There was drama at Albert Park already before the race actually got underway. Home hero Ricciardo´s RB13 was hit with an electrical issue, which ruined the Australian´s day completely. There was no way Red Bull could have fixed the problem in time for the race start -even though the start was aborted and there was a second formation lap. The start was much cleaner than I had expected. The order of the top four remained unchanged -Hamilton kept his lead, Sebastian was second, Bottas third and Kimi fourth. Verstappen in P5 had taken the best start, but the Dutchman wasn´t quite able to challenge Kimi for P4. The only top ten driver to gain a position was Williams´ Massa, who managed to get past Haas´ Grosjean, jumping 6th. Surprisingly, there was only one first-lap collision, between Haas´ Magnussen and Sauber´s Ericsson, but they were both able to continue racing. Red Bull´s Ricciardo was released from the pits after two laps had already been completed by the others.
I was happy to see, that Sebastian was able to follow Hamilton very closely. The German was within DRS distance from the Briton, but the narrow street circuit of Albert Park offered hardly any chances for overtaking. Bottas in third and Kimi in fourth had difficulties to keep up with their teammates´ pace. Hamilton soon started to complain about loss of grip on the team radio; the Briton was the first top driver to pit on lap 17! It seemed Hamilton was on a one-stop strategy, as he exited the pits on the yellow-marked soft Pirellis. However, Hamilton re-joined the track in traffic, right behind Red Bull´s Verstappen. Sebastian, on the other hand, stayed out and kept banging competitive lap times. Everything looked excellent for the red team.
I have to admit I was happy that Hamilton got stuck behind Verstappen -who is definitely known as a tough driver to overtake. Sebastian pitted not until on lap 24 -for a fresh set of soft tyres. Ferrari´s strategy was perfect, as Sebastian re-joined the track well ahead of his British rival! Bottas and Verstappen pitted on the following lap; Verstappen opting for a different tyre choice. Red Bull had decided to run him on the red-marked super soft compound. Kimi was the last of the top five to pit -also for soft Pirellis.
Towards the halfway point of the race there were clear gaps between the top five drivers. Hamilton was already six seconds off Sebastian, which made me a bit relieved. Meanwhile Ricciardo´s catastrophic weekend came to an end, as the Australian´s RB13 came to a definitive halt on lap 28. What an utterly disappointing weekend for Ricciardo in front of his home crowd!
Towards the end of the race Bottas´ pace improved and the Finn started to catch his teammate. On the other hand, Red Bull´s Verstappen was frighteningly quick on the super soft tyres and he started to chase down Kimi, whose pace was everything but excellent. It was kind of a question mark for me, how Sebastian was keeping up brilliant pace in the lead, but the Iceman was struggling with his performance. However, Kimi set the fastest lap time of the race on his second last lap! I don´t know, if Kimi had difficulties to get the tyres to work properly or what the problem with the pace was; however, snatching the fastest lap time is always a good omen for the upcoming races.
Sebastian took brilliant victory in the season-opening Australian GP! This was his first victory since Singapore 2015 so it was about time to win again! Hamilton finished the runner-up -10 seconds behind Sebastian. Bottas drove an impressive debut as a Mercedes driver, completing the podium. Kimi had to settle for P4, but managed to keep Verstappen behind him. Massa was excellent 6th. I was also delighted to see both pink cars in points -Perez 7th and teammate Ocon 10th. Both Toro Rosso drivers managed to finish in points as well -Kvyat 8th and teammate Sainz 9th. It´s so refreshing to see that Ferrari is leading the constructors´ championship for a change! Ferrari has now 37 points to Mercedes´ 33. This is really the perfect way to start the new season!
My hunch got stronger today; it says that Sebastian will shine at the wheel of his Gina this season. Sebastian seems absolutely devoted to do everything he can to make this year successful. He is known for being a hard-working guy, but now he seems more motivated than ever before. He has stayed very late in the pit garage with his mechanics -he leaves no stones unturned! I´m looking forward to a victorious season! Oh, how I´ve missed this adrenaline rush caused by Sebastian´s victory; what a perfect Sunday!
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