It's winter break, so I'm rewatching a bunch of races. Here are some of my thoughts.
Qualifying Notes
• Toro Rosso rolled out the youngest driver lineup in F1 history with Max Verstappen (17) and Carlos Sainz Jr (20). Both from racing families, both babies by F1 standards, both dealing with the “Max is 17, is this legal” discourse. Neither had driven Albert Park, yet both cleared Q1 and Carlos casually dropped a Q2 lap good enough for Q3 on his first day of school.
• Manor’s software issues were so bad that they basically showed up just to say hi. They couldn’t run in practice, couldn’t qualify, couldn’t race. Poor Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi got the worst season debut imaginable: absolutely nothing.
• Ferrari paired Vettel and Raikkonen for a world champion duo aimed at annoying Mercedes. And launched one of the most popular F1 ships of all time.
• Alonso skipped this race thanks to his mystery testing crash. Magnussen stepped in. Button looked like a man who knew exactly what kind of season he was in for. Alonso’s ability to choose the wrong team at the wrong time remains undefeated.
Race Notes by Finishing Position
General Race Notes
• This was the smallest grid for a season opener since 1963. Manor didn’t make it, Bottas was benched by the FIA doctors, and both Kvyat and Magnussen broke down before even reaching the grid.
• Watching Valtteri get ruled out made me wonder if F1 needs a rule where you can sub in a reserve driver after qualifying but start from the pit lane. The car is ready, the driver is ready, just let someone race the thing.
• Fuel saving dominated the whole day. Reliability also decided to make a cameo. This race felt like a dress rehearsal that still had every tech issue possible.
• Tyre rules still forced two compounds and locked the top ten into their Q2 tyre choice. Pirelli was deep into intentional degradation.
P1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Drove his own race and didn’t flinch even with Rosberg hovering. Also his dash told him he was “negative on fuel” and Bono told him to “ignore the dash.” Sure, just ignore the car screaming at you. Mercedes really loved chaotic fuel management this era.
P2 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
Stayed within two seconds of Lewis to keep the pressure on and maybe chew Lewis’s tyres. Classic Nico.
P3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Strong debut for Ferrari. Happy Seb at Ferrari! Enjoy it while it lasts 😂
P4 Felipe Massa (Williams)
Solid finish despite the lap one chaos.
P5 Felipe Nasr (Sauber)
Great debut. Points for his first F1 GP! Rookie of the day.
P6 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
Already on his second engine because the first failed inspection before it even turned on. Renault reliability was a punchline. Defended hard against Massa before pitting on lap 24. Kept the position he set out to keep.
P7 Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
Uneventful but effective. Double points for the team.
P8 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
His fight with Carlos near the end was one of the few fun scraps. The tyres were melting and both just dealt with it.
P9 Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso)
Points in his debut despite a pit stop that lasted most of a lunch break.
P10 Sergio Perez (Force India)
Had a good scrap with Jenson on lap 13 until he spun.
P11 Jenson Button (McLaren)
Did what he could in a miserable car. Defended beautifully before the Perez collision.
P12 Ret Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Slow stop on lap 17 because of wheel issues. Then a loose wheel ended his race. Wheels (general) remain Kimi’s mortal enemy. His battles with Max before retiring were respectful and entertaining. He also seems to be happy with Seb as his teammate, willing to back out of an overtake against Seb, and didn't blame him for the collision on lap 1. I really miss watching him race.
P13 Ret Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso)
Started P11, reached P6, then Renault struck again and his car exploded into a smoke show on lap 34. Dramatic retirement for a dramatic first race. His dad stormed off fuming which, looking back, explains plenty about Max’s emotional regulation at 17. Thankfully he’s mostly grown out of that.
P14 Ret Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
Lost power behind the safety car and had to retire. Shame, because he thought Lotus could deliver something here.
P15 Ret Pastor Maldonado (Lotus)
Taken out in the lap one mess. Classic.
DNS Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull)
Gearbox died on the way to the grid. Which doesn't bode well as his debut race for Red Bull. Bit ominous, he started how he ended with this team.
DNS Kevin Magnussen (McLaren)
Engine died on the way to the grid. The McLaren-Honda period was the definition of pain. No wonder Honda left F1 before joining red bull.
DNS Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
Sidelined after injuring his back in qualifying. Spent the night in the hospital and the FIA said absolutely not.
