Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Melbourne, 2011

2011 Australian Grand Prix grid

2011 Australian Grand Prix

26th March 2011, 7:051st April 2011, 15:40 | Written by Keith Collantine

Row 1	1. Sebastian Vettel 1’23.529 Red Bull
		2. Lewis Hamilton 1’24.307 McLaren
Row 2	3. Mark Webber 1’24.395 Red Bull
		4. Jenson Button 1’24.779 McLaren
Row 3	5. Fernando Alonso 1’24.974 Ferrari
		6. Vitaly Petrov 1’25.247 Renault
Row 4	7. Nico Rosberg 1’25.421 Mercedes
		8. Felipe Massa 1’25.599 Ferrari
Row 5	9. Kamui Kobayashi 1’25.626 Sauber
		10. Sebastien Buemi 1’27.066 Toro Rosso
Row 6	11. Michael Schumacher 1’25.971 Mercedes
		12. Jaime Alguersuari 1’26.103 Toro Rosso
Row 7	13. Sergio Perez 1’26.108 Sauber
		14. Paul di Resta 1’26.739 Force India
Row 8	15. Pastor Maldonado 1’26.768 Williams
		16. Adrian Sutil 1’31.407 Force India
Row 9	17. Rubens Barrichello Williams
		18. Nick Heidfeld 1’27.239 Renault
Row 10	19. Heikki Kovalainen 1’29.254 Lotus
		20. Jarno Trulli 1’29.342 Lotus
Row 11	21. Timo Glock 1’29.858 Virgin
		22. Jerome d’Ambrosio 1’30.822 Virgin

107% time in Q1: 1’31.267

Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan will not start having failed to beat the 107% time.

2011 Australian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine

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94 comments on “2011 Australian Grand Prix grid”

RIISE (@riise)
26th March 2011, 7:06

What a lap from Vettel, Webber is going to be destroyed this season.

Good to see Petrov up there, imagine if Kubica was there…
1. AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
  26th March 2011, 7:10
  
  Just thinking the same about Kubica myself…can’t see how he could have improved on that to be honest.
  1. Icthyes (@icthyes)
    26th March 2011, 7:13
    
    Me neither actually, I think we are seeing Petrov’s potential come through. But I think Robert would have done Alonso there.
    1. BasCB (@bascb)
      26th March 2011, 7:35
      
      Looks like Petrov was right about learning. He was quite quick at times last year, just very prone to mistakes. And he is a good starter, so if that KERS is working for him it might get interesting from the line.
      
      Nick Heidfeld must be wondering where he lost it though.
      1. US_Peter (@us_peter)
        26th March 2011, 7:53
        
        Quick Nick not looking so quick now. Starting to wonder about both he and Massa…
      2. Mike
        26th March 2011, 22:53
        
        To be honest I think it’s too early to make a call on Petrov, and a bit harsh to have a go at Nick after just a single qualifying session.
        
        All I’m thinking is, If Petrov could get 6th… Kubica…
2. robbiepblake (@driftin)
  26th March 2011, 7:20
  
  I’m another who thinks this is just a huge improvement of Petrov’s performance as a driver, not a huge improvement of Renault’s technicalities, although the latter does have something to do with it. He got a lot of flack last year but I think it was rather unfair and I’m glad he got to keep his seat.
  1. Icthyes (@icthyes)
    26th March 2011, 7:20
    
    Kimi who?
    1. robbiepblake (@driftin)
      26th March 2011, 7:26
      
      If he came back in Heidfeld/Kubica’s place I think we would’ve seen both Renaults in the top 10. But still, well done Petrov.
      1. summers (@summers)
        26th March 2011, 7:43
        
        U serious? I mean, why the idea of Kimi/Petrov team? Hilarious :D
  2. butterdori (@butterdori)
    26th March 2011, 7:29
    
    Hmm, I think it’s a bit of both
  3. Enigma (@enigma)
    26th March 2011, 7:30
    
    Petrov was pretty impressive last year as well (Hungary, Brazil qualy, Abu Dhabi etc.), he just wasn’t consistent and kept crashing.
  4. BasCB (@bascb)
    26th March 2011, 7:36
    
    Wait till we hear what PM has to say about that. He will find a reason to explain its not Petrov who improved.
3. wasiF1 (@wasif1)
  27th March 2011, 2:59
  
  Now it feels even bad to see Petrov doing that but no Kubica. That’s what I call bad luck for the team.
robbiepblake (@driftin)
26th March 2011, 7:06

McLaren ARE faster than Ferrari! This is delirious…

And Petrov in the third row! What a start to the season.
Raj
26th March 2011, 7:08

It looks like Ferrari hit some rough patch when they landed in melbourne.. i don’t want to hear same complaint of not getting heat in to tyres from “Massa”… it all looks like last year for him in Ferrari..
1. explosiva
  26th March 2011, 7:20
  
  I think Felipe is psychologically destroyed, although I don’t want it to be that way. I think you could’ve excused his form the first half of last year due to his accident. But I think that accident, coupled with the team obviously favoring Alonso, is really weighing on his shoulders. He must be under tremendous pressure to perform both from within his team and from himself. He’s buckling, I’m afraid…
  1. Icthyes (@icthyes)
    26th March 2011, 7:22
    
    I’m afraid we might be seeing the end of Felipe Massa. If the year goes on like this, that’s it. Expect to see Webber or Kobayashi there next year.
    1. US_Peter (@us_peter)
      26th March 2011, 7:56
      
      Kobayashi in a Ferrari would be very very fun to watch.
      1. Solo (@solo)
        26th March 2011, 8:42
        
        They have Perez that actually looks pretty good. His in their academy. They might go for Kobayashi if he destroys Perez but i don’t think he will be that hugely dominant because Perez looks good.
    2. Jack Holt
      26th March 2011, 10:23
      
      Could Kubica return in the Ferrari (no idea what his Renault contract allows)?
      1. Steph (@)
        26th March 2011, 17:22
        
        Relax Icthyes it’s only been one quali session at Aus…he’ll bounce back! (I may be in complete denial here :P )
        
        I doubt it Jack. He could well end up at Ferrari eventually but I don’t think they’d nab a driver who’d had such serious injuries straight away as they wouldn’t no exactly how he would perform and when he makes his comback it still make take time for him to get back to his best.
        
        Todfod I’ll agree that Fernando is just insanely good but I’m going to argue with the wet weather comment with…Nurburgring 07, Japan 07, Brazil 08 and China 09.
  2. Todfod (@todfod)
    26th March 2011, 8:02
    
    I think Felipe is psychologically destroyed
    
    I dont understand why people are blaming his lack lustre performances on the psychological effect. Massa was never really that good to begin with. He only put in stellar performances when the car and conditions were perfect, and his record of not being able to control the car in damp and wet conditions is appalling. Its not like the team put any extra pressure on him today, but he just didn’t perform. People will make all kinds of excuses for his poor performances when the truth is that he has a teammate that just raises the bar way too high for him to reach.
    1. Mike
      26th March 2011, 23:15
      
      God knows he is not Alonso?
      
      But yeah I agree to be honest, I think in the end, Alonso has found a sweet spot for himself in F1. It would take a lot to beat him in his own team now. And I don’t think Massa is able to do it at the moment.
      
      Of course, were Lewis or Kubica to join the team…
Gaston (@golarrazabal)
26th March 2011, 7:09

Keith, wasn’t Vettel’s time 1:23.529?
1. AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
  26th March 2011, 7:10
  
  They look like Q1 times to me.
2. US_Peter (@us_peter)
  26th March 2011, 7:57
  
  1:23.529 isn’t too far off the 1:23.477 I predicted for Vettel.
Stratos (@stratos)
26th March 2011, 7:09

1s from Vettel to Webber… I think is going to be a boring season :S
1. Todfod (@todfod)
  26th March 2011, 8:06
  
  I hope not man.. I seriously hope that doesn’t happen.
bisutommy79 (@bisutommy79)
26th March 2011, 7:10

Get well soon Robert!
Nic Morley (@robocat)
26th March 2011, 7:10

Very quick by Vettel. Will be interested to see how he goes in the race at managing his tyres.
summers (@summers)
26th March 2011, 7:11

Heidfeld = ENORMOUS disapointment. I really want to know what went bad…
1. AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
  26th March 2011, 7:16
  
  Probably getting heat into the tyres, a few suffered.
  1. Anatoly Nechaev
    26th March 2011, 7:29
    
    Official twitter said he was in heavy traffic.
    Didn’t see myself cause i was tracking Petrov at the moment.
2. Enigma (@enigma)
  26th March 2011, 7:27
  
  A Hispania was in front of him in the last lap, so he lost something there surely. But still, should’ve been through before.
  1. RIISE (@riise)
    26th March 2011, 7:40
    
    The Hispania seemed to be in the way of most cars. God they should throw them out the championship.
    1. US_Peter (@us_peter)
      26th March 2011, 7:59
      
      Or make them pre-qualify the way some teams used to have to. It would at least keep them out of the way of the other teams.
    2. Ben Curly
      26th March 2011, 8:55
      
      RIISE, you really hate the HRT, don’t you? I didn’t see a single comment from you today, that wouldn’t bash them or suggest they should leave the sport ASAP.
      
      Cut them some slack. They didn’t have the resources of other teams, but they worked really hard to be here. From my point of view it’s always a loss when a team leaves the sport and I don’t see why any F1 fan would want that.
  2. Solo (@solo)
    26th March 2011, 8:44
    
    He really almost hit the HRT right before the last corner. In all fairness it was obvious he lost quite a bit of time there. He would have at least made Q2 without that.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
26th March 2011, 7:11

Incredible pole from Vettel. Expected no less though to be honest. Although I am curious as to why he felt the need to try to improve on that given he was on soft tyres.
1. BasCB (@bascb)
  26th March 2011, 7:38
  
  Seems he got another set on just to put somet heat through them. And maybe he would have pushed for a faster time had Hamilton, Button or Webber improved their times a bit.
robbiepblake (@driftin)
26th March 2011, 7:11

And Lewis Hamilton had a KERS failure! Blimey, McLaren are pretty damn quick.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
26th March 2011, 7:11

Interesting, Whitmarsh says Hamilton had a KERS issue, probably wouldn’t have got him pole but that 7 tenths looks a bit inflated now, good news for the race.

I think we’ve seen what I was worrying about before, the DRS in qualifying is distinguishing team-mates but giving extra advantages between different teams.
1. Icthyes (@icthyes)
  26th March 2011, 7:23
  
  Oh, apparently Vettel didn’t have it either. Damn.
  1. BasCB (@bascb)
    26th March 2011, 7:39
    
    Must have really got both Webber and Lewis miffed hearing that.
  2. BasCB (@bascb)
    26th March 2011, 8:07
    
    Quite shocking actually. Both being that fast even without it.
    
    Button said he lost tyre temperature in his out lap due to a “misunderstanding” with Rosberg. Thats his reason for being slow.
    
    What was Webbers secret? I hoped he was on the hards, but that is not the case.
    
    Still it might be interesting with feisty starter Petrov in 6th and with KERS to help from the line.
2. Younger Hamii(Formally Younger Hamilton)
  26th March 2011, 8:46
  
  Definetely wouldnt to be quite honest,KERS Tend to gain you 0.3-0.5Secs per lap and to top things on Seb didnt use KERS either so imagine the differences between the two drivers if they both used KERS.
  
  With Lewis however i heard Whitmarsh talking about his Brake Balance/Bias getting affected by the KERS Issue as well so without those issues i predicted Lewis would have gotten the lap time to at least 3 or 4 Tenths.Obviously still wouldnt have been enough for Pole,But lets see Race day is McLaren’s Race Pace on target,Have Ferrari got more to come on Race Pace as well as Red Bull.Who’s going to be ahead down to the First Corner? Mayhem down the First Corner ont he First Lap down the Midfield Once again.God Australia is going to be Epic cant wait!!! Definetely a great reason to wake up early for in the UK!!
3. Solo (@solo)
  26th March 2011, 8:46
  
  Is there a possibility that losing KERS was actually a blessing that allowed them to concentrate more on the driving and use the DRS better because they had only one button to think?
bisutommy79 (@bisutommy79)
26th March 2011, 7:11

“We are who we are”?????????????????????????
1. Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
  26th March 2011, 7:16
  
  I’d love for it to be a punch in that stupid drink company remark made by Hamilton.
  1. Icthyes (@icthyes)
    26th March 2011, 7:19
    
    You mean the one where he wondered what might happen to them in the future, or the one made up by the journalist?
    1. Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
      26th March 2011, 7:22
      
      Yeah, the one where he genuinely cared about another team future.
      1. Maciek
        26th March 2011, 7:35
        
        What’s that got to do with anything? Hamilton never said “just a drinks company”. He was asked about the possibility of moving to RedBull and said: “Red Bull are not a manufacturer, they are a drinks company. It’s a drinks company versus McLaren/Ferrari history. I don’t know what their plan is.” As Icthyes has tried to point out elsewhere, the headline was made up to look like a quote – self-serving tabloidism at its best.
      2. Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
        26th March 2011, 8:11
        
        I read the article, not the headline.
        Is it really that hard to treat RBR like a proper formula one team and show respect for their achievement? The people who worked in the team and defeat McLaren and Ferrare *are not making drinks for a living*.
        
        Huge Sponsorships always had their place in formula one, but never a driver just went like “I can’t tell you, i don’t know what John Doe Company plan is” and completely left the actual team out of the equation. Like it doesn’t matter.
        
        And be aware, i perfectly agree with Lewis about staying at McLaren because of their racing history and everything that implies for a driver like him (i wrote that on F1F, somewhere). But I’d be very annoyed for the wording if would be a RBR member.
2. explosiva
  26th March 2011, 7:16
  
  You didn’t know that we are who we are? Tsk tsk.
3. Ben N
  26th March 2011, 7:19
  
  I didn’t know Kesha was popular in Germany…
4. xline
  26th March 2011, 7:28
  
  drinks company.
  
  ever since bl… planetf1 opened up with a false title claiming Lewis said Red Bull are JUST a drinks company – actually he said “I don’t know what RB are ding they are a drinks company”people have been trying to inflate it which evidently Vettel is now trying to do but since neither you nor Horner caught on it seems to have back fired.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
26th March 2011, 7:13

Haha, wow just wow. So many surprises that I don’t know where to begin.

Vettel’s pace is just immense

Disappointed by some, but I am thrilled to see Sauber and STR taking the fight into Q3 and leading the midfield!
Daniel
26th March 2011, 7:14

Now we know where we are. It’s gonna be RedBull vs McLaren all season long. And maybe Ferrari and Renault. Mercedes, go home! Schummacher, go home!
Eggry (@eggry)
26th March 2011, 7:14

1. Sebastian Vettel 1’25.296

I think’s it’s 1:23.529
1. Eggry (@eggry)
  26th March 2011, 7:17
  
  It’s shame that Ferrari lost their momentum of winter test while Mclaren has improved. Ferrari or Mclaren…I hope whoever would beat Redbull in the race.
2. AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
  26th March 2011, 7:18
  
  Shame really…that’s not a million miles off my predicted pole time!
graigchq (@graigchq)
26th March 2011, 7:15

can anyone confirm if HRT will race or not?
1. Eggry (@eggry)
  26th March 2011, 7:21
  
  FIA and Teams are discussing.
2. BasCB (@bascb)
  26th March 2011, 7:40
  
  Its up to the Teams to agree to a dispensation for them. Discussions between HRT, FIA stewards and teams are probalby taking place right now.
charlieboy (@)
26th March 2011, 7:18

I don’t know what to read into this. Isn’t Australia one of those tracks that don’t really show us the cars true pecking order.

Not going to get to excited until I see a few more races
james_mc
26th March 2011, 7:21

What a ridiculous soliloquy by Vettel! He sounded like a Bond Villain or the leader of a cult!

I hope the teams vote to allow Hispania in, the 107% rule is a joke. Then again Hispania are too kinda…
1. Enigma (@enigma)
  26th March 2011, 7:41
  
  They’re pretty impressive, given the circumstances. Glock is a better driver than Liuzzi, and he beat him by 3 seconds, after testing the whole february, 12 days with the new car. HRT tested for 7 laps.
2. kenneth Ntulume
  26th March 2011, 17:17
  
  i like the way you have delivered this……….not eazy to accept the RBR “unique capabilities”
Victor. (@victor)
26th March 2011, 7:23

1) Yay for McLaren being competitive.
2) Nay for Red Bull being so much ahead.
3) Despite really not liking Vettel that lap was epic.
4) Lewis did great without KERS.
5) Very well done to Petrov.
6) Kubica please come back.
7) I’M OFF TO BED.
1. Victor. (@victor)
  26th March 2011, 7:24
  
  And oh, I forgot, Heidfeld’s performance was dreadful.
  1. Anatoly Nechaev
    26th March 2011, 7:50
    
    Something definitely gone wrong. Dunno whether it was traffic or car lost performance or tyres problem.
    He was slower then Petrov through whole weekend though, but only for couple of tenths.
    1. xxiinophobia (@xxiinophobia)
      26th March 2011, 17:44
      
      Heidfeld got held up by an HRT during his hot lap.
2. robbiepblake (@driftin)
  26th March 2011, 7:28
  
  What about DiResta outperforming Mr. Skiddy aka. Sutil? Another pleasant surprise.
charlieboy (@)
26th March 2011, 7:24

Was Sebs KERS working??
1. AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
  26th March 2011, 7:26
  
  I’ve not heard otherwise? I am curious to know.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
26th March 2011, 7:26

Alonso 1.4 off of pole…okay the best of the rest was 0.7 off, but over one lap that’s very very worrying for Ferrari, really surprised they didn’t try a strategy gamble.
1. BasCB (@bascb)
  26th March 2011, 7:42
  
  He said as much himself on BBC. Being in 5th pretty much OK, but the speed is a big worry.
Stefanauss (@stefanauss)
26th March 2011, 7:27

I’m impressed by Lewis, that he managed to keep behind a Red Bull, the sound of their engine and the light reflected by Webber’s visor. In that order.
Enigma (@enigma)
26th March 2011, 7:28

The onboard lap looked great. Apart from the mistake in the penultimate corner, perfect. And he had no KERS, incredible. I wonder how the race pace will be.
Enigma (@enigma)
26th March 2011, 7:32

Top 5 are the championship contenders from 2010. So not much has changed.
box this lap (@sebashuis)
26th March 2011, 7:33

3 rookies altogether on the grid!
1. Enigma (@enigma)
  26th March 2011, 7:39
  
  Poor Paul. He has Perez, Maldonado, Sutil and Barrichello around him. And I was hoping he would finish the race…
  1. robbiepblake (@driftin)
    26th March 2011, 7:49
    
    At least Liuzzi’s not in there, otherwise he’s guaranteed a crash.
robbiepblake (@driftin)
26th March 2011, 7:49

“Sebastian Vettel takes pole position is Australia with Lewis Hamilton second.” Front page blurb makes no sense.
1. Ninjenius (@ninjenius)
  26th March 2011, 8:12
  
  Eh? I don’t see anything wrong with that. Vettel pole, Hamilton second… I shouldn’t imagine anyone would find it difficult to extract that info from the blurb.
  1. Andy
    26th March 2011, 11:03
    
    Think they were meaning the use of the word ‘is’ rather than ‘in’.
2. Ninjenius (@ninjenius)
  26th March 2011, 8:13
  
  Unless you were referring to how on earth Hamilton managed second? :P
Spencer
26th March 2011, 8:05

Big blow to the Ferrari Fan Boys.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
26th March 2011, 8:30

Great stuff from Petrov to be sixth and seriously out-qualify Heidfeld. However, I didn’t like the attitude of the Australian commentators, who basically put his performance down to the car despite the fact that Petrov has had the measure of Heidfeld all weekend.
1. slr
  26th March 2011, 15:44
  
  What did Petrov do to upset the Australian commentators? Did they blame him for Webber’s failure to win the championship last season?
Spencer
26th March 2011, 9:44

I dont think HRT should go home but I can’t help but think it’s a poor show. The season should have started two weeks ago and to not have cars ready for free practice when we are all ready late is not great.
Jack Holt
26th March 2011, 10:07

Amazing from Vettel, he’s destroyed Webber :o

Wow, Hamilton squeezed into 2nd despite a KERS failure!

Big cheer for Petrov, as one of the few who rated him last season it was lovely to see him in 6th.

Sutil’s Q2 spin – awesome! :D

Massa’s Q3 spin – pathetic

So glad the season’s underway.
somerandomguy
26th March 2011, 11:23

When Vettel did that lap I misread it on my fanvision as 1.25.529 and I thought pfff bad lap.

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94 comments on “2011 Australian Grand Prix grid”