Lap 36: 22 laps to go and the race is still completely open. Raikkonen
isn’t expected to make another stop unless it rains while Alonso is likely
to pit again. Ferrari are readying themselves in the pits, but it’s for
Massa.
Lap 34: Raikkonen comes in for his second stop of the race and is back
out in fifth behind Massa. Alonso now leads from Vettel.
Lap 32: Despite the odd spot of rain on Alonso’s helmet and the dark
clouds overhead, conditions don’t seem to have been altered all that much.
Vettel in still sitting in third place but can’t seem to trouble Alonso who
has just produced the fastest lap of the race.
Lap 31: An epic battle ensues between Hamilton and Alonso, just like
the old days. But Hamilton can’t keep the Spaniard at bay for too much
longer as the Ferrari passes him and Hamilton decides to dart into the pits
and he returns in seventh and importantly in front of Webber too.
Lap 30: Ferrari tell Alonso to push a bit harder to close on Hamilton
in second. Latest: 1 Raikkonen, 2 Hamilton, 3 Alonso.
Lap 29: Talk of ‘light spots of rain’ still on the cards as Massa
crawls all over the back of Sutil. Lotus inform Raikkonen of the change in
conditions as the crowd grab hold of their waterproofs. Lotus confident of
keeping Kimi out there on same tyres.
Lap 27: Raikkonen is 11-seconds clear of Hamilton in second and Rosberg
in third. But wait, Rosberg rolls over to the side of the track, slows up
and climbs out of his Mercedes. It had looked so promising for Hamilton’s
team-mate.
Lap 25: We have a casualty. Maldonado is stuck in the gravel and
despite his best efforts to keep his wheels spinning, he’s well and truly
beached.
Lap 24: Raikkonen benefits of lastest round of pit action by moving to
front of field, and word is that rain is expected in eight minutes time.
Lap 23: Vettel uses his DRS to finally get past Sutil on the straight,
further back and Webber edges up to 10th by passing Perez as Massa comes in
to pit.
Lap 22: Sutil and Vettel both come in to pit at the end of the 21st lap
and it’s the Force India driver who reappears first but wait, Alonso sniffs
an opening and pounces on the German, edging by him to lead the race.
Lap 20: Sutil is pulling away from Vettel despite 15-old lap tyres.
Another pit stop for Alonso sees Ferrari show their hand and a replay shows
Vettel suffering a minor slip. The world champion isn’t having things all
his own way.
Lap 19: A second stop now for Webber as he changes his tyres for second
time hoping that will give him the pace to make his way through the traffic.
Lap 15: Sutil still leads the opening grand prix and continues to
frustrate Vettel. The Force India driver spent a season in the wilderness
last year following an incident in a Chinese nightclub that left a fellow
reveller with cuts that required stitches caused by a champagne glass. At
least he seems to be making amends for his bad-boy ways.
Lap 14: Hamilton re-enters at eighth as Vettel keeps tabs on
second-placed Sutil with Sutil and Rosberg yet to pit. McLaren’s Perez is
the only other driver in top 10 yet to make his first stop.
Lap 13: Hamilton continues to plough on with the same tyres he
qualified in and leads his Mercedes team-mate Rosberg but it’s Raikkonen who
is fastest out there. Mercedes are getting ready in the pits now though with
fresh tyres.
Lap 10: Alonso comes in at end of ninth lap as does Raikkonen but it’s
Vettel now who is fastest out there on his fresh tyres. Those who are still
to pit are losing pace quickly out there. Even Ferrari might rue their
decision not to come in when Vettel did. Mercedes yet to change their medium
tyres. Hamilton leads from Rosberg.
Lap eight: Now Massa makes a quick tyre change and rejoins in 11th as
Vettel moves up to eighth. Alonso yet to pit and leads the flying Raikkonen.
Lap seven: the Ferrari’s are hot on the heels of Vettel with the world
champion deciding to come into pit at the end of the seventh lap. He rejoins
the field in 11th but all eyes are now on Raikkonen who is flying in the
early laps.
Lap five: Button is first into the pits and changes to intermediate
tyres with word that most drivers will be on a three-stop strategy. Webber
follows suit the following lap and is back in 18th place. Perez, meanwhile,
is breezing through the field, he’s now up to ninth.
Lap three: most of the drivers are out there on supersoft tyres but
it’s a case of when the drivers will start making their way into the pits
with the track bone dry in Melbourne this morning. Vettel continuing to
stretch his early lead and moving clear of Massa in second.
Lap two: the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen is proving to be too quick
for Hamilton as the Finn passes the Brit to move up the field into fourth
spot.
Lap one: Vettel comes through the first bend unscathed but Webber
suffers a shocker off the grid as Felipe Massa storms through the
field to move up to second. It’s a great start for Ferrari as Fernando
Alonso follows his team-mate and Webber is down to seventh by the close
of the opening lap.
06.00 Here we go then, seconds from lights out and the first race of
the season will be under way…five lights and we’re off.
05.50 Rewind back to last year and it was McLaren who set down an early
marker with a dominant display in Melbourne as Button topped the podium with
Vettel denying Hamilton of a McLaren one-two. The Woking-based team have
been the most successful constructors of the Aussie GP with 12 victories but
it’s a different story heading into this campaign with the team still off
the pace in practice and seemingly a few weeks away from catching up with
their rivals. Button has won three of the last four races in Melbourne, it
would be quite a shock if the Brit continues his fine run Down Under this
morning.
05.40 BREAKING NEWS: Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg will sit out
today’s opener following a fuel system fault. He was due to start 11th. The
team don’t want to risk the car for safety reasons.
05.35 So the biggest movers and shakers during the off-season saw
Hamilton quit McLaren for Mercedes, Perez take over Hamilton’s vacant seat
and the elevation of British debutant Max Chilton to Marussia. Tony
Fernandes’s Caterham, meanwhile, have a complete new-look team with the
additions of Frenchman Charles Pic and Holland’s Giedo van der Garde. Not
that they can do any worse than last year’s drivers who both ended the
season on nil pois. The main talking points in the opening few races will no
doubt surround Hamilton and whether he can turn Mercedes into a force to be
reckoned with. Can Perez mix it with the big boys and can anyone stop the
dominance of Red Bull and most notably Vettel from landing a fourth
successive world title? Let’s hear all your thoughts and predictions on the
new campaign.
Sunglasses at the ready: drivers line up for first race of season in
glorious sunshine
05.20 There has been rain this morning at Albert Park, but it relented
for the start of Q2 ensuring there would be no further delays. McLaren made
an awful error in sending out Perez on dry supersoft tyres and it backfired
as his team were forced to apologise later for their mistake. Despite making
it look easy, Vettel insists it was anything but plain sailing this morning:
“I was surprised when I went out for Q3 because the circuit looked
very dry, but once we committed to the tyre schedule there was no way back.
I had two good runs, one on the inters, one on the drys, got into the groove
and the car felt similarly balanced as to what I had on Friday. I was happy
to push on the lap, so overall I was pretty happy with it, and as soon as I
got confirmation that it was enough I pulled in to save the tyres.”
05.00 Morning all and how’s this for a treat for all you F1 fans out
there. It’s not just this season’s opening grand prix I’ll be bringing you
live, but for those of you waking up and tuning it, I have all the
qualification news you require. The action resumed at midnight (GMT time)
after yesterday’s postponement due to the treacherous conditions and the
first pole of the new campaign goes to….da, da, da….world champion Sebastian
Vettel. In fact, Red Bull blew away the field by locking out the front
row with Mercedes new boy Lewis Hamilton taking up third on the grid.
McLaren’s Jenson Button is back in tenth place, while team-mate Sergio Perez
didn’t come through Q2 and has to settle for 15th on the grid.
Grid positions after qualifying: 1 Sebastian Vettel Ger Red Bull 1min
27.407secs, 2 Mark Webber Aus Red Bull 1:27.827, 3 Lewis Hamilton Gbr
Mercedes GP 1:28.087, 4 Felipe Massa Bra Ferrari 1:28.490, 5 Fernando Alonso
Spa Ferrari 1:28.493, 6 Nico Rosberg Ger Mercedes GP 1:28.523, 7 Kimi
Raikkonen Fin Lotus F1 Team 1:28.738, 8 Romain Grosjean Fra Lotus F1 Team
1:29.013, 9 Paul di Resta Gbr Force India 1:29.305, 10 Jenson Button Gbr
McLaren 1:30.357