Sitting on the couch watching the 2015 Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix from Melbourne’s Albert Park was an interesting experience on many levels.
Firstly, it was almost surreal to see Spaniard Carlos Sainz Junior sitting eighth on the starting grid in his very first Grand Prix. With his father, two-time World Rally Champion, Carlos Senior, watching from the sidelines, it brought back many happy memories.
Carlos Sainz junior finished 9th at the Australian Grand Prix.The flamboyant Spaniard was the star driver of the WRC in the late eighties and early nineties, and I fondly recall many Rally Australia and Rally New Zealand press conferences and hotel foyers where Carlos chatted openly to a (then) young Aussie journalist who was in awe of simply being in the great man’s presence.
He is a cracking bloke, and I’m sure he was as thrilled to be back in Australia I was to see his son on the starting grid in Melbourne.
Had it not been for a botched pit stop by the Toro Rosso team, young Carlos could have finished a lot higher than his final ninth place.
Ironically, it was Sainz’s battle with Marcus Ericsson (not Mikael or Kenneth) that was a late highlight in the race, bringing back further memories of Carlos Senior and his rallying exploits on the WRC stages.
In many respects it was a predictable race, with the Mercedes team taking a dominant 1-2, but there were plenty of disappointments, including Daniel Ricciardo’s sixth place in a Red Bull Renault that failed to fire a shot.
Lap one, corner one was about as exciting as the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix got.Yet Ricciardo’s team-mate, Daniil Kyvat, and McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen were even more unlucky, with their cars failing to even make it from the pits to the start line! This wasn’t even the warm-up lap, simply the tour to line up on the grid 45 minutes before the race.
How can that happen?
Formula 1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport, where money is no object and (as reported on Channel 10’s coverage) a team’s hydraulic trolley jack costs 500,000 Australia dollars!!
F1 has some hurdles to contend with in the coming months. After such a promising lead-in to the race and an exciting qualifying session, the race itself was a non-event. Only 11 cars finished.
Rallying may be undergoing another “Sebastien domination”, but at least there are still several drivers and teams capable of winning any given rally. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Formula 1.
Bring on the Rally of Argentina in five weeks time.
- Peter Whitten
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