AUS GP : Race Result

Lewis Hamilton made full use of the conditions as he won a wet opening round of the 2012 FF1M Season.

The TornadoF1 driver caught and passed pole sitter Nico Rosberg midway through the first stint and never looked unduly challenged for the rest of the race. Rosberg had started on a lighter fuel load on a two stop strategy to Hamilton’s one and will be concerned at how the Brit was able to pass him using the same Ferrari engine.

The race started on Intermediate tyres with a soaked track but no rain falling. The track drying in the early part of the race but never enough for a serious consideration of dry tyres with only Robert Kubica taking a risk on dries. Kubica was able to set the fastest lap of the race on the dry tyres but was then forced to pit for Intermediates as the rain returned to thwart the Pole’s daring strategy. As the rain continued to fall many drivers were caught out by the conditions including Sebastien Buemi who spun several times in the GRM.

There was heartbreak meanwhile for FJR as both cars retired within sight of the finish whilst running in the points. Reigning Drivers Champion Fernando Alonso had a race to forget on Willows Racing’s debut as he made two unforced errors dropping him to the foot of the field and then retired on the final lap with an oil leak.

There was joy however in the garage of fellow debutant’s HorizonF1, who have been tipped to finish at the bottom of the standings, as Sam Bird claimed a surprise seventh and two championship points after a solid drive avoiding many of the early race incidents.

Race Result

POS	NUM	DRIVER NAME	NAT	TEAM	ENGINE	W	Race Time / Gap
1	5	Lewis Hamilton	GB	Tornado	Ferrari		1h 35m 57.954s
2	22	Nico Rosberg	DE	SCM	Ferrari	W	+11.076s
3	7	Sebastian Vettel	DE	Shake n Bake	Honda		+24.615s
4	6	Daniel Ricciardo	AU	Tornado	Ferrari		+55.434s
5	17	Robert Kubica	PL	Andrew Racing	Renault		+1m 05.743s
6	14	Mark Webber	AU	Ajay	Cosworth		-1 Lap
7	20	Sam Bird	GB	Horizon	Honda		-1 Lap
8	15	Jenson Button	GB	Ajay	Cosworth		-1 Lap
9	23	Lucas Di Grassi	BR	SCM	Ferrari	W	-1 Lap
10	16	Adrian Sutil	DE	Andrew Racing	Renault		-1 Lap
11	3	Kamui Kobayashi	JP	Pedersen	BMW	W	-1 Lap
12	18	Sebastien Buemi	CH	GR Motorsport	Renault		-1 Lap
13	10	Jaime Alguersuari	ES	Mitchell	Toyota	W	-1 Lap
14	19	Jean-Eric Vergne	FR	GR Motorsport	Renault		-1 Lap
15	2	Pastor Maldonado	VE	Willows Racing	Mercedes	W	-1 Lap
16	1	Fernando Alonso	ES	Willows Racing	Mercedes	W	-2 Laps
17	21	Robert Wickens	CA	Horizon	Honda		-2 Laps
18	12	Romain Grosjean	FR	FJR	Honda		Suspension
19	11	Kimi Raikkonen	FI	FJR	Honda		Puncture
20	8	Sergio Perez	MX	Shake n Bake	Honda		Puncture
21	4	Bruno Senna	BR	Pedersen	BMW	W	Didn’t Finish
22	9	Nico Hulkenberg	DE	Mitchell	Toyota	W	Didn’t Finish

Drivers Championship

POS	NUM	DRIVER NAME	NAT	TEAM	ENGINE	PTS	WINS
1	5	Lewis Hamilton	GB	Tornado	Ferrari	12	1
2	22	Nico Rosberg	DE	SCM	Ferrari	8
3	7	Sebastian Vettel	DE	Shake n Bake	Honda	6
4	6	Daniel Ricciardo	AU	Tornado	Ferrari	5
5	17	Robert Kubica	PL	Andrew Racing	Renault	4
6	14	Mark Webber	AU	Ajay	Cosworth	3
7	20	Sam Bird	GB	Horizon	Honda	2
8	15	Jenson Button	GB	Ajay	Cosworth	1
9	1	Fernando Alonso	ES	Willows Racing	Mercedes	0
10	2	Pastor Maldonado	VE	Willows Racing	Mercedes	0
11	3	Kamui Kobayashi	JP	Pedersen	BMW	0
12	4	Bruno Senna	BR	Pedersen	BMW	0
13	8	Sergio Perez	MX	Shake n Bake	Honda	0
14	9	Nico Hulkenberg	DE	Mitchell	Toyota	0
15	10	Jaime Alguersuari	ES	Mitchell	Toyota	0
16	10	Nick Heidfeld	DE	Mitchell	Toyota	0
17	11	Kimi Raikkonen	FI	FJR	Honda	0
18	12	Romain Grosjean	FR	FJR	Honda	0
19	15	Tom Dillmann	FR	Ajay	Cosworth	0
20	16	Adrian Sutil	DE	Andrew Racing	Renault	0
21	18	Sebastien Buemi	CH	GR Motorsport	Renault	0
22	19	Jean-Eric Vergne	FR	GR Motorsport	Renault	0
23	21	Robert Wickens	CA	Horizon	Honda	0
24	23	Lucas Di Grassi	BR	SCM	Ferrari	0

Constructors Championship

POS	TEAM NAME	PTS	WINS
1	Tornado	17	1
2	SCM	8	0
3	Ajay Motorsports	4	0
4	Andrew Racing	4	0
5	Horizon	2	0
6	Willows Racing	0	0
7	ShakenBake	0	0
8	Pedersen	0	0
9	FJR	0	0
10	GR Motorsport	0	0
11	Mitchell	0	0