By STEVE DAWSON
After so much winter speculation over who would and who wouldn’t be competing for the 2011 Formula One titles, after the opening grand prix in Melbourne we now have some very real clues.
The Red Bulls, as expected, are quick over a single lap. Even at this early stage it appears that they will once again dominate qualifying. The conversion of pole position to chequered flag eluded Sebastian Vettel far too often last season but he was faultless in Australia and has perhaps adjusted better to the rigours of taking his raw speed to the two-hour session that is a grand-prix Sunday.
The same conclusions can’t yet be made of his team mate Mark Webber. Although I’m sure he’ll catch up, he clearly didn’t get the set up of his car right in Melbourne and will need to study his team mate’s chassis very carefully before this weekend’s second race in Sepang.
The expected advantage of Pirelli’s slightly more precious tyres than we’ve been used to in recent years, were supposed to favour McLaren’s Jenson Button over his team mate Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton’s somewhat defensive response to an enquiry from Star Sports’ Sanjeev Palar about whether he would have to temper his all-or-nothing style seemed justified come the podium anthems. Not only did Lewis taken good care of those sensitive tyres but also of an undercarriage that was dangerously close to falling off for last quarter of the race.
If McLaren can make steady improvements to their car, Hamilton will be in close enough contact with the Red Bulls to take advantage.
At Ferrari, Fernando Alonso is unquestionably one of the best pilots out there, if not the best. But the Spaniard will need the kind of improvements McLaren managed in the 48 hours prior to the Melbourne weekend if they are to beat Red Bull consistently. Regardless, don’t look for Ferrari to win the Constructors’ title. Felipe Massa looks off the pace as seemed to be the case last season.
The big surprise was Renault. What a shame it is that Robert Kubica’s pre-season accident will deny us the prospect of his prodigious talent in a fast car. While it doesn’t yet look as if his replacement Nick Heidfeld will make much headway, Russia’s Vitaly Petrov looks every bit as promising as his drive in Abu Dhabi showed last year, when his stubborn tenacity contributed to Alonso losing the Drivers’ Championship.
Bring on Malaysia, it’s sure to be hot.
Steve Dawson presents Star Sports’ Formula One coverage for this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix
Gulasahi's Blog 
I imagine Australia isn’t one of the most taxing races on tyres, does this mean Lewis could well yet struggle to preserve his Pirelli tyres in different conditions? Or was Australia a good indicator of things to come in this respect?
Aa a street circuit, perhaps Melbourne was quite rough on the tyres. I understand from Alex Yoong that Sepang will be just as tough, if not tougher.