Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas celebrates winning the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in Melbourne on March 17, 2019. AFP / Peter PARKS
Melbourne: Valtteri Bottas upstaged his Mercedes world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton to blitz the field and win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in a sizzling performance Sunday.
The flying Finn started second on the grid but got a jump on the polesitting Briton at the first corner and never looked back, scorching round the Albert Park circuit to take the chequered flag by massive 20.8 seconds.
Hamilton was second with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third after audaciously overtaking Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who was fourth, midway through the race.
