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April 10, 2015

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Home » Supplement » Formula one

First two races show season promises to be very intriguing

Source: AFP | April 10, 2015, Friday | Print Edition

FIVE things we learned from Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne:

Arnie isn’t as tall as we thought

You’d expect the Terminator to tower over Lewis Hamilton, but it wasn’t the case when they met on the victory podium. Maybe he was slouching but Arnold Schwarzenegger, supposedly 1.88 meters, was nearly eyeball to eyeball with the 1.74m British winner. “I thought you were taller,” said Hamilton, to which Schwarzenegger replied: “I’m not wearing my high heels.”

17 is not too young to drive

Max Verstappen is only just old enough to drive in his home country of the Netherlands but at 17 years 166 days, F1’s youngest ever racer showed he was comfortable behind the wheel of his Toro Rosso. Verstappen, though, quickly got a lesson in disappointment when his historic drive ended with a power-unit failure on the 34th lap.

Title is Hamilton’s to lose

After just one race the fate of the drivers’ title is in Hamilton’s hands following a commanding performance at Albert Park. A supreme performance in qualifying, and an untroubled wire-to-wire win on Sunday, mean Hamilton already has his nose in front. In this form, and with nobody else finishing within 30 seconds of the Mercedes pair, Hamilton will take some stopping.

F1 technology is really, really complicated

The hybrid petrol-and-electricity engines are a modern marvel, going faster than their predecessors with a fraction of the noise. But if that is difficult to comprehend, it seems they are even harder to design. Mercedes’ mastery of the technology has put them streets ahead of their rivals with Honda and Renault, among others, struggling.

Vettel’s Italian is coming along

“Forza Ferrari!” yelled Sebastian Vettel when he finished third in his debut drive for the Italian team. The 27-year-old German seems re-energized by his move to Maranello, and he was all smiles on the podium after some enthusiastic hugs with his team.

Five things we learned from the Malaysian Grand Prix after Sebastian Vettel upset Mercedes to claim his first win for Ferrari:

Not just about the car for Vettel

Despite dozens of victories, Sebastian Vettel failed to convince everyone he was Formula One’s best driver when he strode to four world titles with Red Bull. After all, wasn’t he the lead driver in what was F1’s dominant team? The questions grew more pointed when he finished well behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo in his final season for Red Bull last year, before joining Ferrari. But Vettel has proved he can thrive in another garage apart from Red Bull’s. After placing third in Melbourne, he resumed his old position at the head of the field in Sepang.

Italians can be calm too

A picture of calm at the Ferrari controls contrasted with near-panic at Mercedes with screaming over the radio and a farcical “miscommunication” when Lewis Hamilton was asked whether he’d consider pitting for fourth time (Vettel only stopped twice). Ferrari, under new team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, worked out their plan on Sunday morning and executed it to the letter, despite an early safety car and a puncture for Kimi Raikkonen, who fought from the back of the field to finish fourth.

Alonso is not happy these days

Fernando Alonso raised eyebrows pre-race when he claimed he was the “one of the happiest people in the world” since rejoining McLaren. That accolade certainly now fits for Vettel, who has won in only his second race for Ferrari — after replacing Alonso at the Italian team. Alonso won’t admit it, but he may be feeling some regret at his decision to quit Maranello at a time when Ferrari is on the up and McLaren are hitting rock-bottom.

Formula One is not so hard

Either Max Verstappen is a genius or Formula One driving is not as hard as it looks. For a 17-year-old, barely legal to drive in his home country, to jump into a Toro Rosso and finish seventh in only his second race is extraordinary. Certainly the Dutch teenager, now F1’s youngest ever points-scorer, has grown up around motorsport and under the tutelage of his father, ex-Formula One driver Jos. But with young drivers increasingly common, maybe the cars are not as complicated as they look.

F1 is not dead yet

It was a gift from the F1 gods but the race lifted the storm clouds gathering over the sport, at least temporarily. Teams and races, along with viewers, have been dropping like flies, prompting much hand-wringing and complaining. A resurgence by Ferrari, if sustained, will do much to regenerate interest among fans.

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