Two races down, 22 to go. You’ve had a week off; now let’s get ready for the Australian Grand Prix.
It’s been two weeks since Max Verstappen took the checkered flag in Jeddah, his second race win in what is looking like another dominant season. Let’s break down the news, the rumours, and the realities for Formula One’s teams heading into the third round of the season.
Red Bull Looking to Continue Dominant Run, While Rivals Circle
Bigger than Verstappen’s victories have been the rumours swirling around Red Bull regarding the Dutch driver, team principal Christian Horner, and chief technical officer Adrian Newey with both Newey and Verstappen being linked to potential moves to Ferrari and Mercedes.
With dark clouds lurking over the team, Red Bull will be looking to lighten the mood by taking their third 1-2 finish of the season. For Verstappen, a victory here would be his second win at Australia in a row, which he won last year in a dramatic race that saw multiple large crashes in the final few laps.
Ferrari firmly established itself as Red Bull’s main challenger throughout the first two races. For them, Australia represents the opportunity to pick up their first win of the season at a race they won in 2022. At Jeddah, they found themselves down a driver after Carlos Sainz was hospitalized with appendicitis, but with the Spaniard expected to return this week, both he and teammate Charles Leclerc will be looking to give the Tifosi something to cheer about.
For other contenders —McLaren and Mercedes— improvement will be key this weekend to continue to compete with the top two teams. Neither team has been able to get on the podium, with only two top-five finishes between the two teams so far this year. Furthermore, with only two points separating the two teams, this race is also an opportunity to solidify a hold on third place in the Constructors Championship.
Midfield Scores First Points, Shaping up for a Close Fight
For midfield fighter Haas, Jeddah saw the first points scored by a midfield team this season, with driver Nico Hulkenberg coming home tenth with one point. The team exemplified great teamwork, with their other driver Kevin Magnussen — sitting in 11th but facing a 20-second penalty — performing a magnificent defensive drive in order for his teammate to come away with points. This marked the first time that a team that finished outside last year’s top five scored points this year.
Red Bull’s junior team RB, quickly emerging as another contender for the top of the midfield, was outraged by the Haas team strategy and demanded that the stewards investigate and prevent these tactics from being used again. For RB, who have finished just outside the points in the first two races, a double points result would put them back on track for a high midfield finish this year.
The other midfield team Williams came just shy of a P11 finish in Jeddah and currently sits in seventh without having scored points this season. Getting over that line and into the points will be the goal this weekend. Much of that burden will fall on Alex Albon, the team’s veteran number-one driver, who has both qualified and finished higher than his teammate Logan Sargeant in both races this season.
Can Things Get Worse for Alpine?
Looking to the back of the grid, it’s no surprise to see Alpine there. Their car was predicted to be worst on the grid in preseason testing, and they’ve had the dubious honour of living up to their expectations.
They followed up their disastrous finish in Bahrain with an equally poor performance in Jeddah, qualifying P17 and P18 and having driver Pierre Gasly retire after the first lap with gearbox problems. Their goal this weekend will be to improve their pace which has been painfully behind in the first two races.
Look Ahead to Australia
The Australian Grand Prix is located at the Albert Park Circuit, a 5.278 km street circuit in Melbourne. It has hosted the Australian Grand Prix since 1996. After two years of being cancelled due to COVID-19, the race has occupied the third spot on the F1 calendar, having previously been the season opener.
The Australian Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday, March 24th at 12 AM EST. Check standings, news, times, and scores here.
