STOP PRESS - HAMILTON DISQUALIFIED AND BOTH HE AND MCLAREN STRIPPED OF ALL POINTS FOR THIS RACE. NEW STANDINGS SHOWN BELOW

McLaren Sporting Director, David Ryan, and Lewis Hamilton deliberately failed to advise the stewards, in their meeting immediately after the race, that Ryan had mistakenly instructed Hamilton to give the 3rd place back to Jarno Trulli, which Hamilton had rightfully inherited when Trulli went off the track behind the safety car during the last few laps. As a result, the stewards assumed that Trulli had overtaken Hamilton, an offence when behind the safety car, and penalised him as quoted in the report below.

It transpired during the week following that Ryan, a man with 35 years service at McLaren and highly respected by all the F1 teams, had instructed Hamilton in what to say in an attempt to recover from Ryan's error in telling Hamilton to allow Trulli to resume his 3rd position. Ryan was heavily influenced by his and Hamilton's experience at Spa in 2008 when they were stripped of the win by the FIA as a result of a highly marginal, judgmental decision in an incident that also featured an off-course excursion, this time by Hamilton.

Hamilton's official 3rd place at the track in Melbourne would have been the correct one to result from Trulli's error but how it was obtained - by not giving a full account of the facts - was not correct. By allowing Trulli to re-pass, McLaren could have been regarded as having given up the right to that 3rd position and it appears that Ryan did not want to risk that happening. Ryan has been suspended by McLaren (as this very senior McLaren official should not have put McLaren and Hamilton in the position they now find themselves)and a contrite Hamilton has apologised for his part in the affair. Further punishments are still possible because the FIA have referred the matter to the World Motor Sports Council.

Australia 2009

THIS REPORT CAN BE SUMMARISED IN JUST 3 WORDS - BRAWN, BUTTON, BARRICHELLO. WHY? WELL, JUST 3 WEEKS BEFORE THE START OF THE SEASON, ROSS BRAWN AND NICK FRY (RESPECTIVELY CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF BRAWN GP) COMPLETED THE PURCHASE OF THE FORMER HONDA TEAM. THE CARS HAD NEVER TURNED A WHEEL BUT WERE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FINAL F1 TEST SESSION. THE RESULTS LED NO LESS A PERSON THAN BERNIE ECCLESTONE TO START SPECULATING THAT JENSON BUTTON AND RUBENS BARRICHELLO COULD HAVE SUCH AN ADVANTAGE IN THE EARLY RACES THAT THEY MIGHT RUN AWAY WITH THE CHAMPIONSHIP IF THINGS WENT WELL.

THE OTHER TEAMS WERE ALSO IMPRESSED BUT SOME TEAMS, NOTABLY FERRARI, RENAULT AND RED BULL, QUERIED THE REAR DIFFUSER ON THE BRAWN - AND ALSO THAT ON THE TOYOTAS AND WILLIAMS. THESE WERE ALL CLEARED BY THE STEWARDS IN MELBOURNE AND DECLARED LEGAL UNDER THE NEW 2009 RULES. THE PROTESTERS PROTESTED, THE STEWARDS REJECTED THE PROTEST, THE PROTESTERS THEN LODGED AN APPEAL, WHICH WILL BE HEARD IN PARIS ON APRIL 14 - AFTER THE MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX.

BUT THAT IS IN THE FUTURE - THIS IS NOW. BRAWN GP PULLED OFF A FEAT THAT WAS LAST ACHIEVED IN 1954 WHEN MERCEDES MADE THEIR DEBUT AND SCORED A 1-2 VICTORY. 55 YEARS AND MANY DEBUTS LATER BRAWN DID THE SAME WITH JENSON TAKING POLE ON SATURDAY, CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY RUBENS, AND THEN JENSON LED THE RACE FROM LIGHTS TO FLAG AND WAS FOLLOWED HOME BY RUBENS. IN THE MIDST OF THE EUPHORIA SURROUNDING THIS FAIRY-TALE, WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT HONDA DESIGNED AND BUILT THE CAR PRIOR TO THEIR UNFORTUNATE DECISION TO PULL OUT OF F1 BECAUSE OF THE PRESENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE, USUALLY SUMMED UP AS THE 'CREDIT CRUNCH'.

THE EUPHORIA WAS WELL DESERVED - FOR MONTHS IT SEEMED THAT THE TEAM WOULD FOLD BUT PERSISTENCE, AND CO-OPERATION FROM THE OTHER TEAMS ON THE GRID, PAID OFF. FOR INSTANCE, THE NEW CAR NOW HAS A MERCEDES ENGINE AND THAT HAD TO BE MATED TO THE HONDA MONOCOQUE. ALTHOUGH JENSON ALWAYS LOOKED LIKE THE EVENTUAL WINNER, KEEPING SEBASTIAN VETTEL AT BAY THROUGHOUT, RUBENS HAD A DISASTER AT THE START WHEN THE ANTI-STALL MECHANISM INTERFERED WITH HIS GETAWAY AND, DURING THE MELÉE AT TURN 1, HIS CAR WAS HIT AT THE FRONT AND HIT AT THE BACK. IT SURVIVED BUT THE DIFFUSER WAS SMASHED AND THUS DID NOT CONTRIBUTE TO HIS RACE PERFORMANCE.

HE WAS HELPED, HOWEVER, BY A COLLISION BETWEEN SEBASTIAN VETTEL AND ROBERT KUBICA WITH ONLY 3 LAPS REMAINING (2ND AND 3RD AT THAT TIME) THAT PUT BOTH OF THEM OUT AND EARNED SEBASTIAN A 10-PLACE DROP ON THE MALAYSIAN GRID. JARNO TRULLI MADE IT INTO 3RD PLACE ON THE PODIUM (DESPITE BOTH TOYOTAS STARTING FROM THE PIT-LANE BECAUSE THEIR REAR WINGS WERE ADJUDGED TO BE TOO FLEXIBLE DURING QUALIFYING) BUT HE WAS HANDED A 25-SECOND TIME PENALTY FOR OVERTAKING UNDER THE SAFETY CAR AND WAS CLASSIFIED 12TH.

CURRENT WORLD CHAMPION, LEWIS HAMILTON, IN A MCLAREN THAT HAS AERODYNAMIC PROBLEMS, HAD TO START FROM 18TH ON THE GRID AFTER QUALIFYING IN 15TH BUT NEEDING A GEAR-BOX CHANGE THAT DROPPED HIM 5 PLACES BUT THE TOYOTA DISQUALIFICATIONS REDUCED THE PENALTY TO A 3 PLACE DROP. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HE ENDED UP IN 3RD PLACE FOLLOWING TRULLI'S PENALTY AND, DURING THE RACE, BOTH FERRARI'S RETIRED THROUGH WHAT APPEARED TO BE DRIVER ERROR, ALTHOUGH THIS MAY BE K.E.R.S. RELATED. 'KINETIC ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM' OF WHICH MUCH MORE WILL BE HEARD DURING THE SEASON AS MORE TEAMS DECIDE TO RUN IT.

SO AN ELECTRIFYING START TO THE NEW SEASON WITH QUALIFYING BEING TENSE, DRAMATIC AND CLOSE AND THE RACE ITSELF PROVING THAT THE GOOD GUYS SOMETIMES DO GET THEIR REWARD FOR PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE AND ABILITY. THE 3 B'S SWEPT ALL BEFORE THEM.

Race Results posted by
David Little
30th March 2009

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