Australian Grand Prix 2012, Albert Park Circuit - Race 1/20

Duke · 12 Mar 2012 at 17:37

Melbourne

When Formula One came to Australia in 1985 it set up home in Adelaide. However, ex-racer-turned-entrepreneur Bob Jane wanted a race in Melbourne. He created a huge 'thunderdome' and invented the AUSCAR series, bringing NASCAR action to Australia.

The desire to have a race in Melbourne did not wane. Despite the popular end of season slot for the Adelaide race, pressure was growing from the Melbourne motor sport community, and in 1992 Jeff Kennett was elected the new premier of the State of Victoria. He immediately set about improving Melbourne's profile. First on his list was the Australian Grand Prix.

An agreement was reached with Formula One in 1993, but the contract with Adelaide did not expire until 1995, so Kennett had plenty of time to prepare. A track was developed in Melbourne's beautiful Albert Park, part of it using closed-off public roads, and in 1996 the city held the first round of the world championship. Since then the race has become very popular with drivers and fans alike, and the party atmosphere of Melbourne keeps them coming back year after year.

Session Times

Fri 16 March 2012
Practice 1 01:30 - 03:00
Practice 2 05:30 - 07:00

Sat 17 March 2012
Practice 3 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying 06:00

Sun 18 March 2012
Race 06:00

All live on Sky Sports F1. For BBC times and info see here - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18378942

Track:

Track Diagram

News

Free ‘lite’ version of official 2012 App now available - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/3/13091.html
F1 tyres will generate more varied race strategies - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98012
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Driver Changes

TBA

Photos from the event

Thursday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/864/general/thursday.html

Friday - http://www.formula1.com/gallery/race/2012/864/general/friday.html

Saturday - http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/03/17/2012-australian-grand-prix-qualifying-pictures/

Sunday - http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/03/18/2012-australian-grand-prix-pictures/

FIA Press Conference

Thursday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/3/13099.html

Friday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/3/13110.html

Saturday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/3/13117.html

Sunday - http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/3/13125.html

Practice 1

Code:

[b]Pos  Driver                Team                   Time               Laps[/b]
 1.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1m27.560s            11
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes       1m27.805s  + 0.245   14
 3.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes               1m28.235s  + 0.675   17
 4.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                1m28.360s  + 0.800   21
 5.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault       1m28.467s  + 0.907   21
 6.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes               1m28.683s  + 1.123   22
 7.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m28.908s  + 1.348   23
 8.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault       1m29.415s  + 1.855   16
 9.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault          1m29.565s  + 2.005    8
10.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari         1m29.722s  + 2.162   26
11.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault       1m29.790s  + 2.230   21
12.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes   1m29.865s  + 2.305   17
13.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes   1m29.881s  + 2.321   18
14.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault       1m29.953s  + 2.393   21
15.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari         1m30.124s  + 2.564   22
16.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault          1m30.515s  + 2.955   16
17.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault       1m30.586s  + 3.026   16
18.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                1m30.743s  + 3.183   11
19.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m31.178s  + 3.618   17
20.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault       1m31.983s  + 4.423    8
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth      1m34.730s  + 7.170    8
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth      1m40.256s  + 12.696  11
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth           no time               3
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth           no time               0

Practice 2

Code:

[b]Pos  Driver                Team                    Time               Laps[/b]
 1.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                1m29.183s            16
 2.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes    1m29.292s  +  0.109  19
 3.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari          1m30.199s  +  1.016  23
 4.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m30.341s  +  1.158  13
 5.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari          1m30.709s  +  1.526  14
 6.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m31.466s  +  2.283  13
 7.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m31.505s  +  2.322  14
 8.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault        1m31.932s  +  2.749  16
 9.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m32.184s  +  3.001  17
10.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m32.194s  +  3.011  19
11.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m32.296s  +  3.113  20
12.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth       1m32.632s  +  3.449  17
13.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault        1m32.767s  +  3.584  15
14.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault           1m32.822s  +  3.639  11
15.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m33.039s  +  3.856  18
16.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes        1m33.252s  +  4.069  11
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault        1m34.108s  +  4.925  21
18.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault           1m34.275s  +  5.092   7
19.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault        1m34.312s  +  5.129  17
20.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m34.485s  +  5.302  29
21.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m34.604s  +  5.421  31
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth       1m34.770s  +  5.587  13
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth            1m42.627s  +  13.444 16
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth                                  1

Practice 3

Code:

[b]Pos  Driver                Team                  Time               Laps[/b]
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m25.681s           18
 2.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m25.758s  + 0.077  21
 3.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m25.900s  + 0.219  20
 4.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m25.906s  + 0.225  17
 5.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m25.929s  + 0.248  23
 6.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m26.078s  + 0.397  14
 7.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m26.211s  + 0.530  12
 8.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m26.470s  + 0.789  17
 9.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m26.632s  + 0.951  20
10.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m26.723s  + 1.042  17
11.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m26.733s  + 1.052  15
12.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m26.737s  + 1.056  19
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m26.755s  + 1.074  21
14.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m27.029s  + 1.348  23
15.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault      1m27.119s  + 1.438  20
16.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m27.323s  + 1.642  19
17.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m27.428s  + 1.747  22
18.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m28.023s  + 2.342  19
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m28.341s  + 2.660  19
20.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault      1m28.702s  + 3.021  11
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m30.728s  + 5.047  13
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m31.225s  + 5.544  14
23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m33.114s  + 7.433  12
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m33.261s  + 7.580  13

Qualifying

Code:

[b]Pos  Driver                Team                  Time          Gap   [/b]
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m24.922s
 2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m25.074s  + 0.152
 3.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m25.302s  + 0.380
 4.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m25.336s  + 0.414
 5.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m25.651s  + 0.729
 6.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m25.668s  + 0.746
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m25.686s  + 0.764
 8.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m25.908s  + 0.986
 9.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m26.451s  + 1.529
10.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m26.319s                                   Gap **
11.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m26.429s  + 0.960
12.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m26.4942  + 1.025
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m26.590s  + 1.121
14.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault      1m26.663s  + 1.194
15.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m27.086s  + 1.617
16.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m27.497s  + 2.028
17.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m27.633s                                    Gap *
18.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m27.758s  + 1.576
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m28.679s  + 2.497
20.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault      1m29.018s  + 2.836
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m30.923s  + 4.741
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m31.670s  + 5.488
23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m33.495s  + 7.313
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m33.643s  + 7.461

107% time: 1m32.214s

* Gap to quickest in Q1
** Gap to quickest in Q2

Race

Code:

[b]Pos  Driver        Team                       Time[/b]
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h34:09.565
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     2.139
 3.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +     4.075
 4.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +     4.547
 5.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    21.565
 6.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +    36.766
 7.  Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault              +    38.014
 8.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    39.458
 9.  Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +    39.556
10.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +    39.737
11.  Vergne        Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +    39.848
12.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    57.642
13.  Maldonado     Williams-Renault           +     1 lap
14.  Glock         Marussia-Cosworth          +     1 lap
15.  Pic           Marussia-Cosworth          +    2 laps
16.  Senna         Williams-Renault           +    4 laps

Fastest lap: Button, 1:29.187

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Massa         Ferrari                      47
Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault             42
Petrov        Caterham-Renault             37
Schumacher    Mercedes                     11
Grosjean      Lotus-Renault                2
Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes         1
Karthikeyan   HRT-Cosworth                 DNS
De la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth                 DNS

Epic fail award: HRT for not starting, Williams for hitting everything

Glaucus · 12 Mar 2012 at 17:40

Yay, the long wait is over.

SoliD · 12 Mar 2012 at 17:59

Woohoo, great place to start the season, usually provides some action, and the weather can be interesting!

arknor · 12 Mar 2012 at 18:02

merc previews are up
NICO http://www.mercedes-amg-f1.com/en/#...co-it-will-be-interesting-to-see-where-we-are

MICHAEL http://www.mercedes-amg-f1.com/en/#...chael-were-ready-for-the-2012-season-to-begin

NORBERT http://www.mercedes-amg-f1.com/en/#...ere-better-prepared-than-the-two-years-before

utajoker · 12 Mar 2012 at 18:39

woot, the wait has been too long.

DBT85 · 12 Mar 2012 at 18:40

Finally. The race. Has come back. To Austrailiaaaaa.

So glad the season is about to start all over again.

Looking forward to the shenanigans, the finger pointing, the endless posts by members telling us why we are all wrong.

I'm broadcasting this race for Sport 24 so I'll be getting whatever the main World Feed is. Hope there is some commentary on there.

Skeeter · 12 Mar 2012 at 18:58

Wooooooooooooooo!

Guerrilla · 12 Mar 2012 at 19:16

Yay! It's nearly here

Good stuff Duke

CaptainRAVE · 12 Mar 2012 at 19:19

Absolutely gutted I can't get up early to watch this. First time in many, many years. Highlights just aren't the same, very sad

Will see how it goes, might get the F1 channel on virgin media.

~Mike~ · 12 Mar 2012 at 19:44

We're nearly there, only a few more days.

Cheers Duke.

knip · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:06

Hello everybody, I shall do the obligatory "grrrrrr!" at Murdoch, and then a YAY for f1 being back!

I watched the magazine type programme on Saturday morning, have to say as much as i'm grrrr-ing at Murdoch, I do like what they did/are going to do with things.

Roll on Sunday!

Flibster · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:17

Oh hell yeah. A proper race to start the year.

Dark o'clock start too.

Kerming · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:18

lets get ready to rock n roll!!!!

good feeling about this year

Skeeter · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:19

I like this start time. It means I can ease my GF back into putting up with me watching F1 without destroying a whole Sunday

knip · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:19

The bloody sky programme starts at 4:30 am and finishes at 9 - what time will the race start?!?!

I know Brundle (a grrr for him for defecting as well) will be doing a grid walk, but what time do I need to wake up. Would normally be up like half hour before race start to watch grid walk and then the rest of the warm up.

Skeeter · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:21

Race starts at 6. The Sky program is longer because the build up and post race bits will be filled with adverts. They will have the same amount of content as the BBC overall.

Duke · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:22

knip said:
The bloody sky programme starts at 4:30 am and finishes at 9 - what time will the race start?!?!

Its in the OP

I decided it was easier to just put the actual session start times in rather than both BBC and Sky times

knip · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:25

Duke said:
Its in the OP

I decided it was easier to just put the actual session start times in rather than both BBC and Sky times

All right, all right, I was just checking you were paying attention,

besides if I wasn't here being annoying you'd all be bored

Half 5 it is then.

Duke · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:26

Your dancing is required for Saturday and Sunday, Friday looks a bit :eek:

already.

Skeeter · 12 Mar 2012 at 20:33

Duke said:
Your dancing is required for Saturday and Sunday, Friday looks a bit already.

Huh

*checks weather forcast in OP*

:eek:

*thinks about it for a second*