2016 Australian Grand Prix: Rosberg takes season opener

The 2016 season of Formula1 commenced in Australia with just the kind of drama fans would have hoped for. The race saw an exciting battle between Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton and Rosberg pushed their Mercedes’ to the limit on Saturday to take the front row of the grid for the race.  While they couldn’t hold on to the lead as the five red lights went out, a smartly planned strategy saw them finish 1-2 in the season opener. When the race was red flagged, following Fernando Alonso’s crash on lap 18, the Mercedes switched Rosberg to medium compounds to ensure that he didn’t have to pit one more time. This move proved to be a smart one as the German comfortably took top honours. Hamilton on the other hand held on to the second place right up till the chequer. 

Silly Scarlet

The two Ferraris looked strong throughout the race weekend but the combination of a silly decision and some misfortune cost them valuable points. Vettel got off to a fantastic start taking lead into the first corner of the race and he had the pace to bring home the race win too. However, the strategy that the Scarlet team planned for Vettel didn’t work in his favour. When the race was red flagged on lap 18, Ferrari surprisingly switched Vettel to super-soft tyres. Although this allowed him to take the lead at the restart, he eventually lost his position when he was forced to make one extra stop for new rubber. The German covered up some ground and might just have passed Hamilton for second, but he ran wide with just two laps remaining allowing the Brit to build a cushion. Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen too had a great start to the race, and was constantly running in the top three places, but was forced to retire after his car suffered from technical issues. 

Fortunate Fernando 

Starting from 12th place, while fighting with Esteban Gutierrez, Fernando Alonso clipped the back of the Haas driver’s car. Gutierrez was slowing down for turn 3 when the Spaniard nudged him. Due to the impact, Alonso’s car slammed into the wall alongside before it drifted into the gravel trap where it dug in and somersaulted. The McLaren was entirely wrecked but fortunately Alonso walked out of the crash unhurt. Team-mate Jenson Button too didn’t have an outstanding weekend as he started the race from 13th place and dropped a place before the chequer.    

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

Great race, Grosjean!

While there was a lot happening at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix up ahead of the order, Romain Grosjean ensured that things remained interesting in the middle order as well. The Frenchman started the race from 19th place and took the flag in sixth, making him the surprise package of the day. The Frenchman planned his one-stop strategy to perfection and was able to maintain constant pace. Grosjean’s sixth place, makes Haas the first team to score on its debut in 14 years. 

Flagged off

It was indeed a very interesting season opener in Australia. Although in this race, Ferrari couldn’t get its strategy right, they seem to have the pace to battle it out with the Mercedes drivers. With Haas showing some promise, Force India finishing seventh and both the Williams driver’s in the top 10 as well, the middle order seems to be well placed too. While it is too soon to say in whose direction the season will head, a win in the next race for Ferrari is sure to make things a bit more interesting.