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| Jenson Collects the 1st Trophy of 2012 |
We start off this morning with a look at the grid for todays race:
| Grid Number | Driver | Team | (Any other info) |
| 1 | Hamilton | McLaren | 1:24.922 |
| 2 | Button | McLaren | |
| 3 | Grosjean | Lotus | |
| 4 | Schumacher | Mercedes | |
| 5 | Webber | Red Bull | |
| 6 | Vettel | Red Bull | |
| 7 | Rosberg | Mercedes | |
| 8 | Maldonado | Williams | |
| 9 | Hulkenberg | Force India | |
| 10 | Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | |
| 11 | Vergne | Toro Rosso | |
| 12 | Alonso | Ferrari | |
| 13 | Koyayashi | Sauber | |
| 14 | Senna | Williams | |
| 15 | Di Resta | Force India | |
| 16 | Massa | Ferrari | |
| 17 | Raikkonen | Lotus | |
| 18 | Kovalainen | Caterham | |
| 19 | Petrov | Caterham | |
| 20 | Glock | Marussia | |
| 21 | Pic | Marussia | |
| 22 | Perez | Sauber | 5 Place Grid penalty |
| 23 | De La Rosa | HRT | Didn't Qualify |
| 24 | Karthikeyan | HRT | Didn't Qualify |
So only a few moments to go until the lights go out. Sit back and enjoy this report,written in real time. For race reports we will write it as the action unfolds and then upload it to the website. So apologies for any early errors. We will proof reading during the day. F1 is all about speed, so let's see how soon you can red our coverage. Live, but only just.
The track temperature is just 29, and there are drivers out of position. Not only that, we have six champions on the track and many drivers out of position. With a double DRS we are likely to see a lot of overtaking today.
The lights go out and we are off and racing for 2012.
At the start Lewis got some wheel spin, letting Jenson through into first corner. The Ferrari's seem to be making progress through the field. Then after a great qualifying session, Grosjean comes off the track with what seems like front right wheel issues.
Within 4 laps Button had already built up a 2.6 second gap, on his team mate. Vettel showed that he can race after all, with a great early move on Rosberg. On lap 7 the top 10 are split by around 20 seconds already.
Red Bull are confident they can catch Schumacher. At the moment the top 5 are 1. Button 2. Hamilton 3. Schumacher 4. Vettel 5. Rosberg. Immediately after this run down we have the Mercedes of Schumacher pulling over will a faulty car. Now there will be only one Mercedes racing.
Massa pulled into the its for a new set of tyres on lap 12, the first of the unscheduled stops. Rosberg pits second, this time on lap13. Raikkonen has already up 11 places so far by lap 14.
On lap 17 the leaders started to pit. Button was the first with Vettel following. As Hamilton left the pits he found his a Sauber in his way, which won't help. Rakkionen went in for his first lap during the 20th. This is where we and out the true gains of Kimi. He started in 17th and comes out 11th with others yet to pit in front of him.
What an exciting race as there is action up and down the track. On lap 21 Alonso and Rosberg took places from perez. It looks like Sauber may try a one stop race.
Halfway through the race, all the top 10 have now pitted.
Jenson is still running away with the race at half distance, however Hamilton is putting him under pressure. Vettel is a steady distance behind the two McLarens. As for Ferrari, they are relying on Alonso (who you could put in a Fiat Panda in this race and he'd still do well).
Massa is the first of the drivers to make a second stop, let's see who follows.
Mercedes are showing great straight line speed during the middle part of this race. They are making it difficult for anyone to overtake, despite DRS. This could prove more significant as the race and season goes on.
On lap 37 Vitaly Perov parked his car on the start\finish straight causing an issue for McLaren. The safety car was deployed and this meant Jenson kept his first place, but the big winner and big looser from this was Vettel, who jumped Hamilton into 3rd. Now this will be an interesting restart.
During this safety car period caused by the Caterham of Petrov, we also lost Kovalainen. Not a great day for the lads from Hingham. Maybe next week things will be better.
Following the safety car period, we can run down the latest top five – Button, Vettel, Hamilton, Webber and Alonso (5th? Really? Surely not).
With just 10 laps to go, Massa was in the garage with front wing issues, they will try to fix it but it looks to be the end of Massa's race.
Jenson Button seems to be managing the gap nicely between himlelf and 2nd place Vettel. Hamilton can't seem to make any inroads on Vettel, likewise Webber on Hamilton.
The final laps seemed like a precession but Button would have relieved to finish on the top step of the podium. I have to be honest in saying that I got a fair few of my predictions wrong for this race. I'll start with the ones I got right; a win for a McLaren, a podium for one of the Red Bull drivers, A nice run through the field for Raikkonen. Then there are the ones I got wrong; a stinker for both Ferrari's (5th again for Alonso – he'd even make 5th in a HRT, I bet), Caterham to beat a few midfield teams and be closer, if not in the points and finally the big one, I predicted a tough start for Williams, but they must be so pleased with the race weekend as a whole.
So there you have it, we're off and running, next stop Malaysia in a few days time. I will be running some comments later today from the guys on the front line. Watch out for that article, with more analysis and stats for you to sift through. Other articles to look forward to this week; an interview with Formula One fan and runner-up in last seasons World Touring Chamoionships. We'll have the views from a supporter from each team on how the first weekend felt for them, a huge announcement about Issue One of a new magazine entitled 'My Formula One' plus so much more.
Final Race Standings and Points
| Position | Driver - Team | Points |
| 1 | Button – Vodafone McLaren | 22 |
| 2 | Vettel – Red Bull Racing | 18 |
| 3 | Hamilton – Vodafone McLaren | 15 |
| 4 | Webber – Red Bull Racing | 12 |
| 5 | Alonso – Ferrari | 10 |
| 6 | Kobayashi - Sauber | 8 |
| 7 | Raikkonen - Lotus | 6 |
| 8 | Perez - Sauber | 4 |
| 9 | Ricciardo – Toro Rosso | 2 |
| 10 | Di Resta – Sahara Force India | 1 |
| 11 | Vergne – Toro Rosso | 0 |
| 12 | Rosberg – AMG Mercedes | 0 |
| 13 | Maldonado - Williams | 0 |
| 14 | Glock - Marussia | 0 |
| 15 | Pic - Marussia | 0 |
| 16 | Senna – Lotus | 0 |
| 17 | Massa – Ferrari | DNF |
| 18 | Kovalainen – Caterham F1 | DNF |
| 19 | Petrov – Caterham F1 | DNF |
| 20 | Schumacher – AMG Mercedes | DNF |
| 21 | Hulkenberg – Sahara Force India | DNF |
| 22 | Grosjean – Lotus | DNF |
| 23 | De La Rosa - HRT | DNS (107%) |
| 24 | Karthikeyan – HRT | DNS (107%) |
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