It seems that the loss of traction control is having a lot more effect than predicted by anyone. Practice/qualifying was a wild assortment of tail-happy slides and slips for everyone; the cars are obviously more difficult to drive and more entertaining for the viewer as a result. I would chalk one up for the FIA were it not for the fact that the fans have been calling for this for years.
Nick Heidfeld and the BMW F1.08
Hamilton's pole-setting lap was a model of precision and efficiency, however, in contrast to Kubica's on-the-limit charge. As everyone is saying, without that slight off at turn 12 (the Pole still keeping his foot down with incredible bravery), we could have had a BMW in grid spot number one. The big question remains: are the Beemers on a par with the big two at last?
Remembering that this is just the first race and that BMW seem to be good at this track anyway, I have to say that I think the Swiss/German team are indeed in the frame for the season. People are talking of sandbagging through testing but that ignores the way BMW function - they have worked through their problems methodically, improving the car step by step, they have not gone for flashy light tank runs to grab ephemeral headlines, preferring to get the car right for races.
I would say that Ferrari and McLaren should be worried. Even Dr Mario Theissen was a little surprised at how quickly the car has shot to the front, as though he expected this a little later in the season, not now. There is still vast scope for improvement in the F1.08, its bold innovations just beginning to pay off.
Expectation is now that Kubica is the man to watch, naturally enough in view of his hugely entertaining laps in qualifying, but I would suggest caution on this one. Last year the policy was to allow Robert a run at the leaders on low fuel while Quick Nick put in the solid and respectable times of a man on more sensible fuel quotas; the likelihood is that the team has stuck by this strategy. That would make Heidfeld's fifth spot very ominous for the leaders. We already know that he races better than he qualifies and a late first pit stop will give him a good chance of a podium finish.
There is just one fly in BMW's ointment - Lewis Hamilton. Love him or loathe him, he is the business, a driver so excellent that he can produce the goods to order. His pole-setting lap was a masterpiece of confident, unflustered driving, so exact and neat that it seemed inevitable he would be fastest. Kovalainen is close in terms of sheer speed but Hamilton leaves us thinking he could have gone faster if necessary - as, indeed, he said afterwards.
And so to poor Kimi, bumped down the grid by a sick Ferrari and a lurking detail in the rulebook. Would he have grabbed pole had he been given the chance? I think it unlikely. The painful fact for Ferrari fans is that the team's expected advantage has evaporated and the drivers will have to work to stay with the leaders. Kimi may have been able to set a better time than did Massa but not by much, I think.
It all adds up to a spicy recipe for the race, however. Raikkonen, Webber and Glock will be fighting through the field to negate their qualifying misfortunes, Hamilton and Kubica will be arguing at the front, in the opening laps at least, and we can expect some great battles for the points positions.
Oh, and I should say something about Vettel. All right, the lad did amazingly well, for the first time showing the outstanding talent everyone talks about. I can grumpily say "about time too" but would remind you that I have only ever asked for some proof of his ability; okay, now I have it. More, please.