The 2014 Formula One racing season spilled over to 2015 as Mercedes picked up where it left off last year and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg easily went 1-2 in a snoozer at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. It was over before it started as Hamilton took off from the first lap and never looked back in going mostly uncontested over the 58 laps with Rosberg unable to make up any ground to contend for first place. Behind the Mercedes duo, placing matters were even more sleep-inducing as four-time champion Sebastian Vettel finished a distant third – a whopping 34.5 seconds back – for his new team, Ferrari..
The only drama of the race occurred before it began and shortly after it began. Marussia – now called Manor – was unable to start the race, leaving the starting grid at 18 cars but that was quickly rectified as Williams’ Valtteri Bottas, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kyvat and McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen were are unable to start the race due to various technical issues. Shortly after the race began, Lotus was gone as both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado departed on the first lap with technical issues and a crash, respectively, leaving it a 13-car race beginning with the third lap. 30 laps later, Kyvat’s rookie Toro Rosso teammate, Max Verstappen, departed with technical problems and finally, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen stopped in Lap 42 to make it an 11-car race at the finish – only five of which were on the lead lap [and fifth place Sauber’s Felipe Nasr was about to be overtaken by Hamilton as the race ended with Hamilton deciding to spare Nasr that fate].
In the season point standings, Hamilton leads with 25 points to Rosberg’s 18 followed by Vettel in third with 15 points.
The second race of the 2015 Formula One season is the Malaysian Grand Prix currently scheduled at Kuala Lumpur on March 29, 2015.
2015 Australian Grand Prix Results
Pos Driver Team Points Time Speed
1 Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes 25 1:31:54.067 200.807
2 Nico Rosberg – Mercedes 18 +1.360 Sec 200.758
3 Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari 15 +34.523 Sec 199.558
4 Felipe Massa – Williams 12 +38.196 Sec 199.426
5 Felipe Nasr – Sauber 10 +1:35.149 Sec 197.401
6 Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull 8 – 196.961
7 Nico Hulkenberg – Force India 6 – 195.671
8 Marcus Ericsson – Sauber 4 – 195.151
9 Carlos Sainz Jr. – Toro Rosso 2 – 194.919
10 Sergio Perez – Force India 1 – 194.49
11 Jenson Button – McLaren 0 – 193.035
12 Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari 0 – 194.907
13 Max Verstappen – Toro Rosso 0 – 190.96
14 Romain Grosjean – Lotus 0 – –
15 Pastor Maldonado – Lotus 0 – –
16 Daniil Kvyat – Red Bull 0 – –
17 Kevin Magnussen – McLaren 0 – –
18 Valtteri Bottas – Williams 0 – –