The 2014 Australian Grand Prix was one of the most hotly anticipated races in years as a whole new era of the sport began on Sunday in Melbourne. And boy did it live up to the hype.
It was maybe not a classic race, but certainly an important one that was aided by a number of poignant and rather warming storylines. As the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton floundered, the new generation of young and exciting drivers came to the fore. Bear in mind that Vettel is just 26 and Hamilton is 29 – they seemed like the old boys on Sunday, though.
Instead, it was about four drivers in particular: Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. At an average age of 22, this quartet is set to become the young upstarts pestering the older drivers and giving them grief in 2014. It sure feels good to be writing about some new names…
Although Ricciardo’s disqualification did put a dampener on his race weekend, it was a great display from the Australian driver to finish second on track. With Vettel retiring on lap five, the result saw him become alpha male at Red Bull for a few hours at least. The images of him on the podium will go down in Australian motorsport folklore, and there will be a great push for the FIA’s decision to be overturned upon appeal.
Magnussen was one of the main beneficiaries, rising up to second place as a result. In the race, the F1 rookie – making his debut on Sunday – duped Hamilton at the start and then produced a fine display to remain in the top three for the whole race. Fellow rookie Daniil Kvyat became the youngest ever points scorer in the race, finishing tenth and then being promoted to ninth following Ricciardo’s exclusion. He too ran well throughout the race, kept himself out of trouble and produced a very mature drive.
And then we have Bottas. The Finnish driver was simply spectacular on Sunday, making 19 passes for position. Having started in P15, he jumped up to sixth place before suffering a puncture after hitting the wall at turn ten. Back down to P16? No problem: he simply re-overtook the drivers he had passed earlier. Compatriot Kimi Raikkonen was one of a handful of drivers to have the ignominy of being passed twice by the Williams. It was a remarkable display, and one would imagine that without the puncture he would have been vying for a podium finish.
Of course, we cannot forget Nico Rosberg. Although they are great friends and Mercedes do run an ‘equal driver’ policy, it sometimes feels like the German driver is overshadowed by superstar teammate Lewis Hamilton. However, when he’s at his best, Rosberg is a very tough driver to beat. With so many other storylines dominating the coverage of the race, it is quite easy to forget that he won the race with relative ease.
Once again, a German driver won the race by over 20 seconds. On the face of things, that’s a continuation from 2013. In reality though, the sport is a completely new animal.
In years to come, this race will be spoken about by journalists, broadcasters and fans.
“Remember Magnussen’s first race?”
“Remember Kvyat’s debut?”
“Remember when Bottas passed everyone twice!?”
Some very memorable moments indeed. Long may this continue.
