Lewis Hamilton continued his perfect weekend by dominating the Australian grand prix, leading every lap en route to his 7th victory in 8 races. For Hamilton it was a straightforward lights to flag victory with Nico Rosberg perpetually in tow, but behind the silver arrows, chaos and attrition ruled the roost.
Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren never made the start, his Honda engine letting go early. Neither did Red Bull’s Danill Kyvat when a gearbox issue stranded the young Russian. Romain Grosjean’s Lotus never got going, Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus was bounced into the wall by Felipe Nasr’s Sauber after the Brazilian clipped Raikkonen and somehow kept going. Kimi’s misfortune only continued a slow first stop hampered his two stop strategy, in his second stop, Ferrari never got the left rear secured and he soon ground to a halt in the runoff area. Sebastian Vettel jumped Felipe Massa in the pits, Daniel Ricciardo struggled with a recalcitrant Red Bull and Felipe Nasr put on the drive of his life fighting in his Sauber against the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari.
In the end Hamilton won over Rosberg by just over a second. Vettel and Massa came around for third and fourth some 30 seconds back and Nasr rounded out the top five a little bit behind his compatriot. Ricciardo salvaged 6th, Hulkenberg had a quiet race to a decent 7th, Ericsson took a great 8th for his first ever points, Sainz dropped to 9th, Perez got the final point and an upbeat Button came in 11th and last, just happy that his temperamental McLaren-Honda had even managed to finish. After a weird and somewhat boring start, Formula One takes off a fortnight before reconvening for the always unpredictable Malaysian Grand Prix.
Australian Grand Prix Results
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
- Felipe Massa, Williams
- Felipe Nasr, Sauber
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
- Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
- Marcus Ericcson, Sauber
- Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
- Sergio Perez, Force India
- Jenson Button, McLaren
Image: Mercedes
