F1: Australian GP Results

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Australian GP - Sunday - Race Results

Australian Grand Prix Results - 29 March 2009 - 58 Laps
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT LAPS TIME/RETIRE
1. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 58 1h34m15.784
2. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 58 0.807
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 58 2.914
4. Timo Glock Germany Toyota 58 4.435
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault 58 4.879
6. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 58 5.722
7. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 58 6.044
8. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 58 6.298
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 58 6.335
10. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 58 7.085
11. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes 58 7.374
12. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota 58 26.604*
13. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 57 1 Lap
14. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 56 Damage
15. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 55 Accident
16. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 55 Differential
R Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 45 Damage
R Nelson Piquet Brazil Renault 24 Spin
R Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 17 Accident
R Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 0 Damage
FASTEST LAP:
Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 48 1:27.706
* Trulli penalised 25-seconds for repassing Hamilton after going off the circuit during the final safety car period.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

The Brawn cars are odd looking with the lack of sponsorship decals. Only Bridgestone on the nose and wing end-plates, Virgin on the side pods and top, and Brawn on the sides of the airbox. Cleanest livery in 20 years.

[Jeff Shyu]

speculation on the diffuser?

will the "inventive" teams fall in line with the spirit of the rule?
or will the rest of the field implement the modified rear diffuser?

also, i was personally happy to see the difference in tire performance, even though i was not happy with the incident at the end.

I've always liked Rubens, and am happy to see him on the podium again, regardless of how much luck had to do with it..

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

speculation on the diffuser?

will the "inventive" teams fall in line with the spirit of the rule?
or will the rest of the field implement the modified rear diffuser?

also, i was personally happy to see the difference in tire performance, even though i was not happy with the incident at the end.

I've always liked Rubens, and am happy to see him on the podium again, regardless of how much luck had to do with it..

What a race! I like how the difference between the hard and soft compounds really IS "hard as rock" or "soft as a marshmellow". Now it's all driver...gee what a concept. Button's last win was in the rain and a bit of a fluke but this win (though Safety car came out with 2-3 laps left), he won outright, fair and square, and good karma that although my BMW boy got greedy (he had 3 laps to pass Vettel), it allowed Rubens and the other Brawn GP car to take 2nd place. And Toyota in 3rd? The world is on it's axis! Oh and even on TV, that sun was blinding as it start to set and certain corners were so bright. Great race and only 5 days rest as Malaysia is coming up.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

speculation on the diffuser?

will the "inventive" teams fall in line with the spirit of the rule?
or will the rest of the field implement the modified rear diffuser?

World Motorsports Council will decide the issue a few days before the Chinese GP. You can bet that Ferrari, Renault, McLaren and BMW have open venturi rear diffusers in testing just in case it's deemed legal.

Leave it to Trulli to ignore the caution lamp on the steering wheel and pass Hamilton after the Italian went off and on. So 25 seconds sends Trulli back to 12th and elevates Hamilton to the podium.

Bernie should be flogged for pushing his time schedule. The sun angle late in the race was brutal.

[Ramy Mattar]

I enjoyed the race a lot, and i like the new regulations, tires,,,, etc.

I am glad somene started this thead so we can talk about F1

The Brawn story is inspirational, i think we are going to have a great season.

According to Ruben's comments in the post race interview; his diffuser was damaged in the first accident, if he is correct, then it is not really that big performance advantage, also vettle's car doesn't have the diffuser and he was running really strong.

Regarding vettles - kubica's accident imho it was kubica's mistake, he had an obivouse better pace and he didn't need to push the issue, also vettle was over the curb and couldn't go any further, I thought it is always the reponsibility of the passing driver to make a safe pass!

Truli is challenging the results and claiming that hamilton pulled to the side and slowed down so he had no choice but to pass him.

Again, glad to be talking about F1 again, it has been a while.

[Steve Ekstrand]

So Brawn's team is for real? People dismissed the pre-season testings impressive results.

Ferrari and McLaren? Are they still threats?

Does Brawn's team has the financial resources to run? How can they not get funding with a 1-2 start?

[Jeff Shyu]

According to Ruben's comments in the post race interview; his diffuser was damaged in the first accident, if he is correct, then it is not really that big performance advantage, also vettle's car doesn't have the diffuser and he was running really strong.

i think race pace and qualifying pace are different things here, and i think the diffuser helped a lot with the qualifying, which kinda sets the stage for the race. during the race, there's a lot more involved, ie, fuel, tires, traffic, SC, etc. it was very obvious that the diffusers DID make a difference though, and with the degree of tolerance in F1, any advantage is a big advantage.

Regarding vettles - kubica's accident imho it was kubica's mistake, he had an obivouse better pace and he didn't need to push the issue, also vettle was over the curb and couldn't go any further, I thought it is always the reponsibility of the passing driver to make a safe pass!

I too, feel that it was kubica's fault. he knew his pace was faster, and he KNEW it was because the soft tires were falling off. he chose a passing spot where a stressed tire is put to even more stress by defensive braking, and then choose to try to pass on the outside of a car with deteriorating grip? he could have easily sat behind vettle and simply outdragged him into turn 1.

I think it was poor judgement on Kubica's part.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

Regarding vettles - kubica's accident imho it was kubica's mistake,

Agreed. Even I was upset with Kubica's dive bomb into that corner. Live & learn.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

So Brawn's team is for real? People dismissed the pre-season testings impressive results.

Ferrari and McLaren? Are they still threats?

Does Brawn's team has the financial resources to run? How can they not get funding with a 1-2 start?

Sir Richard Branson knows how to pick 'em! He went for the underdog team (didn't have to pay TONS of money for sponshorship) and now he rolled dice and came up all 6's and now get more exposure in one weekend for his airlines than a 30-sec commercial

Now they'll get sponsors coming out (not out of the wood work as the economy is still bad but they'll flock to a potential winner or at least flavor of the month). Let's see how things are mid-season but so far the rules changes had the intended affect. Make the racing more exciting to the viewer...and it was!!

[Jeff Shyu]

i like the contrast of the sparse sponsored brawn team.

i hope that doesn't get chewed up with the performance from this past weekend.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

i like the contrast of the sparse sponsored brawn team.

Plain and simple......sponsors? we don't need no stinkin' sponsors!

[Jeff Shyu]

i like the contrast of the sparse sponsored brawn team.

Plain and simple......sponsors? we don't need no stinkin' sponsors!

i would approve of a ME sticker..

[Mako Koiwai]

Seemed like it was Kubica's fault ... but it was Vettel that immediately apologized on his radio ... and he's the one that is being penalized.

[Mako Koiwai]

If you want good knowledgeable threads on F1 ... these are very good:

(of course there is always the occasional twit)

F1 Overall:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... 22&page=61

Next Race:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=1731421

[Jeff Shyu]

Seemed like it was Kubica's fault ... but it was Vettel that immediately apologized on his radio ... and he's the one that is being penalized.

i honestly think that was vettle being a gentleman about it. he knew that he was falling off the pace, and he knew that the overtaking was a matter of time.

i think from that perspective, he might have been apologizing for ending the race for them both, but i think he did what he had to do.. he's a race car driver at the top tier of the profession. he has to put up a fight when there's a fight to be had. he couldn't just move aside and let kubica stroll right by.

he gets a +1 in my book.

[Mako Koiwai]

So what do you think of Vettel's ten spots on the next starting grid penalty ?

I think that is way too harsh! It WAS a racing accident ... it's NOT going to stop someone in that situation from not defending his position. Kubica should have been a bit more patient. Since he knew that Vettel was slowing down because of his tires ... HE should have predicted that Vettel might push into him.

[Jeff Shyu]

well, given what i've written about vettle, i think you know what i think of his 10 spot penalty.

there's just no excuse for most of FIA's post race (and some during the race) decisions.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

If you want good knowledgeable threads on F1 ... these are very good:

(of course there is always the occasional twit)

F1 Overall:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... 22&page=61

Next Race:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=1731421

Pardon me, Mako, but why do those on the NASIOC forum have an advantage of knowledge regarding F1 over anyone here?

[Bob Beamesderfer]

Seemed like it was Kubica's fault ... but it was Vettel that immediately apologized on his radio ... and he's the one that is being penalized.

Apologizing to the engineers and mechanics right away is the right thing to do even if the other guy was in the wrong. As for fault, I think it was 50-50, therefore no penalty should be assessed because neither driver benefited. In a way, Vettel was the bigger loser because he wasn't able to be in position to match his qualifying performance. While F1 doesn't reward points for quali, the sponsors do take notice when someone doesn't convert a good session into a top finishing spot.

As for Trulli's excuse, the yellow flag was out and therefore displayed on his steering wheel. The fact that he wasn't paying attention is HIS fault. Only Montoya and Verstoppen are more lame when it comes to excuses. That includes the time Verstoppen rear-ended Montoya during the Colombian's first season in F1 and took him out of podium contention. Verstoppen didn't finish at all.

[Mako Koiwai]

but why do those on the NASIOC forum have an advantage of knowledge regarding F1 over anyone here?

Extreme F1 nerds that find all type of interesting articles ... that later sometimes show up here.

Also non-AX'ing racing drivers that have interesting perspectives.

My personal Suby bias ... that is actually rather quickly disappearing ... soon to be replace with ... MIATA Board F1 threads!

[Steve Ekstrand]

Mopax kicks ass on NASIOC or MYGAYMIATAFRIENDS

[Jeff Shyu]

Mopax kicks ass on NASIOC or MYGAYMIATAFRIENDS

[Mako Koiwai]

Steve:

Have you ever made a Gay Miata joke to Tim Albins face !? ... YOU probably wouldn't have a face afterwards!

Karen said that I should tell you that she passed a Vette coming onto the Roval last friday during her NASA HPDE. The owner was stupid enough during the de-brief afterwards to say, "It's not a Vette! It's a Z-06!"

A Vette later passed her going into the big decreasing radius infield corner ... and promptly went off the track. Must have been a GAY Vette Driver ?!

Crazy place for a PortaPotty ... with Vette drivers abounding.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

but why do those on the NASIOC forum have an advantage of knowledge regarding F1 over anyone here?

Extreme F1 nerds that find all type of interesting articles ... that later sometimes show up here.

If you mean those that quote F1Live.com and other sites that aggregate rumors, I'm not impressed. Just as I don't take anything written about U.S. Tour de France competitors in l' equipe as gospel, I don't consider Spanish coverage of Hamilton nor British coverage of Alonso to be without bias.