2012 Australian Grand Prix

 2012 Australian Grand Prix

Racing data
1st of 20 races in the 2012 Formula 1 World Championship
Surname:	2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix
Date:	March 18, 2012
Place:	Melbourne
Course:	Albert Park Circuit
Length:	307.574 km in 58 laps of 5.303 km
Weather:	Sunshine at approx. 22 ° C
Pole position
Driver:	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Time:	1: 24.922 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes
Time:	1: 29.187 min (lap 56)
Podium
First:	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes
Second:	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault
Third:	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes

The Australian Grand Prix 2012 (officially 2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix ) took place on 18 March at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne instead and was the first race of the Formula 1 World Championship in 2012 .

Reports

background

This year there were two DRS zones instead of just one at the Australian Grand Prix . This should generate more overtaking maneuvers. The first zone (795 m) was back on the start-finish straight. The second zone (510 m) was on the subsequent straight between the Brabham and the Whiteford . There was a single measuring point for both DRS zones. This was in front of the Stewart curve.

The optically most striking change this season was a reduction in the maximum height of the body 15 cm in front of the monocoque from 62.5 cm to 55 cm, which most teams solved with a "hump". Only the McLaren MP4-27 and the Marussia MR01 started without the hump.

At the Australian Grand Prix, Pirelli provided the drivers with the tire compounds P Zero Medium (white) and P Zero Soft (yellow), as well as Cinturato Intermediates (green) and Cinturato Full Wets (blue) for wet conditions .

With the return of Kimi Räikkönen , six drivers with at least one world title each competed this season. With Michael Schumacher , Fernando Alonso , Lewis Hamilton , Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, these are all world champions since 2000.

Three teams have changed their chassis names this season: Renault will compete as the Lotus F1 Team in 2012 , the former Lotus team as the Caterham F1 Team and Virgin as the Marussia F1 Team . However, the proportions in the teams remained unchanged.

At Williams , Renault replaced Cosworth as an engine manufacturer. Williams achieved his last constructors' title in 1997 with Renault engines.

Charles Pic (Marussia) and Jean-Éric Vergne ( Toro Rosso ) made their Formula 1 debuts. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Nico Hülkenberg ( Force India ), Narain Karthikeyan ( HRT ), Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) and Pedro de la Rosa (HRT) returned to Formula 1. Vitali Petrow (Caterham), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) and Bruno Senna (Williams) started for their new teams for the first time.

For the first time since the 1973 German Grand Prix , no Italian driver took part in a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

With Michael Schumacher (four times), Jenson Button (twice), Fernando Alonso , Kimi Räikkönen , Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel (once each), six former winners competed in this Grand Prix.

Steve Chopping (AUS), Paul Gutjahr (SUI), Johnny Herbert (GBR) and Vincenzo Spano (VEN) acted as racing stewards at this Grand Prix .

The “passive F-shaft ” of the Mercedes F1 W03 was judged to be legal by the race stewards during the technical inspection on the Thursday before the race. The Red Bull and Lotus teams announced to Charlie Whiting that they might protest against the rating. In this case, the results of the race would be provisional and the FIA's International Court of Appeals would deal with the question of legality afterwards. Both Lotus and Red Bull decided not to protest after the race.

training

In the first free practice, Button set the fastest time ahead of his McLaren teammates Hamilton and Schumacher. The training initially took place in wet conditions, but the track dried out and the drivers ended up using slicks. The HRT F112 and the Marussia MR01 were used in this training session for the first time in an official Formula 1 training session. De la Rosa's HRT F112 was only removed shortly before the first training session. However, since the car was not yet completely finished, it was not used. His team-mate Karthikeyan dropped out after three laps with technical problems. In addition to the HRT pilots, Marussia drivers were also outside the 107 percent rule .

In the second free practice session, too, the session began on a wet track. Towards the end it dried off and the drivers set the best times on slicks. Schumacher achieved the fastest lap time ahead of Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez . Except for the HRT pilots, all drivers managed a time within the 107 percent rule. De la Rosa completed his first lap in this training session. In the third free practice, Hamilton took the lead from Grosjean and Mark Webber . With the exception of the HRT pilots, all drivers achieved a time within the 107 percent rule.

Qualifying

HRT, here Pedro de la Rosa, failed to qualify

In the first segment of qualifying, Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest time ahead of Vergne and Grosjean. The HRT pilots both failed to make time within the 107 percent rule and thus failed to qualify. In addition, the Marussia and Caterham pilots and Raikkonen did not make the leap into the second segment. The second section was interrupted after Alonso had been riding. Alonso had lost control of his vehicle on the start-finish straight and turned into the gravel of the Jones curve. After all , Nico Rosberg was the fastest driver ahead of Schumacher and Hamilton. In addition to Alonso, the Sauber pilots, Felipe Massa , Paul di Resta , Senna and Vergne were eliminated. In the last segment, Hamilton finally took pole position in front of his teammates Button and Grosjean.

After qualifying, Sauber had to change the gearbox at Pérez, which led to a five-position setback. HRT, whose pilots had not qualified, applied for a special start permit from the race management. The race stewards did not issue these.

run

Pole-setter Hamilton lost the lead right from the start

At the start, Button took the lead from Hamilton. Grosjean didn't start well and lost a few positions on the first lap. On the other hand, Ferrari drivers Alonso and Massa, who started the race from further back, got off to a good start. There was a collision in midfield in which Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Senna were involved. While Ricciardo and Senna made it back to the pits and drove on, Hulkenberg was eliminated. A lap later there was a duel between Pastor Maldonado and Grosjean. In the fast combination of corners 11-12, Maldonado attempted an overtaking maneuver and Grosjean did not give in. The two pilots touched and Grosjean damaged his front suspension. He then had to end the race.

While the McLaren drivers pull away at the top and Button expanded their lead over Hamilton, Vettel worked his way forward. First he overtook Rosberg and then caught up with third-placed Schumacher. However, there was no longer duel, as Schumacher retired on the eleventh lap with transmission problems.

The first pit stop phase began shortly afterwards, with the drivers opting for different strategies. Most of the pilots started with the soft tire compound . The leading McLaren as well as Alonso and Webber switched to the harder compound, Rosberg and Vettel opted for another set of the softer tire compound.

In the meantime, Pérez, who started from last place on the grid, was in second place. He decided to use the harder tire compound initially and had not yet made a stop at the time. However, he did not stay in that position for long and was overtaken by Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso and Rosberg. He eventually switched to the softer tire compound. It was his only pit stop.

Finally, Massa began the pit stop phase for those pilots who wanted to stop twice. After Button and Hamilton were in the pits, there was a safety car phase. Petrow had previously remained on the start-finish straight with technical problems. To recover the vehicle, the safety car had to go out on the track. Finally, under yellow, all drivers completed their last scheduled pit stop. Button was ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Alonso, Maldonado, Pérez, Rosberg, Raikkonen and Kobayashi. Before the race was reopened, Petrow's Caterham team-mate Kovalainen also had to retire in the pits with technical problems.

At the restart, Button managed to break away from Vettel immediately. While the positions in the front remained unchanged, there was a collision between Senna and Massa in the rear of the field. As a result, both drivers had to give up the race in the pits, although Senna was able to drive a few laps beforehand.

In the closing stages, Button was several seconds ahead of Vettel, who had Hamilton and Webber closer behind. Alonso and Maldonado drove very close behind one another, but Maldonado was unable to overtake.

The last lap of the Grand Prix was turbulent. While Button won safely ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, Webber and Alonso, Maldonado made a driving error at the height of the Lauda curve. His tail broke out while accelerating and he drove into the lane. He was unharmed.

There were several close duels for the other positions in the final lap. Rosberg and Pérez touched. As a result, Rosberg suffered a puncture and fell out of the points. Kobayashi finally came in sixth ahead of Räikkönen, Pérez, Ricciardo and di Resta. Ricciardo scored his first points in Formula 1 in his first race for Toro Rosso. His team-mate Vergne almost managed to do the same, but he lost tenth place in the last corner to di Resta. Pic, the second debutant next to Vergne, was rated 15th.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Red Bull Racing	01	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull RB8	Renault 2.4 V8	P
	02	Mark Webber
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	03	Jenson Button	McLaren MP4-27	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	P
	04th	Lewis Hamilton
Scuderia Ferrari	05	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari F2012	Ferrari 2.4 V8	P
	06th	Felipe Massa
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	07th	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes F1 W03	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	P
	08th	Nico Rosberg
Lotus F1 Team	09	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus E20	Renault 2.4 V8	P
	10	Romain Grosjean
Sahara Force India F1 Team	11	Paul di Resta	Force India VJM05	Mercedes-Benz 2.4 V8	P
	12	Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber F1 Team	14th	Kamui Kobayashi	Clean C31	Ferrari 2.4 V8	P
	15th	Sergio Perez
Scuderia Toro Rosso	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso STR7	Ferrari 2.4 V8	P
	17th	Jean-Éric Vergne
Williams F1 team	18th	Pastor Maldonado	Williams FW34	Renault 2.4 V8	P
	19th	Bruno Senna
Caterham F1 team	20th	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham CT01	Renault 2.4 V8	P
	21st	Vitaly Petrov
HRT F1 team	22nd	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT F112	Cosworth 2.4 V8	P
	23	Narain Karthikeyan
Marussia F1 Team	24	Timo Glock	Marussia MR01	Cosworth 2.4 V8	P
	25th	Charles Pic

Classifications

Qualifying

Item	driver	constructor	Q1	Q2	Q3	begin
01	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1: 26.800	1: 25.626	1: 24.922	01
02	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1: 26.832	1: 25.663	1: 25.074	02
03	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	1: 26.498	1: 25.845	1: 25.302	03
04th	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes	1: 26.586	1: 25.571	1: 25.336	04th
05	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1: 27.117	1: 26.297	1: 25.651	05
06th	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1: 26.773	1: 25.982	1: 25.668	06th
07th	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1: 26.763	1: 25.469	1: 25.686	07th
08th	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	1: 26.803	1: 26.206	1: 25.908	08th
09	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1: 27.464	1: 26.314	1: 26.451	09
10	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 27.024	1: 26.319	no time	10
11	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1: 26.493	1: 26.429	-	11
12	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1: 26.688	1: 26.494	-	12
13	Kamui Kobayashi	Clean Ferrari	1: 26.182	1: 26.590	-	13
14th	Bruno Senna	Williams-Renault	1: 27.004	1: 26.663	-	14th
15th	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	1: 27.469	1: 27.086	-	15th
16	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1: 27.633	1: 27.497	-	16
17th	Sergio Perez	Clean Ferrari	1: 26.596	no time	-	22nd
18th	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus Renault	1: 27.758	-	-	17th
19th	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham-Renault	1: 28.679	-	-	18th
20th	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham-Renault	1: 29.018	-	-	19th
21st	Timo Glock	Marussia-Cosworth	1: 30.923	-	-	20th
22nd	Charles Pic	Marussia-Cosworth	1: 31.670	-	-	21st
107 percent time : 1: 32.214 min (based on Q1 best time of 1: 26.182 min)
DNQ	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT-Cosworth	1: 33.495	-	-	-
DNQ	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth	1: 33.643	-	-	-

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} racing cars with KERS
2. ↑ Because of a gear change, Sergio Pérez was moved five positions back.

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap
01	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	58	2	1: 34: 09.565	02	1: 29.187 (56.)
02	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	58	2	+ 2.139	06th	1: 29.417 (57.)
03	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	58	2	+ 4.075	01	1: 29,538 (57.)
04th	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	58	2	+ 4.574	05	1: 29.438 (57.)
05	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	58	2	+ 21,565	12	1: 30.277 (52nd)
06th	Kamui Kobayashi	Clean Ferrari	58	2	+ 36.766	13	1: 30.620 (55th)
07th	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus Renault	58	2	+ 38.014	17th	1: 30.759 (50th)
08th	Sergio Perez	Clean Ferrari	58	1	+ 39.458	22nd	1: 30.843 (46.)
09	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	58	3	+ 39.556	10	1: 30.592 (53rd)
10	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	58	2	+ 39.737	15th	1: 30.605 (57.)
11	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	58	2	+ 39.848	11	1: 30.274 (52nd)
12	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	58	2	+ 57.642	07th	1: 30.931 (53rd)
13	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	57	2	DNF	08th	1: 30.254 (53rd)
14th	Timo Glock	Marussia-Cosworth	57	2	+ 1 lap	20th	1: 34.253 (43.)
15th	Charles Pic	Marussia-Cosworth	53	3	DNF	21st	1: 35.011 (45th)
16	Bruno Senna	Williams-Renault	52	3	DNF	14th	1: 30.855 (49.)
-	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	46	3	DNF	16	1: 31.940 (46.)
-	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham-Renault	38	3	DNF	18th	1: 33.693 (26.)
-	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham-Renault	34	1	DNF	19th	1: 33.214 (27.)
-	Michael sSchumacher	Mercedes	10	0	DNF	04th	1: 34.021 ( 04th)
-	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	01	0	DNF	03	-
-	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	00	0	DNF	09	-

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} racing cars with KERS

World Cup stands after the race

The first ten of the race got 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point (s) respectively.

Driver ranking

Item driver constructor Points 01  Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 25th 02  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 18th 03  Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 15th 04th  Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 12 05  Fernando Alonso Ferrari 10 06th  Kamui Kobayashi Clean Ferrari 8th 07th  Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Renault 6th 08th  Sergio Perez Clean Ferrari 4th 09  Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2 10  Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1 11  Jean-Éric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0

Item driver constructor Points 12  Nico Rosberg Mercedes 0 13  Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 0 14th  Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 0 15th  Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 0 16  Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 0 -  Felipe Massa Ferrari 0 -  Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 0 -  Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 0 -  Michael sSchumacher Mercedes 0 -  Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 0 -  Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 0

Constructors' championship

Item constructor Points 01  McLaren-Mercedes 40 02  Red Bull-Renault 30th 03  Clean Ferrari 12 04th  Ferrari 10 05  Lotus Renault 6th 06th  Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2

Item constructor Points 07th  Force India-Mercedes 1 08th  Mercedes 0 09  Williams-Renault 0 10  Marussia-Cosworth 0 -  Caterham-Renault 0

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Two, instead of one DRS zone" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 10, 2012)
2. ↑ "FIA announces details on DRS zones in Melbourne" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 14, 2012)
3. ^ "Innovations for the 2012 season" (news.at on March 7, 2012)
4. ↑ "Pirelli: New Concept for the 2012 Season" (Motorsport-Total.com on January 25, 2012)
5. ↑ "Hembery: 'Want to further improve the spectacle'" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 13, 2012)
6. ^ "Kimi Räikkönen Comeback" (NZZ Online on November 29, 2011)
7. ^ F-Schacht: Protests against Mercedes announced. motorsport-total.com, March 17, 2012, accessed on March 18, 2012 . 
8. ^ "Mercedes-F-Schacht: For the time being no protest" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 18, 2012)
9. ^ "GP Australia in Melbourne / 1st free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 16, 2012)
10. ^ "De la Rosa is allowed to participate in the training" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 16, 2012)
11. ↑ "McLaren double lead at the 2012 season opener" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 16, 2012)
12. ^ "GP Australia in Melbourne / 2nd free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 16, 2012)
13. ^ "GP Australia in Melbourne / 3rd free practice" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 17, 2012)
14. ↑ "Perez has to go back five starting positions" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 17, 2012)
15. ↑ "FIA remains tough: No starting permit for HRT" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 17, 2012)
16. ^ "Melbourne: Vettel's race to catch up ends at Button" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 18, 2012)
17. ↑ "Disappointing zero number for Mercedes" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 18, 2012)

Web links

Commons : Australian Grand Prix 2012  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Weekend statistics at Motorsport-Total.com