Formula One Vault

PRIXVIEW – Australian Grand Prix

Round three of the 2023 season marks the final race before the spring break as teams head down under to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. This weekend marks seventy years since the first Grand Prix, then a non-championship round, was held at this circuit. Although the actual date of that first race at Albert Park isn’t till November.

Albert Park is a street circuit, however, it one which allows for close racing around the 3.2 miles. It is a twisty but fast circuit that has seen several dramatic and edge-of-the-seat racing as the Autumn begins down under. Drivers, however, enjoy the nature of the circuit and it can push drivers to the limit.

The circuit is like another street circuit it takes time to rubber in, but making mistakes isn’t as costly here. But the biggest mistakes are punishable as some of the corners which require big braking points are lined with gravel and grass. As the drivers push to the limit in qualifying mistakes are common.

Despite being a street circuit many of its characteristics are similar to permanent circuits when compared to other street circuits, however, this, is not a modern circuit many of the run-off areas remain a mixture of grass and gravel meaning mistakes can lead to cars being beached thus leading to virtual and real safety cars during the race.

The circuit is considered to be quite fast and relatively easy to drive, drivers having commented that the consistent placement of corners allows them to easily learn the circuit and achieve competitive times. Following the two-year hiatus during the pandemic, the circuit was modified to see some of the chicanes removed and replaced by sweeping corners in a bit to increase overtaking.

Albert Park in my view is a hybrid street circuit as it has the feeling of a permeant circuit because it’s enclosed in a public park, while using the roads around the car parks and parkland around Albert Park Lake. The fact the walls are slightly further away and this gives the drivers a little bit more room to try and overtake.

While each sector includes medium to high-speed characteristics more commonly associated with dedicated racetracks facilitated by grass and gravel run-off safety zones that are reconstructed annually. Ahead of last year’s race several of the chicanes were removed in an attempt to allow cars to overtake.

However, the grass and gravel run-off areas in places can make attempting to overtaking more difficult compared to more modern circuits. This is I feel gives it a unique feel and place on the calendar, a street circuit which allows some overtaking as we saw last year it appears easier to overtake.

Only the sections between turns three to six, differ significantly from the race track configuration. Turn Four is replaced by a car park access road running directly from Turn Three to Whitehead (Five). Between Turn Five and Six, the road is blocked.

The race normal can show which cars are good all-rounders, as you need a good combination of speed and downforce. It can be hard to overtake, but as with any street circuit, it will evolve rapidly throughout the weekend. This means that when we get into qualifying the battle to make it into Q3 and for pole can be close, as the circuit is rubbered in.

Although F1 didn’t start racing in Melbourne until 1996, last years race marks the biggest overhaul in twenty-five years. But the origins of the circuits layout remain based on the original circuit and the public roads around Albert Park Lake. The parkland circuit isn’t a typical street circuit itself contained in parkland in a similar way to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Miami.

F1 arrived dramatically in Albert Park, the Jordan of Martin Brundle was launched into the air in an enormous accident. Footage of the crash, and Brundle’s subsequent rush back to the pits to take the spare car for the restart, ensured the first race in Melbourne gained widespread coverage. The race was won by Williams’s Damon Hill.

For the first ten years as a championship round, the race was held in Adelaide which was a challenging, demanding and tricky circuit that often produced races of attrition, and the whole event was very popular with drivers, teams and fans. During that era the race was dominated by the rivalry, and often title-deciding race between McLaren teammate Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

The 1991 race was notable for being held in extremely wet and tricky conditions and the race was eventually stopped after 14 of the scheduled 82 laps and Ayrton Senna was declared the winner. The shortest race for thirty years until the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.

Two years later it would mark the end of an era, Senna’s final win and Prost’s final race. Neither would complete a race again, Senna would not finish the first three races in 1994 before his death at Imola, while Prost had retired.

That years title decider in Adelaide would be controversial, as Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill.

The debut race saw a dramatic return of Grand Prix racing to Albert Park when the Jordan of Martin Brundle was launched into the air in an enormous accident. Footage of the crash, and Brundle’s subsequent rush back to the pits to take the spare car for the restart, ensured the first race in Melbourne gained widespread coverage. The race was won by Williams’s Damon Hill.

McLaren would win the following year with Mika Häkkinen leading a one-two ahead of David Coulthard. Since 1996 Albert Park has tended to favour the most dominant cars with often that seasons constructors championship winner or runner up winning the race.

Statistically, since the move to Melbourne in 1996 every time a team has finished one-two in Melbourne, the team has won driver championship and the team has won the constructors. And that’s not happened once or twice, it’s happened eight times!

Ferrari won the first of four out of five consecutive races in 1999,  Northern Irishman Eddie Irvine took his maiden victory after the all-conquering McLarens of Häkkinen and Coulthard retired before half-distance. Schumacher would dominate in 2000 and 2001, but the 2001 race was overshadowed by a crash between broth Ralf and Jacques Villeneuve when debris from the accident killed marshal, Graham Beveridge.

The exception to the rule was 2003 when variable conditions allowed Coulthard to win. Schumacher’s win in 2004 would set the tone for the entire season, with his cruise to victory setting him up to take a then-record thirteen wins in a season. Surpassed last year by Max Verstappen.

2005 saw Ferrari’s dominance in Melbourne come to an end, Renault taking the first of two wins with Giancarlo Fisichella, while his teammate Fernando Alonso came from thirteenth to finish on the podium. Alonso would take victory the following year and made it three podiums in a row finishing third behind Lewis Hamilton in 2007.

Hamilton’s debut saw him become the first rookie to finish on the podium in eleven years on his debut. That kickstarted an incredible run of nine consecutive podium finishes from the debut, including two wins back-to-back and missing out on what would be now eight championships by a point at the end of the 2007 season, regarded as the best rookie season’s in the sports history.

But he would put that right the following year, kicking of a championship winning season with victory ahead of his Nick Heifield. In a chaotic and drama-filled race which only saw seven cars finish the race, which saw multiple crashes and safety cars. But Hamilton was cool finding himself leading for all but five laps

The Englishman found himself at the centre of controversy in what became known as the ‘Liegate scandal’ after Hamilton had allowed Jarno Trulli to retake third after he went wide under the safety car. McLaren made a mistake and Trulli was first given a penalty.

However, Trulli was eventually re-instated to his third finishing position and Hamilton was disqualified for misleading stewards during their investigation.  Meanwhile, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello dominated the weekend with Button winning from pole on Brawn GP’s debut.

Brawn, followed Mercedes who would buyout the team at the end 2009, in becoming the first constructor to qualify on pole position, and then go on to win the race on their Grand Prix debut.

Button would make it back-to-back wins in mixed conditions ahead of Robert Kubica in 2010. he gambled on an early change to slick tires under drying conditions that let him move up to second place after losing several positions at the start. His third win at Albert Park in 2012.

The beginning of the hybrid era in 2014 saw the beginning of Mercedes’s dominance for much of the hybrid era. Nico Rosberg took victory as Hamilton retired, but the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo found himself disqualified for illegal fuel flow. Hamilton bounced back with a commanding victory the following season, after taking the lead on the opening lap. He then only lost the lead through the pit stops before regaining it when Rosberg stopped.

Rosberg won again in 2016, but the race was seen of one a dramatic accidents when Alonso ran his McLaren into the back of Esteban Gutiérrez, being lifted into the air at 300 km/h (190 mph) and hitting the left-hand barrier before subsequently rolling over several times before coming to rest upside-down against the barrier at turn three, experiencing a peak force of 46G.

Vettel returned Ferrari to the top step of the podium for the first time in a decade, after passing Hamilton and new teammate Valtteri Bottas. Vettel made it back-to-back wins in 2018 when he remained ahead of Hamilton in the pit stop phase, while Renault scored its first double podium since 2011.

Race & Circuit Guide

Fast facts

• An Australian driver has never finished on the podium at their home race since the Australian Grand Prix became a round of the World Championship in 1985. The best result from an Australian at Albert Park is fourth place. Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from second in 2014 because of a technical infringement.
• Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen and Jacques Villeneuve all scored podiums on their debuts at Albert Park. The 2007 race saw Hamilton along with Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen all finish on the podium on their first race for their new teams.
• An Australian driver has never finished on the podium at their home race since the Australian Grand Prix became a round of the World Championship in 1985. The best result from an Australian at Albert Park is fourth place. Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified from second in 2014 because of a technical infringement.
• Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen and Jacques Villeneuve all scored podiums on their debuts at Albert Park. The 2007 race saw Hamilton along with Fernando Alonso and Kimi R√§ikk√∂nen all finish on the podium on their first race for their new teams.
• Albert Park is named after Prince Albert the husband of Queen Victoria. While the state of Victoria is named after her but has been spilt into two since then Victoria and New South Wales.

Event timetable

What happened in 2022?

Charles Leclerc beat Max Verstappen to pole by three-tenths of the second. Verstappen had been fastest through Q1 and Q2, but the Ferrari looked quick throughout the session with Leclerc going fastest on his final lap.

Leclerc’s advantage is mainly built through the last two corners Prost and Sixteen. Red Bull had the advantage as Sainz is out of position, although Perez is under investigation for allegedly not slowing sufficiently for yellow caution flags and may face a penalty.

After a nightmare in the opening two races Lando Norris put his McLaren fourth ahead of Mercedes, who continued to struggle with the proposing, especially through Clark and Turn Ten.

Leclerc dominated the race taking his second win of the season, he maintained his lead following the safety car restart. Sainz brought out the safety car out following a poor start and tried to overtake Clark, after making a bad start he dropped to ninth in the first sector while trying to make up positions he broke too late running off and beaching his Ferrari in the gravel. Leclerc in the opening stint clearly showed the Ferrari had the pace, with Verstappen struggling on the tyres.

However, the battle between Leclerc-Verstappen was brought to a premature end when the Red Bull driver was forced to retire during the second stint on lap thirty-nine. The team once again suspected a fuel pick-up issue was the cause of his retirement.

That prompted George Russell to take advantage of the VSC, allowing him to take a free stop maintaining track position ahead of Fernando Alonso. Russell taking his first podium for Mercedes, one which was on merit following the fiasco at Spa last August.

Race Result – 1) C. Leclerc, Ferrari, 01:27:46.548 | 2) S. Perez, Red Bull, +00:20.524 | 3) G. Russell, Mercedes, +00:25.593

What to watch for?

The question going into this weekend is can anyone stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull, although Verstappen didn’t win in Jeddah he still had a brilliant recovery drive after his difficulties in qualifying. Red Bull have dominated the opening two races and they would love to go into the spring break making it four in a row laying down a strong marker saying we are the team to beat this year.

That gives Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes a huge task of closing the gap to Red Bull. I think we need to start seeing Aston Martin as a genuine top-four challenger, they have made a lot of progress and we are going to I think see more from them in the coming races. Fernando Alonso, maybe the oldest driver on the grid but he has returned to his best in the late-2000s, I don’t count him out of being the surprise if something goes seriously wrong for Red Bull.

Ferrari, won this race last year, but it on paper looks hard and they need to get everything right if they are to beat Red Bull on track. They did have a decent car in testing but now Red Bull have taken the sandbags off it appears Ferrari has dropped even further behind. Charles Leclerc I think has looked the more comfortable of the two drivers.

Albert Park is another old-school street circuit, which means like we saw in Jeddah being on track and responding to events as they unfold during qualifying and the race can be very important. Accidents in qualifying can we know lead to yellow and red flags, means the banker lap method can be used by all the teams.

In the race it is about responding to the VSC and safety cars correctly to gain advantage. The racing is OK around Albert Park where there can be close battles. Track evolution maybe greater this season throughout the weekend as we have F2 which runs Pirelli tyres.

Mercedes I think nearer than they were to Aston Martin, but we know that Fernando Alonso has made a brilliant start to the year. Aston has two podiums I feel we have to accept they are a genuine contender to fight Mercedes for third in the constructors and it will be interesting to see how Mercedes respond to that.

This will be Oscar Piastri’s first home race, sadly you have to say he might be a difficult one as McLaren. They just haven’t regained or progressed since last year’s regulation changes, there also isn’t a great record for Aussies at their home race and he has never raced at Albert Park, hopefully he has a good home race

2019 vs 2022 Race Data

Note configuration changes between 2019 and 2022

2022 Lap time comparison

Tyres