If the Australian Grand Prix was prescribed medication, it was just what the doctor ordered without a doubt. The 2010 Australian Grand Prix produced, like the many times beforehand, a race of unpredictability, weather changes, crashes, safety cars and a podium of three drivers which the bookies would have licked their lips at. Jenson Button in only his second race for Mclaren produced a champions drive ahead of the surprising Robert Kubica of Renault and Felipe Massa in the Ferrari. After the processional boredom of Bahrain, Australia set the record straight.
For any spectator unpredictable weather is almost dreamy, for the driver an team it can be quite the opposite. Rain had threatened to fall for most of Saturday and Sunday and it managed to finally make up its mind ten minutes before the start, sending the grid into a craze. Dry tyres were changed to intermediates as the race got underway.
Jenson Button's first win came in the wet of Hungary in 2006, this time he produced what could be one of the decisions of the 2010 season, only 6 laps in the Brit made the bold move to switch to dry tyres. Alot of people thought it was too early and many thought they were right when they saw Button's Mclaren go well wide after only a couple of corners. Soon enough, Button began to produce personal bests after personal bests, ushering the other teams to follow suit. This leap-frogged the Briton into second which could have been first had it not been for that earlier off.
One has to wonder where has Lady Luck been for some of Sebastien Vettel's biggest moments. In Bahrain he fell victim to a spark plug failure which dropped him to fourth despite leading the race from the start. In Melbourne, he was comfortably in the lead when suddenly he found himself beached in Albert Park's notorious gravel traps. The Mclaren mechanics were shocked as they were delighted as this propelled Jenson into the lead from which he never looked back. Vettel's luck would have to be likened to that of former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen during his time at Mclaren, where very unlucky reliability problems robbed the Finn of precious points and ultimately the World Championship. Vettel is already 25 points off Fernando Alonso, who recovered from an opening lap spin to finish fourth. Even with the new points system, to claw back that from someone as consistent as the Spaniard would be some achievement.
Lewis Hamilton had a weekend to forget. Not only was he stopped by the Melbourne Police and had his car impounded for speeding, but he also had to start from a lowely eleventh. Nevertheless the 2008 Champion produced some moments of brilliance to at one point bring him up to third and hound down the Renault of Kubica and looking good to overtake him. This was during a time when many cars headed to pits once again to take on fresh rubber and it was Mclaren that brought in Hamilton and left Jenson out. This pushed Hamilton down the order yet again and at one point it looked the right decision. Hamilton was catching cars in front of him at almost two seconds a lap. With eight laps to go he was on the gear box of Fernando Alonso. But Formula One's famous dirty air came into play once again. Hamilton had no answer and was unable to get passed the Ferrari. Home favourite Mark Webber, who was following suit, ultimately judged his braking point towards the end of the lap, slamming into the back of Hamilton. Webber had to pit, while Hamilton was able to continue on to finish sixth from what could have been second. Afterwards Hamilton was critical of the team's decision to bring him in.
After all the hype surrounding Button's move to Mclaren and the worry that he was essentially moving to "Lewis Hamilton's Team", it was the defending World Champion that managed to take McClaren's first win of the season. The retirement of Sebastien Vettel did of course help the Briton hugely but Button's drive nevertheless was faultless. Button's particular smooth driving style favoured the Melbourne track and never had to pit for a second set of dry tyres, such was his brilliant management of his rubber. Hamilton will now realise that he certainly does have a challenge on him in Button, who was quicker over the weekend. This is just the beginning of a potentially fascinating battle between two very good drivers. Red Bull once again squandered great track position and came away with only a handful of points. They may have the fastest car but reliability is so much more than raw speed. Ferrari still look the best in this category. Always renowned for their brilliant reliability, this years car also has the pace to match it, and although they couldn't make it another one-two, they will take this third-fourth with pleasure and move on to Malaysia.
The return of Michael Schumacher still doesn't seem to be going to plan. The German finished an anonymous tenth and spent the entire race battling a Toro Rosso, a far cry from his glory days. Some were delighted to see him come out of retirement, others feared it might not be such a wise idea and believed he left in 2006 at the right time. This year could prove to be quite embarrassing for the mighty German, but it is still early days.
Although the Australian Grand Prix was dramatic one would have to wonder had it been as such without the changing weather and the safety car period. Though these two provided ingredients for exciting racing the race could have been just as dull as Bahrain had they never appeared. The way Lewis Hamilton was unable to pass the slower Ferrari on old tyres and lacking in grip speaks volumes. Formula One still needs to solve its overtaking problems, not all races can be wet and have unpredictable weather.
Two down, seventeen more to go, the F1 season is only premature still. We've have had two races which produced quite contrasting results in terms of entertainment. The next race in a weeks time in Kuala Lumpor, Malaysia will continue to answer questions that seriously need answering. Melbourne did the world of F1 a favour, but we could be back to square one in just a weeks time. This only adds to the billing of what looks to be a fascinating season.
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