Lewis Hamilton wins in Melbourne

First race of the 2015 season and first double Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg largely dominated the opening event of the championship in Australia in Melbourne. The reigning World Champion was not worried throughout the 58 laps of the Grand Prix, and won in the end with a 1″4 lead over his teammate Nico Rosberg.

More than thirty seconds behind the untouchable W06 Hybrid, Sebastian Vettel off to a good start its collaboration with the Team Ferrari by offering himself a first podium in red right in front of the only one Williams having taken the start following Valtteri Bottas' package, that of Felipe Massa, which the German passed thanks to his pit stop.

Felipe Nasr places his Sauber C34 in fifth position. The Brazilian and his teammate Ericsson 8th, finally bring back the teamHinwil in the points after a blank year in 2014, and the legal setbacks of the Swiss team this weekend with Giedo van der Garde. Daniel Ricciardo finished 6th at the wheel of his Red Bull RB11 in front Nico Hulkenberg (ForceIndia). Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) 9th and Sergio Pérez (Force India) 10th also enter the points ahead of the last car on the track, the McLaren-Honda of Jenson Button, who saw the finish for his first Grand Prix outing.

Eleven cars crossed the line after a real massacre initiated even before the formation lap, since the McLaren's Kevin Magnussen (engine) and Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull (box) gave up by joining the grid. A few moments after the start, it's the stable Lotus which was hit hard, with the double abandonment of Pastor Maldonado, left into the wall after contact with the Sauber of Nasr at turn 2 and causing the safety car to enter the track, and Romain Grosjean, stopped by a mechanical problem on his E23 Hybrid at the end of the first lap.

Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) also retired from the race. The Dutchman was a victim of his mechanics when a wheel that was apparently loose during his second stop caused the Finn to stop at the side of the track. There F1 will now head to Malaysia and the Sepang track, for the second round of the championship on March 29.

Find the full report of the Australian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents in Melbourne, in issue 2003 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening in digital version, and from next Wednesday on newsstands.