GP opener: Victory for Bottas, points for Kimi 🎥
MERCEDES-DOPPEL It was not world champion Lewis Hamilton but his Mercedes second Valtteri Bottaus who dominated the Australian GP. Kimi Räikkönen scored his first points for Alfa Romeo/Sauber. With a perfect start from second position, Valtteri Bottas outpaced pole setter Lewis Hamilton, who was struggling with spinning wheels, into the first corner. This marked the 45th one-two victory for Mercedes in [...]
With a perfect start from second position, Valtteri Bottas outpaced pole setter Lewis Hamilton, who was struggling with spinning wheels, into the first corner. This sealed the 45th one-two victory for Mercedes in the history of Formula 1.
The home crowd came to Melbourne to see some vintage @danielricciardo at Albert Park 🤞
But within seconds of lights out, those hopes were dealt a major blow 💥#AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/JXDNgTEvTW
- Formula 1 (@F1) March 17, 2019
Additional point for the fastest lap for the first time
Not only did the Finn not make a single mistake, he outclassed practically the entire field and set the fastest race lap towards the end of the race. For the first time, Bottas was awarded an additional point at the Austrian GP, meaning that he leads the championship table with a maximum of 26 points ahead of Hamilton (18).
The Scandinavian, who won for the fourth time in his career and was unsuccessful last year, was initially unable to believe what had happened.
Valtteri Bottas: "I don't know what happened today, why I was so superior. I've never experienced a race like this before. I had a perfect car and everything under control at all times. It feels fantastic. We couldn't have wished for a better start to the new season."
First podium for Honda in almost eleven years
In second place, Hamilton came under pressure from Max Verstappen, who once again drove like a man unleashed. The Dutchman, who had started fourth behind Sebastien Vettel, overtook the German Ferrari driver in a remarkable maneuver and even briefly led the field with the latest tire change of the top four from soft to medium Pirelli tires.
Red Bull Racing thus achieved a podium in the very first race with its new technical partner Honda (complete drivetrain). This was hugely satisfying for the Japanese team, who had had to listen to derisive comments in the past, but nevertheless refused to be put off the right track. The last time a Honda driver finished third on the podium was Rubens Barrichello at Silverstone in the summer of 2008.
Disappointing Ferrari
Vettel seemed to get past Hamilton at the start, as did Charles Leclerc and Verstappen. However, both Ferrari drivers lost out and were no longer able to keep up with the pace of the front runners in the second half of the race with medium tires on their Ferrari SF90s. Although Scuderia newcomer Leclerc closed the gap to Vettel, he had to hold his position at the behest of the top. Fourth and fifth places for Ferrari, who are now 22 points behind Mercedes (44) in the constructors' championship, are a slight disappointment after the top results in the tests.
Four points for Alfa Romeo Racing and the Sauber team
Starting ninth, Kimi Räikkönen brought the C38 from Hinwil home in eighth place with the current Ferrari engine in the rear. The team, which has been called Alfa Romeo Racing since 2019, scored its first four points. One point was dedicated to F1 Race Director Charlie Whiting, who passed away on Thursday, one to the staff at the Albert Park circuit, one to the team that remained in Hinwil and one to Peter Sauber, who gave Räikkönen his first chance in Formula 1 in 2001.
The pilot himself was not entirely satisfied.
Kimi Räikkönen: "I could have done better in qualifying. The car was quite strong in the race, but I got stuck in traffic. With the new aerodynamics you can get closer to the car in front, but overtaking is still difficult, especially on a track like Australia. We also had a problem with the excessively high temperatures with the rear brakes, as a visor cover got caught up in them and we had to bring the pit stop forward as a result. But the C38 is fast and feels good, so I'm looking forward to the next race with confidence."
The second Alfa Sauber driver, Antonio Giovinazzi, finished fifteenth, well outside the points. His car suffered slight damage on the starting lap, which affected its handling.
Retirement instead of possible points for Grosjean
Romain Grosjean from Geneva qualified a magnificent sixth for France, but fell behind his Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen at the start. Due to a problem with the left front wheel, Grosjean lost a few positions during the pit stop and later had to retire as a result.
The highlights of the race are available via the link formula1.com/en/latest/article.race-highlights-2019-australian-grand-prix.3X4GdTrKKYRw8ZzL2X7svv.html to see.
