Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg wins, Daniel Ricciardo finishes fourth

Sebastian Vettel raged against the Mercedes-Benz machine but came up short at the finish of an action-packed Australian Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion ended where he started for Ferrari, in third, but only after a massive crash involving Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez destroyed his plan to use super-soft Pirelli tyres to pressure the silver arrows into an error.

He did everything he could after a jack-rabbit start that put him into the lead, and was still fighting to take second from Lewis Hamilton when he made a slight mistake with two laps to the flag.

“Sorry guys,” Vettel radioed to his crew.

Nico Rosberg eventually scored his 15th career win, and his second in three years in Melbourne, with a solid drive as Hamilton recovered from an awful start for second.

Dan Ricciardo was one place higher than his pre-race prediction in fourth for Red Bull, and also set the quickest lap of the race as he stormed through the final laps.

 

The result was the 1-2 for Benz that most people expected, but no-one predicted the Ferraris to be first and second from the start, that Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez would be involved in a monster crash, that the race would then be red-flagged with cars stopped in the pitlane during the clean-up, or that Raikkonen’s Ferrari could catch fire after an engine failure.

“I went for it. We tried to go more aggressive, ultimately it didn’t work,” Vettel said.

Rosberg was ecstatic after taking maximum points from the first race of the season.

“The sizzle was there, for sure. It was a great fight. It’s a good kick-start to the season,” Rosberg said.
“I’m just happy to have won the race and beaten everyone else. That’s what I’m ecstatic about.”
Hamilton was grumpy and deflated but did his best to disguise it.

“I want to say it was a great, great race. I loved the fact that we had to come from far behind,” Hamilton said.

“I did the best I could with a difficult start.”

Outside the leading pack, the surprise result was sixth place for the rookie Haas F1 team from the USA, scored by former Renault racer Romain Grosjean.

Nico Rosberg celebrates his win. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The 2015 running of the AGP was action packed even before the start, as Dani Kvyat’s Red Bull broke down - for the second straight year - on the formation lap.

Once the delayed start was underway it was Vettel who jumped both Benzes and, when Rosberg drifted wide and took Hamilton with him, Raikkonen was through into second.

Rosberg was first to stop and switched his super-soft Pirelli tyres for the medium compound, as Vettel gambled a lap later on a second set of super-softs.

The race was tipped upside down in every way on lap 18 when Fernando Alonso pole-vaulted his McLaren-Honda over the back wheel of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas at turn three. The Haas was badly damaged but Alonso’s car was absolutely trashed and the field was stopped in the pitlane during the clean-up.

“We are both OK and happy now. That’s the real important part,” Alonso said.

The race resumption saw Rosberg stalking Vettel and, when the Ferrari driver’s tyres gave up, the win went to Mercedes-Benz.

Daniel Ricciardo passes Felipe Massa. Picture: David Caird

PROVISIONAL RESULTS
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
5. Felipe Massa, Williams
6. Romain Grosjean, Haas
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
8. Valteri Bottas, Williams
9. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso
10. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso