Nico Rosberg has described winning the 2016 Formula 1 season opener in Australia as ‘unreal’, after beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Rosberg started second but strong starts from the Ferrari drivers saw him fall to third on the opening lap. He struggled to get close enough to try passing Kimi Raikkonen in the early stages, but displaced the Finn in the first round of pit stops.
A move to the medium compound tyre during the red flag period proved to be the right call and he took over the lead when Vettel pitted, pulling away from those behind and claiming victory.
"It's been a great weekend," he said on the podium. "Thank you to the team, they've done an incredible job with this car, it was just unreal today, and to beat the Ferraris was great, so we loved it.
![Aston Martin managed its first race finish of 2026 with Fernando Alonso [behind] completing the distance](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Aston-Martin-Honda-Japanese-GP-120x86.webp)
"I'm super excited. It's early days, but of course a perfect start. We've got to keep an eye on the red guys [Ferrari], as they're very close to us, as we saw today, so we have to give it everything to stay ahead of them."
Team-mate Hamilton dropped to sixth on the first lap after starting on pole position, but he steadily rose up the order. Strong strategy from Mercedes helped him finish second.
Speaking after the race he said: "I love the fact we had to come from behind. It was tricky out there.
"It was just trying to get through the traffic with these tyres on, especially with the guys in front who had the faster tyres on. It’s impossible to follow here. But I'm really happy to get the result, it's great for the team."
![Aston Martin managed its first race finish of 2026 with Fernando Alonso [behind] completing the distance](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Aston-Martin-Honda-Japanese-GP-350x250.webp)
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