Red Bull leads the way as F1 prepares for the Australian Grand Prix. Will they dominate again or can someone surprise us this weekend?
We’re going down under this week as the F1 circus makes its next stop in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Last time out we saw yet another 1-2 finish for Red Bull, and at the moment it feels like they are untouchable.
Though the result alone is impressive, the journey is even more so. While Sergio Perez won from pole position, Max Verstappen worked his way through the field from P15 after suffering a mechanical failure in qualifying. Despite getting some help from a well-timed safety car, it was inevitable that he would at least reach the top two, as no one had any answers for the sheer speed of the Red Bulls.
At one point in his charge, Verstappen blew past once-title rival Lewis Hamilton, who remarked that this year’s Red Bull may be “the fastest car I’ve ever seen” in relation to the rest of the grid. During the race, commentator David Croft compared the overtake to an F1 car racing against an F2 car. That’s how easy it looked for Verstappen in Jeddah. Red Bull aren’t perfect, but they sure are close right now.
The only thing that seems to hamper them right now is their reliability. While not too large of an issue, it seems to be the one thing that can catch them out on any given weekend with the others so far behind. With the development war constantly ongoing and the wind tunnel and CFD penalty set to affect Red Bull this season, the rest of the grid will likely gain some ground at some point, the only question is: Will it be too late?
Checo did not hold back with this move on Hamilton in 2022 😮💨#AusGP #F1 @SChecoPerez @redbullracing pic.twitter.com/fhQSmHZ0AR
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 27, 2023
The Circuit
The Albert Park Circuit is a 5.27 km (3.27 mile) circuit located in Melbourne, Australia. The circuit is comprised of the streets surrounding the park that are used year-round by Melbourne locals. It first hosted a Grand Prix in 1996, and after a lengthy stint as the season opener, it has settled into this early-season spot on the F1 calendar. The track was recently repaved and slightly tweaked ahead of last year’s race, making it faster and aiding overtaking, and it carries those same changes into this year.
Looking back at its history, the most wins at the circuit belongs to Michael Schumacher who won there four times. Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button are close seconds with three wins apiece. Lewis Hamilton holds a track record of eight pole positions, including six straight from 2014-2019. Last year Charles Leclerc took both pole and the win for Ferrari. He also grabbed the fastest lap, making the race lap record for the new layout a time of 1:20:260.
As for the tires this weekend, Pirelli is giving teams the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), and C4 (Soft), slightly on the soft side of the range. The race will be 58 laps long
A Lap of Albert Park
The drivers will have to navigate 14 turns for this weekend’s race, with four DRS zones available to help them overtake. Beginning the lap the drivers speed down the main straight, which is home to the first DRS zone, and into the quick right-left chicane of Turns 1 and 2. The exit is crucial here as the next straight and DRS zone follows as the drivers head toward the hard braking zone at Turn 3. Turns 3 and 4 are tight and twisty, while Turns 5 and 6 are two quick right-handers that lead onto the new back straight.
On the straight are Turns 7 and 8 though they are easily flat-out for the F1 cars. After the long, winding Turn 8 comes the third DRS zone heading toward the mesmerizing Turns 9 and 10. These corners test bravery and precision and are another quick chicane that we often see drivers slip up on, both in qualifying and the race. After navigating that section the drivers come up on the fourth and final DRS zone toward the 90-degree right that is Turn 11. Turn 12 is another quick right before the final two corners slow the drivers down one last time and spit them back out onto the main straightaway again.
This track is fast and fun to watch, and hopefully, with four DRS zones, we’ll see some great overtaking come race day. As you’ll see below, when it comes to those DRS zones, there are only two detection points on the track. The first detection point comes after Turn 6 and will offer DRS for the two ensuing zones. The second detection point is just before Turn 13, which gives DRS within the other two zones that follow it.
Points Standings
Driver Standings
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing – 44 points
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing – 43 points
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 30 points
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari – 20 points
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 20 points
- George Russell, Mercedes – 18 points
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 8 points
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 6 points
- Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo – 4 points
- Esteban Ocon, Alpine – 4 points
Constructor Standings
- Red Bull Racing – 87 points
- Aston Martin – 38 points
- Mercedes – 38 points
- Ferrari – 26 points
- Alpine – 8 points
- Alfa Romeo – 4 points
- Haas – 1 point
- Williams – 1 point
- AlphaTauri – 0 points
- McLaren – 0 points
Predictions
It’s hard to go against the Red Bulls coming into this race. Even a P15 start for Max Verstappen in Jeddah led to a Red Bull 1-2 finish, showing that they’re simply in another class at the moment. Until I see otherwise, I’m sticking with one of the Red Bull drivers to win this weekend, and this time I’ll take Verstappen to reclaim the top step of the podium.
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
How To Watch – F1 Australian Grand Prix (U.S. and U.K. times)
- Practice 1: Thursday, March 30 – 9:25 p.m. – ESPNEWS (02:25 a.m. Sky Sports F1)
- Practice 2: Friday, March 31 – 12:55 a.m. – ESPN2 (05:55 a.m. Sky Sports F1)
- Practice 3: Friday, March 31 – 9:25 p.m. – ESPNEWS (02:25 a.m. Sky Sports F1)
- Qualifying: Saturday, April 1 – 12:55 a.m. – ESPN (05:55 a.m. Sky Sports F1)
- Grand Prix Sunday (Pre-Show): Saturday, April 1 – 11:30 p.m. – ESPN2 (04:30 a.m. Sky Sports F1)
- Australian Grand Prix: Sunday, April 2 – 12:55 a.m. – ESPN (05:55 a.m. Sky Sports F1)
U.S. times are listed in ET.
