Australian Grand Prix Raceday: Formula One (Part 2)
Continued from Part 1
The five red lights illuminated and went out to signal the start of the Australian Grand Prix!
Sebastian Vettel made a positive start and importantly held on to the lead heading into turn one. Everyone made it through the first turn without incident except for Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who got run off the track momentarily by McLaren’s Jenson Button but rejoined the racing line. Rubens Barrichello had a moment of his own as he lost control of his Williams and ran off track.
Meanwhile, Jenson Button was right on the tail of Felipe Massa’s Ferrari heading into turns 11 and 12 and made a move from the outside line but Massa held him off.
As the race headed into the second lap, Vettel already had a substantial lead over Lewis Hamilton in second place. Jamie Alguersuari made an early pit stop, possibly for flat-spotted tyres. Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher was also in the pits with a blown right-rear tyre.
The start of the third lap signalled the debut of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) this season. Elsewhere on track, Button made another lunge on Massa on the front stretch but the Brazilian driver was able to close the door yet again. It seemed that the McLaren was significantly faster than the Ferrari. However, the duel continued, as Button piled on the pressure into turn 11 but had to tuck in behind the Scarlet car again.
Drivers all around the track were making judicious use of the DRS in a bid to pull off passes; Can Formula One still be accused of being a monotonous sport merely won from pit lane?
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel extended his lead to five seconds at the front of the pack. The duel between Massa and Button continued to be the most riveting one on the track as the Englishman was trying every trick in his book to get past.
The McLaren’s radio sprang to life moments later as the driver questioned his race engineer about how the Ferrari was managing to pull away so fast on the straights. The Ferrari team had a message of their own for their Brazilian driver. Word from the pits cautioned the scarlet car to adjust his brake bias to prevent them from overheating.
A few cars back, Fernando Alonso was up to seventh position. The Spaniard was clearly trying to recover the positions he lost at the start – With 50 laps to go, can Ferrari make a lunge for the Podium?
Continued in Part 3
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