Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat our Polish driver Robert Kubica for pole position in Sundays Australian grand prix.
What may have been the biggest news o the qualifying session is Toyota’s appearance in Q3. A huge feat for the beleaguered team who have struggled to stay in Q2 for 5 years.
Equally big is BMW’s appearance in the top 5 with Robert Kubica’s lap being hampered by running wide on one turn that probably cost him pole position. This has to be the shot int he arm that BMW have worked so hard for and deserve.
While Ferrari’s Felipe Massa is slotted in 4th place in the grid, his much favored teammate Kimi Raikkonen had to stop on track and was excluded from the Q2 session. This left him 16th on the starting grid.
The most tragic news has to be Fernando Alonso not making it to Q3 and relegated to P12 on the starting grid. I understood Renault’s comments this off season about being down in pace but felt that they may be sandbagging a tad and that with Alonso, they would find the pace to compete. this does not bode well for Fernando’s year.
For me one of the biggest stories may just be young German STR driver Sebastian Vettel. Vettel took an STR car and put it in Q3! This is the stuff of champions in my book. Very Schumacher-esque and Senna-esque. An inferior car doing things it shouldn’t be capable of doing. This young man may very well BE what everyone says Lewis Hamilton is.
The race and season prove to be even more exciting than last year and I am elated that it is finally starting. See you Sunday on the Podcast.
