Formula 1 is back baby! Mercedes looked like the absolute dominant car once again this season and they got a 1-2 in qualifying and the race in Australia. The surprising part here was Valtteri Bottas won by over 20 seconds in the race over Lewis Hamilton. I don't know if anybody saw that coming!
Mercedes' pace was much better than I think they even expected. Bottas is normally strongest at the start of the season, and certainly Hamilton had the pace in qualifying and got beat at the start line by his teammate. A very good overall race for the team and the perfect start to the season.
Red Bull are probably surprised to get on the podium for this race. A bit of a Jekyll and Hyde situation with Verstappen and Gasly. Verstappen looked his usual self, fast and willing to make passes. Max passed Vettel and also caught Hamilton near the end. Pierre Gasly was nowhere this weekend. Gasly didn't make it out of Q1 in qualifying and he didn't make it up to the points by the end. It's just the first weekend, so it's not time to freak out just yet. But the gap between the drivers was very clear.
Ferrari are not happy after this weekend. Charles Leclerc, as expected, didn't have the pace. It was really not surprising to see Leclerc behind Vettel especially early in the season. It was shocking to see Vettel not keep up with the Mercedes or with Verstappen. Ferrari have to get going or the championship will be disappearing for their sight early in the season.
Ricciardo had a tough start to the season. But it's still early days and he had a road block at the start. Renault are a bit off but perhaps they can catch the front runners in some events.
Lance Stroll, the Canadian, climbed up from a tough qualifying session to finish in the points. While Stroll continues to struggle in qualifying, he is the best driver at the start.
In Nascar action, Kyle Busch won his 200th Nascar race and he dominated the event once again. Right now, Busch can easily get 15 wins this season. He is that good! Things will change throughout the season, but at this point Busch is the best driver on one of the best two teams. One day, Busch will be regarded as one of the best drivers ever, if he isn't already. His antagonism makes him under-appreciated. Nobody comes close to his abilities on the track, and when he has near the best car he normally wins.
The Penske cars are on it this season as well. The gaps will decrease with other teams like Stewart-Haas and Hendrick, but for now it's a Penske vs Gibbs battle. The first five races have been won by both teams.
The 12 Hours of Sebring was the second round of the IMSA Sportscar Championship. Cadillacs were the dominant car and the Wayne Taylor Racing team didn't repeat the Daytona feat. Instead, the Whelen Engineering Action Express 31 had the speed to win all day and took the race home. Now that the longest races are over, we head to some sprint races and it will be interesting to see if the Mazda's and Acura's can have the speed to win these events and not have mechanical troubles like they have had in the early season.
Supercross saw a Marvin Musquin victory, a much needed one at that. Eli Tomac seemed to be off the pace in the second half of the race. It was a very technical course, not the type Tomac normally performs best at. Cooper Webb got another podium and took another important step towards a title. BUT, all it takes is one bad start or one fall to open this thing up again.
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