Australian GP: Valtteri Bottas victorious as Mercedes claim 1-2

Valtteri Bottas put the demons of 2018 firmly behind him with a commanding victory at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Finn capitalised on a poor start for teammate Lewis Hamilton to take the lead into Turn 1 and never looked back as he used the optimum strategy to finish 20 seconds clear of the field.

His race was straightforward because of an early pit-stop for Sebastian Vettel which would also take Hamilton out of contention as the pace on the medium C3 tyre proved too slow versus those on used soft C4’s.

Increased tyre wear would also favour Max Verstappen, as the Dutchman ran longer in his first stint and used his fresher rubber to easily pass the Ferrari for third into Turn 3.

A late charge on the world champion would fall just short though as he completed the podium, the first for a Honda-powered car since the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Vettel held on to fourth, but only after Ferrari had to tell a charging Charles Leclerc to back off in the closing laps.

Unfortunately, a poor first stint compromised the Monegasque’s race, meaning he was unable to take advantage of using a more optimised strategy

The final stages also saw a small fight for the fastest lap with Verstappen and Bottas trading best times, but it would be the Mercedes who claimed the additional point, becoming the first-ever 26-point scorer at a single race.

In the midfield, Kevin Magnussen benefitted from another loose wheel after a pit-stop for Haas teammate Romain Grosjean to finish sixth.

Nico Hulkenberg would make up a number of places on the opening lap and would push the Dane hard in the Renault before eventually settling for seventh.

There was disappointment for teammate and local favourite Daniel Ricciardo, as he lost his front wing running down the grass on the approach to Turn 1.

Already well behind, and with damage elsewhere, the team would take the decision to retire the car.

Kimi Raikkonen ran a solid race to eighth for Alfa Romeo, just ahead of Lance Stroll who drove a strong race to ninth for Racing Point.

Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly would battle for the entire race, but the Russian would hold off the Red Bull to claim the final point in 10th.

Lando Norris slipped back from his P8 grid slot at the start and was then held up behind a slow Antonio Giovinazzi mid-race, as the Italian ran long in his first stint.

This also impacted Sergio Perez in 13th with Alexander Albon coming home 14th in his first race for Toro Rosso.

Giovinazzi followed in 15th and the two Williams’ completed the race at the back of the field as George Russell led teammate Robert Kubica.

Joining Ricciardo and Grosjean for an early bath was Carlos Sainz as an engine failure struck his McLaren early on.

Full results from Melbourne can be seen below:

Driver’s Championship standing:

Constructor’s championship standing