Formula One Australian Grand Prix Results

The land down under presented quite the season opener for 2011. As the cars took their place on the grid a key thing to note was the lack of the two Hispania cars due to their lack of pace in qualifying and not falling within the 107% rule. Ferrari had a disappointing qualifying and so loitered further back than expected. However the McLaren/Red Bull sandwich on the first and seconds rows of the grid provided much entertainment. Throughout the race it was clear that the once limping McLaren was the fastest car on track but due to a penalty for Button and a damaged under-tray for Hamilton the Brits achieved 2nd and 6th. The big surprise came from Russian Petrov in the Lotus-Renault. He bagged his first podium affirming his right to be in F1 no matter what his critics say. Vettel went on to win the race but was this due to the damaged McLaren? Before Lewis’ car started to fall apart he was shooting the German down at a rate of 0.2 seconds per lap. The battle continues…