Nobody who cares about the wellbeing of Formula One wants a repeat of last season, when Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix and then proceeded to grind his rivals into the dust as he became the youngest driver to successfully defend the world championship.
Red Bull will win races this season and Vettel may even become a three-time champion, but the German and his team know that they are not going to have things all their own way, no matter the outcome of the year’s first race at Melbourne.
Nothing ever stands still in F1 but even the most dyed-in-the-wool fans would have been surprised to see the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button starting from first and second on the grid for today’s race, followed by unheralded Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who qualified his Lotus in third place, and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher in a much-improved Mercedes.
Vettel and teammate Mark Webber found themselves in alien territory on the third row of the grid. But their troubles were as nothing when set beside the woes of Ferrari. It had been suggested that the Scuderia had arrived in Melbourne with a car that wasn’t competitive, but it still came as a shock to see Fernando Alonso almost two seconds adrift of Hamilton, with teammate Felipe Massa a further second behind.
The new Ferrari has bucked and weaved its way around the circuit in spectacular but not very efficient fashion. “We have failed to achieve our target,” said Alonso, who ended his qualifying in the gravel trap. “We wanted to have a potential race-winning car from the very beginning of the season but we have not. We suspected we were not quick enough through the winter and now it’s confirmed. We had to wait nine races before we won last year and that can’t happen this time. If we were working 24 hours a day before, now we must make it 25 hours.”
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It wouldn’t be F1 without some early controversy and, sure enough, Mercedes have upset their rivals with a rear wing that had Red Bull and Lotus considering a protest.
As the driver activates the standard drag-reduction rear wing, a further loss of drag is triggered by diverting airflow inside hollows within the wing, providing a greater boost in straightline speed. The two Mercedes have consistently been the fastest cars on Albert Park’s straights and the prospect of 43-year-old Schumacher adding to his record tally of 91 victories is realistic.
New regulations limiting exhaust-blown diffusers have clearly played their part in shaking up the order — it was a technology that Red Bull had mastered — but none of the world champion team’s rivals are kidding themselves that they now have the beating of Red Bull, not even the McLaren drivers. “Red Bull can never be underestimated,” said Button. “They are going to be right in the mix. But it’s clear they are just one of four very competitive teams this year — them, us, Mercedes and Lotus. They are all potential race-winning cars this year.”
Hamilton spent part of last year muttering about the inadequacies of his McLaren, but he and Button have been raving about the 2012 model, which has received a major aerodynamic upgrade that seems to have been more effective than Red Bull’s new package. “The car felt pretty good right from the beginning of testing,” said Hamilton of a car that has ingeniously retained an exhaust-blown diffuser despite the restrictive exhaust and engine mapping regulations. “But then the upgrades have just kept coming.”
“Compared to last year’s car it really ‘listens’ to any changes you make to the set-up,” said Button. “It’s a good step forwards in terms of how it feels, even if we do have a little less rear grip because of the regulation change. I think we can have a very strong season.”
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Grosjean, in only his eighth grand prix, reflected on how his F1 career was suddenly, spectacularly back on track, after a difficult half-season in 2009. “I think, ‘Never give up’, is the lesson,” he said. “I’m very proud to be here.
“A few people believed in me at the toughest time and today I think they were with me in the car. I’m proud to be part of the Lotus team. We have been working well during the winter, the car is very good.”
His form will encourage teammate Kimi Raikkonen — the 2007 world champion, returning to F1 after a two-year absence, started the race from 18th position.
Vettel and Webber have spent the weekend visibly fighting their cars more than last year, and it seems that a late upgrade made to the car, using a McLaren-like exhaust layout, was not working to its full potential.
“I’m not panicking,” said Vettel. “I don’t believe we have a global problem with the car or that there’s anything wrong with the design philosophy. We just haven’t got the most out of it in our limited running with it. The balance is not good enough yet to give you the confidence to really push. But I’m sure we can have another strong season.”
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Webber, in his 11th attempt at winning his home race, outqualified the world champion and is confident his troubles of last season will not be repeated. “It’s partly to do with me having got a better handle on these tyres,” he explained, “but it’s also about losing the extreme blown diffusers [allowed by the previous regulations].
“They demanded a technique that felt unnatural to me and this car feels much more like a traditional racing car.”
Mark Hughes writes for Autosport magazine