16.03.2008

Behind the scenes

The future of the Australian Grand Prix was much discussed throughout the weekend with Melbourne's current contract due to run until 2010. Formula 1's commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has said that after that he would like to see Melbourne join Singapore in becoming a night race, to fit in better with the time zones of F1's key audience. If Melbourne is unable to renew its contract, there is talk of a race at Eastern Creek, near Sydney. Former Minardi F1 entrant Paul Stoddart, however, working for a radio station in Melbourne, dismissed that as "a non-starter."

This year's race started at the later time of 3.30pm but was still run in baking temperatures that were in evidence throughout the meeting. Ambient temperatures for Friday practice were as high as 40 degrees and Jarno was keeping his race suit and boots in the team freezer! The temperatures proved too much for the team fridge, which also became a casualty of the weekend...

NEWS FROM OUR RIVALS

Kimi Raikkonen's world championship defence started in disappointing style when the Ferrari driver was forced to start just 15th on the grid. The Finn was sixth fastest in Q1 but was unable to return to the pits at the end of his timed run because of a problem with the electronic fuel pump. In the race Raikkonen was making strong progress but spun while challenging Timo for 10th place and then had another off-track incident while trying to pass Heikki Kovalainen after the race's second Safety Car. Ultimately he retired and with Felipe Massa involved in a first lap spin and then a collision with David Coulthard it looked like Ferrari would head home empty-handed. Raikkonen, however, ended up with a point for eighth position when the race stewards excluded Rubens Barrichello's sixth-placed Honda for exiting the pit lane while the red light was still on.

Robert Kubica was a star of the weekend when he put his BMW Sauber on the front row of the grid and ran in second place early in the race. The Safety Car appearances did not work in his favour, however, and making matters worse, he was punted into retirement by Kazuki Nakajima behind the Safety Car. Team mate Nick Heidfeld made amends with second place behind Lewis Hamilton.

There was heartbreak for French F1 debutant Sebastien Bourdais, who was running fourth in the Toro Rosso with four laps to go, before he suffered a transmission failure. Right behind were Kovalainen's McLaren and Fernando Alonso's Renault, the Finn having just passed the former double champion. Finding his visor coated in oil from the Toro Rosso, Kovalainen attempted to tear off a visor strip, but hit the limiter button by accident, allowing Alonso to immediately re-pass!

RACE REPORT

Panasonic Toyota Racing suffered a double retirement in the opening round of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship in Melbourne. Jarno Trulli retired with battery failure after 20 laps of the 58-lap Albert Park race and new team mate Timo Glock crashed out on lap 44.

Prior to that Toyota's new TF108 demonstrated strong pace, allowing both cars to qualify in the top 10, with Jarno 6th and Timo 9th before Timo suffered a five place penalty for a replacement gearbox and a further five place demotion when he was adjudged to have impeded another competitor in qualifying.

Jarno converted his third row starting slot and ran sixth in the early stages of the race, behind Lewis Hamilton's race-leading McLaren Mercedes, team mate Heikki Kovalainen, the two BMW Saubers and Nico Rosberg's fast-starting Williams Toyota. Jarno maintained his place until he dived into the pits on lap 20 and was unable to restart.

"From the very start of the race the battery was really hot under my knees," Jarno explained. "When I made my pit stop the engine stalled and would not restart as there seemed to be no battery power. It's a shame to lose the opportunity to score points in the first race but the car is definitely better than last year's. I think there is a lot of potential in it, even more than we showed here because I don't think we managed to work the tyres perfectly. Malaysia is a different kind of circuit and I am hoping that we can be very strong there."

With Timo starting 19th the team decided to fuel up the car for a one stop race and Timo was doing a strong job with a heavy fuel load. The appearance of a Safety Car after 25 laps following an incident between David Coulthard and Felipe Massa was a good break for Timo and it looked as if he would be in a position to score points on his Toyota debut until he ran wide at Turn 12 and suffered a heavy crash.

"We planned our strategy around my starting position and it was always going to be a tough race," Timo said. "It wasn't helped when I had contact with two other cars at the start but despite that and our heavy fuel load, I did manage to make some progress. The car had a bit too much understeer though, and after the pit stop it was difficult to drive and my race ended with the crash. I feel fine but I'm disappointed and looking forward to better fortune at Sepang."

The race was won by Hamilton's McLaren, which finished 5.4s clear of Heidfeld's BMW Sauber, with Nico Rosberg taking the final place on the rostrum. Fernando Alonso finished fourth for Renault, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren.