What a great F1 race... for the public!

The first grand prix of the 2008 season, in Melbourne, Australia, was very exciting! And I would bet that at least part of reason was the prohibition of the traction control system, which helped the cars to stay on track. Life is harder for the pilots now and we could see this even before the race, during the qualifying sessions.

As for the race, what to say? Only seven (of 22) cars finished it. A lot of accidents and mistakes were the tone of most of it. Even last year’s world champion, Kimi Raikkonen, did not escape spinning twice in his impulse to reach better positions, and ended up abandoning the race with some technical problem.

Of the seven, I must highlight Barrichelo’s sixth place, finally scoring points for Honda after more than a year, and Alonso’s performance with his poor Renault car. For most teams this was a nightmare weekend, for me it was great fun!

Update: Barrichelo was disqualified because he left the pits while the red lights were still on. Too bad for Honda which remains with no points since 2006.