Malaysian Grand Prix Race - Alonso holds off stellar Perez for Sepang victory

Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix was won by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso from Sauber's Sergio Perez and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, but it was a race of two halves, and how different they were!

The skies were already dark as cars went out on to the grid and 10 minutes before the start the rain came. Everyone bar the HRTs started on intermediate tyres, Hamilton led team mate Jenson Button off the line, with Lotus's Romain Grosjean spearing between Mercedes' Michael Schumacher and the Red Bulls to grab third until he was repassed further round the lap and then clobbered Schumacher into a spin and followed suit himself.

Within a lap Perez was in for wet tyres, followed by Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Marussia's Timo Glock and Charles Pic on lap three, then Button, Alonso, Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen (who had made stunning progress from 23rd on Lap One to 17th on Lap Two) and team mate Vitaly Petrov.

Hamilton clung on until Lap Five, aquaplaning all over the place, and just skipped back out ahead of his team mate. Perez was up to a stunning third after Sauber's great strategic move, and even a big off-course moment didn't hurt him although it brought Red Bull's Mark Webber within striking distance.

By Lap Six conditions were so bad that the race officials deployed the safety car for the first time officially here. The race continued behind the silver Mercedes until lap nine, when it was red flagged.

Thus Hamilton led Button to a halt on the start/finish line, followed by Perez, Webber, Alonso, Red Bulls' Sebastian Vettel (who'd had an off), Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne (who had yet to pit), Massa, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg (who'd also been off), the amazing Narain Karthikeyan, who had not stopped thanks to starting his HRT on the full wets and was running a fabulous 10th, Hulkenberg and Force India team mate Paul di Resta, Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen, Williams' Pastor Maldonado, Schumacher, Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, HRT's Pedro de la Rosa (who like Karthikeyan had started on full wets), Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo, Petrov, Glock, Kovalainen, Charles Pic and Williams' Bruno Senna. Grosjean was thus far the only retirement, going off for good into the gravel in Turn Six on Lap Four.

It was Canada 2011 all over again, but with dusk approaching much faster in the already gloomy conditions.

At 17.01 it was announced that the race would be resumed at 17.15 behind the safety car, with all cars to be running Pirelli's wet tyres. There was still some light rain, but conditions had improved sufficiently. The gamble now would be how soon to switch back to intermediate tyres, once the safety car had been called back in.

Button gambled on a change to intermediates at the end of Lap 13, even before the race had officially resumed. Alonso, meanwhile, fought by Webber and Vettel, and pitted for inters on Lap 14 together with Hamilton and Webber.
Sauber brought Perez in a lap later, when Button called in again after colliding with Karthikeyan's HRT which he clipped with his front wing in Turn Nine. That was the end of the points leader's chances, but Perez's were just opening up.

From the 17th lap until the finish, it was Perez against Alonso, the youngster against the old stager, with Hamilton and the Red Bull drivers unable to do anything to challenge either of them.

For a while, Alonso opened the gap; it was as much as 7.7s on the 28th lap, half distance. But then Perez really got the bit between his teeth. More rain was forecast, so now the strategy for all of the drivers was to make their intermediate tyres last as long as they could. And the Sauber is kind to its rubber. Perez began to cut the gap to Alonso: 6.7s on Lap 33, 4.9s by Lap 35, 1.3s by Lap 39. The atmosphere, so drenched earlier, was now electric as everyone willed him on.

Alonso dived for the pits on the 40th lap and took on medium slick tyres, Perez came a lap later and took the harder tyres, as Sauber crucially added more front downforce. By Lap 42 the gap was 7.1s again, and the fairy tale seemed to be over, but nobody told Perez that. Lap by lap he ate into the Ferrari's advantage again; by Lap 49 he was only half a second behind and it seemed only a matter of time. But then he slid wide in Turn 14 leading on to the back straight, and this time the dream really was over. He recovered, and by the chequered flag on Lap 56 the gap was down from 5.3s to 2.2s, but Alonso had it made.

It was one of the best drives of the season thus far from the Spaniard, but though he thoroughly deserved all the plaudits going for grabbing the chance when he saw it, Perez was the 'man of the match' after a truly wonderful performance.

Behind the two leaders there was some great racing, but Hamilton had an untroubled run to third, unable to match their pace, as Webber came through to fourth after Vettel had made contact with Karthikeyan on the 48th lap and torn up his left-rear Pirelli. He was lucky that it happened on the back straight and he was able to pit quickly, but he dropped to 12th, which became 11th when Pastor Maldonado's tenure of 10th place ended with an apparent Renault engine failure on Lap 54.

Behind Webber, Raikkonen drove a feisty race to fifth for Lotus, while Bruno Senna was another star as he hacked through the field from 22nd on the opening lap to an excellent sixth. Paul di Resta was another to put in an excellent drive in the hugely tricky conditions, finishing seventh for Force India after being unable to keep Senna at bay. The Scot was clear of a huge battle between Vergne's Toro Rosso and his own team mate Hulkenberg, which Maldonado had been a part of until his engine problem.

That elevated Schumacher to the final points scoring position, on another very disappointing day for Mercedes, with Vettel 11th ahead of Ricciardo's Toro Rosso, which kept Rosberg's Mercedes and Button's delayed McLaren at bay to the flag. Felipe Massa had another horrible day, made even worse by Perez's performance, to finish 15th, ahead of Petrov who brought his Caterham home 16th ahead of Glock's Marussia, team mate Kovalainen, Maldonado and Glock's partner, Pic.

After his great early run Karthikeyan inevitably fell back, but he survived the two brushes with world champions to finish 21st, with team mate De la Rosa 22nd after getting a drive-through penalty after the restart as his team members were late leaving the grid. They later swapped places in the final classification after the Indian had 20 seconds added to his race time for causing the collision with Vettel. Besides Grosjean, Kobayashi was the only other retirement, but understandably it went almost unnoticed in the Sauber pit as they focused on the fight for the lead.

Alonso's totally unexpected victory puts him into the lead of the world championship with 35 points to Hamilton's 30 and Button's 25, with Webber fourth on 24, Perez fifth on 22 and Vettel on 18. McLaren still lead the constructors' world championship, with 55 points, with Red Bull second on 42 from Ferrari on 35 and Sauber on 30. Lotus have 16, Force India 9, Williams 8 and Toro Rosso 6.

F1 Rocks™ brings Melbourne to its feet

F1 Rocks™ in Melbourne kicked off the 2012 season's official off-track entertainment over the Australian Grand Prix weekend, by staging concerts on Saturday and Sunday evening at the Sidney Myers Bowl with headliners Lenny Kravitz, The Cranberries and Wolfmother.

Kravitz's scintillating performance fired up the packed audience with a collection of his greatest hits, including 'Fly Away', 'American Woman' and 'Always on the Run'. He particularly impressed his female followers when he took off his shirt, gyrated across the stage, delivering his showstopper encore 'Are You Gonna Go My Way?' Delighted fans were also treated to his tried and tested walk through the crowds, shaking hands and giving high fives.

Kravitz's first ever visit to the Formula One paddock on Friday caused a stir when he hooked up with McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton and girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger for a chat in the McLaren garage, checked out the cars, marvelled at the technology and watched the practice session from the pits. He was back at the track at Sunday's race, joining dignitaries for the grid walk.

F1 Rocks™ the Afterparty then provided a fitting end to an action-packed weekend of entertainment on and off the track, by staging the one and only official post-race party at Eve night club, located at Melbourne's prestigious Southbank.

It was the place to be seen, with local celebrities rubbing shoulders with Formula One drivers and other F1 paddock faces. The mood was electric and all of the guests thoroughly enjoyed the party's entertainment and hospitality provided by DJs Mr Hudson and the glamorous Havana Brown.

HRT drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikayan, Williams' Bruno Senna and Sauber's Sergio Perez and Esteban Guiterrez joined F1 track designer Hermann Tilke, and former F1 drivers Alex Wurz and Jaime Alguersuari for a night of revellery. They were joined by Australian celebrities including Fox FM's Radio hosts Will & Woody, socialite Brynne Edelsten, up-and-coming international supermodel Montana Cox and Australian rules footballers Brad Sewell, Luke Hodge, Brendan and Alex Fevola, Rhys Ulrich and Scott McGregor.

Australia Grand Prix 2012 Race - Button proves untouchable in Melbourne

McLaren's Jenson Button drove a pluperfect race to take the lead of the world championship at Melbourne's Albert Park on Sunday, keeping his head and his lead even when a safety car intervention appeared to throw a beaten Sebastian Vettel a lifeline.


The 2009 world champion scored his third Australian Grand Prix victory in four years by taking the lead at the start from team mate Lewis Hamilton, who held a distant second until Vitaly Petrov stopped on the pit straight with power steering problems in his Caterham on the 36th lap and triggered the safety car deployment. McLaren had just pitted both of their cars that lap, but Vettel decided to stay out one longer and that, allied to benefit from the safety car, was enough to move his Red Bull into second.

When the racing resumed on Lap 42 Button simply checked out and left Vettel to fend off Hamilton and team mate Mark Webber, who'd been condemned to an afternoon of fighting back after a first-corner clash involving his Red Bull, Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus and Nico Hulkenberg's Force India.

As Vettel tried to claw back the deficit to Button, Webber closed in on Hamilton, whose McLaren never seemed as well balanced as his team mate's. By the flag, Button was a comfortable 2.1s ahead of Vettel, with Hamilton 1.9s further down and Webber within 0.4s of him.

Further back, Fernando Alonso scored an excellent fifth for Ferrari after making a fantastic start to end the opening lap in eighth place from 12th on the grid. As the fast-starting Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg faded - the former went off in Turn One on the 11th lap and damaged his car sufficiently to have to retire, and the latter simply lacked competitive pace - he moved into contention for his finishing position. It was a typically tough and professional race from the Spaniard.

In the latter stages he had to defend hard from Pastor Maldonado, who had pressured Lotus's Romain Grosjean into early retirement on the second lap, the Frenchman breaking his front suspension against the rear of the passing Williams. The FW34 was showing excellent pace and the Venezuelan was dogging Alonso's wheel tracks until he came to grief in Turn Six, where earlier he'd lost ground with a moment.

This time he lost control and smacked the wall hard on the 57th lap, throwing away sixth place and setting up a fierce battle between the Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez, Raikkonen's Lotus, the Toro Rossos of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo, and Paul di Resta's Force India.

As Rosberg's Mercedes ahead of them suddenly slowed on the last lap after a collision with Perez had deflated the left-rear tyre, Kobayashi made it home sixth from Raikkonen. Perez clung on for eighth, with Ricciardo separated from him by 0.0s, Di Resta 0.1s further back, and Vergne another 0.1s down and just outside the points after a promising debut. It was breath-taking stuff.

Rosberg was classified 12th on a deeply disappointing day for Mercedes, who lacked the pace in the race that they'd shown in qualifying. Williams were similarly distressed. Maldonado was classified 13th, while Bruno Senna was involved in the first corner melee, lost time then, and later had a silly collision with fellow countryman Felipe Massa which cost them both dear. He was a non-finisher in 16th. The incident is still being investigated by the stewards.

Between the Williams duo came the Marussias of Timo Glock and Charles Pic, which ran reliably in what amounted to their first serious test session.

Joining Hulkenberg, whose car was too badly damaged after the first-corner collision, Grosjean, Schumacher, Petrov and Massa on the retirement list was Heikki Kovalainen, whose Caterham dropped out with a left-hand front suspension problem. The Finn also picked up a five-place grid penalty for the next round in Malaysia for overtaking under the safety car.

The result leaves Button in the lead of the world championship with 25 points, to Vettel's 18, Hamilton's 15, Webber's 12 and Alonso's 10, while McLaren head the constructors' points with 40 to Red Bull's 30, Sauber's 12 and Ferrari's 10.

Friday practice - selected team and driver quotes

Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Lotus were among the quickest-looking teams during pre-season testing, but no one was quite sure how it would translate come Australia. And thanks to Friday's changeable weather we still don't know the answer. The drivers and leading team personnel reflect on their early progress...

Mercedes
Michael Schumacher, P1 - 1:28.235, 3rd; P2 - 1:29.183, 1st
"Today was a nice start into a hopefully exciting season, and certainly two promising sessions for us. However, I would not go so far as to speak about being confident, as the weather conditions were too mixed to gain a clear picture. We know what Friday sessions are for and don't know what fuel loads others were running. On the other hand, it is good to see that we were competitive in different circumstances today and that the car provides good handling - I just feel it."

Nico Rosberg, P1 - 1:28.683, 6th; P2 - 1:32.184, 9th
"I'm pleased with the start to our weekend today in these mixed conditions. We learned a lot for the race here in Melbourne over the two sessions, so it was a very productive day. I feel very comfortable in the car which is the most important thing for me today. So all went well and we had no surprises, however to find out where we really are compared to the others was impossible in these conditions. So I'm really looking forward to the next two days here."


Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
"It's obviously been a patchy day with the weather conditions, however we have achieved a reasonable amount of work on varying fuel levels. Whilst the overall picture is still not clear, Michael and Nico seem quite happy with the cars at the end of today's two practice sessions. Tomorrow should see a dry morning, and we will start to get a better perspective. Everything ran smoothly today which is a tribute to the team, and everyone at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth has done a very good job to prepare for this first race. So far at least, it's going well."

Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"A decent start for us on this first Friday of the new Formula One season. Michael felt well in our new car, as did Nico. Both drivers concentrated on race simulations with different programmes, and both were on the medium tyres as the team took the decision to save a set of options for the better track conditions tomorrow. Our team worked perfectly today which gave us a good start into the new season."

Force India
Nico Hulkenberg, P1 - 1:29.865, 12th; P2 - 1:29.292, 2nd
"Both FP1 and FP2 had mixed conditions, especially FP2 with the heavy rain, which arrived just before the start of the session. But we made the best of it and I ran on the full wets, the intermediates and the soft tyres when the track had dried out. It's difficult to read much from the times because not everyone ran the soft tyres and there were lots of different fuel loads, but the main thing for me is that I have a good feeling with the car already."

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:29.881, 13th; P2 - 1:31.466, 6th
"Difficult to say too much about the first or second session because the conditions were so inconsistent with the rain showers. Even so, we made the best of it and focussed on assessing the aero package we have here and managed to learn a few things. We also made some set-up changes between the two sessions and the car felt better in the evening, so that was positive. The difficult thing is that we didn't really get an impression of where everybody is in terms of performance, so there are still lots of unknowns going into tomorrow."

Jakob Andreasen, Force India chief engineer
"On days like this you just have to be patient and wait for the right opportunities, but it's better to play the waiting game than run when the conditions are not ideal. Overall I think we were on track at the right times and on the right tyres, and it's always worth going out even if there's just a small thing you can learn. When we were on track we did some work evaluating our aero package and got some useful data. The most important thing is that we made the most of the dry periods to get the drivers into the rhythm of the track."

Sauber
Sergio Perez, P1 - 1:30.124, 15th; P2 - 1:30.199, 3rd
"We made a good improvement from the first to the second session, but it is extremely difficult to deal with today's information as the conditions were not at all consistent. The third free practice tomorrow will be very important. We have to watch how the conditions develop and then really get everything right for qualifying."

Kamui Kobayashi, P1 - 1:29.722, 10th; P2 - 1:30.709, 5th
"I am pretty happy, and I think overall the day went smoothly for us. We used intermediate and rain tyres as well as the medium compound of the slicks. Because of the changing track conditions, it was obviously not easy to learn much from today, so now we have to decide what to do and think carefully about the next steps for tomorrow."

Giampaolo Dall'Ara, Sauber head of track engineering
"After all the speculation in recent weeks it was good to drive the first two practice sessions of the 2012 season. The target today was to prepare for the race. However, due to the changing weather conditions this was quite difficult. The positive aspect of this situation was we were able to run tyres which we didn't run in testing - the intermediate and the rain tyres. This might not help for the race, because the forecast predicts dry weather. Nevertheless it was good to gather some data with these tyres. We had to wait for the right moments to have some dry conditions. However, on the mainly wet track it was not possible to learn a lot about tyre degradation, so it was good that Kamui was driving in race set-up at the end of free practice one. Also positive to mention is the fact there were no reliability issues on the car, so we are really looking forward to the remainder of the weekend."

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P1 - 1:28.360, 4th; P2 - 1:30.341, 4th
"It is always a pleasure to be back at a Grand Prix after the winter break: everyone is out on track together and there's the crowd, so it is always a nice feeling. It was a bit complicated trying to work through the programme we had planned for this Friday because of the weather. Therefore there is still a bit of work to do tomorrow before qualifying, but I think the others are in a similar position. I am reasonably satisfied with the car: the initial feeling as to its balance is positive. However, we have not done the usual comparison between the two types of tyre, because we ran mainly on the intermediates and the Mediums and these seem to be behaving quite well, as far as degradation is concerned. It was important to have everything working perfectly - from the KERS to the engine, from the power steering to the gearbox and everything else, as is always the case on the opening day of the season - and that's how it went. There's no point looking at the time sheet from today with a view to making predictions for qualifying. Tomorrow I expect to see a very mixed up grid because there are so many teams that have done a good job over the winter. We will try and do our best, putting together the best elements we have tried in the past weeks, including a few details we brought here. However, my opinion has not changed: we wait for tomorrow to see where we are compared to the others. But if I was to give some sort of opinion on the day, I would say it's been positive. We did the important things, the balance is good and the car responds well to changes."

Felipe Massa, P1 - 1:30.743, 18th; P2 - 1:31.505, 7th
"After over three months, finally we are back to what we drivers like best, namely racing. However, today was a rather difficult first day back, because we could not do as many laps as we had planned. The rain complicated matters in both the first and the second session. In the first one, I also went off track, which cost me a bit of time: as I was braking, I got the left rear wheel on the grass and the car took off on its own, only stopping in the gravel on the escape road. In the second session, the rain meant the track was wet for a long time and only towards the end was I able to fit the dry tyres. All things considered, it wasn't really possible to understand much as to where we are compared to the others. I did too few laps to say if the car has changed since the last day of the Barcelona test. Tomorrow afternoon, in qualifying we will all run in the same conditions so we will finally understand something!"

Pat Fry, Ferrari deputy chassis director
"Today was even harder than usual to interpret because of the weather. The track conditions changed very rapidly, making it very difficult to work through the programme we had set ourselves. Furthermore, as this is the first race, we chose to save a handful of kilometres on the engine. The opportunity to use one of the sets of tyres available today in the third session, will allow us to recover at least part of the programme tomorrow. Honestly, it's impossible to give any sort of assessment of the performance of the F2012 and on the prospects for this weekend. We had said we must wait until tomorrow's qualifying to know more, so you need to be patient for a further 24 hours! We too are very curious to know where we stand compared to the competition…"

Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen, P1 - 1:30.586, 17th; P2 - 1:31.932, 8th
"The car felt good from the first proper run this morning and we found that the baseline we had set over the winter carried over exactly as we had planned into today's practice sessions. It's a shame that the conditions today meant that we couldn't test the tyres more, but that's the same for everyone, so the main thing was that we had a good balance all day, and kept improving the setup in both sessions. It's also good to see that the new spec front wing that we ran both this morning and this afternoon is giving more grip overall, so that's another positive step forward and puts us in good shape for tomorrow."

Vitaly Petrov, P1 - 1:31.983, 20th; P2 - 1:32.767, 13th
"That was a reasonable day for me. The weather meant we weren't able to try too much with the setups and we had a small problem this morning that cut short the final run, but one of the main things for me today is that I feel very comfortable with the team. We're quickly building up a good relationship between me and the engineers and the mechanics, so as that keeps growing we'll be able to get more out of the car and keep finding the pace that we know this car has."

Mike Gascoyne, Caterham chief technical officer
"Obviously the weather today made it a potentially difficult first day, but we got through most of what we had planned and it's good to see that Vitaly was comfortable in the car from the first laps this morning. We ran all the tyre compounds bar the options today so we have some useful data to go through tonight and overall I think we look ok. It does look like the midfield group is going to be very tightly packed and I hope we can have a dry qualifying session tomorrow to find out just how competitive we can be."

Riad Asmat, Caterham chief executive officer
"It's good to be back racing, and I think we can be pleased with the job we did today in pretty tricky conditions. We had a small issue with Vitaly's car at the end of FP1 that the team worked very well on to fix in time for FP2 and I'm pleased that both drivers did exactly what we asked of them today - making no mistakes and getting as much out of their cars as they could without pushing too hard and putting themselves in a potentially difficult situation. We obviously can't tell too much from the times today but it is encouraging to see that we are lapping consistently in the sort of times we have been aiming to. Now the focus turns to tomorrow when we will hopefully have more dry running and find out just where all the hard work over the winter has put us."

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, P1 - 1:29.790, 11th; P2 - 1:32.194, 10th
"I think obviously with the conditions it's difficult to get a lot of running, but it was the same for all of us. The little time we had in the car this afternoon was okay, but now we have to find the balance and learn a bit more about the car. The important thing now is to make a step overnight and go from there. Track time is important when the car is still young."

Mark Webber, P1 - 1:28.467, 5th; P2 - 1:32.296, 11th
"We did learn a little today - but after nine weeks of anxious waiting it was a shame with the weather. Mother Nature played a big role and it made it quite challenging for everyone. We got some dry running at the end of each session, which was good. The track was drying out reasonably quickly, but there were still a few sections at the end that were damp. In the end we got what we could out of it, but we still have some work to do. It was compromised running for everyone; I'm looking forward to coming back tomorrow."

Marussia
Timo Glock, P1 - 1:34.730, 21st; P2 - 1:32.632, 12th
"I think it has been a difficult start to the weekend due to the weather conditions and we had to be a bit careful. For everyone it has been great to see the car out there and performing well at the moment. P1 I had already quite a good feeling but we were a bit unlucky at the end because we could only do one timed lap. In P2 difficult again at the start but in dry conditions I was feeling very positive and it was good to be able to follow Red Bull for more than three laps! When I got back to the garage I was a bit surprised to see myself in P12, which doesn't mean anything at this stage, but equally it means a lot to everyone who has worked so hard through the winter and had a difficult time. There are a few smiles in the garage, which is nice to see. Let's see what the rest of the weekend brings now."

Charles Pic, P2 - 1:40.256, 22nd; ; P2 - 1:34.770, 22nd
"We have a lot to learn with the new car, so today was always going to be a challenging way to open my first season. The rain really frustrated our plans but we got some dry running and that means we have a feeling for the car and some data to start working with. My first impressions of the car are positive. We need as much running as possible and we didn't get as many laps as I would have liked, but we did enough to highlight any problems with the car and there are none so far, so that is positive. A good start and I'm quite happy."

John Booth, Marussia team principal
"It's a little early to be getting carried away with ourselves but equally we couldn't have wished for a better start to our 2012 campaign. On a day when everything could have gone wrong for us - and the weather certainly did - we managed to give everyone in the team something to smile about after a pretty challenging few months back at base. P2 was a very changeable session, and so is the order, but we were all pleased to see us posting a time that was in the midfield and it will provide a great boost to the team. Considering where he started the day, with very little experience of the car and some hair-raising track conditions, Charles conducted himself perfectly. It has been a tough test of his mettle and there is obviously plenty more in the tank, which we look forward to nurturing. We are obviously mindful of the fact that the conditions have been as they have today and we have only managed one set-up change, so we are desperately hoping for a dry FP3 tomorrow to give us the best possible run at qualifying and the race."

Lotus
Romain Grosjean, P1 - 1:30.515, 16th; ; P2 - 1:32.822, 14th
"We waited to be able to go out on slick tyres, as we expect it to be dry for the rest of the weekend; there's no point taking any unnecessary risks. The E20 feels very good and I'm happy with the balance of the car. I've been learning the track this afternoon and I've been focusing on improving my lap times as the day went on. We had to be patient, but we managed to get some decent laps in at the end and these were valuable. It's a fantastic track and the changing scenery as you drive through the park is incredible. I feel comfortable and confident in the car and am really looking forward to qualifying."

Kimi Raikkonen, P1 - 1:29.565, 9th; P2 - 1:34.275, 18th
"We didn't really learn much from today due to the weather, but it's the same for everyone. We tried a different steering rack in the first session. It would have been fine to run, but we knew that the base system would be better. The setup we have now is working well, it may take a while before we get it perfect but we'll make the best of it. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow and we'll be happier after qualifying. I didn't push too hard today; if it's dry tomorrow we'll have a better idea of what we need to do."

Alan Permane, Lotus trackside operations director
"We completed limited running due to the inclement weather; you learn little on a wet track and our forecast suggests dry days tomorrow and Sunday. We ran with Pirelli's full allocation of tyre types for this event; medium and soft dry tyres, and intermediate and wet tyres. We changed the steering rack on Kimi's car and the rear suspension set-up on Romain's car during the first session. The E20 worked well on high fuel loads in the dry conditions at the end of FP2. We have a solid baseline wet set-up."

James Allison, Lotus technical director
"It was a day dominated by the weather. At this time of year your cupboards are not overflowing with spare parts so it would be foolhardy to risk damaging anything unnecessarily. The rest of the weekend is predicted to be dry, so discretion was the better part of valour. This meant we stayed in the box for most of the day. When it did look sensible to venture out on track we did so with both drivers and the E20 looked solid in the second session with a high fuel load. We have a baseline steering set-up for Kimi which works, but we tried a different option at the start of FP1. He wasn't convinced by it so we went back to our baseline. As the conditions were not conducive to running we didn't miss an undue amount of track time. Romain's rear suspension set-up was not working as it should in the first session. We were able to rectify it for the second, and he was immediately happy with the car."

McLaren
Jenson Button, P1 - 1:27.560, 1st; P2 - 1:33.039, 15th
"Even though it doesn't mean too much, it's always nice to start the season with the quickest time of the day. Our car feels very different compared with the last test - the circuit is different and the average corner speed is a lot lower, but the car is still working well for me. There are still a few areas where I think we can improve, and we didn't get as many laps in today as we'd have liked, but it's been a positive day. We did some set-up work this morning and then spent the afternoon understanding how the car reacts when running wet or intermediate tyres. The weather didn't help, but it's been the same for everyone. Overall, I think we're quite happy, but there'll be a lot of discussion tonight as we choose our direction for tomorrow."

Lewis Hamilton, P1 - 1:27.805, 2nd; P2 - 1:33.252, 16th
"We spent the morning making sure we could switch the tyres on. Then, in the afternoon, we didn't do any running in the wet because the forecast says it's likely to be dry for the rest of the weekend. In those circumstances, it's important to remain calm, look after the car and make sure we focus on the rest of the weekend. Tomorrow, it'll be important to get out early in the session and maximise our dry running so that we can work on set-up and make sure our car is in the zone. Our car feels there or thereabouts but, as in testing, we don't know the fuel-loads the others were running: it still looks close between ourselves, Red Bull and Mercedes. It's going to be interesting tomorrow – we'll get a better understanding of who's going to be quick. I'm massively excited to see how the rest of the weekend goes."

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
"After so many weeks of testing and talking, it's exciting finally to get the season underway. As usual, Friday practice didn't provide the answers many people were seeking – and, if anything, today's changeable conditions meant the timesheets probably threw up a few more questions than answers - but it was nonetheless pleasing to get some productive running under our belts.With drier weather forecast for the remainder of the weekend, the focus now shifts to our engineers, who'll be working hard to analyse the data in order to provide us with the best possible performance platform for tomorrow's programme. If the showers hold off, it'll be very important to hit the ground running in P3 tomorrow as a strong session will put us in a good position for tomorrow's qualifying session. Despite the damp weather, today was a positive start to our weekend."

Williams
Pastor Maldonado, P1 - 1:29.415, 8th; P2 - 1:34.108, 17th
"We completed the majority of our programme and did a longer run this afternoon. The car is performing well and we're going in the right direction, but tomorrow we will see when we finally get into qualifying."

Bruno Senna, P1 - 1:29.953, 14th; P2 - 1:34.312, 19th
"The conditions today cut our running a little, but it was the same for everybody. This afternoon we completed some simulations to gain a greater understanding of what the car is doing and we are still learning. In terms of pace, we will see what we can achieve tomorrow afternoon."

Mark Gillan, Williams chief operations engineer
"The weather dominated both sessions, with each session being declared wet and thereby limiting the base programme. Both the drivers and the team performed well and we completed the day's running without issue. Despite the conditions, we learned quite a lot today, and look forward to what should be dry running throughout the rest of the weekend."

Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne, P1 - 1:31.178, 19th; P2 - 1:34.485, 20th
"My first Friday as a Formula 1 driver was a good feeling. Being the first driver out on track this morning was something special, but after that it was time to get on with all the usual work with the engineers and you forget about that side of it. This morning, we did not manage to complete all our programme, partly because of the rain. That made life difficult, but you know, it was really good fun, as I've never driven on rain tyres, which meant I did almost everything you could do today, in terms of trying tyres. I also did a long run, which was useful in terms of learning the circuit and there are still plenty of little details where I need to improve. But overall, I would say it was a positive first day and what I must do tomorrow is push more."

Daniel Ricciardo, P1 - 1:28.908, 7th; P2 - 1:34.604, 21st
"All the hype this week has made it feel as though this is my first F1 race again, but it's not and I've just got to get on with things. It was a great feeling being back out on track here in Australia and I really enjoyed it. This morning went pretty well, very good even, while the afternoon was a bit mixed because of the weather. All the same, we managed to try most of the tyre compounds apart from the Option. The changing track conditions made it a bit 'cat and mouse': you'd go out on one tyre, then come in and wait for it to dry a bit and you had to be patient. This afternoon, I did a long run and I think we can still gain some more race pace and the good thing is I know what we have to do to achieve that. This track is very different to the two circuits where we tested this winter, but it looked positive, so I'm hoping to get a good grid position tomorrow. We'll see what the weather does, but even if it rains, I expect there'll be a big crowd to cheer us on."

Laurent Mekies, Toro Rosso chief engineer
"Overall this was a good day for us, with everyone happy to be racing here again. With the rain and changing conditions, it was not the ideal scenario for two young drivers to start their first race of the season and for one of them, Jean-Eric, his first real race weekend ever. But I don't think we can complain about these conditions as it's better to deal with them on a Friday than in the race. Daniel and Jean-Eric did a very good job to get as many laps under their belt as possible. They tried the Extreme wets, the Intermediates and the Mediums and our weekend has got off on the right foot."

HRT
Narain Karthikeyan, P1 - no time, 23rd; P2 - 1:42.627, 23rd
"Today we ran with a new car in mixed conditions, so tomorrow will be like starting all over again because it looks like conditions will be dry. With few laps and a new car, we were unable to assess the balance of the car. But it was important to do some mileage and we completed 19 laps which isn't too bad, but we still have a long way to go. As for the new car, these problems are common, they tend to happen in preseason testing and this is our testing."

Pedro de la Rosa, P1 - no time, 24th; P2 - no time, 24th
"We managed to complete our installation lap in order to check the systems, but afterwards we detected a problem with the hydraulic system which forced us to stop. This is all part of the learning process, we've arrived here with a new car and just to have been able to get out for the second session was a feat, but we would have liked to have done more and learnt more. The last parts of the car arrived late and thanks to the brutal effort put in by the whole team, we were at least able to complete the installation lap and, thanks to this, we know where the problem is for tomorrow and can fix it. We start tomorrow with one problem less, and will surely run into another one, but that is part of the learning process. We knew that this Grand Prix would be difficult so we need to be patient."

Luis Perez Sala, HRT team principal
"It's been a complicated day but we knew what we were in for. The fact that we haven't done pre-season testing means that we must get things right, not get ahead of ourselves and detect problems in order to fix them. What the majority of teams have done during winter, we have to do here. Narain was able to complete 19 laps and accumulate certain information. Pedro could only get through one lap, but it was an important one because the team has worked non-stop to make sure the car was finished on time for today, and they achieved it. Tomorrow we will continue to progress."

Pirelli
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director
"With a very wide variety of mixed conditions today, we got to run all four types of tyre that we have brought here, and the teams were able to carry out some important work to establish crossover points. The weather is expected to remain dry for the rest of the weekend, so it's understandable that most drivers chose to concentrate on dry running. But because there was so little dry track time, we will not see a completely accurate picture of relative performance emerge until tomorrow. We noted that the medium tyre was particularly well suited to the conditions today, and that the performance gap between the two compounds has significantly decreased but we've got plenty of data to analyse tonight before we can come up with any detailed times."

FIA Thursday press conference – Australia Grand prix 2012

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

Drivers - Charles Pic (Marussia), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (McLaren), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Mark Webber (Red Bull).

Q: Charles, it's looking like a pretty tough initiation for you into Formula One with no testing of the new car, brand new car tomorrow. Tell us what your thoughts are.
Charles Pic: Yes, we have had not so much driving but we made an ad day in Silverstone for the shakedown and everything went fine. So looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully it will be dry to have some kilometres.

Q: Charles, how important has it been to have the mileage in the old car?
CP: Yeah, very important. I made two days in Barcelona. We were able to make many laps so it was just great for me. It was very, very helpful.


Q: Was it a big step up from GP2 to Formula One?
CP: Yes, of course, you have much more things to do and you have to understand in a very short space of time.

Q: Kimi, welcome back. How much has Kimi changed in the two years that you've been doing WRC? And how much has your driving changed during that time?
Kimi Raikkonen: Oh, I don't know really. I don't think a lot, a little bit older, that's all. It's the same really.

Q: Has it been good to be back in a Formula One car again?
KR: Yeah, it was nice. It really hasn't changed a lot, the car feels pretty similar, the tyres are slightly different but I was expecting to have more difficulties with them but they seem pretty good, especially when they are new - but of course they will wear out a bit faster but it's been nice to drive.

Q: We've seen pretty good pace from you and Romain Grosjean your team-mate, how real is that pace?
KR: We could probably have gone a bit faster if we wanted but I don't know what the others are doing. The car feels good, the lap time at least in testing was OK - whether it's enough we will see over the weekend and over the next races but so far it has been OK.

Q: Daniel, obviously your home race, how big is this race? Was your first Formula One race bigger or is this it?
Daniel Ricciardo: I think the first one last year in Silverstone was still pretty hectic. I think not having the preparation as I have at the start of this year probably made it a bit more intense. I've had a lot of media attention the last couple of days but I think the on-track stuff was, or will be, more intense in Silverstone. But yeah, I understand what Mark means about the attention here. It's pretty full-on but it's been nice, really supportive. And hopefully I'll just get out on track and do a good job over the weekend.

Q: You're obviously with a new team with Scuderia Toro Rosso and in testing it looked as if it's pretty good, certainly the first test looked pretty good, perhaps less so since then. What are your feelings about the team?
DR: It's a good opportunity for me this year, it's progress from last year and we'll be fighting further up the grid. I think it's hard to know where we are. From what I see the top teams are still going to be more or less the top teams or at least the top two or three but the midfield does seem a bit more tight. So yeah, I think everyone showed signs of potential but until Saturday qualifying and Sunday racing we probably won't know where we all really stand. But I think realistically we're still in the group we were in last year but it does seem like it's closed up. So there's probably more opportunity to leapfrog a few.

Q: Mark, your 11th Australian Grand Prix - just to remind you if you didn't know - and also of course you were the winner of the last grand prix as well, though it was some time ago, how are you feeling coming into this one?
Mark Webber: Good, yeah! We had a pretty good winter, the team worked incredibly hard so we need to see how it's going to unveil this weekend obviously, and then Malaysia is just around the corner, so we have two big races, we're going to get a really good snapshot of the performances of the cars, and we feel like we've done pretty well but we have McLaren and Ferrari and Lotus and Mercedes, lots of good guys doing well so it's going to be very exciting and difficult to see who's going to do the business until we get going.

Q: As an honest opinion, is it nervousness or excitement or apprehension - how do you start a new season like this?
MW: Probably a little bit of all of that. I think there's a little bit of rust in all the teams, obviously we haven't raced for a while so you're looking at pit stops and strategy and drivers because we haven't competed for a while. So, that's always interesting to get on top of that at the first grand prix. I think we're all just looking forward to getting our helmets on and getting on with it now. Obviously we've been talking about it for nine weeks now, about who's doing what and we're just sick of talking about it and want to get out there and get on with it.

Q: Sebastian, a previous winner here and twice on pole. How much emphasis has there been in testing on qualifying pace? We get the feeling that we haven't seen qualifying pace in testing and yet I would have thought for you it was very important last year in the races that you won.
Sebastian Vettel: I think, no doubt, qualifying is always very important. It's usually easier when you start from the front so yeah, I think generally as the other drivers said already it was difficult to read testing one hundred per cent - so we've got a feeling: first of all it's important to have a good feeling about yourself, about the car, how you feel in the car. We were quite happy with that, surely it didn't always go to plan but overall we can be happy and as I said it's unknown at this stage what is going to happen. It's good to finally be here and only a couple of days before we really find out.

Q: When is going to be the first indication? Very often people say 'you won't know until Melbourne' and then we get to Melbourne and they say 'wait until qualifying' or then it's the race. When exactly is it?
SV: It's the same again. I think nothing has changed to be honest. Now, we say after qualifying we will know a bit more and surely then you need to see. This is the first race, there are many more to come. This track is very different to, let's say, a 'normal' race track, such as the track we have been to a couple of weeks ago in Barcelona. So, tomorrow we will not know that much more regarding the pace. Surely the guys who will be on top will be the ones to beat. Again, we will give you the same answers. You don't know about fuel etc. Really, we have to wait until Saturday and then it's the first couple of races that will show you a trend. Sooner than that is really not possible.

Q: Quite a lot has been made about you chasing a third title. Have you thought about that at all?
SV: I'm here to win the championship, so that's the target. Whether it's the third or not wouldn't make a difference. Well, it would but… it would be a nice thing but as I said the reason we're here is to race and to win and the season is long, so there are a lot of races to come.

Q: Jenson, like Sebastian and Kimi you've won here before, you've had two wins actually. You made your debut here as well. What are your feelings about the Australian Grand Prix?
Jenson Button: First of all, I think it's exciting for us all to start a new season. You do all the hard work over the winter of testing and what have you, and I think we all get very excited about coming to the first race in Melbourne. It's the perfect place to start the F1 season. It's good to be here. I've always enjoyed driving around Albert Park from the first time I drove here, and there have been a couple of special occasions for me, in '09 and 2010. It's nice to be back and nice to come here having had a good winter as well. The last couple of years have been a little bit tricky for us over the winter but this winter everything seems to have gone to plan. It's difficult to know where we stand, as everyone has said, but I'm happy with what we've done.

Q: And at least you're going to hit the ground running at the start?
JB: We hope so, yes. You know, everyone always says it's important to get points on the board at the start of the year. We all know that, it's not a new thing.

Q: What do you think about having two DRS zones here this year?
JB: I think it's great. If you have a good DRS system it's good for you and ours is pretty good. You always think that if you're quick enough you don't want DRS because you're leading the race but if you're a little bit further back in the pack it's good to have two zones. Whether it's going to make much of a difference I don't know. The one DRS zone here (last year) was… some of us complained that it wasn't good enough to overtake but I think it was the right amount. It made overtaking tricky, which is what it should be, but it gave you the opportunity. So we'll have to wait and see what the two zones do.

QUESTIONS FROM FLOOR

Q: (Simon Cass - Daily Mail) For the three guys who've won the world title up to now. Could you just tell me who your Grand Prix hero is? And Kimi, if you decide you want to say you still haven't got a hero, then could just tell me who you admired when you were coming up through the ranks?
SV: Kimi to start!
KR: I still don't have one! Of course, I was hoping for good results for Finns but I didn't really… it didn't make any difference who won it then. There wasn't one guy I hoped for or was looking up to so…
SC: Nice try…
JB: Do you still want ours or not?
SV: Obviously, when I was growing up, and I think similar to a lot of kids at that age in Germany, we were admiring Michael [Schumacher]. He was our hero, he was my hero. I had posters of him on my wall. And when I got a bit older I took them off and put some other posters on the wall, but anyway… So I was looking up to Michael but there have been and there are a lot of great drivers. For sure for me Michael is one of them.
JB: For me, it was a little bit earlier than Michael. For me it was Ayrton [Senna] and Alain [Prost] back in the early '80s, because that's when I started watching Formula One, at seven or eight years old. Obviously 'Our Nige' [Nigel Mansell] has got to be up there, just for the moustache more than anything else. But yeah, it's difficult. Those are the guys I watched when I was younger. I suppose you get some inspiration from them and you want to be like them in the future. That's obviously a lot of our aims.

Q: (Fulvio Solms - Corriere dello Sport) A question for Kimi. In this your second career, what do you bring from your experience at Ferrari?
KR: I don't think this is my second career. I've been racing all the time, just in a different thing. I've been racing at a few different teams and all the teams run a slightly different way, mainly because they are all different nationalities, but you always learn from all the people and all of the teams and I have good memories, most of the time, of the teams. I try to get things in the team how I know I like it and I'm very happy with the team, they've been great people to work with - easygoing, no real need to change anything, and just if you like to do something differently, they're happy to try to do it that way and it's just been a good experience.

Q: Paolo Ianieri (La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, in 2007, when you started your first race with Ferrari, you won here; it was quite a big surprise. In winter testing, you have been very fast and many people have been saying you could be the surprise here this year as well. Do you think this is something we can expect, or are you ruling that out?
KR: Like I said before, I have no idea where we are going to be. We had a good winter, it could have been better but hopefully we are fast. We will know during the weekend but I think that many teams will be fast so… Are we going to be in the front? I don't know, we hope we are going to be but let's wait and see.

Q: (Julien Febreau - L'Equipe) For all of you: what do you think about the new noses of Formula One cars, from the onboard point of view and as a viewer? Is it a shame for TV viewers or spectators?
JB: Ours looks great.
MW: You can't see the nose from the cockpit so it doesn't matter if it's last year or this year, you can't see it. Honestly. You laugh, but you can't see it so it doesn't really matter. Even if the front wing is not on the car we can't see it so… we're very low in the car as I found out in Monza last year. The looks? Yeah, they look ugly, for sure. That's disappointing. Adrian (Newey) always make beautiful cars. I still think ours looks better than the McLaren but the McLaren looks nice but we will see which one gets the most champagne. It's an ugly regulation but that's the way most of the teams have gone.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) This isn't a new completely new question but it would be interesting to hear from you about the regulations regarding your positioning on the track. You can change position once but when you come back to your original position, you must leave room for your competitor. Will it be easy to judge that, and for you, the drivers, how can you manage it?
SV: I think generally with this whole rule debate, whatever, I don't think anything has changed, to be honest. Yes, there's a little bit more in writing but I always found that there's a code of honour, if you like, or a gentlemen's agreement. If you're racing someone, I think you are allowed to race him hard but you should always give him enough room. Surely, here and there you might disagree but I think most of the time it has worked and people raced fairly against each other, so I don't see that the rule will change much, to be honest. It's not natural to… you're not racing to push someone off. You're trying to defend your position if someone tries to overtake and equally, you're trying to overtake if someone tries to defend, then you at least expect to have enough (room) to survive.
JB: I don't think anything's changed for us. We had that rule last year anyway, it just wasn't in writing, but it's the case for us for a couple of years now.

Q: (Heikki Kulta - Turun Sanomat) Kimi, you have come here with many new cars. Compared to 2004, let's say, McLaren, 2009, Ferrari, is this better or worse? How do you feel?
KR: Usually you have a new car here every year, so it's not a big surprise. I don't know, it's different tyres, the car feels very similar in the test to what I remember in the past. You have DRS, it's just a button that you push, it doesn't really change the driving itself a lot. It feels similar, I don't have very good things to compare, really, because it's a few years since I last drove a Formula One car. It doesn't feel much different.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) We will have six World Champions in this year's championship but no Italian drivers. Most of you raced in Italy in go-karts or drove for an Italian team. May I have a short explanation about this situation, why it's so difficult for the Italians to grow up and come into Formula One?
MW: Daniel, yeah, exactly, Daniel. You have an Italian passport Daniel or not?
DR: (Speaks mock American-Italian!) If you watched Family Guy you probably know what I'm talking about. I see a lot of things as coincidence. I haven't been around long enough to know the reasons for it. Yeah, that's probably the way I'll see it. It's not like the Italian drivers are doing anything wrong. There are two Australians on the grid now, a few people from other countries and whatnot. I don't know the answer. I lived in Italy as well and raced there and the competition was always fierce and there were some Italian drivers at the top but there were also a lot of other European guys and whatnot. For me, it's probably more just coincidence. I don't know if there's any more intelligence behind it.
SV: When I was in karting and I raced in Italy it was always the toughest challenge to go to Italy and race the guys there but there were a lot of Italian drivers that I admired when I was young throughout the classes: in my class but also in the higher classes. I don't really understand… maybe it's the Italian industry not being open enough to spend money on young talents. I don't know. If I compare to Germany, generally I think you will have years when you have, I don't know, three German drivers, no French drivers, then four or five French drivers and no German drivers, five English drivers. So it changes. Last year we had complaints from French journalists that we didn't have a French driver. This year we have three French drivers in Formula One. This is how quickly it changes. It's a shame to see on one hand that there are a lot talents from Italy, young drivers. I remember a lot of guys I raced against. It was pretty impressive what they did but then not to see them in the junior categories in single-seaters, so throughout BMW, Formula Three and later on. The problem is that motor sport became - always has been - but lately became quite expensive, so you really need the support from early on. I think motorbikes are quite big in Italy and there's a lot of drivers from Italy in MotoGP for instance, but not necessarily in Formula One.

Q: (Adrian Rodriguez - Agencia EFE) Kimi, you've been in Formula One for many years and the last two years you've been watching from the outside; what do you like the best from Formula One and what is the worst for you?
KR: I didn't see much in the last few years so, like I said, it's the same people, similar stuff going on. In my mind, it hasn't really changed a lot. I have nothing really to comment on that.

Q: (Alex Popov - RTR) I just saw Daniel take a picture, I suppose it will be Tweeted. It is not as extreme as Brad Keselowski from the car during Daytona but… But Seb, why don't you Tweet? Come on!
SV: I don't like it. There are some good new technologies but I prefer to talk to people.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Kimi, if Formula One is so far from you that you didn't even watch the race, why did you come back?
KR: I had other things to do than watch the races. It doesn't mean that I don't like the sport. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be here. I always liked the sporting and the racing but like I said, I was busy doing other stuff. I watched some races when I was home and it was on TV, but I didn't try to go to the TV and watch it somewhere, like it was something I had to do. I'm happy to be back, like I said, otherwise I wouldn't have come back but I like the racing in Formula One.

Q: (Wei An Mao - La Vie Creative) I would like to ask all of you if you like Melbourne and do you think it's important to keep Australia on the calendar?
MW: Of course, yes. I think it's in the top three on the calendar. I think that we should work hard to keep it here. I don't think there's many people who don't like coming here. Of course the flight's a little bit long but once you're here it's a pretty good place. It's a very well organised event. It's one of the few events where Bernie actually trusts the organisation to have lots of different categories racing in amongst the Formula One schedule, which you can hear now on Thursday and there's still stuff going on. It's the same on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Definitely one of the best events of the year, so we need to keep the best events because not all the races we go to are like this.
SV: I think it's a great race like Mark said. Obviously it's his home Grand Prix but I think that for most of us Australia is far away but it's definitely part of the calendar and should always be. I think the people here are very enthusiastic about racing, very passionate and I think it needs Formula One. It's a great place to be and I'm looking forward to being here but also to come back in the future.
JB: Yup. I totally agree. This is the best place to start the season, it really is. I heard of talk of it possibly being somewhere else in Australia - I don't know if that is true - but personally I love Melbourne. I think it's a great way to start the season. The circuit's obviously very different to most circuits we drive - it's a street circuit - but it's a lot of fun, I've had some good years here.
CP: Yes, for me, it was the first time here in Melbourne and in Australia, very nice city, very nice parks to do some sport in, and a very nice track, so it's all very nice and I'm looking forward to driving the track tomorrow.
KR: It's a nice place to come, nice race usually, exciting races, things happen and hopefully it stays. As Mark says, it's a bit far away to come but once you're here it's OK.
DR: Yeah, of course, I'm all for it. Yeah, any excuse to come back to your home country but to have a race here is amazing. I think it's a great city. I've spent quite a few years racing karts here as a kid, so it was always a nice event to come to Melbourne. I did drive the track last year in P1. I thought the circuit was very good as well. I'm a fan of street circuits, it's bumpy, it's close to walls, it's got good character, so there's a lot reasons why it should stay. Now that I've given Mark some support on the Australian front, hopefully it will stay a bit longer.

Q: (Matt Coch - pitpass.com) Following the track thread a bit, you guys have all had long careers and driven on a number of different circuits. If you could pick one circuit, taking the event out of equation, just picking one circuit, what's your favourite track - ever?
JB: Wow, that's a tough one. Obviously you'd look at most on the F1 calendar for your best track. For me I love the fast flowing circuits, I think we all do, like Spa or Suzuka but also circuits on other calendars. Macau is crazy to drive in an F3 car, good experiences there. And some other circuits in karting. It's difficult to pick one.
CP: For me, I think it's Nurburgring and Barcelona.
KR: Spa
DR: I think that out of the F1 calendar I think Macau as well. I would definitely vote to race an F1 around there. I think it would be awesome.
MW: Spa
SV: I've got more than one. The question was name your favourite one. I don't have only one so…

Australia Grand prix preview 2012 quotes - Ferrari, Force India, Williams & more

After months of preparation and weeks of testing, it is almost time for the 12 teams and 24 drivers that make up the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship to show just what they can do. The Formula One fraternity looks ahead to this weekend's season opener in Melbourne's Albert Park…

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
2011 Qualifying - 5th, 2011 Race - 4th
"I always like coming to this city. The atmosphere is very special, and there is a sense of relaxation and of being laid back that you don't find so often elsewhere in the world. Australians seem to have found the recipe for the good life. Of course, they have problems like the rest of us and actually it's hard for us to judge based on a visit that only lasts ten days a year, but that's the impression I have. Now I can't wait for this first race weekend to get underway. Sure, we will have to grit our teeth for the first few races, but first of all, we have to see exactly where we are in terms of being competitive and then give our all to bring home as many points as possible in this early stage of the championship. I know the fans always expect to hear me say that we can obtain such and such a result, but the truth is that we cannot say with certainty where we are. We must wait until Saturday evening at six, after qualifying and a bit longer still, until after this first run of races outside Europe. After so many kilometres of testing and retesting, finally there's a whiff of sport in the air. I miss the excitement of qualifying, the thrill of being on the start grid waiting for the lights to go out, the adrenalin rush of the charge to the first corner, in fact I miss everything that makes Formula One such an amazing sport."

Paul di Resta, Force India
2011 Qualifying - 14th, 2011 Race - 10th
"The build-up to Melbourne has been a while coming, but at the same time it doesn't feel like there's been that much testing. In fact, compared to last year, there has been one less test, but it's been a good winter for us in general. It's a great place to start the season and the fans always get behind the race, so it will be interesting to see how it feels second time around. After a good winter break I'm just looking forward to getting back to the racing. I enjoy the circuit. There's a good balance between high and low speed, plus it's a mixture between a street circuit and a permanent track, and that makes it quite unusual. I think the final sector stands out for me as the most interesting because it's quite tricky and easy to get it wrong. We were strong on street circuits last year, especially Singapore, so hopefully that will continue. All the teams around us look strong and have been consistent in testing, so we just have to wait and see. Also, I think almost every team will have some new parts on their cars so it really is too early to make any judgements. To begin with our goal is simply to try and pick up points at every race."


Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
"There's a lot of excitement - that's the word I keep using to describe how I'm feeling. And I think it will continue until the Sunday morning in Melbourne when I wake up knowing I will be racing again in a few hours. That's when you feel the buzz and get the feeling of anticipation in your stomach. The testing has gone pretty well and it's been crucial for helping me get prepared. But I know testing is very different to racing because you don't have the same pressures of a race weekend. I think the true test will be qualifying when you have to deliver right away and you only get one chance. My first race in Australia in 2010 was cut short - only half a lap, but apart from that I have good memories from Melbourne and Australia in general. It's one of those venues with a special atmosphere and the whole city seems so relaxed and friendly. It's definitely up there with races like Monaco and Singapore in terms of the atmosphere. It's a race where we arrive very early to adapt to the time zone, so I will get a chance to look around the city, do some jogging, cycling and visit places like St Kilda beach. If there's enough time I will try and explore the coast a bit."

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal
"After the long winter months I think we are all looking forward to the start of the new season. Our testing form has looked competitive, but it's only when we get to the first race that we really get a feel for the pecking order and how well everyone has done over the winter. From our side there is no doubt that Andrew Green and his technical team have done an outstanding job to deliver a well-balanced car. I would even go as far as saying the VJM05 is the best engineered car we have produced and the detail of the design is beautiful. It's a car we believe can help us take another step forward. Driver-wise I'm extremely excited by our line-up this year. Nico and Paul are both young and hungry, and will ensure we squeeze every last thousandth from the car. There will be some healthy in-house rivalry, too, which will be fascinating to watch, and I believe that we will get better results in the long run by having two drivers pushing each other on. As for Melbourne, it's a city I enjoy visiting immensely and the track has produced some good races over the years. It was in Melbourne that Force India made its debut back in 2008 and it's a good opportunity to reflect on how far we have come in the last five years. As for expectations, I remain cautious on making predictions, simply because there are so many unknowns. Our analysis suggests that we could see one of the closest grids in years, especially in the upper part of the midfield. Even so, our stated goal remains the same - to see Sahara Force India continue progressing and challenge the established teams that lie ahead of us."

Pastor Maldonado, Williams
2011 Qualifying - 15th, 2011 Race - DNF
"Albert Park is a nice track. I really love that kind of street circuit, so I hope we will have a good weekend. I know the track this year and I'm more confident with the team and the car, so that will also help. The whole team have been pushing so hard all winter to improve, and I've also been pushing myself. It's exciting to get back racing and to see what speed everyone has when the weekend gets underway."

Bruno Senna, Williams
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
"I am really looking forward to going to Australia. About a month after the last race of the season you are itching to get back racing, so four months later I really can't wait to get started. Getting into the car on Friday will be very exciting, and I hope we can be competitive from the very beginning. I know the Albert Park circuit, having driven there for HRT in 2010. I've also had success, winning three of the four Formula Three races supporting the Australian Grand Prix in 2006, so I have good memories of the place. Pre-season testing was promising, but you never know exactly what everyone is doing. It is certainly very close, so it is going to be very tight this year."

Mark Gillan, Williams chief operations engineer
"We have had a productive pre-season test programme, with the Williams-Renault FW34-RS27 completing 5,330kms, which is the most mileage of any of the new 2012 cars. During the three tests Pastor, Bruno and Valtteri drove exceptionally well and the two new drivers have integrated seamlessly into the team ahead of the new season, with weekly visits to the factory and simulator. The whole team has worked very hard over the winter to eradicate areas where we were weaker in 2011, in addition to integrating the new Renault Sport F1 engine, and are now looking forward to starting the season. The performance of the RSF1 engine has been as hoped; strong, flexible and with negligible performance degradation throughout its life. The weather in Melbourne can be variable, and going by the long range forecasts, this year appears to be no exception. As this is a street circuit, one tends to see a large track improvement through the weekend so we need to carefully monitor the evolution of the medium and soft Pirelli tyres. The track layout has above average corner speeds, and the race start fuel load is higher than most circuits, which leads to a relatively hard time on the braking system."

Remi Taffin, head of track operations for Williams engine supplier Renault Sport F1
"For Renault Sport F1, seeing a Williams-Renault on track for the first time since 1997 was a good feeling, but it was even more satisfying to see that the FW34 is going in the right direction. As we started the process very early, the engine installation has been quite straightforward and the team and drivers have been able to use the full driveability and flexibility of the RS27 to conduct important performance testing so that when we arrive in Australia we already have a good platform. As always with a new engine-chassis partnership there have been a couple of small issues, but overall we achieved a very high mileage to validate both the engine and its installation into the chassis. Melbourne is a hard track to start with as it has a tricky combination of short straights, chicanes and a quick section at the back of the track which makes fuel consumption very high, but it's also a good one to start with as it gives every engine facet a thorough workout. The partnership has started well and we want to watch it develop even further over the coming races."

Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
"For the first race in Australia we want to have a good weekend without any major issues or mistakes. I don't know where we're going to be on the grid - nobody knows. If you look at the lap times from testing everybody is very close to each other. We don't know what everyone was doing with fuel load and that makes a massive difference. We'll have some idea after practice in Melbourne, then after qualifying everyone will know exactly where we are. I feel very happy with the team. We're still learning things, but everything is going smoothly and there are no problems at all, so it's a good position to start the season. Australia is a nice place even though it's a long way from Europe. The circuit itself is not the most difficult on the calendar. It was good to score a point on my first time at Albert Park, and the podiums and race win in 2007 obviously made me happy. The circuit hasn't changed at all so I'm confident I know where it goes.

"You need a car with good traction and everything from testing says that the E20 has good traction so that will help us. Strong turn-in and stable braking help too, and those areas also feel good with the car so we are well placed. The track can be a bit slippery at the beginning of the weekend and the Melbourne weather is not always very warm; the Melbourne weather can definitely be a bit tricky. This will be the first race so I don't know how we'll compare to the other teams. My engineers have been running simulations and looking at the test data so we have an idea of how the car should work at Albert Park, but we won't know for sure until we get out on track. It's very difficult to say before we've been out on track, but I think and hope we'll be reasonably strong."

Romain Grosjean, Lotus
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
"I'm looking forward to Australia and I feel very comfortable with the team. It's been fantastic throughout testing and we're all working well together. Of course, we had a third less of pre-season testing than we expected - which was not quite the original plan! The small issue we had in the first Barcelona test can even be seen as a good experience. Everyone worked twice as hard to return to Barcelona the following week and show that we are strong for the season ahead, which I think we are. I've only been to Australia once before when I was third driver for the team in 2009. The country is fantastic. I love Melbourne. I hope the track will suit me - it certainly looks great. The atmosphere is very special and it was one of my favourite Grands Prix to experience even when I wasn't driving, so what it must be like to drive it I can't imagine. The track is what it is - it will improve but that only helps you. You don't particularly feel it too much in the car, you just see it in better lap times. The grip level improves and better lap times come to you - and you soon get used to better lap times! What I saw from the onboard camera from previous years is the track looks good and it looks fun. I hope it will suit the E20."

Eric Boullier, Lotus team principal
"It looks positive. At testing you never know what people are doing but from the Lotus F1 Team perspective our drivers were happy with the car's easiness to drive and overall performance. The E20 reacts well to driver input and engineer changes so the whole package is a decent basis for us to work from. Of course, we don't know where we are standing relative to the other teams. We certainly believe that this year the competition will be much closer and we hope we're at the right end of that competition. We want to be seen and performing as one of the top teams in this highly competitive sport. For me this year will be monitored by the progress we make during the course of the season."

James Allison, Lotus technical director
"We have the odd little tweaklet planned for Australia if you look closely. It is our target to challenge the top four and we believe we have a good shout at being able to do this. However, the precise order of the grid is notoriously hard to read from winter testing."

Alan Permane, Lotus engineer
"The weather can be blistering hot one day and freezing cold the next. There have been race weekends with 14 degrees Celsius during qualifying and 40 degrees Celsius during the race. It can change very quickly, and you have to set the car up to be able to cope with both. Normally at this time of year it's in the mid-twenties and very pleasant, which causes no trouble at all, but you do have to keep one eye on the forecast as it can change rapidly. This affects not just engine temperatures and so on but also how you use the tyres. If there's a chance that the temperature may significantly rise or fall you have to have a compromise between qualifying and race setup."

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
2011 Qualifying - 1st, 2011 Race - 1st
"Testing has been busy over the last few weeks and I think we have made a decent step with the car. You never really know where you are until we get to Melbourne and even then you don't really see what everyone has got until qualifying - so I'm looking forward to getting started. Australia and Malaysia are different circuits so they are hard to compare. Australia is not a permanent race track, it's quite bumpy and it's tough for the car. Malaysia is smoother, as it's a permanent race track with fast corners, but both are good tracks and Australia is one of the best places we go to. It's good to know we're going racing again, I can't wait to get on the flight and get down under."

Mark Webber, Red Bull
2011 Qualifying - 3rd, 2011 Race - 5th
"This will be my eleventh Australian GP and I can't wait to get started. The Grand Prix is one of the best sporting events that we have in Australia. It's great to see the support and Australian flags in the crowd. I've incorporated more of an Australian theme into my helmet, which I'll be using for the whole year, not just in Australia. It's been an extremely intense few months for the whole team and it's incredible when you count up how many sleep-deprived hours have gone in to preparing the car as best we can - from pit stops to reliability to driver comfort in the cockpit - you name it, we've always been looking to improve. There's always a huge amount of interest in the first race; this year is no different and there's no better place to have it than Australia."

Jenson Button, McLaren
2011 Qualifying - 4th, 2011 Race - 6th
"My first Grand Prix was here way back in 2000 - it was just a buzz to be in Formula One: it was pretty intense, the whole weekend just flew past pretty quickly. I had pole here in 2006 - another good memory. But I think the two most significant memories for me were, in 2009, winning from pole for Brawn GP. It was a momentous race for the entire team and it felt so sweet to give them such a reward. And winning here in 2010… just an incredible day. Going early for the dry tyre, then almost losing the car at Turn Three, putting the others off following my example, and then finding a rhythm and having a fantastic car underneath me. That was my first win for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes - it was completely unexpected, but a really significant result for me personally. It is a special race - you step off the plane after a long, cold European winter and it's usually very sunny and the people are incredibly welcoming. I think the circuit is a nice challenge too - it's not a particularly technical track, but the surface is always rubbering in across the whole race weekend, and it's a place that encourages nip-and-tuck racing. For a street track, it's got a really good flow, you can really find a good rhythm - and it's got some fast corners too, which is unusual for a road course.

"I think the new rules have definitely made it a more competitive place - it's easier to pass here now than it ever was. And I think the potential of a second DRS zone will be a real benefit -last year, along the start line wasn't quite enough for overtaking - I think we'll get more benefit from a second zone. Finally, the walls around here are close enough to keep your mind focused. I can't remember a race here that wasn't eventful or surprising in some way - so it's the perfect place to kick off the season. I'm happy with our preparations. You always want more laps and more time in the car, but, unlike last year, we've had a very solid start to our pre-season. It's been very difficult to read pace over the winter because a lot of teams have been playing their cards close to their chests: I think it's going to be extremely close, and I can't wait to find out where we sit in the pecking order."

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2011 Qualifying - 2nd, 2011 Race - 2nd
"Melbourne is a city that has sport running through its veins - and the crowd lives and breathes it. It's a great place to start the season. For me, Melbourne means sunshine, smiling faces, a great paddock - a bit compact but very friendly, a great city with a really positive vibe - and a racetrack that's really made for racing. A place where you can really get the back-end of the car moving around quite nicely yet still feel like you're fully in control of the car. The track has got a nice flow to it - I love the fast sweepers behind the pits, it's awesome when you get them right - and it's a place where, the more you can attack, the faster you go. My kind of place! I actually feel more relaxed and ready for the new season than I think I've ever done. Everything has gone smoothly with the car - which is more than we can say for last year! - and it just seems to be a responsive and reliable package. My final day in the car - with the aero package we plan to run next weekend - also felt good: the car was a useful step forward. Of course, we haven't tested it in competition yet, but there's plenty to feel optimistic about. It's a bit weird to have driven the car for a whole month and still not done a really fast lap - I guess we'll really find the limit next Saturday. Obviously, this is always the time of year when you're feeling positive, but we've got plenty to look forward to. I'm going to get off the plane in Australia with a big smile on my face.

"I have a realistic aim: to score some useful points and use the race to kickstart our challenge for the world championship. That might sound like we're aiming low - we're not - but, at this time of year, it's good to remember that it's going to be a very long season. There's no point putting all your eggs in one basket - I'd love to win in Melbourne, sure, but there are 19 races afterwards, so it'll be important to get some points on the board. As long as I can leave Australia feeling confident that we have a car that's able to fight for the title, then I'll feel happy. It's as simple as that."

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
"I've never lost my enthusiasm, optimism or motivation for the start of each new Formula One season - and this year is no exception. As is often the case, you can complete thousands of kilometres of testing, analyse hundreds of thousands of lines of performance data and read pages of web and magazine editorial and still not have a clear idea of overall form going into the first race. I think that's an intrinsic and fascinating aspect of Formula One: the resetting of the bar at the end of each season and the relentless, and often invisible, quest to emerge on top at the start of a new year. I think Australia will be fascinating: the winter's testing has been so finely balanced that it's particularly difficult accurately to judge who'll be the quickest. And that's fantastic for Formula One fans across the globe. At Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, we've had an extremely productive winter - I've never seen Jenson and Lewis looking so healthy, committed and prepared for a new season. There's a real hunger within the whole organisation - I've witnessed it in conversation with our heads of department, our engineers and our mechanics: we want to win more than ever and we've left no stone unturned in our quest for performance. Make no mistake, this will be a long, arduous and difficult campaign, and I'm naturally reluctant to stick my neck out and make any predictions, but my greatest hope is that we go to Australia and put on a world-beating show to demonstrate to the world that Formula One is back, and back with a bang!"

Heikki Kovalainen, Caterham
2011 Qualifying - 19th, 2011 Race - DNF
"After three pretty solid weeks of testing we're heading to Melbourne in good shape. We've clearly moved on from where we started in 2011, and are a long way ahead of where we were in 2010 but we're still all staying very realistic about what we can do this season. Apart from a few issues in the second test, which were all sorted out for T3, our reliability has been good, and both Vitaly and I put in laps that showed we are close to the pace we want to be. But as everyone knows the tests don't really tell you anything about where you are against everyone else, so we won't really know anything until Saturday in Melbourne. Whatever happens when we get there, I just want it all to start right now. I've had a great winter, worked hard and am heading into 2012 feeling fitter than ever. I've made a couple of changes off track that will help me focus even more on my job with the team and with the step forward we've taken with this year's car, I'm more keen than ever to get out on track and see how we've progressed again this year."

Vitaly Petrov, Caterham
2011 Qualifying - 6th, 2011 Race - 3rd
"Melbourne is obviously somewhere that will always be very special for me. Last year I scored my first F1 podium there and was given a really good welcome by all the Australian fans so I'm sure it will be the same again this year. I think it's pretty clear we won't be in a position to fight for a podium again but I think the goal will be to push the midfield teams as hard as we can and who knows what could happen.... Usually there are quite a few retirements in Australia, and there are a couple of areas of the track that don't leave any room for error, so I hope we're there at the end of the race and able to take advantage of whatever's happened ahead. It will also be a good weekend for me generally as I'm really enjoying life with my new team. It's still early days, but I've been given a great welcome by everyone and I'm starting to build a good relationship with my engineer, so i think we have a good year ahead of us, whatever happens. We spent quite a lot of time in Barcelona looking at how to fine tune the setups specifically for me, and while we do have more work to do in Australia we definitely made some real progress at the last test which puts me in as good a position as we could hope for when we get to Melbourne."

Mark Smith, Caterham technical director
"The Melbourne event poses the usual challenges of a race held on a circuit using public roads which are used once a year for the Grand Prix. This means that the circuit grip evolves significantly throughout the weekend and can therefore make it tricky to target the optimum balance in advance of the race. The tyres being used this year are the soft and medium compounds which we gained some useful insights into during pre-season testing, albeit in very different conditions on a different type of circuit. The ambient temperature in Melbourne can be expected to be somewhere between the high teens and the low twenties, so not that far off what we saw in Spain in February, but the nature of the circuit is different and places reasonably high demands on the brakes and consequently on entry stability. Equally, maximising traction out of the lower speed corners is generally an area of focus. Whilst the cars will have a high average speed at this circuit the aero setup will still be relatively high downforce. Overtaking here is difficult so KERS and DRS will be valuable tools and of course for Caterham F1 Team this will be the first opportunity to use KERS in a race environment. In terms of updates since pre season testing we will have a new front wing and bodywork cooling option available to us. The front wing is simply a logical step in aerodynamic development and has been an integral part of the aero package for a while, but will be introduced for the first time in Melbourne. The cooling option gives us more opportunity to optimise cooling requirements versus aerodynamic performance which is a further step forwards from the package we ran in Barcelona last week and gives us more options to work with at the first race."

Tony Fernandes, Caterham team principal
"Melbourne 2012 is a very important race for us and one I am possibly more excited about than any race we have participated in our two short years in F1. We shed the new team tag at the start of 2011, but for most of last season we were racing in what felt like no-mans-land. We were comfortably ahead of the two teams that made their debuts at the same time as us in 2010, and for a large part of last year we were what felt like inches away from the teams just ahead. Now it is time for us to take our place as a midfield team, and we have everything in place to do just that. If we do, and find ourselves racing teams like Williams, Toro Rosso and Sauber I think that will be an incredible achievement, from a starting point of an empty factory in September 2009 to racing teams who have decades on us in terms of establishment and development. If we are not quite there at the start of the season it will not be for lack of effort, and we will keep fighting all year to bridge the gap to what will be a very tightly packed group of teams just in front."

Narain Karthikeyan, HRT
2011 Qualifying - DNQ, 2011 Race - n/a
"I'm feeling positive ahead of the Australian Grand Prix after having completed 10 laps with the new F112 last Monday. Of course this was only a first contact and we didn't push it to the limit but the important thing was to get the ball rolling. It's not ideal to miss testing but we must look forward now. The new management have done an incredible job putting everything together and we'll do the best we can to continue progressing. We're in the right direction. Last year we only managed to complete five laps in the third practice session and failed to qualify for the race, so I'm looking to etch out that memory."

Pedro de la Rosa, HRT
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
"After a long winter of hard work, we've finally made it to Australia and are really looking forward to trying the car out and continue learning. We need to try and make the most of our time on Friday and Saturday morning to make it to qualifying and the race in the best possible conditions. We would have liked to have come with more mileage but I think it's an achievement to have made it with a 100 percent new car and a practically new team. Our aim is to do things well, with seriousness and patience. Albert Park is a circuit I like a lot because there are many overtaking opportunities and hard-braking areas, besides various chicanes. It's a track where you have to drive aggressively and know how to ride over a lot of kerbs. The most important aspect of the car is braking, traction and its top speed, which is why the DRS will play an important role."

Luis Perez-Sala, HRT team principal
"It doesn't seem true but the first race of the season is already upon us. We've spent three months working relentlessly, but the team and the car are ready for the great task ahead of us. We have done a lot of things since the last race of 2011 in Brazil and I'm very proud of the entire team but, without a doubt, the hardest part comes now. We know where we are but also where we wish to be and with the team spirit and sacrifice that we have shown, I'm convinced that we can achieve it."

Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
2011 Qualifying - 9th, 2011 Race - DSQ
"I am very much looking forward to what will be my third season in Formula One, and at the same time my third season with the Sauber F1 Team. We had promising pre-season testing with the C31 and the car feels pretty good. This, together with the experience I gained last year, makes me a lot more confident now. For me the main target is that we are more consistent this year. In 2010 we had a difficult first part of the season, and only recovered in the second half. In 2011 it was vice versa - we had a great start but struggled later in the season. If we can consistently display our best potential, we could score consistently. It must be like this. Personally I did a lot of training during the winter break and feel very fit now. Melbourne is a great place to start the season because the people there really like racing and Formula One. The city is very much alive and, as soon as you get there, the atmosphere tells you: Yes, here we go again, it's time to start! I hope the weather will still be nice and warm during the Grand Prix weekend, as there the summer is almost over. The Albert Park Circuit itself has a very nice lay-out. The fact it isn't a permanent race track, and therefore very slippery at the beginning of the weekend, doesn't make the set up work for the first Grand Prix any easier, but to adapt to the improving grip level is a challenge for everyone."

Sergio Perez, Sauber
2011 Qualifying - 13th, 2011 Race - DSQ 
"I just can't wait to go racing again. My feelings ahead of this season are quite different to last year, when everything was entirely new to me. Now, with one season in Formula One under my belt, I feel physically and mentally capable of doing the job. One year of experience isn't that much, but even this will allow me to focus more on performance than I was able to last year. I got used to a variety of circumstances which come along when you are a Formula One driver. This goes for procedures and communication inside the team, but it also includes that I found a good personal life balance with all the travelling. My target for 2012 is to make the most of the car in every given situation and to fully establish myself in Formula One. We have made really good progress during testing and learnt a lot about the new car. Nevertheless, the track in Melbourne can still come up with surprises. Last year, for example, we would never have expected it was possible to get away with only one pit stop for the race distance because testing suggested higher tyre wear. So we will see how we manage the first Grand Prix and, although the track in Melbourne is a special one and not that representative, we will get a first indication of where we are with the C31 in terms of performance."

Peter Sauber, Sauber team principal
"This coming season is the 20th for the Sauber F1 Team. Having said this, you might expect that the first race of a season would be routine by now. But this is by no means the case. I even have the feeling that this year the excitement is special. The winter tests left the impression that the competition could be tighter than ever before. Apparently the midfield teams have reduced the gap to the top teams. I am really pleased with the progress we made during testing and I think we are well prepared. We have to be because we have set ourselves quite high targets for 2012. We want to score points on a regular basis and significantly improve our position in the constructors' championship. We are well aware that this sounds very ambitious, but this is what we are working on."

Giampaolo Dall'Ara, Sauber head of track engineering
"Following the three pre-season tests, everybody in the team is excited to start racing and keen to see where we really stand compared to our competitors. As a team we feel well prepared. Sergio is not a rookie anymore, and both drivers will continue to work with their race engineers from last year, which will enable us to start from a higher level. The Albert Park track features mostly stop start corners and changes of direction, so good traction and braking stability are needed. Since Albert Park is not a permanent race track it changes its grip level considerably during the weekend. This is something to consider when setting up the car, as well as the fact that this circuit tends to be harder on the rear tyres than the tracks where we have been testing prior to the season. Track temperature will also be important, but can vary quite significantly depending on the weather. Historically overtaking has been difficult in Melbourne, but this time there will be two DRS zones. With regard to tyres, Pirelli is supplying the medium and soft compound. Both versions are more aggressive compared to last year which will result in a higher number of pit stops. Technically we will basically use the same specification car which we were running during the last test in Barcelona with just some minor refinements. Looking at the results from the final test, we are confident we can have a strong start to the new season."

Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying - 11th, 2011 Race - DNF
"Finally, we can stop trying to read the tea-leaves from testing and actually go racing. Melbourne is a perfect location, and the ideal place to start the season. The city loves Formula One, the fans create a great atmosphere and obviously, as drivers, we feel that too. And because we've already got a buzz about what's to come, it just makes you want to get out there and start driving. During winter testing, we completed lots of miles and built up a really complete set of data, which should put us in a good position for the first race and to develop the car even further in the right direction. We're ready for the 2012 season to begin..."

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying - 7th, 2011 Race - DNF
"I'm really looking forward to the start of the new season in Australia next weekend. I had a perfect winter break with plenty of rest, a good training camp and a successful pre-season test programme where we were able to put a lot of mileage on our F1 W03 car. So we are really ready for the first race. I always love the atmosphere in Melbourne; it's a great city and the fans are fantastic. After all of the hard work, and all of the speculation, it will be really interesting to see where we are on Saturday afternoon after qualifying. Before heading to Australia, I will be in New Zealand for a bike training camp to help me adjust to the time difference and the climate 'Down Under'."

Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
"The build-up to the start of a new season is always an exciting time, no matter how many times you have experienced it, and everyone at the team is looking forward to the action getting underway in Melbourne next week. We are well prepared, both at the factory and on track, as a result of our structured development and testing plan, and I am confident that we are in a good position. How this translates to our performance relative to the competition is, of course, the key question and it will be interesting to see how it all shapes out next weekend. My thanks to all of the team at Brackley and Brixworth for their hard work and dedication over the winter months and I hope we will be able to reward them with a strong season. Melbourne has always been one of the atmospheric races on the calendar, and certainly one of my favourite cities to visit, so I look forward to a good week ahead."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"It's only a little over 100 days since Formula One was in Brazil for the final race of the 2011 season, but now we are ready for the 2012 season to begin and to get back to what we love best: going motor racing. Starting the third season with our Silver Arrows works team, we think we are better prepared than the two years before, which indicates that our learning process is heading in the right direction. The Mercedes F1 W03 has run reliably since its first run on 16 February, completed 4,450 km during pre-season testing, and achieved an average daily testing mileage of 472 km: this equates to an average of more than one and a half Grand Prix distances during each of the nine test days. Nico and Michael are both excited about the new season and highly motivated, while our team members back at base in Brackley and Brixworth and on track are working extremely hard to deliver both performance and reliability at the opening race. The whole team has done a good job in both areas this winter. After testing, we know we have a solid basis to work from and a good platform for development. Understandably, there is much speculation about the pecking order of the new season, and finally we will get a first answer on Saturday afternoon during qualifying in Melbourne, when everybody has to put their cards on the table. Before the first race of this long season, I would like to thank all our team members who have worked so hard and with dedication during the past months, with our clear target which is making the next step in improving our performance compared to our competitors. We aim to show that we have taken this step forward as the first part of a continuous process of improvement."

Timo Glock, Marussia
2011 Qualifying - 21st, 2011 Race - NC
"I couldn't wait to try the MR01 for the first time last Monday. Even though it wasn't in representative conditions, it has been a long wait to get my hands on a car that I'm hoping will be a good step forward from the past two seasons. It has been a frustrating winter for sure, but you have two choices and the only thing to do was to focus on everything we could be doing off-track to make sure we were as prepared as possible for when we did run the car. I've done a lot of work in the simulator and with the team in Banbury and in terms of my personal fitness I have been training harder than ever before. Melbourne will be a bit of a voyage into the unknown but we have nothing to lose and I'm even more excited than usual to see how the car feels in Friday's first free practice. Albert Park is a great track and I love going there for the first race of the season. I would rather be going there with more preparation but we will do the best we can and see where we are."

Charles Pic, Marussia
2011 Qualifying - n/a, 2011 Race - n/a
"I'm ready to go racing now. I have been working very hard physically and with the team, and mentally I am prepared. It is true I would have preferred to have more track time before my first Grand Prix but I have been working on the simulator so we will do the best we can. Australia will be very special for sure and I will have a lot of support around me. I'm looking forward to getting into the routine of a race weekend and continuing to build the relationship with my engineers. The team have been a great support for me so I know I can count on them. It's my first visit to Melbourne but I have heard very good things about the track and the city. Obviously I have driven Albert Park a few times in simulation now but I can't wait for the real thing."

John Booth, Marussia team principal
"It has been a tough time for everyone but it is situations like this that really test the mettle of a team. The early years were always going to be tough for us but I have never had any doubts about the ability of our people to ride whatever storm comes our way. It is that faith rewarded that sees us heading out to Melbourne in a rather more orderly fashion than you might expect. The journey is just a breather of course and when we get there, we will no doubt face a challenging time building up to the race. We have not had the track time we'd hoped for with the MR01 and therefore the time it takes to iron out the teething problems that are to be expected with a new car. We take some heart from a relatively straightforward roll-out during two days of promotional running last week but we have yet to run on the Pirelli P-Zero performance tyres and really glimpse the first signs of the potential of the package. Nonetheless, we're heading in the right direction again and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank every single member of our team, and our partners, for all their support and efforts. It is over to us now to do the best job possible in these first few races."