Red Bull Motorsports
F1
10 things we learned from the Australian Grand Prix
Quick-thinking Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel snatched victory from Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne, but Daniel Ricciardo deserves a lot of credit for pushing Kimi Räikkönen all the way to claim fourth.
The crucial action happened in the pits at the Australian Grand Prix as Haas’s technical issues caused an upset at Albert Park in Melbourne. Lewis Hamilton had led from pole position and looked set for a comfortable victory. But when the first round of pitstops started, a problem with the wheel nuts meant Haas’s pit crew couldn’t change a tyre on Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean’s cars. Both drivers left the pits only to stop and retire.
It was a gut-wrenching double retirement for the young team, who had looked set for their best points finish. But it also brought about a safety car that played havoc with the top order. Raikkonnen had pitted first and was followed by Hamilton, who stayed ahead of the Finn. Vettel, who had been saving his tyres, put in some quick laps before pitting and jumping ahead of Hamilton.
“I was praying for the safety car,” said Vettel. “When I saw a Haas car had stopped in the exit of Turn 2 I was full of adrenaline – even though the race was frozen – to come into the pits with everything on the limit and race to get back out.”
That was basically game over. Hamilton pushed but couldn’t find a way past the Ferrari and had to be content with second place.
Scroll down to learn about 10 more talking points at this year’s Australian Grand Prix.
1. Daniel Ricciardo just missed the podium
After the upset of being handed a three-place grid penalty, Daniel Ricciardo drove a positive race by moving patiently up through the field to take fourth place. He chased down Nico Hülkenberg at the start and then inheriting places from Grosjean and Magnussen.
Ricciardo threatened to take the final podium spot from Kimi Räikkönen in the final stint but couldn’t find an opportunity to get past the Finn.
"It’s not often I sit behind someone for most of the race, but it's a tight track and one of the more tricky ones for passing," said Ricciardo. "There were a couple of times I had a look at turn three, but Kimi was wise to that and could see what I was planning. Towards the end I applied more pressure on him, but he was able to up the pace as well. I think we're pretty close with Ferrari and our pace is strong, which I think would be the case, so we just need a few more tenths out of Qualifiying and then we should be looking good."
2. Was that just one pass in a whole F1 race?
Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner was reasonably happy with Ricciardo's result. As he pointed out: "Ricciardo made a strong recovery from P8 on the grid to P4 at a track where it’s incredibly difficult to pass. I think the only pass of the entire grand prix was the one he made on Nico Hülkenberg."
3. There was time to play as well as race
The first race of the year always means going to back to work, but it’s also about having fun.
And this also means Ricciardo can be a bad boy on home soil.
4. Max Verstappen fought back after tricky start
Even before their double retirement, Haas had a big effect on the Australian Grand Prix. The US-backed team had proved to be a lot quicker off the mark than anyone expected as Kevin Magnussen leapt in front of Max Verstappen. For his part, Verstappen was focused on trying to get ahead, but had to line up behind the Dane.
It was to be a frustrating day for Verstappen. The narrow streets of Albert Park make it one of the hardest tracks for passing and lap after lap, he tried to find a way past the slower Haas, but couldn’t find a way around.
Stricken by grip issues and damage to the car from the opening laps, his tyres were wearing thin by lap 10. He span at Turn 1 and dropped back to eight. He dug deep with and continued for a further 10 laps before pitting for softs, which carried him to a respectable sixth place.
Max Verstappen vs Nico Hülkenberg
© Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
"The start was OK but I got a bit unfortunate at turn one and ended up in the wrong position, so lost out on fourth," said Verstappen. "I tried to follow as best as I could but experienced a few issues with the feeling of the car."
5. Sickened Carlos Sainz made a point
Albert Park has been a good circuit for Carlos Sainz but the Spaniard had to content himself with 10th place after a rather bizarre problem. The Renault driver was sick to the stomach after drinking too much water during the race.
“I had a drinks bottle pumping water since lap one and unconsciously I was drinking and drinking and drinking. Suddenly I just felt full of water in my stomach and I wasn’t feeling good,” he said. “At one point under the safety car, I nearly had to vomit – from that point it was just a case of making it to the finish.”
But the Spaniard's race before the race was even harder...
6. Toro Rosso endured a tough start
It was a difficult day at the office for Toro Rosso, with Brendon Hartley spinning at the start after flat spotting his tyres. He pitted but the suffered a puncture, which relegated him to last place. At the back of the grid, Pierre Gasly had a better start and looked to have some solid race pace, but a problem with his power unit forced him to retire.
“It's a shame, especially since we didn't have anything go wrong in testing,” said the Frenchman. “I think everyone in the team is disappointed to have an issue at the first race but we need to look at the positives … to come back stronger in Bahrain.”
7. Mad Mike drifted into Albert Park
Mad Mike Whiddett made the trip over from New Zealand to light up Melbourne with his amazing drifting skills, taking Daniel Ricciardo along for the ride. The Australian driver got around the Albert Park Street Circuit a lot quicker during the race proper, but he got to experience the Melbourne track in a whole new way during this hot lap – check it out below.
8. Kimi Räikkönen got himself a social media presence
Kimi Räikkönen is a man of few words. The 2008 world champion is famously taciturn and keeps his private life to himself. So it comes as a surprise that the Finn has launched an Instagram account. Check it out here.
9. Daniel Ricciardo tuned into his home race
Get on track with Daniel Ricciardo’s Spotify playlist for the Australian Grand Prix in the player below.
10. And what happened in Qualifying?
A new season, a new era of F1 and Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes on pole – 73 and counting. No change there. The reigning champion has always been quick around Albert Park – this was his fifth consecutive pole here – and he packed his championship-winning form from last autumn and shipped it to Melbourne. A rejuvenated Kimi Räikkönen started in P2 with Vettel and Verstappen filling the second row.
Spare a thought for Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas, who crashed out in Q3, and spare another for the Mercedes mechanics who have to rebuild the Finn’s W09. Daniel Ricciardo was seething after being hit with a three-place grid penalty after failing to slow sufficiently for red flags waved in practice.
