waiting for a restart, he changed into his shorts and was seen eating ice-cream in the Ferrari motorhome. Even Malaysians don't eat ice-cream when it rains!

Maybe he knows or has been advised by somebody experienced that the race will not be restarted. Only if he has that advise on changing to wet tyres!

As predicted, the slick tyres did saw a few drivers spun out of the track quite dangerously although Nick Heidfeld later in the post race interview mentioned they were running at 50km/h at the most. I wonder what kind of incident will we see if it rains again in Shanghai, Spa-Francorchamps, or Nurburgring? In 2007 the German track saw eight cars forcefully 'parked' at Turn One, the Castrol S, including rookie Hamilton due to severe aquaplaning.

This emphasis more on the correct decision on what time is the most ideal to change to wet tyres. If the driver is far from the pitlane, he might not continue the race altogether. The cruise in wet on slicks will probably see drivers spun out or hit another car.

All in all, it was a shame the rain had force Charlie Whitting to stop the race. A hot Malaysian GP, always touted as the hottest race on the calendar, is better and more entertaining. A poker race like this one is also entertaining but on a more lower level. A wet race is good, but it is only good if they actually made it to the checquered flag.

Review : 2009 Formula One Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, Qualifying

In Practice 3, Nico Rosberg reestablish himself as the fastest driver, with the Ferraris securing 4th and 7th palce, the latter being for Kimi Raikkonen. Equally impressive is the form of the two RB5. Mark Webber outperformed his teammate Sebastian Vettel to put both Red Bull in a comfortable position.



The Qualifying saw the Ferraris having a hard time translating their Practice 2 form. It appears they have issues on the second and third sector of the Sepang circuit, most probably due to their front wing design. The Malaysian leg of Formula 1 has favoured the Scuderias many times before, so it is quite a surprise they have issues with this circuit.

The Ferrari has also made an error in judgement relating to Felipe Massa's strategy. Although Steve Slater speculate that he have mechanical issue with his F60 and therefore explains why he didn't do censecutive runs in Q1, we at home has been aware that it was simply a strategy error. The team believes the time set by Massa is quick enough to qualify for Q2. To save the engine, gearbox, tyres, etc., thwy chose to not to run again. That's how Massa goteliminated in Q1 and only manage to secure the 16th spot.

Button did it again for Brawn. Barichello has been penalised 5 grid position and going to start 9th, elevating Raikkonen to 8th. Vettel is on 10 place penalty as well, making him 13th on the provisional grid, thus Hamilton will start at the 12th spot alongside Kazuki Nakajima. That elevated Raikkonen to 7th and Barichello 8th, as well Alonso and Heidfeld.

A very cool step taken by the FIA this season is to make public the weights of all cars ahead of the race start to help give an idea of relative fuel loads. Bear in mind the minimum weight allowed for the cars is 605kg. Here is the list :

1. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 660kg
2. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 656.5
3. Timo Glock, Toyota, 656.5
4. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 656
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 656
6. Robert Kubica, BMW-Sauber, 663
7. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 662.5
8. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn, 664.5
9. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 680.5
10. Nick Heidfeld, BMW-Sauber, 692
11. Kazuki Nakajima,Williams, 683.4
12. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 688
13. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 647
14. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 688.9
15. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 670.5
16. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 689.5
17. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 681.9
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 680.5
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 655.5
20. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 686.5

We can see that Vettel is so light, no wonder he is so fast. And he didn't sweat a bead after qualifying. In post qualifying interview, he said "Yeah thanks. I'm still young...". Assumingly, he has the same fuel load as Mark Webber, only that he is skinnier.

Noticably, Alonso, Heidfeld, Nakajima, Massa and the two McLarens are heavy, most probably carrying extra fuel load. We can also extrapolate that Raikkonen and Kubica will be pitting later that the top 5, if they have no other issue like graining or even worse, a collision. But Sepang has seldom see the Safety Car being deployed. The local newspaper reported that since 1999, only once the Safety Car has been leading the field.

Rain is highly expected. As of now, we don't have any info on how the cars will behave in rain. Furthermore slicks will cause the car to slide more compared to the grooved tyres.

Jenson Button is expected on the podium, but strategically, Alonso and Raikkonen can create a surprise. Don't count them out yet.

Review : 2009 Formula One Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, Practice Sessions

PRACTICE 1

Nico Rosberg made it four in a row for topping the timesheet in Practice 1 in Malaysia. Instinctively many will assume teams are maximizing pratice times as mini testing sesion. Therefore, not much are expected from the times clocked. It will be like earlier winter testing where each teams were running different programs, and hence, different lap times. However the Scuderias are giving quite promising pace compared to teams that are running controversial rear diffuser.

Felipe Massa in an interview mentioned for the time being, the flyaway races are almost definitely going to be dominated by the Brawns and Toyota. It appears the Williams having issue maximizing the rear diffuser in racing condition. Jenson Button, the championship leader, however remain humble and realistic when he says "the Ferrari will catch up, they always do...". And the other teams must not let them. Simply because when they did in the past, no one can catch them up back.


PRACTICE 2

Surprise, surprise. The Ferraris are at the top of the timesheet for Practice 2. But being realistic, this doesn't imply anything concrete. As mentioned before, teams are most likely running different programs, i.e the McLarens are testing new rear wings. And therefore most definitely explains the lap time. Sebastian Vettel seems to be testing race runs for his Red Bull. And he is third. If it rains, he will have the first chance to experience the Red Bull in the wet. If it's not for the 10 place penalty, he will definitely be a threat to the front runners.

Review : 2009 Formula One ING Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park

As usual, the Australian Grand Prix seldom reveal the true pecking order in Formula One. Not only it is a street circuit, making it less technical than purposely built circuits, but also because there exist wheather variance that did not occur on other circuits, which all of them located on the northern hemisphere, except for Sao Paolo and Albert Park of course.

Last year we saw what would probably be the bushiest trimmed grass for any circuit at Albert Park, that might be the cause for few accidents last year (but nobody even bother blaming the untrimmed grass). This year, besides the much cooler temperature, the twilight condition was also brought up by few drivers. Who knew that it will get dark so soon in Australia besides the Australian themselves?

Starting the race, Barichello reportedly have issues with his anti-stall system. It has left him to lose a few places. As expected, those with 'holes' in the rear diffuser - no pun intended - command the race, bar the Williams, sadly. Nico Rosberg did not fulfill his topping three practice time expectations, and so does Nakajima.

Surprisingly, the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and the BMW of Robert Kubica do have the pace to keep up with Jenson Button, although they don't even have neither KERS nor double rear diffusers on their respective cars. Although they eventually got out of contention, this might prove a crucial point. Given the right condition, a good driver can cope without KERS or hole in their rear diffusers. On a very technical circuit, say Sepang, KERS might be a big advantage. But maybe, not the rear diffusers.

Noticably, Fernando Alonso is already comfortable with the KERS. although his R29 is lacking the pace, he managed to deter Timo Glock from getting a clean overtake. So, KERS actually can nullify the threat from elevated, double rear diffuser. Alonso knows that very well.

Although Lewis Hamilton claims every driver use the KERS on every lap, Kimi Raikkonen candidly said he only used it for the first few laps. Maybe some driver finds it hard to add new routine to his driving, but those who can adapt faster is certainly a step ahead.

Tyre wear is something different this season. Bridgestone had promised to have a wider difference from the option and the prime tyres. Instead of providing medium and soft compound, they provided the teams with medium and super-soft tyres at Albert Park. That means tyre wear will get two fold on the option. Massa and Raikkonen learned this first hand as they are forced to pit earlier due to graining on the slicks.

As we all know, Trulli was initially denied the second runner-up, but later was reinstated by the Sepang stewards. Shockingly, this is because they gain new evidence that Lewis Hamilton had misled the stewards at Albert Park to think that Trulli had overtake him under Yellow Flag (Safety Car), while the truth remains , he was instructed to let the Toyota passed by. The consequence could be that he will disqualified altogether from this season's championship. In our lifetime, this could be the first time a driver caught lying to the stewards red handed. In laymen word, he lied to the stewards. This might left a deeper scar in his career, more than Jerez 1997 hurts Schumacher's image. And we all now how lucky Hamilton was with his first world title - he rammed into the back of Raikkonen's F2008, late brake at Fuji's first corner, dangerous overtaking manouvres, illegally overtook Raikkonen at Spa-Francorchamps, and the list goes on... If you put it into perspective, you might lean to think he was attacking Raikkonen all year long! 

He really need to have a senior teaching him.


Let's go back to Albert Park.



Judging from the lap chart, the Brawns were the consistent ones, and the Toyotas were the biggest gainers. As usual at Albert Park, Safety Car period made it quite a chaos pecking order-wise. Even Lewis Hamilton who started at the back of the field made it to fourth, although later disqualified.



Qualifying proves the Brawns are not running light. Although the rear diffuser comes under protest, it doesn't explain why the other two cars with such diffusers are not as fast as the Brawns. Most probably the air intake design that gave it the speed. The other teams seems to adopt the intake design and principals from the previous seasons, while the Brawns brought in something from the 90's.

There's also a wide performance difference from the two Red Bulls and BMWs. The slicks and lower downforce has left the season to be dominated by drivers that have braver driving style. Kubica and Vettel are known to be harder on the kerbs and adventurous at braking. Vettel is also exceptional in the wet, although this season might prove different with new cars.



The Brawns dominated both the qualifying and the race with classy 1-2. Other than those running with controversial rear diffusers, it seems Red Bull, BMW and Ferari are the teams who can challenge for the win, if the status quo remains.

If the FIA decided the diffusers are legal, then we will see more of the teams using it in Barcelona. Maybe Bahrain at the earliest.