2013 Australian Grand Prix (Mar 15 - 17)

The new F1 season kicks off this weekend Down Under.

[QUOTE=Practice 1]Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m25.908 33
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m26.172s + 0.264 31
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m26.322s + 0.414 26
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m26.361s + 0.453 37
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 1m26.680s + 0.772 30
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m26.748s + 0.840 35
7. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m26.772s + 0.864 28
8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m26.855s + 0.947 32
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m27.435s + 1.527 34
10. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m28.187s + 2.279 34
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m28.294s + 2.386 30
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m28.311s + 2.403 37
13. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m28.566s + 2.658 32
14. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.627s + 2.719 31
15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m28.772s + 2.864 33
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m28.852s + 2.944 36
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.968s + 3.060 35
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m29.386s + 3.478 38
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m29.696s + 3.788 30
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m30.165s + 4.257 37
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m30.600s + 4.692 34
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m32.450s + 6.542 11

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106037"]Australian GP: Vettel stays on top in second practice - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/QUOTE]

Vettel also lead the way in practice 2:

[quote]Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m25.908 33
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m26.172s + 0.264 31
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m26.322s + 0.414 26
4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m26.361s + 0.453 37
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 1m26.680s + 0.772 30
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m26.748s + 0.840 35
7. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m26.772s + 0.864 28
8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m26.855s + 0.947 32
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m27.435s + 1.527 34
10. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m28.187s + 2.279 34
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m28.294s + 2.386 30
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m28.311s + 2.403 37
13. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m28.566s + 2.658 32
14. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.627s + 2.719 31
15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m28.772s + 2.864 33
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m28.852s + 2.944 36
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.968s + 3.060 35
18. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m29.386s + 3.478 38
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m29.696s + 3.788 30
20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m30.165s + 4.257 37
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m30.600s + 4.692 34
22. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m32.450s + 6.542 11

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106037"]Australian GP: Vettel stays on top in second practice - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/quote]

Grosjean topped the final, rain-hit practice.

[quote]Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 1m26.929s 14
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m27.000s + 0.071s 7
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m27.241s + 0.312s 10
4. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m27.533s + 0.604s 9
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m27.625s + 0.696s 12
6. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m27.849s + 0.920s 19
7. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m27.860s + 0.931s 16
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m28.069s + 1.140s 15
9. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m28.253s + 1.324s 18
10. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m28.253s + 1.324s 20
11. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m28.486s + 1.557s 13
12. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m29.808s + 2.879s 9
13. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m30.073s + 3.144s 16
14. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m30.388s + 3.459s 17
15. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m30.598s + 3.669s 20
16. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m30.959s + 4.030s 19
17. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.236s + 6.307s 7
18. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.527s + 6.598s 8
19. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.232s + 12.303s 13
20. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.779s + 12.850s 13
21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.872s + 15.943s 13
22. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m47.246s + 20.317s 9

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106072"]Australian GP: Grosjean quickest as rain hits FP3 - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/quote]

As more rain hit Melbourne, qualifying was postponed to tomorrow after Q1.

[quote]Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m43.380s
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m43.850s + 0.470s
3. Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 1m44.284s + 0.904s
4. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.300s + 0.920s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m44.472s + 1.092s
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m44.635s + 1.255s
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m44.657s + 1.277s
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.688s + 1.308s
9. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m44.871s + 1.491s
10. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m45.456s + 2.076s
11. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m45.545s + 2.165s
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m45.601s + 2.221s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m45.930s + 2.550s
14. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m46.450s + 3.070s
15. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m47.328s + 3.948s
16. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m47.330s + 3.950s
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m47.614s + 4.234s
18. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m47.776s + 4.396s
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m48.147s + 4.767s
20. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m48.909s + 5.529s
21. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m49.519s + 6.139s
22. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m50.626s + 7.246s

[url="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106075"]Australian GP: Qualifying postponed to Sunday morning - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com[/url][/quote]

[code]Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:44.657 1:36.745 1:27.407 27
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:44.472 1:36.524 1:27.827 26
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:45.456 1:36.625 1:28.087 29
4 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:44.635 1:36.666 1:28.490 23
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:43.850 1:36.691 1:28.493 26
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:43.380 1:36.194 1:28.523 28
7 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 1:45.545 1:37.517 1:28.738 27
8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:44.284 1:37.641 1:29.013 25
9 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:45.601 1:36.901 1:29.305 23
10 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:44.688 1:36.644 1:30.357 24
11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1:45.930 1:38.067 19
12 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:47.330 1:38.134 19
13 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 1:44.871 1:38.778 19
14 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 1:46.450 1:39.042 20
15 Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1:44.300 1:39.900 18
16 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1:47.328 1:40.290 19
17 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1:47.614 11
18 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1:47.776 10
19 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1:48.147 11
20 Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1:48.909 11
21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1:49.519 11
22 Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1:50.626 10

Q1 107% Time 1:50.616 [/code]

Note - Pic failed to meet 107% requirement, so races at stewards' discretion.

Interesting results as the track dried out, Rosberg was a demon in the wet but as soon as there was a dry line, that was it.

Whats the forecast for the race itself?

Forecast is that there'll be some rain around, whether it'll fall at the track is the thing. It's dry at the moment, but there's still 2.5 hours until race start. It's also cold and blustery.

Welp, that was fun. Great to see Kimi on top, though I think his explaination of the fastest lap at the end was bogus.. he did it because it loves to, and good on him too. Another shocking start for Webber stuffed his chances there, but nice to see Massa right up there for a time.

Webber is clearly his usual poor starting form....lol

I didn't see Lotus's win coming, but during the race several teams seems to be in genuine contention, and considering it ultimately was a dry race, it looks like this season could be quite close yet again.

Side note, NBC Sport's coverage in US is pretty decent. Basically no different to what SPEED was doing in the event itself. They did add FP1 to the lineup, and they have a 1/2 hr prerace + 1/2 hr postrace AFTER the podium ceremony, which is pretty decent. Supposedly they have some offtrack produced specials coming as well, so I think solid start for the new network for F1 in US. Its still not the commercial free BBC, but for US its about as good as you can expect...