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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jonathan Howcroft

Vettel wins Australian Grand Prix – as it happened

Sebastian Vettel finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Sebastian Vettel finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Here’s Giles Richards with his full report from Albert Park:

An engrossing start to the season then, albeit one not packed with racing incident.

Mercedes will rue Bottas’ error in Q3 yesterday as his absence from the front of the pack allowed Ferrari to set strategic terms. Hamilton proved he has the pace once again but Vettel demonstrated his fighting qualities will keep him in the hunt.

Finding out what happened to Haas will provide plenty of intrigue during the next week or so. Both cars were well placed early in the race but then both inexplicably conked out. Quite why will be a cause for concern, and possibly the stewards.

The next stop is Bahrain in a fortnight. We’ll be back here to do it all again. Thanks for your company.

Vettel: “We were lucky today... but we’ll take it. We’re not exactly there yet with the car. It’s a bit tricky but it gives us a good start and fresh motivation.”

Hamilton: “Today they did a better job and we’ve got to go back to the drawing board. We still have great pace. This is one awesome circuit but it’s so hard to overtake. By the end I was saving the engine just looking to fight another day.”

Vettel: “We got a bit lucky with the safety car, but I really enjoyed it. I hoped my start would be a bit better so I had to settle third. I was praying for a safety car and then one stopped at the exit of turn two and I was full of adrenaline, coming into the pits. Then I came out ahead and knew it would be difficult to pass. The last few laps I could enjoy a little.”

Updated

It’s a near all-red podium as the Italian national anthem barrels around Albert Park. There are a few wry smiles in Hamilton’s direction as the silverware is handed out. The champagne spraying is quite muted with neither Raikkonen nor Hamilton much interested in getting drenched.

Race winner Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari, second place Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP and third placed Kimi Raikkonen of Finland and Ferrari celebrate on the podium during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park.
Race winner Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari, second place Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP and third placed Kimi Raikkonen of Finland and Ferrari celebrate on the podium during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park. Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Updated

The full classification confirms Ferrari’s terrific performance. It also reveals the disaster that befell Haas, a mixed bag from Red Bull, and an encouraging outing for McLaren.

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany waves as he crosses the finish line to win the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany waves as he crosses the finish line to win the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne. Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP

Vettel climbs out of his Ferrari (somewhat more ungainly than previously because of the halo) and leaps into a series of jubilant embraces with his engineers. Ferrari will really feel as though they’ve pinched one here. Hamilton, by contrast, looks as though someone’s just dropped a rotten egg in the weigh room.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel celebrates his win after the race.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel celebrates his win after the race. Photograph: Brandon Malone/Reuters

Updated

Sebastian Vettel wins the Australian Grand Prix

Ahead of Hamilton, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Alonso, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Vandoorne and Sainz.

Superb race for Ferrari. Hamilton had the pace all weekend but the pit stop strategy aided by the virtual and actual safety cars allowed Vettel to squeeze the most minor of advantages and then defend it for half the race, for back-to-back season-opening triumphs.

Race winner Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari celebrates after the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park.
Race winner Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari celebrates after the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park. Photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Updated

Lap 57/58: 94,000 fans cheering on Ricciardo but overtaking is torturous on this track.

Lap 56/58: Can Ricciardo force his way onto the podium at his home Grand Prix? Raikkonen continues to shut door after door, doing just enough to retain his advantage.

Lap 55/58: The race to watch now appears to be the battle for third with Ricciardo setting personal bests as he chases Raikkonen down. Ahead of them Vettel’s lead over Hamilton is up to 4 seconds. The top two now seem set.

Lap 54/58: The field hasn’t changed order in an age, despite some fierce battles for the lead, third and fifth.

Lap 53/58: Martin Brundle thinks Hamilton has conceded defeat by virtue of him fiddling with his steering wheel through a couple of high speed corners. Vettel’s lead creeps over two seconds.

Lap 52/58: The sun is beginning to sink towards the horizon making driving even more treacherous than usual. It’s making no dent on Vettel’s control of the race though.

Lap 51/58: Vettel keeps his nose in front of Hamilton. Raikkonen remains ahead of Ricciardo. Precious little movement in open racing today. That virtual safety car looks to have had a major say in the outcome of this race.

Lap 50/58: Vettel has cleared Hartley the back marker with ease, sidestepping one potential banana skin. Hamilton is back on the German’s tail but it now seems he’s relying on a Ferrari mistake.

Lap 49/58: Could that be Hamilton’s chances of maximum points gone? He said he was going to push, and he did, but he locked up into turn 9, giving Vettel an extra second of breathing space.

Updated

Lap 46/58: Hamilton asks if he can push on the team radio. It seemed a rhetorical question as he and Vettel exchanged fastest laps.

Lap 45/58: Vettel and Hamilton remain bumper to bumper. It’s the same script for Raikkonen and Ricciardo. Can anything happen to upset the procession to the line?

Lap 44/58: Alonso continues to hold off Verstappen for fifth with Hulkenberg and Bottas turning that battle into a convoy. With just 15 cars on the track there’s not much traffic to shake up the order.

Lap 43/58: Strategically, if Hamilton doesn’t overtake Vettel soon it’s hard to see his chances improving the longer the race goes on because of Vettel’s 7-lap advantage with his tyres.

Lap 42/58: Hamilton has set another fastest lap but he still doesn’t have a clear overtaking opportunity behind Vettel, rendering the three DRS opportunities redundant.

Sebastian Vettel leads Lewis Hamilton at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park.
Sebastian Vettel leads Lewis Hamilton at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images

After 40 laps

  1. Vettel
  2. Hamilton
  3. Raikkonen
  4. Ricciardo
  5. Alonso
  6. Verstappen
  7. Hulkenberg
  8. Bottas
  9. Vandoorne
  10. Sainz

Lap 39/58: Still as you were, Vettel leading, Hamilton chasing.

Lap 38/58: Thoughts turn to yesterday’s press conference and Hamilton’s ‘joke’ at Vettel’s expense. The German will not have forgotten and will be focussed on having the last laugh.

Lap 37/58: Ricciardo is jabbing at Raikkonen for third and looks the quicker of the pair but overtaking is so difficult on this track the Red Bull has to remain patient for now.

Lap 36/58: Mark Webber is concerned Hamilton’s car is heating up in the dirty air behind Vettel, forcing him to take lines he would not prefer to find clear air. The gap is out to 1.16 as the Ferrari controls the race from the front.

Lap 35/58: No threat of any overtaking in the two major duels at the moment despite Hamilton setting a fastest time for the third sector.

Lap 34/58: There’s the race for the lead, a battle for third between Raikkonen and Ricciardo, and then Alonso leads a procession for the minor places. Bottas is up to eighth from his starting position of 15th but he’s not cut a swathe through this field like he might have hoped.

Lap 33/58: Hamilton is pushing as hard as he dares but Vettel is doing enough to retain his advantage. That pair are already pulling away from Raikkonen in third. Remember, Vettel has a 7-lap advantage on his tyres so is firmly in control of this race.

Lap 32/58: Just 15 cars left in the race, all bunched once again as Vettel and Hamilton resume hostilities.

Lap 31/58: Racing is back underway! Can Vettel hold on?

After 30 laps

Verstappen overtook Alonso under yellow flags and has to handover the place.

  1. Vettel
  2. Hamilton
  3. Raikkonen
  4. Ricciardo
  5. Alonso
  6. Verstappen
  7. Hulkenberg
  8. Vandoorne
  9. Bottas
  10. Sainz

Updated

Lap 29/58: The full safety car is now out as the inquest into the Haas disaster continues and Grosjean’s stationary vehicle is removed. Up front Vettel is counting down the laps, Hamilton like a raging bull itching for racing to restart, is behind him.

Updated

Lap 28/58: The virtual safety car is still deployed while Grosjean’s car is cleared away. Ferrari cannot believe their luck.

Just 15 cars remain on track.

27/58: In the space of a few laps Haas went from big points to two retirements. Both issues seem to have stemmed from the pit stops. Major questions for that garage following a disastrous race.

Lap 26/58: Drama! Virtual safety car is deployed with Grosjean out of the race. Vettel has come in to pit, can he emerge ahead of Hamilton? Yes! Game on! Hamilton on Vettel’s exhaust but the Ferrari has the advantage. No more pit stops until the end of the race.

Lewis Hamilton started the Australian GP smoothly from pole position.
Lewis Hamilton started the Australian GP smoothly from pole position. Photograph: Will Taylor-Medhurst/Getty Images

Lap 24/58: Vettel is still out but his lead is down to 11.4 seconds as Hamilton continues to dominate the race. Raikkonen is 6 seconds further back as the lapping of slowcoaches begins.

Lap 23/58: Bad news for Magnussen who was defending fourth position stoically but an engine failure has seen the Haas limp sadly off the track. Ricciardo is now up to fifth in his search for points.

Lap 22/58: Bottas is all over Perez in the battle for 11th but the Mercedes driver just cannot find any room to overtake. Further back Sainz succumbs to countryman Alonso’s pressure and the McLaren is up to 7th.

Lap 21/58: Hamilton is flying on the soft tyres. He’s brought Vettel’s margin down to 12.5 and increased the gap to Raikkonen to 5.5 seconds. You’d think it would have to take a safety car to disrupt Hamilton’s day from here.

After 20 laps

Lap 20/58: Hamilton has retained his 3.5 second lead over Raikkonen. Vettel remains out with a 13.4 second lead at the front. How long can he remain out and how much time can he gain on Hamilton until he pits?

  1. Vettel
  2. Hamilton
  3. Raikkonen
  4. Magnussen
  5. Grosjean
  6. Ricciardo
  7. Hulkenberg
  8. Verstappen
  9. Sainz
  10. Alonso

Lap 19/58: Hamilton has pitted smartly and he’s back out in front of Raikkonen. Now, what does Vettel do?

Lap 18/58: Raikkonen has pitted and he’s out in front of the Haas’. Hamilton will be in shortly.

Lap 17/58: Gasly is officially out of the race. There continues to be minimal movement behind Hamilton who is processing regally around Albert Park. He’s now put 3.5 seconds into Raikkonen and 7.6 into Vettel.

Lap 16/58: Webber on comms indicates Hamilton’s pace is now worrying Ferrari who need Raikkonen to keep the gap below three seconds to have any chance of upsetting Mercedes during the pit stops. They would much rather have Vettel in second than third.

Lap 15/98: Yellow flags for a smoky Gasly who’s limping around the track towards the pits. He makes it in time but looks like the third retirement of the race. Hamilton lands another fastest lap out in front.

Lap 14/58: Hamilton’s lead up to 2.96 ahead of Raikkonen who’s about the same ahead of Vettel.

Lap 13/58: The top three are flying off into the distance. Magnussen continues to hold fourth place ahead of a bunched field down to Bottas in 13th.

Lap 12/58: We’re expecting pit stops in the 17-20 range and with both Ferraris on Hamilton’s tail there could be some fun and games with strategy. Hamilton responds by taking half a second out of Raikkonen on the lap.

Lap 11/58: Raikkonen’s radio tells him to close on Hamilton, and he is doing, reducing the gap to 2.2 with a couple of fastest laps.

After 10 laps

Lap 10/58: Ricciardo up to sixth and pushing but Red Bull’s GP is not going to plan at all.

  1. Hamilton
  2. Raikkonen
  3. Vettel
  4. Magnussen
  5. Grosjean
  6. Ricciardo
  7. Hulkenberg
  8. Verstappen
  9. Sainz
  10. Alonso

Lap 8/58: Bosh! First spin of the day - guess who - Max Verstappen! The youngster was busting a gut to overtake Magnussen and he pushed too hard, spinning 360 degrees and rejoining the race in 8th. “Not good enough” says Mark Webber on comms.

Updated

Lap 7/58: Ericcson’s day is confirmed over. The gap between Hamilton and Raikkonen is 2.7 seconds. Magnussen in fourth is now 11 seconds adrift.

Lap 6/58: While the front three battle out their race within a race, back in the pack Ricciardo and Bottas have each made one place from their lowly grid positions. Alonso is up to 10th.

Lap 5/58: Hamilton now starting to put some daylight between him and Raikkonen. Ericsson is the latest to pit in his Sauber. He’s unlikely to troubler the scorers down in 19th and in no rush to get back out onto the track.

Lap 4/58: The gap from the front three to Magnussen grows. Further back Ricciardo has crept past Hulkenberg into 7th. Something’s up with Sirotkin who’s plummeted to the foot of the timing board. TV cameras show him stationery in an off ramp. He looks to be done for the day.

Lap 3/58: Hamilton still leads from Raikonnen and Vettel who are starting to edge clear of Magnussen in fourth who is being hassled by the impatient Verstappen.

Lap 2/58: Hartley pitted to switch tyres at the end of lap one, sending him from 16th down to last. Otherwise, little to report in a very clean race so far.

Lap 1/58: As smooth a getaway to the GP as you could imagine. The top three settling in for the journey while behind them Magnussen has crept ahead of Verstappen in a move that could disrupt Red Bull’s tyre strategy. Further back Bottas gained no ground from 15th.

Lights Out!

Hamilton away cleanly, so too Raikkonen and Vettel. All 20 cars get through the opening two corners cleanly!

The formation lap is underway. Lights out imminent.

Among the field the four former winners at Albert Park are the four World Champions. Three of those - Hamilton, Raikkonen and Vettel - will begin one, two, three again today. It’s probably safe to assume a Fernando Alonso victory would be the product of one of the wildest GPs in history.

Vettel will hope the pre-race parade lap is no omen for the main event. The two-seater shepherding the German around the track conked out and required pushing down the home straight.

Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastien Vettel prepare for the Australian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastien Vettel prepare for the Australian Grand Prix. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Out: Grid Girls

In: Grid Kids

Jackie Stewart is on TV talking about the pressure of F1 diminishing as a result of the reduced likelihood of dying. The latest step in that ambition to eradicate all racing deaths is the halo.

The national anthem of Australia blares out around the circuit. This was preceded by a lone bagpiper piping a tribute to the late Ron Walker who died recently. Walker was instrumental in Formula One pitching up in Victoria.

Albert Park then, just south of Melbourne’s CBD, is where all the action is going to take place. It’s a flat, predominately road circuit that winds around Albert Park Lake, home of one of the city’s major sporting precincts.

The lack of straights makes it an awkward overtaking venue, a reality recognised by race organisers with the inclusion of three DRS zones - typically, tracks have only one or two DRS zones. In a designated DRS activation zone, a driver within one second of a rival car may activate his DRS. This alters the angle of the rear wing flap, reducing drag and thereby providing a temporary speed advantage.

The new zone begins on the exit of the quick Turn 12, with the aim of helping drivers carry speed on the run down to the tight Turn 13 right hander. If they fail to make a move stick there, it is hoped they will be closer into the next activation zone that follows the final two corners of the 16-turn circuit.

The race consists of 58 laps of the 5.303km track, giving us a race distance of 307.574km.

Michael Schumacher set the lap record of 1:24.125 way back in 2004 but that is under serious threat today. Hamilton clocked 1:21.164 in qualifying.

Here’s Daniel Ricciardo to tell you more.

Red Bull’s tyre strategy will be worth following as the race unfolds. They ran supersoft tyres in the second phase of qualifying, rather than ultrasofts, allowing them the best opportunity of any team to run a one-stop race compared to the expected two-stop strategy.

Christian Horner has just spoken on TV in the pit lane, explaining: “We expected to qualify behind Ferrari... That harder compound with the red sidewall gives us a few more options as the race goes on.”

Updated

Victoria’s capricious weather looks - for now - to be behaving itself with blue skies and a few scattered fluffy clouds providing a stunning canvas to the Melbourne cityscape. It’s a mild day with temperatures in the early 20s but feeling somewhat cooler courtesy of a stiff westerly. The chance of showers increases as we head into the night but hopefully they will hold off until long after the champagne has been wasted.

In short - we should be in for a dry race.

If you’d like to recap all the drama of qualifying, Giles Richards has everything you need to know right here as Lewis Hamilton secured a record seventh pole position in Melbourne.

Grid

Confirmation then of Lewis Hamilton’s astonishing lap yesterday. Teammate Valtteri Bottas is a lowly 15th following his dramatic Q3 crash resulting in a five-place grid penalty for replacing his gearbox. Daniel Ricciardo starts in eighth, three places below his pace for the most minor of infringements during practice. The pair of Haas’ in positions five and six promise plenty of intrigue if they can maintain their positions off the grid.

One note of caution for the defending world champion, just two of the past eight Australian GPs have been won from pole.

  1. L. Hamilton, Mercedes
  2. K. Räikkönen, Ferrari
  3. S. Vettel, Ferrari
  4. M. Verstappen, Red Bull
  5. K. Magnussen, Haas
  6. R. Grosjean, Haas
  7. N. Hülkenberg, Renault
  8. D. Ricciardo, Red Bull
  9. C. Sainz Jr., Renault
  10. F. Alonso, McLaren Honda
  11. S. Vandoorne, McLaren Honda
  12. S. Pérez, Force India
  13. L. Stroll, Williams
  14. E. Ocon, Force India
  15. V. Bottas, Mercedes
  16. B. Hartley, Toro Rosso
  17. M. Ericsson, Sauber
  18. C. Leclerc, Sauber
  19. S. Sirotkin, Williams
  20. P. Gasly, Toro Rosso
Lewis Hamilton takes in the aftermath of his incredible qualifying lap.
Lewis Hamilton takes in the aftermath of his incredible qualifying lap. Photograph: Octane/Action Plus via Getty Images

If you’ve lost track of who’s who and what’s what over the offseason, fear not, because Giles Richards has done all the arduous catch-up work for you.

Preamble

Hello and welcome to the opening Formula One Grand Prix of 2018. As is customary the caravan begins here in Melbourne with 58 laps of the Albert Park circuit. Lights go out at 4.10pm local time (5.10am GMT).

The first GP of the season always arrives with heightened expectation as the rubber finally meets the road following a long winter of development and testing.

The biggest question remains over the competitiveness of the drivers’ and constructors’ championships with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes once again starting a new season as the combination everyone else has to chase. The Englishman is focussed on securing his fourth title in five years and delivered a staggering statement of intent with his final qualifying lap on Saturday, setting the kind of pace that threatens to make a mockery of preseason predictions that both Ferrari and Red Bull could be closing the gap to the Silver Arrows. Vettel impressed in Q2 but found his weekend soured by Hamilton’s astonishing burst to round off Q3.

F1’s aesthetic will be dramatically altered this year, not only with the rebranding of the competition following the Liberty Media takeover, but with the introduction of the halo safety device. The chunky titanium barrier isn’t pretty but it serves a valuable purpose. Like McLaren’s return to a bright orange livery, it’ll stick out for a while but we’ll get used to it soon enough.

Fernando Alonso qualifies in his new orange McLaren, complete with halo safety device.
Fernando Alonso qualifies in his new orange McLaren, complete with halo safety device. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

As always, this is more fun if you join in, so feel free to email or tweet at your leisure.

Updated

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