[Mikk]

Rosberg fastest as F1 blasts off


Williams driver Nico Rosberg clocked the fastest laps of both practice sessions as the new Formula 1 season burst into life in Melbourne.

Toyota, Brawn GP and Williams - who all fought off a Thursday protest about the legality of their cars - shone the brightest on an intriguing afternoon.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton, the world champion, struggled in his McLaren to finish 16th then 18th.

Red Bull put in a strong second session while Ferrari had a mixed day.

<!-- E SF --> Ahead of the richly-anticipated opening action of the 2009 season, motorsport's governing body, the FIA, had rejected a protest made by Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault about the legality of a key part at the back of the cars used by Williams, Brawn GP and Toyota.

It had been claimed their rear diffusers do not conform to new F1 regulations, but stewards ruled against the complaint.

And it was those cars that were fastest around Melbourne's Albert Park street circuit, with the traditionally more successful teams suffering.

In the first session, Rosberg came through to take the fastest time - one minute 26.687 seconds - from Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on his last lap of 19, while team-mate Kazuki Nakajima finished second.

The German ran even quicker in the second session, clocking 1:26.053, while Japan's Nakajima finished up seventh.

"It's been a positive day," said Rosberg. "We've done very well today but it's not clear how much fuel others were running.

"My hopes are higher than before that we can consistently score points. It's a nice step forward but how much, I cannot say."

New team Brawn GP also backed up their impressive performance in testing with a strong showing.

The former Honda team led by owner Ross Brawn were tipped as pre-race favourites and, on this early showing, there is every indication that may be justified.

Veteran Rubens Barrichello, at 37 the oldest driver on the grid, finished fourth and second in the respective sessions with a fastest time of 1:26.157.

England's Jenson Button - widely identified as the pre-race favourite by bookies - finished sixth and fifth with a fastest time of 1:26.374.

Though little can be read into practice times - teams merely use these sessions to determine their qualifying and race tactics - Toyota will also be heartened by their performance.

Drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, both running on the softer of the two tyre types available, led for much of the second session and eventually finished third and sixth respectively.

Also on the seemingly more responsive softer tyres, Raikkonen led for most of the first session but eventually finished third for the constructor's champions.

In the second session, he finished 11th with Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa one place ahead.

McLaren were slow throughout, which was largely expected given the problems they had experienced in pre-season testing.

Heikki Kovalainen finished fifth in the first session but team-mate Hamilton was well off the pace and both were in the last four places in the second session.

"It's tough for anyone [being at the back] but I have a lot of experience running at the back in other categories," said Hamilton.

"But we are not in the place we want to be. We have a steep and tough challenge but we have to remain positive and keep pushing."

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso failed to shine in his Renault, finishing 10th in the first session and 12th in the second, while BMW Sauber had troubles with their car and were not as quick as anticipated after strong test showings leading up to Melbourne.

Red Bull suffered in the first session, with drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel managing just 11 laps between them.

But Webber hit back to finish fourth in the second session with a time of 1:26.370, though Vettel again span out.

Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, along with BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, ran with the new kinetic energy recovery (Kers), which gives drivers a power boost.

The third and final practice session is on Saturday at 0255 GMT.

Damn, McClaren have gone downhill since Ron Dennis left however good to see other teams doing well.

[Dmac]

Well Hamilton said that the team would struggle, he wasn't wrong.

[Mikk]

Jenson Button secured pole for the Australian Grand Prix ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello as Brawn GP put in a stunning show on their debut.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica will make up the second row at Melbourne's Albert Park.

Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli were sixth and eighth but got put to the back as Toyota's cars broke technical rules.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa is now sixth but Lewis Hamilton starts in 18th after his McLaren suffered gearbox troubles.

Williams had launched a protest about the rear wings of Red Bull and Ferrari's cars, but later withdrew their complaint.

Former Honda team Brawn GP - whose survival was secured by owner Ross Brawn in early March after the British-based Japanese team pulled out of F1 because of the global financial crisis - backed up their impressive performances in testing and practice in some style.

This is the first time any team has been on pole position with the first car they have built since Scotland's Jackie Stewart for Tyrrell at the Canadian GP in 1970.

"The last five or six months have been so tough for both of us, not knowing if we had a drive in F1," said England's Button, whose time of one minute 26.202 seconds secured pole.

"The pace seemed good on both sets of tyres early on but the others seemed closer to us than I thought. I think it was down to about two hundredths.

"I was struggling a bit with fuel as well, I just couldn't get the car to work, but when we got the fuel in it was great and I think that bodes well for the race."

And the performance of Brawn's cars proved even more impressive when the FIA released the pre-race weights, which give an indication of the fuel load each car is carrying.

Button (664.5 kg) and Barrichello (666.5) were carrying significantly more fuel than many of their rivals, with Vettel (657), Kubica (650), Nico Rosberg (657), Massa (654) and Kimi Raikkonen (655.5) all enjoying the advantage of a lighter load.

In the second qualifying session - considered the clearest guide to the true pace of the cars - Barrichello finished nearly four tenths ahead of the rest of field after clocking 1:24.783.

Compounding a scintillating team performance Button was less than one tenth of a second behind, while, lagging beyond, the next eight drivers were split by just two tenths of a second.

Yet world champion Hamilton may struggle to catch that leading pack after failing to appear for the second qualifying session following more problems with his McLaren, who have been struggling to put the downforce back into their car in pre-season testing.

The Englishman finished in 15th and was initially put to the back of the grid following the race as McLaren decided they will change the car's gearbox after its fourth-gear failure.

"There was no more drive in the gearbox, there is an issue there," Hamilton told BBC Sport after it happened.

Yet Hamilton received a slight reprieve and will start in 18th following the scrutineering process, where the two Toyota cars were excluded from the qualifying results after race officials found their cars to have rear wings "with an extreme degree of flexibility".

Flexible rear wings are banned because they can bring performance advantages.

Renault's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will start in 10th place, after a mistake on his final flying lap cost him vital time.

"We arrived here to fight for the podium, but this might not be the case tomorrow [Sunday]," Alonso said.

"We were very close to Q3 times, only two or three tenths of a second off, but I made a mistake as I tried to make up some time in the final corner.

"I'm disappointed as I thought I could be fifth or sixth on the grid."

Williams driver Rosberg, who clocked the quickest lap times in all three practice sessions, will start in fifth as the teams being protested against by Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault for the legality of their diffusers - Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams - all, prior to scrutineering, appeared to hit the heights.

But, after both struggling with their cars at various points in practice, Vettel and Kubica put in a much-improved performance when it mattered.

Constructor's champions Ferrari start from relatively disappointing grid positions with Massa - who missed out on the 2008 world title by one point - in the third row and team-mate Raikkonen starting in seventh position.

Red Bull's Mark Webber went well in the second qualifying session but will start in eighth, moving up from 10th, after making a mistake and running wide at Turn Nine on his last lap in the final session.

The Australian GP starts on Sunday at 0700 BST, with coverage on BBC1 from 0600 BST.

Hamilton is really struggling, they need to get sorted and quickly.

[Dmac]

One Brit struggling with the other flurishing, would be nice to see a Brit win it for the second year running and for it to be a different Brit would be even better in my opinion.

[badar100]

McLaren team really sucks this season imo

[Marshall]

Would love to see button win it, it would be like Coulthard finaly winning it in a way(although i will never see that now)

[Dmac]

You could Marshal, he's the sub driver for Red Bull... just hire an assassin to take out Mark Webber, or better yet do it yourself.

[Mikk]

You leave Webber alone, get the other bloke instead.

Jenson Button secured a dream debut victory for the Brawn GP team after dominating the Australian Grand Prix.

The Englishman led throughout and team-mate Rubens Barrichello completed a Brawn one-two after a dramatic finish.

The Brazilian was promoted after Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW's Robert Kubica collided while disputing second place with three laps to go.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli was hit with a 25-second penalty after the race giving Lewis Hamilton an unexpected third.
<!-- E SF -->
Clinching an eventual podium finish from 18th on the grid was a superb achievement for the British world champion, given the woeful performance of his McLaren coming into the race.

But all eyes were on Brawn after the chequered flag, with the success of the former Honda team - whose survival was only secured by team boss Ross Brawn in early March - firmly capturing the imagination of the sport as it enters a fresh era under new rules.

Victorious Button secured the second win of his 154-race Formula 1 career after driving coolly throughout, showcasing Brawn's speed to keep Red Bull's Vettel at bay for the vast majority of the race to eventually cruise to a finish behind the safety car.

"This is a fairytale ending for the first race," said Button.

"Some people may say its a pity the race finished under the safety car but I don't care, I won the race and that's all I care about."

Vettel looked set for a brilliant second place but he and Kubica tangled on Turn Three with just three laps remaining.

The Red Bull driver was slow through the first two corners, allowing Kubica to get alongside on the outside.

The Pole gave Vettel room, but the Red Bull's front wheel tagged the rear wheel of the BMW.

That tipped both into a spin, and damaged their front wings.

Both crashed further around the lap, and although Vettel tried to continue on three wheels he was eventually forced to retire.

Along with earning the Red Bull driver a post-race 10-place grid penalty for next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, the crash brought out the safety car for the second time in the race and it stayed at the head of the field until the end.

Brawn's one-two looked unlikely at the start of the race as Barrichello, sat next to Button on the front row, was easily passed by the chasing pack as his anti-stall system kicked in.

The Brazilian also tangled with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen to cause significant damage to his front wing, which had to be replaced during his stop on lap 18.

The frenetic start also saw Red Bull's Mark Webber collide with McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen, causing the Finn to retire and putting the Australian to the back for the duration of his home race.

Button built a lead of nearly 4.5 seconds in the first two laps but Vettel stabilised the gap, which stayed at between four and five seconds until the first pit stops.

Kubica - one of several drivers to start the race on the slower, softer tyres in order to get them out of the way early - stayed in the hunt while

Hamilton continued to make up good ground after a brilliant first lap that saw him move up to 12th from 18th on the grid.

The first of two safety car periods happened on lap 19, following a crash by Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima.

When it pulled in again, Button again built a five-second lead over a few laps before Vettel held it.

But both - now on the softer, slower tyres - came under pressure late in the race from Kubica, who was now benefiting from the team's decision to use the faster tyres late on.

That pressure on Button was punctured in an instant as the Pole collided with Vettel allowing Jarno Trulli and Hamilton, whose McLaren had woefully underperformed in qualifying by his own admission but was now seemingly capable of giving him a drive, to reap the rewards.

Hamilton received a further boost following the race when he was elevated to third after veteran Italian Trulli was handed a 25-second penalty by the stewards for passing Hamilton under yellow flags following the crash involving Vettel and Kubica.

It is, however, understood that Toyota will appeal against Trulli's penalty.

Toyota's Timo Glock finished fifth in Melbourne ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso and Williams's Nico Rosberg, who suffered a sticking front wheel at a pit stop on lap 15 which scuppered his chance of a podium finish.

Red Bull's Sebastien Buemi made an impressive debut to secure a point.

And Ferrari finished without scoring in the season opener for the second year running, as Felipe Massa - running in third place - sustained a reliability failure on lap 45, three laps after team-mate Raikkonen had spun out.

Haven't seen it yet, going to watch the re-run at 1 so i'm really looking forward to this.

[Dmac]

Wow, so two Brits on the podium today? That's awesome.

[Silleh Willeh]

I feel rather sorry for Vettel and Kubica they both had really good races and one major mistake cost them a great amount of points. Fair play to Ross Brawn and Brawn GP in the space of around about 4 weeks they have made a great car and got an excellent 1-2. Jenson Button had spent years and years aiming to prove he wasn't just a flash in the pan and with the old hand in Rubens Barrichelo they both had a great race and they deserve all the plaudits after this great race.

Full extended results

Driver Car number Team Grid position Race time Points
1 Great Britain Jenson Button 22 Brawn-Mercedes 1 1:34:15.784 10
2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 23 Brawn-Mercedes 2 1:34:16.591 8
3 Great Britain Lewis Hamilton 1 McLaren-Mercedes 18 1:34:18.698 6
4 Germany Timo Glock 10 Toyota 20 1:34:20.219 5
5 Spain Fernando Alonso 7 Renault 10 1:34:20.663 4
6 Germany Nico Rosberg 16 Williams-Toyota 5 1:34:21.506 3
7 Switzerland Sebastien Buemi 12 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13 1:34:21.788 2
8 France Sebastien Bourdais 11 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 17 1:34:22.082 1
9 Germany Adrian Sutil 20 Force India-Mercedes 16 1:34:22.119 0
10 Germany Nick Heidfeld 6 BMW Sauber 9 1:34:22.869 0
11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 21 Force India-Mercedes 15 1:34:23.158 0
12 Italy Jarno Trulli 9 Toyota 19 1:34:42.388 0
13 Australia Mark Webber 14 Red Bull-Renault 8 lapped 0
RET Germany Sebastian Vettel 15 Red Bull-Renault 3 retired, 56 laps 0
RET Poland Robert Kubica 5 BMW Sauber 4 crash, 55 laps 0
RET Finland Kimi Raikkonen 4 Ferrari 7 retired, 55 laps 0
RET Brazil Felipe Massa 3 Ferrari 6 retired, 45 laps 0
RET Brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 8 Renault 14 crash, 24 laps 0
RET Japan Kazuki Nakajima 17 Williams-Toyota 11 crash, 17 laps 0
RET Finland Heikki Kovalainen 2 McLaren-Mercedes 12 retired, 0 laps 0