Well, few people saw that result coming, although when the weather began to close in just prior to the start of the race, Fernando Alonso must have fancied his chances a little. Those conditions were tailor-made for the Spaniard's finesse and awareness.
Almost as impressive as Alonso's assured display out on the track was his realistic and pragmatic attitude afterwards, being keen to stress that the result, although welcome, did not alter some fundamentals about Ferrari's situation. The wet weather, and Alonso's delicate touch, will have masked some deficiencies in the car, which still need to be tackled and alleviated.
Receiving almost as many plaudits as Alonso's performance has been that of Sergio Perez in the Sauber. Showing commendable maturity for a relative newcomer, he took all the fluctutations and strategic intrigues in his stride, until that minor error near to the end. The conspiracy theorists were unsurprisingly out in force when some advice was directed to Perez over the radio, which was swiftly followed by his mistake. Personally, I am inclined to think that the charges are wide of the mark; the radio message from the pits merely seemed to be imploring the young Mexican to "be careful", and to be mindful that second place is preferable to no place at all.
Perez has unobtrusively made a favourable impression since he entered F1, although not perhaps generating the headlines and hysteria which tend to accompany some rising stars. Consistently solid performances, and sometimes placing the car where it doesn't really belong, have helped to build up a picture and reputation of someone who has a bright future. Rumours have been circulating about his whereabouts in the future, and they are sure to intensify after today's events, particularly when cross-referenced with the problems being endured by others.
Those who dominated proceedings in Melbourne had mixed fortunes in Melbourne. Jenson Button made an uncharacteristic error of judgement when trying to pass Narain Karthikeyan, and thereafter suffered a race plagued by niggling difficulties. There was to be no repeat of his famous win in Canada last year.
After the red flag, Lewis Hamilton had a solid if unspectacular run, although his progress was impeded by a couple of dramas at pit stops. Lewis is racking up the points at the moment, and although he is a born winner, he must realise that these points-scoring finishes could be crucial in what looks set to be a closely-fought campaign. I was pleased to see that he alluded to this in his post-race comments, sounding measured and philosophical.
Red Bull continue to mystify slightly. A lack of inspiration, and outright pace, is affecting them at the moment. Other teams have upped their game, but Red Bull are just not the formidable force on the track of the past two years. After Australia, the team was at pains to stress that they were not fully up to pace, and we expected a bit more at Sepang. The rain in the race naturally complicates any assessments, and a dry weekend in China may enable us to reach some more definitive conclusions.
After promising signs in qualifying, the Mercedes team once more singularly failed to deliver on race day. True, Michael Schumacher was seemingly blameless when tipped into an early spin, but after that he and Nico Rosberg were largely anonymous. There may be some soul-searching in the hiatus before we go to China.
The Williams team continued its encouraging opening to 2012, with a fine and combative display from Bruno Senna, finishing sixth, and Maldonado had not done himself any harm before his late retirement. The car is clearly a good one, and it is to be hoped that this form can be prolonged.
The Lotus team also sought to build on its Albert Park exploits, with a good if unexceptional drive from Kimi Raikkonen. He will be pleased to have finished both races in the points, and also to have got more mileage under his belt, although I think theories that his five-place grid penalty adversely affected his race prospects are overplayed. By contrast, Romain Grosjean again failed to finish, and needs a result or two to add substance to his undoubted ability and flair.
All told, however, this race was won by the panache and all-round skills of Fernando Alonso, aided in no small part by the slick pit work of Ferrari. This is one thing which the Scuderia certainly has mastered so far this season! Admittedly, the frailities of others, as ever in changeable conditions, also helped the Ferrari cause, but this in no way detracts from their achievement.
The first two races have certainly given us plenty of entertainment, and there is much to mull over for the teams, drivers, media and fans in the three weeks before the Chinese Grand Prix....
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