Looking at the reaction in the Scuderia Toro Rosso garage at the end of qualifying, you could be forgiven for thinking Sebastien Buemi had just taken pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.
In fact, he was nine places off pole in tenth place, having given the team its first appearance in Q3 since the 2009 season. And Jaime Alguersuari, who has gone well all weekend, just did not get the most out of his car, struggling with some unexpected understeer, narrowly missing the cut in twelfth place.
Even if we haven’t dealt with the actual race yet, it is still an encouraging start to what is going to be a very tough season. It’s hard to know what to expect tomorrow because of the much discussed unknown factors – the KERS, the adjustable rear wing and the Pirelli tyres. In truth, given that KERS was used two years ago and that the Downforce Reduction System, to give the rear wing system its proper name, can only be used on instruction from the FIA at one point on each lap, the switch to a new tyre manufacturer will provide the most interest tomorrow evening when the grid lights go out at five o’clock local time. There has been a degree of hysteria about the Pirelli tyres not lasting as long as those of the previous supplier, but here in Melbourne, the soft and hard compounds are proving more resilient than some people expected. Nevertheless, it is likely we will see more than the single pit stop that was so common in 2010, which means life could get exciting on an Albert Park track that always provides plenty of drama.
Listening in on the radio at the end of the qualifying, Sebastien suggested to our technical director, Giorgio Ascanelli, that they have a drink of wine to celebrate. Our driver was joking of course, as knocking back the booze the night before a race is not normal procedure for athletes. Actually, Giorgio had predicted Seb would finish tenth and when our electrical engineer, Luca Montuschi disagreed, a bet was made with the winner taking a bottle of Brunello del Montalcino 2004. The 2004 bit might have to be cancelled as this makes it worth about a year’s salary!
Reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel took pole position, which in itself is not surprising after studying winter testing form. But a gap of around eight tenths of a second to second placed Lewis Hamilton is pretty incredible. Third is Mark Webber in the second Red Bull, ahead of Jenson Button in the other McLaren. The third row is made up of Fernando Alonso fifth for Ferrari and Vitaly Petrov, sixth for Renault.
Q3 is a great start to the season