Jenson Button in Melbourne

With a 1-2 finish last week in Melbourne and another pole and win in today’s Malaysian Grand Prix, upstart Brawn GP — rising from the ashes of Honda’s recent Formula One failure — has ushered in a throwback era of Formula One competition. Historic Upset At the Australian Grand Prix. As Bob Varsha commented on Speed TV in the US, Ross Brawn has managed to garner more poles and victories in two races than Honda and its predecessor team, BAR Honda, did in 170+ grands prix.

New, revolutionary rule changes have shaken up more than a decade of parade-line finishes in F1. In fact, it has been 30 years since a Formula One team (March, with 3-time World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart) took pole and a win in their maiden race. What a wonderfully refreshing change. Yes, the cars look different, with tiny rear wings and sleek bodies shorn of barge boards and aerodynamic winglets. But overtaking is a reality, in-season testing restrictions permit smaller teams once again to be competitive, and behemoths Ferrari, McLaren and Renault are struggling just to get into the points, let alone on the podium.

This is shaping up to be a tremendously exciting season!!