[DOF_power]

Hamilton wins Australian GP



Lewis Hamilton kept his head cool in an action-packed Australian Grand Prix to win a race in which only seven cars took the chequered flag. Nick Heidfeld finished second for BMW while Nico Rosberg confirmed Williams' pre-season pace taking third place and his maiden F1 podium.
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Hamilton and Kubica made electric starts, dicing for the lead into turn one ahead of Kovalainen and Massa, but then it began to unfold: Massa lost control of his Ferrari, smacking into tyre barriers while at the back of the field Vettel and Fisichella tangled and both ended up in the gravel, prompting the safety car to be deployed.

The safety car came in at the end of lap two with Hamilton leading Kubica, Kovalainen, Rosberg, Heidfeld, Trulli, Barrichello, Raikkonen, Coulthard and Alonso.

Davidson retired soon after as his front suspension failed at turn three. Meanwhile Hamilton began to extend his lead over the rest of the field and by lap 10, when Sutil retired in the pits, Hamilton had a lead of over five seconds to Kubica.



Kubica was the first to pit on lap 16 having dropped 14seconds behind Hamilton while on track Raikkonen was all over Barrichello's rear wing as they diced for seventh place. Felipe Massa had more success in the other Ferrari as he tried to recover from his first lap smash, nailing Nakajima down the inside of turn one for fourteenth.

Leader Hamilton pitted on lap 18 having built up a lead of over 15 seconds over team mate Kovalainen. Meanwhile Raikkonen had another go at Barrichello down the inside of turn three, and made the move stick to take sixth and continue his charge back from his qualifying misery.

Jarno Trulli's promising weekend came to an early end on lap 20 when he retired in the pits. The following lap Heidfeld and Rosberg pitted from fourth and fifth, and on lap 22 Kovalainen made his first pit stop as a McLaren driver, rejoining the race just ahead of the flying Kimi Raikkonen.



There was more drama on lap 26 as Massa tagged the rear right tyre of Coulthard trying to pass down the inside, only to send the Red Bull flying over the kerbs and smashing into the gravel. Massa managed to continue but Coulthard's afternoon was over and the safety car deployed for the second time to help clean up the debris.

The race resumed on lap 30, but for Ferrari it was just about to go very wrong. Raikkonen ran off at turn three, going too deep while trying to pass Kovalainen down the inside and rejoining at the back of the field. Meanwhile Felipe Massa ground to a halt and retired in the final sector in the sister Ferrari.

At that point Sato and Piquet also pulled off track in unrelated incidents to retire - cutting the field to just twelve cars still in action.

Things settled down then as Raikkonen set about making up the time he lost and Fernando Alonso got stuck behind Kubica in eighth. Lewis Hamilton continued to lead team mate Kovalainen and BMW's Nick Heidfeld.

Raikkonen made his second mistake of the afternoon on lap 42, touching the grass while lining up Timo Glock for a pass and spinning his Ferrari. He recovered just as Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg pitted from first and fourth respectively.

Lapp 44 and the safety car was deployed for the third time after Timo Glock ran wide at turn twelve before flying through the air as his Toyota was launched by the gravel and spinning all the way down to turn 13.

The safety car stayed out for four laps with Kovalainen and Alonso making their final stops on lap 47. Kubica and Nakajima filed into the pits right away, the BMW to retire and the Williams for a new front wing. Meanwhile on track Alonso was on a charge and overtook Kovalainen and Raikkonen to climb to fifth.

In the final few laps Raikkonen retired with a sick Ferrari and Sebastien Bourdais retired just three laps from the flag while running fourth in the Toro Rosso. But the race was not done yet - Kovalainen passed Alonso in the final corners of the penultimate lap only to be repassed by the Spaniard on the pit straight.

Lewis Hamilton took his fifth career win ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg. Fernando Alonso brought his Renault home in fourth ahead of Heikki Kovalainen. Barrichello was classified sixth, Nakajima seventh and Bourdais got one point consolation, being officially classified eighth.

[DOF_power]

Sweary DC threatens Massa

Sunday 16th March 2008



David Coulthard has threatened to kick "lumps of sh*t" out of Felipe Massa after the pair clashed during the Australian GP.

In a remarkable outburst, made live on ITV, DC insisted that the Ferrari driver should take responsibility for their race-ending crash and warned: "If he doesn't then I will kick lumps of sh*t out of the little bastard."

Massa's culpability was less than clear cut, however, with Martin Brundle, Coulthard's manager, suggesting in his role as ITV pundit that the Brazilian "had the high ground" as he strove to overtake the Red Bull.

"He had the faster car but you have to overtake - not just drive straight into another car," insisted an angry Coulthard.

[DOF_power]

Fisi fires broadside at 'kamikaze' rivals

Sunday 16th March 2008


Giancarlo Fisichella has slammed his fellow F1 drivers for their reckless driving in the first corner incident at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Force India driver was forced to retire on the first lap after a crash which also involved Toro Rosso's Sebastien Vettel.

"I am very disappointed as I lost the race at the first corner because another driver came in like a kamikaze into my car and it was very frustrating, especially considering a race like this where there was a possibility to score lots of points," said an irate Fisi.

Although the 35-year-old veteran was disappointed to be forced out of the grand prix, he is eagerly anticipating the next race in Malaysia.

"It was a good opportunity and I am really disappointed. Let's hope for more in Malaysia," he added.

His team-mate at Vijay Mallya's outfit, Adrian Sutil, also failed to finish.

The German was equally upset and said: "A big disappointment, especially when I watched the race afterwards, but it was good while it lasted," he said.

"In the opening laps I could stay with the guys in front of me and could overtake to get up to 13th position, but then I had a hydraulic pressure problem.

"I had to go back to the pits, so at that point my race was over. We have to hope for more in Malaysia, but I think we showed an improvement over last year, particularly over the longer runs in practice, so I am confident we can really do better there."

[DOF_power]

Malaysian grid penalty for Nakajima

16 March 2008 / Results / Photos

Kazuki Nakajima received a penalty for crashing into the back of Robert Kubica with only ten laps to go in the Australian Grand Prix while the safety car was out. The Williams F1 driver will be set back ten places at the grid for causing this unfortunate incident that eliminated Kubica from the race while racing in fifth position.
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"Towards the end of the race, I had an incident when all the cars backed up into each other and I damaged my nose again," said Nakajima about the incident.

Nakajima scored three points on Sunday in only his second Formula 1 Grand Prix.

[DOF_power]

Barrichello disqualified for jumping red light

16 March 2008 / Results / Photos

The stewards of the race have disqualified Rubens Barrichello from the Australian Grand Prix because the Brazilian jumped the right light at the end of the pitlane. As Barrichello lost his sixth position Kimi Raikkonen moves up to eighth to earn to earn at least one point.
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At the finishing stages of the Australian Grand Prix Rubens Barrichello entered the pitlane while the safety car was out. His team, Honda F1, refuelled his car but this was not allowed as the safety car was still out. When exciting the pitlane the lights at the end of the pitlane were still red, indicating the pitlane was closed. Barrichello was penalized with a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for refuelling, but stewards of the race didn't punish him for jumping the red light until about an hour after the race.

Barrichello's disqualification moved Nakajima up to sixth, Bourdais to seventh and Raikkonen eighth.

[DOF_power]

2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 1:34:50.616 1 10
2 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 58 +5.4 secs 5 8
3 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +8.1 secs 7 6
4 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +17.1 secs 11 5
5 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 58 +18.0 secs 3 4
6 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 57 +1 Lap 13 3
7 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 55 Engine 17 2
8 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53 Engine 15 1
Ret 4 Robert Kubica BMW 47 Accident 2
Ret 12 Timo Glock Toyota 43 Accident 18
Ret 18 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 32 Transmission 19
Ret 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 30 Accident damage 20
Ret 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 29 Engine 4
Ret 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 25 Accident 8
Ret 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 19 Electrical 6
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 8 Hydraulics 22
Ret 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 0 Accident 14
Ret 16 Jenson Button Honda 0 Accident 12
Ret 19 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 0 Accident 21
Ret 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 0 Accident 9
Ret 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 0 Accident 16
DSQ 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 58 +52.4 secs 10

Note - Barrichello disqualified from sixth place for exiting the pits under a red light.

[Bob Tanner]

My wife and I watched the first half of the race. After the first turn my wife, who isn't up on F1 asked me, "My gosh. These are the world's best drivers? It looks more like the crossover at a Figure-8 race!"

I explained to her that there are some changes in this year's F1 which lend themselves to accidents and confusion and went on to explain traction control and black box driving technology (as best as I understand it).

She was impressed with the speed and ease they replace nose pieces and front wings but that was about it.

We became sleepy and missed the final laps. In hindsight, from what you report, that might not have necessarily been a bad thing.

Melbourne looked lovely, though.

[Racer Duck]

ay three of action in Melbourne
Australian GP - Team Analysis - Race
16/03/08 15:30
from: F1 : Day three of action in Melbourne - Melbourne - F1-Live.com

A rather chaotic Australian Grand Prix saw just seven cars go the distance and even then one of those was disqualified. Next up Sepang!

MCLAREN-MERCEDES
It was a walk in Albert Park for Lewis Hamilton, who after his 5.4 second victory over BMW's Nick Heidfeld insisted that he could have gone quicker. "There is a long way to go and we never underestimate our competition," a cautious Ron Dennis said, referring to Ferrari's disastrous day. Heikki Kovalainen looked on track for second but was shuffled down to fifth when the timing of the last safety car spoiled his planned pit stop, and after passing Fernando Alonso's Renault he let the Spaniard back through when he accidentally hit the pit lane speed limiter.

BMW SAUBER
Nick Heidfeld finished second, and after qualifying second, team-mate Robert Kubica was running fifth on a compromised strategy when Kazuki Nakajima - the Williams rookie who was penalised ten positions on the Malaysian GP grid for the incident - crashed into him.

WILLIAMS TOYOTA
A delighted Nico Rosberg's well deserved podium is the first in his career, while Nakajima was the last car to greet the chequered flag but he still collects three points due to the emaciated field, putting Williams at second place in the championship so far.

RENAULT
Nelson Piquet's poor debut weekend got even worse when he incurred terminal damage on the first lap, while Alonso made the most of the Australian chaos with fourth place. "We must improve our level of performance in qualifying and our pace in the race," he said.

TORO ROSSO FERRARI
The team would not confirm that Sebastien Bourdais' problem was the third Ferrari engine to fail on Sunday, but it is a fact that he missed what would have been fourth place on debut. Amazingly, although his smoky STR2 was parked on the verge, he was still classified and collects two points. Sebastian Vettel got a terrible start and exited the race in the turn one melee.

FERRARI
After arguably winning the 'winter' championship, Ferrari had one of its worst showings in recent history, as Kimi Raikkonen - following a couple of race-ruining driver errors - scraped a lucky point after his engine failed. Felipe Massa survived the David Coulthard shunt, and was lying seventh when his own V8 gave up. "The engines are being sent immediately to Maranello for analysis," said Stefano Domenicali, whose debut as team boss could not have been worse. World champion Raikkonen remained upbeat, knowing that the F2008 is still perhaps the fastest car in the field. "We are capable of recovering from far worse situations than this," he said.

TOYOTA
Timo Glock left Albert Park wearing a bandage on his left wrist after his huge air-time and crash landing at the exit of turn twelve. Jarno Trulli was furious when he also had to retire with a battery that fried in the Aussie heat.

SUPER AGURI HONDA
If the Japanese team was short on spare parts before the red lights went out, it is now in serious trouble, because Takuma Sato stopped on track with an unspecified failure and Anthony Davidson found himself the meat in a formula one sandwich on lap one.

RED BULL RENAULT
Coulthard turned the live airwaves blue after his terminal crash with Massa, while unlucky local Mark Webber was one of the pieces of bread in the Davidson sandwich.

FORCE INDIA FERRARI
Giancarlo Fisichella's car nearly rolled over as he crashed out in the turn one chaos, and it is understood that he was referring to Glock and Piquet when he blamed some 'kamikaze' rivals. Adrian Sutil's car, hurriedly built overnight by the team after Saturday's incident cracked his race chassis, stopped with a failure of the hydraulics system.

HONDA
Rubens Barrichello's sixth at the chequer was cancelled by the stewards, because he drove through a red light at the end of pit lane. At the same time, his crew was limping back into the garage, after the lollipop man let the Brazilian driver go when the fuel hose was still attached. On the bright side, he kept Raikkonen's Ferrari at bay for 19 laps. Team-mate Jenson Button's suspension got destroyed against Vettel's car in the first lap melee.

E.A. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM

[WestCoast]

Overlooking the "comedy of errors", this was one of the more entertaining races in a while, I’m going to like the new F1 without "launch control" and "driving aids".
Looks like the teams and drivers have lots of work to do in figuring out their new rides, should make for a great season.

[Racer Duck]

WOW! Sorry I missed this one. I fully intended to watch it, but wasn't able to gain control of the TV remote

Ya know it's gonna be a bad day when the field can't get thru the first turn without an accident. Maybe now the season has actually started, they'll start settling down.

I probably missed the write up, but what exactly happened in the Nakajima incident?

I've already read about the Couthard-Massa incident, but will have to see video before I make up my mind...

And Barrichello topped off his already bad day with a DQ. This is the best description I've found: "Barrichello's infraction occurred after he served a pit lane penalty for illegally pitting for fuel in safety car conditions, and he also knocked over a couple of his pit members when he pulled away before the fuel hose was removed." Was it impatience, anger, or stupidity?

Guess my prediction was right: Hamilton walked away with it, though I was hoping Kovalainen was gonna make him work for it.

[WestCoast]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

I probably missed the write up, but what exactly happened in the Nakajima incident?

And Barrichello topped off his already bad day with a DQ. This is the best description I've found: "Barrichello's infraction occurred after he served a pit lane penalty for illegally pitting for fuel in safety car conditions, and he also knocked over a couple of his pit members when he pulled away before the fuel hose was removed." Was it impatience, anger, or stupidity?

Barrichello got disqualified for entering the pits and re-fueling while the pits were "closed" (*safety car).
Honda’s explanation was that he was going to run out of fuel. It wasn't his fault for taking off, the "lollipop man" made the mistake of giving him the OK, while the car was still being re-fueled.
Nakajima rear-ended Kubica, taking him out and putting himself out of contention by coming in for a new nose.
* That "new" SL looks pretty sharp.

[DOF_power]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

We became sleepy and missed the final laps. In hindsight, from what you report, that might not have necessarily been a bad thing.

Melbourne looked lovely, though.

Final laps saw the battle between Alonso and Kovalainen witch was one of the bright moments of the race.
Plenty of technical failures and the poor circuit, turbulent aero and Flintstone tires once again showcased the mess of things (thank you Jean Marie Balestre and Max Mosley).

[DOF_power]

Originally Posted by WestCoast

Barrichello got disqualified for entering the pits and re-fueling while the pits were "closed" (*safety car).
Honda’s explanation was that he was going to run out of fuel. It wasn't his fault for taking off, the "lollipop man" made the mistake of giving him the OK, while the car was still being re-fueled.
Nakajima rear-ended Kubica, taking him out and putting himself out of contention by coming in for a new nose.
* That "new" SL looks pretty sharp.

The running out of fuel also happened to Alonso and Rosberg at Montreal in 2007. This close the pit-stop till the lucky dogs unlap themselves is quite stupid.

[Fireball]

Sorry to have missed this race. From what I saw on sports coverage this was a very good race for F1. The first turn is always interesting with F1. I gather there were only 5 cars on the lead lap at conclusion. Typical F1.

[DOF_power]

... and only 7 cars crossing the finish line.