2007 Australian Grand Prix
 2007 Australian Grand Prix
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|---|---|
| Date | March 18, 2007 |
| Round | 1 |
| Track | Melbourne |
| Laps | 58 |
| Weather | |
| | |
| Driver | Kimi Raikkonen |
| Time | 1:26.072 |
| | |
| Driver | Kimi Raikkonen |
| Time | 1:25.235 |
Melbourne hosted the opening round of the 2007 Formula One season once again, after a brief sabbatical away from opening the World Championship in 2006.
In pre-season testing, Ferrari looked like the most reliable package, having hired Kimi Raikkonen to replace the void filled by Michael Schumacher. Fernando Alonso moved to McLaren, alongside British rookie and GP2 champion Lewis Hamilton. Honda sported earth liveries, as support for ecological issues. Formula One changed tyre rules, which meant that Bridgestone were now the sole supplier, but now soft and hard tyres need to be used during the race.
Qualifying saw improved an improved performance from 2006’s backmarkers, Super Aguri, buoyed by controversially using a Honda chassis. Kimi Raikkonen took pole position for Ferrari, with Fernando Alonso second for McLaren. In third was the improved package from BMW-Sauber, who had made huge off-season improvements, and one of the best handling cars on the grid. Nick Heidfeld came third for them. Lewis Hamilton came fourth after an impressive Grand Prix debut. Robert Kubica was fifth in the second BMW, but the leading Renault was Giancarlo Fisichella, in sixth place. Honda struggled, with Jenson Button only 19th. Felipe Massa, after a strong performance winning his home race at Interlagos in the last race of 2006, suffered a technical problem with his Ferrari, and couldn’t complete a lap in the second qualifying session.
At the start of the race, Felipe Massa dropped to last after choosing to change his engine. At the start, Nick Heidfeld and Lewis Hamilton passed Fernando Alonso, who didn’t have Renault’s excellent launch control to help him. Raikkonen opened up a big lead at the front early on.
Promising rookie Hamilton inherited the lead on lap 19 from a pitting Raikkonen. Alonso overtook Heidfeld in the pit stops, to move up to third. Having fought through the field, Heikki Kovalainen spun, which helped Felipe Massa move into eighth place, and into the points.
Alonso overtook Hamilton during the second round of pit stops, giving him second place. Raikkonen was way ahead up front, and despite a brief off, won comfortably for his 10th Grand Prix victory, and his first on debut for Ferrari. The last man to win on his Ferrari debut was Nigel Mansell, 18 years ago. Hamilton had the honour of leading in his debut race.
Robert Kubica failed to finish for BMW-Sauber in what became a disappointing race, as Nick Heidfeld finished fourth in a car that had less fuel than the others around it. Felipe Massa was sixth after Giancarlo Fisichella. Williams got two points as Nico Rosberg beat Ralf Schumacher of Toyota. Super Aguri had their highest finish, 12th place. Jenson Button could only finish 15th in an awful race for Honda.
Kimi Raikkonen took an early lead in the World Championship, with McLaren-Mercedes leading the Constructors’ Championship.
[edit] Results
| Rank | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 58 | 1:25:28.770 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 |  Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 58 | +7.2 sec | 2 | 8 |
| 3 |  Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 58 | + 18.5 sec | 4 | 6 |
| 4 |  Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 58 | + 38.7 sec | 3 | 5 |
| 5 |  Giancarlo Fisichella | Renault | 58 | +66.4 sec | 6 | 4 |
| 6 |  Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 58 | + 66.8 sec | 22 | 3 |
| 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 57 | +1 lap | 12 | 2 |
| 8 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota | 57 | +1 lap | 9 | 1 |
| 9 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 57 | +1 lap | 8 | |
| 10 | Heikki Kovalainen | Renault | 57 | +1 lap | 13 | |
| 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 57 | +1 lap | 16 | |
| 12 |  Takuma Sato | Super Aguri | 57 | +1 lap | 10 | |
| 13 |  Mark Webber | Red Bull | 57 | +1 lap | 7 | |
| 14 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso | 57 | +1 lap | 19 | |
| 15 | Jenson Button | Honda | 57 | +1 lap | 14 | |
| 16 | Anthony Davidson | Super Aguri | 56 | +2 laps | 11 | |
| 17 | Adrian Sutil | Spyker | 56 | +2 laps | 20 | |
| Ret |  Alexander Wurz | Williams | 48 | Accident | 15 | |
| Ret | David Coulthard | Red Bull | 48 | Accident | 18 | |
| Ret |  Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 36 | Gearbox | 5 | |
| Ret |  Scott Speed | Toro Rosso | 28 | Wheel | 17 | |
| Ret |  Christijan Albers | Spyker | 10 | Accident | 21 |
| 2007 Formula One Season | |
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| Tracks: Adelaide • Melbourne |
