This corner will have no bother admitting there was no interest here in F1 as the genuine perception was that victors were decided by the technology in the cockpits of the machines more than anything else.
There is no doubt the gadgetry in the lightening quick machines does indeed play a huge role in the eventual outcomes. However, human skill and, yes, error, are every bit as fundamental to what the end result will be as any technological gizmo.
Just ask Max Verstappen. The defending World Champion and his Red Bull team have been beset by mechanical errors and bad luck so far this season. Another barrow full of which dumped upon them in Australia, during the early hours of Sunday morning. As it was for us here in Ireland anyway!
Being a bit of a mechanical/tool nut, the neck tends to be strained to try and see the gear crews use in the pit lane. Given the speed with which these highly skilled people do their thing, though, there’d be more hope of me getting two and a half miles on soft ground than spotting anything.
One suspects that if a person wanted to see mechanics doing their business, Red Bull HQ is the place to be at the minute. Doubtless, the saviours with the spanners are well and truly earning their wages at present. Right from the start of the season – and most likely before a flag fell at all – it has been obvious Verstappen has been unhappy with his machine.
Isn’t it an ironic instance of Sod’s Law, that on a day when the car was motoring well – so much so that, to borrow a bit of horse racing parlance, Max was upsides leader Charles Le Clerc and about to challenge him…
It can only be assumed it was a fuel hose which bust, leaking its contents on the car. Thus setting it smouldering. However, thanks to the Halo system, the driver was readily able to pull himself free.
Put in ordinary terms, as far as this observer can make out, the Halo resembles a set of bull bars on a jeep. Designed to protect the driver in the event of a crash, it also affords them a means of pulling themselves from a wreckage, as Verstappen did on Sunday.
To give what brought the title holder to a halt some context, a fuel hose – in an ordinary car at least – would be one of the most basic components in a machine worth millions (in this case at least) yet its malfunction brought Verstappen to a halt and could easily have ended in a disaster of a completely different scale.
Recent races have been punctuated by plenty of crash-outs, mechanical failures and laps behind the Safety Car. Australia was no different and what another dysfunctional day did was allow Le Clerc turn what ought to have been a great early season duel between two of the leading contenders into a hack canter for himself.
Not for the first time, however, Red Bull’s blushes were spared, to some degree, when Sergio Perez (above) managed to navigate his way into second. Elsewhere, George Russell took third for Mercedes, in so doing finishing ahead of his colleague Lewis Hamilton and it was also good to see Daniel Ricciardo back amongst the points.
That said, even at this early stage of the season, they will all have a fair job trying to stop the aristocrats from making it another Italian job!
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