FORMULA 1 - 2013

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McLaren ready to take risks

McLaren have vowed to continue to make their MP4-28 'quicker, lighter and more 'aerodynamic' even if it means taking a risk on reliability.

The Woking squad started with the fastest car in 2012, but they failed to make the most of the advantage as Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton both fell victim to operational and mechanical problems.

The team eventually finished well outside the title races, but they are confident things will be different this season as they are determined to have the quickest car on the grid.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh insists the team will continue to develop their 2013 model throughout the year.

"Clearly we've taken some risks in changing the car from last year," he said in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in.

"We finished the 2012 season with undoubtedly the quickest car and it would have been very easy to have continued to develop that car - we'd have made it quicker still for the start of this year.

"Yet we've made a lot of changes to the overall package and we've done so in the belief that you have to be competitive over 19 races, and you've got to be able to develop it. We've given ourselves a platform that is new to ensure we've got a development opportunity over the course of the season."

He added that the team are determined to eradicate the errors that cost them dearly in 2012, but also promised they won't become "obsessed" with reliability.

"You can never be as confident as you'd like to be with a new car," he said. "If it's stable and reliable, typically you want to push it further, make it quicker, lighter and more aerodynamic.

"We've been working hard with (engine supplier) Mercedes-Benz on some of the issues we saw last year, and we've been working internally as well.

"We are constantly vigilant but we must not become so obsessed by the pursuit of reliability that we don't change the car to improve it."

The 2013 season kicks off in Australia this weekend and Button and new team-mate Sergio Perez head into the race upbeat after some solid showings during pre-season testing.

Whitmarsh, though, admits though no one is quite sure how things will pan out in Melbourne due to tyre degradation.

"On the last day Jenson did a very good long run, so you can start to convince yourself that you're managing it (tyre degradation) better than others," he said. "But the truth is that conditions during testing are very different.

"We believe that the new Pirelli tyres will be more challenging than those we've had recently in terms of their ability to grain and to wear. High degradation is inarguably good for the show, but is obviously a big headache for those of us who are trying to race and win. It's an interesting challenge but it's the same for everyone."

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Lewis determined to do things his way

There appears to be no middle ground when it comes to Lewis Hamilton: you either love him or you hate, and that is according to the man himself.

This season marks Hamilton's seventh year on the Formula One grid, but he continues to divide opinion not only with his performances on the track, but also off it.

In an interview with The Independent, the 28-year-old concedes there are a lot of people who are not fond of him, but he is determined to change their opinions, even if it takes a long time.

"I'm an extremist so I'm either hated or loved. I think it's down to when I first got to Formula One not always knowing what I was saying, saying things that mean one thing but people were taking the other way and then people don't forget," he said.

"For example, when I go to Spain people generally hate me - whether it was something I said when I was racing with Fernando Alonso, or whether it was something Fernando said - people don't forget so you are branded.

"All you can do is try to slowly change it. There are tons of people that dislike me - they are entitled to their opinion. What I can guarantee is that when people that don't like me meet me I think they will change when they see there is another side. Hopefully, in the next couple of years in this great new team, people will be able to see me in a different light."

Having spent his teenage years as well as his first six seasons in Formula One with McLaren, it will be all change for Hamilton this season as he will be driving for rivals Mercedes.

The 2008 World Champion believes he has "loosened up" since he confirmed his move to the Brackley squad at the end of last year.

"I feel that I can express myself a bit more nowadays, be more myself," he said. "I'm comfortable with who I am. My dad doesn't approve of my tattoos, for example. But I don't need someone's approval whether it be the media or whether it be the team or my mum - I am who I am and if someone doesn't accept me for who I am that's their problem.

"That's an important thing in everyone's life. You just need to be accepted for who you are and be proud of who you are and that is what I'm trying to do. I have come from a place where there was a lot of control, a really controlled environment where you are really restricted to do and say what you are told.

"It makes a big difference as a driver. It showed towards the end of last year I think, particularly when I knew where I was going for this year. I loosened up and I was able to put on the performances I put on."

He still has a several years of F1 racing left in him, but it remains to be seen if he can add a second Championship to his name and emulate some of the true greats of the sport.

"I want to win World Championships," he said. "I don't know the key to greatness. When I think about greatness I just know Ayrton Senna. He was great. The stories you would hear of him walking into a room, the aura he would have, the way people perceived him, the way he drove, that inspired people, inspired a nation.

"That's greatness and that's a dream for any driver to achieve. But it is a different era and I'm not Ayrton Senna, I'm not like any of the other drivers. I am different, I have my own personality and I hope there is still a possibility of greatness within that."

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Di Montezemolo: Massa rejuvenated

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is confident Felipe Massa will repay the team this season, saying they "were right not to replace him".

Massa appeared to be on his way out at Maranello during the early stages of the 2012 season, but he pulled things together during the latter half of the campaign and the team eventually decided to hand him a new one-year deal for 2013.

With his seat secure, the Brazilian's performances picked up in the final few races of the season and everyone at Ferrari is optimistic that he will carry that form over to this campaign.

"He'll be back as a driver of use to Ferrari with ambitions," di Montezemolo told Gazzetta dello Sport. "We were right not to replace him, he's rejuvenated.

"Apart from that, where were we to find his successor? Do you see many superdrivers these days? Look at this message on my mobile; Felipe sent it: Fernando [Alonso] feels just like I do: positive. This is a great comfort to me."

Massa's team-mate Alonso has finished runner-up twice since joining Ferrari from Renault three years ago and he will no doubt be looking to go one better this year.

The vibe at the Italian camp is generally positive and Di Montezemolo believes the Spaniard will eventually win a title with the team.

"His contract runs until the end of 2015 and he'll respect it," he said. "I was always being asked the same question with every World Championship we won when [Michael] Schumacher was here... Alonso knows he'll have to win with us and we want to win with him. He was right to skip the Jerez tests and prepare himself to perfection. Now he's on top form, ready for the green light. Here we go..."

Ferrari started very slowly in 2012 and were well off the pace especially in qualifying, but the team made progress throughout the year and eventually caught up with the leading cars.

The team, though, want to be among the front-runners right from the word go in Melbourne this year.

"Our main objective is to begin by getting in among the top three teams, aware that we are making preparations and developing ideas for the GPs to follow," he said.

"Even if we finish slightly behind in Melbourne we'll be able to make it up easily, because we'll be working on the gap that existed between ourselves and Red Bull at the end of 2012.

"Our second target is to maintain this correlation between the wind tunnel and the asphalt, in the knowledge that every adjustment we make to the F138 will be effective."

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Preview: Australian Grand Prix, Round 1 in Melbourne

Once again Melbourne extends its welcome to Formula One as Albert Park prepares to host the Australian Grand Prix – the opening race of the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship. Sixteen weeks after storm-lashed Interlagos and the drama-laden climax of the 2012 season, the teams reassemble for what is widely expected to be an incredibly close year of racing.

Stability in the technical regulations leads to a great deal of carryover from 2012 and, several notable exceptions aside, optimising existing designs has been the primary focus in the development of 2013 cars.

While the machinery has a familiar look, the same cannot be said for the driver line-up. Four of 2012’s field have switched teams in the off-season and five rookies will be making their F1 race debut in this weekend.

Albert Park is not the easiest place to make a good impression. Running on public roads through the park, the temporary circuit has a reputation for being slippery with several large bumps known to destabilise cars under braking.

Gravel traps wait for the unwary and the unlucky – but being a street circuit there are also plenty of walls. Added to the limited and hazardous nature of overtaking opportunities at Albert Park, it means the safety car is often busy at the Australian Grand Prix.

Another variable to factor in are the new tyres on offer from Pirelli. Reports from winter testing suggest teams are not yet fully on terms with the revised compounds, raising the possibility of early races this year seeing shorter stints (and thus more frequent pitstops) than was usual in 2012.

As ever, winter testing did not provide any reliable evidence of a pecking order but did greatly add to the stock of speculation.

Consensus points to a very tight battle ahead but without any hard evidence, this weekend will provide the first real indication of how the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship will unfold.

Albert Park Circuit Data

• Length of lap: 5.303km
  
• Lap record: 1:25.125 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)
  
• Start line/finish line offset: 0.000km
  
• Total number of race laps: 58
  
• Total race distance: 307.574km
  
• Pitlane speed limits 60km/h in practice; 100km/h in qualifying and race
  

Changes to circuit since 2012

• Kerbs on the exit of turns 14 and 16, which had subsided prior to last year’s race, have been repaired.
  
• Shade cloth will be used again, installed behind the debris fence in the section of track between turns two and three.
  

Australian GP Fast Facts

• This will be the 29th F1 World Championship running of the Australian Grand Prix. It is the 18th consecutive year of the race being run at Albert Park, 16 of which have opened the Formula One season.
  
• In 1996, when the race moved to Albert Park, it produced the oddity of Australia hosting back-to-back grands prix, the closing race of 1995 having taken place at Adelaide.
  
• Albert Park is a temporary circuit with parts of the track used by general road traffic for the majority of the year. As such, it features unusually high grip-evolution (and thus falling laptimes) over the course of the weekend, as the track ‘rubbers-in’.
  
• In common with Abu Dhabi, the Australian Grand Prix has a local start time of 5pm. Unlike the event at Yas Island, this race finishes in daylight – but the low angle of the sun and the lengthening shadows have been known to make the latter stages of the race difficult for drivers. ? Another perennial problem in tree-lined Albert Park is leaves and twigs being sucked into car radiators.
  
• Of the current grid, Jenson Button is the standout performer, having won three times in the last four years. It leaves him one victory short of equalling Michael Schumacher’s F1-era record. Schumacher won the race in 2000, ’01, ’02, ’04.
  
• On 11 occasions from 17 starts, the winning driver at Albert Park has gone on to lift the Drivers’ Championship trophy at the end of the season.
  
• The race winner has started on pole eight times at Albert Park. The lowest starter to win was Eddie Irvine, who started 11th for Ferrari in 1999.
  
• Four drivers start this race for new teams, having moved during the off-season. Lewis Hamilton has moved from McLaren to Mercedes; Sergio Pérez from Sauber to McLaren; Nico Hülkenberg from Force India to Sauber and Charles Pic from Marussia to Caterham. Also, Adrian Sutil is beginning his second stint with Force India. ? Five rookies will contest the Australian Grand Prix: Esteban Gutiérrez (Sauber); Valtteri Bottas (Williams); Giedo van der Garde (Caterham); Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi (Marussia).
  
• Reigning GP2 Champion Davide Valsecchi is not among the rookie intake. He instead has signed as a test driver for Lotus in 2013. The only other GP2 champion to not move directly into an F1 race seat was 2008 winner Giorgio Pantano – who raced in F1 before going to GP2.
  
• Giedo van der Garde ends a barren spell for Dutch representation in Formula One. The Netherlands hasn’t had a driver in the Championship since Christijan Albers raced for Spyker for the first half of the 2007 season.
  
• The demise of HRT returns F1 to a 22-car grid for the first time since the opening rounds of 2008. During that season the withdrawal of Super Aguri after four rounds reduced it to 20. It expanded to 24 in 2010.
  

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Melbourne Qualifying: Rain buckets down to postpone qualifying to Sunday

Torrential rain marred the first qualifying session of the 2013 Formula 1 world championship season in Melbourne, forcing race director Charlie Whiting to postpone the crucial session to 11am (local time) on Sunday, grand prix race day morning – a first for Formula 1.

From the outset action was delayed for half an hour, before the cars were unleashed on to a very wet Albert Park circuit for Q1.

Although everyone started the session on full wets, for a brief window of about 10 minutes the track got quicker and the top times were set with cars on intermediates before the session was brought to an end – and with it proceedings on the day.

Conditions were such that many drivers were caught out in what turned out to be a dramatic 20 minutes for all concerned. The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, Paul di Resta, Pastor Maldonado had big moments, while rookies Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) and Caterham pair Charles Pic and Guido van der Garde damaging their cars during metal bending incidents.

Hardly a lap into the session and Van der Garde’s Caterham limped back to the pits without a front wing.

A few minutes later and Hamilton got it wrong exiting Turn 2, tagged the tyre wall before almost beaching his Mercedes in the mud. Quick thinking and reverse gear saved the 2008 world champion some serious blushes.

Ten minutes into the session Felipe Massa had a big moment in Turn 11, the Ferrari slapping the wall twice, somehow he manged to keep it in the right direction, but he too limped back to the pits in what is obviously a pretty tough F138.

Webber, Di Resta and Maldonado were also caught out in Turn 11 but escaped without damage as they skimmed over the manicured grass verge.

By now the track was good for intermediates, with Jenson Button making the call first and immediately going top of the timing screens.

The rest followed suit and amid a flurry of on track action it was Nico Rosberg who ended up fastest of all.

But as Q1 came to an end, first Charles Pic emerged without a front wing and then Gutierrez in the Sauber, became yet another victim of Turn 11, clouted the wall heftily before bouncing back into the middle of the track, where he stopped facing the wrong direction. Game over.

Thereafter delay upon delay, with rain pelting down persistently, race control decided to postpone Q2 and Q3 until Sunday morning at 11:00 am Melbourne time, which translates to midnight GMT.

Timing screen at the end of Melbourne Qualifying Q1:

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Australian GP: Pastor Maldonado says Williams's car is undriveable

Pastor Maldonado declared that Williams has taken a huge step backwards this season after being eliminated from Australian Grand Prix qualifying in Q1.

Maldonado had been delighted with the form of the 2013 Williams after its initial tests, but the car has been off the pace in Melbourne so far.

Although his team-mate Valtteri Bottas made it through to the currently-delayed Q2 in 14th place, Maldonado could only manage 17th.

"I think we're back to the condition of two years ago in the team," said Maldonado.

"We need to work very hard to solve the problems.

"The car is undriveable at the moment and we need to work. That's it."

Maldonado believes the main issue is Williams failing to get the right set-up for the Albert Park track.

"For whatever reason, we didn't adapt our car to this track, whatever the conditions," he said.

"In the wet we were slow, in the dry as well."

The Venezuelan is slightly more optimistic about his race prospects.

"The pace for tomorrow seems to be much better but qualifying pace is really bad," Maldonado said.

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Ralf Schumacher retires from racing to take managerial role

Ralf Schumacher has decided to retire from motor racing, and will switch to a managerial role in the DTM instead.

The German had been announced as one of Mercedes' six drivers for the 2013 season, but just two months ahead of the first race at Hockenheim he has informed the outfit that he no longer wishes to continue competing.

Instead, AUTOSPORT has learned that Schumacher, 37, will take on management responsibilities with Mucke Motorsport.

Furthermore, Mercedes has recruited him to help out with coaching duties for the youngsters in its DTM squad.

Schumacher's place in the Mercedes squad will be taken by teenager Pascal Wehrlein, who was last year's F3 Euro Series runner-up with Mucke. Wehrlein will drive alongside Daniel Juncadella at the team.

There has been no official statement from Mercedes about the Schumacher situation, but news of his decision is expected to be announced on Saturday.

Only a few weeks ago, Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff said that Schumacher's involvement with the squad was vital.

"The performance on-track is the most important thing, and we need to look at how he develops this year, how his results look and how the young guys will develop with him," Wolff told AUTOSPORT.

"He's going to play a very important role in getting the new kids out of the starting blocks well. I see him and his experience very much as a central role around his engagement."

Ralf Schumacher's DTM CV

Debut: 2008

Starts: 52

Laps led: 30

Poles: 1

Best finish: 2nd

Podiums: 2

Fastest Laps: 1

Points: 46

Best championship finish: 8th (2011)

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McLaren could 'possibly' revert to old car

Martin Whitmarsh has refused to rule out McLaren racing last year's car as this year's MP4-28 is proving problematic.

McLaren were left disappointed after the opening day of the season finished with both Jenson Button and Sergio Perez woefully off the pace.

While Whitmarsh admitted to being "worried" about the car's pace, Button spoke of an "obviuos" lack there of while Perez said the team was "struggling".

McLarens woes continued on Saturday where again they were off the pace, raising the question as to whether they would consider reverting to last year's car given the lack of new regulations this season.

Asked the question, Whitmarsh told Autosport:

"It is possible, but I think at the moment the best thing for us is to work and understand this car.

"The season is incredibly long; if you are going to win races and championship you have to develop the car during the whole year.

"We have wanted to give ourselves the scope to do that, and probably if we had stuck on the original concepts of last year's car we would probably be stronger here today.

"But we have made a decision. We will work through this and we will have a car with more potential than we had last year."

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Raikkonen: Not easy but not bad

Kimi Raikkonen says it is a "shame" that qualifying was postponed until Sunday morning as it means he won't be able to sleep in.

Although Q1 for the Australian GP took place on a very wet track on Saturday, with the rain continuing to fall and the light fading the stewards opted to delay Q2 until Sunday morning.

That decision means Raikkonen, who was 11th quickest, along with 15 other drivers will have to wait until Sunday morning to book their grid slots as only the bottom six positions have been set.

"It wasn't easy with the traffic, people going off and the yellow flags but we went through to the second qualifying session tomorrow so it's not all bad," said the the Lotus driver.

"The car doesn't feel too bad in the wet - it's an improvement on where we were last year for sure - but today the challenge was finding some clear space on track so we didn't get to really push."

Raikkonen lamented the decision to postpone qualifying, not for any other reason than it has robbed him off the chance to sleep in on Sunday morning.

"The session being delayed until tomorrow was a shame but it's the same for everyone. It's just normal once it starts and hopefully we get through to Q3.

"I'd prefer to be having a lie-in tomorrow morning as it's a late race, but you have to qualify and being out in the car will soon wake me up."

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Gutierrez: My mistake

Esteban Gutierrez has apologised to Sauber after damaging his C32 in qualifying crash at a wet Albert Park circuit.

Attempting to improve on his 18th place, the Sauber rookie got caught out on the wet lines surrounding the track.

That put Gutierrez into a spin and into the barriers with his car coming to a halt in the middle of the track as the chequered flag fell.

"Unfortunately I made a mistake and feel sorry for the whole team," said the Mexican driver.

"I feel very comfortable with the car and this is something that is a step forward for me.

"Now, of course, I need to avoid this kind of mistake and try to make the most of my potential."

Team boss Monisha Kaltenborn sympathised with her driver who was one of five to connect with the barriers in Q1.

"It was a qualifying in very difficult conditions and a shame Esteban went out, particularly because he had proven before that he was quick on full wet tyres as well as on intermediates," she said.

"He definitely had the potential to make it into Q2, but was unlucky. However, there is still a race tomorrow in which he can make up positions."

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JEAN TODT SAYS FIAV ARE READY TO SIGN A NEW CONCORDE AGREEMENT IN NEXT FEW WEEKS:

The 2013 F1 season is already unique in that it has got underway without an agreement binding in the teams, the FIA and the commercial rights holder. Bernie Ecclestone has individual commercial deals with all the teams, except Marussia, but the hold up was agreeing terms with FIA president Jean Todt.

However after a series of meetings recently between the two most powerful men in the sport, Todt told the Financial Times this weekend that the issues have been sorted and the FIA will sign the new Concorde Agreement,

“I think we have all the ingredients to allow the FIA and FOM and the teams to finalise the signatures of the Concorde Agreement,” he said. “All the discussions we have agreed, and we are in the situation where we need to finalise it in writing. I am confident it should happen in the coming weeks.”

Todt, who is seeking re-election as FIA president later this year, inherited the 100 year agreement from his predecessor Max Mosley. This tied the FIA to a 100 year contract from 2011 under which it licensed the commercial rights in F1 to Ecclestone’s company for around $350 million.

The contract is watertight and cannot be broken, but Todt argued that the sport had moved on commercially since it was negotiated and the FIA needed a larger slice of the revenues.

He raised the entry fee to teams to around €15m collectively for the season and sought €25million a year from Ecclestone.

The teams have already paid their money for 2013, but the FIA has not been paid by FOM as the deal was not finalised before the season started.

A new eight year Concorde Agreement is vital for F1 to proceed with a flotation later this year in Singapore. It was put off last year due to market conditions and a loss of appetite among investors after the Facebook fiasco.

CVC, Ecclestone’s partner in the commercial rights holding company, has already sold down its stock to around 35% and a flotation would provide it with an exit from the sport, which would make F1 one of the most profitable investments in the private equity company’s history.

Todt is in Melbourne this weekend for the season opener, while Ecclestone has not made the trip. It is thought that China will be his first GP appearance this year.

Regrettably, in the same interview with the FT, Todt indicated that the FIA will not intervene on cost control in F1, meaning we are likely to continue with the current “arms race” which threatens to put some of the smaller and medium sized teams under threat.

Unable to agree effective cost control among themselves, many teams had requested the FIA to intervene and regulate costs through the Sporting regulations. Last year Todt said he was willing to work with the teams if that is what they all wanted, but has now washed his hands of it,

“A lot of teams prefer to have the privilege of competition rather than reduce costs. I hope that a sensible approach from teams will be reducing costs. But it’s not something we all have to agree together,” Todt said. “We are the regulator. If they don’t want to reduce costs, that’s it. It’s not our responsibility to do things that teams do not want.”

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Mercedes will protect data from Honda if McLaren makes switch

Mercedes will move to ensure that McLaren's knowledge of its 2014 engine is of no benefit to Honda should the team subsequently switch to the Japanese engine manufacturer.

McLaren is currently weighing up its long-term engine plans and is poised to commit to Honda for 2015 if the company feels it is the right time to return to Formula 1.

Such a move would mean that McLaren would run Mercedes' new V6 turbo engines just for 2014.

That opens up the possibility of its understanding of that power unit helping Honda's its efforts to get up to speed.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff said in Australia on Saturday that a continued partnership with McLaren could not be ruled out, but that measures would be taken to ensure Honda gains no benefit from what happens in 2014.

"It has always been our goal to work with McLaren as they are a reliable partner and even we would benefit from a collaboration with McLaren," said Wolff, when asked by AUTOSPORT to clarify the engine situation if Honda does join McLaren for 2015.

"I am not sure it is completely done yet, so we are still negotiating with them and hoping for an extension beyond 2014.

"If we cannot get this commitment it is going to be essential for us to guarantee that there is no chance of IP [cross over].

"But we are all professional and it is about having the right contract and safeguarding technology transfer. So we are having a look at that.

"At the moment I am trying to be optimistic and hoping for an extension of the contract."

McLaren currently has options with Mercedes that means it can choose to remain with the German firm until the end of 2015.

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Australian GP: Williams set to revert towards launch specification

Williams technical director Mike Coughlan has admitted that the team must revert the specification of its car to closer to the launch configuration.

The team has struggled throughout the Australian Grand Prix weekend, with Pastor Maldonado describing the car as" undriveable" after qualifying.

While Coughlan said that it would be "simplistic" to describe the team as having to revert all the way to the launch specification, he accepts that the development direction has been wrong after a promising first test for the FW35.

"The philosophy is to backtrack a little bit to where we thought we had made a significant step forward," Coughlan told said.

"Let's start again from there and have a look at what directions we took.

"It's a little bit simplistic, but the basic gist is that we will go back to that [launch specification] where we thought we had made a performance increase."

Williams was forced to abandon its latest exhaust/sidepod configuration after back-to-backing it with the previous version on Friday.

But although Coughlan accepted that this is an area where Williams is struggling, it is not the sole area of focus.

"There are some aspects of exhaust blowing which are quite difficult to either model or to analyse," said Coughlan.

"We were late to this game [harnessing exhaust gases for downforce], we freely admitted that we had a bit of catching up to do and several teams have had multiple goes at it over time.

"We see a direction, we see where we are good at it and we see where we have a little bit to catch up on.

"It's one of them [the areas of focus] as it is an area that reaps significant reward, but there isn't a single area that we don't constantly think of making better."

Despite the problems, Coughlan insists that there is no fundamental issue with the car that would force a redesign.

He is hopeful that progress can be made at next week's Malaysian Grand Prix, with bigger upgrades possible as early as the third round of the championship in China.

"We don't have a fundamental flexing issue [for example]," he said.

"We had a core car that worked very well, which gives us the belief that we have either gone wrong in some aerodynamic pieces or in some of the steps that we've done.

"We don't believe we have a redesign to do. We have taken a wrong direction and we will come back from that."

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Raikkonen knows what he is doing as he powers to Australian GP victory

Kimi Raikkonen won the season opening Australian Grand Prix as he powered to his 20th career Formula victory, and give Lotus a perfect start to the new season and dispelling any fears that world champions Red Bull were on the verge dominating proceedins after locking out the front row in qualifying a few hours earlier.

It was also a solid start for Ferrari as Fernando Alonso finished second, with teammate Felipe Massa fourth. Splitting the reds was Sebastian Vettel, who started from pole thanks to great speed in the Red Bull RB9 but in race trim the car appears to have met its match in the Ferrari and Lotus.

Raikkonen and Lotus maximised the fact that their E21 is kinder than most on the new generation Pirelli tyres, and claimed the Enstone based team’s third victory at the Albert Park circuit.

Starting from seventh on the grid, Raikkonen made a two stop strategy work for him, while his rivals went for a three stop option. The Iceman kept his cool under skies that occasionally spat rain drops, taking the lead on lap 24 from where he comfortably controlled the race.

Late on Alonso attacked, but Raikkonen had plenty to spare and upped his pace accordingly to take the chequered flag, to top an all world champion podium in Melbourne.

Raikkonen said afterwards, ”I was confident that the tyres would be OK. I had a very good car all weekend even though I didn’t do any long runs in the winter. You just have to get through the early laps in the first race of the season. Near the end, I was still pushing because I knew Fernando was catching up a bit and I thought at some point we would need a little extra if the rain came again.”

Alonso started fifth and in the end was happy with second place, no doubt remembering the situation that befell the team a year ago, same place, same time.

The Spaniard was involved in an early (no team orders) tussle with teammate Felipe Massa, but by pitting early in the second batch of tyre stops he managed to leapfrog not only Massa but also Vettel.

Thereafter he had a stab at Raikkonen’s lead late on in the race, but thought better of the pursuit.

Alonso reflected, “It was a fantastic race for us, fighting all through the race. A big thanks to the fans all weekend, we felt sad yesterday when we postponed qualifying because the fans were there in the grandstands in the rain. Today we had to put a good show for everyone and I think we did it. The race had action every lap. I personally enjoyed it. At the end, I was sad not to be able to win the race, but Kimi was fantastic and we need to congratulate them for a fantastic race.”

“We had a difficult start of season two years ago and last year, too, and this year is very different.

We feel much more comfortable, the car is responding well and we have a good season ahead of us.

We only have five days to prepare for the next race but we will again be a tough opponent,” added the Ferrari driver.

The world champions looked fighting fit after Sunday’s postponed qualifying with Vettel taking pole and Mark Webber next best and locking out the front row. But as has become his custom Webber messed up the start on home soil, and was thereafter never a top three contender.

Vettel got away well but soon it was evident that the RB9 had hot lap pace, but it was not kind to it’s tyres and consequently the number one was the first of the front runners to pit. Thereafter the German was on the back foot and was actually quite chuffed to be on the podium, which suggests that he felt he did a good job with what he had at his disposal.

Vettel summed up his day, ”We can be happy but we wanted more – when you start from pole you expect to win. The first few laps were OK but then the tyres started to fall apart. Lotus and Ferrari had incredible pace and we were third quickest. Best wishes to Kimi – we have to admit sometimes that other people are faster than us but it’s a long season so we have some good points to start with and we have no reason to be disappointed.”

Australian Grand Prix Result – Sunday, 17 March 2013

1 Kimi Räikkönen

2 Fernando Alonso

3 Sebastian Vettel

4 Felipe Massa

5 Lewis Hamilton

6 Mark Webber

7 Adrian Sutil

8 Paul di Resta

9 Jenson Button

10 Romain Grosjean

11 Sergio Perez

12 Jean-Eric Vergne

13 Esteban Gutierrez

14 Valtteri Bottas

15 Jules Bianchi

16 Charles Pic

17 Max Chilton

18 Giedo van der Garde

19 Daniel Ricciardo

Ret Nico Rosberg

Ret Pastor Maldonado

Ret Nico Hulkenberg

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Alonso: Kimi was fantastic

Although Fernando Alonso was disappointed not to win the Australian GP, the Ferrari driver concedes Kimi Raikkonen was flawless on the day.

Using a three-stop strategy, Alonso was not able to take the fight to Raikkonen as the raced towards the chequered flag in Australia.

The Spaniard, though, still managed to bring his car home in second place, securing 18 points towards his title campaign.

"It was a fantastic race for us, fighting all through the race," said Alonso.

"A big thanks to the fans all weekend, we felt sad yesterday when we postponed qualifying because the fans were there in the grandstands in the rain.

"Today we had to put a good show for everyone and I think we did it. The race had action every lap. I personally enjoyed it.

"At the end, I was sad not to be able to win the race, but Kimi was fantastic and we need to congratulate them for a fantastic race."

It was, however, a welcome result for Ferrari, who suffered last season when their 2012 challenger proved to be woefully off the pace. This year the Italian stable's F138 is proving to be one of the pace-stters.

"We had a difficult start of season two years ago and last year, too, and this year is very different.

"We feel much more comfortable, the car is responding well and we have a good season ahead of us.

"We only have five days to prepare for the next race but we will again be a tough opponent."

[MIKA27]

'Force India must seize opportunities'

Adrian Sutil has hailed Force India's performance in Australia, which saw the German lead the grand prix before finishing seventh.

Taking part in his first grand prix in more than 15 months, Sutil put in an impressive showing as he led the grand prix on two separate occasions.

However, his two-stop strategy cost him in the end as he was not able to compete against those on fresher rubber and fell to seventh place.

But despite falling off the pace, the 30-year-old reckons Sunday's performance was a timely reminder for Force India about what is possible.

"It was good to see, and important to send a message to the team to wake up again to know why we are here. You never know when there is an opportunity, but we need to be ready for it," he told the BBC.

"I was just concentrating and knew it would be difficult. On the soft tyre it was hard, because I lost so much performance, then the pace came back again at the end.

"It's good for me to see that I'm still fast and that I'm an F1 driver again. You never expect to be in first [place] after 10-15 laps after a break from the sport."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton: I think fifth's good

Lewis Hamilton will leave Melbourne a happy man despite only finishing fifth at the Australian Grand Prix.

Having started his debut race for Mercedes third on the grid behind the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, Hamilton held his own as during the early stages as he ran longer on his first set of tyres with the team aiming to do only two stops.

However, as the race progressed they were forced to change their strategy to three stops as the tyres wore off pretty quickly during the second stint.

Although he had to settle for fifth place in the end, the 28-year-old believes they had a good weekend at Albert Park and feels they will improve even further at the Malaysian GP.

"We didn't expect to have such a competitive car," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"Some people will be like, 'Oh, it wasn't great' but I think fifth's good. I had to come in and changes tyres and 27 laps on that tyre [wasn't possible], so we had to covert to a three-stop strategy. I think we'll have a good race in Malaysia."

[MIKA27]

Electrical problem cost Rosberg

Nico Rosberg has revealed that it was an electrical problem that caused his W04 to stop during Sunday's Australian GP.

Racing towards a solid points finish, the German pulled off the track at Turn Four on lap 27.

"There were some cuts and then an electrical problem," he told the BBC.

"The car felt okay - everyone was sounding very positive in my ears - but apparently it wasn't so great."

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old also revealed that he had been suffering "terrible" graining to his tyres due to the colder than expected temperatures in Melbourne.

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Maldonado: Must learn from this

Having labelled his car "undriveable", Pastor Maldonado says Williams "only have a week" to fix it after failing to finish in Australia.

Maldonado dropped out in Q1 on Saturday but blamed his FW35, not the dismal weather. According to the Venezuelan driver, the car is "undriveable."

But whether that played a role in him going off the track and beaching the car in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, he wasn't saying.

Maldonado, though, has urged his team to find a solution and preferably before next weekend's Malaysian race.

"It was a bit difficult during the race, fighting with the car from the beginning," he said.

"We have to learn from this - but we only have a week to do it."

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg misses the Aussie GP

Nico Hulkenberg did not start the Australian Grand Prix due to a fuel system problem.

The German had qualified 11th for the season-opening grand prix, however, it emerged an hour before the start that he would not be able to take his place on the grid.

According to the BBC, Hulkenberg's car was in pieces as his rivals took the grid as his Sauber team attempted to resolve a "fuel system" issue.

However, due to "safety reasons" he was withdrawn.

"Well just when we were doing the fire-up we realised we had an issue with the fuel system so we decided for safety reasons we would not take the grid," said team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said.

[MIKA27]

Zytek hints at 2014 F1 engine programme

British engineering company Zytek could become the latest Formula 1 engine supplier after it confirmed that it is concentrating on developing a hybrid system to meet the new 2014 regulations.

At present, only Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault have committed to producing a new 1.6 litre V6 turbo-charged unit, whilst Honda is believed to have begun its own project to power McLaren in 2015.

Zytek revealed the information on Twitter, but stopped short of actual confirmation that it would produce an F1 engine.

"Development focus is now on Hybrid Systems for 2014 Regulations (F1 & WEC) but can't say too much about that at this stage," they said in conversation with Racecar Engineering.

The company worked with Mercedes in 2009 to develop its successful KERS unit, and has the expertise to build an entire power unit itself. They did however warn that such a project would require significant funding.

"Maybe we will do a whole power unit ourselves. Certainly we have all the elements needed for it in our skills/experience plus the reg[ulation] reset gives newcomers a chance.

"It is certainly a big job and needs serious money to turn the basic engineering concept into a competitve package."

Zytek is a leading hybrid-engine manufacturer and currently supplies engines to Auto GP, LMP1, LMP2, and the World Series by Renault.

It was the first manufacturer to score an LMP podium with a hybrid car run by Corsa Motorsport in 2009.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari: We have started this season on the right foot

Thirty points in the bag for Scuderia Ferrari after the Australian Grand Prix, thanks to a second place for Fernando Alonso and a fourth for Felipe Massa. Both drivers made three stops, starting on the Supersoft tyres before using the Medium for the rest of the race.

Stefano Domenicali: “First of all, I wish to congratulate the winner. After winter testing, we had said we were aiming for a podium in Australia and I am pleased we have reached this first objective. This is only the first of nineteen races and we are happy to see Scuderia Ferrari at the top of the Constructors’ classification: it is an encouraging start on which we must continue to build our Championship and today’s result should serve as a motivational push for all of us, both here at the track and back home in Maranello. Reliability, pit stops and strategy are as ever the key factors, but this weekend has thrown up other interesting topics on which to reflect, relative to our outright performance level compared to the competition”.

Fernando Alonso: “We can claim to have started this season on the right foot, immediately in the fight with the best. Along with the results from winter testing, it is a very encouraging sign that we managed to get the most out of a weekend that was full of unknown factors, both in qualifying and the race. I think the three stop strategy was the right one: with the degradation we had, it would have been impossible to manage on one less and bringing forward the second one by a few laps meant I was able to pass Vettel and Sutil. Finishing ahead of the Red Bull tastes like a win, even if we know that despite today’s race result, they are still the quickest.

Now we can expect another weekend with very changeable weather and one that also puts a lot of stress on the cars from a mechanical point of view and on the drivers, from a physical one. But we can tackle it calmly on the back of this good result”.

Felipe Massa: “This is definitely a very positive start to the season, especially because this is a track where I have always suffered.

We have shown that our car is competitive, with a good race pace and that is down to all the hard work done during winter testing. I had an attacking start to my race, in which I was immediately fighting for the top places. Maybe if we had brought forward the second stop, as Fernando did, the podium would have been within my grasp, but I am still very happy with my result. Definitely, we are at a good level, but now we must carefully analyse every smallest detail to try and improve our car”.

Pat Fry: “In the morning, qualifying was very tough as it was vital to choose the right tyre at the most opportune moment and we managed it without too much hesitation. It was not easy understanding what was the real gap to the front runners, as in some conditions it is not always clear. This afternoon, we had a good race pace and both drivers performed well without making any mistakes. But we are aware that we still have a lot of work to do if we want to continue to improve. Maybe we could have risked a two stop strategy, but given the unknowns linked to tyre degradation, we preferred not to do that. In the next races, it will be vital to understand the tyre behaviour, in order to choose the best strategies”.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull disappointed they were not as strong as they expected

Red Bull’s failure to win the Australian Grand Prix after hogging the front row of the grid has shown the championship team they were not as good as they thought they were, a disappointed Mark Webber said on Sunday.

The 36-year-old Australian lined up second behind pole-sitting team-mate Sebastian Vettel but finished a deflating sixth after a horror start in his 12th and possibly final bid to win his home Grand Prix.

Webber struggled to get moving due to a clutch problem at the start, slipping back to seventh at the first turn, and lost his car’s kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) to face an uphill battle to secure points.

More disconcerting was that the pace the Red Bull cars had shown in practice and qualifying was made redundant as they chewed through their tyres and were shown cleaner heels by Lotus’s winner Kimi Raikkonen.

“We had a KERS failure, quite a few things we needed to manage,” a resigned Webber told reporters. We didn’t have a clue where to put the clutch for the start either, there was no telemetry back to the guys so they were just rolling the dice with that.”

“The first 15-20 minutes was a real, real difficult part of the grand prix for us and to get back somewhere towards the points at the end wasn’t too bad, but ultimately even if we had a smooth day, I think we would have got done today.”

Pushed out to the back after being forced to take an early pit-stop, the Australian battled hard to secure eight points for Red Bull, while Vettel secured 15 with his third place finish in cool and breezy conditions at Albert Park circuit.

The reigning triple world champion was nearly 10 seconds adrift of Ferrari’s runner-up Fernando Alonso, however, leaving the British-based team plenty to ponder ahead of the next stop in Malaysia.

“I think we can be happy with the pace all weekend, the car left a very good impression,” Vettel said.

“Obviously there is a bit of homework to do for the next race regarding the tyres. Obviously we couldn’t keep it up and the times set at the front by Fernando and especially Kimi were very impressive and obviously we couldn’t do that. It was a very tough, very long grand prix and I’m happy to be on the podium at the end.”

Webber, who has vowed to fight to keep his Red Bull seat despite speculation of a new driver at the end of the season, said he was left hoping for a safety car to “spice things up” at Albert Park.

“In the end, we managed to salvage something from (it),” he added. “There is a lot to go, but I think the disappointing thing for us as a team was that we weren’t probably as strong as we thought we’d be. But that’s Formula One, it can change very quickly.”

MIKA: Clutch problem for Webber....? What a load of BS. He's well known for being a poor starter. Zzzzzzzzz

[MIKA27]

Marussia: We are pleased with our debut race with the MR02

After 12 days of pre-season testing and a promising start to the season-opening weekend in Melbourne, the true pace of the Marussia F1 Team’s MR02 was finally revealed in today’s Australian Grand Prix. In the first race of their Formula 1 careers, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton brought their cars home in P15 and P17 respectively, outpacing both Caterhams and at times matching the pace of several of the midfield runners.

Jules had a dream racing debut and was consistently quick from lights-to-flag. Max got tagged by the Caterham of Van der Garde early on and front wing damage necessitated an extended pitstop. This hurt his race as it meant that he hit blue flags much earlier, which hampered his progress.

Jules Bianchi #22

“I am very happy with my race today and really can’t imagine a better start to my first season of F1. Yesterday’s qualifying was quite a challenge but today I felt very calm as I looked forward to this moment. Generally everything went very smoothly in the race and we worked our way through the tyre management issues as well as we could in order to maximise the possibilities. We have not had the luxury of time so I would like to thanks my engineers, car crew and the whole team for helping me to be as prepared as possible and for a great job today. It would seem that the Team have made a big step over the winter and it is very nice to see them reacting positively to this.”

Max Chilton #23

“I am happy with my Formula 1 debut and although it was less than straightforward, it’s good to get it under my belt and to know where we stand relative to the competition. The coming-together with Van der Garde early in the race damaged my front wing, which meant I had to stop for a wing change. This put me back out on track such that I hit the blue flag period and it was a bit of a battle to recover the ground I lost. I had a really good fight with Van der Garde and closed the gap enough to be able to pass him. From there I was able to demonstrate more of my true pace and I was posting laps around three seconds faster than him. Although the race had its frustrations, I feel like I’ve learned a lot that I perhaps wouldn’t have learned otherwise and that will be useful experience over the next few races. I’m looking forward to Malaysia now so I can roll all that back into my racing and be able to take the fight to the midfield pack.”

John Booth, Team Principal

Generally we are pleased with our debut race with the MR02 and happy that the positive signs from pre-season testing were an accurate reflection of the true performance level of our early package. Jules drove a fantastic race and quickly left the Caterhams in his wake to focus on the midfield pack in front. We had started on the Supersoft tyre and perhaps underestimated how quickly the degradation would come on these tyres, so we made a very early swap onto the Mediums which enabled Jules to get back into contention. Unfortunately, by this stage, there was a reasonable gap to the Williams in front and Jules did a good job to gradually eat into that. The rest of his race was really based around stopping when the rate of tyre degradation got too high. The very late stop to the second set of Supersofts came about when we had some substantial front wear on his last set of prime tyres. Under normal circumstances perhaps we would have carried on but with a pitstop time loss easily in hand to the cars behind, we decided it was safer to stop. Max was unfortunately caught out by a collision with Van der Garde early on in the race, which forced him into a stop for a new front wing. The loss that a pitstop of this nature entails unfortunately meant that he hit the blue flags much sooner than Jules and in this situation it was always going to be difficult to recover. He overtook him in the race but with such a big gap to Pic there was not enough time to reel him in. We leave Melbourne satisfied that we have definitely progressed over the winter. We should certainly never underestimate the midfield teams, however I think we’ve shown today that they are realistically within striking distance. As a team we must work as hard as we can over the next few races to seize the opportunity to be racing them. I’d like to thank everyone back at Banbury for their hard work, and also our engine supplier Cosworth. We are also very pleased to have had such a successful debut with the new KERS system.”

[MIKA27]

Caterham: That wasn’t too bad a race for us

Team and drivers review the Australian Grand Prix, Round 1 of the 2013 Formula 1 world championship, at Albert Park in Melbourne.

Charles Pic, car 20, chassis CT03-#6: “That wasn’t too bad a race for us. Of course we’d prefer to finish higher but I think that at this stage of the season this reflects our current performance levels. We started on the supersofts and our pace was ok for the first stint but the tyres dropped off very quickly. In contrast, when we went onto the mediums the degradation levels were very good so we were able to push the second stint much longer than we’d planned and that gave us a chance to fight. Unfortunately towards the end of the race we had a KERS failure which obviously cut our outright pace and prevented us from taking full advantage of the good tyre wear we saw on the primes. We know that it’s going to be similar to this for the first few races, but with what we have coming it’s going to be a really interesting season. We have quite a few small details we need to work on for the next race but it’s good to have a real fight on our hands, good for the team and the fans so let’s see how this progresses.”

Giedo van der Garde, car 21, chassis CT01-#5: “For me that was a reasonable start to my F1 career. It was really important to finish my first race and that’s exactly what I did so I’m pretty happy with how it ended up. I started the race on the supersofts, passed a few people in the first turn and was keeping up with Bianchi until the first pitstop, even with the deg levels on the option tyres.

Unfortunately I had a slow puncture on the first set of mediums and that cost me time and position. We had to stop much earlier than planned to put a new set of mediums on and that meant a change to the strategy, but it’s all good experience for me. I’ve said all through pre-season that the first races are a chance for me to learn and today was really good for that. I feel good physically and now we have a lot more information about tyre wear and how to manage that so we’ll take that to next week’s race Malaysia and see what we can do at our first home race of the season.”