2011 Australian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 19 in the 2011 Formula One season | |||
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| Date | 27 March 2011 | ||
| 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 mi) | ||
| Distance | 58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny | ||
| Attendance | 111,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Red Bull-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:23.529 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Felipe Massa
|
Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:28.947 on lap 55 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Red Bull-Renault | ||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Third | Renault | ||
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The 2011 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) 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.
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 podium finish of his career and the first podium finish for a Russian national.
On the Thursday before the race, the FIA altered the rules for the Drag Reduction System (DRS). Where the original rules were called for markings to be placed on the final 600 metres of the main straight to represent the zone in which the DRS was deployed, this was later changed to encompass the entire length of the front straight, 867 metres in length. The distance between the "detection" and "activation" lines – marking on the circuit that measured the time between two cars and the point from which the DRS could be used – was also extended so as to allow the driver more time to be aware that their DRS system was active.
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound as the softer "option" compound. This was the same tyre selection that Bridgestone had chosen to bring to the Australian Grand Prix in the previous year.
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