The complete Australian Grand Prix review

PRACTICE

Practice one

Looking back on it now the signs were always there. Red Bull first and second fastest with a comfortable cushion to the next fastest car - Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. But it was Mark Webber that was quickest, some 0.327s faster than the world champion Sebastian Vettel.

The two RB7s looked easily the most comfortable machines on the green Albert Park layout, which seemed fairly resistant to rubbering in - a feature of Pirelli's new tyres. Behind the Red Bulls, things were less predictable. Alonso and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes were next up, followed by Rubens Barrichello's Williams. Then a somewhat surprising development... in the days between the final test and arriving in Melbourne McLaren had fixed the troublesome MP4-26. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were suddenly in the mix.

That's more than could be said for HRT, which rather calamitously failed to take to the track at all. Its drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan, India's returning 33-year-old, watched on disconsolately as the team repeated its opening day behaviour from 2010 and built a car in front of the watching world.

Indian drivers were in the wars actually, as new Lotus Friday man Karun Chandhok had a rather embarrassing donk into the wall on cold tyres in what was a rather uninspiring day for Formula 1's newest teams. Lotus ended the session further away from the pack than it had hoped, while Virgin's form was shocking. Eight seconds off the pace, the team had been closer to the front on its debut a year ago.

Practice two

So confident was Red Bull after P1 that it decided not to use the drag reduction system on all parts of the track in the second 90 minutes, preferring instead to simulate race conditions and therefore Vettel and Webber were not a factor for much of the session. This despite the FIA choosing to run the last third of practice in race format specifically to learn more about the new overtaking zone on the pit straight.

With Red Bull opting to do its own thing, the way was clear for McLaren to further demonstrate the potential of the more conventional exhaust system applied to the MP4-26 to lap first and second fastest - Jenson Button setting the fastest lap of the weekend so far in the process (1m25.854s). He was aware however that Red Bull had only dallied briefly with the DRS when it tried the option Pirelli and thus was keeping its powder dry and said so later in the day. Still there was a ray of optimism coming out of the McLaren camp.

Alonso was third, quietly working through his Ferrari programme, but there were signs that team-mate Felipe Massa was beginning to struggle.

HRT this time managed an installation lap at the end of the session with Liuzzi at the wheel - not nearly enough.

Practice three

Saturday morning saw Red Bull come to life and indicate what most had known since the beginning of pre-season testing - that the RB7 was indeed the car to chase. Vettel was fast enough that even on the prime tyre his best lap was quicker than anyone could manage. When he decided to bolt on the yellow-lettered soft tyres he went eight tenths clear of the field. He would do the same later in the day...

Webber dutifully followed him up, just ahead of the two McLarens of Hamilton and Button - a full second behind the world champion.

A couple of interesting developments emerged however as Vitaly Petrov's Renault and Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber sandwiched Alonso's sixth-placed Ferrari - both men would make their name in Q3 later in the day.

HRT finally got both cars on track, though barely. Liuzzi parked his at the end of his installation lap, while Karthikeyan got five whole laps in. His best was 17s off the pace.

QUALIFYING

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

In a single lap, Vettel put an end to all the speculation about the form of the teams during winter testing, the world champion making it clear that the Red Bull is again extremely fast. Vettel finished nearly eight tenths ahead of Hamilton, even having not used KERS.

2. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

After a gloomy winter of testing, McLaren's form was somewhat of a mystery arriving in Australia, but the team's worries were quickly vanished in qualifying, when both Hamilton and Button felt a lot better inside their cars. Hamilton put on a great effort to secure a place on the front row, despite not being able to use his KERS all he wanted during his lap.

3. Mark Webber, Red Bull
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Not surprisingly, Webber was a very disappointed man at the end of the day, the Red Bull driver at a loss to explain the eight tenths gap separating him from team-mate Vettel. The Australian could not find a reason to justify the gap, so all in all not a great start to the season for him.

4. Jenson Button, McLaren
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Like Hamilton, Button was thrilled with McLaren's turnaround in form after a tough winter, the 2009 world champion upbeat about his chances for the race, having won it from the same position last year. Button claimed there was more to come from McLaren, and there was little reason not to believe him.

5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

Just like the general view was that McLaren would not be that quick, everybody believed Ferrari would be closer to Red Bull, so the day proved to be a big disappointment for Alonso. The Spaniard had no choice but to admit his car was simply not fast enough and that he was surprised by the gap to the front.

6. Vitaly Petrov, Renault
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

Petrov delivered one of the best performances of his Formula 1 career so far, the Russian not only going sixth quickest, but also doing it with a single run. The Renault driver was delighted by how he and his car had progressed during the weekend, and that was evident in the grid-deciding session.

7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

A few things came together to leave Rosberg and Mercedes far from the leading pace, although the German was quick to downplay the gap, saying his laps and his car had not been perfect. There was no denying, however, that more was expected following the excitement about the latest upgrades introduced by the team.

8. Felipe Massa, Ferrari
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Massa admitted he was not expecting to be able to fight for pole given Vettel's time, but the Brazilian, like team-mate Alonso, was clearly aiming for a better result. Massa said he had problems with the grip of both tyre compounds, with which he couldn't get proper performance on the first flying lap.

9. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

Despite his strong start to the season, Kobayashi felt there was more potential in the car, the Japanese claiming a top-six slot was possible. However, the Sauber driver had run out of fresh tyres and was unable to run with them in Q3. Still, ninth was a satisfying result for the team.

10. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

Buemi was delighted - and understandably so - after returning to the top 10 for the first time since the 2009 season. Toro Rosso had shown promise during testing, and the Swiss lived up to the expectations by extracting the maximum from the car to get in a position to score good points on Sunday.

11. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Schumacher could not hide his disappointment after failing to reach Q3 following the pre-race hype Mercedes had been part of following its latest upgrades. As it was, however, the seven-time champion was unable to match the pace of testing and was left looking for answers just a few days about saying his team could be the one to challenge Red Bull.

12. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Alguersuari conceded team-mate Buemi had done a better job on the day, after missing out on the top 10. Despite that, the Spaniard was pleased with his effort and optimistic of a strong race to live up to the promising form shown during winter testing.

13. Sergio Perez, Sauber
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Although he couldn't quite match the pace of team-mate Kobayashi, the Mexican had reasons to be happy about his performance, finishing just three tenths of a second off the top 10 spot. Perez also had the honour of being the top rookie in the session, outpacing his three rivals.

14. Paul di Resta, Force India
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

The Scot admitted that, given the performance shown by Force India during winter testing, he was pleased with his effort, which he reckoned was above expectations. Di Resta was also confident of being closer to the front with a heavier car in the race.

15. Pastor Maldonado, Williams
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

Not much more could have been asked from Maldonado in his first qualifying session as a Formula 1 racing driver. Unlike his more experienced team-mate, the Venezuelan had an error-free day, although two of his runs were affected by yellow flags on track.

16. Adrian Sutil, Force India
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

There was nothing too newsworthy about Sutil's performance, but the German paid the price for the mistake that saw him spin on the start/finish straight when he was set for his best time. He did a good job of controlling the car, but that didn't stop him from losing a lap he reckoned was worth four positions.

17. Rubens Barrichello, Williams
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Not that Williams seemed to be in a position to fight for the top 10, but Barrichello was left disappointed after what he labelled as a silly mistake at the start of Q2. The Brazilian lost control of his car at Turn 3 on his out-lap and was unable to drive the car out of the gravel.

18. Nick Heidfeld, Renault
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Not the start Heidfeld was expecting in his first grand prix as a Renault driver. The German lost one run due to a problem with KERS and was then unable to find the gap to complete a clear lap. The end result was a disappointing exit at the end of Q1.

19. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

Having talked up its chances of fighting in the midfield, it turned out to be a disappointing qualifying for Lotus, which again find itself closer to the teams behind than to the teams in front. Kovalainen made the best of his package, but still finished two seconds off Heidfeld's pace.

20. Jarno Trulli, Lotus
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

Trulli was satisfied with his performance, but admitted the team needed to solve its issues with tyre warm-up in order to be closer to the front. The Italian was nonetheless adamant that that will happen soon and Lotus will be able to push the midfield teams.

21. Timo Glock, Virgin
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

A tough weekend for the German driver, who arrived in Australia with much higher hopes than what he was actually capable of achieving. As it was, however, Glock found himself fighting to make it onto the grid, something he managed, but by just around half a second.

22. Jerome D'Ambrosio, Virgin
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

As a rookie in a struggling team, D'Ambrosio was happy with his progress during the weekend, although the Belgian finished a full second behind Glock in qualifying. Nonetheless, D'Ambrosio stayed out of trouble and put on a respectable performance for his first grand prix.

23. Tonio Liuzzi, Hispania
Team-mate qualifying battle 1-0

It was no shock that neither Liuzzi or Karthikeyan managed to qualify after not having completed any laps with the 2011 car before first practice. The Italian at least could celebrate that he outqualified his team-mate by quite some margin, and he was also encouraged by his team considering the lack of running.

24. Narain Karthikeyan, Hispania
Team-mate qualifying battle 0-1

The Indian did not enjoy a happy return to Formula 1, as he could only complete his first laps on Saturday morning, and even then it was just five very slow rounds before facing qualifying. Therefore it was no surprise that the grid-deciding session was one to forget.

QUALIFYING RESULTS
Pos  Driver                Team                  Time             
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m23.529s
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m24.307s  + 0.778s
 3.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m24.395s  + 0.866s
 4.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m24.779s  + 1.250s
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m24.974s  + 1.445s
 6.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1m25.247s  + 1.718s
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m25.421s  + 1.892s
 8.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m25.599s  + 2.070s
 9.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m25.626s  + 2.097s
10.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m27.066s  + 3.537s
 Q2 cut-off time: 1m25.882s                          
11.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m25.971s
12.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m26.103s
13.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m26.108s
14.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m26.739s
15.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1m26.768s
16.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1m31.407s
17.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth
Q3 cut-off time: 1m27.222s                          
18.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault               1m27.239s
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1m29.254s
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault         1m29.342s
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1m29.858s
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1m30.822s
23.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth          1m32.978s
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m34.293s

107% time: 1m31.266s

All Timing Unofficial

THE RACE

"I don't really like the word dominant at this stage, to be honest..." said Vettel.

But he said that having just controlled the Australian Grand Prix from the outset, despite lacking KERS on his Red Bull, and having had such a margin of comfort he was even able to let Sergio Perez unlap himself just after half-distance. At first glance, you could conclude that Vettel was already looking like the world championship favourite - and that his team looked far less fallible than 12 months ago.

Conversely, at the end of the first stint, Vettel's advantage over Lewis Hamilton - in a McLaren that was surely far from perfected following the team's eleventh hour design rethink - was down to just 1.5 seconds, and while the Red Bull pulled away later on, by that time the McLaren was dragging a partially detached front floor around.

Vettel certainly had stamped his mark on proceedings early on, and the absence of KERS proved no disadvantage as Hamilton made a bad start from the other front row spot and had to use his boost not to attack for the lead, but to scrabble back into second as Mark Webber started to edge ahead.

The Hamilton/Webber battle meant that Vettel had a chance to break clear and established a three-second lead in just two laps. But that was where his advantage stayed for most of the first stint, until Hamilton started coming back at the leader.

Vettel explained that tyres were occupying his mind at this point, and he was doing just enough to keep the McLaren under control before pitting on lap 14 to get rid of his softs.

"In the first stint I more or less tried to hold the gap," said the champion. "But we saw how quickly you reach at some point the 'cliff' and the tyres start to see some more degradation.

"Lewis caught up, we came in, I think it was the right timing, just. I could not really have done more laps."

With Red Bull seemingly in worse tyre trouble and Vettel rejoining behind Hamilton's team-mate Jenson Button, McLaren briefly looked like it had the best hand.

However Vettel wasted no time at all behind Button - the DRS wing may not have thrust him past on the main straight, but it did get the Red Bull close enough to challenge and wrong-foot the McLaren into Turn 3 before accelerating around the outside at Turn 4.

On fresh tyres, the Red Bull was unstoppable, and even with the slight delay behind Button, Vettel's lead was up to 6.5s once Hamilton had pitted, having run two laps further.

Soon afterwards, sparks from under the McLaren indicated a brewing problem. Part of the floor was hanging down and scraping on the ground, causing Hamilton to take a trip over the Turn 1 grass.

"The plank and part of the floor is massively damaged," said Hamilton. "I don't know when it happened. I was losing quite a lot of downforce so in the end I was just trying to nurse the car home and bring in those points as we need them for the rest of the year."

He was under no threat from behind, but there was plenty of entertainment and intrigue further back, with Vitaly Petrov at the centre of it.

The Russian made one of his characteristic great starts and headed into Turn 1 with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button just about within range.

"I tried to attack Fernando but then I saw Jenson was in front so I must brake early, so I just released the brake and tried to pass both of them," said Petrov.

It worked for Petrov, less so for Button and Alonso, as the McLaren lost a little momentum and was jumped by Felipe Massa, and the Ferrari fell right back to ninth after ending up out on the kerbs.

"I think Petrov was risking a lot at Turn 1 down the inside," said Alonso. "It was a little bit dangerous, so Jenson had to avoid Vitaly and I had to avoid Jenson, so there was a little bit of everything going on and I lost a couple of positions."

It didn't take long for Alonso to re-pass Kamui Kobayashi (with a bold sweep around the outside into the fast chicane at the back of the circuit) and then Nico Rosberg, and he was soon back up with Button as well, for the McLaren was stuck behind the second Ferrari of Massa, to Button's huge annoyance.

"He was so slow, and he's the most difficult person to overtake," Button complained. "He blocked very well but it just slowed us down massively."

The Briton tried an array of inventive probes from various angles, but even with the DRS, he couldn't complete a move - and when he did so, it swiftly got him in trouble with the officials. The two cars went into the first half of the quick left-right wheel to wheel with Button on the outside, and with room running out heading for the right-hander, Button took to the escape road and emerged in front.

"He went so deep into the corner. He pushed me wide," said Button. "I couldn't go around the corner anymore, so I cut it. I was in front before I entered the corner and then I didn't know what to do."

There was no opportunity to neatly hand the position back - Alonso immediately passed Massa and soon after the Ferraris pitted. Button suspected Ferrari might've done this cannily to increase the chances of him being penalised, while McLaren complained that it had asked the FIA for guidance on how to make amends and received no response until a drivethrough penalty was announced.

The main effect of this shuffle was to free up Alonso, who quickly caught Petrov, who in turn was surprisingly catching Webber - the Australian utterly unable to keep up with the lead pace today.

"I was pushing as hard as I could but I wasn't getting much back so I don't know why," he said. "It was similar to yesterday. I haven't been on the pace all weekend and obviously we will look into why."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said tyre wear was the main reason for Webber's lack of pace.

"He was very hard on the tyres - that created more degradation," Horner said. "We need to find out if there's something perhaps in the car that is contributing to that."

That meant three pitstops for Webber, whereas Vettel and Hamilton got through on two. Alonso covered Webber by opting for three as well, but Petrov was fine for two - and that secured a shock podium for the Renault.

Alonso got ahead of Webber at their third stops, and though the Red Bull, now on the softer tyres again, put a lot of pressure on the Ferrari for a few laps, the KERS advantage helped keep Alonso in front until the tyre pace equalised and the duo set off after Petrov, who they didn't quite have time to catch.

The irony of starting 2011 as he finished 2010 - staring at the back of Petrov's Renault - was not lost on Alonso, but he was unconcerned.

"It's a coincidence and at this stage it is more satisfying to have managed to keep Webber, who I reckon will be a more serious rival in the title fight, behind me," said Alonso.

After dropping to 12th following his penalty, Button made brisk progress and eventually had another chance to take on Massa - and this time successfully blast past to take sixth down the pit straight. Massa was struggling to keep his tyres alive and would fall to 10th with a late stop. He reclaimed ninth from Sebastien Buemi, and then found himself elevated another two positions several hours after the race.

That was because the Saubers were disqualified for a rear wing irregularity, which took the shine off an exceptional debut drive from Perez. The GP2 graduate somehow made his tyres last on just a single lap 23 pitstop, ran so fast that Vettel had to let the Sauber un-lap itself, and finished not far behind Button - to the delight and amazement of Peter Sauber.

"I have no explanation for what Sergio did, and how he managed to do 35 laps with a set of used soft tyres setting consistent lap times," the team boss admitted.

Kobayashi backed that up with a quiet - by his standards - eighth place, at least until the technical inspection, the result of which left technical director James Key surprised and pondering an appeal.

"It appears that there is a question over the top surface of the uppermost rear wing element, this area is not the working surface of the component and therefore relatively unimportant to its function," he explained. "Certainly this has not led to any performance advantage."

The disqualifications moved Buemi to eighth and meant both Force Indias scored as Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta became ninth and 10th. Both had run in the top 10 early on but did not have the pace to hold those positions on the road.

Mercedes and Williams would both go home empty-handed. Michael Schumacher was hit up the rear by Jaime Alguersuari (who had banged wheels with team-mate Buemi one corner earlier) on lap one and eventually retired due to the damage sustained. Rosberg's car suffered terminal damage when assualted by Rubens Barrichello's Williams, which had spectacularly surged through from 22nd to ninth after sliding off at Turn 3 on the first lap. It looked like Barrichello had tried an impossible lunge at the Mercedes, but he insisted it was not that simple.

"I wasn't planning on overtaking him at that point, I was defending from Kobayashi," said Barrichello. "I think we have one tyre with grip and one with less and so we have different braking points. Rosberg braked earlier, and was already in the middle of the corner before I could stop the car."

Nick Heidfeld's Renault was another car damaged on lap one, leaving the German to trudge to what became 12th. Not the relative team-mate performance Renault had predicted when it sought an experienced driver to join Petrov in Robert Kubica's absence...

Lotus won the battle of the new teams, which would have been pleasing last year but was now rather less so. It took comfort from Heikki Kovalainen tagging on not too far behind Perez at first, before the Finn stopped with a water leak. Jarno Trulli kept going to 13th, ahead of Virgin's Jerome D'Ambrosio, whose team-mate Timo Glock retired with damage caused by a loose wheel.

RACE RESULTS

The Australian Grand Prix
Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia;
58 laps; 307.574km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           1h29:30.259
 2.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    22.297
 3.  Petrov        Renault                    +    30.560
 4.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    31.772
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    38.171
 6.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +    54.300
 7.  Massa         Ferrari                    +  1:25.100
 8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
 9.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
10.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
11.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
12.  Heidfeld      Renault                    +     1 lap
13.  Trulli        Lotus-Renault              +    2 laps
14.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    3 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:28.947

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             	Excluded
Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             	Excluded

Glock         Virgin-Cosworth              50
Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth            49
Rosberg       Mercedes                     22
Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault                19
Schumacher    Mercedes                     19
Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth            10
Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth                 1
Karthikeyan   HRT-Cosworth                 1


World Championship standings, round 1:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel        25        1.  Red Bull-Renault           35
 2.  Hamilton      18        2.  McLaren-Mercedes           26
 3.  Petrov        15        3.  Ferrari                    18
 4.  Alonso        12        4.  Renault                    15
 5.  Webber        10        5.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari          4
 6.  Button         8        6.  Force India                 3
 7.  Massa          6
 8.  Buemi          4
 9.  Sutil          2
10.  di Resta       1
           
All timing unofficial

Lap-by-lap as it happened on AUTOSPORT Live

TEAM BY TEAM

Red Bull

Deciding to disconnect KERS for the weekend made absolutely no difference to Red Bull, at least on Vettel's side of the garage, as the world champion took a crushing pole, kept Hamilton under control in the first stint, and then pulled away to take a straightforward win.

Webber was puzzled to be 0.8s and two places down on Vettel in qualifying, then struggled even more in the race, particularly with tyre wear. He lost out to Petrov by making an extra pitstop, and was jumped by Alonso during the final tyre changes so ended up only fifth.

McLaren

Much better than testing had suggested. Hamilton and Button qualified second and fourth, with the former pressuring Vettel early on and hanging on to finish second despite his floor starting to break.

Button's race was far from straightforward. He lost out in a first-corner dust-up with Petrov, which allowed Massa to get ahead, then had a frustrating time behind Massa and was eventually penalised for cutting a corner when he passed the Ferrari. After that he charged back to finish sixth.

Ferrari

Alonso was surprised to be nearly one and a half seconds off Vettel's pace and only fifth in qualifying, but suspected it was due to some one-off temperature-related tyre discomfort for Ferrari. He was elbowed down to ninth in a close call with Petrov and Button at the start, then fought back well, eventually making it to fourth on a three-stop strategy, right behind Petrov and holding off Webber.

Massa started 2011 in similarly disappointing form to 2010, and again with tyre issues at the centre of his struggle. He was only eighth on the grid, was off the pace in the early laps after getting up to fifth, then had to make an extra final stop for tyres and fell to 10th. A pass on Buemi and the disqualification of the Saubers took him back to seventh.

Mercedes

After the late flurry in testing, this was a disappointing weekend for Mercedes, with Rosberg and Schumacher only seventh and 11th on the grid. Both were taken out in the race - Rosberg by Barrichello and Schumacher by Alguersuari, the latter plugging on for 19 laps before calling it a day.

Renault

Petrov was the team's surprise star, taking a strong sixth on the grid, jumping to fourth at the start, gaining third from Webber thanks to a two-stop strategy and then calmly resisting pressure from Alonso and Webber to the finish to claim his first F1 podium.

Heidfeld struggled to get a clear lap in Q1 and was eliminated in 18th place, picked up damage at the start, and had a long, slow run to 12th.

Williams

Barrichello's race pace suggested that the FW33 has a lot of potential, but the team had nothing to show for it. A gearbox problem in final practice left Barrichello on the back foot going into qualifying, but he harmed his cause much more by spinning off at the start of Q2, which guaranteed 17th on the grid. He then flew off the road again on lap one, surged through from last to ninth, crashed into Rosberg, required a new front wing, took a penalty, then finally retired with a transmission failure.

Far less eventful for Maldonado: he qualified a respectable 15th and retired early, also due to transmission problems.

Not quite on the pace it wanted, Force India was at least consistent and reliable. Di Resta qualified 14th with Sutil spinning to 16th. They swapped places during the stops in the race, ran in the top 10 for a while, finished 11th and 12th, then found themselves back up to ninth and 10th when the Saubers were thrown out.

A great result was lost when a rear wing infringement led to disqualification for Perez and Kobayashi at the end of a superb weekend.

Kobayashi had underlined Sauber's strong winter with ninth on the grid, while Perez was top rookie in 13th. The Mexican amazingly got through the race on just a single pitstop, showing great speed along the way and crossing the line seventh. Kobayashi pitted twice on the way to what he thought was an eighth-place finish.

Buemi grabbed the final top 10 spot in qualifying, with Alguersuari just two places further back as Toro Rosso also showed that its good testing results were a sign of real pace.

The pair clashed on the first lap without serious consequences, but Alguersuari needed a new front wing after he ran into Schumacher a few corners later. He eventually ended up with 11th after the Saubers were disqualified. Buemi drove a good race to 10th, then also gained two places due to the Saubers' punishment.

No sign of the midfield-challenging pace Lotus had hoped for, with Kovalainen and Trulli back in 19th and 20th on the grid as they were for so much of last year. New reserve driver Karun Chandhok didn't help by crashing on his out-lap on Friday morning either.

The team was upbeat about its race pace, though Kovalainen was an early retirement with a water leak and Trulli was only 13th.

Little sign of progress over the winter as HRT again started the opening grand prix weekend with its cars unfinished. Liuzzi's installation lap right at the end of Friday's running was the team's only on-track appearance of day one, and while Saturday practice was very slightly better, it was no surprise at all when both drivers failed to qualify.

Virgin had even more to be concerned about - so far off the pace on Friday it looked like it might struggle to qualify. In the end, making the cut wasn't a problem - but challenging any of the teams ahead was, and Glock and D'Ambrosio filled what turned out to be the final row of the grid.

Glock raced with Trulli until a loose wheel caused a long pitstop and eventually retirement. D'Ambrosio completed a race distance on his debut and took 14th.