Australia – Qualification: Hamilton and McLaren take off, Grosjean third

Great weather in Melbourne before the first qualifying session of the season begins on the semi-urban circuit of Albert Park. A dry session that should provide the first real indications of the strengths present in the 2012 Formula 1 season.

Q1: And here we go with the first twenty minutes of this session. Timo Glock is the first to head out on the Marussia MR01, followed by his teammate, Charles Pic. The track is gradually getting busier, and Glock sets the first time at 1:32.997, quickly beaten by six-tenths by Pic.

Barely five minutes into the first part of the session and all the favorites are out, except for the Mercedes. Pastor Maldonado provisionally takes the lead with a 1:28.370, Senna improves by a tenth in the next lap. Alonso is hindered by Karthikeyan’s HRT in the last corner, and Hamilton goes a bit wide in turn 1. Kobayashi moves into first place, followed five thousandths behind by Hamilton, with only 10 minutes remaining. Button slips to the top of the timesheet with a 1:26.986. Vettel gets a bit frustrated behind an HRT before sliding in the following lap. He’s not the only one attacking: Hamilton on medium (white) tires takes the lead. He is quickly overtaken by Nico Rosberg with a 1:26.763, also on the same tires.

A slight lull as there are only six minutes left. Rosberg, Hamilton, and Button are in front, all three on medium tires. At the back, both HRTs are over the 107% mark. Di Resta is back out on soft tires: he is the last qualified driver, so he will try to secure Force India’s place in Q2. He improves and is safe with a time of 1:27.650. Pérez then Vergne then Kobayashi take the lead, all three on soft tires. And the first surprise of the season comes from the back as Kimi Räikkönen is eliminated in Q1! The top five of this session are Kobayashi, Vergne, Grosjean, Schumacher, and Pérez. The HRTs, meanwhile, failed to get within the 107%, each more than a second off.

**Eliminated in Q1:** Räikkönen, Kovalainen, Petrov, Glock, Pic, De la Rosa, and Karthikeyan

Q2: Di Resta is the first to return to the track on soft tires: 1:27.304 for the Scot. Ricciardo clocks 1:26.624 but Vettel improves by six-tenths. Hamilton slips into the lead with 1:25.626 while Alonso goes off into the gravel! The Spaniard braked on the grass at the end of the straight and got stuck in the sand. Furious at the track marshals, who are not allowed to assist drivers in such situations, the Scuderia driver exits his cockpit. The red flag is deployed to allow the mobile crane to evacuate the F2012. There will be just over eight minutes remaining for the Mercedes, Sauber, Grosjean, and Vergne to set a time in this second part of the session.

The green flag is waved, and Massa is the first to go back out. The Mercedes cars of Rosberg and Schumacher are also on the track. Six minutes remain, and Grosjean heads out as well. Rosberg takes the lead with a time of 1:25.469, followed by his teammate, just a tenth behind. Grosjean takes the provisional fifth place while Webber goes wide in Turn 1. Vergne and the two Saubers still haven’t set a time with two minutes remaining. The Frenchman takes a very provisional ninth place, but Maldonado dislodges him by moving up to P7. Vergne fails to enter Q3 by a small tenth to Ricciardo, but two big names fall as Massa doesn’t even manage to do better than Alonso, who missed most of this Q2! The top five of this session are: Rosberg, Schumacher, Hamilton, Button, and Grosjean. A slight surprise as Paul di Resta also fails in Q2, seven-tenths behind Hülkenberg. Special mention to Pastor Maldonado, who clinches Q3 at the wheel of the Williams.

Eliminated in Q2: Vergne, Alonso, Kobayashi, Senna, Di Resta, Massa, and Pérez

Q3: Rosberg goes out first for an initial stint on soft tires. On the attack, the German clocks in at 1:25.847, surpassed by Hamilton with 1:24.922. Just behind, Vettel is seven-tenths off, and Schumacher falls short by eight-tenths. The top 6, after this first round, is completed by Button, Grosjean, and Rosberg. Webber went out at the wrong time to take second place, also seven-tenths behind.

Everyone is on track with one minute and thirty seconds remaining. The second session results in a front row dominated by McLaren, as Button takes the second position! The third position is taken by Romain Grosjean, with a time of 1:25.302!

This is Lewis Hamilton’s twentieth pole position and the 148th for the McLaren team in Formula 1. Romain Grosjean, of course, records his best starting grid position in a Grand Prix.

Update: following his gearbox change, Sergio Pérez (Sauber) is hit with a five-place penalty. The Mexican driver will therefore start in 22nd position, allowing Kimi Räikkönen, both Caterhams, and both Marussias to gain one position on the grid.

Qualifying results of the 2012 Australian Grand Prix: