Brawn: Sunday showed an "astonishing lack of reliability"

Achilles' heel

In his column on the Formula 1 website Ross Brawn looks back on last weekend. He watched the race with amazement, because there were so many dropouts. In the end only eleven of the twenty participants crossed the finish line and we rarely see that many dropouts in a sport with cars that are normally 'bulletproof'.

"We are used to Formula 1 cars being bulletproof in the modern era, but there was an astonishing lack of reliability in Sunday’s race, with just 11 of the 20 drivers seeing the chequered flag", writes Brawn.

"I can’t remember the last time we saw so many mechanical problems in one race. Some of those, of course, will be down to the fact the teams have not run their cars properly since pre-season testing in February."

Nevertheless, reliability really is the Achilles heel for many teams, which is being worked hard on. That doesn't rule out more incidents in the upcoming races and that of course increases the excitement for the championship.

Rusty teams

Not only on the track it was difficult for several drivers and teams, also in the pit lane not everything went smoothly. "We also saw a number of pit stop issues, which showed the rustiness of the teams after a long break without racing."

But in the end it was a spectacle anyway, Brawn agrees. "But the positive was we saw some great racing. Some of it was a little more robust than might be allowable, but overall some great racing."