Vettel Grabs Victory in 2021 Season Opener

Qualifying:

Pos#DriverConstructorQ1Q2Diff.
147Lando NorrisCaterham-Judd1:26.0911:25.705
264Dave CassidyFerrari1:26.0531:25.946+0.241
318Sebastian VettelCaterham-Judd1:25.9471:26.064+0.242
439Sho TsuboiBR Mansell-Toyota1:26.2011:26.021+0.316
56Artem MarkelovBR Mansell-Toyota1:26.1421:26.052+0.347
631Esteban OconFAST-Mercedes1:26.3371:26.177+0.472
723Alexander AlbonFerrari1:26.3671:26.256+0.551
829Roger IbeRed Bull-Ferrari1:26.5411:26.297+0.592
933Max VerstappenRed Bull-Ferrari1:26.4871:26.350+0.645
1057Dean StonemanPrecision-Mercedes1:26.3511:26.679+0.646
117Charles LeclercFAST-Mercedes1:26.4991:26.464+0.759
1226Robert ShwartzmanWilliams-Ferrari1:27.1441:26.666+0.961
1394Pascal WehrleinPrecision-Mercedes1:27.1991:26.749+1.044
1470Sérgio Sette CâmaraWilliams-Ferrari1:26.7881:26.776+1.071
1537Kazuki NakajimaToyota1:27.1171:27.321+1.412
1613Pastor MaldonadoSauber-JuddNo Time1:27.320+1.615
1777Valtteri BottasToyota1:27.5041:27.360+1.655
1884Jack AitkenSauber-Judd1:27.4721:27.675+1.767
1923Jules BianchiCalinetic-Judd1:28.5151:28.302+2.597
2073Daniel MelroseCalinetic-Judd1:28.7321:28.514+2.809
2199Antonio GiovinazziDawson-Mercedes1:28.6971:28.649+2.944
2255Carlos Sainz, Jr.Dawson-Mercedes1:28.8591:29.036+3.154
234Robin FrijnsLoonmotor-Judd1:29.2881:29.013+3.308
2498Bradley DagnallLoonmotor-Judd1:29.8261:29.525+3.820

Report:

Dean Stoneman and Max Verstappen had a thrilling battle in the season opener, and they were not the only ones to do so.

91 long days are finally over, Formula One has returned: the Australian Grand Prix drew thousands of fans to the track and millions to the screen. Everyone was happy to have the greatest sport on the world back, with a number of new rules in play.

One thing had not changed in the 366 days since the last season opener: Lando Norris was on pole position, even with the new qualifying system. Unfortunately, technical issues prevented him to win back-to-back Australian GPs as a transmission failure forced him to park the new CT08.

Sebastian Vettel took advantage of the misfortunate of his stablemate and Dave Cassidy’s driver error and lapping troubles to steal his latest career victory. In third place, Artem Markelov had a good run for BR Mansell, proving their pace.

Two men drawing positive attention were Sho Tsuboi and Roger Ibe, who performed admirably and provided great entertainment. Both were caught out with technical issues, which combined with crashes to reduce the field to 14 finishers, which enabled Jack Aitken to score points in his first race.

Race:

Pos#DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints
118Sebastian VettelCaterham-Judd54:24.10515
264Dave CassidyFerrari+0.74112
36Artem MarkelovBR Mansell-Toyota+3.14610
457Dean StonemanPrecision-Mercedes+6.2438
533Max VerstappenRed Bull-Ferrari+11.2326
626Robert ShwartzmanWilliams-Ferrari+14.6585
770Sérgio Sette CâmaraWilliams-Ferrari+20.8704
894Pascal WehrleinPrecision-Mercedes+30.8643
985Jack AitkenSauber-Judd+43.5332
1029Roger IbeRed Bull-Ferrari+46.4671
1137Kazuki NakajimaToyota+56.5950
1223Jules BianchiCalinetic-Judd+75.2540
1373Daniel MelroseCalinetic-Judd+88.8180
1419Robin FrijnsLoonmotor-Judd1 Lap0
DNF55Carlos Sainz, Jr.Dawson-MercedesAccident0
DNF39Sho TsuboiMansell-MercedesTransmission0
DNF47Lando NorrisCaterham-JuddTransmission0
DNF14Esteban OconFAST-MercedesAccident0
DNF13Pastor MaldonadoSauber-JuddTransmission0
DNF7Charles LeclercFAST-MercedesPuncture0
DNF98Bradley DagnallLoonmotor-JuddAccident0
DNF23Alexander AlbonFerrariAccident0
DNF77Valtteri BottasToyotaAccident0
DNF99Antonio GiovinazziDawson-JuddCollision0

Fastest Lap:

Roger Ibe – 1:30.604

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Sho Tsuboi – impressive debut removes doubt about his suitability for a good F1 team.

Reject Of The Race:

Ferrari – a number of failures of the Ferrari-designed transmission and Albon’s and Cassidy’s amateur mistakes do not help the team.