Kimi Wins Down Under (Or, the more things change...)

Well, I was sitting with great anticipation on Saturday night for the season opener Australian Grand Prix. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, Kimi Raikkonen took the pole in his first outing for Ferrari. Even though you might call me biased, I wasn't surprised. Kimi is an excellent natural driver and all he needs to succeed is a reliable car. You can say the same thing for Alonso, but he only qualified a disappointing 7th. I wasn't surprised by that either. In the last season, Kimi wasn't hamstrung by his own driving, but by the car itself. Put the world champion in a substandard car and you won't win races. But, as so many other things in Formula 1, qualifying can be deceiving.

Kimi maintained the lead throughout the race, save a few laps after making a pit stop. Alonso made the most remarkable lead, finishing second and giving Kimi a run for his money. We had the usual hits and near misses-David Coulthard nearly decapitated Austrian rookie Alex Wurz by sideswiping and then flying over Wurz's car. Christian Albers didn't last long, along with British rookie Anthony Davidson. But the most surprising and brilliant performance has to go to British rookie Lewis Hamilton, who led the race for the few laps and finished third. Unlike a lot of the other rookies, Hamilton's not shy. He can be as aggressive as the most veteran driver. That seems to be the biggest thing for these guys to overcome. I think everyone is impressed with Hamilton, and he will be watched closely. I don't think it's possible for him to be watched more closely than he already is, being Britain's first Afro-Caribbean driver. I don't think that should be a factor; Britain deserves a good driver, and let's face it, Coulthard and Button don't quite cut it. Just to be fair, I feel the same way about Scott Speed. Winning a contest doesn't make you a good driver. I can't wait for Marco Andretti to go to Formula 1 to give us Yanks the driver we deserve.

Yes, I'm happy that Kimi won. I predicted he would do well after the Ferrari announcement. Even though we may have a new champion this year, one thing hasn't changed much: Ferrari is still a dominant force in Schumacher's wake.