After an extended winter break, courtesy of political unrest in Bahrain, the 2011 Formula One season got off to a great start in Melbourne, Australia. The usual suspects were back in top form with reigning champions Red Bull Racing leading McLaren, Scuderia Ferrari and Lotus Renault in qualifying.
Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing started on pole, led nearly every lap, and finished in first place to continue where he left off after winning the World Driver’s Championship in 2010. His teammate, Mark Webber did not fare so well in his home race managing to secure 5th place despite starting a promising 3rd. McLaren looked much more their speedy selves in the race compared to winter testing with Lewis Hamilton finishing second and Jenson Button putting in a strong performance despite managing only a 6th place finish likely due to a drive-through penalty incurred after passing Felipe Massa’s Ferrari off track. Fernando Alonso qualified well for Ferrari in 5th. A lack lustre start found Alonso falling from 5th to 9th place after the dust settled from the start. Fernando Alonso put in an impressive drive to eventually claw his way back to an impressive 4th place by the end of the race. His Ferrari teammate likewise gained a single position throughout the race to finish 7th. One standout from the usual players at the front of the grid was Lotus Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. A phenomenal start and flawless race landed Vitally on the 3rd step of the podium, a first for Vitaly, a first for a Russian and undoubtedly a relief for Lotus Renault whose championship dreams were surely being questioned with the (hopefully temporary) loss of Robert Kubica in an unrelated rally accident during winter testing.
The anticipation leading up to the race was heightened due to the rule changes enacted for the 2011 season. As is usually the case with each new season a number of changes to the rules that govern F1 have been enacted in the name of safety, cost-savings and the ever elusive goal of increasing overtaking in F1. For the 2011 season, two rules stand out and have been the topic of much debate in the off season. New for 2011 is the Drag Reduction System (DRS) and the re-introduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), both of which aim to make overtaking easier.
The new DRS has been implemented to aid a following cars ability to overtake another at the end of a long straight. In my opinion this system is contrived and will most likely be relegated to the waste bin in the near future. The DRS is an artificial means to correct a problem that not everyone agrees even exists. There has long been a debate in F1 circles that it is too difficult for one car to overtake another in F1. While many casual observers (read: new, lucrative TV eyeballs) may find the apparent lack of overtaking boring the seasoned fan appreciates the difficulty and marvels at the skill and craftsmanship required to overtake in an F1 car. Time will tell if the DRS is successful or not, but I am not betting on it.
The second major technological change for this year is the re-inclusion of KERS. While KERS was available last year, the teams had all agreed not to use it. There are many reasons for the exclusion of this technology from last year’s cars, but I am glad that it is back for 2011. KERS allows the cars to store otherwise wasted kinetic energy in onboard batteries in order to provide 6 seconds worth of an additional 80 BPH per lap. I for one applaud the inclusion of this technology, but I am truly at a loss as to why the FIA has placed such strict limits on it’s application. For me Formula One is a wondrous mixture of technological wizardry and sublime driving skill. Placing limits on KERS only limits what the engineers and drivers in F1 are capable of. If left unchecked they would be able to extract enormous amounts of power from the kinetic energy of the car and would certainly be able to produce more than a mere 6 seconds of it per lap. I know that the limits have been put in place to save money, but I would rather see money saved in other areas to allow KERS to truly blossom.
All in all the season is off to an exciting start. The players are the same at the top and only time will tell if their order will follow from last year as well. Red Bull Racing look dominant, but McLaren, Ferrari and Lotus Renault do not seem too far off. As with every F1 season there are two races happening simultaneously, the race to develop one’s car at a blistering pace in hopes of outdoing one another on a technical level and the race between the drivers on the track on Sunday. Therein lies the true magic of F1, the combination of driving skill and engineering excellence.
