2011 Australian Grand Prix result
2011 Australian Grand Prix
2011 Australian Grand Prix
- Hamilton and Button expect more from McLaren
- Sauber will not appeal Australia disqualification
- 2011 Australian Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
- Who was the best driver of the Australian Grand Prix weekend?
- No home advantage for Webber at Red Bull
- Relief at McLaren after last-minute changes pay off
- Ferrari look for answers on missing pace
- Collisions spoil Mercedes’ start to the season
- Petrov fires Renault with fine drive to first podium
- Unreliability and driver errors hold Williams back
Browse all 2011 Australian Grand Prix articles
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk) said on 27th March 2011, 9:09
Best part of the race… the start and the Massa and Button duel… I think we missed a lot on the TV feed, I wasn’t totaly satisfied with the results… but a good race all the same
GeeMac (@geemac) said on 27th March 2011, 9:16
Great result for Sauber! Who says the days of the independent teams are numbered!
Paulipedia said on 27th March 2011, 9:58
Especially as one won the race
Broxter (@broxter) said on 27th March 2011, 12:21
Great result for Sauber?
Damon said on 27th March 2011, 9:22
I bet alonso is on his hands and knees begging for Hamilton to be punished. Pity nobody can do it on the track :)
Sass said on 27th March 2011, 9:32
Very nice race… What could have been if Kubica could race:D Oh irony oh irony.
RB not using KERS is a upset… what will happen when they do.
And for the love of god, Ferrari, please pretty sugar on top please fire Massa. Just let Fisichella or a buss driver race in that matter.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 27th March 2011, 9:51
Awesome result for Vitaly Petrov. If this is the shape of things to come, I think a lot of drivers are going to be very cautious of him. Fernando Alonso in particular is going to hate the sight of a Renault rear wing in front of him.
I am, however, disappointed with the commentary in this regard. I don’t think I heard the sentence “A great drive from Petrov” (or similar) without it being followed by “It make you think what Robert Kubica could do in the car”. Kubica’s absence from the sport is both disappointing and a Greek tragedy, but let’s give Petrov the recognition he deserves for a moment by putting things into perspective.
First of all, he’s partnered with Nick Heidfeld, the man who is arguably the most difficult test a young driver can face. He can literally make or break someone’s career, and any driver who races with him will always be compared to him right up to the end of his career. And while Heidfeld’s qualifying was hampered by traffic and a KERS issue, Petrov didn’t just beat him – he had the measure of the German from the moment they landed in Melbourne.
This is coming from the man who, at the end of 2010, had left a trail of destruction that has not been seen in the sport since the days of Andrea de Cesaris. He single-handedly raised third party insurance premiums for all Renaults, and was frequently rated as the worst driver on the grid by fans and former drivers (I’m looking at you, Jos Verstappen). A lot of people were deeply critical of Renault for re-signing Petrov over someone like Nico Hulkenberg, figuring that Petrov was only in the team to donate more rubles towards making Kubica go faster. And yet, less than six months after his horror runs in Japan and South Korea, Vitaly Petrov has a podium to his name after what was a near-flawless drive. He didn’t even look like he was thinking of going off at any point during the race.
Compare that to the other driver was who most recently turned around from an impetuous and mistake-prone driver: Felipe Massa. He wasn’t nearly as crash-happy as Petrov in his debut season, but he was earmarked by Ferrari as a future talent, and they took him on-board as test driver for a year, then put him back in a Sauber before promoting him to be Schumacher’s seconder. And yet from the time he was taken on as test driver to the time he first stepped into a Ferrari, three whole years had passed. Renault have managed to turn Petrov around in less than six months.
I know it’s only early days, and one race is not representative of anything, but I strongly suspect Vitaly Petrov could be the joker in this year’s deck. The top five – Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button and Alonso – have raced each other for years. By now they know where the others are fast; they know their strengths and weaknesses as surely as they do their own. But Petrov is a total unknown to them. He had an up and down year in 2010, and he’s not afraid of Fernando Alonso by any means. That’s it. That’s all anyone knows. If he’s running up the front as he did today and doing it consistently, he’s going to have a massive ripple effect on the championship.
So let’s not make this about Kubica. Give Petrov the respect he deserves for all the work and and Renault have put in. Because I strongly suspect that if Kubica were racing today, the difference between the two would not be nearly as great as most people suspect it would be.
Paulipedia said on 27th March 2011, 10:02
It would still have been interesting to see where Kubica would have finished ;)
BBT (@bbt) said on 27th March 2011, 10:10
No higher than Petrov that is for sure.
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 27th March 2011, 10:19
Well considering if he had been in Heidfeld’s car with a KERS problem in qualifying, probably 8th.
BBT (@bbt) said on 27th March 2011, 11:15
Very good point
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk) said on 27th March 2011, 11:16
Got to agree there… or held up in traffic whilst doing a flying lap.
sebsronnie (@sebsronnie) said on 27th March 2011, 10:25
My thoughts exactly! Thanks for saving me the typing time :-)
LHJBFTW (@lhjbftw) said on 27th March 2011, 10:41
Pterov had flashes of brilliance last year, per the last two races I thought they would stay as just flashes. I wouldn’t go as far as PM just yet but but I hope he can do that well.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk) said on 27th March 2011, 11:06
Yeah it was good… I even promised to stop ragging on him if he kept it between the ditches.
But, my feelings are that you love him so much because he got the jump on Ferrari at the start.
Renault made the logical pit calls, Pet kept ahead of Alonso. It was more Alonso’s bad start than Pet’s skills that gave him a podium.
You are starting to sound like Joe Seward in his defense of HRT.
I said earlier, Alonso will win another championship before Pet ever steps on the second stepof the F1 podium.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 27th March 2011, 11:52
I’ve been a fan of Petrov since his debut. My support of him is well-documented. His performance is usually the first thing I comment on after a race.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk) said on 27th March 2011, 13:23
Yes I know that, I like Pet as well, and I’ve never said I did dislike him. But I’v'e never thought that he really deserves the ride he has.
Today, he proved me wrong, but just for today.
If he as as good as you think he is, I’ll apologize to you, to Pet and to the rest of the F1 world.
To be honest, I hope you are right, cause I really like the guy!
box this lap (@sebashuis) said on 27th March 2011, 10:08
Well done Petrov. I never saw that happen!
Damon (@damon) said on 27th March 2011, 10:18
@ “Damon”
It’s time you stop using my username!!
Damon said on 27th March 2011, 11:15
It’s time you got lost!!
Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 27th March 2011, 17:11
Stop fighting yourself!
verstappen (@verstappen) said on 27th March 2011, 10:35
Positively surprised by Perez and Petrov.
Less so by Barichello…
It’s only one race but it sure looks to be a good season!
verstappen (@verstappen) said on 27th March 2011, 10:38
Oh and regarding the plank, it depends on the way it is measured. Just like with flexwings. So fingers crossed for Hamilton. Not a fan here, but I like it better when the results don’t change.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 27th March 2011, 12:47
Alonso just made his first mistake:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90299
He doesn’t consider Petrov to be a threat because he doesn’t think of Petrov as a title contender. But if today is anything to go by, Petrov is going to be a factor in the races. He might not be a title contender, but every race Petrov finishes in front of Alonso means Alonso loses points that he’s going to need to stay in the fight.
If I were Alonso, I’d be treating Petrov as my greatest threat until I started beating him consistently.
James_mc (@james_mc) said on 27th March 2011, 22:18
In all fairness to Alonso, he doesn’t really address the point which you are trying to make here. While Petrov may well be a factor, Alonso is speaking solely in terms of championship points. Realistically Petrov is unlikely to be challenging for the championship and Alonso is rightly focused on Hamilton, Webber, Vettel.
James_mc (@james_mc) said on 27th March 2011, 22:12
Congratulations to D’Ambrosio I would say. O.K. he was 2 laps down on the next guy up the road, but the difference in the standings between HRT and Virgin last year was a 14th place and that may be the case again this year. Although chances are it’ll be a moot point in the end as Hispania probably won’t be here this time next year….
Pink Pirelli said on 27th March 2011, 22:48
Some interesting results from this race (what did I just say about randoms showing up in the top five & messing with my predictions…) and I think its the first Melbourne GP without a safety car. Disappointed that Webber didn’t do better, but enjoyed watching his duel with Alonso, and the Massa/Button one nonetheless.