2015 Australian Grand Prix Sunday - Australian Grand Prix
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Button's not happy with the McLaren's braking, and he's ordered to make a settings change.
Rosberg continues to take time out of Hamilton, the gap is down to 1.2s. Nearly in DRS range.
Massa - still 0.6s ahead of Vettel - is told "this is a good rhythm" by the Williams pitwall.
Button, in 12th, is lapping 3.4s off the leaders' pace and a second slower than Ericsson ahead. Perez is catching him.
Now he's been passed by Raikkonen, Sainz is dropping away from the battle for fifth - still led by Nasr - slightly.
Hamilton - 1m32.933s
Rosberg - 1m32.380s
Rosberg - 1m32.380s
Rosberg is taking chunks out of Hamilton at the moment - the gap is down to 1.5s.
Edd Straw: "Button's pace is poor. He is lapping in the 1m36 bracket, but those on the periphery of the points are in the 35s and 34s. That said, with only 13 cars circulating, the key for McLaren-Honda is to get that car to the chequered flag. If Button can finish, every chance of getting into the points, which would be pretty much equivalent to a win given the troubled start for that team."
Hulkenberg (P10) is informed that he is starting to get caught by Ericsson.
Vettel is still hounding Massa for third - he's only 0.6s behind the Williams.
Here's another view of the first-lap clash unfolding. Raikkonen, Nasr and Maldonado are about to find out that three-into-one won't go when they get halfway round Turn 2.
First Corner/AusGP
The gap is ebbing and flowing between the Mercedes at the front. Hamilton edged away again to 2.5s following Rosberg's fastest lap, but the live splits show Rosberg has it down to 2.1s now.
Raikkonen passes Sainz for seventh, jinking to the rookie's outside on the run to Turn 9 and taking it under braking.
Ericsson runs a lonely 11th ahead of Button, and Perez has just delayed himself further with a visit to the Turn 3 gravel.
Verstappen is told to "close the gap to the cars ahead", as he sits more than 2s behind the Nasr-led chain of cars.
Edd Straw: "Nasr is creating a bottleneck in fifth place in the Sauber. Not as quick as Vettel and has got Ricciardo, Sainz and Raikkonen stuck behind him. Unfortunately for Raikkonen, who is fourth in that train, this will likely cost him a shot at the podium."
In ninth, Verstappen is fending off Hulkenberg.
Nasr has fallen 4s away from Vettel ahead in fourth, and has Ricciardo, Sainz and Raikkonen close behind.
Rosberg responds to Hamilton's startling early pace with the fastest lap, bringing the gap down to 2.4s.
Button is told "this level of fuel saving looks good" - the McLaren is P12, lapping in the 1m37s while the leaders are doing 1m32s.
Perfect timing for Vettel given that gap - DRS is now active.
Another three tenths for Hamilton, his lead is up to 2.7s over Rosberg.
Massa is 2.3s behind Rosberg, and only 0.7s ahead of Vettel's Ferrari.
Massa is 2.3s behind Rosberg, and only 0.7s ahead of Vettel's Ferrari.
Here's a shot of the run through Turn 1, showing the Ferraris getting close and starting the chain reaction.
Start/AusGP
Replay of the restart shows Nasr was just much sharper on the green than Sainz and breezed past him before Turn 1.
Hamilton leads Rosberg by 2.4s - yes, that much! - at the end of the first racing lap.
That's a double blow for Perez as Ericsson's pitstop means he's two cars behind.
Force India informs Perez that he has to drop behind Ericsson having overtaken him under the safety car.
Raikkonen battles past Verstappen into eighth into Turn 3.
Rosberg is fortunate that Massa also wasn't particularly alert, so the Mercedes 1-2 is safe.
Nasr grabs fifth from Sainz as they cross the line, great restart from the Sauber.
Hamilton goes early, and he's got a big jump on Rosberg before the penultimate corner.
Edd Straw: "All three rookies have come out of that start in good positions. Sainz is fifth, Nasr sixth and Verstappen ninth. Particularly fortunate for Nasr, who survived contact at the start. All three now have a great platform to build towards a points finish."
Grosjean had no involvement in those tangles, so his retirement was another mechanical failure.
Safety car in this lap.
Vettel tapped the inside kerb at Turn 1, which moved him over on Raikkonen to trigger those events.
As Nasr and Maldonado tried to dodge around Raikkonen's slowing car, the three made contact and the Lotus was sent spinning into the wall.
Replays show the two Ferraris made minor contact at Turn 1, making Raikkonen slow out of the corner.
Grosjean is static much longer, his car might require repairs. In fact he's being retired already. Down to 13!
Ericsson and Grosjean come straight into the pits. Ericsson ditches the mediums for softs.
Order:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Massa
4 Vettel
5 Sainz
6 Nasr
7 Ricciardo
8 Raikkonen
9 Verstappen
10 Hulkenberg
11 Perez
12 Ericsson
13 Button
14 Grosjean
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg
3 Massa
4 Vettel
5 Sainz
6 Nasr
7 Ricciardo
8 Raikkonen
9 Verstappen
10 Hulkenberg
11 Perez
12 Ericsson
13 Button
14 Grosjean
By: AUTOSPORT staff, Lawrence Barretto, Glenn Freeman, Edd Straw, Jack Benyon
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