2012 Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying analysis

Qualifying – March 17th 2012; Albert Park, Melbourne

Lewis Hamilton got McLaren’s 2012 Formula 1 campaign off to a good start today, qualifying in pole position for the Australian Grand Prix. Teammate Jenson Button would qualify in second, helping McLaren secure their first 1-2 qualifying result of the year and ‘locking out’ the front row of the grid.

A fastest lap of 1:24.922 from Hamilton in the third session of qualifying was strong enough to put the Brit 0.152 seconds ahead of his teammate and secure the pole position as the chequered flag fell.

Elsewhere down the grid, there were plenty of surprises throughout Qualifying.
Romain Grosjean finished an impressive third position overall for tomorrow’s race in the Lotus F1 E20 just 0.380 seconds off the pace of Hamilton, once again proving the strength of the car shown during the winter testing period.

Michael Schumacher, who has been strong all weekend so far in Australia, was able to get his Mercedes AMG F1 W03 into fourth position, a pleasing result for the team who managed a quicker time then both of the Red Bull Racing cars.

Mark Webber would out-qualify teammate and double World Champion Sebastian Vettel this afternoon where Vettel never really looked to be a threat. Numerous runs off the track and through the grass and gravel over the course of the day meant that Vettel would only manage sixth to start tomorrow’s race, a position he’s not been in since Monza 2010.

Nico Rosberg would put the second Mercedes car in seventh, having failed to capitalise on the blistering pace set earlier this weekend during the free practice sessions. Williams F1 Team’s Pastor Maldonado, Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo would close out the top ten of the grid, with Toro Rosso opting not to run in the final session, and instead save tyres for race day.

Ricciardo’s rookie teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne would finish the day just behind him in eleventh though, proving a successful day for a team who struggled with reliability issues throughout the testing season in Spain.

Ferrari would have a miserable afternoon in Melbourne, with neither driver making it through Qualifying 2. Fernando Alonso, after touching the grass just before Turn 1, would spin off during the early times of Q2 and end up planted firmly in the gravel. Alonso’s car would not be recovered, meaning an early end to the day for him and twelfth overall for the Spaniard. Felipe Massa would have a worse day, and though continued running after Alonso’s day was finished, could only manage a time good enough for sixteenth on the grid.

The final story of note that surprised the Formula 1 World today was Kimi Raikkonen’s shock exit from Qualifying after just the first session. Having made a mistake in the final stages of a flying lap, the Finn eased off thinking he would have time to complete another flying lap. Instead, the session came to an end before the ‘IceMan’ could cross the start/finish line, resulting in an early exit from qualifying, and 18th on the grid to start tomorrow – a start contrast to the result achieved by the less experienced Formula 1 teammate of Romain Grosjean.

The Sauber’s of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez would both make it into the top 17 with Kobayashi placing thirteenth overall. Perez would suffer from a gearbox problem and fail to make a timed lap in Q2, putting him safely in seventeenth.

With the exception of Kimi Raikkonen, there were no surprises at the back of the grid, which largely resembled the back of each 2011 grid.

The Caterham F1 cars of Kovalainen and Petrov were the best of the last, placing P19 and P20, with the Marussia Racing cars of Glock and Pic behind them. Once again both HRT challengers bring up the rear of the grid with neither driver having qualified within the 107% time of 1:32.214. The team’s fate will now rest in the hands of the race stewards as they look to establish whether or not the team will be allowed to race tomorrow. Karthikeyan may also come under additional scrutiny having blocked Alonso, Vettel, and other whilst out on track during Q1.

Final Qualifying times can be seen below. The 2012 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix starts tomorrow, Sunday March 18th 2012, at 17:00 local time.

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