Thursday, May 2, 2013
2013 AUSTRALIAN G P REVIEW RAIKKONEN CRUISES TO EASY VICTORY
Kimi Raikkonen and his Enstone outfit made all the right decisions at the eagerly awaited season opener in Albert Park, Melbourne, to take an easy victory at the semi-street circuit which has never been short of drama and action in its previous editions.
In the early morning qualifying shoot-out, Red-Bull threw down the gauntlet over their rivals by taking a stunning and utterly dominant front row lockout which sent shivers down the spine of each and everyone concerned and majority in the paddock expected the Bulls to dominate as in their crushingly dominating 2011 season.
But as the “five red lights” went off, all that fear eventually subsided as Webber made the “perfect pathetic start” which is all too easy to predict but his team-mate blitzed away into the distance with the prancing horses of Massa and Alonso rapidly catching the raging bull.
Vettel was able to hold on to his lead after the first round of stops but was beaten by Alonso who took the gamble of pitting early for a second stop and it paid off beautifully as he came out in front of Vettel and Massa.
Vettel was able to hold on to his lead after the first round of stops but was beaten by Alonso who took the gamble of pitting early for a second stop and it paid off beautifully as he came out in front of Vettel and Massa.
However, from the fourth row on the grid, Raikkonen and Lotus were plotting a different course - a two-stop strategy to be precise owing to the E21s expected kinder tyre wear - and their plan played out perfectly as the Finn inherited the lead when the Ferrari and Red Bull peeled into the pits for the final time.
Alonso, like a true warrior, did everything he could by driving his red charger on the limit and sometimes over the limit but it just wasn’t enough and in the end, Raikkonen surged to take his first win of 2013 at the first race of 2013, Meanwhile, Ferrari finished a strong P2 and P4 and are certainly satisfied as they successfully knocked off their main rivals Red Bull with Alonso finishing +10 seconds ahead of Vettel with Massa close behind.
Alonso, like a true warrior, did everything he could by driving his red charger on the limit and sometimes over the limit but it just wasn’t enough and in the end, Raikkonen surged to take his first win of 2013 at the first race of 2013, Meanwhile, Ferrari finished a strong P2 and P4 and are certainly satisfied as they successfully knocked off their main rivals Red Bull with Alonso finishing +10 seconds ahead of Vettel with Massa close behind.
Mercedes had a subdued race, to be honest with no hiccups in Hamilton’s W04 but Rosberg was knocked out mid-way through the 58 laps of going around in circles of the Albert Park street circuit.
Force India had a great race as Sutil lead twice in between 58 laps of racing action but eventually had to settle for P7 due to his late switch to the option tyre and the subsequent disadvantage of excessive degradation that ruined his chances of finishing higher than the finishing position on what was a stunning debut for Force India.
Force India had a great race as Sutil lead twice in between 58 laps of racing action but eventually had to settle for P7 due to his late switch to the option tyre and the subsequent disadvantage of excessive degradation that ruined his chances of finishing higher than the finishing position on what was a stunning debut for Force India.
Mclaren had a perfectly bad weekend as Jenson could do no better than P9 while Perez had an uneventful and dull race to bring home the MP4-28 in P11.
As for Sauber, Esteban Gutierrez was their sole runner and the Mexican kept out of trouble to take the rookie honours from Valtteri Bottas, who did what Williams team-mate Pastor Maldonado failed to do by keeping his FW35 on the track.
Fellow rookie Jules Bianchi drove a great race for Marussia to beat his Caterham rivals; Charles Pic finished a lap further down than his fellow Frenchman. Behind them, Marussia’s Max Chilton and Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde had a mighty scrap over 17th place, the English rookie finally beating his Dutch counterpart comfortably.
But as the chequered flag came out after 58 laps of fantastic, wheel-to-wheel racing, it was Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus who came to the fore to take a near perfect victory.
For Lotus, that early advantage bodes ominously well for the remaining 18 races of hardcore F1 action.
Fellow rookie Jules Bianchi drove a great race for Marussia to beat his Caterham rivals; Charles Pic finished a lap further down than his fellow Frenchman. Behind them, Marussia’s Max Chilton and Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde had a mighty scrap over 17th place, the English rookie finally beating his Dutch counterpart comfortably.
But as the chequered flag came out after 58 laps of fantastic, wheel-to-wheel racing, it was Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus who came to the fore to take a near perfect victory.
For Lotus, that early advantage bodes ominously well for the remaining 18 races of hardcore F1 action.
Bring on the 2013 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix!!!.....
