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Formula 1 Australian GP

Australian Grand Prix race day

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Vettel puts the hammer down with a new fastest lap. Hamilton wss a second behind but responds with his own new fastest lap to bring that back under a second.
Information
Lap 46 order: 1 Vettel; 2 Hamilton; 3 Raikkonen; 4 Ricciardo; 5 Alonso; 6 Verstappen; 7 Hulkenberg; 8 Bottas; 9 Vandoorne; 10 Sainz
Has Bottas got a problem? He's now fallen 1.8s off the back of Hulkenberg in eighth.
But Verstappen still isn't close enough to Alonso to try a move at Turn 3. The McLaren stays fifth.
Radio Comms
"Just have a think how you want to approach the last part of the race - attack every lap or chill out for a bit" Red Bull tells Ricciardo. "I don't want to let him breathe," is the response.
Verstappen very, very close to Alonso now.
Radio Comms
"Everything looks clear from our side," Renault tells Sainz, who confirms whatever the problem was has gone.
Radio Comms
"I have no power now," says Sainz. His pace is still OK though and he's 1.2s ahead of pursuer Perez.
Raikkonen has responded to Ricciardo now, and has that gap out to over a second too in the battle for third.
Behind the fifth place battle, Vandoorne is a bit lonely in ninth, then Sainz is under a touch of pressure from Perez for 10th.
Radio Comms
"Hamilton is struggling with power unit temps - keep your head down" Ferrari tells Vettel, who has 'stretched' his lead back out to just a smidge over a second now.
Verstappen is throwing everything at trying to catch Alonso for fifth, running a bit wide and bouncing over the kerbs out of Turn 2.
The fifth-place queue is back up to four cars, Alonso has Verstappen, Hulkenberg and Bottas all right behind him and all with DRS on each other.
Ricciardo looks like he's winding up for another attack on Raikkonen.
Radio Comms
"We need to have some lift and coast for PU temperatures" Hamilton is told. Let's hope he can keep things under control and keep the pressure up in this race.
Another fastest lap for Hamilton, who has DRS on Vettel again now.
Radio Comms
"Good lap Kimi! Tyres are good, fuel is good!" So no excuses for Raikkonen. Third is his if he can keep Ricciardo at bay.
Alonso and Verstappen are still tied together for fifth and sixth and have got a little bit of breathing space over Hulkenberg and Bottas behind now.
Radio Comms
Vettel has upped his pace too. There is very little to choose between them. "You are doing well - keep your head down," Ferrari tells Vettel.
Hamilton is handed some extra power and pumps in a new fastest lap to get the gap down below a second again. This is not over yet!
Radio Comms
Ricciardo is told Raikkonen "will make mistakes" so Red Bull urges him to keep the screw turned.
Alonso now has Verstappen, Hulkenberg and Bottas right on the back of him in a four-car train chasing fifth.
Radio Comms
"Head down" Vettel is told. Time to try to break Hamilton's resolve.
Vettel has the gap out to over a second over Hamilton now. If he can break Hamilton's DRS this race will surely be over at the front.
Bottas is closing on Hulkenberg rapidly now, and they're both keeping up with the Alonso/Verstappen battle for fifth ahead too.
Ricciardo has a look coming into Turn 3, but Raikkonen defends.
Raikkonen is definitely aware of Ricciardo's looming presence. That gap is now just half a second. Time for one of Ricciardo's patented late-braking lunges?
Stroll is coming back at Leclerc for 13th after a few laps where the Sauber was pulling away and chasing the Force Indias (helped by being on ultrasofts to their softs).
Verstappen is still right on Alonso for fifth but yet to find a way through.
Hamilton remains within a second of Vettel. Hamilton is clinging on to DRS and keeping the pressure on, but can he find a way past?
As Bottas closes on Hulkenberg for seventh, Hulkenberg asks Renault how many laps are left. The answer is 21.
This is a quietly decent start to Leclerc's F1 career. He gained ground as soon as Gasly retired earlier, he passed Stroll for 13th on the restart lap and is now closing on Ocon for 12th.

By: Geoff Creighton

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