Australian GP Review.

The first race of the season is the first time the teams are able to really size each other up as each of the teams may not be driving to their full potential during pre-season testing.

Australia proved to us that the Brawn GP team was really a force to be reckoned with, having only been in existence for a couple of weeks prior to the maiden race of the season due to the liquidation of the Honda Racing team, they wowed onlookers in testing with fastest times in almost every session.

The main title contenders from 2008 however had a more difficult time getting to grips with things. I believe this is because they were busy trying to win the 2008 championships as opposed to developing their car for 2009 which many of the mid-field and back-marker teams had the time to do as they didnt need to worry about any championship battles.
With their impressive pace, the Brawns put both their cars on the front row of the grid, Sebastian Vettel and a surprisingly quick Robert Kubica were the closest to them, although they were a full 0.6 seconds off the pace of Jenson Button.

The start of the race proved an easy getaway for Button, which is more than can be said for his team mate, Rubens Barrichello suffered an apparent clutch problem at his initial getaway and fell far down the grid. He then managed to out-brake himself into turn 1 and hit the Red Bull of Mark Webber, who then continued into the side of Heikki Kovalainen along with other collisions further down the pack.

Button continued to pull away from the field without much difficulty, with Vettel having a secure second position, the rest of the field was left to fight it out for the remaining points positions. The crash of Kazuki Nakajima saw the field close back up again, and Nelson Piquet Jr. careered off the track after the restart having suffered a break failure. Lewis Hamilton proved impressive in an under-performing car and managed to climb into the points. A second safety car was required only a couple of laps from the end when the cars of Vettel and Kubica, in 2nd and 3rd places respectively, collided at turn 3, and then went on to hit the wall on the exit of turn 5. Vettel tried to continue the race and get points with his severely damaged car, but this earned him a fine for contravening the rules.

Controversy then followed after the race as the McLaren team allowed Trulli to pass for 3rd place while under the safety car, and claimed they were overtaken unfairly, they have now been requested to appear in front of the FIA to attempt to defend their actions. Hamilton was then disqualified and Trulli was allowed to claim his 3rd place.

The final points scorers were as follows:

1. Jenson Button
2. Rubens Barrichello
3. Jarno Trulli
4. Timo Glock
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Nico Rosberg
7. Sebastien Buemi
8. Sebastien Bourdais