Vettel cruises to Australian GP win

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the season as he dominated the Australian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull Racing driver was briefly challenged by Hamilton in the early stages of the race but eventually crossed the finish line with a twenty second-lead over the British driver. Vitaly Petrov took an impressive third place for Lotus Renault.

Alonso was fourth, Webber fifth.

How the race unfolded:

Sebastian Vettel took a great start from pole position, while his fellow front row starter Lewis Hamilton had to fend off an attack from Mark Webber. The McLaren driver hold on to P2 as his teammate Button lost a couple of places to Renault’s Petrov and Ferrari’s Massa.

The first couple of corners went even worse for Alonso who fell behind Nico Rosberg. Further behind there was some contacts. Rubens Barrichello ran wide, Jaime Alguersuari had to pit for a nose change and Michael Schumacher pitted with a puncture.

As Vettel tried to pull away at the front, Massa and Button were locked up in a close battle for 4th. The McLaren driver couldn’t find a way past, despite his insistence, even when he was allowed to use the DRS – as of the third lap. Their scrap allowed Alonso to close on them.

The Spaniard was right on their tail on lap 10. Button launched an attack on Massa on the next lap and made it stick by taking an escape road. Alonso immediately passed his teammate, making it difficult for Button to hand over his place to the Brazilian. Arguing he was already past the Ferrari driver when he took the escape road, Button waited for the stewards to investigate the move.

In the meantime, Alonso and Massa pitted for fresh rubber. The Briton was eventually handed a drive through penalty which he served on lap 18.

Meanwhile, at the front, Webber pitted on lap 11. Vettel pitted from the lead on lap 14 as Hamilton was closing on him. The McLaren driver pitted on lap 16 and rejoined behind the German. Petrov stopped in the same lap.

On lap 18, Vettel was leading from Hamilton, Webber and Petrov. Button stopped a couple of laps later for fresh tyres and rejoined in P12. Vettel slightly upped the pace in this stint and shook Hamilton off his back. Petrov held on to an impressive third place, while Webber seemed to struggle and came under pressure from Alonso.

Down the order, Michael Schumacher retired in the Mercedes garage on lap 23. His teammate Nico Rosberg retired on the next lap, following a collision with Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian had tried to pass the German but had touched the side of his Mercedes and spun. The damage caused to Rosberg’s car proved terminal. The Williams driver could carry on, after a stop in the pits, and was subsequently handed a drive through penalty.

Mark Webber kicked off the second round of pit stops on lap 27. Alonso stopped one lap later. The leading trio of Vettel, Hamilton and Petrov pitted on lap 36. Button stopped on lap 38.

Webber and Alonso stopped one more time on laps 42 and 43. The Ferrari driver managed to jump the Australian for fourth place. On lap 45, the two of them were more than 40 seconds down on Vettel who was enjoying a comfortable lead of ten seconds over Lewis Hamilton. Petrov was a solid third.

Alonso closed on Petrov in the final laps of the race but not quite enough to attack him. The Russian took a sensational third place, his maiden F1 podium, behind 2nd-placed Hamilton and race-winner Vettel.

Alonso was fourth ahead of Webber and Button. Sergio Perez finished his first F1 GP in 7th place. His teammate Kobayashi was 8th. Massa and Buemi scored the remaining points.

Race classification: