2015 Australian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 19 in the 2015 Formula One season | |||
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| Date | 15 March 2015 | ||
| Official name | 2015 Formula 1 Rolex 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 | Partly cloudy 17–18 °C (63–64 °F) air temperature 32–37 °C (90–99 °F) track temperature 6 m/s (20 ft/s) wind from the south |
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| Attendance | 101,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Mercedes | ||
| Time | 1:26.327 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Lewis Hamilton
|
Mercedes | |
| Time | 1:30.945 on lap 50 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Mercedes | ||
| Second | Mercedes | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
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The 2015 Australian Grand Prix, formally titled the 2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 15 March 2015 in Melbourne. The race was contested over fifty-eight laps of the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and was the first round of the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race marked the 80th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix—which dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928—and the twentieth time the event was held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was the defending race winner. His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton started the race from pole, his fourth at the circuit and a record for the venue. Hamilton led home Rosberg in a Mercedes 1–2 finish, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel completing the podium in his first start with the team.
After a dominant performance by Mercedes in the 2014 season, pre-season testing for the 2015 season proved they would still be fastest of the field. The new Williams FW37 looked to be quick and reliable, while Ferrari in particular seemed to have made a big step forward. Former four-time world champions Red Bull ran a car in black-and-white camouflage, that did nothing to disguise the fact that the Austrian team still struggled with problems concerning their Renault engines, doing the second least laps during the first test days in Jerez. While Lotus, Toro Rosso and Sauber were considered to be contesting for points with considerable advances made over the winter, the new partnership between McLaren and Honda got off to a bad start. The team managed only 380 laps, almost half of the next worst team, Force India. Furthermore, Fernando Alonso, who had signed back to the team after his controversial 2007 season, crashed during the second testing session in Barcelona and missed the first race of the season.Force India struggled to get their new car, the VJM08, on track. After missing the first test in Jerez, they started testing with their 2014 car in Barcelona before introducing their new model late.
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