2011 Australian Grand Prix

2011 Australian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 19 in the 2011 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 27 March 2011 (2011-03-27)
Official name 2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix
Location Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 5.303 km (3.295 miles)
Distance 58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 miles)
Weather Sunny, 18°C
Attendance 111,000[1]
Pole position
Driver
Red Bull Racing-Renault
Time 1:23.529
Fastest lap
Driver Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari
Time 1:28.947 on lap 55
Podium
First
Red Bull Racing-Renault
Second
McLaren-Mercedes
Third
Renault
Lap leaders

The 2011 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix)[2] was a Formula One motor race held on 27 March 2011 at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. It was the 76th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928. Originally planned as the second race of the 2011 Formula One season, it became the season opener with the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix due to civil unrest in the country.[3]

The 58-lap race was won by the reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, driving for Red Bull Racing, after starting from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, and Renault's Vitaly Petrov completed the podium in third place, the first and only podium finish of his career and the first podium finish for a Russian national.[4][5] This was the only race until the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix that neither Mercedes was classified. It was also the Grand Prix debut of Sergio Pérez, who drove for Sauber.[6]

This race also marked Pirelli's return as the sole tyre supplier, replacing Bridgestone, who had supplied tyres to Formula One between 1997 and 2010. It was Pirelli's first race as a tyre supplier since the 1991 edition.

  1. ^ "Motorsport Results & Attendances". Austadiums. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. ^ "2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  3. ^ "Bahrain Grand Prix called off due to protests". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  4. ^ Holt, Sarah (27 March 2011). "Sebastian Vettel beats Lewis Hamilton in Australian GP". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  5. ^ Hughes, Mark (31 March 2011). "Advance Australia Herr". Autosport. 203 (13). Haymarket Publications: 26–39. Milestones: • First podium for Petrov is the first for any Russian in Formula 1. • Vettel's win means the first hat-trick since Button in May/June 2009.
  6. ^ "Sergio Perez". RaceFans. Retrieved 2024-06-04.