The Australian Grand Prix weekend has a chance of becoming the first of the 2023 season to be affected by rain – but only during the first two days of F1 running.
As one of only a handful of races taking place in the southern hemisphere, the race around the Albert Park circuit is usually one of the warmer races of the season. However, the forecast for this weekend is for a mix of clear skies, some rain and cooler temperatures.The first day of practice for Formula 1 on Friday is expected to start dry, but the likelihood of rain will increase as the day progresses. Friday has the highest risk of rain of any of the three days, with the second hour of practice most likely to be affected, potentially disrupting teams’ preparations and data gathering for race strategy.
Saturday’s qualifying day may also be rain-affected, although at this stage is looks more likely to appear earlier in the day, if at all, rather than the evening when qualifying is scheduled. This will also be the coolest day of running of the race weekend, with ambient temperature reaching no higher than 15C with a low of 11C.
Race day on Sunday is the least likely to be hit by inclement weather, with a less than 20% risk of rain expected. It will be hardly any warmer than Saturday, with a maximum temperature of 16C likely to be reached during the race in the evening. As with the first two days of F1 action, light winds of around 10-20km/h are anticipated during Sunday.
If this forecast comes to pass, this weekend’s grand prix will be considerable cooler than last year’s race, which reached temperatures up to 28C. Last year, the Australian round was the ninth hottest race by ambient and track temperature of the 2022 season.
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For more updates on the track conditions during each session keep an eye on RaceFans Live and the RaceFans Twitter account.
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Jere (@jerejj)
27th March 2023, 21:16
I see 17 & 20 as the highest forecasted elsewhere for qualifying & race day, & both sessions occur in the afternoon rather than evening, with 16:00 & 15:00 start times, so 15 & 16 degrees would most likely be for the following hours.
I had forgotten how warm the 2008 GP was (hence I double-checked whether that event was actually that hot), reaching the high-30s, so abnormally hot weather for Melbourne Australian GPs as a one-off case.
playstation361
27th March 2023, 22:34
I neither understand the weather nor the atmosphere of the country Australia. It is a very quiet place and things goes off very quietly as well but completely different actually.
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
28th March 2023, 6:17
Far be it for me to comment on the BOM’s forecasts but I will say far and above their temp and rainfall predictions for our visitors.
THE main thing to remember is to wear sunscreen and a hat whether or not you think it’s sunny or hot or not.
MacLeod (@macleod)
29th March 2023, 7:58
Chance for rain for FP3 and the Qualiflier so Friday and Sunday dry…