Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel made a perfect start to his Formula One world title defence with a pole to flag victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday after Bahrain failed to start formula one race due to political unrest in the country.Former champion Lewis Hamilton settled for the second spot, while the local hero Mark Webber finished fifth on his home soil.
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Red Bull's car |
Sebastian Vettel started the new Formula season in a pole position and maintained his lead through out the race. Vettel finished 22.2 seconds earlier than Lewis Hamilton, who won the race in 2008. Renault driver Vitaly Petrov finished third and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso settled behind him.
"Thank you boys. Fantastic race, really controlled. Thank you very much. Very cool. Excellent car. Excellent stops. We learned a lot from today, keep it mind," said Vettel after the race.
"We have to keep our feet on the floor. A lot of things can happen. It will be very close. With McLaren and Mercedes, even though they did not have the best day today. I don't like the word 'dominate' today because there is such a long way to go. The sun came out today. I was missing it all week and the car was perfect," he added. "It wasn't an easy win, the start was crucial and obviously I got a good getaway," Vettel added in a news conference.
"The second part of the race, Lewis dropped off and I could control the situation a bit better.
"It's the first time I've finished in the Australian Grand Prix so I'm really happy."
Renault's Vitaly Petrov claimed his and Russia's first ever podium in third place as the top three all ran two-stop strategies, despite the new Pirelli tyres which are supposed to degrade more quickly.
The Formula One hero Michael Schumacher for Mercedes was forced to retire between the race after engine problems. The defending Australian Grand Prix winner Jenson Button was fined for his illegal overtaking move on Felipe Massa.
Overall Result of Australian Grand Prix 2011
Position | Driver | Team | Time |
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1 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | Winner |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | +22.2 secs |
3 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | +30.5 secs |
4 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | +31.7 secs |
5 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | +38.1 secs |
6 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | +54.3 secs |
7 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | +65.8 secs |
8 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | +76.8 secs |
9 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | +85.1 secs |
10 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | +1 Lap |
11 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | +1 Lap |
12 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | +1 Lap |
13 | Jaime Alguersuari | STR-Ferrari | +1 Lap |
14 | Nick Heidfeld | Renault | +1 Lap |
15 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Renault | +2 Laps |
16 | Jerome d'Ambrosio | Virgin-Cosworth | +4 Laps |
Ret | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | +9 Laps |
Ret | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | +10 Lap |
Ret | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes GP | +36 Laps |
Ret | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Renault | +39 Laps |
Ret | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes GP | +39 Laps |
Ret | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Cosworth | +49 Laps |