The third round of the 2022 season sees Formula 1 return to Melbourne’s Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix.
But the circuit has been reconfigured since F1’s last race in 20190 How much of an impact will the changes make to the racing we will see on Sunday?
Albert Park’s new look
The 25th grand prix to be held at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne will be the first around its dramatically revised new layout. Almost every corner of the 5.27-kilometre course has been widened, re-profiled or simply removed in a bid to improve racing and create more natural overtaking opportunities.Turns one and three have been widened significantly, turn six is far shallower and turns nine and ten by the lake in sector two have been entirely removed to make the approach to the fast chicane much quicker than ever before. Lap times are expected to fall by around five seconds, but the race distance will remain 58 laps, as before.
Coupled with the new regulations for 2022’s cars intended to allow cars to run closer than ever before, this Australian Grand Prix may be an entirely different kind of challenge for drivers and teams, who are now encouraged to run lower downforce levels than they traditionally would do to make the most of the higher speeds. It could be quite a different spectacle in Melbourne this time around.
Updates pending
After two back-to-back races to start the Formula 1 season, the Australian Grand Prix is the teams’ first opportunity to bring significant upgrades to their cars after the campaign has officially begun.
Thanks to F1’s new ‘show and tell’ automobile displays, it will be clearer than ever which teams have brought revised elements to their cars this weekend. What difference that may make on the track – and in who takes home the points – remains to be seen.
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Vettel belated starts his season
Melbourne has hosted the Formula 1 season opener more times than any other circuit. This weekend, it will act as the first race of the year for Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel, after he missed the first two rounds of the season due to testing positive for Covid.
After Nico Hulkenberg stepped into his seat in both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix, will Vettel be immediately on the pace of team mate Lance Stroll – and deliver the team’s first points of the year?
Quadruple DRS
Back in 2011, Albert Park was the very first Formula 1 venue where the controversial Drag Reduction System was deployed in a race. Seven years later, it became the first circuit to feature three separate DRS activation zones.
But with the new ground effect cars appearing to have allowed drivers to run closer together as hoped, will four DRS zones prove to be overkill and make overtaking too trivial around a circuit that has already been heavily renovated to provide more natural passing spots? If so we may see more of the DRS “cat-and-mouse games” which some criticised after the last race in Jeddah.
Soft compound skips a step
This weekend’s race will see Pirelli’s softest compound – the C5 tyre – make its first appearance at a grand prix since the new 18-inch wheels were introduced for 2022.
This seemingly minor detail could end up having a major impact on the strategies teams employ on Sunday, particularly as the abolition of the ‘Q3 tyre rule’ means the top 10 starters are no longer locked into starting on whichever tyre they qualified on. We could also see significant differences in performance between teams across the more widely spaced compounds.
That promises to add another element of intrigue to what is already shaping up to be a fascinating return to Australia for Formula 1.
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Are you going to the Australian Grand Prix?
If you’re heading to Australia for this weekend’s race, we want to hear from you:
Who do you think will be the team to beat in the Australian Grand Prix? Have your say below.
And don’t forget to enter your predictions for this weekend’s race. You can edit your predictions until the start of qualifying:
2022 Australian Grand Prix
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- “So this is the end of our race, I guess?” How Alonso’s luckless Australian GP unfolded
- Two-degree temperature rise led to Hamilton’s “difficult position” radio message
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
6th April 2022, 12:46
We’ll see if this comment will end up being relevant to Albert Park, but as a general rule, not sure I am such a fan of tracks cutting out or easing corners (even 90 degree ones) to make overtaking easier. At this point we’ve got DRS, a new formula adopted specifically for overtaking and also a bunch of tracks trying to become essentially one long straight. It risks becoming very homogenous, all in the name of “easier overtaking”. I don’t watch F1 to see Indy 500 style drafting contests. Can we get back to circuits with corners?
Nitzo (@webtel)
6th April 2022, 13:11
Hi @keithcollantine
It would be helpful if you can add an image of the track layout with the changes made/proposed so that’s it’s easier for us to understand them better.
Thanks.
MacLeod (@macleod)
6th April 2022, 13:17
Only interestering thing is the soft step of 2 C5 instead of C4 while medium is C3 and hard C2. Teams could try to race on the C5 if they are realy fast.
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
6th April 2022, 13:23
Belatedly, certainly.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
6th April 2022, 14:10
So basically it’ll be a one-stop race with people going from C3 mediums to C2 hards, or vice versa. Not sure why they brought the C5, that’s a throwaway tyre people will just use in quali. Bad call I say.
Jere (@jerejj)
6th April 2022, 15:11
@wsrgo We don’t know for sure yet.
LosD (@losd)
7th April 2022, 16:24
@wsrgo I don’t think I’d hate the return of the qualifying tyre…
Jere (@jerejj)
6th April 2022, 15:13
I’m hopeful the track changes combined with new aero rules will improve racing quality from before. T1 & 3 don’t look ‘significantly’ wider than before.
The only difference I notice is a more round apex curb, but overtaking into these corners should nevertheless be easier.
I reckon Imola, as the earliest European venue, is the more likely location for the first considerable upgrades.
Melbourne is also possible, given last weekend was a non-race one. We’ll see.
How quickly Seb gets up to speed is interesting, but I doubt AM could score points on pure pace any more than thus far.
In hindsight, Bahrain would’ve been a better choice for a 4th activation zone or waiting until Montreal, but oh well, I’m still skeptical safety-wise.
Nothing to worry about cat-&-mouse games, as this circuit’s detection point locations don’t give scope for such tactics.
Skipping a compound for the first time in four seasons is good for a change & could indeed make strategic options interesting or even slightly difficult.
Lastly, either RBR or Ferrari will likely again be the team to beat.
RandomMallard
6th April 2022, 16:19
Are we racing an hour later than usual? 6am UK time seems quite late (I can definitely remember it starting at 5am before) so I’m just wondering if the race in general is an hour later? Or is it because of daylight saving time and when that starts in Britain/ends in Victoria? If anyone knows/could work it out it would be much appreciated!
Aucra (@craigs)
7th April 2022, 0:37
I don’t recall what the start time used to be, but daylight saving did end in Melbourne on the first weekend in April, when the race is normally held in March, so hence the UK will notice the time difference
Given the start time is 3pm local and sunset will be around 6pm, here’s hoping there aren’t any red flag periods.
Adrian
6th April 2022, 22:00
who knows? But the track and location are better than Bahrain, Saudi, Qatar or UAE, so i am not complaining.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
7th April 2022, 16:54
The first day race since Interlagos last year. We’ve had five consecutive night/twilight races. Crazy.