The Scuderia Ferrari masked its weaknesses<\/b><\/p>\n
Largely beaten by Hamilton in the qualifications on Saturday, the prancing horse responded on Sunday by putting its eggs in two different baskets, with R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen and Vettel chasing the Silver Arrow at the front. A double success with the Finnish driver’s stop, which intimidated Hamilton while getting back out ahead of the two Haas cars.<\/p>\n
Inevitably, the race circumstances allowed Vettel to make up his deficit in seconds. In this situation, the tactical move is not a stroke of genius, but simply common sense, which is already a great performance in itself. While Mercedes lost its second driver this weekend, the Scuderia appeared more cohesive by motivating their Kimi R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen. By the way, the weekend for the Finnish driver would almost be a highlight on its own. After all, “Iceman” dominated Vettel on Friday and Saturday after Q3. But in the race, it was the four-time world champion who clinched the victory and the first driver of the day title awarded by Motors Inside readers. At this pace, the complementarity of the two Ferrari drivers could quickly be an asset in the race for the title. <\/p>\n
Family portrait \ud83e\udd1d\ud83c\udffe great team #ScuderiaFerrari #AusGP #Seb5 #Kimi7 pic.twitter.com\/BPdrxliHDR\u2014 Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 25<\/p>\n
Hamilton, the cherry without the cake<\/b><\/p>\n
The #44 is the moral winner of this first race of the season. His highlight of the weekend will remain his qualifying lap, confirming his stratospheric level on a flying lap. Fiesta mode or not at his back, putting six-tenths on the competition in the first Q3 of the season remains a big feat. The race began with this in mind with an authoritative start to the stint against the threatening R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen.<\/p>\n
Even surpassed by Vettel, he didn’t give up, dismissing his own engineer on the choice of strategy to adopt. The configuration of the circuit and the cars didn’t help him, but his series of fastest laps demonstrates his commitment. Outside the paddock, Hamilton is also incisive… The reigning champion’s hunger remains intact. All the better for the show!<\/p>\n
Fernando Alonso, the eternal samurai<\/b><\/p>\n
The double world champion combined Hamilton’s grit with Vettel’s opportunism. It’s a good move for a driver who also made his pit stop at the right time under the Virtual Safety Car. His resistance throughout the second half of the race against the big guns like Ricciardo or Bottas provides an ideal score for McLaren to start its association with Renault. The Asturian bull has lost none of his driving skill and his sharp radio messages, more explosive than ever. Tired or not, the Spaniard remains the leader of McLaren, also illustrating the progress of his team, which gained 1.8 seconds in qualifying compared to 2017. He also won the driver of the day award on the official Formula 1 account. <\/p>\n
\nHolds off Verstappen, claims best finish since the 2016 US Grand Prix – reasons to be cheerful for @alo_oficial<\/a> #AusGP<\/a> #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/EDX2ff2c4y<\/a><\/p>\n