2012 Australian Grand Prix

Milestones

Six current and former World Champions are on the grid simultaneously — Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Michael Schumacher — the first time the sport has seen that many champions competing at once. The race also features two Australians in the field for the first time at the Australian Grand Prix: Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo. It is the first Grand Prix since the 1973 German race to feature no Italian drivers on the starting grid.

Entrants

Charles Pic (Marussia) and Jean-Éric Vergne (Toro Rosso) make their Formula One debuts this weekend.

On Thursday, the FIA’s technical delegate Charlie Whiting examined the Mercedes F1 W03’s rear wing design following a protest from rivals and declared it legal. HRT struggled with car preparation; Pedro de la Rosa’s chassis required last-minute work and the team requested a scrutineering delay, granted until 11 am local time.

Tyre choices

Pirelli supplies the white-banded medium compound as the prime tyre and yellow-banded soft compound as the option — a change from 2011’s hard compound designation. The circuit introduces two DRS zones, expanded from one in 2011, positioned along the main straight and between Turns 2–3.

Practice

FP1 opened in damp conditions. Button was fastest ahead of Hamilton and Schumacher; Vettel finished eleventh. Räikkönen was limited to eight laps due to a steering rack problem, while Massa spun at Turn 9.

FP2 remained wet after rain between sessions. Schumacher topped the timesheets by one tenth over Hülkenberg. Multiple drivers went off-track — Kovalainen, Webber, and Maldonado among them — and de la Rosa suffered hydraulic issues.

FP3 ran in warm, sunny conditions (21°C air, 29°C track). Grosjean set the fastest time in the closing minutes before Hamilton surpassed him in the final moments. Vettel spun at Turn 5 switching to soft tyres; Webber’s lap was compromised when Schumacher spun at Turn 9 ahead of him.

Weather

Fine conditions are forecast for race day, with an air temperature of around 22°C.