Australian Grand Prix (2014): RESULT

The 2014 Australian Grand Prix gets underway

It’s all new cars for the first Grand Prix of the 2014 F1 season in Melbourne, but the expectation was that Mercedes would dominate, with Lewis Hamilton sitting on pole and Nico Rosberg sitting third, separated by Red Bull’s new boy, Daniel Ricciardo. In fact, because of engine problems, Hamilton was sidelined from the start and down to fourth by the first corner, with Rosberg making the most of his team mate’s woes and storming through to take the lead, a lead he kept until the end for a dominant win in Melbourne.

Behind Hamilton, home boy Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull managed to make the 2014 Red Bull car look immensely promising to take second place, a welcome boost for the troubled Red Bull team, even if world champion Sebastian Vettel suffered the same fate as Hamilton, retiring with engine problems.

Ricciardo did well to hold on to second as another new boy, McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, pushed hard, but Ricciardo held on with Magnussen having to settle for (a very impressive) third place, ahead of team mate Jenson Button in fourth.

Button pushed Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in to fifth place after jumping him on the last pit stop and Williams’ renaissance got under way with Valtteri Bottas fighting in to sixth spot, despite having hit the wall earlier in the race and dropping to 16th.

Behind Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg took his Force India in to seventh, ahead of Kmi Raikkonen in the Ferrari with the Toro Rossos of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat taking the last two points-scoring places in ninth and tenth.

Despite expectations that a huge chunk of the field would fail to finish as the complex and very new engines went out in anger for the first time, there were just eight non-finishers in Melbourne.

And, apart from the rather subdued sound, it was almost business as normal with Mercedes and Red Bull up front and a mixed bag of promise and frustration from Ferrari.

But McLaren look to be back on their game – even if it also looks like Kevin Magnussen might be a bit of a headache for Jenson Button – and Williams turn of speed with their new Mercedes engines could prove interesting as the season unfolds.

Note: Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull is under scrutiny from the stewards over excessive fuel flow. 

Nico Rosberg celebrates winning the 2014 Australian Grand Prix

By Cars UK