Australia – Race: Rosberg dominates ahead of Red Bull and McLaren

The weather is sunny before the start of this Grand Prix, and the 21 participants are settling on the grid, with Romain Grosjean starting from the pits after modifying his car in Parc Fermé. The Frenchman also receives a drive-through penalty for leaving his garage too early. A first issue arises during the warm-up lap as Max Chilton remains stuck on the grid. Regarding tires, only 2 drivers have chosen medium (white) tires on the grid: Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Gutierrez. But at the moment of the start, while all the cars are on the grid, another warm-up lap is initiated: Jules Bianchi’s Marussia is also stopped. The weekend of the Russian team darkens. There are therefore 3 drivers in the pits waiting to start.

At the start, Nico Rosberg literally rockets away to take the lead over Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton. The Brit is also overtaken by Kevin Magnussen despite a big slide from the latter at the start. A festival of overtakes in this first lap, Nico Hülkenberg overtakes Fernando Alonso who is now under threat from Jean-Eric Vergne. Kamui Kobayashi and Felipe Massa collided at the first corner, with the Japanese driver significantly missing his braking point, while a Sauber spins at the third turn, nearly collecting other drivers. Sebastian Vettel suffers from an engine problem, dropping the German down the standings. A great start from Marcus Ericsson in 13th and Pastor Maldonado in 14th. Lewis Hamilton is forced to retire in the 4th lap, the driver called back to the pits to preserve his engine, as overtakes are plentiful, like Kimi Räikkönen on Jean-Eric Vergne, and Bottas on Daniil Kvyat.

In the 5th lap, a second world champion returns to the pits to retire: Sebastian Vettel who reassures his team by reminding them that it’s only the beginning of the season. In the lead, Nico Rosberg builds a very nice lead over Daniel Ricciardo, who is also consolidating his place ahead of Kevin Magnussen. Further back, Valtteri Bottas is attacking Kimi Räikkönen, and the young Finn manages to overtake his elder. And the Williams driver is on fire, attacking Fernando Alonso after an additional lap.

In the 11th lap, Valtteri Bottas hits the wall and punctures the right rear tire, which flies off a few hundred meters further. The driver manages to return to the pits for a tire change and re-enters last. The safety car is deployed as a piece of rim and the Williams tire are on the track. Mechanics prepare in the pit lane. Nico Rosberg makes his first stop, followed by many drivers. This benefits Jenson Button, who manages to seize 6th place. At Marussia, Jules Bianchi was sent back on track after experiencing a problem at the start: they want to take advantage of every possible kilometer, even with 6 laps’ delay.

In the 15th lap, Nico Rosberg restarts the race, and no driver takes any reckless risks during this rolling start. The German takes a solid lead from the first lap. Strong recovery for Valtteri Bottas as well, who climbs up in the pack, while Kevin Magnussen does everything to stay within reach of Daniel Ricciardo. Sergio Perez makes a nice pass to overtake Romain Grosjean, while a problem with Valtteri Bottas’s DRS is reported; the signal to alert the driver of the possibility of DRS activation is faulty: the Finnish driver must assess the distance separating him from the preceding driver himself. In the lead, Daniel Ricciardo can now attack, but the German from Mercedes widens the gap. Nico Hülkenberg holds up against Fernando Alonso.

On the 24th lap, the Ferrari drivers are conserving: both are tucked behind the drivers ahead, using DRS but choosing to ease off to maintain the slipstream, a valuable aid in fuel management. However, the Finnish driver makes a small mistake in the second sector and falls several hundred meters behind. At the back of the pack, a gray blur appears in the mirrors of the stragglers: Nico Rosberg is already there, 10 seconds ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull.

At the 29th lap, the second Caterham, driven by Marcus Ericsson, is forced to retire due to an oil pressure issue. There are only 17 drivers left on the track, while Pastor Maldonado changes tires. However, the Venezuelan retires on the next lap at the side of the track. Jenson Button also stops at the pits and switches to medium tires, the Briton comes out in 10th place. He is followed in the pits by his former teammate Sergio Perez with his Force India.

At the 34th lap, Nico Hülkenberg and Jean-Eric Vergne also go to the pits, benefiting Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, who has a clear track. Meanwhile, the other Ferrari misses the braking, allowing Valtteri Bottas to overtake Räikkönen: but with such an attack since the beginning, can the young Finn reach the end? Fernando Alonso also changes tires and comes out behind Jenson Button, making a good move for the Brit. The Ferrari driver, meanwhile, comes out battling with Nico Hülkenberg and manages to defend himself with difficulty. Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Räikkönen, and Daniil Kvyat also change tires. They are followed in the next lap by Kevin Magnussen, who is well-positioned to aim for his first podium.

At the 39th lap, Nico Rosberg is now the one entering the pit lane, while Toro Rosso announces that Jean-Eric Vergne will not stop again. The Frenchman could end a series of 12 Grand Prix without a point. A great duel is expected for the 3rd position: Jenson Button is not far from Kevin Magnussen, but the rookie is catching up very quickly on Daniel Ricciardo. A nice surprise at the back of the pack, Romain Grosjean’s Lotus manages to exceed 40 laps, which is a real little miracle for the Enstone team. In 9th position, Kimi Räikkönen is struggling with his Ferrari and has to hold off Daniil Kvyat.

On the 45th lap, Valtteri Bottas is in the exhaust of Jean-Eric Vergne but is unable to overtake him for now. At Lotus, the race is over: Romain Grosjean has stopped at the side of the track. An MGU-K problem for both Lotus cars, while Bottas manages to overtake the Toro Rosso after a big slide from the French driver. Nico Rosberg, meanwhile, is on an impressive pace with a 22-second lead over Ricciardo and Magnussen. And these two drivers are in the field of vision of Jenson Button who is clearly on the attack for the podium.

On the 50th lap, Valtteri Bottas is in an intense rhythm. After getting past Jean-Eric Vergne, the Finn is attacking Nico Hülkenberg. After a few laps, the Williams driver takes advantage of the DRS to get past the Force India driver. But the battle for the second place on the podium is heating up: Kevin Magnussen is less than a second behind and is authorized to use full power. In his first Grand Prix, the rookie has delivered a flawless performance so far, reminiscent of Lewis Hamilton’s 2007 season start. However, a new strategy is launched: fuel saving for 3 laps before pushing full throttle in the last two. Unfortunately for the young driver, Daniel Ricciardo uses this opportunity to push a bit more and gains some breathing space.

At the 55th lap, Nico Rosberg has a more than substantial lead ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who is himself ahead of Kevin Magnussen. With a two-second gap, the rookie has free rein to attack Daniel Ricciardo. At the end of the top 10, Kimi Räikkönen takes advantage of a mistake by Jean-Eric Vergne to snatch the eighth place, putting both Toro Rosso drivers in 9th and 10th.

During the last lap, Nico Rosberg is completely safe with a 24-second lead over Daniel Ricciardo, who himself has a 2-second lead over Kevin Magnussen.

It is therefore a high-flying victory for Nico Rosberg, who wins with a substantial lead! The Mercedes driver is ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in an astonishing Red Bull, and a very promising Kevin Magnussen in a McLaren for his first Grand Prix. Jenson Button’s second McLaren is 4th ahead of Fernando Alonso. A great performance by Toro Rosso as well, placing both of their cars in the points, and by Valtteri Bottas, who will long regret his brush with the wall and his puncture.

Australian Grand Prix 2014 Standings: