It was clear that it would be an exciting Gran Prix, with position switching all over the grid.
Vettel and Raikkonen had an accident in the first corner, forcing Raikkonen to pit and start the race from the bottom of the grid.
Lewis Hamilton, who started last for Mercedes after his qualifying woes, came through a battling afternoon which featured five pit stops to finish seventh, just ahead of the Toro Rossos of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Williams’ Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top ten, with all 22 cars completing the race.
Rosberg had a flawless race only with Ricciardo taking the start in the first few corners, but afterwards Rosberg have been leading the race throughout the duration with no problems to be seen what so ever.
Some laps later with the track littered with debris from Ricciardo’s tyre and earlier incidents, the safety car was deployed, prompting the bulk of the field to pit for fresh rubber. When it came in at the end of lap eight, Rosberg headed an unlikely lead pack, featuring Williams’ Felipe Massa, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein, none of who had stopped.
It looks like Mercedes finally have some competition for the rest of the season with Redbull looking very strong and having the pace to compete in the top. Ferrari getting closer and closer to Mercedes pace. But once again it was a Mercedes that came out on top.
It was good to see the grid being very mixed with Wehrlein competing for 5th place, Redbull being on top and Mclaren looking stronger for this race, but unfortunately finishing out of the points.
Driver positions:
1. Nico Rosberg
2. Sebatian Vettel
3. Daniil Kvyat
4. Daniel Ricciardo
5. Kimi Raikkonen
6. Felipe Massa
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Max Verstappen
9. Carlos Sainz
10. Valtteri Bottas
11. Sergio Perez
12. Fernando Alonso
13. Jenson Button
14. Esteban Gutierrez
15. Nico Hulkenberg
16. Marcus Ericsson
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Pascal Wehrlein
19. Romain Grosjean
20. Felipe Nasr
21. Rio Haryanto
22. Jolyon Palmer
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