2013 Australian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Kimi Räikkönen opened the season with victory for Lotus, making a two-stop strategy work while his rivals needed three. Fernando Alonso finished second and Sebastian Vettel third after a weekend in which rain pushed part of qualifying into Sunday.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:27.407
Fastest lap	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1
Fastest-lap time	1:29.274 on lap 56
First	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1
Second	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
15 March 2013	Practice 1	12:30 – 14:00
15 March 2013	Practice 2	16:30 – 18:00
16 March 2013	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
16 March 2013	Qualifying Q1	17:00
17 March 2013	Qualifying Q2/Q3 (rescheduled)	11:00
17 March 2013	Race	17:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

The 2013 F1 World Championship began with a fresh points table and the first opportunity to measure the teams in race conditions. Albert Park Circuit hosted the opening contest, where qualifying pace, tyre management and reliability would all shape the result.

Race entries

Lewis Hamilton began his Mercedes career, Sergio Pérez joined McLaren and Nico Hülkenberg moved to Sauber. Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Gutiérrez, Jules Bianchi, Max Chilton and Giedo van der Garde joined the race grid. HRT‘s departure reduced the field to 22 cars.

Free Practice

Sebastian Vettel opened FP1 fastest after a quiet start dominated by installation laps and garage checks. Ferrari looked competitive, while several drivers explored the grass without serious damage. Di Resta’s late trip into the gravel provided the main interruption to an otherwise measured first session of the new season.

Red Bull led FP2 as teams compared medium and supersoft tyres before longer runs. Mercedes had a troubled finish: Lewis Hamilton went into the barrier after earlier damage, and Nico Rosberg stopped with gearbox trouble. Sebastian Vettel overcame traffic on his quick attempt, while McLaren’s modest pace suggested its difficult winter was not yet behind it.

Approaching rain prompted an early rush in FP3, with Romain Grosjean fastest before the downpour. Running later resumed on wets and then intermediates as conditions improved. Sebastian Vettel stopped with lost hydraulic pressure, while Romain Grosjean also proved quick in the changing conditions, giving Lotus encouragement before the weather-hit qualifying session.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2013 Australian Grand Prix FP1, 15 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:27.211	16
2	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.078s	17
3	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.336s	16
4	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.341s	18
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.457s	18
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.666s	17
7	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.802s	17
8	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.215s	19
9	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.229s	19
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.309s	15
11	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+1.386s	19
12	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.575s	19
13	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.699s	18
14	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.232s	20
15	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.717s	19
16	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.992s	17
17	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+3.518s	17
18	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+3.758s	19
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+4.052s	24
20	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.965s	23
21	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+5.063s	21
22	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+5.177s	18

Free Practice 2 Classification

2013 Australian Grand Prix FP2, 15 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:25.908	33
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.264s	31
3	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.414s	26
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.453s	38
5	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.772s	32
6	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.840s	35
7	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.864s	28
8	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.947s	32
9	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.527s	35
10	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+2.279s	34
11	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.386s	30
12	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.403s	37
13	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+2.658s	33
14	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.719s	31
15	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+2.864s	33
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.944s	36
17	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+3.060s	36
18	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+3.478s	39
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.788s	32
20	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+4.257s	37
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+4.692s	36
22	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+6.542s	11

Free Practice 3 Classification

2013 Australian Grand Prix FP3, 16 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:26.929	14
2	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.071s	7
3	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.312s	10
4	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.604s	9
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.696s	12
6	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+0.920s	19
7	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+0.931s	16
8	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	+1.140s	15
9	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.324s	18
10	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	+1.324s	20
11	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.557s	13
12	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+2.879s	9
13	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+3.144s	16
14	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	+3.459s	17
15	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+3.669s	20
16	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	+4.030s	19
17	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	+6.307s	7
18	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	+6.598s	8
19	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+12.303s	13
20	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+12.850s	13
21	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	+15.943s	13
22	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+20.317s	9

Qualifying

Qualifying used three knockout sessions lasting twenty, fifteen and ten minutes. Drivers progressed through Q1 and Q2 before the final ten competed for pole in Q3.

Heavy rain allowed only Q1 to run on Saturday; Q2 and Q3 followed on Sunday morning. Sebastian Vettel took pole ahead of Mark Webber, while Charles Pic received permission to start despite falling outside the 107% threshold.

Qualifying Classification

2013 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying, 16 March 2013 and 17 March 2013

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:44.657	1:36.745	1:27.407	27
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:44.472	1:36.524	1:27.827	26
3	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:45.456	1:36.625	1:28.087	29
4	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:44.635	1:36.666	1:28.490	23
5	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:43.850	1:36.691	1:28.493	26
6	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:43.380	1:36.194	1:28.523	28
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:45.545	1:37.517	1:28.738	27
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:44.284	1:37.641	1:29.013	25
9	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:45.601	1:36.901	1:29.305	23
10	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:44.688	1:36.644	1:30.357	24
11	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber	1:45.930	1:38.067	—	19
12	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	1:47.330	1:38.134	—	19
13	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:44.871	1:38.778	—	19
14	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:46.450	1:39.042	—	20
15	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	1:44.300	1:39.900	—	18
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:47.328	1:40.290	—	19
17	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:47.614	—	—	11
18	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	1:47.776	—	—	10
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	1:48.147	—	—	11
20	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	1:48.909	—	—	11
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	1:49.519	—	—	11
22	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	1:50.626	—	—	10

Charles Pic failed to set a time within 107% of the fastest time in the session, but was allowed to start by the race stewards.

What happened in the 2013 Australian Grand Prix?

Vettel led from pole, while Webber’s poor getaway allowed Felipe Massa and Alonso to gain ground. Räikkönen passed Hamilton early, and Nico Hülkenberg was unable to start because of a fuel-system concern.

Adrian Sutil led for a spell after starting on the more durable tyres. Alonso stopped early to move ahead of the traffic through the pit sequence, while Räikkönen preserved his tyres well enough to keep a two-stop plan viable.

The Lotus maintained strong pace without the additional stop required by its main rivals. Räikkönen emerged with the lead and controlled the final stint, even setting the fastest lap late in the race.

Alonso finished second ahead of Vettel and Massa. Hamilton took fifth on his Mercedes debut, while Webber recovered sixth after a slow stop added to his starting problems. Sutil finished seventh on his return to Formula 1.

Further down the points places, Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta, Jenson Button and Romain Grosjean completed the scoring positions. Kimi Räikkönen set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2013 rules.

After the race, Kimi Räikkönen headed the drivers’ standings with 25 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 18. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 30, with Lotus F1 on 26.

2013 Australian Grand Prix race results

The 2013 Australian Grand Prix was held on 17 March 2013, with a scheduled start of 17:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	58	1:30:03.225	25
2	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	58	+12.451	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	58	+22.346	15
4	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	58	+33.577	12
5	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	58	+45.561	10
6	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	58	+46.800	8
7	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	58	+1:05.068	6
8	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	58	+1:08.449	4
9	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	58	+1:21.630	2
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	58	+1:22.759	1
11	6	Sergio Pérez	McLaren	58	+1:23.367	0
12	18	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	58	+1:23.857	0
13	12	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber	57	+1 lap	0
14	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	57	+1 lap	0
15	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	57	+1 lap	0
16	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	56	+2 laps	0
17	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	56	+2 laps	0
18	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	56	+2 laps	0
Ret	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	39	Exhaust	0
Ret	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	26	Electrical	0
Ret	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	24	Spun off	0
DNS	11	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber		Fuel system	0

2013 Australian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	56	1:29.274	213.845
2	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	50	1:29.498	213.309
3	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	53	1:29.560	213.162
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	45	1:29.732	212.753
5	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	45	1:29.759	212.689
6	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	46	1:29.926	212.294
7	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	41	1:30.198	211.654
8	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	38	1:30.239	211.558
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	41	1:30.395	211.193
10	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	42	1:30.409	211.160
11	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	52	1:30.454	211.055
12	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	42	1:30.652	210.594
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	49	1:30.710	210.459
14	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	33	1:30.881	210.063
15	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	56	1:30.894	210.033
16	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	32	1:31.415	208.836
17	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	49	1:32.210	207.036
18	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	18	1:32.259	206.926
19	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	55	1:32.261	206.921
20	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	39	1:32.636	206.084
21	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	12	1:32.915	205.465

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2013 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2013 Australian Grand Prix.

2013 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	25
2	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	18
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	15
4	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	12
5	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	10
6	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	8
7	Adrian Sutil	German	Force India	6
8	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	4
9	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	2
10	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	1
11	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	McLaren	0
12	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	0
13	Esteban Gutiérrez	Mexican	Sauber	0
14	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	0
15	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia	0
16	Charles Pic	French	Caterham	0
17	Max Chilton	British	Marussia	0
18	Giedo van der Garde	Dutch	Caterham	0
–	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	0
–	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	0
–	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	0
–	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Sauber	0

2013 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	30
2	Lotus F1	26
3	Red Bull Racing	23
4	Mercedes	10
5	Force India	10
6	McLaren	2
7	Toro Rosso	0
8	Sauber	0
9	Williams	0
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0

2013 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2013 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	17 March
2	2013 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	24 March
3	2013 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	14 April
4	2013 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	21 April
5	2013 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	12 May
6	2013 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
7	2013 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	9 June
8	2013 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	30 June
9	2013 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 July
10	2013 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	28 July
11	2013 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	25 August
12	2013 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
13	2013 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	22 September
14	2013 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	6 October
15	2013 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	13 October
16	2013 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	27 October
17	2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	3 November
18	2013 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	17 November
19	2013 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	24 November