17/03/2013
NEWS STORY
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It seems hard to believe but after weeks and weeks of pondering the pecking order, with the first race of the season about to begin the situation is no clearer. OK, Red Bull is clearly the team to beat, but what of the rest?
The weather means that we haven't had a level playing field nor the opportunity to really allow the runners and riders to stretch their legs and with the weather threatening today's season opener, not to mention the prospect of further rain next week at Sepang, it may be some time before we really know who's hot and who's not.
That said, in as much as we know that Ferrari is strong this year, as are Lotus and Mercedes, two former champions, Williams and McLaren are really struggling. While the Grove outfit is doing its best to put on a brave face, the pain its rivals from Woking are suffering is all too obvious.
Ignoring what looks to be the leading pack, the midfield should see a lively battle between Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso, with McLaren probably keeping them company, certainly in the early stages of the season.
On the evidence thus far, Force India's strength lies with its driver line-up, while both Toro Rosso drivers have impressed thus far this weekend.
Another revelation this weekend has been Jules Bianchi, the French youngster appearing unaware that he didn't get the Force India drive and is actually at the wheel of a Marussia. Difficult conditions this afternoon could enable him to pull off a major surprise.
Sauber's chances take a major hit when it is revealed, just ten minutes before the pitlane opens, the Nico Hulkenberg's car has a fuel cell problem. The German watches patently as his mechanics work on his car which, even at this impossibly late stage, doesn't have an engine. Indeed, shortly after the Swiss team confirms that the German won't be able to make the start, his race over before it had even begun.
The big question today, other than how much mayhem the five rookies might cause at the start is tyres. With the supersofts going off very, very quickly it is thought that some drivers will be pitting to get rid of them after just a few laps. It is thought that 2 - 3 stops will be the order of the day.
Fifteen minutes before the start, the air temperature is 18 degrees C, while the track temperature is 26 degrees. It is overcast - though the sun is out there somewhere - but at least it is dry. That said, there is talk that there could be rain at some stage during the race.
All appear to be starting on the option (supersoft) other than Sutil, Ricciardo, Perez, and Maldonado.
As the field heads off on the parade lap Webber is told that there is a threat of rain, a shower currently out over the sea.
They're away, Vettel holds his lead but a brilliant start from Massa sees the Brazilian go second. Another dreadful start from Webber, as Alonso slots into third ahead of Hamilton and Raikkonen.
As Alonso battles his Ferrari teammate, Raikkonen and Hamilton go head to head.
At the end of lap 1, it's Vettel, Massa, Alonso, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Webber, di Resta, Button, and Sutil.
Alonso, visibly frustrated by Massa's pace in qualifying, continues to harry his teammate, while Raikkonen passes Hamilton in T4 to take fourth. The Iceman is hot!
Further back, Bianchi is ahead of Maldonado and chasing Gutierrez. Ricciardo has dropped back to last… a bad day for the home drivers.
After 3 laps, Vettel leads Massa by 1.7s with Alonso right behind. Sutil is all over Button as they battle for eleventh, ahead of Grosjean, Perez and Bottas.
At the end of lap 4, Button is the first driver to pit, the McLaren driver switching to mediums. He exits in last position.
Webber is under pressure from the Force India duo as the Ferraris close on Vettel.
Webber pits at the end of lap 5, as do Grosjean and Gutierrez, all switching to primes. A surprisingly early stop for the Red Bull driver.
Ricciardo is working his way through the field, the Toro Rosso driver now up to fourteenth. Teammate Vergne is tenth.
On the primes, Grosjean goes quickest in S2, as Bottas and Chilton both pit. Webber goes quickest in S3.
Vettel pits at the end of lap 7 while the Ferraris stay out. The German leaves the pits and rejoins in eleventh behind Maldonado. Van der Garde also pitted.
While Massa leads, Raikkonen is setting a blistering pace, the Finn now just 1.2s down on Alonso and 5.2s clear of Hamilton.
Massa pits at the end of lap 8, rejoining in tenth, behind Vettel and Maldonado. Di Resta and Pic also pit. Raikkonen is around 0.8s a lap quicker than Alonso. However, the pair both pit at the end of lap 9. Vergne also pits.
Alonso rejoins in seventh and Raikkonen eighth courtesy of Maldonado going off at T1, the Williams driver appearing to miss his braking point.
As Vettel goes quickest (32.317), Hamilton leads, however, the Mercedes driver has yet to stop, as has Rosberg, Sutil and Perez.
Vettel passes Perez to go fourth as Massa posts a new fastest lap (31.976). The Brazilian subsequently makes a bold move on Perez, his Spanish teammate also passing the McLaren.
Having posted a new fastest lap (31.949), Raikkonen makes short work of Perez, the Finn passing the McLaren in the chicane. Button is currently tenth, just ahead of Webber.
At the end of lap 12, Hamilton is the first of the Mercedes drivers to pit, thereby promoting his teammate into the lead. The Englishman rejoins in eighth, just behind Perez.
Next time around it is Rosberg who pits, thereby handing the lead to Sutil, the German looking very strong since his return following his year long absence. Rosberg rejoins just ahead of Button, the McLaren unable to take advantage of the Mercedes 'cool' tyres.
As Vettel closes to within 0.7s of race leader Sutil, Ricciardo is one of the last to pit, the others being Sutil and Perez.
After 16 laps, the top five are covered by just 4.3s. Elsewhere, Perez pits.
Under pressure from the Ferraris, Vettel maintains position behind Sutil who is doing a brilliant job out front.
At the end of lap 18, Webber makes his second stop of the afternoon. The Australian sticks with the prime rubber. Next time around it is Grosjean who pits.
While some are on their third set of tyres, out front Sutil is still on his first. Indeed, the German is maintaining a 1.4s lead over Vettel.
Frustrated behind the Sutil train, Alonso pits at the end of lap 20, Button also stopping for fresh rubber. Elsewhere, Vettel has a moment as the rear of the Red Bull snaps out.
"Pit this lap, pit this lap," Sutil is told, the German duly obliges, followed by fellow German Vettel. The Force India driver rejoins the race in fifth, ahead of Vettel, but Alonso nails the pair of them to take the place.
Consequently, after 22 laps, Massa leads Raikkonen by 1.4s, while Vettel makes a great move on Sutil in T3 to take sixth.
Massa makes his second stop at the end of lap 23, rejoining in seventh, behind Sutil, the Brazilian losing out badly. Perez also pits, the Mexican now down in eighteenth.
After 24 laps, it's: Raikkonen, Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso, Vettel, Sutil, Massa, di Resta, Webber and Gutierrez. Sutil posts a new fastest lap (31.334).
As Maldonado goes off into the gravel, thereby ending his race, it is revealed that there is rain on the way in the next ten minutes. Replay shows the Williams driver got a wheel on the grass under braking into T1.
Rosberg runs wide at T8 and then pulls to the side of the track, hi race over. Other than Hulkenberg, who didn't start, he is the second retirement of the day.
Massa is all over Sutil, the Ferrari driver having lost out badly during the second round of stops. Elsewhere, Webber is warned that there will be a light shower at the far end of the track, turns 13 and 14. Gutierrez and Bianchi both pit.
Enjoying a 12.9s lead, Raikkonen is warned of the light shower that is heading his way. Hamilton remains second, ahead of Alonso, Vettel, Sutil and Massa.
Alonso is all over Hamilton who admits that he is going as fast as he can. As the two battle it eases the pressure on Raikkonen.
Hamilton enquires if Alonso is on a three-stop, he's told yes but that he still has to keep the Spaniard behind. It's a fruitless task however, the Mercedes is is struggling for grip and is no match for the Ferrari or Alonso. Losing out to his former teammate, and also Vettel, Hamilton dives into the pits. On Mediums, Hamilton rejoins in seventh behind di Resta.
The battle with Hamilton has cost Alonso dearly, he is now 16.4s down on race leader Raikkonen. Meanwhile, Sutil is just 0.4s down on Vettel and still keeping Massa at bay.
In clear air, Alonso posts a 30.836 as di Resta pits for the second time this afternoon. Rosberg walks back through the paddock, his helmet still firmly in place.
Raikkonen makes his second stop at the end of lap 34, rejoining in fifth behind Massa.
"My tyres are not going to last at this pace," warns Hamilton, the Mercedes driver currently running in sixth, 13.2s down on Raikkonen and 4.9s clear of Webber.
Behind Webber, it's Button in eighth, ahead of Grosjean, Vergne, di Resta, Perez, Ricciardo, Bottas and Gutierrez.
Massa makes his third stop at the end of lap 36, the Brazilian rejoining in sixth.
Next time around it is Vettel who stops, the world champion rejoining in fifth. Despite everything that had been said, the Red Bulls do not have a clear advantage, not on this afternoon's evidence. Though Alonso currently leads Sutil, it is Raikkonen, on a two-stopper, who is looking the best bet at this stage.
Button, Grosjean and Webber all pit, the Australian rejoining in ninth.
Alonso pits at the end of lap 39, thereby handing the lead to Sutil for the second time today. Elsewhere, Vettel makes short work of Hamilton who can offer no resistance.
As Massa sizes up Hamilton, Button is warned of light rain. The Brazilian subsequently passes the Mercedes.
As Raikkonen closes to within 3.4s of race leader Sutil, Webber posts a new fastest lap (30.053). Bottas and Ricciardo both pit, the Toro Rosso driver heading straight into his garage.
As Perez makes his third stop, Webber closes right in on di Resta. Elsewhere, Alonso is setting a blistering pace.
Webber makes a brave, brave move on di Resta in T9, while Hamilton makes his third stop of the day. The Mercedes driver rejoins in sixth, just ahead of Vergne.
Raikkonen gets past Sutil with ease as Alonso closes to within 3.7s of the German. Vettel is now 5.9s down on the Ferrari and under pressure from Massa.
After 44 laps, of 58, it's: Raikkonen, Sutil, Alonso, Vettel, Massa, Hamilton, Webber, di Resta, Button and Grosjean.
Alonso finally gets by Sutil, the Spaniard immediately setting off after Raikkonen who is 4.3s up the road.
Aware that he has nothing to lose, Sutil pits again on lap 46, taking on the dreaded option tyres and rejoining in fifth.
In fourth, Massa hasn't given up on Vettel while Webber is piling the pressure on Hamilton. Grosjean also has Button in his sights.
Hamilton closes to within 1.4s of Sutil as Webber maintains a watching eye. Teammates before they came into F1, there has been a bit of bad blood between the German and the Englishman in the wake of that nightclub incident in 2011.
When Hamilton finally makes his move there is little Sutil can do, moments later Webber also takes advantage of the Force India's lack of grip. With a 12.2s advantage, Sutil will be hoping he doesn't lose out to his Force India teammate.
Down in twelfth, Perez is told that other drivers are beginning to struggle and that he should be prepared to take advantage.
Sutil is now losing around 4 - 5s a lap, the supersofts falling to pieces. Elsewhere, Button is now under pressure from Grosjean and Vergne.
Out front, Raikkonen posts a PB (29.737), extending his lead over Alonso to 8.3s. The gap is extended when a Caterham causes the Ferrari driver all manner of problems.
Down in third, 10.5s behind Alonso, it's been an anonymous afternoon for Vettel.
Raikkonen posts the fastest lap of the race, the Finn crossing the line at 29.274. In doing so he extends his lead to 10.2s.
Raikkonen begins the final lap, the Finn on the verge of a famous victory. Meanwhile, di Resta lines up his teammate, the gap between them just 1.7s.
Raikkonen takes the flag, ahead of Alonso, Vettel, Massa, Hamilton, Webber, Sutil, di Resta, Button and Grosjean.
Perez is eleventh, ahead of Vergne, Gutierrez, Bottas, Bianchi, Pic, Chilton and Van der Garde.
Well, this is not what we expected. Then again, we did start off by saying that nobody really know what the true packing order really is.
Raikkonen wins the season opener, but is the Lotus is the car to beat this season, judging by Grosjean's afternoon the answer is no. But at the same time, having finished third and sixth the Red Bull isn't going to have things all its own way either.
All in all a nicely mixed up result and one that sets us up nicely for Sepang and beyond.