After all that that McLaren Mercedes haves been through in recent months -
investigations by the FIA and the Italian police, a humiliating admission of
cheating and the biggest fine in sporting history - few thought that the
team would be able to produce a winning driver/car combination from the word
go this season.
But an exhaustingly dramatic Australian Grand Prix proved that, despite all
the distractions, the proud Woking-based team, run by Ron Dennis, have kept
their eyes on the ball, while Lewis Hamilton, their superstar young driver,
has got even better.
By winning the first race of 2008 and seeing his rivals at Ferrari falter,
Hamilton has got his second season under way in fine style. What is more,
Heikki Kovalainen, Hamilton's new team-mate, had an excellent debut and, but
for the slings and arrows of luck (having to go into the pits for fuel under
the safety car), the Finn could well have made it a McLaren one-two.
As it was, Kovalainen finished fifth after a memorable drive during which he
made the move of the day on Fernando Alonso, the Renault driver, in the
closing stages, only to give it back to the Spaniard when accidentally
hitting the pitlane speed-limiter button on his steering wheel. “Next time,
I'll stay ahead,” Kovalainen said, ruefully.
What was most noticeable about Hamilton was how routine the experience of
winning has become for the 23-year-old. Of course, he was delighted with his
victory, but he quickly came back down to earth, not unlike Michael
Schumacher, the greatest serial winner of all.
Even in the post-race press conference, it was obvious that the two men
sitting alongside him, Nick Heidfeld (who had finished second for BMW
Sauber) and Nico Rosberg (third for Williams) were happier than he was.
Hamilton was thinking about how he is going to win the next race, in
Malaysia on Sunday. “I feel fantastic - bring it on - I'm really looking
forward to it,” he said.
Hamilton was partnered on the front row of the grid by Robert Kubica, the
Polish BMW Sauber driver, who could have taken pole position had he not run
wide on his final flying lap. As it was he qualified on the front row for
the first time in his career.
Hamilton was a fraction slow getting away in the race itself after spinning
his wheels on the grid, but he was able to close the door on Kubica at the
first chicane and, more importantly, get away from the mayhem that ensued
behind him.
Fortunately for him, so many drivers dropped out yesterday - among them Kubica
- that Hamilton barely encountered any backmarkers, leaving him to
concentrate on three “restarts” after safety car periods and trying to avoid
having to refuel at a time that could have wrecked his race.
The absence of electronic driver aids for the first time since 2001 produced
more broken cars and broken dreams than even a wet race during the traction
control era. On the first lap there was a host of crashes that included
Felipe Massa spinning his Ferrari out of fourth place and hitting a wall.
The Brazilian had to go to the pits twice in the first two laps and retired
at the halfway point.
Others to depart early were Jenson Button, of Honda, Anthony Davidson, of
Super Aguri, Sebastian Vettel, of Toro Rosso, Giancarlo Fisichella in his
first race for Force India, and Mark Webber, of Red Bull.
Sneaking around the outside almost unnoticed, meanwhile, was Kimi Raikkonen,
Ferrari's world champion, who was up to eighth from fifteenth by the end of
the first lap after a fuel pressure problem in qualifying. The Finnish
driver, who was on a one-stop strategy, rose to third at one point, spun his
car several times and went into the gravel when attacking Kovalainen before
having to call it a day when his engine failed four laps from the end.
“The result is obviously not the best start to the season, but it is a very
long one and we are well aware that we are capable of recovering from far
worse situations than this,” Raikkonen said.
The most dramatic smashes included David Coulthard being unceremoniously
lifted off the track by Massa at turn one - a furious Coulthard later
accused the Brazilian of “lunging” at him - and a dangerous looking crash
for Timo Glock, the German Toyota driver, who went spectacularly airborne
after running wide at turn 12. Glock's car came back to earth with an
almighty thump and then pirouetted six times before hitting a barrier.
Rubens Barrichello would have finished sixth for Honda had he not been
disqualified for two pitlane indiscretions. The Brazilian was also involved
in a potentially nasty incident in the pitlane when he drove away from his
box while the fuel hose was attached to his car. Fortunately, none of his
crew was injured.
Alonso drove a typically strong race to steal fourth - a result that flatters
an uncompetitive Renault - while Sébastien Bourdais, the Frenchman driving
for Torro Rosso, did well on his debut, running fourth when his car gave up
the ghost three laps from the end.
Results from Melbourne
(58 laps): 1, L Hamilton (GB, McLaren Mercedes) 1hr 34min 50.616sec; 2, N
Heidfeld (Ger, BMW Sauber) at 5.478sec behind; 3, N Rosberg (Ger, Williams
Toyota) 8.163; 4, F Alonso (Sp, Renault) 17.181; 5, H Kovalainen (Fin,
McLaren Mercedes) 18.014; 6, K Nakajima (Japan, Williams Toyota) at 1 lap;
7, S Bourdais (Fr, Toro Rosso Ferrari) 3 laps; 8, K Raikkonen (Fin, Ferrari)
5 laps. Retirements: R Kubica (Pol, BMW Sauber) 47 laps completed; T Glock
(Ger, Toyota) 43; T Sato (Japan, Super Aguri Honda) 32; N Piquet Jr (Br,
Renault) 30; F Massa (Br, Ferrari) 29; D Coulthard (GB, Red Bull Renault)
25; J Trulli (It, Toyota) 19; A Sutil (Ger, Force India Ferrari) 8; S Vettel
(Ger, Toro Rosso Ferrari), J Button (GB, Honda), M Webber (Aus, Red Bull
Renault), G Fisichella (It, Force India Ferrari), A Davidson (GB, Super
Aguri Honda) all no lap. R Barrichello (Br, Honda) - disqualified for not
stopping at red light when leaving pit lane.
Fastest lap: Kovalainen 1min 27.418sec (lap 43).
Qualifying positions: 1, Hamilton 1min 26.714sec; 2, Kubica 1:26.869;
3, Kovalainen 1:27.079; 4, Massa 1:27.178; 5, Heidfeld 1:27.236; 6, Trulli
1:28.527; 7, Rosberg 1:28.687; 8, Coulthard 1:29.041; 9, Vettel did not
start. Eliminated after second session: 10, Barrichello 1:26.173; 11, Alonso
1:26.188; 12, Button 1:26.259; 13, Nakajima 1:26.413; 14, Webber did not
finish; 15, Raikkonen did not start. Eliminated after first session: 16,
Fisichella 1:27.207; 17, Bourdais 1:27.446; 18, Sutil 1:27.859; 19, *Glock
1:29.593; 20, Sato 1:28.208; 21, Piquet Jr 1:28.330; 22, Davidson 1:29.059.
*Ten-place penalty for gearbox change and blocking another driver in
qualifying
World Championship positions
Drivers
1, Hamilton10pts
2, Heidfeld 8
3, Rosberg 6
4, Alonso 5
5, Kovalainen 4
6, Nakajima 3
7, Bourdais 2
8, Raikkonen 1
Constructors
1, McLaren Mercedes 14
2, Williams Toyota 9
3, BMW Sauber 8
4, Renault 5
5, Toro Rossi Ferrari 2
6, Ferrari 1
Grands Prix to come
Sunday: Malaysian GP (Sepang).
April 6: Bahrain GP (Manama).
April 27: Spanish GP (Barcelona).
May 11: Turkish GP (Istanbul).
May 25: Monaco GP (Monte Carlo).
June 8: Canadian GP (Montreal).
June 22: French GP (Magny-Cours).
July 6: British GP (Silverstone).
July 20: German GP (Hockenheim).
August 3: Hungarian GP (Budapest).
August 24: European GP (Valencia).
September 7: Belgian GP (Spa-Francorchamps).
September 14: Italian GP (Monza).
September 28: Singapore GP (Singapore).
October 12: Japanese GP (Fuji).
October 19: Chinese GP (Shanghai).
November 2: Brazilian GP (Interlagos).
It was so exciting to see Lewis win in such style!! i think that we have and exciting year ahead and i just cant wait
charity, st neots, cambridgeshire
How can you show 'assurance' after 'routine' win.
There is something that scapes my mind here....
Gus, London, UK
I am really happy that Lewis has won the first race in style. He will certainly be world champion this year. Good luck to the young man.
P M Reddy, Dubai, UAE
Well Done Lewis Hamilton
pauline, London, Great Britain