The start of the season is always a magic moment for every fan in Formula 1 and Melbourne, Australia is the kind of place where everything can happen. But without too much of a surprise, 2018 Australian Grand Prix started with an outstanding qualifying from Mercedes. After a strong winter testing in Barcelona, the German team took pole position, with Hamilton more than six tenths of a second faster than Raikkonen in second place.

With an advantage like that, life should have been easy for the five-time world champion, but a strategy mistake from Mercedes put Vettel in front from third place after the pit stops. To be honest, Ferrari had a lot of luck in that occasion, as the double pit suicide from Haas took out Virtual Safety Car just when Vettel was waiting for his stop. Furthermore, race direction waited a bit too long to convert VSC in Safety Car, just in time to let Vettel come out of the pit and taking the lead from Hamilton and Raikkonen.

Last part of the race showed an impressive pace from Hamilton, trying everything to pass Vettel without success. Also, it showed how hard it was for a following driver not to destroy his tyres, with Hamilton struggling a bit defending himself from Raikkonen and Ricciardo in the last few laps. As the year before, Ferrari took victory in Melbourne against all odds, as Vettel’s win seemed incredible after Hamilton’s qualifying.

After the podium finishers, Red Bull confirmed his place as third best team, with Ricciardo fighting for the podium in the final stages of the race against the Finn, and Verstappen sixth after a bad mistake in the first half of the race. Fifth was Fernando Alonso in his first McLaren-Renault race, best result of the season for the Spaniard, with his infamous team radio “Now we can fight” after the chequered flag.  

Horarios del Gp de F1 de Australia 2019 para Latino américa, España, Italia y Reino Unido