Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Australian Grand Prix

  • F3 – Australia – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Ramos held firm into Turn 1, but Bilinski had to fight back past Stenshorne with a late dive into Turn 4 having lots out in the first corner to the Hitech TGR driver.
    It also opened the door for Campos Racing’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak to follow through, but their fight was far from over.

    The Rodin then swept by Matias Zagazeta for second into Turn 9, but waiting in the wings, Inthraphuvasak, went into third around the outside into the chicane.
    Stenshorne fired back before the end lap, re-passing the pair into Turn 11 to move back into second, while Inthraphuvasak lost out to Zagazeta for fourth before the end of the lap.

    A Virtual Safety Car was called upon as the second tour began. Charlie Wurz’s Trident in need of recovering after stopping at Turn 5.

    Back to green flag racing on Lap 3, Tramnitz was tucked in the slipstream of Inthraphuvasak and he took fifth with an around-the-outside pass at Turn 9.

    The Safety Car was called upon in short order though, Rafael Camara and Laurens van Hoepen both in the gravel at Turn 12 following contact with James Wharton, who also retired at the end of the lap with suspension damage.

    Tramnitz had been up to fifth after passing Inthraphuvasak before the Safety Car. But an apparent issue under the Safety Car forced him to slow and drop to the back, before he eventually retired from the Sprint.

    Racing got back underway entering Lap 9, with Ramos holding on to his lead from Stenshorne, Bilinski, Zagazeta and Inthraphuvasak in the top five, as they broke away from the rest of the pack.

    On Lap 13, Stenshorne got a good run into Turn 11 and forced the Mexican driver to defend the corner, but he couldn’t find a route through.
    At the back of the leading queue, Inthraphuvasak made a pass stick on Zagazeta into Turn 1 to claim fourth on Lap 15. But their battling allowed the top three to escape three seconds up the road.

    Another Safety Car was called upon with five laps to go after contact between Bruno Del Pino and Javier Sagrera into Turn 6, leaving both in the gravel.

    The clean up operation meant that there was not enough time to get back to green flag racing, allowing Ramos to lead the field over the line for his first F3 win.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Ramos, P2: Stenshorne, P3: Bilinksi, P4: Inthraphuvasak, P5: Zagazeta, P6: Bedrin, P7: Nael, P8: Tsolov, P9: Voisin and P10: Leon.

    Day 3-

    After several formation laps behind the Safety Car, racing got underway in the Feature Race with a rolling start, and pole sitter Camara launched into a sizeable lead over Stromsted.

    The Safety Car was called upon before the end of the first lap however, with Nikola Tsolov and Callum Voisin off the road at Turn 10.

    Back to racing conditions entering Lap 6, Camara re-established a healthy gap back to Stromsted in second.

    McLaren Development Drivers Ugo Ugochukwu and Martinius Stenshorne went into battle on Lap 8 at Turn 4, the Norwegian slicing his way by the PREMA Racing for P8.
    Ugochukwu lost another place on Lap 9 to Roman Bilinski after running wide at Turn 11, opening the door for the Rodin Motorsport driver to go through for ninth.

    The rain intensity picked up on Lap 11, making things even trickier for the drivers as they fought through the spray, though Camara was taking full advantage of his clear view, five seconds clear of the pack.

    The Safety Car was back out on Lap 13, with DAMS Lucas Oil driver Christian Ho in the barriers at Turn 7.

    After several laps behind the Safety Car, the Red Flags were thrown on Lap 18 of 20, and with the weather not improving, the Feature Race was called.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Camara, P2: Stromsted, P3: Nael, P4: Bedrin, P5: Tramnitz, P6: Wurz, P7: Inthraphuvasak, P8: Stenshorne, P9: Bilinski and P10: Ugochukwu.

  • R1 – Australia

    Lando Norris converted pole position into a hard-fought win during the 2025 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, which featured mixed weather conditions, multiple crashes, Safety Cars and a late-race downpour that caused huge drama.

    Norris controlled the early stages of Sunday’s encounter from McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on a sodden track, before improving conditions enabled a switch to slick tyres over the second half.

    However, shortly after the field had ditched their intermediates, another patch of heavier rain soaked the circuit once more, dramatically sending both McLaren’s onto the grass and bringing most drivers immediately back into the pits for suitable rubber.

    While Norris managed to gather his car and head into the pit lane, Piastri spun off at the penultimate corner and lost a heap of time trying to recover the situation – a chain of events that released reigning World Champion Verstappen into the lead.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Norris, P2: Verstappen, P3: Russell, P4: Antonelli, P5: Albon, P6: Stroll, P7: Hulkenberg, P8: Leclerc, P9: Piastri and P10: Hamilton.

    It all started before the race even started, during the formation lap, Isack Hadjar lost control of his Racing Bulls car at the exit of Turn 1 which saw him go into the barriers and out of the race. It was so disappointing for the rookie and it would’ve been interesting to see if he could’ve grabbed points after qualifying 11th/

    What a lovely result for Norris, the best way to start the season with a race win. A really dominant weekend from Norris and McLaren. It all went wrong when it started raining again and both drivers went off track and over the grass at Turn 12 – which then Piastri ended up rearwards in Turn 13 run off. Gutting for Piastri as it was looking like a 1-2 for the team, but the Australian driver will bounce back.

    A lovely result for Max, P2, first race of the season. He was quite close to Norris, but McLaren just seemed to have that edge over Red Bull. As for Verstappen’s teammate, Liam Lawson, he DNF at Turn 2 when the rain intensified.

    A great result for Mercedes, Russell in P3 and Antonelli P4. The best team from the race, as they had both drivers in the points and the closest team mates. Antonelli is the best rookie of the weekend with a P4 finish and it makes him the second youngest driver to score points on debut!

    A lovely result from Alex Albon, P5! We all had a feeling that Williams would be up there especially because of their qualifying result but a lovely points haul for the team. For his teammate, Carlos Sainz, he had a DNF, during the Safety Car period Sainz crashed through the final corner – he reported a “massive power surge”.

    A great result for Nico Hulkenberg for Stake. They have now got more points in one race compared to last season overall, which they will be thrilled about.

    As for Ferrari, they had a bit of a shocker, they just didn’t seem to have much pace in the wet and they did mess up there strategy when it started raining, they thought they’d stay out which is a big gamble but the rain was just coming down so heavy so they ended up having to pit after everyone, which pushed them down the order.
    They did manage to grab points for both drivers, but both Leclerc and Hamilton would’ve wanted more…

    Now, onto Round 2! We are going to China, which is this week so we don’t have too long to wait for more racing and it is the first sprint race weekend of the year!

  • R1 – Australia Qualifying

    Lando Norris surged to pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the McLaren driver having just edged out teammate Oscar Piastri by 0.048s to secure a front row lockout for the reigning Teams’ Champions.

    After Max Verstappen had initially secured provisional pole during the first runs of Q3, Piastri thrilled the crowd at his home event by stunningly beating that effort by four tenths. But the Australian did not keep P1 for long, as Norris went even faster.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Norris, P2: Piastri, P3: Verstappen, P4: Russell, P5: Tsunoda, P6: Albon, P7: Leclerc, P8: Hamilton, P9: Gasly and P10: Sainz.

    What a result from McLaren, starting off where they finished last year! To have both drivers in the top 2 is the best result for the first race weekend of the year.
    Gutting for Piastri to not be on pole position, but I have no doubt he will be in the fight for the race win…

    A good result for Verstappen and Russell! It’s interesting that there lining up on the same row… especially as both of their teammates are further down the grid, so they do not have them to rely on for helping with pit stops etc.

    What a result from Yuki Tsunoda! P5! That was very surprising but it was a welcomed surprise. His teammate Isack Hadjar qualified 11th, the highest rookie position and just slightly missing out on Q3!
    It will be interesting to see how the Racing Bull cars get on in the next few races and keep up the very good results.

    A lovely qualifying for Alex Albon, P6 for the Williams man. Such an improvement compared to last year and to be honest its great to see! Hopefully they can mirror a points finish for the team. As for Albon’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, a decent result in P10, he seems to have got quite comfortable quite quickly which is good to see.

    A decent result for Ferrari, 7th for Leclerc and 8th for Hamilton, it could’ve been better for both drivers. But still a decent result at least they are in the top 10 and you can overtake here in Australia so they could make up some positions in the race.

  • F3 – Australia – Day 1

    Practice-

    Rafael Camara and Trident started 2025 on the front foot, going quickest in Free Practice around the Albert Park circuit.

    The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent set a 1:34,652 just before a red flag stopped the session later on.
    He finished ahead of MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz in second and Mari Boya of Campos Racing in third.

    It was Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp who got the ball rolling by setting a 1:38.676 and the early time to beat, before lowering that to a 1:37.009 on his next attempt.

    Teammate, Roman Bilinski improved on that effort, but Hitech TGR driver, Joshua Dufek set the next benchmark time, 1:36.384 putting him 0.2s ahead of the Rodin in second position. He then lowered his best on the following lap to go onto a 1:35.402.

    Mari Boya joined him shortly afterwards, moving himself up to second, just 0.007s adrift of Camara, while his Campos Racing teammate Nikola Tsolov went third quickest behind him.

    Tramnitz then took over at the top next for MP, 1L34.892 good enough to better the Brazilian by 0.009s, as the session ticked to the final 15 minutes.

    There was one final change of the leaderboard with Camara saving his best effort for last and setting a 1:34.652 to retake top spot.
    But the session came to an early end as Louis Sharp stopped on the track ahead of Turn 4 bringing out the Red Flags with five minutes to go.

    Qualifying-

    It was a perfect Friday in Melbourne for Rafael Camara as he topped both Practice and Qualifying, earning the first pole position of 2025.
    He set a 1:34.999 to lead teammate Noah Stromsted in a great day for Trident. Theophile Nael wound up third, but ended the session under investigation for an unsafe release.

    Installation laps complete and it was Roman Bilinksi that set the benchmark time initially with a 1:36.125 for Rodin Motorsport.

    Two purple sectors by Camara put him in contention until he caught traffic in the final sector and instead slotted into second less than a tenth back.
    Trident teammate Stromsted then went fastest overall to become the first driver in the 1:35s in qualifying.

    Nikita Bedrin put AIX Racing top of the pile with 10 minutes gone, 1:35.873 the fastest time to beat, while Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and Ugo Ugochukwu improved to go into the top five in third and fourth respectively.

    After waiting for clear track, MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz moved into contention to go third fastest, before Camara strung together a traffic-free lap to storm to P1, half a second clear of anybody else.

    With under 10 minutes to go, the majority of the field then returned to the circuit on fresh tyres for their final attempts of the session.

    There was only five minutes left on the clock when Brando Badoer found the barriers on the exit of Turn 2, requiring a red flag to remove his car from the track.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Camara, P2: Stromsted, P3: Nael, P4: Bedrin, P5: Tramnitz, P6: Wurz, P7: Inthraphuvasak, P8: Ugochukwu, P9: Stenshorne and P10: Bilinski.

  • R1 – Tyre Selection

    It’s officially race weekend (finally) and the 2025 season is here, we are back in Australia for Round 1.

    The track surface has not changed since it was renewed in 2022 and is not too harsh on the tyres.
    The only modification to the track layout, which features some sections made up of roads usually open to normal traffic, comes at Turn 6 and 7 where the barriers and kerbs have been modified.

    5.278 kilometres long, the circuit combines both fast straights with low to medium speed technical corners and some heavy braking points.

    Summer is sliding into autumn at this time of year in Australia and the weather can be very changeable, with big swings in temperature from one day to the next and rain has been known to put in an appearance.

    Having softened up its compound choices last year, Pirelli has confirmed the same compounds for the opening round, with the trio of C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
    However, compared to a year ago the tyres have evolved in terms of the characteristics of both construction and compound.

    Last year, the most popular strategy was a two-step, with the Hard tyre doing most of the work, completing 80% of all the laps, with an average stint length of 22 laps.
    Only three drivers opted to start on the Soft, while two drivers lined up on Hard tyres, making Medium the most popular compound on the grid.

    https://twitter.com/pirellisport/status/1899105075479417079

  • F2 – RND 3 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    A slow getaway from the front row gave Hadjar the momentum to take the lead, but as the Frenchman moved to pass pole-sitter Stanek, he tapped teammate Josep Maria Marti who collided with Gabriel Bortoleto.

    Victor Martins was a big winner of lap 1, where he climbed eight places from P21 to 13th in the space of half a lap.

    After five laps behind the Safety Car, racing got underway entering lap 7, but Zane Maloney had a tough restart, dropping from fifth position to 10th after running into the gravel out of Turn 6.

    The fight for second was a five-car battle headed by Stanek, with the chasing pack bunched up behind closely. Going into Turn 12 on lap 10, a spin for Andrea Kimi Antonelli sent Richard Verschoor spinning also, while Paul Aron sustained front wing damage in the process.
    The PREMA and Trident drivers were out on the spot and the Safety Car was called upon.

    Back to racing, Hadjar got the jump on Stanek once again to establish a comfortable lead. A fastest lap with seven to go gave him a lead of three seconds over the Trident driver, who was defending hard from Maini behind.

    Onto the penultimate lap and Hauger finally got the move done on Maini to take third, sweeping around the outside of the Invicta driver at Turn 9 to take the place.

    Hadjar had disappeared into the distance after the final Safety Car and crossed the line to win by over six seconds.
    However, Isack Hadjar has been handed a 10 second time penalty after the race as he was found to cause a collision at the start of the race. Which means he loses his victory and drops down to sixth.

    So the top 10 is- P1: Stanek, P2: Hauger, P3: Maini, P4: Colapinto, P5: Miyata, P6: Hadjar, P7: Martins, P8: O’Sullivan, P9: Crawford and P10: Maloney.

    Day 3-

    Dennis Hauger got the perfect start to lead Andrea Kimi Antonelli into Turn 1. Contact further back in the pack between Zak O’Sullivan and Roman Stanek left the sprint winner spinning and put him last in the order.

    Further around the first lap, Antonelli made a dive to the inside of the polesitter to secure P1 at Turn 11, but the MP driver responded on the following tour to retake the lead at Turn 9.

    There was a brief virtual Safety Car on Lap 7 to recover Joshua Duerksen’s car following contact with O’Sullivan at Turn 13.
    Racing was resumed and Maini was on the move, he took the lead from Hauger on Lap 9 before the Norwegian led Antonelli and the first leaders in for mandatory stops, filtering back out just outside of the top 10.

    The polesitter’s day was over shortly afterwards though, as he crashed at Turn 6 to bring out the Virtual Safety Car on lap 11.
    Isack Hadjar made his mandatory stop before the VSC was deployed to come back out ahead of Antonelli on the road in 8th.

    Hadjar cleared the yet to stop Taylor Banard for sixth to put a car between himself and his closest rival. The Frenchman was on the move on the following lap, taking fifth from Enzo Fittipaldi at Turn 9.
    The Campos driver’s charge continued at the expense of Stanek on Lap 20, easing by the Trident driver with DRS on the back straight.

    Having cleared teammate Ritomo Miyata, Maloney was next to pass Barnard to move himself up to ninth position and he set off in pursuit of the PREMA driver further ahead.

    Lap 24, and with Stanek battling to stay ahead of Fittipaldi, the VAR driver ran out of room at Turn 4 to allow Aron, Antonelli and Maloney through.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hadjar, P2: Aron, P3: Maloney, P4: Antonelli, P5: Miyata, P6: Verschoor, P7: Colapinto, P8: Villagomez, P9: Martins and P10: Bearman.

    However, Colapinto has been disqualified from the race as he was found to have not engaged the race start set up procedure at the start of the race in breach of technical regulations. The Argentinian loses P7 with Jak Crawford moving up into the final points position.

  • F3 – RND 2 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    The top five remained the same at the start with pole-sitter van Hoepen covering off Stenshorne to retain the lead. His ART teammate and home favourite Christian Mansell stayed in third ahead of the Red Bull-liveried cars of Oliver Goethe and Lindblad.

    However, van Hoepen and Stenshorne quickly became embroiled in a multi-lap battle for the lead on lap 3. But this battle brought the rest of their rivals into play, with the top 10 only covered by three seconds.

    On lap 6, Mansell was now coming under attack from Lindblad with the PREMA driver taking P3 at Turn 9. Just behind the pair, Goethe lost P5 to his Campos teammate Mari Boya at the same corner.

    In the battle for points, Dino Beganovic was on the move in other PREMA car and quickly dispatched Fornaroli at Turn 12 for 9th, the Trident driver then ran wide onto the gravel, dropping him to 15th.

    Back at the front, Stenshorne had built a gap of over two and a half seconds to van Hoepen, but the ART driver was then overtaken by Lindblad.
    As the race moved past the halfway stage, Beganovic was now coming under attack from Sebastian Montoya. The Campos driver made the move past on the run down to Turn 1, with the Swede then losing another position to Charlie Wurz two corners later.

    Van Amersfoort Racing’s home hero Tommy Smith collided with the rear of Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak at Turn 1. The Thai racer was out of the car and the race whilst the Australian continued on.

    Back to green flag racing, Beganovic made the move past Wurz for P8 at the popular Turn 9. The Austrian ran wide at corner exit, losing further positions to drop him down to 13th.

    The full top 10 is – P1: Stenshorne, P2: Lindblad, P3: Van Hoepen, P4: Boya, P5: Goethe, P6: Mini, P7: Dunne, P8: Montoya, P9: Fornaroli and P10: Mansell.

    Day 3-

    Fornaroli led away from pole, staying ahead of the PREMA pair of Mini and Beganovic. But there was plenty of action at the back of the pack as MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz suffered a puncture after colliding with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.

    The PHM AIX Racing driver then hit Sophia Floersch and despite both being able to continue to the pitlane, they were both forced to retire with damage.

    We were back to green flag conditions, with the top three remaining the same, Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top five with the pair pouncing on the PHM AIX’s Nikita Bedrin to move up the order.

    On lap 11, there was more bad news for the Australian fans as Christian Mansell lost two places at Turn 11, with Jenzer Motorsport’s Charlie Wurz and Campos’ Sebastian Montoya overtaking the ART Grand Prix driver.

    Beganovic after being given the all clear to overtake Mini for second, and he did just that on lap 12, making his way past at Turn 9. The PREMA driver then quickly got within DRS range of Fornaroli.

    Mini’s struggles continued as by the end of Lap 13, he lost another position at Turn 9. A lap later, Beganovic took the lead from Fornaroli at the same corner. Elsewhere, Campos Racing teammates Mari Boya and Sebastian Montoya quickly got past Bedrin, moving them up to fifth and sixth.

    The top three were now covered by just a second a half with Fornaroli well within DRS range of Beganovic as the drivers set off on lap 18. Mini was however beginning to show strong pace and closed in on Browning for third.

    The full top 10 is: P1: Beganovic, P2: Fornarolli, P3: Mini, P4: Browning, P5: Wurz, P6: Montoya, P7: Boya, P8: Bedrin, P9: Goethe and P10: Mansell.

  • RW 3 – Australia

    Well Australia always provides some drama in the race and we certainly got some of that!

    Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz took his and the team’s first win of the season, taking advantage of Max Verstappen’s technical trouble which resulted in the first non-Red Bull win of the season.

    Bidding for a record-equalling 10th victory in a row, Verstappen converted his pole position advantage as the race got under way but soon reported issues, with a compromised second lap which opened the door for Sainz to take the lead.
    From there, Verstappen’s brake-related woes got worse and with plumes of smoke exiting the rear of his RB20 he then returned to the pits and retired for the first time in two years.

    Carlos Sainz was followed closely by his teammate, Charles Leclerc making it a 1-2 for the Italian team! And rounding out the podium places is Mr Lando Norris, his first of the season.

    The full top 10 is- P1: Sainz, P2: Leclerc, P3: Norris, P4: Piastri, P5: Perez, P6: Alonso, P7: Stroll, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Hulkenberg and P10: Magnussen.

    What a drive from Carlos Sainz, who is still not feeling 100% performed a drive which should really secure him a seat next year!

    Obviously very gutting for Max Verstappen, it’s very rare for him to have a DNF due to something wrong on the car, I had no doubt he would of been fighting for the win if it didn’t happen, but it’s racing that is just the way it goes sometimes.

    Points for Tsunoda!! He pretty much stayed in the top 10 all race unless he pitted, the team and Japanese driver will be happy with that after their start to the season.

    Double points for Haas aswell! They had a really good race today, good pit stops and it benefited them as they were there incase anything happened within the top teams which it did.

    A disappointing day for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton had a mechanical issue which saw him pull over to the side and then on the last lap George Russell was chasing Fernando Alonso down for P6 and ended up spinning and crashing which was a nasty crash but luckily he is all okay.
    Mercedes will be wanting to forget this weekend and just move onto the next race.

    However due to the crash with Russell, Fernando Alonso has been given a 20 second time penalty ( drive through) as the stewards determined the Spanish drivers driving was “potentially dangerous” which has dropped the driver down to P8.

    Now looking onto Round 4, we head to Japan for the Japanese Grand Prix from the 5th to 7th of April!

  • F2 – RND 3 Day 1

    Practice-

    Dennis Hauger ended practice fastest of all for MP Motorsport, recording a 1:29.654 to hit the ground running in Melbourne. Isack Hadjar followed in P2, the Campos driver just 0.001s down on the fastest laptime while Andrea Kimi Antonelli led the PREMA Racing charge in third.

    Not long after the green light, Amaury Cordeel brought out an early Red Flag after running deep at Turn 1 and becoming beached in the gravel trap.

    Once the Hitech Pulse-Eight car was clear, the top spot changed hands multiple times, but Victor Martin led the way for ART Grand Prix after he set a 1:32.359, 0.074s clear of teammate Zak O’Sullivan.

    That was swiftly beaten by Gabriel Bortoleto as he moved up to P1 on a 1:31.043. Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney went second-quickest until Antonelli closed the gap to the Brazilian to just 0.130s.

    The track continued to improve rapidly as Bortoleto improved on his next lap to lower the time to beat to a 1:30.373.
    Hauger bettered that by 0.070s shortly afterwards, while Martins went third overall a further 0.008s further back from the Norwegian.

    The MP driver then went to the top himself, a 1:29.654 leaving him 0.4s quicker than Antonelli, who moved up to second with over 15 minutes to go.

    Paul Aron suffered a similar spin at Turn 1 as his teammate but was able to recover to the circuit and continue on his way.
    There was a few more improvements in the latter stages of the session, though Hadjar was able to move himself up to second.

    The second red flag of the session came with three minutes remaining, as Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagomez spun and came to a stop at Turn 2 which brought an early end to the session.

    Qualifying-

    Dennis Hauger made it a Friday sweep for MP Motorsport, taking pole position in Melbourne after topping Practice timesheets.

    The Norwegian beat PREMA Racing’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the top spot with his final flying lap to record a 1:28.694. Richard Verschoor made a late improvement to end up third overall.

    Before any laps were on the board, the red flags were waved after ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins came to a half at Turn 7 after a spin on corner exit. He managed to avoid the barriers, but his session was over and his car was recovered.

    Once action resumed, Kush Maini set the initial benchmark with a 1:30.359.
    Hitech Pulse Eight’s Paul Aron then took over P1 with a 1:29,984 while Hauger was just 0.031s down on that effort in second.

    With 14 minutes left, cars returned to the pits for fresh supersoft tyres heading into the final runs of the session

    Once back on track, Maloney took to the top spot with a 1:29.374 just prior to the second red flag of the session. Jak Crawford lost his DAMS Lucas Oil car and hit the barriers at Turn 12.

    Qualifying got back underway with 4:14 left on the clock and the top four were separated by less than a tenth of a second.
    Bortoleto was set to make an improvement but ran off the road at Turn 12.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Hauger, P2: Antonelli, P3: Verschoor, P4: Maini, P5: Maloney, P6: Aron, P7: Marti, P8: Hadjar, P9: Bortoleto and P10: Stanek.

  • RW 3 – Australia Qualifying

    Max Verstappen claimed an assured pole position in qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix with Carlos Sainz following closely behind in second and Sergio Perez in third.

    After setting a time of 1m 16.048s in the first runs of Q3, the Dutchman improved on his effort in his final laps with a 1,15.915s. This put him 0.270s clear of Sainz, who looked impressive in his first qualifying since returning following surgery for appendicitis two weeks ago.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Perez, P4: Norris, P5: Leclerc, P6: Piastri, P7: Russell, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Stroll and P10: Alonso.

    However, Sergio Perez has been handed a three place grid penalty for impeding Hulkenberg. So he will now be starting from P6, and Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri all move up a place.

    A great result from Carlos Sainz, just what the Spanish driver needed especially after missing the previous race, plus his also on a search for a seat for next season so a great performance from him.

    Yuki Tsunodaaaa, in Q3! Great result from him, him and the team will be wanting to score some points this weekend and that means capitalize on his great qualifying position. However for his teammate, not a great day at all, Daniel Ricciardo qualifying P18 at his home race, he will be wanting to make up as many positions as possible.

    A decent result from George Russell, unfortunately for Lewis Hamilton, he was pushed out of the top 10 in the final moments of Q2 and will be starting P11 tomorrow, which isn’t the worst place but he is in the middle of the pack so he will want to take it easy and not get in any trouble.

    Esteban Ocon got into Q2 and qualified P15, after he brushed the wall in Q1. Another little mention to Valtteri Bottas a keen fan of Australia will be starting from P13.

    The McLaren duo had a good qualifying aswell, they will be looking to score a podium this weekend, especially because of Oscar Piastri a podium at home? Any driver would want that!

  • F3 – RND 2 Day 1

    Practice-

    PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Mini set the early pace in Melbourne as the Italian topped timesheets in Free Practice ahead of Qualifying thanks to a time of 1:33.225.

    Mini proved to be the one to beat for the majority of the morning session with compatriot Leonardo Fornaroli his nearest challenger, ending up three-tenths off his time. PREMA teammate Dino Beganovic wound up third.

    But at the start of proceedings it was an all-PREMA top three as Mini hit the ground running with a lap of 1:34.874, leading Beganovic by three tenths, as Arvid Lindblad tucked into third.

    Soon after, Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Cian Shields spun into the barrier at the final corner, bringing out the Red Flags after 15 minutes of running.
    The drivers were back out on track with half of the session remaining and once again it was Mini who set the pace, strengthening his grip on P1.

    With three minutes left in the session, another Red Flag was waved after ART Grand Prix driver Nikola Tsolov collided with MP Motorsport’s rookie Alex Dunne. The Irishman ended up in the barriers, and the session was not resumed.

    Qualifying-

    Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli took his second Formula 3 pole position, beating rival Gabriele Mini to take the top spot in Melbourne thanks to his time of 1:33.044.

    Mini had provisional pole until the final flying laps and wound up just 0.019s off the top spot, but sealed a front row start for the Feature Race, with his teammate Dino Beganovic in third.

    After the first set of laps Fornaroli set the pace thanks to his time of 1:33.882 with Free Practice timesheet-topper Mini over four-tenths back of his compatriot in second.
    The Trident driver could not improve on his next attempt, but the PREMA racer did and closed the gap to 0.020s. Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning then went up to third, two-tenths back of Fornaroli’s time.

    With only five minutes left in the session, Sami Meguetounif crashed his Trident into the barrier at the exit of the final corner bringing out the red flags. Moments prior, Mini had gone up to P1 with a 1:33.505.

    The lights went green, which left the drivers with four and a half minutes to set their final laps, and it was Fornaroli who took pole position.

    The full top 10 are – P1: Fornaroli, P2: Mini, P3: Beganovic, P4: Bedrin, P5: Browning, P6: Tsolov, P7: Lindblad, P8: Goethe, P9: Mansell and P10: Stenshorne.

  • Albon to take over Sargeant’s car after FP1 crash

    Williams have announced that Alex Albon will be taking over the car of his teammate Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix weekend, following his crash in Free Practice 1.

    Towards the end of FP1, Albon lost control of his Williams FW46 at the exit of Turn 6 at Albert Park, running over the kerbs and then spinning out into the wall on the other side of the track.

    Luckily Albon was unharmed but he was forced to sit out of Free Practice 2 as Williams confirmed they have no third chassis available this weekend so they had to assess the damage to the car.

    With that damage to have been too significant to continue using the chassis, the team made the call for Albon to take over the car of teammate Sargeant.
    The Thai driver, last season claimed 27 of the team’s 28 points helped the team to finish P7 in the constructors’ championship.

    For Logan, he will now sit on the sidelines for the rest of the weekend, as Albon jumps into the American’s chassis from Free Practice 3 onwards.

    Due to the extensive damage sustained, [Williams are] forced to withdraw the chassis for the remainder of the Grand Prix. This chassis will be returned to the team’s HQ at Grove for repair. Due to the fact that a third chassis is unavailable, the team can confirm it has taken the decision for Alex to compete for the remainder of the weekend in the chassis that Logan Sargeant drove in FP1 and FP2.

    Statement from Williams.

    We are hugely disappointed that the damage sustained to the chassis has meant we need to withdraw it from the weekend. It’s unacceptable in modern day Formula 1 not to have a spare chassis, but it is a reflection of how behind we were in the winter period and an illustration of why we need to go through significant change in order to get ourselves in a better position for the future. As a result, we have had some very difficult decisions to make this afternoon. While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend. This decision was not made lightly, and we cannot thank Logan enough for his graceful acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team player. This will prove a tough weekend for Williams, and this situation is not one that we will put ourselves in again.

    James Vowles, Team Principal on the news.

    I have to be totally honest and say that no driver would want to give up his seat. I would never want anything like this to happen. Logan has always been a consummate professional and a team player from day one, and this won’t be an easy one for him to take. At this point though, I cannot dwell on the situation and my only job now is to maximise our potential this weekend and work with the whole team to make sure we do the best job possible.

    Albon on the news.

  • Ferrari provide update on Carlos Sainz

    Ferrari have provided an update on Carlos Sainz’s health ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, after the Spanish driver was forced to miss the previous race in Jeddah.

    Sainz was withdrawn from the F1 weekend at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with the two-time race winner forced to undergo surgery after being diagnosed with appendicitis.

    Ollie Bearman stepped into his place as Ferrari’s reserve driver, who caused a sensation with a P7 in the race.

    However, ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari confirmed that Sainz was looking likely to return to the cockpit of the SF-24 with Bearman remaining on call as reserve driver, alongside his Formula 2 duties with PREMA racing in Melbourne this weekend.

    Should he not be required to step in for Sainz, Bearman will be keen to kick-start his F2 campaign, with the Brit currently on zero points after failing to score in Bahrain, before being withdrawn from the event in Jeddah.

    Fred Vasseur, Ferrari team principal, predicted that Ferrari would be “front runners” at the Australian circuit, with the team having provided the sternest challenge so far to Red Bull having been able to grab two podiums in the first two races.

    Carlos Sainz is expected to be back in the car, having had to miss Jeddah with appendicitis. He and team mate Charles Leclerc will most likely be fighting at the front of the field, as they have done in the first two rounds.

    The team in a pre-race statement.

    I’ll let you know tomorrow when I get back in the car and the G-forces throw me around a bit. But I feel ready. I’ve done as much as possible to recover and you cannot imagine the effort and logistics that I have done to be fit for this race. Progress, I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made and now, as I said, it’s time to jump in the car and see how I feel.

    Sainz on how much of a challenge it would be to get back in the car.

  • RW 3 – Tyre Selection

    Pirelli’s C5 tyre – the softest of the five compounds – will make its debut this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix. This has been nominated alongside the C4 and the C3.

    This is a softer selection compared to last year, when the C2, C3 and C4 were chosen. But it’s not the first time that the softest compound has been seen in Melbourne as back in 2022 Pirelli brought the C5 to Albert Park.

    The decision to go with a softer compound was taken after analysing last year’s race which centred around the C2 tyre. The C2 tyre last year was used for 46 out of 58 laps by 10 drivers, and three drivers running it for more than 50 laps.
    The Grand Prix last year was characterised by numerous stoppages which included three safety car and three red flag with two restarts and a rolling start aswell.

    The Albert Park track is made up of 14 corners, having recently been redesigned to make it more flowing. Historically, a one-stop strategy has been the favoured option but the move to a softer tyre may change that.
    The track isn’t too hard on tyres, with degradation being a bigger factor than wear. In Australia currently it’s the beginning of autumn and there could be some weather-related surprises, with temperature swings and rain having made their mark on the race weekend in the past.

    We also have a packed programme as Formula 2 and Formula 3 are supporting F1 this weekend.

  • Ferrari have petitioned for a right of review from Australia

    Ferrari have sent a petition to the FIA with the hope of securing a right of review regarding the penalty handed out to Carlos Sainz during the Australian Grand Prix, team boss Frederic Vasseur has revealed.

    Sainz tipped Aston Martin rival, Fernando Alonso into a spin during a dramatic late restart at Albert Park, which also saw Logan Sargeant run into the back of Nyck de Vries and the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon come to blows.

    While the order was reset to the previous restart ahead of a final lap to the chequered flag behind the Safety Car, news of a five-second time penalty came through for Sainz, prompting a string of frustrated messages from the Spaniard over the radio.

    Sainz initially crossed the line 4th, but with the 5 second time penalty he dropped down to 12th.

    We did a petition for a review of the case – we sent it to the FIA. As we are discussing with the FIA… I don’t want to discuss any details of this discussion. The only thing is [the] Gasly/Ocon [collision], for sure we had also Sargeant/De Vries [colliding] into Turn 1, and the reaction of the stewards was not the same. The process is that first they will have a look on our petition to see if they can re-open the case, then we’ll have a second hearing a bit later with the same stewards for the next meeting, about the decision itself. What we can expect is at least to have an open discussion with them, also for the good of the sport to avoid to have these kind of decisions when you have three cases on the same corner and not the same decision.

    Vasseur on Thursday.

    As per Article 14 of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, the competitors can request a right of review up to 14 days after a ruling from the stewards if “a significant and relevant new element is discovered which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned”.

    It could be [at the next race] in Baku or it could be before, but [we] prefer to do it before. You have 14 days to do the petition, the request for review, then it’s up to them to decide. They have to do it in a short period, [but] it’s true for once that we have four weeks between the two races [in Australia and Azerbaijan] and it’s a bit more flexible. We have our argumentation, for sure, and I will keep the argumentation for the FIA, as a first step. For sure, we are expecting [a] review of the situation, because it’s a petition for a review. We are not going there to get the same decision.

    Vasseur continued.

  • RND 3 – Australian Grand Prix

    What a race that was yesterday… from red flags and safety cars to a rookie getting his first points, teammates taking each other out and a great recovery drive by a certain Mexican.

    But it was Max Verstappen who won the Australian Grand Prix for the first time in his career, Lewis Hamilton claimed Mercedes and his first podium of the year in P2, and Fernando Alonso takes P3 (which is not a surprise anymore).

    The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Alonso, P4: Stroll, P5: Perez, P6: Norris, P7: Hulkenberg, P8: Piastri, P9: Zhou and P10: Tsunoda.

    George Russell of the United Kingdom drives the Mercedes alongside Max Verstappen of the Netherlands who drives the Red Bull Racing during the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne on the 2nd of April, 2023. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

    First up, Mercedes! A strong weekend overall for them, and it looks like they definitely have made an improvement to the car. But it wasn’t all happy, after Russell and Hamilton overtook Verstappen at the start of the race, Russell ended up on Lap 18 pulling over to the side on the start/finish straight as he had flames from the back of the Mercedes which brought out a VSC.

    On the first lap there was contact between Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc, which saw the Ferrari driver go off into the gravel and him out of the race. A quick stewards’ investigation and they settled on no further action. Poor Charles though, not having the best start this season and he only has 6 points to his name…

    A good race for the McLaren duo, obviously Oscar’s first points in F1 and what a place to do it at his home race! Norris aswell scored points, so hopefully this is a turning point for McLaren now and we can see them near the top 10 and getting points in the races.

    A good recovery for Perez, he originally was meant to start 20th but ended up starting in the pitlane due to taking some elements. But he did damage limitation, as he climbed all the way up to 5th so grabbed some good points, especially if he wants to fight for the championship this season.

    The Championship-

    Max Verstappen leads the Drivers on 69 points, with his teammate just behind on 54 points. Fernando Alonso is 3rd on 45 points and is followed closely by Lewis Hamilton whose in 4th on 38 points. To round out the top five is Carlos Sainz who is on 20 points.

    Looking at the Constructors, Red Bull is leading on 123 points, Aston Martin are in 2nd on 65 points so a big gap between 1st and 2nd already… 3rd is Mercedes on 56 points, so not too far away from Aston. Now there is a 30 point gap between Mercedes and Ferrari, the Italian team with just 26 points so far this season. And rounding out the top five is McLaren who have 12 points so far.

    All ten teams have now scored points already this season! I can see the order changing quite a bit this season, so keep your eyes peeled. On the drivers side of thing, 18 have scored points and its only Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries who are seeking their first points of the season.

    Now, we have a few weeks break until Round 4, which see’s the first sprint race of the season, and it is happening for the first time at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the 28th April – 30th.

  • Australia Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been selected for Round 3, where we go down under at Albert Park. Where Formula 2 and 3 join us this weekend making their debut!

    But more importantly the tyres which have been selected are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    The FIA has confirmed four DRS zones at Albert Park. So this year could feature the fastest even seen in Melbourne, which in theory could reach 340kph.

    The Albert Park street circuit, was resurfaced in 2022 with some metallic elements included in the aggregate, improving the grip from the tyres. The asphalt is smoother than other tracks on the championship, with peak grip only achieved after several sessions of on track running.

    The energy demands on the tyres at the Grand Prix are about average for the season. The new layout inaugurated last year favours overtaking, especially in the second sector.

    We’ve made the same tyre choice as we did back in 2019 for the Australian Grand Prix. Following a two-year absence from the calendar due to the Covid pandemic, we went for a gap in the nominated compounds last year: selecting the C2, C3 and then the softest C5 compound. That race was a one-stopper won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with all the teams using the hard and the medium tyre, while the soft was just used for qualifying. This weekend, the teams will have the C2, C3, and C4 at their disposal, which means that they have more options for the race in terms of strategy: on paper at least. We’re expecting a high degree of track evolution throughout the weekend, as is normally the case in Melbourne, while the energy demands on the tyres are about average for the season. It’s a flowing track with corners that are faster following last year’s modifications, which benefit overtaking as well as the overall spectacle.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

  • Aus GP renewed till 2035

    The Australian Grand Prix will remain in Melbourne until 2035, following a deal to extend the race’s agreement beyond 2025 by a further 10 years.

    More than 419,000 fans visited Albert Park for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix in April, making it the largest ever crowd for a weekend sporting event in Australia.

    Albert Park has hosted the Australian GP since 1996, with significant investment made over the past two years in order to improve the circuit, fan experience and facilities – whilst there are further improvements, including the paddock and pit lane, are planned in order to continue the circuit’s modernisation.

    The date of next year’s Australian Grand Prix will be provided in due course and once the 2023 calendar is finalised, it will be subject to the World Motor Sport Council approval.

    I am delighted to confirm that Melbourne and the Albert Park circuit will continue to be on the Formula 1 calendar until 2035. The race has always been a favourite for the fans, drivers and the teams and Melbourne is an incredible and vibrant international city that is a perfect match for our sport. This year we saw huge crowds and passionate fans at the Grand Prix, and we are very excited by the future in Australia as our sport continues to grow. I want to thank the Victorian Government, Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria and Martin Pakula, Minister for Tourism, Sport & Major Events for their tireless support for the event in Melbourne, as well as Andrew Westacott and Paul Little from the AGPC for making this already long-term partnership secure for the future. We are all looking forward to being back in Melbourne next season with all our fans.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of F1.

    This is a sensational announcement that is simply great for Melbourne and Victoria. It builds on our rich motor sport history as well as Melbourne’s love of big sporting events and provides aspiration to the next generation of Aussie racing stars. We’re proud of our strong relationship with Formula 1 and together we will grow the sport in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Everyone at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation looks forward to taking the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix to new levels over the course of the next 13 years.

    Andrew Westacott, CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.
  • Round 3- Australian GP

    Round 3- Australian GP

    What a race we have all just seen, this season is truly unknown but it is looking more unknown for Red Bull… Before the race started it looked like another Charles and Max battle, and it was during the race until just over half way through.

    Charles Leclerc wins the Australian Grand Prix, his second win this season and extends his championship lead! Sergio Perez takes P2 and makes the day a bit better for RB. And Mr Saturday is now Mr Sunday, George Russell takes P3!

    The full top 10 are: P1: Leclerc, P2: Perez, P3: Russell, P4: Hamilton, P5: Norris, P6: Ricciardo, P7: Ocon, P8: Bottas, P9: Gasly and P10: Albon.

    Well reigning World Champion, Max Verstappen looked like he was going to take P2 after Charles ran away with the lead of the race, but it wasn’t meant to be. He had to retire the car after being asked by his engineer to stop at Turn 2, so Max’s 2nd DNF in 3 races. In that aspect it does not look good for Red Bull with their reliability, if this continues its going to damage their season massively. But Red Bull have to look at the positive with Perez scoring some good points especially after their first round.

    Carlos Sainz, you have to feel sorry for… It didn’t go his way yesterday in qualifying with the Red flag and then his engine not turning on. He started the race in P9, but his race only lasted for 3 laps, as the Spanish driver spun and got stuck in the gravel in which he couldn’t get his car out of.

    McLaren, are they back? Both drivers scoring good points which is good to see especially Daniel at his home race. I don’t think it could’ve gone better for the team. It will be interesting to see where the car will be after they bring upgrades.

    Another good weekend for Mercedes, a second podium for the team this year and a first podium for George with Merc. It looks like the Silver Arrows have a very reliable car, but they still have a few problems, but once those problems are unlocked, could it be a three team constructor fight?

    One person I have to mention is Alex Albon, what a drive! Starting P20 after being disqualified from qualifying- the driver finished P10, his first point for Williams and the first for the team this year. Albon lasted 56 laps on the hard tyre!

    More problems for Aston Martin again, they didn’t have the best weekend and it got worse when Seb crashed into the wall and pulled over to the side to a stop, on lap 24. Will it get any better for the team?

    The Championship-

    Charles extends his championship lead to 34 points, he is sitting top with 71 points. George Russell is in 2nd with 37 after his podium today. Even though he didn’t finish today, Sainz is in P3 with 33 points. Max drops to 6th still with 25 points, with Ocon behind him with a gap of 5 points.

    Looking at the Constructors, Ferrari is in the top spot with 105 points and Mercedes are sitting in 2nd with 65 points, so quite a gap between the two. Red Bull are in 3rd which is quite good considering the races so far. McLaren have done a big leap and now in 4th, where they finished last year.

    We now have a break before our next round, we will be returning to Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on the 22nd to 24th April, it’s a home race for the Scuderia team and the Sprint race returns also, for the first time this year! Formula 2 and 3 return in Imola also.

  • Albon disqualified from Qualifying

    Alex Albon has been disqualified from the qualifying result, after his team were unable to provide the FIA with a sufficient fuel sample from the FW44.

    Albon qualified P16 in Melbourne, faring better than his teammate Nicholas Latifi, who was swiped by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll into a heavy crash in Q1, for which Stroll received a three place grid penalty.

    Already with his own three place grid drop (ironically for his crash with Stroll), Albon had a lot of work to do coming into the weekend. Albon stopped on track after dropping out of Q1- with Williams later unable to provide the required 1.0 litre fuel sample to the FIA, as dictated by Artivle 6.5.2 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations. The driver was then disqualified from the results by the stewards.

    After qualifying, Car 23 had insufficient fuel to yield the required one litre sample.Given this situation, Car 23 is not in compliance with the requirements of Article 6.5 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations. According to Art. 6.5.2 competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time. The procedure was followed however the one litre sample of fuel was unable to be taken. The stewards determine to apply the standard penalty for technical infringements. Therefore they took into account, that it shall be no defence to claim that no performance advantage was obtained. The stewards have received a request from Williams Racing to allow Car 23 to start the race. The stewards therefore grant permission for Car 23, Alex Albon to start the race.

    The Stewards statement.

    The late red flag in qualifying only gave drivers two minutes to cross the line from leaving the pitlane. That meant Albon had to queue at the end of the pitlane to gain track position ahead of the green light, and Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson believes that extended period out in the pitlane and the outlap “race” with fellow competitors may have contributed to Albon’s lack of fuel.

    We could see a problem as he came towards the pitlane at the end of that lap where something wasn’t quite right, so we opted to stop the car just to make sure we didn’t damage anything. I think the fact that we had to go and queue at the end of the pitlane after the red flag to get that lap in meant that the outlap was then a lot more aggressive than we had planned. So, I think that’s why we were a bit lower than we would’ve liked.

    Robson explained the verdict.
  • Round 3- Australia Qualifying

    Round 3- Australia Qualifying

    Well, qualifying in Australia is now complete and what an interesting one it was with two red flags disrupting the sessions.

    But through all of it, Charles Leclerc takes his second pole position of the season, and Ferrari’s first pole in Australia in 15 years! With Max Verstappen in 2nd with his teammate, Sergio Perez joining him in 3rd. Just a note in case anything changes, Perez has to go to the Stewards on an alleged breach of not respect single waved yellow flags.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Norris, P5: Hamilton, P6: Russell, P7: Ricciardo, P8: Ocon, P9: Sainz and P10: Alonso.

    Shall we start off on something good? Both McLaren’s in the top 10!! What an improvement they have made since the first race and its nice to see them back where they should be! Let’s hope tomorrow will be even better for the team.

    Moving on, Stroll and Latifi touched in Q1 after Latifi let him through and then decided to overtake him a few seconds which saw the pair touch and their qualifying come to an end, as Latifi hit the wall in which will cost Williams a lot of money. Strolls qualifying also came to an end there aswell, both starting at the back of the grid.

    Magnussen got out qualified by his teammate for the first time this year so far. Magnussen starting P17 and Schumacher p15. Both Haas cars have got a lot of work to do tomorrow if they want to get into the points.

    Fernando Alonso looked like he was on a flyer and potentially be up in the top 3 until he crashed in Q3 at Turn 11 putting his qualifying to an end.

    Valtteri Bottas run of 103 consecutive Q3 appearances came to an end today as he only managed to go P12 in Q2.

    Predictions-

    Top 5 are: P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Hamilton, P4: Norris and P5: Russell. I feel like this is quite mixed up, especially if Leclerc won as recent years in the Australian Grand Prix the pole sitter does not win from pole.

    Sainz has a lot of work to do, starting 9th whilst his teammate is up in 1st. It will be interesting to see the way the Ferrari works its way through the field.

  • Australian Grand Prix

    We are back in Australia after a long awaited return! Round 3 and it is Danny Ric’s home Grand Prix, but since we was last here in 2019, the track has changed quite a bit with it now having four DRS zones…

    Will it be a good weekend for the home hero? Can Mick finally get those all important points his been waiting for? Seb is back, what can he now do in the Aston? So many unanswered questions, and I can’t wait till we get some answers for them!

    The newbies who have come into F1 will be racing in Australia for the first ever time! Those being, Nicholas Latifi, Mick Schumacher, Yuki Tsunoda and Zhou Guanyu.

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I would say the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll needs a good weekend, he has finished outside of the points in both races this year and it seems like the Aston has better race pace, rather than one lap pace. With Sebastian being back its now Stroll’s time to shine, but the question is, can he?

    Yuki needs a good weekend, after not even being able to race last time out, he will want to do the best he can, even more so because of the track, he has a fresh start here as none of the drivers have drove on this track with the new cars and since its changed.

    Perez, will be wanting to be on that podium this weekend, first race was a DNF, and finishing 4th in Saudi Arabia was a good comeback but with Ferrari having both drivers on the podium in the first two rounds, and with the Mexican having a good car underneath him, he knows he can get on their, its just a matter of if he can.

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top 5 are: Pole- Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Carlos, P4: Perez, P5: Hamilton. If Red Bull have brought upgrades to Aus, then I could see them running away with it all this weekend.

    It would be nice to see if McLaren can get at least one car in the top 10 for qualifying. Someone else who will be hoping to get into the top 10, is Mr Mick Schumacher, he has seen what this car can do, finishing in the points in both races for his teammate, so the German will be wanting to qualify in that top 10, to hopefully get those points!

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 8th-

    Free Practice 1: 04:00am – 05:00am (BST), Free Practice 2: 07:00am – 08:00am (BST).

    Saturday 9th-

    Free Practice 3: 04:00am – 05:00am (BST), Qualifying: 07:00am – 08:00am (BST).

    Sunday 10th-

    Australian Grand Prix: 06:00am (BST).