F1 - Australia GP 2024 Preview
F1 is back to Melbourne with a lot of Questions unanswered in the midfield - Will they find their Answers this weekend ?
Heading into the third race weekend of the calendar it is crystal clear that Red Bull might dominate for the season. Max Verstappen won the first two races and would continue to win more unless some team brings up an extraordinary upgrade which elevates their car which seems nearly impossible seeing Red Bulls’ superiority.
Know the Track
Built in 1993 the track is one of the fastest on the calendar with the fastest pole set by Lewis Hamilton in 2018 at 235km/hr.
As Albert Park is a street circuit each year the common roads which are used are re-surfaced before the weekend ensuring smoothness. The track underwent a reprofiling during the pandemic, the prominent one was the modification of the turn 9-10 complex from a heavy right-left corner to a fast sweeping right-left corner. Coupled with flat terrain around the lake and few true straights, it is difficult for drivers to overtake.
The Red Bull Drama Continues
Coming into this weekend Red Bull has a new challenge to face as the person who accused Christian Horner of inappropriate behaviour has registered a grievance with FIA’s ethics committee.
There were two complaints registered, one on 2nd February which made direct reference to behaviour towards the female employee and the other one was made on 6th March which referred to the first one and warned that the whistleblower would next inform the media.
Apart from this, it looks like it might be a dominant weekend for an Austrian team yet again.
Hopes Lies In Ferrari
The two-night races at the start of the year clearly stated that Ferrari had pulled from the Mercedes, Aston Martin and McLaren group and made important developments compared to the previous year.
Charles could have snatched the pole from Max in Bahrain if not for the tyres giving up in the last stint. Furthermore, the gap between Max and Charle’s qualifying lap times was 0.3 which meant only one thing there could be a potential balance of forces at the front of the grid if Ferrari develops in the right direction.
Carlos Sainz is set to return to his car after he had to undergo appendicitis surgery in Jeddah due to which he skipped the Saudi Arabian GP last weekend, which allowed the Ferrari junior Oliver Bearmann to substitute Sainz for the weekend.
Carlos has now recovered and is expected to race, but will be finalised once he does Free Practice sessions and faces no issues.
As the major upgrades would be coming in Imola and Japan this race weekend the only thing to look forward to will be both the drivers in their full form.
Where is Mercedes?
In all of this chaos, the German team lies nowhere. They are still stuck in the cycle of torrid seasons with them having absolutely no clue of where the car is going. Unfortunately for them, it is again unknown unexplored territory this weekend.
Coming into this season their position on the constructors table is not even fixed for third it may come down to fourth or fifth if Aston Martin and McLaren step up. To make matters worse Toto has hinted that there might be simulation correlation issues, to begin with, which sets them way behind.
“Still struggling to understand this car, in all honesty. Because it’s shown true performance at points,” George told Sky Sports. “At Bahrain, we were P1 and P2 in practice, straight out of the box. Here [in Jeddah] on Thursday, we were quick. And we’ve kind of got a little bit slower as the weekend progressed.”
Uncertainty in Race: Alpine
The A524 has no area of expertise or excellence whatsoever. During pre-season testing, there was so much emphasis on the potential for the development of the car but by the first race of the season, all they could wish was to have a decent car to drive and not end up at the last row.
The resignation of Technical Director Matt Harman further added to many exits in the technical and management team the Enstone outfit has seen in recent times. Even without a budget cap, there seem to be null possibilities that Alpine could have come to the same position as that of the previous year.
What to Expect this Weekend?
The mid-field battle is spicing up as Red Bull still looking way clear of the pack in P1. Another Red Bull-Max Verstappen victory wouldn’t come as a surprise.
Ferrari has looked a bit stronger as compared to the other midfield teams but the McLarens and Mercedes could slowly catch up with them.
Aston Martin has shown early signs however there has been a shift in car performance compared to 2023 - Aston has now improved in Quali whereas the Race pace seems to have reduced which was the other way around in 2023.
Regarding the tyre strategies, it is expected to be a one-stopper as it has been in the previous years.
Weather Conditions
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 – FP1 AND FP2
Maximum temperature expected: 20 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 10 Celsius
SATURDAY, MARCH 23 – FP3 AND QUALIFYING
Maximum temperature expected: 19 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 13 Celsius
SUNDAY, MARCH 24 – RACE WEATHER
Maximum temperature expected: 21 Celsius
Minimum temperature expected: 13 Celsius
The Weekend Schedule
