Romain Grosjean has become the first winner of the new-for-2016 Driver of the Day Award after scoring Haas F1 Team’s maiden Formula One points at the Australian Grand Prix.

Starting from 19th for the American team’s grand prix debut, the Frenchman steadily fought back to claim a strong sixth-place finish though his recovery was aided by the red flag that followed his team-mate Esteban Gutierrez and Fernando’s huge crash.

Indeed, Grosjean was effectively handed a free pit stop, with Haas bolting fresh medium tyres during the neutralisation. Still, the ex-Lotus ace had to withstand intense pressure from Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Williams’s Valtteri Bottas during the second half of a wild season opener.

The official F1 website has not revealed any vote count but added a note that said: “in the interests of fairness, multiple votes identified as originating from the same source were not counted.”

Australian Grand Prix - Driver ratings

REPORT: Rosberg beats Hamilton after huge Alonso crash

AS IT HAPPENED: 2016 Australian Grand Prix 

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

How to watch Red Bull livery launches as Verstappen and Ricciardo reunite

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are set to share the spotlight once again – but…

15 mins ago

Hakkinen reveals the Schumacher edge that ‘really pissed me off’

Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher — two titans of Formula 1 whose duels in the…

2 hours ago

‘It’s all nonsense’: Former F1 insider slams Perez's Red Bull claims

The checkered flag may have dropped on Sergio Perez’s Red Bull career, but the verbal…

3 hours ago

Andretti fires successful opening salvo in Argentina

On this day in 1978, Mario Andretti kicked off his banner championship winning year with…

5 hours ago

Not a one-off: Hill sees multiple world titles for Norris

Damon Hill knows a thing or two about what it takes to climb Formula 1’s…

6 hours ago

Domenicali calls for calm and a plan as Ferrari eyes 2026 reset

Formula 1’s most polished powerbroker has seen this movie before – and Stefano Domenicali is…

7 hours ago