Rosberg runs away in Australia, Ricciardo second, Magnussen third

Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg finished the FIA Formula One 2014 Australian Grand Prix season opening race on top after taking the chequered flag as the winner. The German driver has achieved the 100th Mercedes powered first place finish with his impressive race result. The tables shortly turned for Rosberg and his team mate, Lewis Hamilton shortly after the race got underway. Rosberg qualified in third place but soon had an unexpected opportunity to leapfrog Hamilton, as the Englishman entered the pits on lap two and retired from the race due to a miss-fire with one of the cylinders on his car.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo managed to keep hold of his second place from qualifying yesterday all the way to the finish line at the end of his first race for the team and on home turf. The Australian’s team mate, Sebastian Vettel was not as fortunate in the race though and he joined Hamilton in retirement on lap five due to a KERS problem on his car.

McLaren’s new addition to the team, Kevin Magnussen started off his first season in Formula One in style and for the team, following his fourth place in qualifying yesterday and going on to secure his maiden podium finish with third place.

Magnussen’s team mate, Jenson Button just missed out on a podium spot to the Danish driver and followed closely behind to take fourth place.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso seemed to keep out of the limelight during the race but finished where he started in fifth place. The Spaniard’s team mate, Kimi Raikkonen had some competitive scraps for position with other drivers in the field throughout the proceedings. The Finnish driver failed to catch Alonso to pose a threat on his position and ended the race a couple of places behind in eighth place.

Williams driver, Valtteri Bottas had a close encounter with the wall on lap 10, which led one of the rear tyres on his car to fall off and he had to swiftly visit the pits for unexpected repairs. The Finnish driver was able to get back on track and completed the race in sixth place. Bottas’ incident did prompt a safety car appearance from lap 12 until lap 15, in order to allow the race marshals to remove the remains of the tyre from the track which came off his car.

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg appeared to have a problem free race and he maintained his position from qualifying. The German driver picked up his first points of the 2014 season with his seventh place finish.

Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne pipped his Russian rookie team mate, Daniil Kvyat for the second day in a row over the race weekend when it mattered most. Vergne got in front to secure ninth place for himself and Kvyat completed the race in the 10th and final point scoring position.

Beyond the top 10, there were only four other drivers who went the distance in the race which included; Marussia’s Max Chilton, Hulkenberg’s team mate, Sergio Perez and the Sauber duo of Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez.

In addition to Hamilton and Vettel who failed to reach the finish line, the pair were accompanied by a few other drivers who suffered the same fate. The Lotus duo of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado had a double retirement for the team. Grosjean was issued with a drive through penalty before the race had even got the green light, for leaving the pit garage prior to the 15 minute signal. The Frenchman then came to a standstill at the side of the track on lap 45 and retired from the race due a suspected KERS failure on his car.

Maldonado’s early exit from the race came before Grosjean’s, as the Venezuelan driver also stopped at the side of the track in his car on lap 32 and bowed out due to a turbo ERS failure on his car.

Caterham’s two new drivers, Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi also did not manage to complete the race. Ericsson was reportedly advised by the team to shut the engine down on lap 29 and the Swedish driver took no further part in the action.

Kobayashi, who has returned to Formula One this season having previously raced for Sauber, did not get off to the best start in the race today as he made a swift exit before it had barely begun. The Japanese driver reportedly had cold tyres as the race got underway, which led them to lock up and he sailed into the path of Williams driver, Felipe Massa, who was unfortunately collected in the process. The two drivers retired from the action and it was reported that the incident would be investigated by the stewards after the race for the purpose of causing a collision. It has not yet been announced as to whether any further action will be taken with the pair.

Chilton’s team mate, Jules Bianchi was the final driver who did not feature in the race classification list. Bianchi and Chilton came to a standstill on the grid, one after the other which prompted two formation laps to take place. The pair ended up in the pits and were able to participate in the race. Bianchi was too far behind the rest of the field by the end.

The drivers have now put the new cars through their paces in the season opening race. Unfortunately, the experience did not last long for some of the drivers and with the likes of Hamilton and Vettel retiring from the race, it has proved how unpredictable the sport is. Today’s outcome could indicate a further shake up in qualifying and race results, as the drivers and teams compete against each other in two week’s time for the Malaysian Grand Prix.