2015 Australian Grand Prix Sunday - Australian Grand Prix
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Maurizio Arrivabene is in the pitlane getting the lowdown from the crew on Raikkonen's slow pitstop.
Rosberg is a tenth faster over the course of lap 18, so the gap is now 2.3s between he and Hamilton.
Edd Straw: "While a two-stop strategy could prove quickest, a one-stopper is certainly possible on wear. Problem is, it means you have to do a lot of running on the slower medium. Could well work in the midfield in particular though."
We'll have Button vs Perez round two soon - the Force India is catching by 1s per lap and is 4s behind.
More 'purple' (best) sectors for Hamilton.
Sainz has lost touch with the Nasr/Ricciardo fight, but is 5.6s clear of Verstappen, who is still keeping Hulkenberg and Ericsson at bay.
New fastest lap for the leader - 1m32.148s. Rosberg also sets a personal best, but a 1m32.300s means he's now 2.5s behind.
Make that 2.7s further round the following lap.
Make that 2.7s further round the following lap.
Nasr had a bit of breathing space in fifth as Ricciardo focused on Raikkonen. With the Ferrari out of the way, the Red Bull could come back at the Sauber now.
Edd Straw: "After qualifying, Rosberg said that his best chance - other than the start - to get ahead of Hamilton was on tyre strategy. As the quickest strategy could be a two stopper, running soft-soft-medium, expect Rosberg to go for the alternative and bolt on mediums for the middle stint and try to attack on the faster tyre late on."
Hamilton is flying on this lap.
There looked to be a problem on the left rear for Raikkonen.
Raikkonen puts new softs on, so he's two-stopping. It's a very slow stop.
Raikkonen dives into the pits from seventh on lap 16.
In a repeat of 2014 - Hamilton has used less fuel than Rosberg so far in the race. The Brit said earlier in the weekend that his team-mate had been working in the simulator all winter to try to reduce that advantage.
Force India asked Perez if he had damage and the Mexican didn't think so, but the replay suggested a fair bit of carbon fibre playing from his floor and the marshals have done a dash onto the track down there to tidy up.
That McLaren message was code for: don't take yourself out being too feisty with a Force India. Button adds that the car feels like it's "up on the right front".
Quote
"Jenson, there are only 13 cars in the race, there could be points for finishing," says McLaren. "Roger!" he replies.
Vettel is warned of "possible debris" and told to keep pushing.
Perez got down the inside of the McLaren, hit it side on and spun, sustaining some floor damage along the way.
Rosberg is now 2.5s behind Hamilton out front. 33.0s for the leader, 32.9s for Rosberg.
Hamilton/AusGP
Crash
Perez has a spin at Turn 3, was that a move on Button?
Edd Straw: "The fact Ricciardo can't do anything about Nasr ahead says a lot about the relative performance of the Renault and Ferrari engines. Is clearly faster than the Sauber over a lap, but can't get past and, as a result, is vulnerable to attack from Raikkonen."
Stuck in the traffic, Raikkonen is 11s and three places behind team-mate Vettel.
Raikkonen is challenging Ricciardo hard for sixth as both queue up behind Nasr.
Rosberg's pace has settled down again after that slower lap that did so much damage in his chase of Hamilton. However, the world champion is still lapping faster. Gap up to 2.9s.
And good news for Button: he said yesterday 12 laps is the furthest he's got in the car... he's onto lap 13!
Edd Straw: "In the Williams versus Ferrari battle, Massa holds third with Vettel fourth. Vettel is sat a second behind, so potentially could be keeping his powder dry for an attack later in the race. That maybe hints that the Ferrari race pace is stronger at this stage even if he can't pass Massa right now. Hard to be sure right now, though, as it could just be that both have very similar pace."
The Force India was all over the back of McLaren through Turns 11, 12 and 13 but couldn't get through.
Massa has edged away from Vettel in the battle for third, too. Vettel has slipped to 1.2s behind the Williams.
"Keep making life difficult for him," McLaren tells Button.
Perez is trying some wild moves to pass Button for 12th, including one in the fast Turn 11/12.
Just a couple of laps ago it looked like Rosberg was about to get into DRS range - a personal best for Hamilton means that gap is nearly up to two seconds now.
Lap 11 order:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Massa
3 Vettel
5 Nasr
6 Ricciardo
7 Raikkonen
8 Sainz
9 Verstappen
10 Hulkenberg
11 Ericsson
12 Button
13 Perez
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Massa
3 Vettel
5 Nasr
6 Ricciardo
7 Raikkonen
8 Sainz
9 Verstappen
10 Hulkenberg
11 Ericsson
12 Button
13 Perez
The swing in Mercedes gap is down to Hamilton picking his pace up by a couple of tenths, and Rosberg's dropping away on that lap.
If you're just joining us, so far we've lost Bottas (back pain), Magnussen (pre-race engine failure), Kvyat (pre-race gearbox failure), Maldonado (first corner collision) and Grosjean (first-lap mechanical problem), and with Manor having never made it out, that's why we have 13 cars running.
Hamilton's lead is up to 1.7s by the end of lap 11.
Edd Straw: "Verstappen is in a good position. He started on the slower mediums and is sat in ninth place, four seconds behind team-mate Sainz. While a two-stopper is likely to be the best strategy, it's not out of the question he could attempt a one-stopper. Most likely, Toro Rosso will keep their strategic options open with him for a few more laps and see how things pan out."
And more from Hamilton - gap back up to 1.5s.
Hamilton responds to Rosberg's pace at the start of this lap - his grabbed a tenth back.
More images coming in from the first-lap mess, here's a look at where Maldonado's Lotus ended up by the time it had all unfolded:
MaldonadoCrash/AusGP
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Lawrence Barretto, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Jack Benyon
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