Blimey

What a scorching start to the season, in more ways than one. Fifty degree track temperatures undoubtedly played their part in some of the drama at the opening race of the F1 season in Albert Park, Melbourne (it can’t have been a nice environment for the drivers, bundled up in layers of flame-proof clothing and sitting just in front of one of the world’s most expensive hot-air producers) but I think it’s safe to say that the banning of electronic driver aids (like engine braking and traction control) had the biggest effect.

Anyone who was expecting the same old, same old (like me) would have been pleasantly surprised; the excessive temperature and the lack of traction control making the start especially exciting, as no-one, except perhaps for Lewis, was in the position you’d expect them to be in. Having put his McLaren convincingly on pole on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton proceeded to lead the race from start to finish, but behind him it was a very different story.

I would imagine that Max Moseley won’t be too happy with the race, as there wasn’t all that much overtaking, but with drivers still trying to come to terms with their cars there was certainly plenty of action; five drivers out by the end of the first lap were followed by most of the rest of the field across the 58 laps, to the point where only six cars managed to finish the race out of the original 22. Both Ferraris failed to finish, but because of the way the points system works Raikkonen collects a single point. Massa, in the other Ferrari, collected David Coulthard in spectacular fashion and then a few laps later was out himself. Timo Glock had the biggest crash of the afternoon – actually becoming airbourne at one point – but thankfully walked away relatively unscathed.

Sebastian Bourdais, making his debut for Torro Rosso, was on for fourth before his Ferrari engine gave way, but still manages to score points, whilst Alonso – back in the Renault after his unhappy season at McLaren – was able to capitalise on the misfortune of others to finish fourth.

The first race of the season is always a little different from the rest, as it’s the first time the cars have been run together on a level playing field, but hopefully Australia will show the way for the rest of the races; Lewis taking the wins and the rest of the field squabbling over the remaining points. Roll on Malaysia in a week’s time.