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Australian Grand Prix - F1 is back baby!!

Formula One is back, and I couldn't be happier! Formula 1 has been part of my life from an early age. My dad is a long term McLaren fan and I have been very fortunate to have been taken to a number of races, my first aged just 14 (I think) when my dad and I went on a coach tour from Kent to Silverstone. I remember it being very muddy, but so exciting with the sounds and smells of a Sunday race day. In more recent years I have been to Malaysia, Hungary and testing in Jerez and I was lucky enough to spend two days in the pits, being the guest of Force India and the Caterham team. Both teams were very welcoming, and I was given headsets to listen to what the drivers were saying – it was fascinating and I relished the chance to take some snaps of drivers in their garages! Another great moment was bumping into Jensen Button, who was lovely and posed for a photo with me.



Coming into this season I haven’t been keeping up with all the developments and driver changes, so coming into the weekend I did my homework and buffed up. I was really surprised to see that FOM had given a super licence to Max Verstappen at the tender age of 17 – he comes from a racing family and looks very talented, but I do wonder if being a teenager in F1 is healthy. I am excited to see what the McLaren-Honda partnership can offer this year, and also whether Seb Vettel can re-ignite himself based at Ferrari. I am backing Lewis Hamilton for another world championship with Mercedes – he looks on top of his game and I think he has the edge over Nico. Williams look like they are continuing their good form from last year, and that makes me very happy as they have so much British history and tradition. And my favourite driver Kimi Raikkonen (who I have supported since his days in Sauber), I hope the new Ferrari suits him more than last year and he can get some podiums and challenge the force of Mercedes.

The Australian GP really was the Mercedes show. They have continued their domination, and the win looked effortless for Mr Hamilton – leading from the start it seemed that he was coasting through the race. Nico did well coming in second, but couldn’t really challenge Lewis. It was very good to see the Ferrari getting on the podium, and I am glad Sebastian seems to have settled into the team well. It looks like the Ferrari is more driver friendly this year, and even through Kimi had to retire after problems with a wheel hub, he looked a lot more comfortable in this race than he had in many last year. It is a shame that Jensen had problems at the back of the grid, but it is still early days for the new McLaren Honda partnership, so I’m hoping that they will improve quickly, and Jens gets towards the front of the grid soon. I was fairly impressed at the rookies as well – they all seemed to handle their cars well and keep relatively out of trouble.

Image from the BBC Website
Overall a good first race back and I am looking forward to Malaysia in a couple of weeks to see if anyone can bring it to the force of the Mercedes! I haven’t got any trips booked yet, but maybe just maybe something will come together and I will get to indulge in my passion for the sport!


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