Well, what a frenetic start to the 2016 season! Who saw that coming after the mess of qualifying? Grand Prix Times’ Andy Young takes a look at five key talking points from the Australian Grand Prix.
Masterful strategic comeback from Mercedes, Ferrari squander advantage
After two seasons of utter dominance at the front of the order, many are now used to Mercedes romping away to victory, especially after securing a front-row lock-out like they did in Australia.
However, with Ferrari looking seriously competitive throughout winter testing and practice leading up to the race, many were hopeful that the Scuderia would at least be able to keep the champions in check.
At the start the fans got more than just that, as Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen leapfrogged ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg into the lead.
Whilst Hamilton plummeted even further down the order to seventh on the first lap, Ferrari looked to be in true command of proceedings at the front.
That was until the race was neutralised on lap 17 following Alonso’s colossal shunt with Gutierrez at Turn 3.
With all of the cars lined up in the pitlane as the marshals cleared away the shattered remains of the McLaren, the teams were able to adjust their cars and alter their strategies.
This saw Mercedes take full advantage of the red flag delay, switching Rosberg onto the medium tyre compound with Hamilton already on his one and only set of mediums after his pit stop just a handful of laps earlier.
But Ferrari took the aggressive approach and left Vettel and Raikkonen on the super-softs, despite having two sets of the medium tyres each at their disposal.
This allowed Rosberg and Hamilton to reach the chequered flag without pitting again and pick-up a famous one two finish, while Vettel was forced to pit on lap 36 for the softs, dropping to third.
While some may look upon the result as the same old faces on the podium once again, the reality is that Mercedes won the race like the proper champions they are, mastering the new tyre rules and taking full advantage of the unexpected red flag delay.
If this type of strategic chess is the shape of things to come in 2016, then we are certainly in for a treat!
New tyre regs offer strategy twist
Any F1 fan who has been watching the sport throughout the last few years will be well accustomed to the frequent alterations to the tyre regulations.
Since Pirelli replaced Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier in 2011, the importance of tyres has gone through the roof, along with the fans understanding of the varying compounds available.
The Australian GP gave us an early indicator that F1’s new tyre rules for 2016 offer exciting and strategic racing up and down the order.
The new rules offer drivers 13 sets of tyres for the weekend, with Pirelli choosing two compounds for the race and one set of the softest tyre for qualifying.
The remaining ten sets of tyres give the drivers complete freedom over which of the three available compounds they would like use.
For instance Hamilton opted for one set of the mediums and six sets of the soft and super-soft compounds for the Australian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Rosberg and the two Ferrari drivers opted for two sets of the medium tyres, five sets of the soft tyres and six sets of the super-soft tyres.
During the embarrassment which was qualifying Ferrari saved a pair of super-soft tyres for the race, which although ultimately failed to assist them in their quest for victory still shows that there’s potential for varying strategies in 2016.
Up until the race Mercedes hadn’t even contemplated running the medium tyre compound, largely due to the inclement weather in practice and the belief that the softs and super-softs would be the ideal tyres throughout the weekend.
Therefore not only was Mercedes’ decision to opt for the mediums a shot in the dark, it was the first indication of how both teams and individual drivers will have a massive affect on their strategies based on their own tyre selections.
Debut to remember for Haas
Haas’ debut race in F1 was certainly one to remember at both ends of the spectrum, with Gutierrez being involved in a violent accident with Alonso, but more importantly for Romain Grosjean’s stunning drive from 19th to sixth.
Throughout winter testing Haas were viewed with a keen eye by the fans and members of the paddock alike, with many viewing their strong technical partnership with Ferrari with suspicion/jealousy.
But after a poor qualifying result – both cars only managing to out-qualify the Manors after misreading the knockout rules – few tipped the American outfit for points on their debut.
While Gutierrez was eliminated after his clash with Alonso, Grosjean silently rose through the order, mastering a no-stop strategy to finish sixth and ahead of the likes of Valtteri Bottas, the Force Indias and the Toro Rossos.
Although the frenetic nature of the race may well have assisted the Frenchman in rising through the order, there’s no denying that the eight points scored for Haas were thoroughly well deserved and exceptionally important.
The last three teams to enter the sport back in 2010 – Virgin Racing, Lotus and Hispania – were far from successful during their first season, with only the former surviving to this day in the form of Manor.
For the image of F1 and new teams in general, Grosjean’s sixth place is imperative in showing that a team can enter the sport from scratch, admittedly albeit with a strong technical partnership with an existing giant.
For the rest of the season Haas will be hard pushed to better their sixth place in Australia, unless something unusual occurs.
However, their debut weekend in F1 was certainly a success, and they also now hold a unique stat of scoring points in F1 without making a pit-stop, after Grosjean changed tyres during the red flag delay.
Alonso’s lucky escape
There’s no denying that Alonso was exceptionally lucky to walk away from his McLaren during the Australian Grand Prix, after the two-time champion suffered one of the most violent crashes in recent years.
The Spaniard slammed into the rear of Gutierrez’s Haas under braking for Turn 3, before making violent contact with the retaining concrete wall.
This led to Alonso’s McLaren digging into the gravel trap and barrel-rolling before digging in once again and flipping end-over-end into the far barrier.
At first it seemed Gutierrez had only spun on his own, and even when the camera angle showed the full scene you could’ve been forgiven for not recognising the shattered remains of the McLaren.
Turn 3 has a notorious history, with Martin Brundle flying over the back of David Coulthard during the inaugural race at Albert Park in 1996. Brundle’s Jordan flipped over mid-air, before crashing back down to earth – splitting into two pieces.
In 2001 Jacques Villeneuve was launched over the rear of Ralf Schumacher’s Williams at the same spot, smashing his BAR into the catch-fencing and coming to rest deep within the gravel trap – an incident which tragically claimed the life of a marshal.
After Alonso’s crash, the Spaniard was quick to pull himself clear from the car, allowing fans, the F1 fraternity, and most importantly his mother who was watching at home, to know of his safety.
For McLaren the chassis and it’s internal components will be a complete write-off, but that’s a small price to pay for the safety of their driver.
Max Verstappen shows his age
Verstappen garnered many devoted fans and followers during his debut year in F1, with the Dutch youngster showing quite clearly that he was more than ready to make his debut with Toro Rosso.
For 2016 all eyes are on the Toro Rosso pairing once again, with the Ferrari-powered STR11 already proving to be a competitive beast with Verstappen qualifying a career best fifth in Australia.
However, Verstappen showed the world that he can still be a moody teenager, with the 18-year-old using language over the team radio which would’ve earned him a slap from his parents only a few years previous.
After dropping behind team-mate Carlos Sainz during the second round of pit-stops, Verstappen’s temper began to boil over.
Soon the air was turned blue over his team radio, with the Dutchman pleading with his team to employ team orders and let him overtake Sainz as the duo tried to scythe their way back through the order.
Despite his tantrums Verstappen remained stuck behind Sainz, with the duo even making light contact during the latter stages of the race at Turn 15. This resulted in a small spin for Verstappen, only adding to his frustrations.
We all know Verstappen has natural pace, but he certainly needs to tone down his temperament if he is to have any wish of graduating even further up the pecking order.
