MOTOR SPORT AUSTRALIAN GP:AMID A soothing chorus of claims that everything is fine in the grand prix garden, a lone voice stuck out yesterday. For all his four seasons in Formula One, it seems Nico Rosberg has yet to absorb the media training intended to smooth away a tendency among young drivers to tell it like it is.
“I was pretty bored in Bahrain,” Rosberg said in the Albert Park paddock. And this from a 24-year-old who was one of the stars of the opening race of the season, overshadowing the comeback of Michael Schumacher by out-qualifying and out-racing his new Mercedes team-mate.
Realising what he had said, Rosberg grinned and tried to execute a rather scruffy verbal U-turn. “Perhaps I should say that I didn’t find it very exciting,” he said. But the truth had been told about a lamentable race that brought almost as much discredit to Formula One as its accumulated scandals of the past three years.
Now the world is waiting to see whether the 24 drivers can redeem the sport by producing a more gripping spectacle in Sunday’s Australian grand prix, or whether new technical and sporting regulations really have made it harder than ever for them to fight against each other.
Older drivers were either more optimistic or, like Fernando Alonso, more pragmatic in their assessments. “We need to be calm and wait for some races to really see if the new rules have some impact on the show,” said the Spaniard, the winner in Bahrain in his first race for Ferrari.
“I don’t think we have any change. Last year in the first seven races Jenson (Button) won six. It was boring? Maybe yes, maybe no. Michael (Schumacher) won five consecutive championships. It was boring? Maybe yes, maybe no. This is Formula One.
“Bahrain was only one race. Here (in Melbourne) we have seen many very special races and there will be circuits soon with high overtaking possibilities in Malaysia and China. But this is about knowledge, about the precision of the drivers, the engineering, everything. If people want extra show, maybe they need to reconsider if they want to watch Formula One.”
For Button, Bahrain proved that the new Saturday qualifying format is “a lot more fun to watch and to take part in”. The race, however, was different. “For sure it wasn’t exciting. I was stuck behind Michael and I couldn’t overtake. But it’s one race out of 19. If they’re all the same, we’ll have to do something about it.”
The new world champion confidently anticipates a more stimulating race this weekend. “I think there’s going to be a lot of different situations and different ideas of strategy. And the safety car is always a possibility here. That mixes it up a bit, although it helps the guys at the back more than the ones at the front.”
His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, reacted with exaggerated surprise when told of Rosberg’s claim. “I’ve never had a boring day in a Formula One car,” he said. “It can be a bit tedious if you’re doing a long day of testing. But it’s never boring. As soon as you drive out of the pit lane you get a smile on your face.
“It’s always been difficult to overtake in Bahrain, and the circuit changes may have made it harder. But it doesn’t reflect the whole season.”
If Sunday proves Hamilton wrong in that particular claim, Formula One might as well step on to the highest window ledge in the cluster of high-rise blocks in Melbourne’s adjacent business district and prepare to jump off.
Guardian Service
