2017 Australian Grand Prix

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2017 Australian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 20 in the 2017 Formula One World Championship
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Albert Lake Park Street Circuit in Melbourne, Australia.svg
Race details
Date 26 March 2017 (2017-03-26)
Official name 2017 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix[1][2]
Location Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 5.303 km (3.295 mi)
Distance 57 laps, 302.271 km (187.822 mi)
Scheduled distance 58 laps, 307.574 km (191.117 mi)
Weather Partly cloudy
24 °C (75 °F) air temperature
31–36 °C (88–97 °F) track temperature
2 m/s (4.5 mph; 7.2 km/h) wind from the northwest[3]
Attendance 296,600[4]
Pole position
Driver
  • United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
 Mercedes
Time 1:22.188
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
Time 1:26.538 on lap 56
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
  • United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
 Mercedes
Third
  • Finland Valtteri Bottas
 Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2017 Australian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 26 March 2017 in Melbourne. The race was contested over fifty-seven laps of the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and was the first round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race marked the 82nd race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix – which dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928 – and the 22nd time the event was held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. The reigning World Champion Nico Rosberg was the winner of the 2016 race, but he did not defend his win as he retired from the sport after the 2016 season.[5][6]

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton started the race from pole, matching Ayrton Senna's record of six pole positions in Australia.[7] Sebastian Vettel won the race, which was his and Ferrari's first win since the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix.[8] Hamilton finished second, with Valtteri Bottas completing the podium in third on his début for Mercedes.[9]

The race was also Ferrari's first win at the track since the 2007 edition.

Report[]

Background[]

Circuit modifications[]

With the technical regulations undergoing a revision for the 2017 season,[10] the FIA requested that every circuit on the calendar undergo revisions to update safety features.[11] Organisers of the race introduced Tecpro barriers to the run-off areas at the fastest points of the circuit, and re-profiled tyre barriers.[12]

Driver changes[]

Before the beginning of the third free practice session, Sauber announced that Pascal Wehrlein would not start the race. Wehrlein had sustained a back injury in an accident at the Race of Champions during the winter pre-season. Although Wehrlein was certified as fit to take part in the Grand Prix ahead of the first practice session, he withdrew as a precaution, citing the increased physical demands of the 2017 specification of cars and the lack of sustained running during pre-season testing as compromising his ability to complete a full race distance. He was replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi for the third session, qualifying and the race.[13]

Lance Stroll made his Formula One début with Williams.[14] Giovinazzi and Stroll were the only rookies in the field, with Stoffel Vandoorne at McLaren starting his first full season in the sport after a one-off appearance at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix and Esteban Ocon at Force India starting his first full season in the sport after starting the last 9 races of the 2016 season.[15]

Tyres[]

Pirelli supplied the teams with ultrasoft, supersoft and soft tyres. Usually, teams are allowed to choose an individual selection of thirteen different sets for every driver. However, due to the selection deadline falling before the pre-season test when teams were first able to drive with the new compounds, Pirelli allocated every driver the same sets. These were seven sets of ultrasoft, four sets of supersoft and two sets of soft tyres.[16]

Qualifying[]

Pos. Car
no. 		Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:24.191 1:23.251 1:22.188 1
2 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:25.210 1:23.401 1:22.456 2
3 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:24.514 1:23.215 1:22.481 3
4 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:24.352 1:23.376 1:23.033 4
5 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:24.482 1:24.092 1:23.485 5
6 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 1:25.419 1:24.718 1:24.074 6
7 19 Brazil Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:25.099 1:24.597 1:24.443 7
8 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 1:25.542 1:24.997 1:24.487 8
9 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:25.970 1:24.864 1:24.512 9
10 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 1:25.383 1:23.989 No time 151
11 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 1:25.064 1:25.081 10
12 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:24.975 1:25.091 11
13 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda 1:25.872 1:25.425 12
14 31 France Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 1:26.009 1:25.568 13
15 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1:26.236 1:26.465 14
16 36 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Sauber-Ferrari 1:26.419 16
17 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1:26.847 17
18 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Honda 1:26.858 18
19 18 Canada Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 1:27.143 201
20 30 United Kingdom Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:28.244 19
107% time: 1:30.084
Source:[7]
Notes
  • ^1  – Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll received five-place grid penalties for unscheduled gearbox changes.[17][18]

Race[]

Sebastian Vettel won the race for Scuderia Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel claimed his first win since 2015 after beating both the Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, in a straight fight, Hamilton was not helped after he was held up for several laps behind Max Verstappen, the latter revealing he completed the race without a drinks bottle after the Red Bull team forgot to fit it in the car.[19] Daniel Ricciardo's car failed on the way to the grid, eventually he joined the race on the 2nd lap but then retired on lap 26, he said afterwards he was sent out "to have some fun".[20]

Race classification[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 57 1:24:11.672 2 25
2 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 +9.975 1 18
3 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 57 +11.250 3 15
4 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 57 +22.393 4 12
5 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 57 +28.827 5 10
6 19 Brazil Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 57 +1:23.386 7 8
7 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 10 6
8 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 56 +1 Lap 8 4
9 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 56 +1 Lap 9 2
10 31 France Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap 13 1
11 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Renault 56 +1 Lap 11
12 36 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Sauber-Ferrari 55 +2 Laps 16
13 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Honda 55 +2 Laps 18
Ret 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda 50 Broken floor 12
Ret 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 46 Suspension 17
Ret 18 Canada Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes 40 Brakes 20
Ret 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer 25 Fuel cell PL1
Ret 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 21 Hydraulics 14
Ret 30 United Kingdom Jolyon Palmer Renault 15 Brakes 19
Ret 8 France Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari 13 Water leak 6
Source:[8]
Notes
  • ^1  – Daniel Ricciardo started the race from pit lane after his car stopped on the way to the grid and could not be restarted in time for the formation lap.

Championship standings after the race[]

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "2017 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "Albert Park - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  3. ^ "GP Australien in Melbourne / Rennen". Motorsport-total.com (in German). Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  4. ^ "F1 reveals overall rise in 2017 attendance". Gpupdate.net. 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017.
  5. ^ Esler, William (20 March 2016). "2016 Australian GP: Nico Rosberg wins after Ferrari strategy error". skysports.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Nico Rosberg retires: World champion quits Formula 1 five days after title win". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  7. ^ a b "2017 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  8. ^ a b "2017 Australian Grand Prix Race – Provisional Classification". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 26 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Sebastian Vettel wins season-opening Melbourne Grand Prix – as it happened". Guardian. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  10. ^ "F1 rules: elimination qualifying confirmed for Australia, 2017 cars "five seconds faster"". James Allen on F1. James Allen. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  11. ^ "FIA requests upgrades to F1 circuits for 2017". speedcafe.com. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  12. ^ Howard, Tom (29 January 2017). "Albert Park prepares for circuit revisions". speedcafe.com. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Pascal Wehrlein not to start at the Australian Grand Prix". Sauber F1 Team. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  14. ^ "F1 Australian GP: Can Lance Stroll match these game changing F1 debuts?". Crash.net. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  15. ^ Gibson, Sean (22 February 2017). "F1 2017: Race calendar and rule changes explained ahead of new season". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Pirelli announce tyre choices for Bahrain and Russia". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Ltd. 11 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  17. ^ Mitchell, Scott (26 March 2017). "Australian GP: Daniel Ricciardo grid penalty after gearbox change". Autosport.com. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  18. ^ Noble, Jonathan (25 March 2017). "Stroll hit with gearbox change grid penalty into Australian GP". Autosport.com. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Red Bull ran Verstappen's car without a drinks bottle in Australia · RaceFans". RaceFans. 7 April 2017.
  20. ^ "Vettel beats Hamilton to win opener" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  21. ^ a b "Australia 2017 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

External links[]


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