Lewis Hamilton has claimed that he was always in control to keep Nico Rosberg at bay as the reigning world champion cruised to win Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

Sitting on pole at the Albert Park Circuit, the Briton enjoyed a strong getaway off the line and stayed in front of the field for almost the entire afternoon.

Indeed, Hamilton only relinquished the lead to Rosberg when he stopped one lap earlier than his Mercedes team-mate.

Although the two-time world champion never came under intense pressure from last year’s Melbourne victor, the gap between both W06 Hybrids kept oscillating between 1.5 and 3.5s during the Grand Prix.

However, Hamilton explained that he was just shadowing Rosberg’s pace and could have upped his game in order to fend off any potential challenge from the 2014 runner-up.

“Nico was really quick throughout the race,” said Hamilton. “And it was really trying to manage the fuel and the tyres not knowing where the limit is in terms of how far they can go.

“Once you get a two-second lap to try to manage that there is no need to eke out more. When Nico turned up the heat I was able to react, which was good. Otherwise it was a phenomenal race for both of us.”

Click here for the full gallery from the Australian Grand Prix

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

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

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…

51 mins ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

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

2 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…

3 hours ago

Ferrari and Mercedes admit to plank changes based on FIA’s TD

Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…

4 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton continues on top in second practice

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top of the timesheets for the second time in Las…

4 hours ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 2 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas,…

4 hours ago