Australian Grand Prix Race Report
Infiniti Red Bull Racing
New recruit Daniel Ricciardo raced his Renault-powered Infiniti Red Bull Racing to second position in the 58 lap race. Starting from second, the Australian kept his position throughout the race, withstanding pressure at the end of the GP from McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen. Sebastian Vettel retired on lap 5 after a misfire on the Power Unit caused a loss of power.
*Daniel Ricciardo was later excluded from the race following a breach of Article 3.2 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and Article 5.1.4 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations. The Team has notified the FIA of its intention to appeal with immediate effect.
Scuderia Toro Rosso
The Scuderia Toro Rosso-Renault Sport F1 partnership achieved a double points finish in its first race together. Running reliably all weekend, the team finished with Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne in 9th and rookie Daniil Kvyat 10th on track. Vergne was overtaken by Raikkonen early in the race but got back ahead after the safety car period.
Vergne was later passed by Bottas and then repassed by Raikkonen but remained on the tail of the cars in front. Russian Kvyat lost one position to Bottas midway through the race, but challenged Raikkonen for 9th until the Finn passed his team-mate on lap 47.
Caterham F1 Team
Kamui Kobayashi retired at the first corner following a collision caused by an electrical problem with his brakes that had developed on the formation lap. Marcus Ericsson performed exceptionally in his first race, remaining in the top 12 until his pit stop. Unfortunately he retired on lap 29 when the oil pressure in the Power Unit began to drop. To safeguard against damage to the engine he stopped the car out on track.
Lotus F1 Team
After a difficult start to the weekend, Lotus F1 Team took the start with Pastor Maldonado 22nd. Romain Grosjean started from the pitlane. The two cars moved into the top 12 and ran until mid-distance, until an MGU-K failure on both cars forced a double retirement.
Source Renault.
