The best thing about this season so far has been how well the new rules have worked, and how well the cars can follow each other. Seeing drivers make mistakes, allowing overtakes to happen. Sadly we did not get that wheel to wheel battle for P1 we were treated to at the last two races this week (Ferrari are to good) but the racing in the mid pack was great.
Fantastic result for Albon, I thought Williams were just going to keep him out, but the fact he managed to get 10th place, and score a point in his third race with Williams is brilliant.
I felt sorry for Alonso this weekend, looked like he could of been in the top four, but had a issue in qualifying , and then the safety cars in the race did not work out for him.
Charles has got himself in to a very strong position, and if my maths is correct, Max will need to win seven races, with Charles finishing second to overtake him in the title now. So Max has to win 13 of the remaining 20 races assuming Charles does not have any issues. Ferrari might not admit it, but they need to make Charles the number one driver now, and maximise the points he can get. RedBull will sort their reliability issues out, and Mercedes race pace, or at least how kind it was on its tyres looked good in Melbourne, and will continue to get better. Alpine and McLaren also seemed to be stepping forward, although both teams race pace did not feel as good as qualifying pace.
The other big talking point of the weekend was the race director noting that Jewellery should not be worn during the race. This lead to a few of the drivers having some fun in their press conferences with it. My initial thoughts were that it was a silly rule, that could probably got rid of now, but I was curious about how it could impact safety, and came across this interesting
article, which has the quote below.
If Massa had worn earrings or any other facial jewelry, the emergency responders would have struggled to get his helmet and balaclava off at the time of the accident. This could have delayed their efforts to stabilize him just enough to cause lasting brain damage or even death. At the very least, their actions could have injured him even more.
I assume their is a difference from removing a helmet yourself, and having it removed by the medical team during an incident. I assume that if the helmet or balaclava got caught on the ear piecing's it could cause additional issues for the medical team. And there is also issues if you need to have an MRI scan urgently?
Its things like this I wish the FIA would give more context about, The race director is calling this out, and this is the reason way. Ensuring Driver safety, because if there is an incident, the medical staff need to be able to easily remove items of clothing without the risk of anything unexpected. Provide an answer for the the assumptions above. I get that they are enforcing the rules, but its also putting them in the spotlight, which I don't get, as that is the last thing they want to be doing after the finish of last year.