Valtteri Bottas wins the 2019 Australian GP

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas has won the 2019 Australian Grand Prix. The Finnish driver finished almost 21 seconds ahead of second placed Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), while Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished in third place.

Hamilton started on pole position alongside his teammate. Bottas had a quick getaway at the start and took the lead of the race. From then onwards, he kept on extending the gap between him and the other Mercedes as Hamilton struggled with his tyres.

Verstappen started from fourth place behind the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. The Dutchman overtook the Ferrari driver after the first round of pit stops. The Red Bull showed great pace and at one point was just a few seconds behind Hamilton's Mercedes. Vettel finished in fourth ahead of Charles Leclerc, who made his debut for Ferrari. 

Kevin Magnussen (Haas) moved up a place to take sixth as his teammate Romain Grosjean retired on lap 29 due to an improperly fastened left front wheel nut. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) finished in seventh place ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the Alfa Romeo. Racing Point's Lance Stroll finished in ninth, while Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat finished in tenth place.

Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap of the race and leads the championship standings with 26 points. The next race will be held in Bahrain on March 31, 2019.

World Drivers' Championship standings:

Valtteri Bottas - 26

Lewis Hamilton - 18

Max Verstappen - 15

World Constructors' Championship standings:

Mercedes - 44

Ferrari - 22

Red Bull - 15