Verstappen tenth in hectic Australian GP: "Everything went wrong"
Published on 20 March 2016 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen scored his first point of the 2016 Formula 1 season. After a chaotic race, the Dutchman finished the Australian Grand Prix in tenth place. The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was not able to capitalize on a excellent fifth place on the grid, after a slow second pit stop meant he rejoined the race in a bunged up midfield pack. At the front, Nico Rosberg claimed his fifteenth career win. The race was red flagged but later resumed after a severe crash involving McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Haas' Esteban Gutierrez. Both drivers walked away unharmed.
Straight after the race, Max is clear and concise in his commentary: “The start and first stint went well. But after the second pit stop it all went wrong.” The youngster refers to the miscommunication at the stop. “The tyres weren't ready and after that it became a difficult race. I was quicker than Sainz, throughout the whole race. Nothing was done about that so I know what I need to know.”
Even before the lights go out, problems strike the grid. Daniil Kvyat is unable to start the opening Grand Prix in the streets of Melbourne after an electric problem halts his Red Bull in the warm-up lap. The drivers are therefore send out on another warm-up lap before the race eventually gets under way.
Both Mercedes have a bad start and Sebastian Vettel takes the lead going into the first corner. Max is able to pass Lewis Hamilton and crosses the start/finish line in fourth after the opening lap. The Dutchman finds a good rhythm in his opening stint keeping the Mercedes behind his STR11. “I can't get past this guy”, Lewis Hamilton responds to his team.
Max moves into third when Nico Rosberg pits for his first stop but the Dutchman follows the German's example a lap later. Max rejoins in tenth but quickly works his way up the order by decisively passing Nico Hulkenberg and Jenson Button.
Suddenly, the attention swings to Esteban Gutierrez. The Mexican climbs out of his Haas F1 car, which appears to have damage on the left rear corner. After the dust settles, the wreck of Fernando Alonso's McLaren is also visible. The Spaniard hit Gutierrez' car on the left rear wheel catapulting the McLaren into to the safety barriers after a terrifying flip. Both drivers are able to get out of their cars unharmed but the debris caused by the incident prompts race director Charlie Whiting to send out the safety car before red flagging the session.
The race is restarted after a warm-up lap behind the safety car. Vettel leads ahead of Rosberg, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo and Max. Both Red Bull sponsored drivers move up a place after Raikkonen retires his Ferrari with an engine problem.
Meanwhile, Max's team mate Carlos Sainz complaints about his tyres and tells the team he is coming in for a stop. Sainz's move appears to not be part of the initial strategy; when Max comes in straight after his team mate, his tyres are not ready costing him valuable time. “How many times have I told you we have tyre problems and I wanted to pit first?”, is Max tells the team.
Nevertheless, Max quickly closes the four second gap to Sainz and urges the team to take action. However, Sainz will not give up his position as he is fighting for P9 with Renault's Jolyon Palmer. Eventually, both Toro Rossos pass the Renault in lap 42 but the pair have lost valuable time in their march forward.
Meanwhile, Marcus Ericsson retires his Sauber with drive shaft problems whereas the Mercedes have restored order with Rosberg leading Hamilton. A one-two finished is not yet secured though. Hamilton is lapping the Albert Park street circuit on relatively old medium Pirellis with Sebastian Vettel charging on the soft compound. Hamilton is able to hold on to second after the Ferrari driver makes a small mistake in the penultimate corner a couple of laps from the end.
In the same turn, Max and Sainz touch after the Spaniard misses his brake point. It sends Max into a spin but he is able to resume the race without losing position. It means Scuderia Toro Rosso finish the Australian Grand Prix in ninth and tenth.
Newcomers Haas F1 had a terrific debut despite Gutierrez's DNF. The American outfit make the most of the safety car situation and are able to hold to sixth position and eight vital points.
Australian Grand Prix - Albert Park Street Circuit - Sunday 20 March 2016
RACE RESULTS P Driver Team Time 1 Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes 1:48:15.565 2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes +8.060s 3 Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari +9.643s 4 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull +24.330s 5 Felipe Massa BRA Williams +58.979s 6 Romain Grosjean FRA Haas +72.081s 7 Nico Hulkenberg GER Force India +74.199s 8 Valtteri Bottas FIN Williams +75.153s 9 Carlos Sainz ESP Toro Rosso +75.680s 10 Max Verstappen NED Toro Rosso +76.833s 11 Jolyon Palmer GBR Renault +83.399s 12 Kevin Magnussen DEN Renault +85.606s 13 Sergio Perez MEX Force India +91.699s 14 Jenson Button GBR McLaren +1 lap 15 Felipe Nasr BRA Sauber +1 lap 16 Pascal Wehrlein GER Manor +1 lap NC Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber DNF NC Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari DNF NC Rio Haryanto INA Manor DNF NC Esteban Gutierrez MEX Haas DNF NC Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren DNF NC Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull DNS
