AFP, Melbourne: The world champion Red Bull team had a
troubled start to the new Formula One season with Sebastian Vettel failing to
convert his pole position into a victory in the Australian Grand Prix on
Sunday.
The young German, tilting at his fourth consecutive world
driver’s title this year, dropped back after leading the field for the first
few laps, blaming tyre degradation before finishing third behind Lotus winner
Kimi Raikkonen.
His Australian teammate Mark Webber’s dream of winning
his home GP at the 12th attempt also dissolved amid issues with his
Red Bull car as he battled home in sixth place.
It was not the outcome the Formula One world was
expecting after both Red Bull cars qualified on the front row of the grid with
the fastest times.
Vettel got away smartly and avoided any traffic
congestion at the notorious first right-hander out of the home straight, while
Webber had a sluggish start and was beaten to the first bend by six cars.
“I think you’re always a little disappointed when you
start first and don’t finish first, but overall it was a good weekend for us,”
Vettel said.
“We had a good day today with a pole and a podium - but
in the race we were a little too aggressive with the tyres and lost the front
and the rears, while others did a little better.
“There are always areas where you can improve, but the
result we got today is fair.
“We didn’t see Kimi on the track, he was too quick and
Fernando (Alonso) jumped us at a vulnerable time - but we can be happy with
third.”
Webber said he had problems at the start which cost him a
forward position to mount a challenge.
“We had a few issues on the grid, getting the telemetry
from the car to the pits, which wasn’t ideal in terms of the guys knowing where
to set everything up for the start,” said Webber, who is yet to make the podium
in Melbourne.
Webber said he had further problems with the first set of
tyres and had a slow pit stop, which was due to a front jack failure.
“We salvaged something in the end, but that was Melbourne
today and it was disappointing not to get more out of it. It was hard to fight
against others on a two-stop,” he said.
Team principal
Christian Horner said Red Bull were looking forward to the warmer temperatures
in Malaysia next weekend to get their season campaign back on track.