Nico Rosberg got his title campaign off to the best possible start with a relatively easy victory in Australia, eventually finishing ahead of second place by almost 25 seconds.
Rosberg beat home favourite Daniel Ricciardo who scored a podium on his Red Bull debut, managing to hold off a charging Kevin Magnussen who, on his F1 debut, took a podium to match McLaren’s last rookie, Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton’s own race however didn’t go to plan. The Briton retired on lap four after reporting a loss of power. Mercedes confirmed Hamilton lost a cylinder before the race had even started which allowed Rosberg and Ricciardo to pass before turn one.
An angry Felipe Massa retired at turn one when Kamui Kobayashi hit the Williams from behind, prompting the Brazilian to demand a race ban for the Japanese driver.
Among the other retirements – seven in total – was champion Sebastian Vettel who’s energy recovery system gave up on him.
Race Result – 2014 Australian Grand Prix:
| # | Driver | Team | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 25 | |
| 02. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | +24.5 | 18 |
| 03. | K. Magnussen | McLaren | +26.7 | 15 |
| 04. | J. Button | McLaren | +30.0 | 12 |
| 05. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +35.2 | 10 |
| 06. | V. Bottas | Williams | +47.6 | 8 |
| 07. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | +50.7 | 6 |
| 08. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +57.6 | 4 |
| 09. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | +60.4 | 2 |
| 10. | D. Kvyat | Toro Rosso | +63.5 | 1 |
| 11. | S. Perez | Force India | +85.9 | |
| 12. | A. Sutil | Sauber | +1 lap | |
| 13. | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | +1 lap | |
| 14. | M. Chilton | Marussia | +2 laps | |
| 15. | J. Bianchi | Marussia | +3 laps | |
| 16. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | Retired | |
| 17. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | Retired | |
| 18. | M. Ericsson | Caterham | Retired | |
| 19. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | Retired | |
| 20. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | Retired | |
| 21. | F. Massa | Williams | Retired | |
| 22. | K. Kobayashi | Caterham | Retired |
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