The 2003
Australian Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races at Albert Park. There
were the new regulations, the wet start and the 2 safety car periods. All of
which have contributed to the final result.
David Coulthard won the race after driving a conservative race and staying out
of trouble. He benefited from Montoya's mistake as well as Raikkonen's
penalty.
A
few of the highlights:
The
performance of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya compared with their
respective team-mates (David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher)
The decision
by Ferrari to start both their drivers on intermediates
Kimi Raikkonen
managing to keep Michael Schumacher behind despite the heavier fuel load
The low rate
of mechanical failures (6) considering the event being the first of the
season
All 4 rookies
retired from the race
What did you think
of the race ? Which team and driver impressed you most and which disappointed
you most ? Do you think the new rules added to the excitement ? Have McLaren
and Williams closed the gap to Ferrari considerably ?
Your
thoughts ?
Of course you can comment on other aspects of the race - Have
Your Say
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What others are saying:
That was one of the better races in a while. I was delighted to see TWO
McLarens on the podium, just wish it was 1-2 instead of 1-3.
I realize rules are rules and must be obeyed, but Kimi getting a drive-thru
for 1 KPH seems a little extreme. I was disappointed not to see any red on the
podium. M.S. and Rubens were walking away the first few laps when the track
was damp, but as soon as things started to dry out their advantage went
away.
I was very surprised to see anything break on a Ferrari. It didn't appear to
affect the M.S. was driving and if he had not been black flagged he probably
would have won.
Kimi once again proved that he IS the driver JPM wants to be. Kimi drove
brilliantly, was totally unconcerned to have M.S. hanging off his rear wing
and made no mistakes.
JPM once again proved that, while he has flashes of brilliance, he is not the
driver he thinks he is. D.C may have been lucky that JPM spun and
"gifted" him the win, but luck is when preparation meets
opportunity. The rest of the field did not contain any huge surprises - Jeff
S - USA
Webber looked good in green.
Webber looked good in green closing in on that red car.
Webber will look good in green on the podium.........
and even better on top of the podium...........sooooooooooon - Byron F -
Australia
JPM is definitely frustrating at times. When you see him on the podium its
obvious he is not as fit as almost any other driver. But talent often blinds
those so endowed from seeing their short comings. But I must say that when it
was clear that JPM "gifted" DC's win. I find it hard to stomach
David's attempt to suggest that he won in a straight fight.
JPM may never be world champion but neither will David.
IMHO Kimi will likely win any McLaren driver championships in the next several
years - Dave - USA
So Rubens and JPM both suffered from lapses in concentration. But unlike
Michael’s lapse in Indianapolis last year (which was occasioned by boredom),
theirs were caused by racing pressure. And both Michael and Kimi raced well
under the greatest possible pressure (from one another), Kimi holding his own
in a lesser car and Michael struggling home with a damaged one. David had a
race worthy of Michael, managing coolly to be in exactly the right place at
the right time all day. If you read the remarks made by Kimi, Michael and
David after the race, you’ll see in print the kind of balance required for
the highest F1 performance. Like their driving, their language is precise,
controlled and focused on the task, neither over nor under steering as it
were.
JPM, however, continues to uphold the Irvine tradition of imagining that
things happen TO him (he used rather less elegant phrasing yesterday!). In
fact, as his language reveals, most of his problems (and the loss of at least
two first place finishes so far!) can be laid squarely on his (mistaken)
belief that he can WILL his machine past its limits. I remember reading
somewhere that Senna described a similar state of mind --in qualifying or
testing one day he began to believe there was no limit to his talent-- but in
his case it led to his parking his car, not losing it.
Jos the Boss also drove a more than solid race, just missing the top 10 in a
Minardi and so saving Ford from the total wash suffered by Toyota.
Honda, on the other [Japanese] hand, appears to have solved whatever it was
that was breaking last year by turning the RPM’s down; I say this because
both Jenson and Jacques lost position relative to the starting grid. (Compare
Alonso --and especially J. Trulli-- who moved their Renault’s UP
nicely.)
The fact that Heinz Harold lost a couple of grid positions (and Nick wasn’t
exactly burning up the track before his unfortunate damage) suggests that
there have been real improvements by all the major contenders over the break:
last year’s Ferrari’s (whether wearing red or another color) just weren’t
good enough for this year’s racing –and that should put an end to the Max
and Bernie blues. Maybe it will even put an end to their [UN]inspired rule
fiddling.
Anyway, I can’t wait for the rest of the season. We’re back to racing and
the racing is good. Remember: I predicted here last week that when we get to
San Marino, M.S. will have 27 points to D.C.’s 26 & that Kimi’ll have
19 to Ruben’s 16. I still stand by this outrageous call.
I expect JPM to start breaking cars in K.L. I wonder, Did Ralf just have
another ‘bad luck’ day? I don’t know. But don’t you just wish you
could see O.P. or Fisi in the blue & white?
Cheers from Jim - USA
My first comment is that I was a little bit disappointed with the new
format of news on f1. Sending us to motorsport is not as fun as showing us
your brilliant thoughts.
About the GP, IMHO I think it's pretty stupid programming 2 or 3 pit stops in
street-like circuits like this one or Canada. The odds of having a safety car
in vaporizing the advantage of a lighter fuel load is huge. McLaren's strategy
was perfect and Kimi's penalty was very unfair regarding what he's done on the
track - Andre B - Brazil
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