n biggest communication challenge at the moment”

Red Bull’s Dutch driver in the Australian race of Formula 1 Max Verstappen took the win when the safety car crawled across the finish line.

British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton managed to finish second, but the pace of Verstappen’s car was too much again. For the third time this season, Aston Martin’s Spaniard finished third Fernando Alonso.

Alfa Romeo, who started the race from the pits due to suspension changes Valtteri Bottas eventually rose to 11th place. Due to the interruptions, eight drivers fell in front of him during the race, and in the final moments also the Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz valahti from 4th place to 12th.

Urheilu’s F1 expert Jukka Mildh go through the topics of the special competition.

What solved it?

The race in Australia would probably have been decided by Verstappen’s superior speed.

– The way he overtook Hamilton earlier in the race was so overwhelming that it will be difficult to stop Red Bull this season, says Mildh.

However, the last staple of the race was the second restart. The Mercedes drivers were clearly stronger at the start of the race. At the beginning of George Russell left Verstappen behind and in the first restart Lewis Hamilton was stronger.

– In the second restart, we started with slightly softer tires, and Verstappen did the best. When the first sector was not completed at the start, the final situation remained the same.

What are we talking about?

Expert Mildh says that restarts, rule interpretations and decisions made under pressure by the jury will certainly cause repercussions.

In the past, the final results were locked if the race was interrupted when the specified part of the race had been run. Today, the races are finished. According to Mildh, both Liberty Media, which manages F1’s commercial rights, and the International Automobile Federation, FIA, make sure that the races do not end too early.

– The aim is to increase the tension of the series. It leads to such a situation that the race is forced to the end.

Mildh says that running the games to the end causes a lot of situations open to interpretation. After the Games, we ponder for a long time who, where, when and why his result would not be accepted.

– For example, this situation with Alonso, where Sainz pushed him out in the last start. Alonso clearly dropped out of the crowd, but still got on the podium. The decision was certainly the right one, I don’t dispute that, but yes, the situation requires a lot of explanation.

Sainz, who was fourth in the race, received a five-second time penalty and was 12th in the final results.

– Can not be true. This cannot be accepted. Ask (the judges) to discuss this with me, Sainz raged on the Ferrari team radio after hearing about the decision.

Mildh says that several questionable situations have been settled for a long time this season and at the end of last season – perhaps even starting with the 2021 Saudi Arabia race.

– The rules (and their interpretations) cannot really be communicated to the teams and this is perhaps F1’s biggest communication challenge at the moment.

What about Bottas?

Valtteri Bottas was successful in Australia to the extent that he dodged crashes and parts that came off the cars on the track.

– Maybe success culminates in Valtteri’s experience. When I looked at those pictures from his car cameras, Valtteri handled the crash situations in a controlled manner.

Otherwise, Alfa Romeo’s weekend was depressing, says Mildh. The car has no speed and due to suspension changes we started the race from the back row.

– Things are quite clearly messed up in the team. Hard to see such rapid development in this matter. Something fundamental is wrong with the car, and maybe also with the organization of the team when the management has changed. Putting all those pieces together this season is a big job.

However, Mildh believes Bottas will keep a cool head as he understands the team’s messy situation.

A flop?

According to Mildh, Ferrari’s Monaco crash Charles Leclerc was a definite loser over the weekend. The run out at the very beginning of the race was Leclerc’s own mistake, caused by greed and impatience, says Mildh.

– You don’t usually see this from him. It was a significant blow to Ferrari in terms of championship contention. Mercedes is picking up the pace and Aston Martin has joined the fight.

Mildh estimates that, among other things, the driving of Leclerc’s teammate Sainz showed that Ferrari has a good car that might not drive to victory, but would be in the top fight. In Australia, however, Leclerc ruined his chances immediately.

– During the race, I interpreted the exit through the cameras. Leclerc could have driven more calmly in the early stages and thus saved his race.

Surprise?

According to the expert, the surprise of the race was Alpine Pierre Gasly. The French driver struggled for a long time for fourth or fifth place in the race. In the second restart, Alpine drivers Gasly and Esteban Ocon however, they failed when both races ended in a crash.

– Gasly is a very good driver, but has been really down lately. The car hasn’t worked very well, but Gasly rose from the 9th starting position, of course through all these racing events, to the top spots, Mildh praises.

According to him, the weekend was difficult for all the drivers, as practice and qualifying took place in quite humid conditions. The race day itself was again almost perfect.

– When the competition started, nobody really knew how the tires worked. In that respect, Gasly did a good job, although it was not reflected in the result. Maybe he will be able to move the team forward in the future.

What next?

Now the F1 series has an exceptionally long break ahead, as the next races are almost a month away, on the 28th-30th. April. Now the teams head to their headquarters and make analyzes and changes to their cars based on the three races they have run.

Mildh believes that Australia’s confusing situations cause quite a lot of work for both the International Automobile Federation and the garage teams.

– The FIA ​​has to investigate events and decisions while the teams fight over what went right and what went wrong. Every winnable decision heading home can lead to extra points.

Mildh says that the stables are trying their best and are sure to follow the rules very closely. The question that raises the most is whether it makes sense to race to the end every time.

– From the point of view of the show, the weekend was good, even though the competition was a bit long. Next month we will prepare for the next race, when now there is a better framework to take the next update packages to the cars, Mildh sums up.

Listen to the F1 episode of Urheilu’s podcast. Why are there four races in the Middle East and should we be worried about it? What does the Finnish F1 future look like? Urheilu’s expert Jukka Mildh breaks down the hottest topics of the F1 season. Also in the audience are University of Helsinki professor Hannu Juusola, who specializes in the Middle East, and Finland’s F1 hope Tuukka Taponen.