Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel made an ideal start to his Formula One title defense, driving a flawless race to outpace McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix yesterday.
Starting from pole position, Vettel maintained his lead off the start, sped away and was never seriously threatened. Hamilton’s chances of launching a pursuit were hampered by a damaged floor on his car and he had to settle for second, 22 seconds behind the German.
Renault’s Vitaly Petrov was a surprise third, claiming his first ever podium finish with a strong drive.
Photo: AFP
Vettel, who drove a two-stop strategy on the new Pirelli tires, made his first pit to change to fresh rubber on the 14th lap, importantly emerging in third ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.
Vettel was back in the lead after Hamilton and Petrov pitted two laps later, and he retained a comfortable buffer from then on.
Button was sixth, falling short in his bid to win the race for a third straight year. He had to do a drive-through penalty after using a slip road to pass Ferrari’s Felipe Massa after a dogfight between the pair in the early part of the race, and that cost him a shot at third.
Mexican rookie Sergio Perez’s dream debut was spoiled when he and teammate Kamui Kobayashi were disqualified after post-race scrutinizing found their Sauber cars breached technical regulations.
Race stewards found the Saubers breached articles 3.10.1 and 3.10.2 relating to the shape and curvature of the cars’ wings.
Sauber announced its intention to appeal that decision to the FIA, motor sport’s governing body.
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