The 2018 Australian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 2018 Rolex Australian Grand Prix)[1] was the first race of the 2018 Formula One season, the 34th time the Australian Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar, and the 23rd time it was held at the Albert Park Circuit. It was held between 23 March and 25 March 2018.
After a crash from his teammate Valtteri Bottas at the start of Q3, Lewis Hamilton took his fifth consecutive pole position at the circuit, while Kimi Räikkönen joined him on the front row, with Sebastian Vettel qualifying third.
In the race, Hamilton kept his lead at the start. However, after he and Räikkönen came in for their one and only pit stops, the virtual safety car was activated as a result of both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean stopping beside the track due to having their tyres not fitted properly. Vettel took advantage and pitted under the virtual safety car, coming out in front of Hamilton and taking the effective lead. He went on to take the victory, winning the Australian Grand Prix for a second year in a row. Hamilton settled for second whilst Räikkönen completed the podium.
Background
Despite the limited pre-season where testing was reduced to only eight days at the Circuit de Catalunya, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton once again emerged as the favourites for the Constructors' and Drivers' World Championship for 2018.[2]
The new Mercedes W09 at the very least, demonstrated impressive reliability heading into Melbourne where Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas completed a total of 4 087 kilometres during the two weeks of testing.[3] Nonetheless, Toto Wolff believed that Mercedes would have to fend off Ferrari and Red Bull in order to retain their crown.[2]
Ahead of the race in Albert Park, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton had proven untouchable in qualifying having taken every single pole position since the beginning of the hybrid era.[2]
However despite their largely superior pace throughout the era, the team would remember the reliability issues that cost Hamilton a race victory in 2014 and in 2017 when a pit-wall blunder cost Hamilton's race win to Sebastian Vettel.[2] The team were described as "nervous" heading into the opening race due to an almost perfect reliability throughout testing. Nonetheless, the biggest threat Mercedes posed to the rest of the field was its significant increase in horsepower which could be used to great effect in the qualifying mapping. Hamilton dubbed this new fuel map, the "party mode".
Vettel noted that he and Ferrari would "try" to defeat Mercedes, however the Italian squad would not head to Melbourne as the title favourites despite some quick testing times. Although, Hamilton maintained his confidence in leading the Formula One field, Nico Rosberg made quick reminder that his former teammate's weakness was his "inconsistency" to which Vettel had best exploited in 2017. Hamilton, however responded to his former teammate in stating "I think consistency is the main reason I won last year", citing his nine wins as evidence.
Red Bull would still be considered the outside contender for 2018, however Daniel Ricciardo was optimistic that their team would remain within half a second of Mercedes and Ferrari ahead of the start of the season.[4] In terms of his prospects for Melbourne, fellow Australian and former racer, Mark Webber commented that "He is not thinking about winning".
With his former teammate, Sebastian Vettel open to Ferrari signing him for 2019, Ricciardo asserted that Red Bull would have to be a position to challenge for the championship at "minimum" if they wanted him to stay.[5] Hamilton, however remained wary that Ricciardo shouldn't "alienate" his team lest his future plans did not move in his favour.[5] A mistake that had often been attributed to the career of Fernando Alonso.
McLaren had yet another troublesome start to the pre-season testing, however with their new engine partnership with Renault, the team expected a swift rise up the field in 2018. Unlike in the previous three years with the powerless Honda engines, Eric Boullier confirmed that the team's reliability problems had been sorted ahead of the new season. Boullier also noted that Alonso was a "different driver" in 2018, becoming more involved with the team following the squad's cautious optimism.
Alonso, himself commented that although he expected Australia to be the team's low point, a rapid progression up the field would be expected throughout the season. Despite his confidence, Nico Rosberg doubted that he would ever get a race victory in 2018.
If McLaren were to gain footing with the top tier they would have to conquer the midfield challengers such as Force India, Renault, Williams and Haas. Haas's Guenther Steiner expected a close battle among the midfield teams where he expected only half a second would separate the midfield tier.
Having been tested throughout 2017, the "halo" device, designed to protect a car's cockpit in order to improve safety, was finally used for the whole Grand Prix weekend.[6] Due to the halo blocking part of drivers' visibility, the start light gantry at the front of the grid was lower, while the second set that was originally around the middle of the grid was at the front.[7]
For the first time, the circuit had three Drag Reduction System zones. The third zone is located on the straight between Turns 12 and 13, with the detection point just before the Turn 11-12 chicane.[8][9] Soft, supersoft and ultrasoft tyres were used for the Grand Prix.[10]
Entry list
Practice Overview
FP1
Despite the pre-season concerns with the overheating of the softer compound tyres, Mercedes and Red Bull both notably went aggressive in the session in fitting the ultra soft tyres. Ferrari in contrast were more conservative and fitted the harder compounds in the soft and super soft.
Vettel was the first car to enter the track, however it would be Hamilton and Verstappen whom would be the interest of the session. Throughout the early part of the session, Verstappen proved capable of matching Hamilton's leading times. However the Red Bull driver relayed fears to his team that his "aggressive" style was overheating the tyres. Hamilton in contrast was described as being "one with the car" and despite the early challenge from Verstappen, the two Mercedes took control later in the session.
Bottas had initially struggled to find the pace, the rear of his car could be seen sliding through turn 9, however Hamilton likewise could be seen having a sliding rear through turn 15. Bottas had dropped down to sixth before putting in a time that was 0.046 seconds off Hamilton's leading time. Hamilton set an ominous response when his final best set him 0.430 seconds faster than Bottas. This was despite him reporting "a lot of traffic on that lap".
The Red Bull had been described as "supreme" in the corners, however continued to lack straight line speed. Although Verstappen was matching the pace of the Mercedes, Ricciardo in contrast appeared to be struggling to which he noted he was "still disconnected" from the car through the corners.
Like the previous year, Vettel had been the first car to enter the track for the new season, however throughout the session the 2017 runners-up ran conservatively in which Ferrari ran only the soft and super soft compounds. Despite their conservative tyre choice, Vettel could be seen pushing hard, having a wild moment into 14, barely keeping the car on-track. Räikkönen likewise was pushing hard, locking his tyres at 9.
The midfield battle was as tight as predicted and for much of the session, only a second separated the midfield. Gasly noting over the radio, "the times are going nuts". Grosjean's Haas led the midfield, the team were expected to be in strong contention despite Magnussen lagging down at the back. Magnussen ran wide deep onto the grass at 15, however Grosjean whom took seventh wasn't without issue having ran wide onto the gravel at 12 tearing off some body work.
Renault unusually had unusually publically announced their practice program ahead of the session. Hülkenberg was set to practice with an aero rake, testing a new front wing ahead of the new season. Sainz, meanwhile was confirmed to be testing rear brake drum seals. Sainz predominantly led the midfield battle until being pipped by Grosjean, whilst Hülkenberg performed well to finish the session eleventh, despite testing with an aero rake. Neither driver used the ultra soft tyre.
The Toro Rosso's had a relatively clean session, given the past history of the Honda engine, however Gasly managed to pick up a €600 fine for speeding in the pit-lane. Hartley notably expressed frustration in the session, having been baulked by a Haas early in the session and then late in the session complained of losing "seven tenths" after making a mistake on a flying lap. He thereafter only managed to complete nine laps in the session.
The Williams cars were the first to set lap-times in the session, Sirotkin leading Stroll since the beginning of the session. Sirotkin, would however demonstrate his inexperience when he carried too much speed into the entry of the pitlane and touched the wall. Sirotkin, however did well to finish the session within the top ten. Stroll whom completed the most laps in the session failed to match the pace of his new teammate.
The Force India's had a largely undistinguished session in which both drivers completed long runs on the ultra softs and super softs. Only two tenths separated Ocon and Perez despite being split by the cars of Stroll and Alonso.
McLaren were expected to be at the top of this battle, however their exhaust problems from pre-season testing continued to trouble them into the first practice session. The exhaust problem delayed their running for nearly an hour and between Alonso and Vandoorne, the duo only managed ten laps. Vandoorne noting over the radio that the car was also suffering from "poor driveability". Alonso had managed to climb to fourteenth, however Vandoorne was the slowest of all the cars.
The Sauber's predominantly ran the super softs and an unremarkable session saw Ericsson finish ahead of his teammate as well as Hartley and Vandoorne whom completed limited running.
FP1 Results
Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Tyres | Best Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 18 | US, US, US | 1:24.026 | - |
2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 18 | S, US, US | 1:24.577 | +0.551 |
3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 18 | US, US, SS | 1:24.771 | +0.745 |
4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 18 | US, US SS, SS | 1:25.063 | +1.037 |
5 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 16 | S, S, S, SS | 1:25.340 | +1.314 |
6 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 17 | S, S, S, S | 1:25.488 | +1.462 |
7 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 17 | S, S, US | 1:25.730 | +1.704 |
8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz, Jr. | Renault | 17 | SS, SS, SS, SS | 1:25.922 | +1.896 |
9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Honda | 16 | SS, SS, SS, SS | 1:26.494 | +2.468 |
10 | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams-Mercedes | 17 | SS, US, US | 1:26.536 | +1.704 |
11 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 16 | S, S, S, SS | 1:26.583 | +2.557 |
12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 20 | US, US, SS | 1:26.605 | +2.579 |
13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 21 | S, US, US, US | 1:26.636 | +2.610 |
14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Renault | 6 | US, US, SS | 1:26.638 | +2.612 |
15 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India-Mercedes | 18 | US, US, SS | 1:26.767 | +2.741 |
16 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 10 | SS, SS, US, US | 1:27.035 | +3.009 |
17 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 19 | SS, SS, SS, US | 1:27.964 | +3.938 |
18 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso-Honda | 9 | S, S, S, SS | 1:28.308 | +4.282 |
19 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber-Ferrari | 20 | SS, SS, SS, US | 1:29.195 | +5.169 |
20 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Renault | 5 | US, US, S | 1:29.558 | +5.532 |
FP2
FP3
Qualifying
Q1
Q2
Q3
Qualifying Results
Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Time | Pos | Time | Pos | Time | ||||||||
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1 | 1:22.824 | 2 | 1:22.051 | 1 | 1:21.164 | 1 | |||
2 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 2 | 1:23.096 | 5 | 1:22.507 | 2 | 1:21.828 | 2 | |||
3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 3 | 1:23.348 | 1 | 1:21.944 | 3 | 1:21.838 | 3 | |||
4 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 4 | 1:23.483 | 4 | 1:22.416 | 4 | 1:21.879 | 4 | |||
5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-TAG Heuer | 5 | 1:23.494 | 6 | 1:22.897 | 5 | 1:22.152 | 8* | |||
6 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 11 | 1:23.909 | 8 | 1:23.300 | 6 | 1:23.187 | 5 | |||
7 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 8 | 1:23.671 | 9 | 1:23.468 | 7 | 1:23.339 | 6 | |||
8 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 10 | 1:23.782 | 10 | 1:23.544 | 8 | 1:23.532 | 7 | |||
9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz, Jr. | Renault | 6 | 1:23.529 | 7 | 1:23.061 | 9 | 1:23.577 | 9 | |||
10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 9 | 1:23.686 | 3 | 1:22.089 | 10 | no time | 15† | |||
11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Renault | 7 | 1:23.597 | 11 | 1:23.692 | 10 | |||||
12 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren-Renault | 12 | 1:24.073 | 12 | 1:23.853 | 11 | |||||
13 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Force India-Mercedes | 13 | 1:24.344 | 13 | 1:24.005 | 12 | |||||
14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams-Mercedes | 14 | 1:24.464 | 14 | 1:24.230 | 13 | |||||
15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India-Mercedes | 15 | 1:24.503 | 15 | 1:24.786 | 14 | |||||
16 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda | 16 | 1:24.532 | 16 | |||||||
17 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 17 | 1:24.556 | 17 | |||||||
18 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber-Ferrari | 18 | 1:24.636 | 18 | |||||||
19 | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams-Mercedes | 19 | 1:24.922 | 19 | |||||||
20 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda | 20 | 1:25.295 | 20 | |||||||
107% time: 1:28.621 | |||||||||||||
Source: [11] |
Grid
Pos. | Pos. | |
---|---|---|
Driver | Driver | |
______________ | ||
Row 1 | 1 | ______________ |
Lewis Hamilton | 2 | |
______________ | Kimi Räikkönen | |
Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
Sebastian Vettel | 4 | |
______________ | Max Verstappen | |
Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
Kevin Magnussen | 6 | |
______________ | Romain Grosjean | |
Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
Nico Hülkenberg | 8 | |
______________ | Daniel Ricciardo* | |
Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
Carlos Sainz, Jr. | 10 | |
______________ | Fernando Alonso | |
Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
Stoffel Vandoorne | 12 | |
______________ | Sergio Pérez | |
Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
Lance Stroll | 14 | |
______________ | Esteban Ocon | |
Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
Valtteri Bottas† | 16 | |
______________ | Brendon Hartley | |
Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
Marcus Ericsson | 18 | |
______________ | Charles Leclerc | |
Row 10 | 19 | ______________ |
Sergey Sirotkin | 20 | |
______________ | Pierre Gasly |
- * Ricciardo was given a three-place grid penalty for not slowing down under red flag conditions during FP2.[12]
- † Bottas was given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.[13]
Race
Report
Results
Milestones
- Charles Leclerc and Sergey Sirotkin's first races.
- McLaren's first race with Renault engines.
- Toro Rosso's first race with Honda engines.
- Sebastian Vettel's 200th entry (199th start).
- Vettel's 100th podium finish.
Standings
Victory at the season opening race ensured that it was Sebastian Vettel who led the Championship hunt leaving Australia, the German seven clear of arch-rival Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Räikkönen ended the afternoon in third ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, while Fernando Alonso completed the top five. Max Verstappen led the rest of the early scorers, with Nico Hülkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Stoffel Vandoorne and Carlos Sainz, Jr. all on the board.
Ferrari, meanwhile, would head the Constructors' Championship after their double podium finish, heading to Bahrain with 40 points to their name. Mercedes led their counter charge with 22 points, two ahead of Red Bull-TAG Heuer, while McLaren started their new partnership with Renault in fourth. The French firm themselves found themselves in fifth as the only other team to score in Melbourne.
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Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
Notes
- ↑ "Formula 1 2018 Rolex Australian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Formula One Administration. https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/races/2018/Australia.html. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 FORMULA 1. (2018). AUSTRALIA PREVIEW - The stats and info you need to know. Retrieved on 28-03-2018.
- ↑ Mercedes AMG F1. (2018). INSIGHT: What we've learned from pre-season testing. Retrieved on 28-03-2018.
- ↑ FORMULA 1. (21st March 2018). Ricciardo predicts 0.5s gap between top three teams. Retrieved on 28-03-2018.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 FORMULA 1. (22nd March 2018). Hamilton warns Ricciardo against alienating Red Bull amid F1 future talks. Retrieved on 28-03-2018.
- ↑ "Halo impact becoming clearer to F1 teams". Speedcafe. 21 December 2017. https://www.speedcafe.com/2017/12/21/halo-impact-becoming-clearer-f1-teams/. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ↑ Cooper, Adam (22 March 2018). "FIA alters Melbourne start lights to address F1 halo concerns". Autosport (Motorsport Network). https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134951/fia-alters-start-lights-to-address-halo-concerns. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ↑ Cooper, Adam (21 March 2018). "Australian GP: Melbourne gets third DRS zone for 2018 F1 opener". Autosport (Motorsport Network). https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/134931/australian-gp-track-gets-third-drs-zone. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ↑ Howard, Tom (21 March 2018). "New DRS zone added to Albert Park F1 circuit". Speedcafe. https://www.speedcafe.com/2018/03/21/new-drs-zone-added-albert-park-f1-circuit/. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ↑ Howard, Tom (14 March 2018). "Pirelli reveals tyre selections for Australian Grand Prix". Speedcafe. https://www.speedcafe.com/2018/03/14/pirelli-reveals-tyre-selections-australian-grand-prix/. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ↑ "2018 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 24 March 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/979/australia/qualifying.html. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ↑ Howard, Tom (23 March 2018). "Stewards issue grid penalty to Ricciardo". Speedcafe. https://www.speedcafe.com/2018/03/23/stewards-issue-grid-penalty-ricciardo2/. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ↑ Galloway, James; Green, Jonathan (24 March 2018). "Australian GP grid: Valtteri Bottas to join Daniel Ricciardo with penalty". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/11302329/australian-gp-grid-valtteri-bottas-to-join-daniel-ricciardo-with-penalty. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ↑ "Australia Grand Prix 2018 Race Results". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 25 March 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/979/australia/race-result.html. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
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