Q. What happened in the race?

Kimi Raikkonen: It was my mistake to hit the wall, it was just sudden but I spun. Looking afterwards we would probably have finished second, and it is a shame.

Q. And for the championship it is a very bad start?

KR: Yes, but there is not much you can do. We try to do better at the next race but definitely one of the hardest races I have done in a while.

Q. What do you think about the challenge of Brawn Grand Prix?

KR: I haven't seen their laptimes but it looks like they won it pretty easily. This circuit is different compared to the others. We sometimes see that we have a hard time here but when we go to more normal circuit it seems to turn out pretty okay. Let's wait and see until the next race, and see what we can do and then make more decisions. It is a shame that I went off. We lost some valuable points, but that is racing.

Q. Brawn GP won without KERS. How did you find it?

KR: It worked well at the start. There was just no space to go as I got a good start, but there were too many cars in front so I could not use it. Like I said before, we would not use it if it was not a help for us so it was working okay.

Q. Could you explain to us the strategy about using the softer tyres at the beginning when it was hotter?

KR: Well, because we have difficulties with the hard tyres to get them working. In that kind of case, we need to wait and wait and not push - so it was going to be difficult. When we go out from the pit lane with the new tyres it is going to be okay, but for us for sure it was a better choice to take the soft tyre.

Q. How was the performance, as you said after qualifying you thought your race pace would be better?

KR: I don't have a really clear picture. I haven't seen the lap times that everybody was doing, as I was behind (Robert) Kubica and he was pulling away a little bit. But I think he was pretty fast any how. I don't know where we are on speed, I haven't had time to look, but for sure we are not where we want to be. We still have some work to do but we will see what we can do at the next races.

Q. When you spun did you have a problem with the differential, or was it after that?

KR: I don't know. I hit the wall quite hard after I spun, so I just suddenly lost the rear end and it is tricky with those tyres. I don't know – it was probably my mistake. It is just a shame.

Q. Massa said on Saturday that the championship could be finished quite early with the pace of the Ross Brawn. What do you say about that?

KR: I don't know. It is only one race, so let's see what happens.

Q. Chris Dyer thought something might have broken at the back of your car. What happened there?

KR: I don't know. I went as normal as always in the corner, and then suddenly I just completely lost the rear. Probably it was my mistake. I wouldn't put it to anything else, but it is funny how there was no warning. Usually you feel something if there is a bit of wheel spin but it just went and there was nothing I could do. I just tried to avoid the wall, but I couldn't.

Q. How was the pace otherwise?

KR: It was a shame as we could probably have finished second in the end, but the speed on hard tyres – Kubica was pulling away a little bit, but then I think he did the fastest lap, so I haven't had time to see at all what the others were doing. For sure we still have work to do, but this circuit is not normal compared to other normal circuit we have seen. We have had a hard time here before and then it is okay when we go to normal circuits. Hopefully that will turn out to be the same this year.

Q. How were the tyres working?

KR: Both tyres were quite difficult. The soft is pretty good from the beginning but then it goes away a lot, and the hard one is quite tricky. You lose the grip sometimes and it is not easy to use for us. Like I said, it was for sure a difficult race – it taught us a lot but maybe it is going to be different when we go to normal circuits like Malaysia.

Q. How do you see Brawn GP?

KR: If they are 1-2 in qualifying and 1-2 in the race then they are pretty strong – but we saw that already in testing, so it is not a surprise.

Q. How long will it take to catch them?

KR: We will see how is it in the next race. It all depends on the rules, what the rules are going to be in the future, there are a lot of question marks about what you are allowed to do and what not. So let's wait and see.

[Source]

The two Ferrari F60 will start the Australian Grand Prix from seventh and ninth places, for Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. The two Ferrari men did a total of 21 laps divided as follows: 8 in Q1, 6 in Q2 and 7 in Q3. "We cannot be happy with this result," commented Stefano Domenicali.
"We knew that, apart from one team that today seems to be out of reach of the rest, in terms of pure performance, there were various teams that could aspire to being near the front of the grid. Today, we had confirmation of what was said in the winter, that the performance difference between a large group of cars is minimal and the slightest drop off and you will finish down the order. That's what happened today, particularly in Q3, where we did not live up to our potential. We have to work out why that happened and at the same time, prepare as well as possible for a race that is bound to be very difficult and uncertain."

Kimi Raikkonen: "This morning, a hydraulic problem meant I pretty much missed out on the third free practice session: a shame, but better that this should happen on Saturday than Sunday. The car was far from ideal for qualifying but I think we are in pretty good shape for the race. A points finish is possible even if we could have been further up the grid. From what we have seen today, clearly we lack a bit of performance compared to the quickest guys, but the race will be very long and we will see what we can manage to do."

Luca Baldisserri: "We need to work out why, in Q3, we didn't manage to go as well as in Q2, while allowing for the amount of fuel we had on board. Tomorrow the race will definitely be very difficult. We will have to make the most of any opportunities, beginning with the start. Actually, on the grid, we are the highest placed cars running KERS, an element that might allow us to make up some places. Then we have to bear in mind that, on this track, the Safety Car usually plays a part and so anything could happen. Reliability will be key. This morning, we had a hydraulic problem on Kimi's car which saw him stop out on track at the start of FP3 and clearly that was not the best way to prepare for qualifying. We must pay close attention to every detail and try and get the cars to the finish line, with the aim of picking up points."

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Update: Kimi will start seventh as the Toyota's have been desqualified

[Source]

Honda’s Rubens Barrichello has been disqualified from sixth place in the Australian Grand Prix. Barrichello was penalised by stewards for exiting the pits under a red light. It means Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen moves up to eighth place and hence scores a point.

The penalty brought a sad end to what had been an eventful afternoon for Barrichello. After putting in a performance far stronger than anyone had predicted in the RA108, the Brazilian fell victim to unlucky timing when he was forced to pit for fuel under the safety car.

Not only did that infringement earn him a ten-second stop-go penalty, Barrichello also managed to drag over a mechanic as he left his box before the refuelling man had removed the hose from the car. He then rejoined the race, despite the red light at the end of the pit lane, a move which ultimately saw him excluded from the result

"Shortly after we called Rubens in for the second of two planned pit stops, Timo Glock had a crash and the safety car was deployed,” explained team principal Ross Brawn. “We had no alternative but to continue to bring him in because he was out of fuel, although we realised that the pit lane was going to be closed due to the safety car and that this would result in a ten-second stop-go penalty.

“During the pit stop the lollipop was lifted just a fraction early while the fuel hose was just coming off the car. After the pit stop Rubens exited the pit lane when the lights were still red and obviously this is in breach of the regulations. A tough set of circumstances after an otherwise very committed drive by Rubens."

Barrichello’s disqualification means Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima moves up to sixth place, while Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais is promoted to seventh, despite not finishing the race.

On the Thursday of the first race of the season, all the drivers make an appearance at a special photographers' enclosure. They must dress in their overalls and carry their helmets so they can be captured with their new look for the first time.

With the blazing Melbourne sunshine pushing temperatures up to around 37-degrees centigrade, Raikkonen was clearly unimpressed at being suited up and having to stand around for pictures. Which explains why he stayed for a grand total of seven seconds, before turning around and walking away.

This obviously left the photographers irate, and the FIA too – who made it clear to Ferrari that Raikkonen's behaviour was not acceptable and that he would have to come back and do it again.

So a few hours later, Raikkonen had to get dressed back into his overalls, traipse down to the photographers and have his pictures taken again.

After about 15 seconds of pictures, one of the photographers cheekily shouted out: "Heh Kimi, are you waiting for something?"

And with a shrug of his shoulders, Raikkonen turned around and marched off…

Kimi Raikkonen - 8th:

"It's really disappointing not to finish the race, but at least the point is better than nothing. deci i-au dat pana la urma 1 punct? I had an engine problem, the reason for which now needs to be analysed. The car was good and I had a good pace when I found a free track ahead of me.

"I spun a couple of times trying to pass those ahead of me, but the first time, with Glock, I put a wheel on the grass and the second time, with Kovalainen, I was a bit too optimistic. This result is obviously not the best start to the season but it is a very long one and we are well aware that we are capable of recovering from far worse situations than this. We have to put everything in place and then we will be really competitive."

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 1:34:50.616 1 10
2 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 58 +5.4 secs 5 8
3 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +8.1 secs 7 6
4 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +17.1 secs 11 5
5 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 58 +18.0 secs 3 4
6 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 57 +1 Lap 13 3
7 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 55 +3 Laps 17 2
8 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53 Engine 15 1
Ret 4 Robert Kubica BMW 47 Accident 2
Ret 12 Timo Glock Toyota 43 Accident 18
Ret 18 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 32 Transmission 19
Ret 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 30 Accident damage 20
Ret 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 29 Engine 4
Ret 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 25 Accident 8
Ret 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 19 Electrical 6
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 8 Hydraulics 22
Ret 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 0 Accident 14
Ret 16 Jenson Button Honda 0 Accident 12
Ret 19 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 0 Accident 21
Ret 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 0 Accident 9
Ret 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 0 Accident 16
DSQ 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 58 +52.4 secs 10

Lewis Hamilton got his bid for the world title off to the ideal start as he won a highly-eventful season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver had to keep his composure throughout three separate safety car periods to come through for his fifth Formula 1 victory, but was never severely troubled at the front.

However that was not the case for his likely main title rivals, with Ferrari enduring a nightmare start to the season with both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa retiring.

The Italian squad’s failures allowed some of the chasing pack a rare chance to score some big points finishes.

BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld kept his composure to come through in second place, while Nico Rosberg scored his first F1 podium with third for Williams.

It looked set to be an equally landmark day for Sebastien Bourdais on his Formula 1 debut – but the Toro Rosso new boy’s drive from 18th on the grid to a stunning fourth ended in heartache when he hit technical trouble with just three laps remaining.

Fernando Alonso drove a steady race to fourth place on his first race back at Renault, although he looked set to finish a slot lower after a late battle with his McLaren replacement Heikki Kovalainen.

The Finn, who had been on course for second until the final safety car period ruined his chances, passed Alonso on the penultimate lap – but inexplicably lost drive coming out of the final corner and the Spaniard retook the position.

Honda’s Rubens Barrichello was sixth, with Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima scoring two points for seventh.

And such was the high level of retirements, Bourdais was classified in eighth.


Full result and report to follow...