Australia – Race: Bottas in Charge!

Three rookies, three returnees, twelve seat changes in total: a breath of fresh air blew over the grid in Melbourne for the kickoff of this season, the 70th of its kind. Lots of curiosity and things to watch in an ideal setting: the semi-urban track of Albert Park, bathed in sunshine and warmth, with air temperatures at exactly 23.4 degrees and 46.3 degrees on the track at the time of the grid formation. This first weekend in Australia was therefore never threatened by rain!

But while excitement was in the air, the entire grid observed a minute of silence shortly before the start, in memory of Charlie Whiting, its iconic race director, who passed away in Melbourne overnight from Wednesday to Thursday due to a pulmonary embolism. After the silence, the 20 drivers returned to their final preparations before the warm-up lap.

A minute of silence for Charlie Whiting #F1 #AusGP #RIPCharlieWhiting pic.twitter.com/X0CFbRELtJ

— Secteur F1 🏎️🇫🇷 (@Secteur_F1) March 17 /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html

Leader change at the start: Bottas slips ahead of Hamilton!

On the impulse, Valtteri Bottas snatched the lead from Lewis Hamilton, who was lacking grip! Also off to a poor start, Sebastian Vettel still held onto his third place, just ahead of Charles Leclerc, who nearly collided with his new teammate, before dropping back behind Max Verstappen.

Further down the grid, the big loser at the start was Daniel Ricciardo. Off to a good start, the local favorite damaged his front wing when he crossed the thin strip of grass between the track and the pit wall to avoid the Racing Point of Sergio Pérez, who started ahead of him. The new Renault driver was forced to pit to change his nose. Another broken front wing was that of Robert Kubica, who had a collision with George Russell. The Pole also went through the pit lane.

Another change of position in the top 10, the swap of places between the two Haas, with Kévin Magnussen moving ahead of Romain Grosjean right from the start. Nico Hülkenberg, for his part, climbed to eighth place, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen’s Alfa Romeo and Sergio Pérez’s Racing Point.

The start now behind the drivers, they then had to take all risks to gain positions, as the Albert Park circuit is very demanding for overtaking.

After 10 laps, Bottas was in control, with nearly three seconds ahead of Hamilton. Still third, Vettel was six seconds behind the Finn, three seconds behind the Briton. The Ferrari driver was more threatened by Verstappen’s Red Bull. Behind this quartet, Leclerc lost a few seconds by going through the grass at the first corner, after a missed braking. In the pack, it didn’t take long to witness the first retirement of the season: Carlos Sainz, let down by his Renault engine, on fire. The Spanish driver was forced to park his McLaren at the entrance of the pit lane, the conclusion of a weekend decidedly cursed for him, after being caught out in qualifying on Saturday.

The first tire change, meanwhile, took place on lap 13: Räikkönen got rid of the soft (red band) to switch to the mediums (yellow band). His first opponent, Nico Hülkenberg, covered his strategy by stopping the next lap. The wave of the first stop was well and truly launched with the immobilization of Vettel’s Ferrari at the end of the 15th lap, imitated by Hamilton one lap later.

Stupor, however, in the Haas camp: Romain Grosjean was the victim of a wheel fastening problem on the front-left, the same issue as in 2018! The Frenchman could still continue, but further back than expected, in 14th position, virtually ejected from the top 10. Notably, Kevin Magnussen, his teammate, had a good stop and did not lose his 6th place once all the drivers ahead of him returned to the pit.

Hamilton and Vettel on a bad tire strategy, Grosjean and Ricciardo retire

At an astonishing pace on worn tires, Bottas extended his first stint on track, setting the fastest lap on the 20th lap and repeating the feat two laps later. At this point in the Grand Prix, the worn soft tires were outperforming the medium tires, much to the delight of Verstappen and Leclerc, temporarily second and third, also on their starting tires. Both drivers were gaining time on Hamilton and Vettel behind them!

The 24th lap marked the tire change for the leader: a trouble-free stop for Bottas, now on mediums. Max Verstappen temporarily took the lead, giving it back to the Finn two laps later after his own stop. The Red Bull driver rejoined behind Hamilton and Vettel, but only three seconds behind the Scuderia car. The other Italian car made its tire change on the 29th lap, halfway through the race.

And the benefits of a late first stop were being felt: Verstappen overtook Vettel in the second DRS zone, between the second and third corners. Far from this happiness, Grosjean immobilized his Haas off the track to retire, just like in 2018. The cause of the problem? The front-left wheel detached from its fixings, a direct consequence of his mechanics’ poor work during his pit stop. Second to last in the standings, left behind since his front wing broke at the start, Ricciardo did the same. A precautionary retirement, to preserve the parts of his Renault.

Bottas, a victory without hitches!

Attention quickly returned to the top 3 of this Grand Prix: Verstappen was coming back like a cannonball towards Hamilton… before getting stuck at the one-second gap. Another point of interest: Leclerc’s comeback in the wake of his new teammate, Vettel.

Disappointment, however, for Pierre Gasly’s Red Bull after his late pit stop, overtaken by the sister car Toro Rosso, driven by Daniil Kvyat, after an overtake a few minutes earlier. The driver from Normandy was running in 11th place, close to the points, 10 laps from the finish, unable to do better.

In 4th place, Vettel was officially threatened by Leclerc on the 51st lap. The other battle at the end of the race was for the seventh place, with Hülkenberg facing Räikkönen. But these fights did not lead to any position changes. Another suspense, the battle for the fastest lap! Max Verstappen set the best mark at 1:26.540 at the end of the 55th lap. But Bottas put the cherry on top with a 1:25.580 at the end of the 57th lap.

Jackpot for the driver with number #77, who takes the point for the fastest lap, but above all, the victory at this Australian Grand Prix! The Finn secures the fourth victory of his career, ending a personal streak of 21 winless races, equivalent to the entire 2018 season spent in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton. At the start of this championship, Bottas takes all the spotlight, relegating his four-time world champion teammate to 22 seconds behind under the checkered flag.

Poleman, Hamilton once again lets victory slip away in Melbourne. The two Mercedes drivers are joined on the podium by Max Verstappen, who snatched the last step of the podium from Vettel, finishing just ahead of Leclerc. Magnussen, Hülkenberg, Räikkönen, Stroll, and Kvyat complete the top 10 in that order. Pierre Gasly falls short at the door of the points!

Utter. Dominance.

What a display from @ValtteriBottas! 💪

BOT 📻: “How about that! ****** yeah!”

20s+ lead, and the fastest lap of the race 👏👏👏#AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/JVhVh7vNkG

— Formula 1 (@F1) 17 mars /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html

Here is the full ranking of this Australian Grand Prix /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html:

Your full race classification from the season-opener 👇

Best-ever finish for Leclerc, solid points for Magnussen & Stroll 👏

Kvyat holds off Gasly for the final point 😂 #AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/pVSiCkUhhw — Formula 1 (@F1) 17 mars /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html

In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes is already pulling ahead, with almost double the total of Scuderia Ferrari. Eight out of ten teams have scored at least one point at the end of this opening round: McLaren and Williams leave empty-handed.