Bottas Dominates Australian GP As Ricciardo Has Disastrous Start With Renault

Hamilton may have qualified in pole position but it was Bottas that took control of the race and then left his rivals in his rear vision mirror.

It was a dream start to the 2019 season for Bottas and Mercedes of were able to take 1st and 2nd with Hamilton holding Verstappen at bay after a tense battle over the final lap.

Bottas was lost for words when he stepped out of the car, eventually saying: “I don’t know what to say. The start was really good – definitely my best race ever.

“I don’t know what happened but it felt so good, everything was under control. Truly enjoyable.”

“In the beginning, it was all about managing the race and building the gap. I knew I could do it, it was all about being at my best level. When you’re really on it, it feels kind of easy.”

It was a critical win for Bottas who is under pressure this season to perform and retain his seat at Mercedes after being given a one-year contract extension for 2019 with reserve driver Esteban Ocon waiting in the wings.

Race favourite Lewis Hamilton was full of praise for his teammate stating,

“Valtteri drove an incredible race and deserved it. Great start to the year as a team.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made a strong start for his team with its new Honda engine to take the third place on the podium.

Ferrari were forced to play third best in Australia, Sebastian Vettel finishing fourth for the Scuderia, one place up on his teammate Charles Leclerc, who was called off the attack on the German late in the race.

Vettel was shocked by the lack of pace, asking over team radio: “Why are we so slow?”

The team responded, “We don’t know.”

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen headed off a hugely competitive and closely fought midfield in sixth, ahead of the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg and the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen in eighth.

Ricciardo has horror start with new Renault team.

Daniel Ricciardo’s quest for a hometown podium with his new Renault wasn’t to be after losing his front wing so early in the race that he hadn’t even reached the start line yet before retiring just 31 laps later.

The Australian was starting back in 12th after not making it past Q2 in qualifying on Saturday and was looking to go out and attack to give the home fans something to cheer at Melbourne’s Albert Park.

But as the lights went out, this cheers immediately turned to gasps and groans as Ricciardo tried to go down the inside to pass Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and hit a curb quite hard, losing the entirety of his front wing in the process.

No safety car was needed but Ricciardo then had to complete his first lap wingless before returning to the pits to get a replacement fitted.

Renault took the opportunity to put on a fresh pair of tyres as well, opting of the harder compounds, signaling they may hope he could complete the race with just that one pit stop.

LAP 1/58

Bottas sprints straight past Hamilton into the lead! ⬆️

But it's a nightmare start for Ricciardo, who loses his front wing 💔#AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/gE73nLtpqj

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 17, 2019

Ricciardo rejoined the race in last position, a huge 67 seconds off the pace set by Valtteri Bottas, who had managed to get past his teammate Lewis Hamilton amongst the chaos.

However, there was to be no overtaking masterclass from the 29-year-old as he was eventually called back into the garage after 31 laps to end his race and end his Australian Grand Prix weekend.

Your full race classification from the season-opener 👇

Best-ever finish for Leclerc, solid points for Magnussen & Stroll 👏

Kvyat holds off Gasly for the final point 😅#AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/pVSiCkUhhw

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 17, 2019