Australia – Race: Button in full control!

The sun shines on Melbourne before the first Grand Prix of the 2012 Formula 1 season. The formation lap begins under the eyes of Lenny Kravitz, who knows what a Circus is like the one of the top discipline. Everyone is on soft tires in front. The first on hard tires is Jean Eric Vergne. The pressure rises a few seconds before the first start of the season.

At the start, the McLarens remain in the lead, but behind them, Grosjean is overtaken by Rosberg and then Vettel. Behind, there’s contact between the Toro Rossos, Webber’s Red Bull, and Senna’s Williams, but the race can continue. Maldonado is on the attack and overtakes Alonso for seventh place. Hülkenberg, slightly touched in the first corner contacts, retires. In the second lap, Vettel puts pressure on Rosberg and overtakes him on the outside. Maldonado attacks Grosjean in one of the last corners, and both drivers touch! Grosjean has to retire because his right front wheel is damaged. Jenson Button, who has taken the lead, flies away. Hamilton is already 2.6 seconds behind after four laps. Schumacher, in third position, sees Vettel catching up to him. Maldonado, who was seventh, goes straight in one of the corners, allowing Webber and Massa to pass. In the sixth lap, Vettel, who was behind Schumacher, makes a mistake at the first corner and lets the seven-time world champion slip away. He finds himself under threat from Rosberg, whom he holds off. Button continues to soar, now leading Hamilton by 3.5 seconds and Schumacher by 10, who already sees the reigning double world champion catching up to him. Behind, the fight for fifth place is intense as Rosberg, Alonso, and Webber are within the same second. Schumacher’s Mercedes loses about a second to Hamilton each lap.

After ten laps: Button leads in front of Hamilton, Schumacher, Vettel, Rosberg, Alonso, Webber, Maldonado, Massa, and Pérez. The pressure is strong on Massa, who indicates on the radio that he is suffering from excessive degradation on the rear tires. In the eleventh lap, Vettel is right behind Schumacher, who goes straight at the first corner. Slowing down after returning to the track, he reports a gearbox problem. It’s a retirement. Massa is the first to pit, allowing Kimi Räikkönen to enter the top 10 for the first time in the race. Rosberg also pits, having struggled for several laps. Kobayashi, who is ahead of Räikkönen’s Lotus, pits, leaving the Finn to contend with Pérez. Vergne is ninth, on a one-stop strategy. Webber pits on the fifteenth lap. He returns on mediums and in tenth position. Vettel is attacking and catching up to the two McLarens. Maldonado is in fourth position ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. It’s the leader’s turn to pit, followed by Vettel and Maldonado. Button returns on medium tires, Vettel on softs. The German is under pressure from Alonso. In the pit stop game, Pérez and Vergne are fourth and fifth. In the next lap, Hamilton pits and opts for mediums: he returns behind Räikkönen and Pérez. Vergne lets Vettel pass and stays on track. He holds off Alonso, indirectly benefiting the Red Bull.

On the twentieth lap, Button leads ahead of Pérez, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Webber, Maldonado, Räikkönen (after his stop), and Massa. Hamilton is battling with Pérez. The Briton, on medium tires, is losing time to Vettel, who is lurking behind on soft tires. Hamilton gets past the Mexican down the straight at the start of the 21st lap. Vettel tries to overtake in the third corner, but the Sauber driver resists. The German eventually takes the advantage later in the lap. Button is in the lead with 11.4 seconds ahead of Hamilton and 13 seconds over Vettel. Pérez, on a one-stop strategy, is struggling, allowing Alonso, Rosberg, and Webber to pass him. Hamilton picks up the pace and stabilizes his lead over Vettel at 1.6 seconds. Behind, Kobayashi is overtaken by Massa and later by Räikkönen after contact between the Lotus and the Sauber, with no major damage. On the 27th lap, Vettel loses time to Hamilton, who is setting the fastest laps. He is now 2 seconds behind. Massa moves aside to let Räikkönen pass, and then Kobayashi overtakes him as well. Massa pits after being passed by Di Resta and Vergne. The fifth place is contested between Rosberg and Webber, but also Maldonado, who is just behind the two men.

30 laps completed and Button is still in the lead, ahead of Hamilton by 9.4 seconds, Vettel by 12 seconds; followed by Alonso, Rosberg, Webber, Maldonado, Räikkönen, Kobayashi, and Di Resta. Vergne makes a mistake and goes off into the gravel, managing to return in twelfth position. Rosberg, who was struggling, pits and leaves the place to Webber, followed by Maldonado, surprisingly in sixth. Alonso stops on the 34th lap and resumes in seventh behind Räikkönen. At the front, an incredible scene as Button refuels but so does Hamilton! Vettel takes the lead but stops on the following lap. SAFETY CAR deployed as Petrov’s Caterham is immobilized on the main straight! This benefits Vettel, who then slots in between the two McLarens! Up front, the tow truck is followed by the safety car, then Button, Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Alonso, Maldonado, Pérez, Rosberg, Räikkönen, and Kobayashi. Unlike last year, the rule allows the backmarkers to overtake the safety car to avoid obstructing the leaders’ progress. Kovalainen retires as well.

Restart at the 42nd lap: Button remains in the lead ahead of Vettel and Hamilton. The 2009 champion is already pulling away. Kobayashi overtakes Räikkönen in the third corner. Button is on a high and sets the fastest lap immediately: he already has a 3.6-second lead over Vettel. Räikkönen seems to be complaining about Kobayashi’s car, with part of the rear wing seemingly close to detaching as he follows. The stewards will be alerted. Button continues to gain ground, but less than in the first laps of this stint. In the middle of the pack, Massa and Senna collide and drag each other painfully to the next corner where Senna exits, falling victim to a puncture, and Massa heads to the pits with damage. Maldonado is close to Alonso and is putting him under pressure.

With eight laps to go, Button is ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, Webber, Alonso, Maldonado, Pérez, Rosberg, Kobayashi, and Räikkönen. Di Resta, who was ahead of the two Toro Rossos, is overtaken by Vergne and then by Ricciardo. In trouble, Rosberg is attacked by Kobayashi, but he manages to pass him again afterwards. Kobayashi is then in difficulty, followed by Räikkönen and Vergne coming back. Up front, Webber is catching up to Hamilton with four laps remaining. Senna finally abandons, bringing the number of cars still on track to 15, including both Marussias, which is noteworthy. Sergio Pérez and Nico Rosberg are battling for seventh place, as are Kobayashi and Räikkönen for ninth position. The Saubers seem to be struggling a bit. Vergne and Ricciardo are catching up to Räikkönen as a result.

In the final lap, Maldonado violently crashes into the wall at the exit of a turn, ending up in the middle of the track. Button wins the race! Vettel and Hamilton complete the podium. Behind, there’s chaos: Rosberg is struggling after a puncture. This creates a slowdown in the pack, benefiting Ricciardo and Di Resta, who overtake Vergne. The Frenchman ends up eleventh and out of the points despite a double retirement in front of him!

It is therefore with this 13th victory of Jenson Button’s career and the 176th victory for McLaren that this race concludes, marked by the combined dominance of McLaren and Red Bull and the debacle of Mercedes!

2012 Australian Grand Prix race results: