Will we see a shake up at the top of the field this weekend or will the twin Red Bulls and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso continue to dominate proceedings? Our scribe gives his opinion on this question, below.
Red Bull’s early season dominance continued out in Saudi Arabia with Sergio Perez taking race honors and reigning Drivers’ Champions Max Verstappen claiming second to secure their second one-two finish of the season.
The podium actually featured the same trio who stood on it on the opening weekend with Fernando Alonso taking third for the second time running.
Australian Grand Prix
Sunday 2 April
Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit
07:00
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 1/3
Sergio Perez 4/1
George Russell 40/1
Lewis Hamilton 25/1
Charles LeClerc 18/1
Fernando Alonso 9/1
Previous Race
As noted in the introduction, Red Bull laid down another marker out in Saudi Arabia with as they claimed their second one-two finish of the season. While it was Max Verstappen taking first on the opening weekend, it was Sergio Perez’s turn to lead the field across the line with Verstappen taking second. The podium had a very familiar look to it with veteran Fernando Alonso producing the goods again for Aston Martin, as the former Ferrari ace claimed third.
Mercedes had a better time of it in Saudi than they did in Bahrain with George Russel claiming fourth and Lewis Hamilton taking fifth spot. The Silver Arrows are still someway off the pace of the top boys, however, with Russel finishing 50 seconds behind Sergio Perez. The final position n the ‘top 6’ went to the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, while his teammate Charles LeClerc followed him home in seventh.
Alpine were the next team across the line with Esetban Ocon coming home in eighth and Pierre Gaslly taking ninth. The final points scoring berth went to Kevin Magnussen.
Track
The 5.303 km long track, which encircles the man-made Albert Park Lake, was the first to fall victim to COVID back in 2020 with a late decision seeing the race called off. The event was also called off last year and it’s really strange to think that we haven’t seen any F1 action at what is a staple on the F1 calendar for two years. That will all change this weekend, however, as racing finally returns to Australia’s Garden City.
Although only a temporary track, it is considered to be the smoothest of all the road circuits due to the revamp it underwent in 1996. A firm favorite among fans and drivers alike, the Melbourne situated track lacks true straits so the DRS zones, situated along the pit straight and between turns two and three, may be of vital importance during the race.
The weather for this weekend is looking pretty decent enough with rain only forecast for Friday’s practice action, while Saturday and Sunday will see temperatures in the high teens but no real rain spells of rain.
Last year’s race was won by Charles LeClerc with Sergio Perez claiming second and George Russel rounding out the podium.
To Win Race Outright:
Max Verstappen
He may not have claimed the race win last time out but he still put in an impressive shift. Verstappen is yet to win a race ‘down under’ but I reckon this is the year he breaks his duck.
