Albert Park Returns to F1, Maldonado Executing Dominating Performance

Qualifying:

Pos#DriverConstructorTime
129Pastor MaldonadoSauber-Judd1:20.011
262Jules BianchiPrecision-Mercedes1:20.163
32Lewis HamiltonCaterham-Judd1:20.288
427Dave CassidyFerrari1:20.367
524Kevin MagnussenFAST-Mercedes1:20.369
622Jordan DaviesHaas-Judd1:20.485
728Daniel MelroseFerrari1:20.603
831Romain GrosjeanHolden1:20.609
923Pierre GaslyFAST-Mercedes1:20.638
101Sebastian VettelCaterham-Judd1:20.741
1130Dean StonemanSauber-Judd1:21.090
1221Stoffel VandoorneHaas-Judd1:21.127
1333Einar ÁrmannssonTheodore-Judd1:21.356
1434Valtteri BottasTheodore-Judd1:21.449
1563Diego Álvarez TorrentePrecision-Mercedes1:21.499
1632Alexander AlbonHolden1:21.638
175Marvin KirchhöferWilliams-Mercedes1:21.743
186Santiago UrrutiaWilliams-Mercedes1:22.303
1966Pascal WehrleinRed Bull-Ferrari1:22.442
2090Daniel RicciardoCalinetic-Holden1:22.521
2191Max VerstappenCalinetic-Holden1:22.603
2255Artem MarkelovMansell-Mercedes1:21.681*
23119Felix RosenqvistDawson-Holden1:22.963
2467Mike RockenfellerRed Bull-Ferrari1:23.002
25118Carlos Sainz JrDawson-Holden1:23.007
2656Sergey SirotkinMansell-Mercedes1:23.364

* given 5-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident

Report:

Pastor Maldonado lapping a multiple-time world champion in the Caterham proved how much he dominated this race.

 

 

One of the most popular tracks that have departed from the F1 calendar in recent years was the Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne’s amazing dash that opened so many Formula One seasons. You can imagine the joy when Christian Horner and the government of the state Victoria announced a new deal that will see the Australian Grand Prix return to Melbourne for the next nine seasons.

However, it was on Formula 1 to deliver on the hype. A great track does not mean anything without great racing. Qualifying promised great things, as Pastor Maldonado performed a breathtaking lap to seize pole position despite carrying a very significant amount of success ballast with him. Jules Bianchi and Lewis Hamilton, however, were also ready to pounce on any chances as they sat close in P2 and P3.

Sauber refused to entertain the notion of an amazing brawl for the win, however, as Pastor Maldonado pulled away early in the race and went on to dominate the Grand Prix. He ended up winning this race by nearly half a minute, slightly slowing down in the end to save his car. Dean Stoneman also performed quite well to complete a nice race for the Swiss team, coming back from 11th to finish in 3rd place.

Two more big-time performances were seen by Dean Torrente, who improved by ten positions to finish in fifth place, and the reigning champion Sebastian Vettel. Unfortunately, where there is good, there also must be bad. Romain Grosjean caused a silly accident in turn 1 before suffering karma and retiring from the race. Daniel Melrose had a collision as well, costing Scuderia Ferrari two points.

Race:

Pos#DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints
129Pastor MaldonadoSauber-Judd44:27.50015
262Jules BianchiPrecision-Mercedes+28.78612
330Dean StonemanSauber-Judd+32.66210
41Sebastian VettelCaterham-Judd+33.1118
563Diego Álvarez TorrentePrecision-Mercedes+36.6906
622Jordan DaviesHaas-Judd+43.4905
733Einar ÁrmannssonTheodore-Judd+44.1864
834Valtteri BottasTheodore-Judd+55.4103
923Pierre GaslyFAST-Mercedes+60.1932
1028Daniel MelroseFerrari+50.222*1
1127Dave CassidyFerrari+71.4550
1232Alexander AlbonHolden+72.6780
136Santiago UrrutiaWilliams-Mercedes1 Lap0
1466Pascal WehrleinRed Bull-Ferrari1 Lap0
152Lewis HamiltonCaterham-Judd1 Lap0
1667Mike RockenfellerRed Bull-Ferrari1 Lap0
175Marvin KirchhöferWilliams-Mercedes1 Lap0
18119Felix RosenqvistDawson-Holden1 Lap0
1956Sergey SirotkinMansell-Mercedes1 Lap0
2091Max VerstappenCalinetic-Holden1 Lap0
21118Carlos Sainz JrDawson-Holden1 Lap0
DNF55Artem MarkelovMansell-MercedesTransmission0
DNF90Daniel RicciardoCalinetic-HoldenTransmission0
DNF31Romain GrosjeanHoldenOil Leak0
DNF24Kevin MagnussenFAST-MercedesCollision0
DNF21Stoffel VandoorneHaas-JuddCollision0

* given 20-second penalty for causing an avoidable accident

Fastest Lap:

Pastor Maldonado – 1:22.768

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Jordan Davies – after struggling earlier this season, he scored some good points now.

Reject Of The Race:

Romain Grosjean – was a proper nutcase on lap one and then retired without showing much before.