Magnussen and Kvyat fail to start Australian GP

The Australian Grand Prix will get underway with just 15 cars on the grid after Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat suffered car failures.

With Valtteri Bottas having already been ruled out of the race after failing fitness tests, the grid was reduced even further when both the McLaren and the Red Bull stopped on the way to the grid in the final half an hour before the start.

Magnussen stopped on the approach to Turn 6 as his engine failed, while Kvyat's RB10 came to a halt with a gearbox problem.

With the grid having already been published - with everyone moving up a spot due to Bottas' absence - Kvyat's spot of P12 will remain vacant while Magnussen had been due to start from last place. Jenson Button is now the last car on the grid in the only remaining MP4-30.

The race will see the lowest number of cars to start a grand prix since the 2005 United States Grand Prix, when just six cars started as a number of teams pulled out due to safety concerns.

Click here for Saturday's gallery from the Australian Grand Prix

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

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Las Vegas GP: Thursday's action in pictures

The opening day of running at the Las Vegas GP was a smooth but chilly…

1 hour ago

Williams' headaches persist into Vegas practice

Williams is continuing to fight uphill battles this weekend in Las Vegas as a knock-on…

2 hours ago

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

3 hours ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

4 hours ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…

6 hours ago

Verstappen stuck with 'draggy' rear wing for Vegas

Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…

7 hours ago