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Formula 1: Winners and losers from 2018 Australian Grand Prix

By Matthew Elich

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 25: Race winner Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari celebrates on the podium during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 25, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 25: Race winner Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari celebrates on the podium during the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park on March 25, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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The 2018 Formula 1 season is set in motion after the opening round in Australia. There was heartbreak for some and happiness for others. Who made the list?

The 2018 Formula 1 season opened up with Sebastian Vettel winning the Rolex Australian Grand Prix. Here is a link to the full results from that race.

Here are the race’s winners and losers.

Winners

Fernando Alonso: While Alonso may not have spent much time on the track during winter testing and may have had trouble even making it into the top 10 spots on the grid for Australia, he did have a great race. The lead McLaren driver placed fifth and gained some very valuable points for himself and the team.

Daniel Ricciardo: After not finishing his home Grand Prix last year, Ricciardo had a good qualifying session this season, putting himself in fifth position. He incurred a penalty and would start in eighth on the grid. During the race, he made several improvements in position, and the release of the virtual safety car helped the Aussie to finish right outside the podium in fourth.

Sebastian Vettel: The outright winner of the opening race, Vettel benefited more than any other driver when the virtual safety car was released. He prolonged his time on the track while Lewis Hamilton made a pit stop early, and Vettel had luck on his side when he did come into the pits. Hamilton had to slow down, which gave Vettel enough time to get fresh rubber, return to the track, and still maintain the lead.

Losers

Pierre Gasly: After trouble started with several puffs of grey smoke coming from under the engine cover, Gasly ended up retiring on lap 13. Engine failure from new Toro Rosso partner Honda was to blame, which is always a tough way to start a Formula 1 career. It could also be a sign of reliability problems for the outfit this season.

Sergey Sirotkin: As another new driver to the series, Sirotkin had very little time on the track due to a sandwich bag cutting off air to a brake duct toward the very beginning of the race. His humor regarding the incident may help him later in the season, as the Williams rookie joked about the empty bag: “Yeah, I didn’t even get a sandwich from it!”.

Kevin Magnussen: The Dane was riding high after securing the best qualifying position that team Haas have seen yet. Magnussen made a pit stop on lap 23, but after receiving a new set of supersoft tires, he made it only a fraction of the way down the track before coming to a halt. The team made communication errors during the release of Magnussen’s car and he ended up with a cross-threaded lugnut on the track. That would ultimately end his race, making for DNF’s two years in a row in the race for the driver.

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Romain Grosjean: The Frenchman was showing great promise having spent most of his race in fifth place. After making his only pit stop, Grosjean was forced to stop his car on the track, which resulted in the second retirement for Haas in only a matter of minutes. Again, it came down to an unsafe release from the team in the pits and resulted in another lost chance at points for Haas. It also swayed the tempo of the race, as it brought out a safety car and affected everyone else’s race.

Lewis Hamilton: After starting on pole and dictating the first third of the race in first place, Hamilton was in prime position to take the lead after making his pit stop for tires. Following Grosjean’s incident, Hamilton was forced to slow for the virtual safety car, and as a result, he lost first place in the shuffle.

Next: 3 common misconceptions people have about racing

The Australian Grand Prix has proven to be an exciting start to the 2018 Formula 1 season. If Sebastian Vettel can maintain his lead and Ferrari can continue to win, it may prove to be a real challenge for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. By the end of the season, we may be crowning a different five-time world champion that may not be the driver that the fans expected. 

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