2011 Australian Grand Prix

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2011 Australian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 19 in the 2011 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	27 March 2011 (2011-03-27)
Official name	2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix
Location	Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia
Course	Temporary street circuit
Course length	5.303 km (3.295 miles)
Distance	58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 miles)
Weather	Sunny, 18°C
Attendance	111,000[1]
Pole position
Driver	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault
Time	1:23.529
Fastest lap
Driver	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Time	1:28.947 on lap 55
Podium
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault
Second	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	Vitaly Petrov	Renault
Lap leaders

The 2011 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix)^[2] was a Formula One motor race held on 27 March 2011 at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. It was the 76th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928. Originally planned as the second race of the 2011 Formula One season, it became the season opener with the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix due to civil unrest in the country.^[3]

The 58-lap race was won by the reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, driving for Red Bull Racing, after starting from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, and Renault's Vitaly Petrov completed the podium in third place, the first and only podium finish of his career and the first podium finish for a Russian national.^[4][5] This was the only race until the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix that neither Mercedes was classified. It was also the Grand Prix debut of Sergio Pérez, who drove for Sauber.^[6]

This race also marked Pirelli's return as the sole tyre supplier, replacing Bridgestone, who had supplied tyres to Formula One between 1997 and 2010. It was Pirelli's first race as a tyre supplier since the 1991 edition.