Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Australian Grand Prix

Photo from Getty Images

A new era of Formula 1 is upon us, and the first race gave fans mixed reviews.

If you love the technical aspect of F1, you probably hated it.

If you love good racing, it was the best racing we’ve had in a while.

Time will tell which side wins out, but I didn’t hate it personally.

Some drivers sure hated their weekends, however.

Here are the winners and losers from the Australian Grand Prix.

Losers

5. Nico Hulkenberg

It was a decent weekend for Hulk in his first race for Audi, who were making their F1 debut.

That is, until his engine gave him fits and he never started the race.

Tough break.

4. Isack Hadjar

The curse of the second Red Bull driver has been talked about for years, but Hadjar seemed to quiet those talks qualifying 3rd on the grid and having himself a pretty good race.

But when his engine failed, all of that work was for naught, and he ended up with a DNF.

3. Aston Martin

The partnership between Aston Martin and Honda is off to a horrendous start, with Honda not having a good enough engine, and Aston Martin not even checking in on Honda to see how they were progressing.

It’s been an organizational failure from the top down, and I’d be surprised if they got any points this year.

2. Oscar Piastri

There is nothing the Australian Grand Prix hates more than Australian drivers.

Many have tried to have a good weekend at home, and many have failed, with Piastri being the latest casualty after he crashed on the reconnaissance lap, meaning he didn’t even get the chance to start the race.

When will the Aussie’s finally get their home success?

1. Ferrari

Oh, Ferrari…

They built a really fast car! One that was contending for the win.

And then, when a virtual safety car came out, every car took advantage of the free pit stop.

Except, of course, for Ferrari.

They still finished 3rd and 4th and had really good race pace (and those starts are absurd), but this was a chance to get a win that they threw away because they simply screwed up the strategy.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.

Winners

5. Max Verstappen

Verstappen started so far back because he crashed in qualifying, but still fought his way all the way through the cars ahead to come home 6th.

Sure, he’s in a fast Red Bull. It’s not THAT impressive.

But still, it was a solid drive.

4. Gabriel Bortoleto

Out qualified his teammate, stayed out of trouble all race, and got Audi their first points of the season.

This kid has a very bright future with that team.

3. Oliver Bearman

I predicted Oliver Bearman would be comprehensively better than Esteban Ocon this year, and that prediction is off to a great start, as Bearman finished 7th, four places ahead of his teammate.

The kid is very, very good.

2. Mercedes

The rumors that Mercedes had built a rocket ship were confirmed this weekend.

The race pace is close to Ferrari, but the qualifying pace is not even in the same stratosphere.

Mercedes has a dominant engine, and their two solid drivers brought home a 1-2 to begin this new era, with George Russell getting the win, and Kimi Antonelli coming home second.

They didn’t even do that in 2014!

1. Arvid Lindblad

Arvid Lindblad is a very talented 18 year old British driver.

I was looking forward to seeing how he did in his first season of F1, but was hardly expecting the world from him.

But what a weekend the young kid had in his debut.

It’s one thing to get an 8th place finish and be much faster than your teammate, but it’s a whole other thing to be running in the top 5 for part of the race, as well as putting up practice and qualifying laps in the top 3 at times.

If that’s a sign of things to come, sign me up.

The only rookie in the field this year is showing that the sport is in great hands when the legends leave.