My observations
- Beware Red Bull; they struggled in testing though they're the best in the business at what they do. The engineers will ensure this car is firing on all six cylinders soon.
- Ricciardo looks every bit the F1 star; Ricciardo owned the four time World Champion this weekend. Vettel has seen it all before though the young Aussie's unflappable nature may unnerve the Champ.
- Mercedes are the car to beat; I allueded too as much pre race and Rosberg's dominance confirmed it. If Hamilton's car didn't splutter to retirement, Ricciardo was only good for 3rd.
- Magnussen is much better than his old man (Jan); Jan made his debut with the Stewart team (now defunct) and was average at best. His son looks to be a future GP winner. Fantastic debut!
- Williams are on the rise; This is heart warming. Sir Frank's team are heading in the right direction. Bottas was really impressive all weekend. Massa may have had a moment in Australia if he wasn't knocked out of the race on the first lap.
- Ferrari disappointing; Ferrari will be disappointed, they looked better than that in the off-season. Alonso must be a frustrated camper as the class driver of the field and of his era.
The Australian GP was a little underwhelming it has to be said when attending the event. I don't know what it was though if we had no Ricciardo, you fear the worst for the crowd attendances. Sure, you would get F1 tragics like myself though those looking to attend a World Class event, I believe organisers would struggle to get numbers (and did struggled by all reports as crowds were down).
I bumped in to a few drivers, missed Ricciardo, though the highlight was the meet and greet with Bernard Fanning at Melbourne Airport yesterday afternoon. An absolute star and gentlemen with all the time in the world for a fan who first saw him play at Newcastle Uni Bar for $10 with Jebbediah! Hats off to you Mr. Fanning.
