Australian GP 2014

[Ian]

Not overly impressed, some good racing though. I liked the comment early in the race, " They sound like an old Massey Ferguson. " Fastest lap 3 seconds slower than last year, wow, that's really F1 at the pinnacle ain't it.

[Willy]

Happy to see new faces up front and still like the new V6 sound.
Sad about Riccardo's DQ. Rules are rules.
Ferrari new oi get the electrics and Kimi's brake system figured out or Kimi will be knocking on Frank Williams door.

[Jericoke]

No Zeroes after Kamikazi Kobi's first turn move.

Got to give Kamui credit for what he did right:

• He qualified the Caterham in the midfield
• He fully accepted responsibility for the crash

It's nice to see an F1 driver do the job they were hired to do, and to do it with class.

F1 legends aren't made just on the podium.

[Scott]

I wrote that before I found out it was totally not his fault...

[Jericoke]

I wrote that before I found out it was totally not his fault...

Hey, on the BBC feed he took full responsibility... that's a true team player.  It was the maturity in the face of adversity I was commending.

(It didn't look like his fault to me either... the car simply didn't move in a way that an F1 driver would do on purpose or by accident)

[Irisado]

The cars being slower when there's a regulation change is nothing new.  1995 and 1998 spring immediately to mind.  When V8s replaced V10s in 2006 everybody complained about slower lap times too.  I'm not at all fussed, and I don't get what the problem is.  It will all be forgotten about as the season progresses.

The race was interesting rather than compelling, but I did enjoy it.  I like the new cars, and it was refreshing to be sat there wondering who would fail to finish.  Hamilton's early retirement was a shock.  I hadn't expected that, and having spent the whole of last year and much of 2012 not being surprised by any retirement (or absence of) that secured my interest early on.  Would all the pace setters finish?  As it happens, they did, but it could have been a different story.

Bottas was inspired after that mistake.  He was clearly disappointed, but the fact is he shouldn't be.  It was one of the best come backs I've seen for a while, even with safety car assistance, as a lot of the cars ahead of him didn't break down, so he had to do a lot of overtaking.

Ricciardo and Magnussen really impressed me too, especially the latter, who I felt was overrated.  It's already looking like I could be wrong about him.

Ferrari were disappointing.  Alonso got stuck behind Hulkenburg, and Raikkonen clearly isn't happy with the new brake system, but I expected more pace.  I think that the drivers did too.  Can they improve fast enough to mount a title challenge?  I'm not sure.  Even if they do improve, I can't see it being enough to challenge Mercedes in the early rounds.

Still, they were miles better off than Lotus.  I'm impressed that Grosjean's car lasted for 43 laps.  I think that he was too.  All things considered that's actually a result for them, which says just how badly off they are at the moment.  They could be looking at a few more races like that until the European season starts, and might end up battling with the young teams, who seem a bit closer to the pace in qualifying at least.

Oh and Massa was really unlucky.

I'm looking forward to the next one.

[Scott]

I wasn't as surprised by Magnussen's finish as the Mclaren...I didn't think they would podium, but my guess was that he would be ahead of Button.

I also found Bottas inspired long before his brush with the wall.  He was on a charge from lights out, and given his pace, I thought he would podium until he hit the wall. 

I'm not so sure Kimi is having more trouble with the brakes, perhaps the tires and the bumpy Melbourne track caught him out more than once.  Most of his mistakes came at the end of his stints.

I would like to know about the radio calls to Hamilton though...first they called him in, then clearly someone over ruled it and they told him to stay out.  A lap later he retired. 

[Monty]

I think Chilton deserves a mention. He out qualified his team mate and finished 13th despite starting from the pit lane.

[Irisado]

Yes, it was a good start to the season for him.  I think that, given a clean run, Bianchi would have finished ahead of him though.