Quite a lot. Here are the main things:
- lots of battling through the midfield runners;
- another points scoring finish for Haas F1;
- the fifth consecutive race win for Nico Rosberg;
- a debut points finish for Stoffel Vandoorne.
What didn’t happen is probably more significant though. There was no real battle for the lead – Rosberg lead from the start and only lost that position during the pit stop periods. There was no end in sight for the qualifying saga that keeps rumbling on.
Any hope for a fight between Mercedes and Ferrari were diminished by an engine problem for Sebastian Vettel before the race started. This left a clear slot on the grid for Daniel Ricciardo, but something he failed to make the most of. Instead, Valtteri Bottas powered through from his grid position into the first corner and, coupled with a slightly less than perfect start from Lewis Hamilton, lead to a clash at the first corner. Eventually, Bottas would receive a penalty, ruining his race. Hamilton’s damage ultimately limited his pace – but he still finished in third behind the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.
Daniel Ricciardo was also involved in the Hamilton-Bottas collision but recovered to claim fourth place.Romain Grosjean went one better for Haas in the team’s second race by finishing fifth after an attacking drive on a three-stop strategy.
After a fabulous sixth place in Australia for Haas, Romain Grosjean went one better by finishing fifth – his overtaking moves being a key feature of the TV coverage today.
Max Verstappen finished close behind in his Toro Rosso, with the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat capturing seventh. The top ten was rounded off by Felipe Massa in eighth, Bottas in ninth and Stoffel Vandoorne, deputising for the injured Fernando Alonso, earning a point on his debut for McLaren. Jenson Button suffered another retirement but he had been as high as third in one of the early practice sessions – McLaren not following the other teams in raising their engine power throughout the weekend and staying with the same output throughout.
Rosberg’s win gives him a 17 point lead in the championship over Hamilton, with 19 races to go.
