Mercedes kicks off 2015 season in style with a 1-2 finish at the Australian Grand Prix

Tuesday, 17 March 2015 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Mercedes AMG Petronas kicked off the 2015 Formula One season with a bang by securing 1st and 2nd places at the Australian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton took his 34th career victory at Albert Park – his second in Australia and 13th for the Silver Arrows while Nico Rosberg took second position after a race-long chase, finishing just 1.3 seconds shy of his team-mate. This result marks the 30th Formula One victory for the Silver Arrows and both drivers ran a one stop strategy, pitting for prime tyres.

Mercedes-Benz AMG Petronas had a dream season in 2014 by winning the Drivers’ Championship and the Constructors’ Championship with several races remaining in the season. Moreover Lewis and Nico broke many records – individual and team during the 2014 season. Lewis Hamilton went on to say: “It’s quite unbelievable, really, what this team has done. It’s a great feeling to start off the season the way we finished the last and the car is just incredible, so thank you to the team. It was still a tough race, though, as Nico was very quick throughout. It was about managing fuel and also the tyres - trying to see how long we could push them. Anyway, we’ve learned a lot this weekend and there will be a lot of analysis to do before Malaysia. Hopefully we’ll keep finding ways to improve. Just because we had that gap today it doesn’t mean we’ll be cruising. There’s still a long way to go.” Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO), the Authorised Distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Sri Lanka, organised a fun rally for the Mercedes-Benz Club on race day. A collection of young and old stunning Mercedes-Benz cars took part at the rally which ended at the new Mercedes-Benz Center (DIMO800). The Club members and their families along with the DIMO Management enjoyed the screening of the Australian Grand Prix live on a giant screen. With a packed Formula One season ahead, the Silver Arrows already have an imposing lead: they sit on 43 points, with Ferrari and Sauber next up on 15 and 14 respectively. The next race is the Malaysian Grand Prix on 29 March.