Papaya Rules

Last year, Norris came close to challenging the mighty Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing dominance. But there were mistakes aplenty. And as we all know, one slip-up is enough for Verstappen to stay out of reach. It’s easier said than done, but to challenge a dominant team that rarely gets its strategy or pace wrong requires relentless perfection. Something that Norris delivered in Melbourne last weekend as the changeable weather, Safety car interventions and pit-stop calls played havoc!

The entertainment was wholesome! Right from the formation lap when rookie Isaac Hadjar spun his Racing Bull into the wall to home favourite Jack Doohan losing control and crashing his Alpine, and Williams’ Carlos Sainz experiencing a ‘sudden surge of torque’ that ended his race, the season opener was dramatic! While Norris came through to claim a deserved win, his team mate Oscar Piastri endured a scrappy race clawing back a few points at the flag. Piastri, managed by fellow Aussie and former Red Bull racer, Mark Webber, needs to refocus and quickly make amends this weekend at Shanghai.  McLaren’s MCL39 was the benchmark of pre-season testing. It’s now proven its race worthiness and appears to be the class-of-the-field. “The gap is big” said Verstappen post-race and suggested that the wet weather conditions at Albert Park masked the true performance difference between his team and the papaya-orange cars.

McLaren are defending Constructors champions at the end of the day. But will they need a clear number one driver preference to win the Driver’s title or will they stick to their ‘papaya rules’? Over at Red Bull, Liam Lawson who replaced Sergio Perez this season seemed to have inherited the Mexican’s luck! He spent most of the race in the back of the grid after starting in the pit-lane and ended it in the barriers along with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto. Rookie sensation Kimi Antonelli enjoyed a fantastic debut carving his way through the field to finish in P4 for Mercedes behind team mate George Russell!

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were unlucky with an unclear strategy. The team left them out on slick tyres in the rain hoping the weather would clear up quick, but it didn’t. And they fell back to the final point-scoring positions. The bigger problem for Ferrari was that they lacked pace throughout the weekend.

Can they find it before the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend?  McLaren aren’t going to wait to find out!

—

Round 2 | China | Sunday, 23rd March 12:30 | F1TV & FanCode App