ALO, ALO, Fernando wins Chinese GP

Fernando Alonso became the third different race winner of 2013 as he followed the first two race victories of Raikkonen in Australia,and Vettel in Malaysia.

It was a relatively straight forward victory for Alonso, who was consistently fast and managed his race masterfully. Raikkonen had an exciting afternoon with lots of fighting(he broke his nose on the back of Perez's McLaren) but his race pace worked him up to second after his 3rd and final stop.

Lewis Hamilton was the surprise pole sitter but the Mercedes in race trim wasn't as fast and he fought hard to try and remain on terms with Raikkonen towards the end. Vettel tried an inverse strategy to the three in front of him by starting on the options, and then ending the race on the primes. He was catching Hamilton by two to three seconds per lap at the end but Hamilton just kept in front to secure his second podium for Mercedes, an already greater return than many people were expecting of him for the whole season.

Here are the final results:

01 Alonso Ferrari 1h36:26.945
02 Raikkonen Lotus +0.100
03 Hamilton Mercedes +12.300
04 Vettel Red Bull +12.500
05 Button McLaren +35.200
06 Massa Ferrari +40.800
07 Ricciardo Toro Rosso +42.600
08 Di Resta Force India +51.000
09 Grosjean Lotus +53.400
10 Hulkenberg Sauber +56.500
11 Perez McLaren +1:03.800
12 Vergne Toro Rosso +1:12.600
13 Maldonado Williams +1:33.800
14 Bottas Williams +1:35.400
15 Bianchi Marussia +1 lap
16 Pic Caterham +1 lap
17 Chilton Marussia +1 lap
18 van der Garde Caterham +1 lap

Did Not Finish
Rosberg Mercedes 22
Webber Red Bull 16
Sutil Force India 6
Gutierrez Sauber 5

Vettel wins Malaysian GP amidst huge controversy

Sebastian Vettel won the Malaysian GP, but he could have done his reputation irreperable damage in the process. We'll get to the controversial bit later.

Vettel started from pole and Webber from fifth. But starting on a damp track on intermediate tyres causes some consternation at the start. Alonso broke his front wing on the back of Vettel's car, and then retired at the start of lap 2 when his front wing came off and went underneath his car, raising his front wheels in the air and sending Alonso into the gravel trap knocking him out of the race. It was a gamble by Ferrari, hoping that Alonso could stay out long enough so that he could pit and put on slick tyres without the penalty of an extra stop, it was a gamble that backfired badly.

Webber took his chance on the first lap and jumped into the lead, with Vettel just behind. Lewis Hamilton was in close attendance in yet another promising Mercedes performance. He was able to keep the Bulls honest until the latter part of the race when he had to go into a serious fuel conservation mode, presumably due to Mercedes having made an error in their fuel calculations and leaving him well short. He was shadowed for most of the race by Rosberg, who while clearly faster towards the end of the race was told in no uncertain terms by Ross Brawn to hold station behind Hamilton, despite Rosberg's protestations. Rosberg was clearly frustrated, but he did as instructed.

Vettel was similarly frustrated behind Webber. The TV broadcast played radio messages from him telling the team that Mark was too slow. Webber for his part was doing exactly as instructed by the team. They told him to turn down the engine and look after the tyres. They also told him that Vettel was instructed to do the same and hold station behind Webber. So clearly then, in Webber's mind, it was race done. Look after the car till the end and take his first win of the season.

Vettel though, had other plans, on laps 43 and 44 after he had just come out of the pits on fresh tyres, he attacked Webber hard. Webber nearly squeezed him into the pitwall, (similar to the incident between Barichello and Schumacher at the Hungarian GP in 2010), but relented and let Vettel past. It no doubt caused some clenched buttocks in the Red Bull team garage.

And that's how it stayed till the end, Vettel, Webber, Hamilton and Rosberg. The podium was the tensest podium I can ever recall seeing, and the media backlash on this incident has been severe. With many journalists laying into Vettel and his dirty tactics.

Vettel even apologised in the press conference after the race, but it won't change the results, he will still go down in the history books as the winner. Webber made a dry comment that Vettel will no doubt be "protected", a thinly veiled barb aimed at Helmut Marko no doubt.

Some people have come out and said that the driver's should race each other, and we shouldn't stop teammates from racing. The truth is that this wasn't a race, Webber never expected Vettel to do what he did. They obviously had an agreement before the race started which Vettel blatantly ripped to shreds, Vettel's post race apology confirmed this. I think that Vettel's good guy image will be tarnished by this and he will carry some of this stigma throughout his career like his countryman Michael Schumacher's win at all costs attitude in his heyday.

And I think that Vettel didn't think he'd done anything wrong till he got to the podium. When the race was over he celebrated by jumping on the nose of his car like he normally does. It wasn't the actions of a conflicted or repentant man. So I don't think that he was really sorry about it at all, he pretended he was when the media spotlight turned up the heat on him, but he will go to bed knowing he gained an important advantage over Alonso, and that's what's most important to him at the end of the day.

Race results:





1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:38.56.681
2 Mark Webber Red Bull +4.298
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +12.100
4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +12.640
5 Felipe Massa Ferrari +25.600
6 Romain Grosjean Lotus +35.500
7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus +48.400
8 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +53.000
9 Sergio Perez McLaren +72.300
10 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso +87.100
11 Valtteri Bottas Williams +88.600
12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber +1 lap
13 Jules Bianchi Marussia +1 lap
14 Charles Pic Caterham +1 lap
15 Giedo van der Garde Caterham +1 lap
16 Max Chilton Marussia +2 laps
17 Jenson Button McLaren +3 laps
18 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso +5 laps
19 Pastor Maldonado Williams +11 lap
20 Adrian Sutil Force India +29 laps
21 Paul di Resta Force India +34 laps
22 Fernando Alonso Ferrari +55 laps

The omens are there for Kimi success in 2013

I heard an interesting stat the other day that I feel is worth sharing ...

The last time Michael Schumacher retired(2006), Kimi Raikkonen won the opening grand prix of the next season(Australia 2007), and went on to become champion.

Kimi world championship - take 1

In 2012, Michael Schumacher retired again, and Kimi has again won the opening grand prix of the next season(Australia again) ... just coincidence?

Kimi world championship - take 2?

Raikkonen wins Australian GP 2013!

Wow, talk about getting the season off to a flying start, that's exactly what the Flying Finn(pardon me, overused cliche) did in Australia. The Iceman lived up to his nickname as he drove a faultless race to keep Fernando Alonso behind him, with Vettel in 3rd.

Qualifying on Saturday was abondoned after Q1 due to heavy rain, the session was reconvened on Sunday morning. It was business as usual for the Red Bull pairing as Vettel and Webber locked out the front row and Hamilton taking up a suprising 3rd place with the Ferrari's in close attendance.

At the start of the race a familiar pattern developed, Vettel got off to a great start and Webber, for the umpteenth time, got bogged down and was swamped, he was passed by Hamilton and the two Ferrari's. Raikkonen started in 7th and he too made quick progress up the grid behind Lewis, harrying Hamilton and then passing him.

Most of the frontrunners pitted from lap 7 or 8 onwards for fresh tyres. The two Mercedes stayed out longer, trying to make a two stop work, but they would have to abandon it later as Hamilton was experiencing high tyre wear. Raikkonen pitted along with the rest for the first stop, but it was his second stint that was the race defining moment. He managed to make his tyres last about 25 laps, and although his second stop was a bit earlier than the other driver's third stops, by the time they rejoined he had a solid lead and was able to easily maintain it. In fact, so fast was he on older tyres than Alonso that he set the fastest lap on the race right at the end in the penultimate laps.

Alonso pushed all the way, as he usually does. I have written about his unwavering determination many times before, yet he still continues to astonish me every race. He is just a man who refuses to lie down...ever. He was behind Massa in the early part of the race, but pitted earlier and made his fresher tyres count to jump his teammate. Massa was impressive in the race too, capping a very strong Ferrari weekend. They now lead the Constructor's championship, a very satisifying feeling in Maranello no doubt. Alonso and Ferrari must be doing cartwheels on the inside. Last season their car was frankly horrible in the beginning of the season, it was only Alonso that kept pushing and kept himself in the title hunt. This season both their drivers had strong races, an indication that the performance is within the car. And at long last perhaps giving Alonso a weapon with which to take the fight to the Red Bulls and the Lotuses and McLarens(although this might only come later).

As happy as Ferrari must be feeling, McLaren must be equally miserable. Their car was truly horrible. Button was struggling to break into the top ten, and Perez was dicing with his compatriot Gutierrez, his replacement at Sauber, not quite where he was expecting to be. There are stories circulating that McLaren may even switch back to the 2012 car before the next race, so fundamental is the problem with the new car. If any team can turn it around though, it's McLaren, they have had bad starts before, and they have always dragged themselves back to the front before too long. This season will show how much they will truly miss Hamilton. As good a tactician and professional that Button is, he lacks the blinding speed that Hamilton is gifted with, and Perez has a lot to prove before he can claim to be in the top echelon of drivers.

The Red Bulls know they have work to do. The raw qualifying speed is still there, but they have to work on race setup, and in particular tyre wear. Lotus and Kimi showed the way in Melbourne, and Red Bull have some work to do to catch up. Still, Vettel won't be overly worried...yet.

So where does this all leave us? There is no doubt Lotus have a very good race car, as they did last year. They also have Kimi Raikkonen who despite having a fantastic re-entry into the sport last year, looks even more on top of his game this season. If he can go and repeat this performance in Malaysia in a week's time, there can be no doubting he will be a mammoth contender this season. Last year I can't remember him making any mistakes, it's just not his way, and if he can capitalise on his car's advantages now before the others catch up, I can very well see him making it two Driver's championships titles.

Results:
1. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1h30m03.225s
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari + 12.451s
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull + 22.346s
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari + 33.577s
5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes + 45.561s
6. Mark Webber Red Bull + 46.800s
7. Adrian Sutil Force India + 1m05.068s
8. Paul di Resta Force India + 1m08.449s
9. Jenson Button McLaren + 1m21.630s
10. Romain Grosjean Lotus + 1m22.759s
11. Sergio Perez McLaren + 1m23.367s
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso + 1m23.857s
13. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber + 1 lap
14. Valtteri Bottas Williams + 1 lap
15. Jules Bianchi Marussia + 1 lap
16. Charles Pic Caterham + 2 laps
17. Max Chilton Marussia + 2 laps
18. Giedo van der Garde Caterham + 2 laps

2013 F1 launches galore

Thought it was time to dust off my blogging fingers and write my first post of 2013! It's been way overdue, but I am finally back.

Simple topic today, just a few pics of the 2013 cars launched so far, and there are plenty!

First up is the 2013 Red Bull. Pulled this pic of www.skysports.com, so thanks to them for doing a comparo of last year's and this years car.

As you can see, apart from the prominent Infiniti livery on the sidepods, it looks very similar to last years car.

Ferrari's 2013 challenger is also a game of spot the difference, a game I'm not very good at, so apart from the fact that they have at least gotten rid of that terrible drop nose, it looks very similar.

McLaren's new car is also an evolutionary effort, behold the MP428!

Compare it to the 2012 MP427 below:

The detail at the bottom of the rear wing is a lot less fussy in the 2013 car and the nose is a touch higher. Fair to say the 2013 car looks a bit cleaner this year. Let's see if Button can sweep up the championship with the MP428.

2012's breakout team Lotus also launched their car and the Iceman's 2013 chariot. They launched their car with the "step-nose" but may use a vanity plate to smooth out that unsightly hump when testing comes around.

Here is the 2012 car: 

New car has a touch more red on the sidepods and Kimi's name at the top of the airbox. Still one of my favourite liveries.

Last of the "big teams" Mercedes launched their W04. Expectation is MASSIVE! They went out and got Hamilton, got rid of Schumi and have to, simply have to, have a decent car for Hamilton to race this year. Brawn(who was rumoured to being ousted in favour of Paddy Lowe of McLaren, but retains his place, for now) has made all the confident noises but knows that Mercedes have to deliver more this year. They got a win last year but need to win a couple this year. They have a proven race winner in Hamilton, they need to provide him with the car to be able to challenge his old employers McLaren, and Red Bull and Ferrari.

Here is the W03 from 2012:

This year's Mercedes has gotten rid of the rather pronounced step-nose they had last year. It must be all a bit of deja vu for Lewis, he seems to have just exchanged a splash of Vodacom red for Petronas blue. He has the familiar Mercedes engine under his right foot, how good the chassis will be compared to the McLaren will be the telling factor.

So, I have covered the fab five, will look at the second tier team launches in my next post.