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Formula 1
Australian GP
2014 Australian Grand Prix Sunday - Australian Grand Prix
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Simple instructions to Vergne: "OK JEV, you've fighting everyone around you now till the end of the race. Look after the tyres".
...sizable. We'll say that. Rosberg pits from the lead.
Williams tells Bottas that all cars ahead are on slower or older tyres so "we should be able to catch them."
In comes Magnussen and he rejoins with his nose perfectly in tact. He stays third behind Ricciardo. The gap to Button is...
Magnussen will stop this lap as well. How close will Button be? Within 10s, you'd think.
Ricciardo pits and further behind, so too do Bottas, Raikkonen and Kvyat.
Bottas's recovery has been hugely impressive but it's still very much a case of what might have been. He's 14s behind Magnussen (and a podium place).
Button does jump Alonso, but Hulkenberg doesn't! The Ferrari rejoins just ahead... Hulkenberg challenges into Turn 3, but Alonso squeezes him out and holds the place.
Now Alonso pits.
Raikkonen locks up again into Turn 9, and Bottas passes him as the Ferrari runs wide.
Ferrari and Williams not blinking despite Button jumping Hulkenberg - they would lose out if they stopped now, so it looks like Plan A is what they are sticking with.
Button lost the tip of his nose in that stop but it's not hurting him - he's just set the fastest middle sector of the race on new medium rubber.
Bottas is within DRS range of Raikkonen now.
Force India warned Hulkenberg that he'd be racing Button on the pit exit, but the McLaren was already clear.
That means he should jump Alonso as well.
Button's ahead of Hulkenberg!
Hulkenberg pits, but Alonso stays out. Vergne is also in.
Rosberg's lead is up to 15.2s now, and no need for a safety car after Maldonado's Lotus is removed.
Button gets the call to box and he's in. Will that trigger a clutch of stops? He could leapfrog Alonso/Hulkenberg here.
Still Alonso is harrying Hulkenberg but still the Spaniard can do nothing about him. Button's now drifting somewhere between that pair and Vergne/Raikkonen behind.
Bottas is a couple of seconds further back.
Bottas is a couple of seconds further back.
Lotus says it was a failed MGU-K that stopped Maldonado.
That brings out the yellow flags, and could it spark another safety car? We're in Rosberg's pit window, we know that, so that probably stands for the rest as well.
Lotus will still be encouraged that it got both cars past half-distance.
We spoke too soon about Lotus - Maldonado has pulled up and parked trackside.
Red Bull tells Ricciardo that Magnussen is "starting to struggle". The gap from the Australian to the Dane is up to 7.8s.
Breaking news
So, having passed mid-distance, here's the story of the race so far:
* Rosberg in command ahead of Ricciardo and Magnussen
* Hamilton almost immediately suffers a power issue, drops to five cylinders and retires after two laps having started on pole
* Vettel is also out of the race after his Renault engine issues continue in the Red Bull
* Bottas charges early on, drops back after hitting the wall and getting a puncture, and is now back in the points
* Kobayashi triggers a big shunt within seconds of the start, Massa calls for a one-race ban
* Both Lotus drivers still running after tough weekend
* Rosberg in command ahead of Ricciardo and Magnussen
* Hamilton almost immediately suffers a power issue, drops to five cylinders and retires after two laps having started on pole
* Vettel is also out of the race after his Renault engine issues continue in the Red Bull
* Bottas charges early on, drops back after hitting the wall and getting a puncture, and is now back in the points
* Kobayashi triggers a big shunt within seconds of the start, Massa calls for a one-race ban
* Both Lotus drivers still running after tough weekend
Breaking news
Lotus will get to make two pitstops! Maldonado now comes in.
Caterham reassures Ericsson that he was doing a really good job until the car went sick.
Rosberg and Mercedes react quickly to Ricciardo's burst of pace and unleash a lap a second faster, bringing the gap back up to 10.6s.
Caterham ordered Ericsson to stop the car due to a loss of oil pressure.
Grosjean makes a pitstop, something Lotus admitted it didn't think it would do today...
Ericsson parks his Caterham, meaning both the green cars are out.
Ricciardo picking up pace on that last lap, getting down into the 1m34s and taking half a second out of Rosberg's 10s lead.
In case you were wondering, everyone bar Perez is on the soft tyre. Rosberg, though, is told they will switch to the medium for the next stint.
It's stagnated at the front, but maybe that's not a bad thing after such an explosive first 15 laps or so.
Raikkonen locked up into Turn 9 and lost about 2s on the previous lap, that's the reason there.
Rosberg pushes his lead to 10s now, bigger than it ever was before the safety car. Ricciardo is 3s clear of Magnussen,
The battle for fourth has become a four-car affair now, Raikkonen's dropped back quite considerably.
The battle for fourth has become a four-car affair now, Raikkonen's dropped back quite considerably.
Bianchi is six laps down after a long pit visit at the start, but unlapped himself from Chilton at the safety car restart. Ericsson has just pitted and emerged behind the Marussia.
EDD STRAW: "It's worth remembering just how all at sea Red Bull looked only a couple of weeks ago during the Bahrain tests.
"The car looked fundamentally good, but the team had loads of problems and failed to complete its race run on the final day.
"While Vettel is out, Daniel Ricciardo is holding second very comfortably. If he can complete Red Bull's first full proper race distance on the podium, that will cap an amazing turnaround."
"The car looked fundamentally good, but the team had loads of problems and failed to complete its race run on the final day.
"While Vettel is out, Daniel Ricciardo is holding second very comfortably. If he can complete Red Bull's first full proper race distance on the podium, that will cap an amazing turnaround."
By: Matt Beer, Edd Straw, Ben Anderson, Jonathan Noble, Scott Mitchell, Andrew van Leeuwen
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