#Formula1 @Heineken #AustralianGP 2022 Preview. #F1
Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2019 Race Start, Albert Park Street Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. Image credit to EFE. F1 News Round-up. 2022 Australian GP Preview, F1 Australian GP Preview, Australian Grand Prix Preview.
2022 Australian GP Preview – After Max Verstappen snatched victory from Charles Leclerc in a thrilling Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, round three of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the great city of Melbourne on the streets of Albert Park for the Formula 1 Heineken Australian Grand Prix 2022 for the first time since the 2021 and 20 events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the 25th year that Melbourne has hosted the Australian Grand Prix and the 36th time the Australian GP has been part of the Formula One calendar.
Australian GP Preview – 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 Albert Park Circuit has undergone changes in the months before the return of the Grand Prix, which were touted as the most major changes since the inaugural 1996 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Several drivers were consulted on the changes to the layout.
Corners 9 and 10 were completely revised, where they used to form a right–left chicane with a heavy braking zone on the approach to it. Now the redesign sees it become a much quicker right–left sequence. This change was made to raise the approaching speeds for turns 11 and 12. Several other corners were modified to encourage overtaking, the most notable being turn 13, which has been widened to create more racing lines. Positive camber was also added to the corner to allow the drivers to carry more speed through the corner. The Walker Straight and pit-lane were also redesigned, with the pit-lane wall moved two metres closer to the track so the edge of the circuit sits directly next to the wall.
The pit-lane modification was made in response to Daniel Ricciardo’s opening-lap accident in 2019, where the Australian ran wide at the start, running onto the grassy verge and hitting an unsighted culvert, which destroyed the front wing and the undertray of his Renault R.S.19 racer, forcing him to retire from his home race. As a result of the changes, Australian Grand Prix officials applied to sport’s governing body, the FIA to raise the pit-lane speed limit from 60 kph (37.28 mph) to 80 kph (49.71 mph).
A change such as this one would be significant, as the Formula One pits sit next to the Supercars support race paddock, creating one of the longest pit-lanes on the F1 calendar. These changes were originally planned to be made after the race. However, the cancellations allowed Australian GP organisers to make the changes in advance. Further changes, such as the track being resurfaced with a tarmac compound designed to wear tyres out quicker, were planned to take place after the race in time for this year’s event.
The circuit runs in a clockwise direction and is 5.279km (3.280 miles) in length with 14 corners.
The race distance is 306.240km (190.298 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.
Ferrari and McLaren are the most successful Constructor at the Australian Grand Prix, tied with 12 victories each.
2022 Australian GP Preview – Onboard Pole Lap of the Albert Park Street Circuit
Here is the onboard pole lap of the Albert Park Street Circuit set at the 2019 event by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W10 EQ Power+, with the Briton posting a blistering 1:20.486. You can watch the video right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnUZFrrd9os
2022 Australian GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2021-20: Not Held. 2019: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1. 2018: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari. 2017: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari. 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.
2022 Australian GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to Albert Park, the C2 (White) Hard compound, the C3 (Yellow) Medium tyre and C5 (Red) Soft compounds along with the green-branded Intermediates and Blue side-walled Full Wets in-case of rain. This will be the first time since 2018 that non-consecutive tyres will be used.
Drivers will have eight sets of the softs, three sets of the mediums and two of the hards.
2022 Australian GP Preview – DRS Zones
There will be four DRS Zones for the Formula 1 Heineken Australian Grand Prix 2022 weekend. The first detection point is at the exit of turn six, with the first activation point at the kink of turn eight, heading towards turn nine and the second activation point is between turns 10 and 11. The second detection zone is in-between turns 12 and 13 (the new penultimate corner). The activation point for zone three is 30 metres after the final corner, while the activation point for zone four is 32 metres after the second corner.
2022 Australian GP Preview – Pitlane Speeds
Pitlane speeds will be 80km/h in all Practice sessions, Qualifying and the Race.
ICYMI – Verstappen snatches victory from Leclerc in thrilling Saudi Arabian GP
Verstappen Saudi Arabian GP victory – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen snatched victory at the Saudi Arabian GP in a thrilling closing battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who came second, and Carlos Sainz completed the podium for the Scuderia.
The reigning champion grabbed the win by 0.549 seconds after a DRS-assisted slip-streaming affair with Leclerc in the second half of proceedings at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, after the Monegasque driver tried again to tactically out-manoeuvre the Red Bull driver.
But Verstappen held onto clinch the victory as Ferrari scored a double podium, whilst pole-sitter Sergio Perez ended up fourth in the other Red Bull.
When the 50-lap Saudi Arabian GP began, pole-sitter Perez got a clean getaway off the line into turn one, covering Leclerc but was largely unchallenged as Verstappen fought with Sainz.
As Sainz had to remain cautious to miss the rear of his Ferrari team-mate at the first left-hand corner, Verstappen was able to find his way around the outside as the track twisted back into turn two.
Verstappen out-paced the Ferrari to take third, whilst Perez moved to a 1.3 second gap over Leclerc in the opening two tours with Verstappen the same amount back again.
The attention turned straight to battle of the Alpine drivers, arriving after Mercedes’ George Russell made an early overtake on Esteban Ocon to take sixth place.
Ocon moved to the inside down the pit-straight and appeared to squeeze a DRS-assisted team-mate of Fernando Alonso against the wall, forcing the Spaniard to retreat out of the fifth-lap move.
The following tour, Alonso attempted again, but was further back and had to abandon a possible move around the outside of the first corner before the battle continued next time round.
Alonso was able to eventually get by his team-mate but only momentarily, as Ocon took sixth place back with DRS into the opening corner but ran across the run-off and missed the apex and had to give the position back to the double world champion.
The Alpine pairing were then told to hold station, with Alonso in-front of Ocon.
Perez was able to gain a lead of over two seconds ahead of Leclerc, with Verstappen 1.5 seconds behind the Monegasque driver whilst Sainz was a further 3.1 seconds back.
Then the gap dropped to 1.5 seconds to make Perez dive into the pits on the 15th lap for a set of the C2 white side-walled hard compounds, but a slow stop and cold tyres brought the Mexican out behind Russell in fifth.
The potential race win then slipped away from Perez as double-waved yellow flags became a virtual safety car then the full safety car due to the retirement of Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi.
After crashing in Q1, the Canadian shunted again on the 16th lap when he hit the throttle too early exiting the last corner and over-corrected his FW44 racer towards the wall.
Although Latifi locked all four wheels as he jumped on the brakes, he still whacked the barrier.
The interruption allowed the leaders to stop in stabilised conditions to jump Perez, with Leclerc taking the lead from Verstappen, who narrowly avoided Sainz in the pits.
Sainz then had a close run-in with Perez, stuck behind Russell on his out-lap, got past at the safety car line as Sainz got squeezed towards the second corner wall.
When the race returned to green, Verstappen attempted to put Leclerc off at the last turn, but the Ferrari driver could break the slipstream and lead with no threat, building up a gap of two seconds.
Perez was ordered to give back the position only after the restart to slip to fourth place in-front of Russell, whilst a 15th-starting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton stayed on his harder rubber to climb to sixth place.
But only after a appealing battle with Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen, which was resolved when the Briton dived for the position into the opening corner, the Haas having re-passed in similar circumstances on the previous tour thanks to a double-DRS effect on the main-straight.
Meanwhile Verstappen, began to respond to Leclerc’s quick first sector times with a series of fastest laps to reel the Ferrari in and decrease the gap to under 1.5 seconds.
A second virtual safety car was deployed on the 38th lap when Alonso, Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo effectively retired together.
The Alpine was the first to retire as Alonso suffered a power failure and fell out of seventh place, though the Spaniard made it back to pit-lane to stop the car.
Ricciardo’s Mercedes-powered MCL36 stopped at the beginning of the main-straight after the Australian suffered a lock-up into the last corner and never got going again.
Whilst Bottas was able to make it back to the pits and be brought back into the Alfa Romeo garage, the location of where Ricciardo and Alonso’s cars meant the pit-lane was closed to hurt Hamilton.
Still on his starting set of the harder compound, the Briton received the call to stop too late and had to stay put until the race went back to green on the 41st tour, and Hamilton immediately pitted for a set of the C3 yellow-marked medium tyres.
Verstappen was now only 0.6 seconds behind race-leader Leclerc as he chased his first victory of the 2022 campaign after his RB18 racer retired with a fuel vacuum issue at the season-opening Bahrain GP.
With a slipstream down the main-straight, Leclerc was forced to cover the inside and defend on lap 42, but Verstappen decided against an attempted late dive.
The Dutchman instead saved the fight for the lead until the final corner, at this point Leclerc repeated his Bahrain strategy by holding his pace over the DRS detection point.
So, whilst Verstappen held track position, Leclerc had DRS assistance and defended his regained lead into the first turn.
Verstappen was set for a similar lunge next time round, but as he used DRS, the Red Bull driver locked-up over the detection line and dropped back to give Leclerc the position and a comfortable gap.
The fight however, appeared to take it’s toll on the rear tyres of Leclerc’s F1-75 racer, the Ferrari over-steered out of the final corner to allow Verstappen to successfully get the run for P1.
Leclerc was forced to abandon the second corner as a result, bracing himself for a final-tour showdown.
Whilst Leclerc could close within 0.549 seconds, Verstappen held on to claim a brilliant Saudi Arabian GP victory.
Sainz finished a further seven seconds behind team-mate Leclerc in third, as Perez settled for fourth after a dull battle with Russell. Both Sainz and Perez are currently under investigation by the stewards for speeding under double-waved yellows.
Ocon meanwhile came sixth for Alpine and in-front of McLaren’s Lando Norris and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly who were seventh and eighth respectively.
Magnussen, who entered the Saudi Arabian GP with neck pain after twinging it in qualifying, holding onto ninth as Mercedes’ Hamilton rounded out the top ten.
Despite being hit with a drive-through penalty for not serving his five-second timed penalty plus suffering clutch and anti-stall issues with his C42 racer, Zhou Guanyu, the Chinese driver was 11th for Alfa Romeo as the Aston Martin duo Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll completed the finishers of the race.
Stroll was able to make it over the line after a late tangle with Williams Racing’s Alexander Albon after coming together at turn one, which ended the latter’s race and brought out the yellow flags at the opening corner during the closing stages of the Verstappen-Leclerc fight.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, who was unable to post a qualifying lap following a water-system problem, the pulled up at the first sector onboard his AT03 racer on his way to the starting grid with an engine issue.
This combined with Haas F1 Team not opting to start Mick Schumacher’s VF-22 racer to avoid repairs after the German’s heavy Q2 crash, created the scenario, which saw 18 cars start the race.
2022 Australian GP Preview – The Situation
After a thrilling double-header to the start of the season, F1 returns to the historic Albert Park Street Circuit this weekend as rivals Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen fight for their second victory of their campaign whilst reigning World Constructor’s Champions Mercedes look to find an upturn in form.
Returning to an F1-paddock favourite for the first time since 2019, this weekend presents another test for the drivers in these new cars designed for closer and competitive racing with the circuit modified to help enhance it.
Two races into the season so far in this new-era, and it is clear that Ferrari and Red Bull are the fastest cars with their star drivers in Leclerc and Verstappen with both drivers at one race victory a-piece and this battle is looking to be an exciting long-season affair.
The on-track battles between Leclerc and Verstappen have been intense, but respectful, with both drivers giving each other plenty of room on-circuit and praising each other off it, a completely different story from last season’s between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari’s resurgence has already seen them score more than double points of all it’s competitors, whilst Red Bull would be right there with them had it not been for a double DNF at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
The obvious absentee from that fight, is reigning Constructor’s Champions Mercedes.
The Silver Arrows have endured a difficult start to their 2022 campaign, taking third and fourth due to Red Bull’s problems in Bahrain along with a fifth and tenth place in Saudi Arabia, where once again they were well off the top two.
Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton explained in Jeddah that Mercedes were lacking downforce and speed compared to it’s rivals, a concerning combination for a team looking to defend its Constructor’s crown and regain the Driver’s Championship this season.
The Silver Arrows are a second off the pace of the cars ahead. The Brackley-based outfit believe the biggest problem right now is the porpoising effect along the straights. Putting more downforce on the F1 W13 and running it lower, the car is likely to bounce. Increase straight-line speed, the W13 goes faster, but bounces even more.
When will Mercedes solve these issues? The Silver Arrows are planning a series of upgrades to their W13 over the next few rounds, with a rumour of them bringing their first to Albert Park.
Charles Leclerc heads to Melbourne on top of World Driver’s Championship with 45 points and a 12-point lead over Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz who is second on 33 points while Max Verstappen is a further 20 behind the Monegasque driver in third on 25 points.
Scuderia Ferrari returns to Albert Park sitting on top of the World Constructors Championship with 78 points and a 40-point advantage over nearest rivals Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team who are second on 38 points whilst Oracle Red Bull Racing are third and a further 41 points behind the Scuderia on 37 points.
Click here for the 2022 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings
F1 returns to Las Vegas from 2023 onwards
The famous Las Vegas strip will have Formula One cars flying on it for the first time under the bright lights as the sport returns to Las Vegas from November 2023 onwards.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place on a Saturday next year in November and become the third race in the United States, alongside Austin and Miami.
Las Vegas hosted races in 1981 and 1982 at Caesars Palace, but this time the iconic Las Vegas Strip will have F1 cars running on it, with the circuit sweeping past the city’s famous casinos and hotels.
The 14-cornered street-track will run 6.120 kilometres (3.803 miles) in length with top speeds expected to hit 342 kph.
The layout features three straights, a high-speed cornering sequence and a single chicane section, with the race set to be 50 laps.
Formula 1 and Liberty Media will be working together to promote the Grand Prix in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, along with Founding Partners Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Wynn Las Vegas and Presenting Partners MSG Sphere, Resorts World Las Vegas and The Venetian Resort.
The announcement was made last Wednesday evening, with Liberty Media President and CEO Greg Maffei and Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali present.
They were joined in attendance by several stakeholders including Nevada Governor, Steve Sisolak, CEO and President of the LVCVA, Steve Hill and President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, Michael Rapino.
Domenicali explained: “This is an incredible moment for Formula 1 that demonstrates the huge appeal and growth of our sport with a third race in the US. Las Vegas is a destination known around the world for its excitement, hospitality, thrills, and of course, the famous Strip,”
“There is no better place for Formula 1 to race than in the global entertainment capital of the world and we cannot wait to be here next year. I want to thank everyone who helped deliver this event, especially Governor Sisolak, the Clark County Commission, Steve Hill at the LVCVA, and our local partners.” Domenicali concluded. Credit to F1 for the quote.
Read more on the circuit layout of the Las Vegas Street Circuit here: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.revealed-check-out-the-las-vegas-grand-prix-circuits-layout.1xBOUUuDJDtqX4ukNvnHcK.html
The Formula 1 Heineken Australian Grand Prix 2022 weekend begins Friday April 8 with Free Practice One and Two, followed by Free Practice Three and Qualifying Saturday April 9 and concluding with the 58 lap Race Sunday April 10.
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