ce 38 Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website e47 7b2 Gallery
1ca

Home - The Official Formula 1 Website Skip to content

3c

2013 FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

  • It's an early start on race day in Melbourne as Q2 and Q3 have to be finished before the race. There's still some puddles for the birds to splash around in, but it's dry enough for the cars to spread their wings
  • Eager to start, the Toro Rossos lead out the waiting line of cars for Q2
  • McLaren's Sergio Perez is the first driver to try out the slick tyres on a damp track but the Mexican finds them hard to handle and he fails to make it through to Q3
  • McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh shows his frustration as the team admit they made a mistake putting Perez out on the dry tyres
  • Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel heads out for an early sighter on intermediate tyres on a drying track as Q3 gets underway in Melbourne
  • Nico Rosberg joins the Sunday morning traffic in Q3. The German had been the fastest driver in wet conditions in the first two parts of qualifying
  • Slick work is required in the pit lane as the teams change the intermediate tyres for slicks for the final run of hot laps in Q3
  • Sebastian Vettel goes fastest to take pole in 1m 27.407s. His steaming tyres show how hard they had to work in tricky conditions
  • Back in the number one spot, Sebastian Vettel will start the Australian race from pole ahead of Red Bull team mate Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes
  • Fernando Alonso keeps his helmet on as he ponders the prospect of starting the race from fifth, behind his Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa
  • This is the class of 2013 assembled before the opening Grand Prix of the season in Australia. Can you spot the world champion not wearing sunglasses?
  • It's a bit chilly on the drivers parade so Lewis Hamilton, who lines up third on the grid, wraps up tight
  • At least the sun has come out - and the Australian Airforce flying machines
  • There's a spare slot on the Melbourne grid as Sauber decide not to race Nico Hulkenberg after a finding a fuel system problem with his car
  • The field of 21 drivers line up for the first race of 2013
  • Mark Webber finds himself bogged down at the start and loses second place as Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes and both Ferraris sweep past him
  • Kimi Raikkonen makes a move on Lewis Hamilton to move into fourth place as the Lotus gets into a rhythm
  • Sebastian Vettel started on pole but finds himself stuck behind the Force India of Adrian Sutil, who is the last driver in the field to make a pit stop
  • Early race leader Adrian Sutil and the chasing Sebastian Vettel pit at the same time, but it's the Force India crew who get their man out first ahead of the Red Bull
  • Fernando Alonso quickly passes Adrian Sutil when he emerges from the pits and Sebastian Vettel soon follows suit as Kimi Raikkonen takes the lead
  • It's all over for Pastor Maldonado on lap 25 as he gets his Williams into a spin and stuck in the gravel
  • Nico Rosberg grinds to a halt in his Mercedes soon afterwards and is out of the race
  • Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen serenely leads the race for Lotus
  • Lewis Hamilton locks up as he tries to defend position from Fernando Alonso but the Ferrari man goes through and edges closer to the leaders
  • Another round of pit stops sees Adrian Sutil back in the lead but Kimi Raikkonen soon sweeps past to retake P1 for Lotus
  • Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber pass Adrian Sutil as his supersoft tyres begin to fade in the late stages of the race
  • Fernando Alonso takes evasive action as Charles Pic's Caterham blocks his path during his pursuit of leader Kimi Raikkonen
  • But the Lotus and a two-stop strategy proves unbeatable as Kimi Raikkonen cruises to victory
  • Kimi Raikkonen takes the chequered flag in Australia - beating Fernando Alonso into second place by 12 seconds
  • Kimi Raikkonen's win in Albert Park prompts a group hug on the Lotus pit wall
  • Kimi Raikkonen takes the plaudits as he equals Mika Hakkinen's record of 20 wins for Finnish F1 drivers
  • Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel get the podium celebrations under way
  • The crowds in Melbourne have had a bumper day of qualifying and racing but the F1 paddock now moves on to Malaysia, where the cars are back on track in five days' time
© Formula One World Championship Ltd. No reproduction without permission.
e16
1c cc
28f

LATEST RACE GALLERIES

4a6
LIVE TIMING
VIDEO
TICKETS & TRAVEL
F1 STORE
MOBILE SERVICES
b7
 
da3 b4
0