Formula 1 returned this weekend for the start of the 2017 Season with the Australian Grand Prix. After Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for Mercedes in qualifying and topped the time sheets in practice one and two, the battle on track looked like it would be close, with Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel following hot on the heels of the reigning World Champions. With this potential challenge looming, the race for the Australian Grand Prix looked to be a close battle between the two teams for the top step on the podium.
Sebastian Vettel Beats Lewis Hamilton to win the Australian Grand Prix
After starting in pole position, Lewis Hamilton led the race from the start, maintaining the lead from Sebastian Vettel who lined up on the starting grid in second place. Hamilton pitted for fresh rubber on lap 17 of the race, switching his ultrasoft tyres for the more durable but slower soft compound tyre. After a 3.3 second stop, Hamilton rejoined in fifth place behind Max Verstappen, being held up by the young Dutchman for multiple laps. Because Hamilton was held up by Verstappen being unable to make an overtake, this then allowed Sebastian Vettel to extend the lead that he had been handed following Hamilton’s pit stop. Ferrari then performed the over cut strategy with Vettel, pitting him on lap 24 after he had a 23 second gap over Hamilton. Pitting onto the soft tyres, Vettel then rejoined in third place, just ahead of the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen. With Hamilton still being stuck behind Verstappen and finding it difficult to attempt to make a pass on track, Vettel then pulled away and drove off into the distance, crossing the line in first place after 57 laps of racing, 9.975 seconds ahead of Hamilton who crossed the line in second. Following Hamilton home in third place was Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes, finishing on the podium in his first race for his new team.
After having a very quiet race for Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen finished the Australian Grand Prix in fourth place – the same position which he started in. Towards the end of the race, Raikkonen came under threat from Max Verstappen, who finished in fifth place for Red Bull Racing. Raikkonen also secured the DHL Fastest Lap award after setting the fastest lap of the race in the final few laps.
Outside of the top three teams of Formula 1, Felipe Massa was the best of the rest, finishing in sixth place for Williams after qualifying in seventh. Massa was the lowest finishing driver who managed to finish on the lead lap in the race, finishing over one minute behind Vettel.
Sergio Perez finished the race in seventh place, being the highest finishing Force India in Australia. The two Toro Rosso cars of Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat crossed the line in eighth and ninth place, putting in a very strong performance in the first race of the season. Through this result, Toro Rosso look like they may be one of the stronger teams of the midfield in 2017, being in what looks to be a potentially close battle with Force India for the season. Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten, securing the first points finish of his F1 career in the second Force India.
Nico Hulkenberg finished just outside of the points in 11th place in his race debut for Renault. In the closing stages of the race, Hulkenberg was closing in on Ocon, however, failed to pass the Frenchman after having a very close and exciting battle which saw him launch an attack up the inside of turn 1 whilst running three wide with Ocon and Fernando Alonso.
After being called in to replace Pascal Wehrlein for the Australian Grand Prix, Antonio Giovinazzi successfully impressed on his Formula 1 debut for Sauber. Giovinazzi finished the race in 12th place after starting in 16th, managing to keep his nose clean despite having limited running, only participating in practice three and qualifying prior to the race.
Stoffel Vandoorne finished in 13th place for McLaren, being the last classified finisher of the Australian Grand Prix. Vandoorne had a very difficult race, having an electrical issue early on which forced McLaren to reset their car in their first pit stop, causing them to finish multiple laps down.
The Australian Grand Prix saw a large number of retirements, with seven drivers failing to cross the line and finish the race. The race was very difficult for Haas F1, with both Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen having reliability issues. Despite running well in the early stages of the race, Grosjean had a water leak, forcing him into retirement while Magnussen had a right rear suspension failure on lap 50.
Jolyon Palmer‘s difficult weekend also continued into race day, with the Renault driver retiring with a brake problem, with the brakes locking on when they were applied, causing Palmer to stop often on the track. Williams’ Lance Stroll also retired with brake issues in what was his Formula 1 debut, having brake failure following a fractured brake disk late on in the race.
Marcus Ericsson‘s race also ended retirement, with the Swedish driver having a hydraulics issue which was caused by a first lap accident with Kevin Magnussen.
Fernando Alonso retired in the very late stages of the race after running inside the points. Alonso retired from damage to his car that was caused by damage to the front wing sustained on the opening lap. The damage to the front wing caused heavy vibrations on the car which ultimately led to further aerodynamic damage at the rear of the car causing a suspension failure.
Daniel Ricciardo stopped out on track as he was making his way towards the grid for the race start. After the car was taken back to the pit lane, Red Bull Racing managed to resolve the issue which allowed the Australian to join his home race, albeit two laps down. Ricciardo later retired with engine issues.
In terms of driver of the day for the first race of the 2017 Formula 1 Season, there are multiple candidates. Sebastian Vettel could easily be considered after securing the victory for Ferrari, as could Valtteri Bottas after putting in an impressive second stint which saw him close in on Lewis Hamilton. Antonio Giovinazzi could also be considered as a candidate for putting in a strong performance for Sauber, despite finishing multiple laps down. However, for securing the win and bringing about the end of a winless streak for Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel is my driver of the day.
Results from the Australian Grand Prix:
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 25 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 18 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 15 points
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 12 points
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 10 points
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 8 points
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 6 points
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 4 points
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 2 points
- Esteban Ocon, Force India, 1 point
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 0 points
- Antonio Giovinazzi, Sauber, 0 points
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 0 points
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Ret
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1, Ret
- Lance Stroll, Williams, Ret
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, Ret
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, Ret
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Ret
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, Ret
Constructors Standings after the Australian Grand Prix
- Ferrari, 37 points
- Mercedes, 33 points
- Red Bull Racing, 10 points
- Williams, 8 points
- Force India, 7 points
- Toro Rosso, 6 points
- Renault, 0 points
- Sauber, 0 points
- McLaren, 0 points
- Haas F1, 0 points
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