WINNER AT LAST
Bottas lost 11-0 to Hamilton last season. Now, after a winter on vodka and fuelled by porridge, he becomes a...
VALTTERI Bottas, fuelled by a breakfast of porridge, produced the finest drive of his life to win the Australian Grand Prix and spoil the script for Lewis Hamilton on the first outing of his title defence.
All Bottas’s pent-up frustration went into a display that left his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton 21 seconds adrift in runners-up spot.
Told by his race engineer Riccardo Musconi that the victory made up for last year, when he was vanquished 11-0 in race wins by the five-times world champion, Bottas replied: ‘To whom it may concern, f*** off.’
That was aimed at the detractors. It showed a new determination. He spent part of the winter doing what Finns do best — knocking back the vodka — to purge his mind of the ferocity of Hamilton’s form that had robbed him of confidence and called many to question whether he was fit for a team of Mercedes’ strength.
He even looked a touch meaner here in Melbourne, courtesy of a beard, newly grown to please his wife Emilia, an Olympic swimmer.
He decided to go for the extra point that, as of this race, is awarded for fastest lap. He managed it, too. He leads the championship for the first time in his career, 26 points to Hamilton’s 18.
The race result was settled in the 250 yards into the first corner. Hamilton, on pole, did not appear to get away too badly — there was no discernible wheelspin — but Bottas was off like greased lightning and into an early lead, which he maintained easily as he took the inside of the first corner, the right-hander.
He then powered away. The race of his life? ‘Definitely,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what happened. Everything was perfect.’ He was at a loss to explain his form, as if he had lived through an out-of-body experience.
‘I was determined to go for the extra point,’ he said. ‘It’s a new rule for this year and as I had really strong pace my mind was made up. It’s always a bit risky with worn tyres but it was worth it. I’m just so happy and can’t wait for the next race.’
Hamilton was a bit prickly over the radio, complaining about his tyres. The race over, a problem was diagnosed, possibly the result of debris.
‘ I had a damaged floor,’ he divulged. ‘We don’t know what caused it. It happened on the fourth lap and the car was very different from then on.’
Max Verstappen had a strong weekend for Red Bull and finished third. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was fourth — nearly a minute off the victor — with team- mate Charles Leclerc, who had no more than an average debut for the team, fifth.
What a crushing margin of defeat for the Scuderia, who skipped Down Under full of optimism that their pre- season testing pace would carry them to the top step.
‘It’s surprising and shocking how fast Mercedes were and how easy it was for them today,’ said Vettel. ‘But we must look at ourselves. We have a couple of days to read all the feedback again and go through everything.
‘In the race, I expected it to get better than in qualifying, but it was the opposite.’
Ferrari’s new team principal Mattia Binotto had promised that his two drivers would generally be free to fight each other.
But when Leclerc got within striking distance of Vettel in the latter stages, he asked the Ferrari pit wall whether he should hold position. ‘Yes,’ came the answer. ‘Back off to have some margin.’
Despite Ferrari’s failure, there were grounds, however fragile, for hoping it might not be a total Lewis walkover this season if Bottas can stick his oar in on a permanent basis. Perhaps, just perhaps, Red Bull will be contenders, too, seeing as Verstappen was right on Hamilton’s tail at the end.
Melbourne is a one- off track, with a history of anomalous results, so we will learn more in Bahrain a week on Sunday.
Hamilton was reasonably chipper — rather than chippy — afterwards. He was pleased that Mercedes are conspicuously fast and surely believes he will have the measure of Bottas over the stretch. ‘It is a solid result,’ he said. ‘It is a lot of points to lose but it could have been far worse. I am aware it is a long, long season.’
Local favourite Daniel Ricciardo, on his Renault debut, went on to the grass, fell foul of a municipal pothole and damaged his car on lap one. The harm was repaired but he later retired.
No Australian has ever won this race. The wait goes on.
Credit to Honda, Red Bull’s new engine suppliers, who secured their first podium for 11 years, a real change for the better since
their miserable two recent seasons at McLaren.
One sombre note was the sudden death of race director Charlie Whiting on Thursday, aged 66. Bottas dedicated the win, the fourth of his career and his first since November 2017, to the Englishman. ‘He did massive amounts for Formula One,’ said the winner, speaking for the sport.
The final tribute was paid by Hamilton to Bottas: ‘Valterri drove an incredible race, so he deserved it.’ They are not words we have heard often. Will they be called for again?
The season’s complexion may hinge on the answer.