The Formula One race held on the streets of Melbourne, Australia is an established fixture of the series. A part of the F1 world championship since 1985, it was moved from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996. With rare exceptions it has been the first race of each new Formula One season and will be the opener for 2012.
Countdown for the Australian Grand Prix
2 months, 1 day, 2 hours, 1 minute, 31 seconds ago
There are some extremely competitive teams racing in Australia in the coming season. The dominant RedBull Racing team will be battling to establish early supremacy. World champ Sebastian Vettel and his Australian teammate Mark Webber are formidable competitors. Vettel won the race in 2011 with Webber finishing in the points at fifth.
It is of note that Vettel’s 2011 victory foreshadowed his world championship of that year. Many are looking at first place in Australia as a possible indicator in 2012.
The Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes team is also quite strong. Former world champion Lewis Hamilton came in second in Australia in 2011. The McLaren driver can be expected to give Sebastian Vettel a run for his money in 2012.
The fabled Scuderia Ferrari team is somewhat of a dark horse in the coming season. Driver Fernando Alonso finished fourth in 2011 at Melbourne, unable to overcome Vettel and Hamilton. Ferrari has not been dominant in recent years but they are expected to come out racing at the track around the lake in Melbourne.
There is great excitement over the return of ex-world champion Kimi Räikkönen to the series. He will be on the streets in Australia driving a Lotus. He could quite possibly lead the Lotus F1 Team into a new dominance. He is certainly a strong enough driver to challenge Sebastian Vettel. If the Renault powered Lotus cars are fast and reliable, we could see some real sparks from this team in the first Grand Prix of 2012.
The street circuit in Melbourne is near downtown and circles Albert Park Lake. The scenic location hosts a four day gala event surrounding the race. grandprix.com.au reports that “early bird” tickets are a mere $79.00.
Circuit Information
Number of Laps: 58
Circuit Length: 5.303 km
Lap Record: 1:24.125 Michael Schumacher in 2004
2012 Australian Grand Prix Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | 1:34:09.565 | 2 | 25 |
| 2 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 58 | +2.1 secs | 6 | 18 |
| 3 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +4.0 secs | 1 | 15 |
| 4 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 58 | +4.5 secs | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 58 | +21.5 secs | 12 | 10 |
| 6 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 58 | +36.7 secs | 13 | 8 |
| 7 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 58 | +38.0 secs | 17 | 6 |
| 8 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 58 | +39.4 secs | 22 | 4 |
| 9 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 58 | +39.5 secs | 10 | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 58 | +39.7 secs | 15 | 1 |
| 11 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 58 | +39.8 secs | 11 | |
| 12 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 58 | +57.6 secs | 7 | |
| 13 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 57 | Accident | 8 | |
| 14 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 57 | +1 Lap | 20 | |
| 15 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 53 | Oil pressure | 21 | |
| 16 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 52 | Accident damage | 14 | |
| Ret | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 46 | Accident damage | 16 | |
| Ret | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 38 | Suspension | 18 | |
| Ret | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 34 | Steering | 19 | |
| Ret | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 10 | Gearbox | 4 | |
| Ret | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1 | Accident | 3 | |
| Ret | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 0 | Accident damage | 9 | |
| DNQ | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | ||||
| DNQ | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth |
