The Table has Turned...

.
- Contributed by Debraj B

Well, well, well, it’s quite amazing to see what difference two weeks can make. In Albert Park, about three weeks ago, we had an over-joyous Ferrari team at the pits. Today, the same pit looked contrastingly different. Now, we are getting into business…

From 19^th March it-self there was a strong buzz that Kimi’s engine had a problem with its cooling system and was leaking water. He himself had expressed concerns over his engine. When the Friday practice was over, it was pretty evident that Kimi was not as strong as he was at Albert Park. Massa though, had a good practice along with both the Mclarens. Even the Renaults looked good in second practice.

From the very first session of Saturday qualifiers, Mclarens looked much better than what it was at Albert Park - be it handling or speed, the difference was pretty evident. The first two sessions were dominated by Fernando Alonso, but in the closing moments of the final qualifiers, when everyone started to believe that Fernando would definitely start at the top of the grid, Massa came up with a stunning lap to snatch the pole away.

The guys at the Met department proved themselves wrong once again (when have they been proved right? J ), as the weather turned out to be the exact opposite of what was forecast.

So the race eventually started on a dry, sunny and extremely hot afternoon. Though the race had 56 laps in all, I think the fate of the race was sealed in the first 2-3 laps. In the very first corner itself, Fernando went past Massa, courtesy a superb start. But the stunning move came from the one race old Brit rookie, Hamilton, who in his Mclaren was 4^th on the grid. First he tried to go past the outside of Kimi and suddenly changed the line going through the inside of both Massa and Kimi. Felipe Massa tried in next 2 laps to regain his 2^nd place from the young Brit. But he didn’t help his own cause by not being to able to hold on to his place in-spite of overtaking twice. To make things worse, he spun off the track. Truly this guy has strengthened my belief that though he is a good driver, he is not even an average racer. When all these were happening, the reigning champion just sped away to a safe and distant position. He was just in his own world…

Mclaren looked a wonderful unit altogether, whereas Ferrari seemed to be falling apart, though it might be little early to say so. What disgusted me most is their pit strategy. Both the Ferrari drivers were pitted for 10 seconds on first stop, which is a good 2.5 to 3 seconds more than the Mclarens. With that extra fuel I thought they will be out for 3-4 extra laps on softer compound than Mclaren. But to my surprise, I found Massa pitting earlier than both Mclarens and Kimi pitting just 1 lap later than Mclarens. Looks like Ferrari pit is missing the technical brilliance of the big man named Ross Brawn. Mclaren got their first 1-2 finish since 2005.

Rest of the race was pretty much free from incidents. Fernando just cruised to victory followed by Lewis and Kimi. Heidfeld had another strong race at 4^th followed by Massa.

So, couple of things are clear now. Ferrari has not been able to hold on to the edge they had in Australia. Secondly, Mclaren seems to be going from strength to strength. And I am sure some credit will go to Fernando as well for this revival.

The few disappointments were Rosberg having to retire from a strong 6^th place and Robert Kubica having to drop down from an excellent 5^th place, due to problem with the Traction Control.

Though both the races so far have been a little boring, it has made for some terrific backdrop to the fight for WDC and WCC.

If we look at the Oz race and then the Malaysian leg, we can definitely say that the table has really turned now.

That will be all from me for now. We shall meet in exactly a week’s time in Bahrain. Till then ADIOS!

.