That week in march was the one I had been waiting for all year. It meant one thing and one thing only, F1 IS OFFICIALLY BACK. It was time for the first race of the 2015 season. Time when we know roughly what to expect but always throws up surprises. That is what that race weekend did.
Only 15 cars were able to start the race. Manor Marussia were unable to participate. Bottas injured his back in qualifying so was not fit enough to race. McLarens Kevin Magnussen's car engine failed and Kvyat had a gearbox problem on the formation lap. The race hadn't even begun yet and so much had happened!
Maldonado's race ended in the first lap when he was involved in an incident which saw him go into a wall. Things got even worse for Lotus when Grosjean suffer with power loss only a few laps in. Ending their race weekend early.
On the 32nd lap when we hoped the rest of the cars would finish, Max Verstappen had an engine problem and had to retire. He was running in a points position. So even though he broke the record for youngest person to ever start a Formula 1 race, he didn't break the record for youngest points scorer, yet. There's still time. His team mate Sainz Jr came 9th and picked up his first points in F1.
Another team who had a mixed week was Sauber. Who had a lot of attention due to the court battle with Giedo Van Der Garde. Everyone didn't know who would be driving. Things were eventually sorted and Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr were both able to race and I bet they're glad they did. With 5th and 8th place they both scored their first points. Sauber seem to have a strong car this year. Turn around from last year. Luckily they ended their week on a high.
Mercedes continued to dominate with a 1-2, Hamilton beating Rosberg for the top spot on the podium. Behind, the Ferrari of Vettel over 30 seconds behind. Bet that was a great feeling for Vettel, first race with Ferrari and already on the podium. However, his team mate Raikkonen didn't have the same luck. After contact in the first lap, he ultimately had a problem with the wheel and had to retire on lap 40. Williams' Felipe Massa came home in 4th. Not that fair from Vettel. Pace seems to be quite even between Ferrari and Williams, but can either one of them challenge Mercedes?
Red Bulls Daniel Ricciardo finished 6th. Strong result on his side of the garage. Jenson Buttons McLaren was the 11th car out of 11 to finish. Just out of reach from getting a point. He did have some good battles with former team mate Perez who was in the Force India. However, Perez was that little bit faster and got 1 point from finishing 10th. His current team mate Hulkenberg battled his way from 13th to 7th. What a great drive from him! Positive start for them after the delays they had for pre-season testing.
F1 is definitely not boring. So we obviously hoped for more cars to finish but the race was exciting and entertaining. Great start to the season. Hopefully there is more of this to come; with more cars finishing!
-ShortySian
Only 15 cars were able to start the race. Manor Marussia were unable to participate. Bottas injured his back in qualifying so was not fit enough to race. McLarens Kevin Magnussen's car engine failed and Kvyat had a gearbox problem on the formation lap. The race hadn't even begun yet and so much had happened!
Maldonado's race ended in the first lap when he was involved in an incident which saw him go into a wall. Things got even worse for Lotus when Grosjean suffer with power loss only a few laps in. Ending their race weekend early.
On the 32nd lap when we hoped the rest of the cars would finish, Max Verstappen had an engine problem and had to retire. He was running in a points position. So even though he broke the record for youngest person to ever start a Formula 1 race, he didn't break the record for youngest points scorer, yet. There's still time. His team mate Sainz Jr came 9th and picked up his first points in F1.
Another team who had a mixed week was Sauber. Who had a lot of attention due to the court battle with Giedo Van Der Garde. Everyone didn't know who would be driving. Things were eventually sorted and Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr were both able to race and I bet they're glad they did. With 5th and 8th place they both scored their first points. Sauber seem to have a strong car this year. Turn around from last year. Luckily they ended their week on a high.
Mercedes continued to dominate with a 1-2, Hamilton beating Rosberg for the top spot on the podium. Behind, the Ferrari of Vettel over 30 seconds behind. Bet that was a great feeling for Vettel, first race with Ferrari and already on the podium. However, his team mate Raikkonen didn't have the same luck. After contact in the first lap, he ultimately had a problem with the wheel and had to retire on lap 40. Williams' Felipe Massa came home in 4th. Not that fair from Vettel. Pace seems to be quite even between Ferrari and Williams, but can either one of them challenge Mercedes?
Red Bulls Daniel Ricciardo finished 6th. Strong result on his side of the garage. Jenson Buttons McLaren was the 11th car out of 11 to finish. Just out of reach from getting a point. He did have some good battles with former team mate Perez who was in the Force India. However, Perez was that little bit faster and got 1 point from finishing 10th. His current team mate Hulkenberg battled his way from 13th to 7th. What a great drive from him! Positive start for them after the delays they had for pre-season testing.
F1 is definitely not boring. So we obviously hoped for more cars to finish but the race was exciting and entertaining. Great start to the season. Hopefully there is more of this to come; with more cars finishing!
-ShortySian
