2012 Australian Grand Prix
859th World Championship race, 28th World Championship Australian Grand Prix, 17th World Championship race at Melbourne
Fact File
| Date: | Sunday, 18 March 2012 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes |
| Pole position: | Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes |
| Fastest lap: | Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes |
| Circuit: | Melbourne, 58 laps |
| Round: | 1 of 20 |
Race Result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | 1hr 34m 09.565s | 25 |
| 2 | +4 |  Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 58 | +2.139s | 18 |
| 3 | -2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +4.075s | 15 |
| 4 | +1 |  Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 58 | +4.547s | 12 |
| 5 | +7 |  Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 58 | +21.565s | 10 |
| 6 | +7 |  Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 58 | +36.766s | 8 |
| 7 | +10 |  Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus-Renault | 58 | +38.014s | 6 |
| 8 | +14 |  Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 58 | +39.458s | 4 |
| 9 | +1 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 58 | +39.556s | 2 |
| 10 | +5 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 58 | +39.737s | 1 |
| 11 |  Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 58 | +39.848s | ||
| 12 | -5 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 58 | +57.642s | |
| 13 | -5 |  Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 57 | DNF | |
| 14 | +6 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 57 | +1 lap | |
| 15 | +6 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 53 | DNF | |
| 16 | -2 |  Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 52 | DNF | |
| R | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 46 | DNF | ||
| R | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 38 | DNF | ||
| R |  Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 34 | DNF | ||
| R | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 10 | DNF | ||
| R | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1 | DNF | ||
| R | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 0 | DNF |
Starting Grid
- Highlight: race winner
- Highlight: second place
- Highlight: third place
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:24.922 | |
| 2 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:25.074 | |
| 3 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:25.302 | |
| 4 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:25.336 | |
| 5 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:25.651 | |
| 6 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:25.668 | |
| 7 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:25.686 | |
| 8 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:25.908 | |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:26.451 | |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | – | |
| 11 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1:26.429 | |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:26.497 | |
| 13 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:26.590 | |
| 14 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:26.663 | |
| 15 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:27.086 | |
| 16 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:27.497 | |
| 17 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus-Renault | 1:27.758 | |
| 18 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:28.679 | |
| 19 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:29.018 | |
| 20 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:30.923 | |
| 21 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:31.670 | |
| 22 | -5 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | – |
- Sergio Perez received a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.
Qualifying Result
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jenson Button | 25 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | 18 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 15 |
| 4 | Mark Webber | 12 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | 10 |
| 6 | Kamui Kobayashi | 8 |
| 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | 6 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | 4 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | 2 |
| 10 | Paul di Resta | 1 |
Constructor
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren-Mercedes | 40 |
| 2 |  Red
Bull-Renault | 30 |
| 3 |  Sauber-Ferrari | 12 |
| 4 |  Ferrari | 10 |
| 5 | Lotus-Renault | 6 |
| 6 | Toro
Rosso-Ferrari | 2 |
| 7 |  Force
India-Mercedes | 1 |
Statistics & Milestones
- Race debut
- Driver: Charles Pic, Jean-Eric Vergne
- Constructor: Caterham, Lotus (2012-15), Marussia
- Wins
- Driver: 13th for Jenson Button
- Constructor: 176th for McLaren
- Podiums
- Driver: 44th for Jenson Button, 43rd for Lewis Hamilton, 37th for Sebastian Vettel
- Constructor: 471st & 472nd for McLaren, 67th for Red Bull
- Poles
- Driver: 20th for Lewis Hamilton
- Constructor: 148th for McLaren
- Qualifying 1-2
- Constructor: 60th for McLaren
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 7th for Jenson Button
- Constructor: 150th for McLaren
- Front row starts
- Driver: 38th for Lewis Hamilton, 20th for Jenson Button
- Points finishes
- Driver: 1st for Daniel Ricciardo (319th different point scorer, 5th Australian driver)
- Win & fastest lap
- Driver: 5th and last for Jenson Button