2012 Australian Grand Prix

The 2012 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) is a Formula One race that took place on the 18th of March 2012 at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. It was the first race of the 2012 season.
Lewis Hamilton set pole position for , with team-mate Jenson Button second on the grid. World Champion Sebastian Vettel qualified in sixth place, behind his team-mate Mark Webber. Both drivers were knocked out in the second qualifying session. On his return, Kimi Räikkönen was knocked out of qualifying in the first session, and the HRTs did not qualify.
In the race, Jenson Button took the lead at the first corner, and he went on the win the race, setting the fastest lap in the process, a few seconds ahead of second-placed Sebastian Vettel. Polesitter Lewis Hamilton completed the podium positions. Mark Webber finished fourth. Fernando Alonso had a strong race to finish fifth, having a battle with Pastor Maldonado, who crashed on the final lap. Nico Rosberg's car suffered a puncture on the last lap, robbing him of what could have been sixth, and Kamui Kobayashi came sixth as a result. It also rescued Kimi Räikkönen's race, who was heading for tenth, but came seventh. Sergio Pérez, Daniel Ricciardo, Paul di Resta and Jean-Éric Vergne came in from eighth to eleventh, separated by less than four tenths of a second.
==Background==
==Entry list==
The full entry list for the is shown below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB8 	 	RS27-2012	
2 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB8 	 	RS27-2012	
3 	Jenson Button 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-27 	 	FO 108Z 	
4 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-27 	 	FO 108Z 	
5 	Fernando Alonso 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F2012 	 	056 	
6 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F2012 	 	056 	
7 	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W03 	 	FO 108Z 	
8 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W03 	 	FO 108Z 	
9 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E20 	 	RS27-2012	
10 	Romain Grosjean 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E20 	 	RS27-2012	
11 	Paul di Resta 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM05 	 	FO 108Z 	
12 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM05 	 	FO 108Z 	
14 	Kamui Kobayashi 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C31 	 	056 	
15 	Sergio Pérez 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C31 	 	056 	
16 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR7 	 	056 	
17 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR7 	 	056 	
18 	Pastor Maldonado 	Williams F1 Team 	 	FW34 	 	RS27-2012	
19 	Bruno Senna 	Williams F1 Team 	 	FW34 	 	RS27-2012	
20 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Caterham F1 Team 	 	CT01 	 	RS27-2012	
21 	Vitaly Petrov 	Caterham F1 Team 	 	CT01 	 	RS27-2012	
22 	Pedro de la Rosa 	HRT Formula 1 Team 	 	F112 	 	CA2012 	
23 	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT Formula 1 Team 	 	F112 	 	CA2012 	
24 	Timo Glock 	Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR01 	 	CA2012 	
25 	Charles Pic 	Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR01 	 	CA2012 	
==Free Practice Overview==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Free Practice Times===
No.	Driver 	Constructor 	Fri 1	Fri 1 	Fri 2	Fri 2 	Sat	Sat
No.	Driver 	Constructor 	Pos 	Time 	Pos 	Time 	Pos	Time
1 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull-Renault 	11 	1'29.790	10 	1'32.194	7 	1'26.211
2 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull-Renault 	5 	1'28.467	11 	1'32.296	3 	1'25.900
3 	Jenson Button 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1 	1'27.560	15 	1'33.039	4 	1'25.906
4 	Lewis Hamilton 	McLaren-Mercedes 	2 	1'27.805	16 	1'33.252	1 	1'25.681
5 	Fernando Alonso 	Ferrari 	4 	1'28.360	4 	1'30.341	16 	1'27.323
6 	Felipe Massa 	Ferrari 	18 	1'30.743	7 	1'31.505	18 	1'28.023
7 	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes 	3 	1'28.235	1 	1'29.183	6 	1'26.078
8 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes 	6 	1'28.683	9 	1'32.184	5 	1'25.929
9 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Lotus-Renault 	9 	1'29.565	18 	1'34.275	12 	1'26.737
10 	Romain Grosjean 	Lotus-Renault 	16 	1'30.515	14 	1'32.822	2 	1'25.758
11 	Paul di Resta 	Force India-Mercedes	13 	1'29.881	6 	1'31.466	17 	1'27.428
12 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Force India-Mercedes	12 	1'29.865	2 	1'29.292	14 	1'27.029
14 	Kamui Kobayashi 	Sauber-Ferrari 	10 	1'29.722	5 	1'30.709	13 	1'26.755
15 	Sergio Pérez 	Sauber-Ferrari 	15 	1'30.124	3 	1'30.199	9 	1'26.632
16 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Toro Rosso-Ferrari 	7 	1'28.908	21 	1'34.604	10 	1'26.723
17 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	Toro Rosso-Ferrari 	19 	1'31.178	20 	1'34.485	11 	1'26.733
18 	Pastor Maldonado 	Williams-Renault 	8 	1'29.415	17 	1'34.108	8 	1'26.470
19 	Bruno Senna 	Williams-Renault 	14 	1'29.953	19 	1'34.312	15 	1'27.119
20 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Caterham-Renault 	17 	1'30.586	8 	1'31.932	19 	1'28.341
21 	Vitaly Petrov 	Caterham-Renault 	20 	1'31.983	13 	1'32.767	20 	1'28.702
22 	Pedro de la Rosa 	HRT-Cosworth 	23= 	no time 	24 	no time 	23 	1'33.114
23 	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth 	23= 	no time 	23 	1'42.627	24 	1'33.261
24 	Timo Glock 	Marussia-Cosworth 	21 	1'34.730	12 	1'32.632	21 	1'30.728
25 	Charles Pic 	Marussia-Cosworth 	22 	1'40.256	22 	1'34.770	22 	1'31.225
==Qualifying Overview==
===Qualifying Times===
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Q1 	Q2 	Q3
1 	4 	Lewis Hamilton 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1:26.800 	1:25.626 	1:24.922
2 	3 	Jenson Button 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1:26.832 	1:25.663 	1:25.074
3 	10 	Romain Grosjean 	Lotus-Renault 	1:26.498 	1:25.845 	1:25.302
4 	7 	Michael Schumacher 	Mercedes 	1:26.586 	1:25.571 	1:25.336
5 	2 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull-Renault 	1:27.117 	1:26.297 	1:25.651
6 	1 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull-Renault 	1:26.773 	1:25.982 	1:25.668
7 	8 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes 	1:26.763 	1:25.469 	1:25.686
8 	18 	Pastor Maldonado 	Williams-Renault 	1:26.803 	1:26.206 	1:25.908
9 	12 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Force India-Mercedes	1:27.464 	1:26.314 	1:26.451
10 	16 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Toro Rosso-Ferrari 	1:27.024 	1:26.319 	no time
11 	17 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	Toro Rosso-Ferrari 	1:26.493 	1:26.429 	
12 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	Ferrari 	1:26.688 	1:26.494 	
13 	14 	Kamui Kobayashi 	Sauber-Ferrari 	1:26.182 	1:26.590 	
14 	19 	Bruno Senna 	Williams-Renault 	1:27.004 	1:26.663 	
15 	11 	Paul di Resta 	Force India-Mercedes	1:27.469 	1:27.086 	
16 	6 	Felipe Massa 	Ferrari 	1:27.633 	1:27.497 	
17 	15 	Sergio Pérez 	Sauber-Ferrari 	1:26.596 	no time 	
18 	9 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Lotus-Renault 	1:27.758 	 	
19 	20 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Caterham-Renault 	1:28.679 	 	
20 	21 	Vitaly Petrov 	Caterham-Renault 	1:29.018 	 	
21 	24 	Timo Glock 	Marussia-Cosworth 	1:30.923 	 	
22 	25 	Charles Pic 	Marussia-Cosworth 	1:31.670 	 	
107% time: 1:32.214	107% time: 1:32.214	107% time: 1:32.214	107% time: 1:32.214 	107% time: 1:32.214	107% time: 1:32.214	107% time: 1:32.214
DNQ 	22 	Pedro de la Rosa 	HRT-Cosworth 	1:33.495 	 	
DNQ 	23 	Narain Karthikeyan 	HRT-Cosworth 	1:33.643 	 	
===Grid===
* Sergio Pérez was relegated five places for a gearbox change.
Pedro de la Rosa (23rd) and Narain Karthikeyan (24th) did not qualify.
==Race Overview==
===Results===
Pos	No.	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps	Time/Retired 	Avg Speed	Grid	Pts
1 	3 	Jenson Button 	McLaren-Mercedes 	58 	1:34:09.565 	195.991 	2 	25
2 	1 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull-Renault 	58 	+ 2.139 secs 	195.917 	6 	18
3 	4 	Lewis Hamilton 	McLaren-Mercedes 	58 	+ 4.075 secs 	195.850 	1 	15
4 	2 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull-Renault 	58 	+ 4.547 secs 	195.834 	5 	12
5 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	Ferrari 	58 	+ 21.565 secs 	195.246 	12 	10
6 	14 	Kamui Kobayashi 	Sauber-Ferrari 	58 	+ 36.766 secs 	194.724 	13 	8
7 	9 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Lotus-Renault 	58 	+ 38.014 secs 	194.681 	17 	6
8 	15 	Sergio Pérez 	Sauber-Ferrari 	58 	+ 39.458 secs 	194.632 	22 	4
9 	16 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Toro Rosso-Ferrari 	58 	+ 39.556 secs 	194.629 	10 	2
10 	11 	Paul di Resta 	Force India-Mercedes	58 	+ 39.737 secs 	194.623 	15 	1
11 	17 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	Toro Rosso-Ferrari 	58 	+ 39.848 secs 	194.619 	11 	
12 	8 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes 	58 	+ 57.642 secs 	194.012 	7 	
13 	18 	Pastor Maldonado 	Williams-Renault 	57 	Accident 	195.088 	8 	
14 	24 	Timo Glock 	Marussia-Cosworth 	57 	+ 1 lap 	191.082 	20 	
15 	25 	Charles Pic 	Marussia-Cosworth 	53 	Tyres 	186.317 	21 	
16 	19 	Bruno Senna 	Williams-Renault 	52 	Collision/Puncture	189.852 	14 	
Ret	6 	Felipe Massa 	Ferrari 	46 	Collision damage 	191.374 	16 	
Ret	20 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Caterham-Renault 	38 	Mechanical 	189.478 	18 	
Ret	21 	Vitaly Petrov 	Caterham-Renault 	34 	Steering 	197.958 	19 	
Ret	7 	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes 	10 	Handling 	200.498 	4 	
Ret	10 	Romain Grosjean 	Lotus-Renault 	1 	Collision 	184.043 	3 	
Ret	12 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Force India-Mercedes	0 	Collision 	 	9 	
DNQ	22 	Pedro de la Rosa 	HRT-Cosworth 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ	23 	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT-Cosworth 	 	 	 	 	
===Fastest Laps===
===Lap Leaders===
====Lap-by-Lap====
Stint	Driver 	Laps 	Lap Count	Distance (km)
1 	Jenson Button 	1 - 15 	15 	79.545
2 	Lewis Hamilton 	16 	1 	5.303
3 	Jenson Button 	17 - 35	19 	100.757
4 	Sebastian Vettel	36 	1 	5.303
5 	Jenson Button 	37 - 58	22 	116.666
====Totals====
Pos.	Driver 	Total	Distance (km)
1 	Jenson Button 	56 	296.968
2 	Sebastian Vettel	1 	5.303
3 	Lewis Hamilton 	1 	5.303
==Milestones==
* Jean-Éric Vergne (for Toro Rosso) and Charles Pic (for Marussia) made their débuts.
* Lotus, Caterham and Marussia also competed in their first race.
* Lewis Hamilton's 20th pole position.
* Jenson Button's 20th front row start.
* The first time that McLaren have locked out the front row since the 2009 European Grand Prix.
* The first time that there was not a Red Bull on the front row since the 2010 Italian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel's sixth was his worst qualifying since that race.
* Romain Grosjean's best qualifying position to date.
* HRT did not set a time within 107% of the pole time at the first race of the season for the third season in a row.
* First points for Daniel Ricciardo.
* Jenson Button's 10th consecutive podium finish (from 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix)
* 's 150th fastest lap.
==Standings==
Pos.	Drivers 	Pts	Constructors 	Pts
1 	Jenson Button 	25 	McLaren-Mercedes 	40
2 	Sebastian Vettel 	18 	Red Bull-Renault 	30
3 	Lewis Hamilton 	15 	Sauber-Ferrari 	12
4 	Mark Webber 	12 	Ferrari 	10
5 	Fernando Alonso 	10 	Lotus-Renault 	6
6 	Kamui Kobayashi 	8 	Toro Rosso-Ferrari 	2
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	6 	Force India-Mercedes	1
8 	Sergio Pérez 	4 	Mercedes 	0
9 	Daniel Ricciardo 	2 	Williams-Renault 	0
10 	Paul di Resta 	1 	Marussia-Cosworth 	0
11 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	0 	Caterham-Renault 	0
12 	Nico Rosberg 	0 	HRT-Cosworth 	0
13 	Pastor Maldonado 	0 	 	
14 	Timo Glock 	0 	 	
15 	Charles Pic 	0 	 	
16 	Bruno Senna 	0 	 	
17 	Felipe Massa 	0 	 	
18 	Heikki Kovalainen 	0 	 	
19 	Vitaly Petrov 	0 	 	
20 	Michael Schumacher	0 	 	
21 	Romain Grosjean 	0 	 	
22 	Nico Hülkenberg 	0 	 	
23 	Pedro de la Rosa 	0 	 	
24 	Narain Karthikeyan	0 	 	
Category:2012 Grands Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Australian Grand Prix