Sunday, March 16, 2014

VETTEL PROGRESS IN MELBOURNE AS HAMILTON AND ROSBERG CRASH OUT...

Nico Rosberg led from start to finish to win while Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel failed to finish the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Mercedes star Rosberg got a perfect start to claim the lead from team-mate and pole-sitter Hamilton, and never looked troubled thereafter, while Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo claimed second place and McLaren's Kevin Magnussen a stunning third place on his F1 debut.
The shock of the race were the early retirements for Hamilton and Vettel, however, both of whom suffered misfiring cyclinders that saw them missing pace from the start.
Jenson Button finished fourth and Fernando Alons fifth, but one of the performances of the day came from Vallteri Bottas, who came sixth after twice scything through almost the entire field - once at the start of the race, and then again after hitting a wall, losing his right rear tyre and limping into the pits.
The winner's joy was evident after as easy a win as could be imagined.
"Fantastic! What a car you've given me! What a car!" Rosberg yelled down the radio to his team after taking the chequered flag.
Hamilton had a very different opening race, however, though he remained philosophical.
"I was driving on five cylinders - it's a bit unfortunate, but that's racing," he said.
"It's just a hiccup. There's a long way to go... I'm not concerned about anything."
Vettel tried to stay cool despite his clear frustration at the retirement after a rotten weekend that saw him qualify down in 13th.
"We lost power. We didn't understand why - cars kept passing me... At one stage I thought there was a slight improvement but then it was clear there was a big problem with the engine," said Vettel.
Hamilton and Vettel both added that they are confident the issues could be solved quickly - and given the excellent pace of their team-mates, that seems more than likely.

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