Brought to you by TJ13 Courtroom Reporter & Crime Analyst: Adam Macdonald

183 teams graced the TJ13 predictor league with their presence for the first round, the Australian GP.  With so little known about the new cars, there were very few certainties.  The Mercedes engine, sorry powertrain, seemed to be the strongest which was reflected in the predictions, with the works team being seen as the strongest suitor.  Who’d have thought it, the strongest and most consistent team retiring so soon into the race.

75 points saw people placed on the first page of the league after the first round, with the standard being astoundingly high.  If this is remarkable rate of scoring continues we are in for a hotly contested title in 2014.

On the subject of points, race finishes made me think about Abu Dhabi and the double points idea.  My problem with this is not to the idea of double points, but the fact that based on the past 4 seasons this rule change would not affect Marussia and Caterham.  Why not instead extend the points paying positions to keep those at the back of the field interested as well, especially given Abu Dhabi is a circuit of low attrition?  With Super Max Chilton finishing in 13^th place the benchmark has been put down.  Were the points paying positions go back to 14^th in Abu Dhabi it would be a much fairer extension for all, including midfield teams as well.  What do you think readers?

Taking an early lead

Taking an early lead with 90 points is RusF1, correctly electing for Nico Rosberg to take the chequered flag.  Correctly predicting pole, fastest lap and positions gained was inspired.

Hot out the blocks is RusF1

Getting patriotic

The top ranking Australian at their home GP is Scuderia Wilsarri Marlboro scoring 80.  This gave the team a respectable 8^th position after the first round to restore some Aussie pride after a controversial disqualification for Ricciardo.  Interestingly enough, another who opted for Rosberg to take the fastest lap over Hamilton.

One Australian that didn’t get disqualified – SWM

Better luck this year?

TJ13’s resident Mattpt55Racing finds himself down in 101^st position after a disappointing performance by his own standards.  The team that did an Alonso (lost the lead of the league in the final round of 2013) to miss out on the chance to become the inaugural champion was let down by Red Bull and Hamilton’s lack of classification.  28% prediction accuracy sees some potential for improvement next time out in Malaysia.

Similar to Ferrari, a slow start to 2014 for Mattpt55Racing

Nobody saw it coming

The cyclinder misfiring on the Silver Arrow of Lewis Hamilton saw many people stumped in their forecasts for the race.  Furthermore, the lack of pace of the snail like Ferrari’s will be cause for concern for the Tifosi, as it could spell another season of second best for the Maranello squad.

Finally, the kamikaze king himself Kamui Kobayashi was back with a bang to remind everyone of what they have been missing.  Unfortunately for Felipe Massa the reminder was race ending, in what looked to be a very impressive car.

Food for thought

The pace the RB10 possesses is worrying.  Given their history of developing a car, they would seem to be title contenders even if the chances are slim.  Such a thought is amazing given where they were in Bahrain struggling for reliability.  Where they will end up in Malaysia is a very interesting debate to be had.

As I alluded to above, the Williams package looks strong but failed to get the proper placing it deserved due to Bottas playing bumper cars and Kobayashi believing he could fly.  Once again a strong chance of podium in Malaysia.

Remember when…

In this section there will be a question each week to test your memory from GPs gone by. The idea is not to look it up but see if you can remember it first!

How many multiple winners of the Australian GP are currently on the F1 grid?

(Answer will be posted in the next Predictor summary)