Valtteri Bottas took the win for Mercedes in the opening race of the Formula One season at the Australian Grand Prix. The Finn started in second but having beaten teammate Lewis Hamilton off the line, dominated from the front and the British driver could manage only second. Max Verstappen gave Red Bull and their engine supplier Honda cause for optimism for the forthcoming season by claiming third – in front of the two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in fourth and fifth.
Bottas, who struggled last season without a win, thoroughly deserved his victory in Melbourne. He established a strong lead and was unchallenged by any of his rivals. He also claimed the extra point for fastest lap – a new addition to the regulations this season.
His lead by the end was a huge 20.8 seconds from Hamilton, who was struggling with his tyre wear and could not match the pace of his teammate. Vettel started in third but he too had not been happy with his car all weekend and was easily passed by Verstappen to miss out on the final podium place.
It is Bottas’s fourth career victory and is just the strong start he wanted. He did not score a win last season, in a campaign that left him very disappointed. His last victory was at Abu Dhabi in 2017. This is his first win at the Australian Grand Prix and will provide the confidence boost with which he will have been so eager to open his season. His determination was clear, as was his intent to take the fastest-lap point in the final laps.
Last season, Hamilton was very strong in Melbourne but a software error cost him the lead when Ferrari took advantage of a virtual safety car to pit Vettel, who won. This time, Bottas’s team was in complete control and Mercedes will once again be optimistic, having started the season with a one-two. Bottas put in a superb lap in qualifying and looked to have pole until he was pipped by Hamilton on the final runs but the Finn made the most of his chance in the race.
Albert Park is an outlier of a circuit, not typical of the majority of tracks. Nonetheless to have enjoyed such an emphatic victory here will be taken as a very positive indicator for the season by Mercedes.
Bottas made a quick start from second on the grid, passing Hamilton into turn one with Vettel holding onto third place. With overtaking tricky at best at Albert Park, the three leaders settled into their rhythm, holding a two-second gap between them.
The team swiftly pronounced it was very happy with the Finn’s pace. With Mercedes repeatedly explicit they would let their drivers race, there was no suggestion team orders would come into play.
Vettel opened the sequence of pit stops, coming in to take the medium tyre on lap 14. Hamilton followed a lap later and also took the medium rubber, leaving Bottas on his own out in front, clear of Verstappen and Leclerc. Mercedes told the Finn his pace was quicker than Hamilton and they would keep him out. Bottas confirmed it by pumping in some fastest laps.
Hamilton and Vettel were simply unable to challenge the pace of Bottas. When they pitted the Finn on lap 22 for the medium tyre, he emerged behind only Verstappen, who had yet to stop. He was also comfortably clear of Hamilton and Vettel. When Verstappen pitted on lap 25, Bottas was back in the lead.
With the pit-stop sequence complete, Bottas held a strong advantage. By lap 30, he was 16 seconds clear of Hamilton in second, and 18 in front of Vettel. The German also came under pressure from Verstappen. The Dutchman attacked towards turn three on his fresher rubber, and made it stick to take third. He then set off quickly after Hamilton.
The British driver was concerned he might not make it to the end on his tyres, losing the grip from his rear set. Bottas was clearly very happy with his set-up out front, extending his lead and setting further fastest laps. Ultimately he had done enough, and Hamilton held off Verstappen. Mercedes had their one-two even if was not quite in the expected order.
Local hero Daniel Ricciardo went onto the grass off the start line and lost his front wing, forcing him to make an early stop to replace it. It sent him to the back of the field and the Renault driver ultimately had to retire as a precautionary measure on lap 31.
Kevin Magnussen in the Haas was sixth; Renault’s Nico Hülkenberg seventh, with Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa Romeo in eighth. Lance Stroll was ninth for Racing Point and Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso in 10th. Britain’s Lando Norris was a very impressive 12th for McLaren in his first GP. George Russell, at the struggling Williams for his debut, was in 19th, ahead of his teammate Robert Kubica.