Do you recall when Formula One qualifying was a flat out blast for one hour? All the drivers would run as their teams' desired, each run improved upon the previous, only for the likes of say Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher to demolish their times at the last possible moment, thus demoralising the opposition. Would have to erode the other drivers' confidence, wouldn't it?
    It was refreshing to see that psychological warfare is still prevalent in today's F1, as evidenced by last week's Australian Grand Prix. To gain the ascendancy over not only your team mate, but the entire field through unyielding determination, resilience, tenacity or what ever you want to call it, all adds to driver confidence. When racing, driver confidence is paramount. 
    Anyone who's ever attended a Grand Prix weekend can feel how the momentum builds through Free Practise towards Qualifying, culminating in the Grand Prix itself. We found it intriguing and never more evident at Albert Park. Looking to justify his signing and cement his place in the team, newcomer at Ferrari Charles Leclerc was quick  during practise into qualifying, often faster than team mate, Sebastian Vettel. Would a four time champion let a kid with only one year's F1 experience beat him? After all, Vettel is the undisputed leader at Ferrari, isn't he? When the pressure was on, in the end, it was Vettel who outqualified him and beat him in the race. To Leclerc's credit though, he applied strong pressure to Vettel in the race until Ferrari put a halt to the attack in favour of bringing both cars home in the points. A tussle we hope will run all season.
    However the driver that warrants applause is Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas. Here's a driver that endured a woeful 2018. No wins despite driving the best car. Retirements whilst on the cusp of winning. Told to pull over for team mate Lewis Hamilton for the sake of the championship. Labelled a good "wingman" to Hamilton by team boss Toto Wolff. Now he has Mercedes sponsored Esteban Ocon waiting to take his seat if Mercedes opt not to exercise their option on Bottas next year. He could be forgiven if his motivation waned for the forthcoming season. Not Bottas though. He distanced himself from not only F1, but all distractions, reflected, trained hard and returned reinvigorated, determined to put his own stamp on F1. With the scars of last year's Australian GP still fresh from when he crashed in qualifying, he turns up at Albert Park and despite Hamilton being quickest in all practise sessions, puts the car on provisional pole. Hamilton responds only the way he knows how by summoning all his experience and talent to place the car on pole in the dying moments of qualifying. After qualifying a lesser driver than Bottas may of acquiesced. Which leads us to the race itself. Whose confidence will skyrocket after they land that psychological body blow? Bottas not only won the start, but he destroyed the entire field by winning the race by 20 seconds over Hamilton and nearly a minute over Ferrari, also absconding with the bonus point for fastest lap. 
    Hamilton doesn't win five world championships by chance. He knows how to mount a challenge and is renown for being unrelenting in the second half of the season. Former team mate and 2016 champ Nico Rosberg has stated that it took all his mental strength to defeat Lewis Hamilton. Question is, does Valtteri Bottas possess the intestinal fortitude to sustain a serious championship assault? Australian GP domination undoubtedly boosted Valtteri's confidence sending a chilling message to the opposition, but are we yet to see the full depth of a Bottas ruthless reserve? Psychological pistols at ten paces, or should we say 21 races? Cheers....    
    
    
    

    This time in a week we'll know who has claimed the spoils of victory at the 2019 season opening Formula One race at Melbourne's idyllic Albert Park. Comes around quick doesn't it? Formula One is ably supported by Supercars, Porsche Carrera Cup, Australian GT, Formula 4 and Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific. Not to mention a big presence in the skies courtesy of the Royal Australian Air Force and a massive music festival. For the first time ever Formula One and the Australian GP Corporation are bringing years of planning to fruition by staging a F1 season launch in the heart of Melbourne at Federation Square on the Wednesday before the event starts on Thursday. All this to create a bonanza for the senses over a hectic 5 day period. 
    As usual F1 winter testing revealed little regarding a potential pecking order. No one knows what programmes the teams are running and we think it a frivolous exercise to try and dissect who's hot and who's not. However, the consensus at this early stage is that Ferrari look strong. One thing we did notice amongst all the teams is that reliability seemed to be at a higher level than at this time in previous years. Bodes well for Melbourne.
    Aerodynamically speaking, F1 cars are designed to be as fast as possible when travelling in clear or undisturbed air. Upon approach to another car, the disturbed air created behind the car in front compromises the pursuing car's aero  rendering it difficult to overtake the car in front. The loss of downforce counters any speed differential. Therefore a number of aerodynamic changes have been mandated for the forthcoming season. They are designed to assist F1 cars punch through the dirty air when chasing another car. In short, the complex endplates which adorned front wings are banned. Front wings are now higher, wider, further forward, thus devoted to creating downforce and less likely to stall when in dirty air. Brake ducts are smaller, thereby having less surface area for dirty air to mess with. The bargeboards which guard the sidepods are smaller and moved forward to better link up with the air coming from the front of the car. There's a ban on blown axles. Rear wings have also had extensive reworking. The Drag Reduction System (DRS), whereby the rear wing opens in designated spots to reduce drag and therefore increase speed, has had its gap widened. The rear wing is also wider and higher, having the duel effect of increased downforce and punching a larger hole in the air so the car behind can follow in less disturbed air.
    To date, opinions are divided on whether the changes will have the desired effect or not. During winter testing, Haas' Kevin Magnussen commented that it was easier to follow another car and that the changes are a step in the right direction. But did he know what fuel load or tyre compound they were running? Contrarily Red Bull design genius Adrian Newey thinks not much will change. Remember even when aero was in its infancy in F1 design when the cars had relatively simple front and rear wings compared to today's standards, F1 cars were still difficult to follow, let alone overtake. Hasn't it always been difficult to overtake in F1?
    So will the revised aero rules have the desired effect or will it still reminisce of groundhog day? Melbourne's always been notoriously hard for overtaking. Will some of our questions be answered next weekend, or will we have to wait for subsequent races? Either way, Melbourne's still the place to be....
    
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