2011 FORMULA 1 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

[Kev]

2011 FORMULA 1 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX



Race Date: 27 Mar 2011
Circuit Name: Albert Park
Number of Laps: 58
Circuit Length: 5.303 km
Race Distance: 307.574 km
Lap Record: 1:24.125 - M Schumacher (2004)

Fri 25 March 2011
Practice 1 01:30 - 03:00 (GMT)
Practice 2 05:30 - 07:00 (GMT)
Sat 26 March 2011
Practice 3 03:00 - 04:00 (GMT)
Qualifying 06:00 (GMT)
Sun 27 March 2011
Race 07:00 (BST)
Note: In the European region, clocks go FORWARD by one hour at 1am on Sunday morning


Previous winners:
2010 - Jenson Button (McLaren)
2009 - Jenson Button (Brawn GP)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2006 - Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2005 - Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault)

Vettel On Board 2010

[youtube][/youtube]

2010 on board starts for the wet race

[youtube][/youtube]


Teams and Drivers

Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing RB7 –Renault RS27-2011
Team Principal: Christian Horner; Technical Director: Adrian Newey
1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber
R. Daniel Ricciardo

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
McLaren MP4-26 – Mercedes FO108Y
Team Principal: Martin Whitmarsh ; Technical Director: Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Jenson Button
R. Pedro de la Rosa, Gary Paffett

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Ferrari 150º Italia – Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Stefano Domenicali ; Technical Director: Aldo Costa
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Felipe Massa
R. Giancarlo Fisichella, Jules Bianchi, Marc Gené

Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
Mercedes MGP-W02 – Mercedes FO108Y
Team Principal: Ross Brawn ; Technical Director: Bob Bell
7. Michael Schumacher
8. Nico Rosberg

Lotus Renault GP
Renault R31 – Renault RS27-2011
Team Principal: Eric Boullier ; Technical Director: James Allison
9. Nick Heidfeld
10. Vitaly Petrov
R. Bruno Senna, Romain Grosjean, Fairuz Fauzy, Ho-Pin Tung, Jan Charouz

AT&T Williams
Williams FW33 – Cosworth CA2010
Team Principal: Adam Parr ; Technical Director: Sam Michael
11. Rubens Barrichello
12. Pastor Maldonado
R. Valtteri Bottas

Force India F1 Team
Force India VJM04 – Mercedes FO108Y
Team Principal: Vijay Mallya ; Technical Director: Mark Smith
14. Adrian Sutil
15. Paul Di Resta
R. Nico Hülkenberg

Sauber F1 Team
Sauber C30 – Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Peter Sauber ; Technical Director: James Key
16. Kamui Kobayashi
17. Sergio Pérez
R. Esteban Gutiérrez

Scuderia Toro Rosso
STR 6 – Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Franz Tost ; Technical Director: Giorgio Ascanelli
18. Sébastien Buemi
19. Jaime Alguersuari
R. Daniel Ricciardo

Team Lotus
Lotus T128 – Renault RS27-2011
Team Principal: Tony Fernandes ; Technical Director: Mike Gascoyne
20. Jarno Trulli
21. Heikki Kovalainen
R. Luiz Razia, Davide Valsecchi, Ricardo Teixeira

Hispania Racing F1 Team
HRT F111 – Cosworth CA2010
Team Principal: Collin Kolles ; Technical Director: Geoff Willis
22. Narain Karthikeyan
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi

Marussia Virgin Racing
Virgin MVR-02 – Cosworth CA2010
Team Principal: John Booth ; Technical Director: Nick Wirth
24. Timo Glock
25. Jérôme d'Ambrosio

Calendar

Code: Select all

01   2011 FORMULA 1 QANTAS AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne)   	 25 - 27 Mar
02 	2011 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIA GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur) 	08 - 10 Apr
03 	2011 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai)  	15 - 17 Apr
04 	2011 FORMULA 1 TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul) 	06 - 08 May
05 	FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 2011 (Catalunya) 	20 - 22 May
06 	FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2011 (Monte Carlo) 	26 - 29 May
07 	FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2011 (Montreal) 	10 - 12 Jun
08 	2011 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia) 	24 - 26 Jun
09 	2011 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone) 	08 - 10 Jul
10 	FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2011 (Nürburgring) 	22 - 24 Jul
11 	FORMULA 1 ENI MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 2011 (Budapest) 	29 - 31 Jul
12 	2011 FORMULA 1 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps) 	26 - 28 Aug
13 	FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2011 (Monza) 	09 - 11 Sep
14 	2011 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore) 	23 - 25 Sep
15 	2011 FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka) 	07 - 09 Oct
16 	2011 FORMULA 1 KOREAN GRAND PRIX (Yeongam) 	14 - 16 Oct
17 	2011 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA (New Delhi)  	28 - 30 Oct
18 	2011 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit) 	11 - 13 Nov
19 	FORMULA 1 GRANDE PRÊMIO DO BRASIL 2011 (Sao Paulo) 	25 - 27 Nov

China & India subject to FIA approval. End of season races could change due to possible Bahrain rescheduling

Tyre types and colours




Wet - orange
Intermediate - light blue
Supersoft - red
Soft – yellow
Medium – white
Hard – silver

Betting Odds

Formula 1 Drivers Championship 2011

Win Only
Sebastian Vettel 9/4
Fernando Alonso 13/5
Lewis Hamilton 15/2
Mark Webber 15/2
Michael Schumacher 12/1
Nico Rosberg 12/1
Jenson Button 16/1
Felipe Massa 18/1
Nick Heidfeld 33/1
Rubens Barrichello 80/1
Adrian Sutil 200/1
Vitaly Petrov 200/1
Kamui Kobayashi 200/1
Paul di Resta 250/1
Jaime Alguersuari 300/1
Sebastien Buemi 400/1
Pastor Maldonado 400/1
Sergio Perez 500/1
Heikki Kovalainen 750/1
Jarno Trulli 750/1
Vitantonio Liuzzi 1500/1
Timo Glock 1500/1
Jerome D'Ambrosio 2000/1
Narain Karthikeyan 2000/1


Formula 1 Constructors Championship 2011

Win Only
Red Bull 11/10
Ferrari 12/5
McLaren 11/2
Mercedes GP 7/1
Renault 28/1
Williams 75/1
Force India 125/1
Sauber 125/1
Toro Rosso 250/1
Lotus 500/1
Hispania Racing 1500/1
Virgin Racing 1500/1

Changes

Rule Changes
- 2011 will see the return of the 107% rule in qualifying.
- Following the controversial 2010 German Grand Prix, the FIA has moved to increase the maximum allowable penalty that racing stewards can issue to teams after penalising Ferrari one hundred thousand dollars for the use of team orders.
- Gearboxes must last 5 races, not 4
- A curfew has been implemented, barring team personnel from accessing the circuit between the hours of midnight and six o'clock in the morning following concerns over mechanics spending all night performing repairs in the pit garage and the following day in the busy pit lane
- Harsher penalties for dangerous driving

Technical Changes
- The maximum height of the diffuser will be cut from 175 millimetres (6.9 in) to 125 millimetres (4.9 in), reducing aerodynamic downforce. Furthermore, measures were agreed to exclude double diffuser designs.
- In the week leading up to the 2010 Spanish Grand Prix, a formal proposal was submitted to FOTA by British engineering firm Flybrid to supply the entire grid with a mandatory, standardised KERS unit, following campaigns led by Ferrari and Renault to see the technology re-introduced for the 2011 season. In the aftermath of the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, Ferrari confirmed they would be running the KERS device on their 2011 car, but the system will not be mandatory.
- In order to compensate for the increase in weight brought about by KERS, the minimum weight of the car will increase from 620 kilograms (1,367 lb) to 640 kilograms (1,411 lb).
- FOTA have agreed to ban the controversial "F-duct" system developed by McLaren for the MP4-25 and later deployed by other teams through the 2010 season.
- At the meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Geneva in June 2010, an adjustable rear wing system was confirmed as an addition to the 2011 rules. It will be introduced to aid overtaking, serving as a substitute for the F-duct system. In a similar system to the KERS regulator used in 2009, the adjustable rear wing would only be available under certain conditions; namely, drivers will only be able to use it when they are within one second of the car in front, but it would not be usable within the first two laps of a race except in the case of an early safety car. The system is expected to offer drivers an additional 15 km/h (9.3 mph) when passing, and will deactivate when the driver first touches the brakes after using the rear wing. The concept, which has been negatively received by drivers and fans alike, could be dropped if it proves impractical or unmanageable.
- For the first time, cars will have a mandatory weight distribution, reported to be a ratio of 46:54. This is intended to prevent teams from having to make expensive changes to the internal configuration of their cars in the event of changes to tyre compounds introduced by new tyre supplier Pirelli.
- The number of wheel tethers – the load-bearing cables connecting tyres to the bodywork – will be doubled for 2011, in response to an increasing number of accidents where wheels have been torn free of their mountings, including the death of Henry Surtees in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch in 2009.

And of course, F1 is in HD this year!

[discowill]

Colourful tyres this year, let the racing begin

[trix]

Oh how I wish I was there again..

[Kev]

Cars have arrived



But Rubens hasn't

Argentina airport has closed it down. No news and I need to get to Australia.Any ideas?

[Ryy]

Awesome post Kev, has managed to get me even more ready, which I thought was impossible.

[Chungster]

Looks like I might have under estimated the talented boys at MTC as McLaren are 1-2 in FP2 but Alonso and Vettel are right on their heels. Webber led a RBR 1-2 in FP1.

Really think Hispania should make way for a team like Prodrive. I mean no ore season testing, and 1 install lap during 3 hours of FP. They're not here to race...

Hope they do enforce the 107% rule too cos can't seem them being within that.

And Karun Chandhok....first car out in FP1...2 corners...then whoops crashes into the barrier at T3 and Team Lotus are not amused. Driver error citing "never driven on these Pirellis before". Well shouldn't u take it bit easier then before u give it the big welly.

Looking forward to the weekends action

[trix]

My best mate can hear them from her office (she's in Melbourne CBD)
I want to be there!

[Kev]

[a4gee]

was hoping Mercedes would be looking better
Ferrari also disappointing
Awesome from Vettel though.
He`ll be hard to get near me thinks

[Kev]

HRT won't be racing

Karthikeyan and Liuzzi's best times were not good enough to pass a reinstated rule for 2011 which states that any driver whose best lap exceeds 107% of the fastest lap in Q1 will not be allowed to take part in the race.

The team lodged a request to be allowed to race under F1's "exceptional circumstances" rule but this was rejected by race stewards.

[Kev]

Looks like RBR have found a loophole in the KERS rules.

They have a lightweight system they only use at the start, allowing them to redistribute the extra ballast weight in other parts of the car.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 436936.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chungster]

Adrian Newey is you have to say damn clever in interpretating the regs and using them to his teams advantage.

[Kev]

Not a bad first race.

Vettel looked fairly imperious. I hope he doesn't run away with the title and kill off any excitement before we get half way through the season

Pending Sauber's appeal

[VW TT]

Yeah absolutely. It would be a shame if he just runs away with it.

Not a bad start viewing wise though to the season. Great to have it back.

[a4gee]

Looks like RBR have found a loophole in the KERS rules.

They have a lightweight system they only use at the start, allowing them to redistribute the extra ballast weight in other parts of the car.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 436936.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No. They just didn`t put it in. Other teams are looking at a type of launch control start using kers. Thats all.


I think McLaren have done an amazing job. They`ll be still playing catch up like everyone else but think it`ll get close again,may take a few races for this though.

Mercedes...what happened!!!!