I love racing - I'll watch anything with an engine and driver try to outdo another machine if I can. So going cold turkey over the winter break, on the run up to Saturday I was positively clucking in anticipation of the return of F1 to the telly.
Rosberg and Merc dominated in Melbourne
But when the race finally arrived, I was really rather underwhelmed. Like most PHers, I have a healthy interest in the technical side of the sport, as it's this that defines the wheel-to-wheel aspect of the competition itself. And while it was interesting to see how the cars faired throughout practice and qualifying, come the race there wasn't all that much different to observe compared to recent seasons.
Think about it. We had a car that was by far and away the class of the field clear off into the distance from lights out, only to repeat the procedure after a safety car.
A few retirements in the mid-pack followed (although these were mainly due reliability, granted), Ferrari put in a lacklustre performance when it really needed to show strongly, Kamui Kobayashi crashed out and a Marussia finished last.
For me, the racing just wasn't close enough. Thankfully though, I don't think this will be the case all year.
Ricciardo produced a great drive...
Such is the infancy of this new era of F1 that Melbourne was effectively another very public test for the teams, and with the cars all developing at different rates it meant the action on track wasn't all that - at least we did get some overtaking but, Bottas in the Williams excluded, places were generally conceded through mistakes rather than taken by brilliant driving.
Notable performances included Rosberg's imperious domination; Valtteri Bottas, who passed half the field and then had to do it all again after a puncture from whacking the wall on the exit of turn 10; Kevin Magnussen, who scored a podium on his debut for McLaren, following in the footsteps of none other than Lewis Hamilton; and Daniel Ricciardo, who took to the second step of the podium after an impressive drive on his debut for Red Bull, only to be disqualified six hours later due to "consistent irregularities" with his car's tightly monitored fuel flow rate, wiping that beaming smile away no doubt. More technical trouble for Red Bull, it seems.
... only to be disqualified after the finish
It wasn't the lack of overtaking that didn't thrill, rather that the majority of battles were more staccato. But once the teams get a handle on the engine package and the rate of development plateaus ever so slightly - to the point where opposing cars and drivers are more on a par with each other - we should see more dicing, hopefully proving 2014 won't be a Red Bull re-run but with a silver car dominating this time.
The Mercedes is clearly the class of the field. If Rosberg's dominance didn't prove it, Lewis' most un-Lewis-like comments when he retired due to engine problems showed that, after leading the way in free practice and sticking his F1 W05 on pole, he knows he's got a quick car underneath him this year. That or getting engaged to Nicole Scherzinger would probably do it...
Last year's champion had a torrid weekend, proving that 2014 could be the year that really tests Vettel's mettle. Eliminated in Q2 after putting in a time only good enough for 13th, and retiring after three laps due to problems with his Renault power unit, the four-time world champion spat out, "this is ridiculous, guys," over the team radio. There's no doubt the RB10 is fast, it's just finding the key to unlock the speed for Seb that will be the issue. That and reliability.
Only three laps to capture pics of Vettel!
This season didn't get off to the electrifying start it might have been billed as delivering beforehand, and while there's still some scepticism over the new rules, this year (thankfully) almost certainly won't be a Sunday afternoon snooze slot like recent championships.
Once the updates come and reliability drops into place, teamed with drivers getting used to the difference in brake feel from the energy recovery system, as well as learning the best strategy to deploy all that torque - reducing what look like some rookie errors but are actually very difficult concepts to master - we'll see some closer racing.
The variation in tracks should see some variation in the finishing order, too. The long straights of Monza, tight twists of Monaco and high downforce requirements of Silverstone should mix things up.
Australia wasn't the thriller we might have hoped it would be then, but the signs are positive.