Australia – Race: Sebastian Vettel wins ahead of the two Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton was imperious in qualifying, but lost out on victory in the race when he was overtaken during his pit stop. Sebastian Vettel won the first race of the season. The two Mercedes cars completed the podium.
The Australian Grand Prix was eventful even before the start lights went out as Daniel Ricciardo broke down during the grid formation laps. The Australian, who went off track in Q3, had already received a five-place penalty for having to change his gearbox. He should have started from 15th place. Ultimately, he was only able to start two laps after the race began.
At the time of departure, the thick clouds that threatened the qualifications are long gone, and it’s beautiful weather that greeted all the drivers on the grid. But another twist occurs when the drivers return to the grid after the formation lap: the starting procedure is canceled. The 19 cars go for another formation lap. This lap is therefore deducted from the total of the race, which now only reaches 57 laps.
The first start proceeds without major incident, with Lewis Hamilton getting off to a perfect start and easily retaining the lead of the race, ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, and Kimi Räikkönen. While the first corner goes very well, the third is more complicated with contact between Kevin Magnussen and Marcus Ericsson. Nevertheless, both drivers were able to continue. Kevin Magnussen suffered a puncture, which forced him to pit again at the end of the first lap.
👀 ERI and MAG come face-to-face on the first lap of 2017 #AusGP #F1isBack #F1DownUnder 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/nZ3kPDrttI
— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 mars 2017
If in the first five laps, Sebastian Vettel was able to follow Lewis Hamilton to the point of activating the DRS, he then gradually lost time, being 1.8 seconds behind by the 10th lap.
At that moment, Stoffel Vandoorne was forced to return to the pits to restart his engine. Indeed, the Belgian had no data on his dashboard, which was very detrimental. The McLaren driver was not the only one experiencing technical issues, as Jolyon Palmer also reported significant brake problems but the Briton continued until the 19th lap before finally retiring.
On lap 15, Romain Grosjean, who hadn’t had any trouble maintaining his 7th place, was forced to dive into the pit lane with significant smoke coming from his engine. The Frenchman is therefore forced to retire, a year after his very impressive performance.
LAP 15/57: Race over for @RGrosjean as smoke pours from his @HaasF1Team car #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/7tK4bolob0
— Formula 1 (@F1) 26 mars 2017
Three laps later, it’s the start of the pit stop waltz, with Lewis Hamilton swapping his ultra-softs for softs. But Sebastian Vettel does not mimic the leader and stays on track much longer. The German only returns to the pits on the 23rd lap. He then takes full advantage of the skirmish between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, who loses precious time. The Ferrari driver is therefore able to take the lead. This is the exact opposite situation from last year when the Scuderia lost the race during the tire change.
Sebastian Vettel then had no trouble pulling away as by the 28th lap, he had a 6.8-second lead over Lewis Hamilton. We wouldn’t see the Ferrari driver again, as he gradually escaped.
On lap 29, Daniel Ricciardo’s engine suddenly stops, forcing the Australian to pull over into the run-off area at turn 3. While the Red Bull driver experienced a tough weekend, his teammate opted for a more aggressive strategy by switching to the super soft tires while the rest of the field was using the softs. This allowed the Dutchman to gain significant ground on Kimi Räikkönen, but not enough to launch an attack on the Finn.
Five laps from the end, one of the feats of the day was credited to Fernando Alonso. Indeed, the Spaniard held onto the 10th place point for a long time. However, a new problem with his McLaren slowed him down, allowing Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg to overtake him in a single straight. The Frenchman Esteban Ocon thus earned his first point in F1.
But ultimately, Fernando Alonso experienced another disappointment by retiring on the next lap. He can at least be satisfied with having completed the most consecutive laps without technical problems. It is therefore Stoffel Vandoorne who will have the honor of finishing McLaren’s first race this season.
Similarly, Antonio Giovinazzi will have the satisfaction of finishing his first Grand Prix. It remains to be seen whether this is a one-off experience or if he will be able to secure a Formula 1 seat in the future.
Here is the full ranking:
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (LAP 57/57): First blood to @ScuderiaFerrari #AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/i6ZYu7kmcv — Formula 1 (@F1) 26 mars 2017
