Average Starting Position 2007 - after Melbourne, Qualifying #1
================================================== =============

Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP | Pos. ASP
================================================== =========================
1. 1.00 K Räikkönen 4 5.83 2 5.68 9 8.22 6 6.81 | 31 7.71
2. 2.00 F Alonso 1 4.28 1 3.95 7 7.56 8 7.88 |166 19.47
3. 3.00 N Heidfeld 10 10.17 12 9.57 21 16.00 15 12.31 | 81 12.28
4. 4.00 L Hamilton - - - - - - - - | - -
5. 5.00 R Kubica 9 8.83 - - - - - - | - -
6. 6.00 G Fisichella 3 5.61 3 5.74 17 12.33 19 13.88 | 64 10.98
7. 7.00 M Webber 7 11.06 8 8.00 13 9.72 11 9.88 |168 19.59
8. 8.00 J Trulli 14 10.28 5 6.11 6 6.71 7 7.31 | 58 10.28
9. 9.00 R Schumacher 17 9.94 11 8.61 5 6.00 5 5.93 | 21 7.04
10. 10.00 T Sato 20 19.67 14 10.88 8 8.06 16 13.00 |118 15.29
11. 11.00 A Davidson - - 22 15.00 - - - - |169 20.00
12. 12.00 N Rosberg 12 13.33 - - - - - - | - -
13. 13.00 H Kovalainen - - - - - - - - | - -
14. 14.00 J Button 3 7.78 4 5.94 3 5.50 13 11.33 | 93 13.02
15. 15.00 A Wurz - - 6 7.00 - - - - | 67 11.31
16. 16.00 R Barrichello 6 7.61 13 10.53 2 4.56 1 3.63 | 38 8.42
17. 17.00 S Speed 16 16.17 - - - - - - | - -
18. 18.00 D Coulthard 13 14.17 16 11.00 10 9.39 9 8.50 | 12 5.13
19. 19.00 V Liuzzi 15 15.50 19 13.00 - - - - | - -
20. 20.00 A Sutil - - - - - - - - | - -
21. 21.00 C Albers 18 18.0 =24 17.26 - - - - | - -
22. 22.00 F Massa 2 6.67 17 11.89 18 13.50 - - | 77 11.88

Averages include all demotions such as engine-change penalties. The pre-2003
career columns reflect the change to single-lap/restricted qualifying format -
I don't propose to update those career figures.


Average Team Starting Position 2007 - after Melbourne, Qualifying #1
================================================== ==================

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP Pos. ASP
================================================== ===============================
1. 3.00 McLaren 7. 13.50 2. 6.61 5. 8.81 4. 7.66 3. 5.62 3. 4.64
2. 4.00 BMW-Sauber 6. 10.50 8. 11.95 8. 12.92 8. 12.81 5. 10.97 5. 10.06*
3. 8.50 Toyota 8. 15.50 3. 7.47 7. 11.81 5. 10.09 8. 14.59 - -
4. 9.50 Renault 3. 6.50 1. 4.84 4. 7.47 3. 7.59 4. 9.50 8. 16.06*
5. 10.50 S Aguri 11. 20.50 - - - - - - - - - -
6. 11.50 Ferrari 1. 1.50 6. 9.37 1. 4.25 1. 3.94 1. 2.35 1. 3.09
7. 12.50 Red Bull 5. 10.50 7. 11.24 6. 11.69 7. 11.84 9. 15.79 7. 13.59*
8. 13.50 Williams 4. 9.50 5. 9.32 2. 6.39 2. 5.03 2. 3.21 2. 4.41
9. 15.00 Honda 2. 4.50 4. 8.53 3. 6.78 6. 11.48 6. 12.71 6. 11.06*
10. 18.00 T Rosso 9. 15.50 10. 17.50 10. 18.53 10. 18.66 11. 20.32 11. 20.65*
11. 20.50 Spyker 10. 18.50 9. 16.97 9. 16.36 9. 15.53 7. 13.33 4. 8.38*

* Red Bull = Jaguar (2001-04), Renault = Benetton (2001), Honda = BAR
(2001-05), BMW-Sauber = Sauber (2001-05), Spyker = Midland (2006) =
Jordan (2001-05), Toro Rosso = Minardi (2001-05)


Team-mates Head-to-Head 2007 - after Melbourne, Qualifying #1
================================================== ===========

Team Driver-1 Driver-2 Posn.
================================================
Ferrari Räikkönen 1-0 Massa +21
Red Bull Webber 1-0 Coulthard +11
Renault Fisichella 1-0 Kovalainen +7
Williams Rosberg 1-0 Wurz +3
BMW-Sauber Heidfeld 1-0 Kubica +2
Honda Button 1-0 Barrichello +2
McLaren Alonso 1-0 Hamilton +2
Toro Rosso Speed 1-0 Liuzzi +2
Spyker Sutil 1-0 Albers +1
Toyota Trulli 1-0 Schumacher +1

Notes: "Posn." shows the advantage in qualifying positions to date. A
positive number shows the driver on the left has the advantage and a
negative number the driver on the right.


Appearances in Each Qualifying Session
======================================

Q-1 Q-2 Q-3
=============================
K Räikkönen 1 1 1
F Alonso 1 1 1
N Heidfeld 1 1 1
L Hamilton 1 1 1
R Kubica 1 1 1
G Fisichella 1 1 1
M Webber 1 1 1
J Trulli 1 1 1
R Schumacher 1 1 1
T Sato 1 1 1
A Davidson 1 1 0
N Rosberg 1 1 0
H Kovalainen 1 1 0
J Button 1 1 0
A Wurz 1 1 0
F Massa 1 1* 0 AUS - no time
R Barrichello 1 0 0
S Speed 1 0 0
D Coulthard 1 0 0
V Liuzzi 1 0 0
A Sutil 1 0 0
C Albers 1 0 0

* Set no time in one or more sessions (Massa in Australia, 3 laps).


Best Qualifying Performances (Current Drivers)
==============================================

Best in 2007 Best in Best in Best before 2005
Driver Posn.(#) GP(s) 2006 (#) 2005 (#) Posn. (#) First - Last
================================================== ===========================
K Räikkönen Pole (1) AUS Pole (3) Pole (5) Pole (3) Eur 03 - GBR 04

F Alonso 2nd (1) AUS Pole (6) Pole (6) Pole (3) MAS 03 - HUN 03
N Heidfeld 3rd (1) AUS 3rd (1) Pole (1) 4th (1) AUT 03
L Hamilton 4th (1) AUS --- --- ---
R Kubica 5th (1) AUS 6th (1) --- ---
G Fisichella 6th (1) AUS Pole (1) Pole (1) Pole (1) AUT 98
M Webber 7th (1) AUS 2nd (1) 2nd (1) 2nd (1) MAS 04
J Trulli 8th (1) AUS 3rd (1) Pole (1) Pole (2) MON 04 - BEL 04
R Schumacher 9th (1) AUS 3rd (1) Pole (1) Pole (5) FRA 01 - CDN 04
T Sato 10th (1) AUS 17th (2) 4th (2) 2nd (1) Eur 04

A Davidson 11th (1) AUS
N Rosberg 12th (1) AUS 3rd (1) --- ---
H Kovalainen 13th (1) AUS
J Button 14th (1) AUS Pole (1) Pole (1) Pole (1) RSM 04
A Wurz 15th (1) AUS
R Barrichello 16th (1) AUS 3rd (2) 5th (2) Pole (13) BEL 94 - BRA 04
S Speed 17th (1) AUS 11th (1) --- ---
D Coulthard 18th (1) AUS 7th (1) 5th (1) Pole (12) ARG 95 - MON 01
V Liuzzi 19th (1) AUS 12th (2) 11th (1) ---
A Sutil 20th (1) AUS --- --- ---
C Albers 21st (1) AUS 14th (1) 13th (1) ---
F Massa 22nd (1) AUS Pole (3) 7th (1) 4th (3) AUT 02 - BRA 04


All-Time Top 20 Poles
=====================

1. A Senna 65
2. M Schumacher 50 + 14 in 2003-05 [1] + 1 in 2006 [3]
3. A Prost 34
4. J Clark 33
5. N Mansell 32
6. JM Fangio 29
7. M Häkkinen 26
8. N Lauda 24
N Piquet 24
10. D Hill 20
11. M Andretti 18
12. J Stewart 17
R Arnoux 17
14. S Moss 16
15. A Ascari 14
R Peterson 14
J Hunt 14
18. J Brabham 13
G Hill 13
J Ickx 13
J Villeneuve 13 + 0 in 2003-04 [1] + 0 in 2005 [2]
JP Montoya 10 + 3 + 0

1. Single lap qualifying (2003-05, except for AUS-MON '05)
2. Two single-lap sessions aggregated (AUS-MON '05 only)
3. Knockout, 3-period, race fuel


The Record of Pole Position Holders at Melbourne
================================================

Year Time Driver Chassis Rslt
================================================== ==
1998 1'30.010 M Häkkinen McLaren MP4/13 1st
1999 1'30.462 M Häkkinen McLaren MP4/14 DNF Irvine 6th
2000 1'30.556 M Häkkinen McLaren MP4/15 DNF M Schumacher 3rd
2001 1'26.892 M Schumacher Ferrari F2001 1st
2002 1'25.843 R Barrichello Ferrari F2001 DNF M Schumacher 2nd
2003 1'27.173 M Schumacher Ferrari F2002 4th Coulthard 11th
2004 1'24.408 M Schumacher Ferrari F2004 1st
2005 [3'01.460] G Fisichella Renault R25 1st
2006 1'25.229 J Button Honda RA106 10th Alonso 3rd
2007 1'26.072 K Räikkönen Ferrari F2007 1st

Note: 2003-04 was decided on "single lap"; 2005 was two-session/aggregate;
2006-07 knockout/3-periods

There have been twelve Grands Prix at Melbourne,
5 have been won from pole position (last was Räikkönen in 2007),
2 have been won from second (M Schumacher in 2002),
2 have been won from third (Alonso in 2006),
and 3 have been won from lower positions (Coulthard 4th/1997; Irvine 6th/1999,
and Coulthard (11th/2003).

Average grid position of winners = 3.000.

--

Brian W Lawrence
Wantage,
Oxfordshire, UK
Brian_W_Lawrence (AT) msn (DOT) com