Grand Prix Rejects

based on the assumption that, at any moment in time, there is a non-zero probability that even the slowest, most inexperienced and least reliable of underdogs might win the race. That under every rock, there might be a gold nugget. This is the award for that first podium that we all celebrate, for the overtake no-one was expecting, for JEV's first win. This is the award, in short, for the driver or team that makes you go "Woah! Where did THAT come from?!".

Just remember: this is a feel-good award, that will focus on nothing but track action.
Usual rules: everyone gets two votes. First vote is worth 10 points, the second 6.

Post your results until 21st March

1. Ricciardo
2. Magnussen

great gp!
1- Kevin Magnussen- amazing drive. A new star
2- Daniel Kvyat- good start to his career

1. Magnussen - Yes Ricciardo did well, but this was Kevin's first GP. A thoroughly impressive debut, and unlucky not to take 2nd

2. Bottas - What a recovery...

1. - Kevin Magnussen - simply superb pace and management all round
2. - Jenson Button - After a chaotic opening lap and what looked like pace problems able to only be five seconds off the podium

- Magnussen: A rookie podium on 1st race. Well done!
- Bottas: amazing recovery drive

1. Magnussen -- K-MAGS
2. Button -- The Jenson Interceptor intercepted 4th.

Ricciardo doesn't count -- he drives for Red Bull.

1. Ricciardo
2. Button

Honourable mentions to Magnussen and the two former GP3 champs Bottas and Kvyat.

1. Kevin Magnussen

2. Jenson Button

1. Kevin Magnussen - I have now won an avatar challenge, and arguably the most welcome sight in F1 at the moment.
2. Red Bull - Ricciardo on the podium is the most welcome sight F1 has seen in forever.

HM to Lotus for lasting as long as they did.

1. Ricciardo - wasn't expecting the Red Bull to last the full distance, especially after Vettel packed up. Would have said a podium was highly improbable a couple of hours ago!

2. Bottas - excellent recovery drive and some very good, clean overtakes in that lovely Williams. I thought he was down and out after the tyre failure and maybe on for something like 9th or 10th. Top 6 and one step closer to unrejectification was very impressive.

1. Magnussen
2. Ricciardo
3. Bottas

1. Magnussen
2. Button

Something else I've just thought of, an honourable mention should go to Marussia, after what appeared to initially be an instant double DNF before the race had even started, to have Chilton do the full distance, and Bianchi be there at the end too, albeit too many laps down to be classified is a great result and good in terms of getting mileage on the car and understanding it. Hopefully something to build on in the next few races but clearly they and Caterham are still some way back from the rest in terms of race pace.

1. Ricciardo - Absolutely fantastic. Probably one of the most popular 2nd place finishes since er, Scotty Mac at the Clipsal 500.

2. Magnussen - Brilliant drive. We have a new star in the making.

Honourable mentions to Lotus for getting both cars past half-distance, and Bottas for a great recovery drive. And Max Chilton, obviously.

1. Bottas
2. Magnussen

Jan Magnussen wrote:So, son, how was your first race?

Kevin Magnussen wrote:Let's see. Qualified fourth, which is better than you ever did. Finished third, so in one race I picked up more points than you did in your entire career, and would have done even in the old 1950s system, I've got a trophy in the cabinet, and better still, while the people at f1rejects.com are writing your reject profile, I've avoided that straight away and I'm winning Infinite Improbability Drive of the Race. Not bad, I'd say. Oh, and my suitcase is neater than yours as well.

Jan Magnussen wrote:*muttered Danish obscenities*

I suppose the honourable mention goes to Valtteri Bottas, who did what Maldolan couldn't do two years ago and scored more points in the first race of this season than Williams did in all of last year. Had he not bashed the wall early on, young Kev might not have been quite so smug on the phone to his dad.

The mildly sort-of-honourable mention goes to Max Chilton... who still doesn't know the meaning of the word "retirement", even though it was widely predicted to happen at this race.

1. Valtteri Bottas - Had some mega pace all race, and probably would have finished in the top 4 without his meeting with the turn 10 wall
2. Kevin Magnussen - K-MAGS has arrived

dinizintheoven wrote:

Kevin Magnussen wrote:Let's see. Qualified fourth, which is better than you ever did. Finished third, so in one race I picked up more points than you did in your entire career, and would have done even in the old 1950s system, I've got a trophy in the cabinet,

Not quite - I bet Ron got his mitts on it and squirrelled it off to the MTC trophy vault as fast as he could!

1. Bottas - what a beast recovery drive. Sterling effort.
2. Button's castrated nose

1. Kevin Magnussen - pretty flawless drive, all told. I had very high expectations of him, and he matched all of them.
2. Valtteri Bottas - drove through the field twice, only missed out on IIDOTR for stuffing it in the wall.

Magnussen
Ricciardo

Honourable mentions - Button and Bottas.

1) Bottas
2) Magnussen

1. Kevin Magnussen: Got a podium on his debut. It was especially impressive considering that McLaren failed to get one last year.
2. Daniel Ricciardo: He showed that he deserves a seat in a top team. Second place in a car that wasn't expected to finish the race.

Honorable mention:
Daniil Kvyat: Also scored points on his debut, becoming the youngest point scorer in F1 history. On almost any other weekend, he would have been in my IIDOTR top 2.

Eifelland wrote:1. Magnussen - Yes Ricciardo did well, but this was Kevin's first GP. A thoroughly impressive debut, and unlucky not to take 2nd

2. Bottas - What a recovery...

this for me

tkcom wrote:- Magnussen: A rookie podium on 1st race. Well done!
- Ricciardo: unrejectified!

HM:
- Bottas: amazing recovery drive

As above - Bottas gets on my ROTR short list for clipping the wall as well, though.

1 Lotus: If you said on Friday Lotus would get 80 laps done between their 2 cars in the race then they would have taken that. Grosjean was ahead of Guti on merit too
2 Bottas: If only he didn't hit the wall

K-Mags gets a HM at worst

1. Magnussen
2. Ricciardo

Magnussen - Absolutely smashing debut, and a potential RookieOTY
Bo77as - Stellar work after that tyre puncture. His finishing position deserves a fine long post in "What if..." thread

Magnussen
Ricciardo

Honourable mention to Hulkenberg for finally making it past lap 1 at Melbourne

1. Magnussen
2. Ricciardo

1. Bo77as--Fantastic drive, don't care if he clipped the wall or not. Fantastic drive.

2. Ricciardo--If I had no prior knowledge of the race, and you tell me a driver qualified and finished second in a horrible Red Bull that the other driver retired in 5 laps, I'd say Vettel has done it again. But instead,it's Ricciardo in a role reversal,and a good one at that.

Big stories of greatness today

1.-Kevin Magnussen: Humble pie for myself, as the kid save the car at the getaway, drove like a veteran and podium on his first race.

2.-Valteri Bottas: The racer of the day, Bottas fought, made a mistake, fought back, and was one of the few that made overtakes.

Honorable mentions to Daniel Ricciardo (early advantage over Seb and an Aussie on the podium in home), all rookies (yes, even Ericcson, since he's learning the hard way in Caterham) and Nico Hulkenberg (The Hulk didn't make a mistake and scored big)

The Clash of the Titans Award goes to Valteri Bottas just because he overtake people today :p

1. Magnussen. This fella's incredible.
2. Bottas, for doing what Maldonado couldn't in 2012.

HM: Daniil Kvyat, he looks very good indeed.

This is a vey difficult one so I'm going for the two people who finished in a position I don't expect, despite qualifying results and overall car performance.

1. Kevin Magnussen
2. Daniel 'Ricky' Ricciardo

Utterly brilliant drives from two completely different styles of said driving. Magnussen had nothing to lose and Ricciardo had the weight if an entire continent in his shoulders and both finished in the podium. Fan-bloody-tastic!!

Honourable Mentions:

1. Max Chilton - Retirement clearly not in his vocabulary. And a 13th place may very well be enough.
2. Jenson Button - First weekend without Papa Smurf since his passing and he handled the situation well. Good lad.
3. Toro Rosso - I've never been a fan and dont expect much from them this season, but a good solid drive by both drivers regardless.
4. Valtteri Bottas - I could've cried when he clipped the wall.

the Masked Lapwing wrote:1. Ricciardo
2. Magnussen

Yup, same.

1- Kevin Magnussen: What a drive from the Danish rookie. Showing that he can translate junior speed into the big leagues in a way his proud father could only dream of, I hope the form continues for the rest of the season, as he may even have the pace to trouble the Mercs. Time will tell.

2 - Daniel Ricciardo / Ricky: His weekend was stellar. Best performance from anyone in a Red Bull not called Sebastian since 2010 by far. The pressure was off, he accepted the problems, worked through them and benefited with a fantastic result. Red Bull blatantly cheating has cast a damper over the drive, but his weekend was a whole was impressive. Whilst I recognise that Vettel may be the better driver - just - Ricky is looking like he can and will run him close, and if Seb continues to whinge and moan, the balance of power may just switch towards the likeable Aussie in the Red Bull garage over the season.

Well, once again going against the tide here.

My first nomination will go to McLaren. They were better than I expected. Much better than Ferrari and Force India. They have a good car to build on, unlike last year, above all a possible gem in Kevin Magnussen, who performed exactly as I secretly hoped (that is why he is part of my fantasy racers team).

My second nomination is Jenson Button. The wily old fox strikes again in quick smart decisions mode. Snatching a 4th after an even poorer qualifying session then his usual standard was certainly much better than I expected for him, so kudos.

I would happily vote for Bottas, but he did that driver error which ruined his podium chances so I won't. Besides, Williams is indeed very strong on the dry and that car was certainly above opposition.

1) Valtteri Bottas: Yes he took off a tire by pushing a bit too hard, but that comeback really showed the pace of the Williams and what Bottas can do when he really needs to work. Awesome comeback!

2) Kevin Magnussen: Matched Hamilton's debut finish and put Mclaren back on the podium even before Ricciardo's DSQ. He never got past Ricciardo though, but for a rookie it was certainly an excellent run.

Would love to give points to Bottas, but he did make an error. Also, unlike many others it seems, I expected Ricciardo to get a podium. So...

1) Magnussen - Who, despite his good performance in quali, I didn't expect to get a podium! Pretty good for someone who looks about 12 years old.

2) Button - Good move through the order together with some good strategy. The old man would have been proud of that!