2015 Australian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton began his title defence with victory in Melbourne, leading Nico Rosberg home in a Mercedes one-two. Sebastian Vettel reached the podium on his Ferrari debut, while Felipe Nasr starred for Sauber in a race with only 15 starters.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:26.327
Fastest lap	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:30.945 on lap 50
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
13 March 2015	Practice 1	12:30 – 14:00
13 March 2015	Practice 2	16:30 – 18:00
14 March 2015	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
14 March 2015	Qualifying	17:00
15 March 2015	Race	16:00

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

Championship background

The 2015 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

Sebastian Vettel began his Ferrari career, while Fernando Alonso‘s absence following a testing accident brought Kevin Magnussen back into the McLaren. Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Felipe Nasr made their Grand Prix debuts. Manor Marussia entered Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi but could not get either car running.

Free Practice

Nico Rosberg set the early pace as Mercedes carried its testing form into the opening weekend. With Sauber confined to the garage by its legal dispute and Manor Marussia unable to get its cars running, only sixteen drivers took part in FP1. Valtteri Bottas was the closest challenger to the Mercedes pair, but more than a second adrift. Toro Rosso made an encouraging start by outpacing Red Bull, while teams also rehearsed the new virtual safety car procedure.

Nico Rosberg stayed quickest in FP2, although Sebastian Vettel brought Ferrari closer to the front. Sauber finally joined the running, but Daniel Ricciardo and Felipe Massa missed the session with car problems. McLaren‘s difficult start to its renewed Honda partnership continued with limited mileage for both drivers. The contrast was striking: Mercedes could build on a productive morning while several rivals were still trying to establish a reliable baseline.

Lewis Hamilton moved to the top in final practice, with Sebastian Vettel splitting the Mercedes drivers and Nico Rosberg almost a second off his team-mate. Ferrari and Williams again looked competitive behind the champions, and both Lotus drivers reached the top ten. Red Bull had a much less comfortable preparation for qualifying: Daniel Ricciardo stopped at the end of the pit lane with engine trouble, while Daniil Kvyat also finished well down the order.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2015 Australian Grand Prix FP1, 13 March 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:29.557	19
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.029s	19
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.191s	20
4	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.457s	32
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.472s	13
6	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.510s	31
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.631s	19
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.753s	14
9	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+1.894s	22
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.013s	9
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+2.516s	18
12	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.690s	22
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.704s	19
14	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+4.985s	6
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	+5.228s	7
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+48.225s	5

Free Practice 2 Classification

2015 Australian Grand Prix FP2, 13 March 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:27.697	29
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.100s	25
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.715s	33
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.145s	33
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.568s	32
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+2.319s	27
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.374s	41
8	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+2.407s	11
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+2.508s	37
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.776s	30
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+3.058s	33
12	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+3.283s	32
13	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+3.690s	21
14	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+3.698s	6
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+4.606s	14
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	+5.592s	4

Free Practice 3 Classification

2015 Australian Grand Prix FP3, 14 March 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:27.867	11
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.696s	13
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.954s	14
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.045s	14
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.121s	18
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.150s	13
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.614s	12
8	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+1.997s	15
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+2.002s	19
10	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.067s	24
11	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+2.085s	16
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.746s	21
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.874s	14
14	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+3.126s	17
15	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+3.318s	10
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	+3.524s	14
17	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+3.799s	13
18	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+4.963s	6

Qualifying

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

Lewis Hamilton took pole ahead of Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa. Valtteri Bottas qualified sixth but suffered a back injury and was not cleared to race. Neither Manor Marussia entered qualifying, having failed to run all weekend.

Qualifying Classification

2015 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying, 14 March 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:28.586	1:26.894	1:26.327	16
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:28.906	1:27.097	1:26.921	14
3	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:29.246	1:27.895	1:27.718	21
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:29.307	1:27.742	1:27.757	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:29.754	1:27.807	1:27.790	17
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:29.641	1:27.796	1:28.087	16
7	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:29.788	1:28.679	1:28.329	22
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:29.597	1:28.601	1:28.510	22
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:29.537	1:28.589	1:28.560	20
10	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	1:29.847	1:28.726	1:29.480	20
11	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:30.430	1:28.800	—	17
12	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:29.248	1:28.868	—	15
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:30.402	1:29.070	—	9
14	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:29.651	1:29.208	—	14
15	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:29.990	1:29.209	—	13
16	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:31.376	—	—	10
17	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:31.422	—	—	7
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	1:32.037	—	—	8
DNP	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	No time	—	—	—
DNP	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	No time	—	—	—

What happened in the 2015 Australian Grand Prix?

Bottas’ withdrawal and failures for Daniil Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen on the way to the grid reduced the field to 15 starters. Hamilton led away, while Pastor Maldonado crashed after an opening-corner incident and Romain Grosjean soon retired too.

Hamilton controlled the race ahead of Rosberg, with the Mercedes pair comfortably clear of their rivals. Ferrari used the pit-stop phase to move Vettel ahead of Felipe Massa into third.

Max Verstappen‘s debut ended with a power-unit problem, while Kimi Räikkönen retired after an insecure wheel following a pit stop. The attrition left just eleven finishers, making reliability particularly valuable for the midfield teams.

Nasr finished fifth behind Massa, with Daniel Ricciardo sixth. Marcus Ericsson and Carlos Sainz also scored their first championship points, while Jenson Button brought McLaren‘s new Honda-powered car home eleventh, just outside the points.

Further down the points places, Nico Hülkenberg, Marcus Ericsson, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez completed the scoring positions. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2015 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 25 points, followed by Nico Rosberg on 18. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 43, with Ferrari on 15.

2015 Australian Grand Prix race results

The 2015 Australian Grand Prix was held on 15 March 2015, with a scheduled start of 16:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	58	1:31:54.067	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	58	+1.360	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	58	+34.523	15
4	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	58	+38.196	12
5	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	58	+1:35.149	10
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	57	+1 Lap	8
7	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	57	+1 Lap	6
8	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	57	+1 Lap	4
9	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	57	+1 Lap	2
10	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	57	+1 Lap	1
11	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	+2 Laps	0
Ret	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	40	Wheel	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	32	Engine	0
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	0	Power loss	0
Ret	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	0	Collision	0
DNS	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	0	Gearbox	0
DNS	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	0	Engine	0
DNS	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	0	Injury	0

Both Kvyat’s and Magnussen’s cars failed on the way from the pitlane to the starting grid.

As Valtteri Bottas was unable to start the race due to a back injury suffered during qualifying and spending the night at the hospital without being cleared to race by the FIA, all cars behind him moved up one place to close the gap.

2015 Australian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	50	17:23:14	1:30.945	209.915
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	47	17:18:42	1:31.092	209.577
3	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	36	17:02:23	1:31.426	208.811
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	17:26:49	1:31.457	208.740
5	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	51	17:27:11	1:31.560	208.505
6	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	50	17:23:49	1:31.719	208.144
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	46	17:19:41	1:31.959	207.601
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	48	17:22:20	1:31.970	207.576
9	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	46	17:18:17	1:32.612	206.137
10	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	46	17:18:20	1:32.797	205.726
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	49	17:24:04	1:32.872	205.560
12	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	17:35:50	1:33.338	204.534
13	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	30	16:53:22	1:34.295	202.458

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

2015 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.

2015 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	25
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	18
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	15
4	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	12
5	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	10
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	8
7	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	6
8	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	4
9	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	2
10	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	1
11	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	0
–	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	0
–	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso	0
–	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	0
–	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus F1	0
–	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing	0
–	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren	0
–	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	0

2015 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	43
2	Ferrari	15
3	Sauber	14
4	Williams	12
5	Red Bull Racing	8
6	Force India	7
7	Toro Rosso	2
8	McLaren	0
–	Lotus F1	0

2015 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2015 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	15 March
2	2015 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	29 March
3	2015 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	12 April
4	2015 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	19 April
5	2015 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	10 May
6	2015 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	2015 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	7 June
8	2015 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	21 June
9	2015 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	5 July
10	2015 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	26 July
11	2015 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	23 August
12	2015 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
13	2015 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	20 September
14	2015 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	27 September
15	2015 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	11 October
16	2015 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	25 October
17	2015 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	1 November
18	2015 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	15 November
19	2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	29 November