2011 Australian Grand Prix
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 motor race held on 27 March 2011 at the Albert Park Circuit
Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit
The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit is a street circuit around Albert Park Lake, only a few kilometres south of central Melbourne. It is used annually as a racetrack for the Australian Grand Prix and associated support races.-Design:...

 in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. It was the 76th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...

 that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race
1928 Australian Grand Prix
The 1928 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held on the Phillip Island road course, on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia on 31 March 1928...

 of 1928. Originally planned as the second race of the 2011 Formula One season
2011 Formula One season
The 2011 Formula One season was the 62nd FIA Formula One season. The original calendar consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over...

, it became the season opener with the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix
2011 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix was scheduled to be the opening round for the 2011 Formula One season. Planned to be held on 13 March 2011 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, it was postponed on 21 February 2011 due to local civil unrest...

 due to civil unrest in the country.

The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by the reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....

, driving for Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

, after starting from pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...

. Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...

 finished second in a McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

, and Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

's Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

 completed the podium in third place, the first podium finish of his career and the first podium finish for a Russian national.

Background

On the Thursday before the race, the FIA
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...

 altered the rules for the Drag Reduction System (DRS). Where the original rules were called for markings to be placed on the final 600 metres of the main straight to represent the zone in which the DRS was deployed, this was later changed to encompass the entire length of the front straight, 867 metres in length. The distance between the "detection" and "activation" lines – marking on the circuit that measured the time between two cars and the point from which the DRS could be used – was also extended so as to allow the driver more time to be aware that their DRS system was active.

The Friday practice sessions were run in conditions unlike any the teams had experienced during winter testing, with low temperatures, variable wind conditions and intermittent showers late in the afternoon. This made practice a learning experience for the teams, as the Pirelli tyres had a much narrower temperature band than the Bridgestone tyres used in 2010. With the ambient and track temperatures consistently lower than 20 °C (68 °F), the teams struggled to find the optimal performance band for the tyres. Commentators during the support races also noted that because of the proportionately higher number of support races in Melbourne compared to other rounds of the championship and the different makeup of the tyres used in those support categories, the track became "slower" as the day progressed. Where the Formula One cars laid rubber onto the existing racing line, the support races picked the rubber back up or pushed it off the racing line. This was particularly noticeable during qualifying for the V8 Supercars support race shortly after the first practice session.

Several driver changes were also made for the first practice session, with Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo is an Australian racing driver currently competing in Formula 1 for Hispania Racing. He won the British Formula Three Championship in 2009.-Formula Ford and Formula BMW:...

 running in the place of Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero , is a Spanish racing driver who became the youngest Formula One driver to start a Grand Prix in history at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alguersuari is the first driver to be born in the 1990s to compete in Formula One....

 at Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

, Karun Chandhok assuming Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...

's seat at Team Lotus, and Nico Hülkenberg driving for Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

 in the place of Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta is a British racing driver from Scotland, currently competing in Formula One with Force India. He is also a former DTM champion.-Personal life:...

.

Heading into the race, Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....

 had won 3 of the last 4 Grands Prix (and had retired from the lead of the race he didn't win
2010 Korean Grand Prix
The 2010 Korean Grand Prix was the seventeenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It took place at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea on 24 October 2010...

), as well as being crowned World Champion. Both he, and his new car (the Red Bull RB7
Red Bull RB7
The Red Bull RB7 is a Formula One racing car designed by the Red Bull Racing team for the 2011 Formula One season. It was driven by defending champion Sebastian Vettel and Australian driver Mark Webber. The car was launched at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain on 1 February 2011...

) looked in good form to defend their titles.

Practice

Red Bull
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

 led the first practice session, with Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...

 finishing three tenths of a second quicker than reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....

 and almost a second faster than Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

. Vettel experienced a blistered front tyre that initially caused concerns over the integrity of the Pirelli tyres, but was later revealed to be a phenomenon experienced by several teams during winter testing. The session was marked by an early accident involving Karun Chandhok. The Indian driver was the first car to take to the circuit and lost control on his installation lap, spinning off and crashing into a wall on the exit of turn three. The team recorded no mechanical failures and attributed the crash to driver error. Several other drivers, including Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...

, Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

 and Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...

 all experienced troubles at the third corner, running wide into the gravel trap. The damage to Chandhok's car was minimal, and Jarno Trulli was able to resume his seat in time for the second practice session.

Despite claiming during the off-season that they were a second behind their rivals, McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

 followed Red Bull in claiming the two fastest times in the second session, with Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...

 a tenth of a second faster than Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...

, Alonso and Vettel. Intermittent showers late in the afternoon led to race control declaring the circuit to be wet, but no driver used the wet or intermediate tyres, and a dry line was quickly established. The final half hour was run under race conditions as a simulation of the DRS in order to check that the system was properly implemented. As most of the times during the day had been set with the aid of an unrestricted DRS, no driver recorded a fastest time for the session once the simulation had begun.

Hispania Racing did not take part in the first practice session, with the team spending most of the day building both of their cars in the pit garage. Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi is an Italian race driver who is currently racing in Formula One for the HRT F1 Team. He has homes in Lugano, Switzerland and Pescara, Italy.-Karting:...

 was able to leave the garage three minutes before the end of the second practice session and completed an installation lap, but did not set a time. Narain Karthikeyan
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan , is the first Formula One motor racing driver from India. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He made his Formula One debut in with the Jordan team, and was a WilliamsF1 test driver in and...

 did not take to the circuit. Both cars were able to take to the circuit for the third practice session, with Karthikeyan setting a fastest lap some fourteen seconds slower than the fastest man of the session, Sebastian Vettel. Liuzzi was unable to set a time after his car abruptly lost all drive on his installation lap and he was towed from the circuit, though the team were able to resolve the problems in time for qualifying. However, as their 2011-specification front wing failed a mandatory crash test, the team was forced to use the 2010 wing, which was not designed in conjunction with their new aerodynamics package, thus leading to a car that was operating at less than peak aerodynamic efficiency. The session was otherwise incident-free, although Williams experienced delays when a gearbox problem kept Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...

 in his pit garage and Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan Formula One driver. Before making his Formula One debut in 2011, he won the 2010 GP2 championship.-Formula Renault:...

 spun off the circuit and was unable to rejoin which meant they joined Pérez, Karthikeyan and Liuzzi to complete less than 10 laps in practice 3.

Qualifying

The first qualifying period opened with uncertainty over whether as many as four cars would be able to qualify. Hispania's limited running and poor lap times made qualification unlikely, while Virgin Racing
Virgin Racing
Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four...

 admitted that they were concerned they would not be able to race when Timo Glock's best time in the third practice session was just two tenths of a second inside 107% of Sebastian Vettel's best time while Jérôme d'Ambrosio was well outside the benchmark. Both Virgins were able to qualify, taking the final two places on the grid while the Hispanias were both eliminated for being outside 107% of provisional pole-sitter's time. They later requested to be allowed to race, citing "exceptional circumstances", but were refused by the stewards. Lotus were also eliminated in Q1, causing surprise within the team, who had expected to be much closer to the midfield. Nick Heidfeld
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...

 was the other Q1 elimination, first of all experiencing a problem with the KERS device on his R31
Renault R31
The Renault R31 is a Formula One racing car designed by Lotus Renault GP for the 2011 Formula One season. The car's distinctive black and gold livery was designed as a tribute to the Team Lotus cars of the 1980s and the famous John Player Special liveries...

 and later encountering traffic that compromised his flying lap. Several teams, including Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

, were forced to sacrifice a set of soft tyres simply to progress to Q2.

The second session opened with a mistake from Rubens Barrichello that saw him spin off. He failed to set a time, and so qualified seventeenth on the grid. Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

's Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez Mendoza , also known as "Checo" Pérez, is a Mexican racing driver of Spanish descent, currently racing for Sauber in the 2011 Formula One season...

 also struggled with a hydraulics problem that cost him track time. Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

 failed to advance to Q3 by one hundredth of a second. Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero , is a Spanish racing driver who became the youngest Formula One driver to start a Grand Prix in history at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alguersuari is the first driver to be born in the 1990s to compete in Formula One....

 qualified twelfth, followed by rookie drivers Pérez, Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta is a British racing driver from Scotland, currently competing in Formula One with Force India. He is also a former DTM champion.-Personal life:...

 and Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan Formula One driver. Before making his Formula One debut in 2011, he won the 2010 GP2 championship.-Formula Renault:...

. Adrian Sutil was left sixteenth on the grid when, on a fast flying lap, he activated his DRS and KERS devices simultaneously as he came out of the final corner, pitching him into a spin. Although he was able to avoid contact with the walls, the spin compromised both his flying and final laps.

The final session started with Sebastian Vettel setting a time that quickly proved to be unbeatable. Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...

 held second place for much of the period before Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...

 and Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...

 were able to split the Red Bull cars. Webber was able to reclaim third from Button, but was mystified as to his lack of pace compared to his team-mate; Vettel was almost a second faster than Hamilton. He was observed to set a similar time later in the session without using his KERS device at all during the lap. Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

 tailed the McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

 cars in fifth, bemused at his car's lack of pace after early promise in free practice. Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

 was sixth for Renault, ahead of Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...

 in the second Mercedes
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....

, Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...

, Kamui Kobayashi
Kamui Kobayashi
is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in the GP2 Series, won the GP2 Asia Series, and made his Formula One debut with Toyota in the final two races of when he replaced Timo Glock after the German was injured in a crash during qualifying for the...

 and Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Olivier Buemi is a Swiss racing driver, who competes for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One.-Formula BMW:...

.

Race

Speculation before the race suggested that Red Bull were using a "start-only KERS" device that had been deliberately designed to be used to aid their drivers at the start of the race at the expense of using the device for the duration of the Grand Prix. This was seemingly supported by telemetry that showed Sebastian Vettel did not touch his KERS button during his qualifying laps, but team principal Christian Horner
Christian Horner
Christian Horner is the team manager of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, a position he has held since 2005...

 revealed post-race that the team had never fitted either of their cars with KERS during qualifying or the race and kept the decision a secret so as to mislead their opposition.

Vettel made the best start from pole whereas the McLarens of Hamilton and Jenson Button started slowly from second and fourth on the dirty side of the grid. This left Vettel unchallenged into the first corner, with Hamilton's KERS button allowing him to just keep second from Webber. Button was unable to defend his position as he was under challenge from Fernando Alonso and Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

. Petrov took fourth and Alonso was pushed on the grass and dropped back, while Button dropped to sixth behind Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...

. In the middle of the pack, there was a collision between Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

 and Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero , is a Spanish racing driver who became the youngest Formula One driver to start a Grand Prix in history at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alguersuari is the first driver to be born in the 1990s to compete in Formula One....

 as a result of which both drivers had to pit for repairs; Schumacher for a puncture and Alguersuari for a front wing. The rest of the field passed through the first lap safely.

Sebastian Vettel was 2.4 seconds ahead of Hamilton at the end of the first lap, and he increased it to 3.2 seconds at the end of lap 2, with Webber right behind Hamilton. Hamilton then began to respond to Vettel's fast laps, easily pulling away from Webber and keeping the gap to Vettel around 3 seconds. Webber and Petrov were comfortable in third and fourth, with the main battle on the track being Jenson Button's repeated attempts to get fifth from Massa. Button tried many times to pass Massa, but his attempts were to no avail until lap 11 when he went around the outside of the Brazilian at the fast Turn 11 chicane. Button was forced to cut the chicane to complete his overtake and was given a drive-though penalty despite stating in a radio transmission that he felt he had the position when he was forced off the circuit. Massa lost momentum and was passed by the recovering Fernando Alonso in the sister Ferrari, compromising Button's position further, as in order to give the position back to Massa he would have had to let both Ferraris past. At the front, Vettel was only 1.5 seconds ahead of Hamilton when he made his first stop and rejoined fourth behind Button who was yet to serve his drive-through and make his tyre stop. Button made an attempt to hold Vettel up in order to aid teammate Hamilton, though Vettel quickly passed him and set the fastest lap of the race on new tyres. Hamilton pitted two laps later, but this proved to be a disadvantage as he rejoined nearly seven seconds behind Vettel. Webber, Petrov, Alonso and Massa followed; the former rejoining on hard tyres unlike all the others.
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan Formula One driver. Before making his Formula One debut in 2011, he won the 2010 GP2 championship.-Formula Renault:...

 was the first retirement of the race, pulling over to the side of the circuit with an undiagnosed technical problem that the team later traced back to a problem with the transmission. He was joined several laps later by Michael Schumacher, who had sustained damage from contact with Alguersuari, and the Mercedes
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....

 team felt it was better to retire than to continue on and risk further damage to the car. Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....

 retired his Lotus T128
Lotus T128
The Lotus T128, known prior to its launch by its project number TL11, is a Formula One motor racing car designed by Mike Gascoyne for Team Lotus for use in the 2011 Formula One season. 2011 has seen the car abandon its Cosworth engine in favour of one developed by Renault. The T128 was launched...

 on the same lap with a water leak, whilst Timo Glock
Timo Glock
Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship...

 was initially parked in the garage with a mechanical failure before he was able to return to the circuit. As he completed less than 90% of the race winner's distance, he was not classified in the final standings.

Later in the race, Alonso and Webber made their second stops much earlier than the others, and a greater picture began to emerge. The new Pirellis afforded several different pit strategies; where Vettel, Hamilton and Petrov were all running two-stop strategies, Alonso and Webber nominated a third stop each. Further down the field, rookie Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez Mendoza , also known as "Checo" Pérez, is a Mexican racing driver of Spanish descent, currently racing for Sauber in the 2011 Formula One season...

 defied all expectations by making a single stop in his Sauber. Jenson Button was also running on a two-stop strategy, and had managed to climb back up through the field to be in the points at the halfway point despite his drive-through penalty. Elsewhere, Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...

 joined team-mate Schumacher in retirement when Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...

 attempted a pass up the inside into turn three that damaged the Mercedes' side pod, and turned Barrichello around. Rosberg's car gave off blue smoke during the half-a-lap after the collision and he was able to park the Mercedes safely by the circuit, removing the need for the safety car to deploy. Rubens Barrichello later retired his Williams with a similar problem to team-mate Maldonado, leaving the team pointless.

With the race moving into its final phase, Webber and Alonso both pitted, rejoining the circuit some twenty seconds behind Petrov. Lewis Hamilton had an off-track excursion at the first corner that damaged his undertray. It was enough to stop him from mounting a challenge towards Vettel, but he was able to remain in second place as Webber and Alonso closed on Petrov. Vettel went on to win the race by twenty-two seconds from Hamilton, to become the first driver to win three consecutive Grands Prix since Button won four races in succession in May and June . Alonso rapidly caught Petrov, but Petrov held on long enough to secure third place, his maiden podium. With Alonso fourth, Mark Webber equalled his best result at Albert Park, finishing fifth. Jenson Button finished sixth ahead of the Saubers of Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez Mendoza , also known as "Checo" Pérez, is a Mexican racing driver of Spanish descent, currently racing for Sauber in the 2011 Formula One season...

 in seventh and Kamui Kobayashi
Kamui Kobayashi
is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in the GP2 Series, won the GP2 Asia Series, and made his Formula One debut with Toyota in the final two races of when he replaced Timo Glock after the German was injured in a crash during qualifying for the...

 in eighth, while Felipe Massa crossed the line ninth, almost ninety seconds behind Vettel. Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Olivier Buemi is a Swiss racing driver, who competes for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One.-Formula BMW:...

 claimed the final championship point in tenth, one lap down.

Post-race

During post-race inspection both Saubers
Sauber C30
The Sauber C30 is a Formula One racing car developed by Sauber Motorsports for use in the 2011 Formula One season. As with the Sauber C29 the car is powered by a Ferrari engine, but with added capability to house Ferrari's customer KERS system....

 of Kobayashi and Pérez were found not to comply with sporting regulations due to a technical infringement involving the uppermost element of the rear wing, disqualifying them both from the standings. The race results were adjusted with Massa placed seventh, Buemi in eighth, and the Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

s of Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil
-Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002...

 and Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta is a British racing driver from Scotland, currently competing in Formula One with Force India. He is also a former DTM champion.-Personal life:...

 promoted into ninth and tenth – and points-scoring positions – respectively. After the race, Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

 stated that they intended to appeal the decision, but elected not to on 29 March after an internal investigation found a manufacturing fault was responsible for producing parts that did not comply with the regulations, though technical director James Key
James Key (Formula One)
-Formula One career:Key joined Jordan Grand Prix in 1998 spending several years as a Data Engineer, then became Race Engineer for Takuma Sato. Following a year in the Wind Tunnel he transferred to the Vehicle Dynamics department, eventually becoming the department head during the team's final few...

 claimed the offending parts offered no additional performance to the car.

A race start in this race ensured that Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...

 had officially started a race in 19 separate Formula One seasons, breaking the previous record of 18 held by Graham Hill
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to...

.

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Grid
1 1   Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....

Red Bull
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

1:25.296 1:24.090 1:23.529 1
2 3   Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...

McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

-Mercedes
1:25.384 1:24.595 1:24.307 2
3 2   Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...

Red Bull
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

1:25.900 1:24.658 1:24.395 3
4 4   Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...

McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

-Mercedes
1:25.886 1:24.957 1:24.779 4
5 5   Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

1:25.707 1:25.242 1:24.974 5
6 10   Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

1:25.543 1:25.582 1:25.247 6
7 8   Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...

Mercedes
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....

1:25.856 1:25.606 1:25.421 7
8 6   Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...

Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

1:26.031 1:25.611 1:25.599 8
9 16   Kamui Kobayashi
Kamui Kobayashi
is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in the GP2 Series, won the GP2 Asia Series, and made his Formula One debut with Toyota in the final two races of when he replaced Timo Glock after the German was injured in a crash during qualifying for the...

Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

1:25.717 1:25.405 1:25.626 9
10 18   Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Olivier Buemi is a Swiss racing driver, who competes for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One.-Formula BMW:...

Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

1:26.232 1:25.882 1:27.066 10
11 7   Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

Mercedes
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....

1:25.962 1:25.971 11
12 19   Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero , is a Spanish racing driver who became the youngest Formula One driver to start a Grand Prix in history at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alguersuari is the first driver to be born in the 1990s to compete in Formula One....

Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

1:26.620 1:26.103 12
13 17   Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez Mendoza , also known as "Checo" Pérez, is a Mexican racing driver of Spanish descent, currently racing for Sauber in the 2011 Formula One season...

Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

1:25.812 1:26.108 13
14 15   Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta is a British racing driver from Scotland, currently competing in Formula One with Force India. He is also a former DTM champion.-Personal life:...

Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

-Mercedes
1:27.222 1:26.739 14
15 12   Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan Formula One driver. Before making his Formula One debut in 2011, he won the 2010 GP2 championship.-Formula Renault:...

Williams-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

1:26.298 1:26.768 15
16 14   Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil
-Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002...

Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

-Mercedes
1:26.245 1:31.407 16
17 11   Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...

Williams-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

1:26.270 no time 17
18 9   Nick Heidfeld
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...

Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

1:27.239 18
19 20   Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....

Lotus-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

1:29.254 19
20 21   Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...

Lotus-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

1:29.342 20
21 24   Timo Glock
Timo Glock
Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship...

Virgin
Virgin Racing
Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four...

-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

1:29.858 21
22 25   Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Jérôme d'Ambrosio is a Belgian racing driver of Italian descent. He is driving for Marussia Virgin Racing during the 2011 Formula One World Championship.-Karting:...

Virgin
Virgin Racing
Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four...

-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

1:30.822 22
107% time: 1:31.267
23 23   Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Vitantonio "Tonio" Liuzzi is an Italian race driver who is currently racing in Formula One for the HRT F1 Team. He has homes in Lugano, Switzerland and Pescara, Italy.-Karting:...

HRT-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

1:32.978 DNQ
24 22   Narain Karthikeyan
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan , is the first Formula One motor racing driver from India. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He made his Formula One debut in with the Jordan team, and was a WilliamsF1 test driver in and...

HRT-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

1:34.293 DNQ

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....

Red Bull
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

58 1:29:30.259 1 25
2 3   Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...

McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

-Mercedes
58 +22.297 2 18
3 10   Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

58 +30.560 6 15
4 5   Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

58 +31.772 5 12
5 2   Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...

Red Bull
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

58 +38.171 3 10
6 4   Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...

McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

-Mercedes
58 +54.304 4 8
7 6   Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...

Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

58 +1:25.186 8 6
8 18   Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Buemi
Sébastien Olivier Buemi is a Swiss racing driver, who competes for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One.-Formula BMW:...

Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

57 +1 Lap 10 4
9 14   Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil
-Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002...

Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

-Mercedes
57 +1 Lap 16 2
10 15   Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta
Paul di Resta is a British racing driver from Scotland, currently competing in Formula One with Force India. He is also a former DTM champion.-Personal life:...

Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...

-Mercedes
57 +1 Lap 14 1
11 19   Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Alguersuari
Jaime Víctor Alguersuari Escudero , is a Spanish racing driver who became the youngest Formula One driver to start a Grand Prix in history at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alguersuari is the first driver to be born in the 1990s to compete in Formula One....

Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

57 +1 Lap 12
12 9   Nick Heidfeld
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...

Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

57 +1 Lap 18
13 21   Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...

Lotus-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

56 +2 Laps 20
14 25   Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Jérôme d'Ambrosio is a Belgian racing driver of Italian descent. He is driving for Marussia Virgin Racing during the 2011 Formula One World Championship.-Karting:...

Virgin
Virgin Racing
Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four...

-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

54 +4 Laps 22
NC 24   Timo Glock
Timo Glock
Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship...

Virgin
Virgin Racing
Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four...

-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

49 +9 Laps 21
Ret 11   Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...

Williams-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

48 Transmission 17
Ret 8   Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...

Mercedes
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....

22 Collision damage 7
Ret 20   Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish Formula One racing driver who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with British based team McLaren and the 2010 and 2011 seasons with Team Lotus....

Lotus-Renault
Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the current incarnation of Renault's involvement in Formula 1. It was born at the end of 2010, when the carmaker sold the 25 per cent final share property from its Enstone-based team, Renault F1, to major stockholder Genii Capital but kept for itself the control of its...

19 Water leak 19
Ret 7   Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

Mercedes
Mercedes GP
Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team, the trading name of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, is a British-based Formula One racing team and constructor, owned by Mercedes-Benz and racing under a German licence since the 2010 season....

19 Collision damage 11
Ret 12   Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan Formula One driver. Before making his Formula One debut in 2011, he won the 2010 GP2 championship.-Formula Renault:...

Williams-Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

9 Transmission 15
DSQ 17   Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez Mendoza , also known as "Checo" Pérez, is a Mexican racing driver of Spanish descent, currently racing for Sauber in the 2011 Formula One season...

Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

58 Disqualified 13
DSQ 16   Kamui Kobayashi
Kamui Kobayashi
is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in the GP2 Series, won the GP2 Asia Series, and made his Formula One debut with Toyota in the final two races of when he replaced Timo Glock after the German was injured in a crash during qualifying for the...

Sauber
Sauber
Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

58 Disqualified 9

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1   Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....

25
2 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...

18
3   Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....

15
4   Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....

12
5   Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...

10


Constructors' Championship standings
Pos Constructor Points
1   Red Bull
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...

-Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

35
2   McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...

-Mercedes
26
3   Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

18
4   Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

15
5   Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...

-Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

4


  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

External links

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