Valtteri Bottas eased to victory at the Australian Grand Prix with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton coming home second. Hamilton started on pole but lost his position to Bottas, who was second on the grid, after making a slow getaway.
Bottas never faced a challenge for his position and even took the new bonus point for the fastest lap of the day in Melbourne. It is the first time Bottas has won a Grand Prix since the final race of 2017 when he took the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.
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“I’ve never had a race like this with such a lead. I just had a really good feeling with the car today,” Bottas told Sky Sports. “I could’ve gone quicker in qualifying and in the end I couldn’t but Lewis could, but overall it’s today that matters.
“Your brain tricks you and says it’s easy, but it isn’t. there are so many things that can go wrong especially when you have that gap with you team-mate.”
Hamilton had to scrap it out with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but eventually proved too strong as Mercedes sealed a one-two. Verstappen had never previously finished better than fifth at the season-opener but he took the final spot on the podium.
