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With practice and qualifying now in the books, the 2015 Formula 1 season gets fully underway on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix, giving the drivers their first wheel-to-wheel action of the year. Lewis Hamilton looks to begin his championship defence in the best possible fashion by claiming the first victory of the year at Albert Park. Starting from pole position, the Briton will fancy his chances after out-driving his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in qualifying. Sadly, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas will not be taking part in the Australian grand prix, having sustained an injury to his back during qualifying on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_1808739” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
File picture of Lewis Hamilton (L) and Nico Rosberg. Reuters[/caption] As a result, just 17 cars will line up on the grid at Albert Park after Manor Racing failed to qualify for the race. Behind the all-Mercedes front row, Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel share the second row of the grid as the battle to be the ‘best of the rest’ hots up. There was very little to separate Williams and Ferrari throughout pre-season, and this looks set to continue in Australia on Sunday. The other big point of interest in Australia is how the rookie drivers fare. Roberto Merhi had been due to make his debut for Manor, only for the team to not complete a single lap in practice or qualifying and therefore fail to qualify. That leaves just three drivers – Carlos Sainz Jr, Max Verstappen and Felipe Nasr – making their debuts on Sunday. Only 17 cars may be starting, but this year’s Australian Grand Prix promises to be super exciting to kick off the 2015 season. Follow our live blog for updates.
Australian Grand Prix 2015 as it happened: Lewis Hamilton wins opening race
With practice and qualifying now in the books, the 2015 Formula 1 season gets fully underway on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix, giving the drivers their first wheel-to-wheel action of the year.
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Australian GP result:
1. HAMILTON 2. ROSBERG 3. VETTEL 4. MASSA 5. NASR 6. RICCIARDO 7. HULKENBERG 8. ERICSSON 9. SAINZ 10. PEREZ 11. BUTTON
Ericsson tdoes it!! Takes Sainz for P8 at Turn 13 at the end of the back straight. That’s two Saubers in the top 8!
Sauber’s message to ERICSSON:
“Well done buddy! Push!"
Lap 54:
With two laps remaining: HAM, ROS, VET, MAS, NAS, RIC, HUL, SAI, ERI, PER, BUT
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 2.0s
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 30.3s
4. Felipe Massa (Williams) 33.0s
5. Felipe Nasr (Sauber) 71.0s
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 75.6s
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) +1 lap
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) +1 lap
9. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) +1 lap
10. Sergio Perez (Force India) +1 lap
11. Jenson Button (McLaren) +1 lap
BUTTON to McLaren:
“Big problem. Big problem.”
Currently P11, 25s behind former teammate Perez in 10th.
Meanwhile Force India are in point scoring positions!
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4. Felipe Massa (Williams)
5. Felipe Nasr (Sauber)
6. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
8. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
9. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso)
10. Jenson Button (McLaren)
11. Sergio Perez (Force India)
DNF Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 30 laps, mechanical
DNF Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) 32 laps, mechanical
DNF Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 0 laps, mechanical
DNF Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 0 laps, accident
DNS Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull)
DNS Kevin Magnussen (McLaren)
DNS Valtteri Bottas (Williams)
Stewards will investigate Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari for unsafe release from pits after the race.
Oh no! Max Verstappen is out with engine problem. He was on course for a brilliant finish on debut. Dad Jos can’t watch.
Down to 12 cars as Max Verstappen has an engine issue….he has to pull up as he reports smoke coming out car.
So far the field looks like this:
1 HAM
2 ROS (+2.8)
3 VET (14.2)
4 MAS (+17.5)
5 RAI (+29.4)
Mercedes team meanwhile work like a well-oiled machine. They can do nothing wrong this weekend!
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen reporting “suspected loss of front wing” back to the pits. He is currently in 11th, clocks a 1:33.242 on the fresh tyres. Meanwhile Felipe Massa who is third, has a 1.5 second lead over fourth placed Sebasitan Vettel, but reports some degradation on the front left tyre of his Williams.
Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, who retired early in the race: “It was a technical issue that we will investigate.
“But don’t worry it’s different from last year. We have a good car this year. It’s bad luck today but I’m hopeful for this year.”
Sergio Perez has a spin at Turn 3, was that a move on former teammate Button? Immediate transmission from the Force India garage “Do you have any damage Checo?"
“I don’t think so,” comes the reply.
Force India’s Sergio Perez briefly runs off the track at T3, skittering across the gravel before resuming the race. His Teammate Hulkenberg is languishing in P10.
Lewis Hamilton leads lap 7 of the race with a comfortable lead, 2.5s clear of histeammate Nico Rosberg. Massa in third but Sebastian Vettel is close on his tail as the battle for P3 intensifies. Meanwhile rounding up the top 8, current battle underway for P4 is between Nasr, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Sainz.
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
3. Felipe Massa (Williams)
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
5. Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso)
6. Felipe Nasr (Sauber)
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
9. Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)
11. Sergio Perez (Force India)
12. Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
13. Jenson Button (McLaren)
14. Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
DNF Pastor Maldonado (Lotus)
Pastor Maldonado’s teammate Romain Grosjean is also out. That’s game over for Lotus racing this weekend.
Pastor Maldonado crashes out in the first lap as he hits the wall at turn one. Safety Car deployed.
Lot of drama on the track at the Australian Grand Prix and Red Bull Racing driver Kyvat will not be starting the race today.