2018 @F1 @Rolex @ausgrandprix Preview
Testing is now over, and the stage is now set for the opening round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship beginning traditionally in the great city of Melbourne on the streets of Albert Park for the Formula One 2018 Rolex Australian Grand Prix. This is the 69th season of the FIA Formula One World Championship and the 23rd year that Melbourne has hosted the Australian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One calendar.
A look at the Albert Park Street Circuit
The Albert Park circuit with its spectacular backdrop is a temporary street circuit around Albert Park Lake, only a few kilometres south from central Melbourne. Despite the track being run on public roads, it has characteristics of a permanent racing circuit considering its fast, flowing nature combined with extensive runoff in many corners.
The circuit itself uses everyday sections of road that circle Albert Park Lake, a small altered lake (originally a lagoon formed as part of the ancient Yarra River course) just south of the city of Melbourne. The road sections that are used were rebuilt prior to the first event in 1996 to ensure its consistency and smoothness. As a result, compared to other circuits that are held on public roads, the Albert Park street circuit has quite a smooth surface.
The track is considered to be fast and easy to drive, drivers have commented that the consistent placement of corners allows them to learn the circuit very quickly and achieve competitive times.
Each year, most of the motorsport infrastructure, trackside fencing, pedestrian overpasses, and grandstands are built approximately two months prior to the race weekend and removed within six weeks after the event. Land around the circuit (includes a large aquatic centre, a golf course, Lakeside Stadium, some restaurants and rowing boathouses) has restricted access during the event weekend.
The circuit runs in a clockwise direction and is 5.303km (3.295 miles) in length with 16 corners.
The race distance is 307.574km (191.071 miles) in length with 58 laps in total.
Michael Schumacher holds the fastest lap record on the streets of Albert Park set in 2004 with 1:24.125 in his Ferrari F2004.
Michael Schumacher and Lex Davison are tied for most Australian Grand Prix victories with four apiece.
McLaren are the most successful Constructor at the Australian Grand Prix with 12 victories.
The Last Five Winners
2017: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari. 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2014: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 2013: Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus F1 Team.
Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to Albert Park, the purple-marked “Ultra-Soft” tyres, alongside the red-branded “Super-Soft” and yellow rubbered “Soft” compounds, also the green-branded “Intermediates” and blue-marked “Full-Wets” in case of rain.
World Champions Mercedes were among the other competitors to suffer blistering on the softer compounds during pre-season testing and have opted for nine sets of the Ultra-Soft compounds for both their drivers, the joint highest in the field with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton also selecting three sets of supersofts and one set of softs while team-mate Valtteri Bottas will have two sets of each.
Meanwhile, Ferrari and Red Bull have gone a little more conservative to the Silver Arrows with their selections.
Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will have seven sets of ultrasofts, three sets of softs and supersofts each while Red Bull Racing pairing Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are given eight sets of ultrasofts, two sets of softs and three supersoft compounds each.
No other driver in the field have selected more than three sets of the hardest soft tyre available, but Renault duo Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg along with Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean will have four sets of the red-branded supersoft rubber.
DRS Zones
Since 2012 in Melbourne, there will be two DRS Zones for the race weekend. The first Activation Zone is 762 metres before Turn One with the Second Activation Zone is 510 metres before Turn Three. They both share a single Detection Point just 13 metres before Turn 14.
Pitlane Speeds
Pitlane speeds will be 60km/h in Practice with an increase to 100km/h for Qualifying and the Race.
2017 Australian Grand Prix Flashback
Sebastian Vettel cruised to victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on the streets of Albert Park in Melbourne after beating Lewis Hamilton with a strategy working to perfection giving Ferrari its first win since Singapore in 2015.
In the sport’s new set of regulations which has given better looking, lower, faster and wider cars, it was Hamilton who lead early proceedings from pole position but lost out to Vettel in the single pit-stop window having pitted first and encountering traffic.
Vettel built up a solid gap at the front, meanwhile Hamilton was stuck in a battle with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for several laps and held position until the end to give Ferrari it’s eighth Australian Grand Prix victory as part of the Formula One World Championship.
Vettel and Ferrari also ended their victory drought in Melbourne which extended all the way back in 2007 when team-mate Kimi Raikkonen last won the event for the Scuderia.
“There’s a long, long way ahead, but for now we’re over the moon,” Vettel explained after winning the Australian Grand Prix for the second time. “We’re just happy. It’s been a hard winter.”
“It was an incredible race, at the start I was not entirely happy, I was a bit too nervous, and I had a bit of wheel slip off the line. Lewis was a tiny bit better, then I had to take care or Valtteri [Bottas] into Turn 1, but I had a decent exit.”
“Then I was keeping the pressure on to make sure they got the message, ‘We are here, we are here to fight’. Obviously, I got a bit lucky when Lewis came out in traffic, but I was hanging in there, the tyres were still good, still working.”
The four-time World Champion also praised Pirelli’s fatter-retro style tyres, as he pushed hard throughout the race using the Ultra Soft/Soft strategy.
“You could push much harder; usually the first couple of laps last year you were pushing then the tyres dropped off,” Vettel continued. “Now, the tyres are still dropping off a bit, but you can keep pushing, can keep braking at the same point.”
“The car was screaming, ‘more, more, more’, and on the harder tyres there was hardly any degradation.”
“So, it’s good fun, especially through faster corners, I could keep going forever, it was a great race, I enjoyed it a lot.” Vettel concluded.
Hamilton remained in second place with Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas close behind in third place to complete the podium.
With one of the main focuses being the new starting procedures for 2017, Hamilton stormed into the lead in the first corner of the 57-lap Grand Prix but Vettel kept just behind the Briton over the opening stint.
Hamilton was first to stop on lap 17, after an aborted start and was released into traffic meanwhile Vettel was flying and setting quick laps on the purple-branded Ultra-Soft compounds.
Five laps later, Vettel pitted for the yellow-marked, more durable softer tyres and came out just in-front of Verstappen who was holding up Hamilton and was not in contention with the top two teams battling it out for the win.
Vettel after successfully defending his position from Verstappen, raced clear after tyres reached optimum temperature giving himself a solid lead through to the end of the race.
Once Verstappen pitted, Hamilton’s chances of a race victory were over as the three-time World Champion, on older softer compounds had a fast charging Finnish team-mate of Bottas behind him keeping him at bay for second.
Kimi Raikkonen had a quiet race finishing in fourth place in the other Ferrari SF70H racer, never threatening the front three runners Vettel, Hamilton and Bottas with Verstappen having a similar run to complete the top five.
The Dutchman was the sole Red Bull on the track for most of the race with team-mate Daniel Ricciardo having a difficult home Grand Prix.
Ricciardo, already hit with a five-grid placed penalty after a gearbox change after crashing out in qualifying, failed to make the starting grid after his RB13 stalled on his way to the grid, re-joined the 57-lap race two laps behind and then suffering an engine failure.
Felipe Massa came home sixth for Williams and was the best of the rest behind the two Ferrari’s, Mercedes and sole Red Bull after Haas driver Romain Grosjean lost power and retired.
The Force India pairing of Sergio Perez and rookie team-mate Esteban Ocon occupied seventh and tenth respectively with the two Toro Rosso’s of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat sandwiched in-between the two in eighth and ninth with all four completing the final points positions.
McLaren-Honda’s Fernando Alonso held tenth during the race and was on course for scoring a point for the Anglo-Japanese partnership until a suspension failure hit his struggling MCL32 and was forced to retire.
Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg finished outside the top ten in 11th place and ahead of Sauber’s Antonio Giovanazzi who stood in to replace the injured Pascal Wehrlein finished in an impressive 12th place on debut and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne who took 13th and all three drivers were the final trio to finish the Grand Prix.
Williams rookie Lance Stroll had a tough Grand Prix debut from the back of the grid and was having a good race until retiring after running off the track with a brakes failure with his Mercedes-powered FW40 racer.
Haas’ recruit Kevin Magnussen and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson pulled off in the later stages of the race and collided on the opening lap at turn three with the other Renault of Jolyon Palmer retiring with brake issues.
Vettel’s victory and Raikkonen’s fourth place gave the Scuderia top spot in the Constructors Championship for the first time under Formula 1’s 1.6L V6 turbocharged hybrid era which began in 2014.
Who will win the Formula 1 2018 Rolex Australian Grand Prix and get the season off to a flying start?
The season-opening Australian Grand Prix begins Friday March 23 with Free Practice One and Two. Free Practice Three and Qualifying Saturday March 24 with the 58 lap Race concluding the event Sunday March 25.
*Race Report and Feature Article on the Australian Grand Prix will come when I return from Melbourne.
