Australian Grand Prix Analysis

Well, what can I say? An eventful race from start to finish!

The Alonso-Raikonnen 1-2 was expected. I honestly had doubts about Buttons pace in the very first lap. This was evident as you could see Alonso attacking from the get go. This was confirmed during the first restart as the Renault simply outdragged the Honda into the first corner and promptly built up a 3 second lead. During the second restart, Raikonnen used the very same technique to pass Button. It all went downhill for Jenson from there, and even missed out on a points position due to a blown engine on the very last lap! Well, he could have gotten some points, but his race advisers told him not to cross the chequered flag so that, although he wouldn't earn points, he would not have to suffer a 10 place penalty on the grid in Imola. Strange strategy... obviously the Honda team think that they should be in front to win.

Michael Schumacher was driving on a ragged edge. Either he was not concentrating or the Ferrari simply had very little grip on the track. So many times he ran onto the grass, so it was only a matter of time before he made a mistake that he could not get out of.

With all the accidents (especially on that last turn) and mechanical failures that occured, the final spots in the points paying positions were surprising. It was nice to see Ralph Schumacher and the Toyota team take third, and I liked that the two BMW cars finished in points as well. Barichello recovered from a horrible qualifying to take seventh place, and (if I'm not mistaken) Coulthard was able to scrape a point in 8th place.

The Easter break is upon us, and it will be another 3 weeks before the next race in Italy. Let's hope that the top teams catch up to Renault, and that the midfield teams continue their development!

La Vita e Bella!