Hamilton Gets Off To A Flying Start


By Emma Aitken
March 15 2008

There was a small mistake in the second session of qualifying for Hamilton in Australia today but he came back in the final session to remind us all of just what he is made of by completing a very tidy lap to take pole position. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen had to settle for 16th positon after a fuel pressure problem.

And so, 2008 starts here and once ITV got their highly melodramatic re-hash of the final race of last season out of their system we were all set to go. Apart from, that is, me taking the time out to notice that Steve Ryder has done something different with his precious hair this year and, most displeasingly James Allen did not do his usual and specifically welcome those of us who are hard core enough to actually stay up to this ungodly hour to watch it live! Very remiss of him! 

Kimi Raikkonen did not get off to a great start this year due to a fuel pressure problem. His car slowed to a stop coming in to the pits and had to be assisted over the line so he was actually disqualified from continuing on regardless of whether the technical issues could be resolved in time to get out there again. Lewis Hamilton lost a precious second during the first session by bouncing off a kerb before heading in to turn 16 which caused him some wheel spin and he ended up in tenth position.

Sutil was the first to hit the gravel this year and Bourdais was the first man to complete a timed lap. Alonso nipped in to stick around for the second session by finishing 14th, being a whole second and a half quicker than his team mate, Nelson Piquet Jr who went out at the first stage. Joining him were Sato, Davidson, Bourdais and Fisichella.  

Qualifying 2 started with the appearance of the first red flag this year. Poor Mark Webber who never has any luck at his home Grand Prix came off the track at great speed due to a front right brake failure. With Raikkonen and Webber out of the way the mid field pack went all out to fight for the spoils of this second session. Hamilton came out this time without mistake and put in a blistering lap, coming in first and a whole 1.4s faster than his lap in the previous session.

He remained at the top of the time sheets. The big success story of Q2 had to be Sebastian Vettel though who finished in a magnificent 6th in his Toro Rosso. Alonso did not make the cut though with Barichello, Button and Nakajima also going out at that stage. Hamilton came out in the final qualifying session with all guns blazing. He looked so smooth and relaxed and was inch perfect in putting his McLaren in Pole position.

If Kubica hadn’t have over stacked it, trying a little too hard, losing him precious time then it might just have been him who took that top position because the lap he was putting in up until making the mistake was sublime and very, very quick. He did make that mistake though but must surely be a very happy Pole now with his second place on the grid. His team mate, Heidfeld did a fantastic job too, finishing in fifth.

It might just be that BMW will take the fight to Ferrari and McLaren this season. Massa did manage to save some of his team’s blushes though by taking that last slot on the second row of the grid. He will have the McLaren of Kovalainen beside him who quietly went out a put in a solid performance to start third.

Toro Rosso must have decided to save their fuel because Vettel did not put in a timed lap for Q3 which was disappointing as I was looking forward to seeing if there was any more he could do with his car. He starts in 10th.

It was a stunning performance though. It just remains to be seen how far he goes tomorrow before having to come in for fuel. Toyota can only be pleased with their initial performance too with Trulli taking 6th and his team mate, Glock just a few places behind him in 9th. David Coulthard saved Red Bull Racing from having a really bad day by putting in a great lap to start their first race of the season in 8th.

The Williams of Rosberg took seventh. Alonso can only be satisfied with his position of 12th if the talk around the Renault garage is to be believed. It’s pretty much where he predicted he would be at this stage of the season. Piquet had a very poor first qualifying session though, only managing 21st.

That is certainly not part of their game plan. Even though neither Honda finished in the top ten Button was pleased and feeling positive after qualifying ended. The car was handling well for him. Force India ended up pretty much where I guessed they would be. I am sure they are on the up as a team but it would appear that previous practice sessions were probably run out with extremely low fuel loads as they never seemed to have that kind of pace today. 

PosDriverTeamTime
1HamiltonMcLaren1m26.714
2KubicaBMW1m26.869
3KovalainenMcLaren1m27.079
4MassaFerrari1m27.178
5HeidfeldBMW1m27.236
6TrulliToyota1m28.527
7RosbergWilliams1m28.687
8CoulthardRed Bull Racing1m29.041
9GlockToyota1m29.593
10VettelToro RossoNo Time
11BarrichelloHonda1m26.173
12AlonsoRenault1m26.188
13ButtonHonda1m26.259
14NakajimaWilliams1m26.413
15WebberRed Bull RacingNo Time
16RaikkonenFerrariNo Time
17FisichellaForce India1m27.207
18BourdaisToro Rosso1m27.446
19SutilForce India1m27.859
20SatoSuper Aguri1m28.208
21PiquetRenault1m28.330
22DavidsonSuper Aguri1m29.059