Wow. First time in six years that I get to sit down and watch a Grand Prix, and it didn't disappoint.
I was terrified that the Brawns were going to duff the start, and while Barrichello did, it's nice to see that this year you can take a few risks and rumble with the others without endangering yourself. That said, it can't be anything more than a love tap like Barrichello's.
I was deeply impressed by Brawn, especially Button's drive. He didn't put a foot wrong all weekend. I think it was Pat Symonds who said that Button is every bit as good as Hamilton, but he just doesn't have the hardware. Well, he does now. I can also see why Ross Brawn has such a reputation as a master tactician: I don't think it was an accident that Button took a little longer on his first stop. I think Brawn was anticipating the need to shorten the second stop.
The stupid Australian commentators kept screwing up their facts, claiming that the last time a team took a one-two finish on debut was Fangio in the March in 1954. I'm pretty sure this is, however, the first time that a new team has qualified one-two and finished one-two on debut. One thing is pretty certain, though: sponsors will be falling over themselves to sign up to Brawn ... if they can get past Richard Branson, who must be feeling elated. Certainly a reversal of fortunes given that not only did Button score three times more points in a single race than he did for all of 2008, he scored more than he did in 2007 and 2008, and Brawn picked up more points than Honda did last year.
Stellar drive by Buemi. Things really played out to his advantage through the safety car, but his position is not what I'm talking about: he was content to drive his own race without feeling the pinch from the others around there. However, because he was one of the big winners in the safety car lottery, the next few rounds are going to bevery telling.
Speaking of the lottery, I think McLaren are going to be buying themselves a few lottery tickets tomorrow. Hamilton won out big time - Barrichello did too, but he proved he had the pace all weekend - and I think McLaren know it. I certainly hope they do, because while Hamilton's ability as a driver played a part, you can't deny that he owes at least half of it to the safety car.
And that brings me to my next segue: the safety car. The race was a bit of an anti-climax, what with the safety car peeling away at the last moment and all, but I don't think the overall result would be too different. Kubica would likely have caught Vettel, but I don't think he could have made it past Button. It would have been close, but it took the Pole a long while to rein in Vettel, and he had to cover the same distance up to Button. I also agree with the commentators: the accident was fifty-fifty. Vettel braked too late, but Kubica didn't give him enough room. I was quite stunned that the consequences of Vettel's error at turn one didn't take effect until turn five.
Elsewhere, I was wondering what happened to Kimi Raikkonen. The BBC kept alluding to him planting it in the wall in the late stages, but we never saw it. Melbourne certainly seems to carry a curse for them, as it does for Kubica and Webber. I hated the way the Australian commentators kept playing up Webber's chances of victory.
