Preview | Who will win the Australian GP after three years of absence?

After three years without one, there will finally be another Australian Grand Prix in 2022. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Formula One circus did not return to Albert Park, until this weekend. Read everything you need to know about the upcoming Grand Prix in this comprehensive preview from GPblog.

Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix is a historic event. It is the second oldest racing event in Australia (after the Rally in East Gipssland) and has been held since 1928. Thus, the Australian race existed before the Formula 1 Championship was established. However, it was only from 1985 that the race became part of the Formula One calendar.

With the first eight races at Phillip Island and then 22 different circuits, the race did not always stay in the same place. With the exception of 1936 and 1940-1946, it was raced every year in Australia. Australian Lex Davison won his home race four times, making him the record holder. He did so at a time (first win in 1954, last win in 1961) when the race was not part of F1.

In 1985, the first official Formula One race was held in Australia. The Adelaide circuit was used for this purpose, which had not been visited during all previous editions. The street circuit was built in the capital of South Australia every year especially for F1. The first winner was Keke Rosberg in his Williams. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were the only drivers to win here twice.

Since 1996, however, F1 has run on the street circuit of Albert Park. Damon Hill won the first race here in 1996, after also winning the last race in Adelaide in 1995. It was also the race in which Hill managed to decide the title in his favor.

Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver at Albert Park. The German won in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. This puts him on par with Davison, who also managed to win four Australian races. Schumacher, however, is the only one to do so in the Formula One era. Sebastian Vettel won three times in Melbourne, but the chances of him matching his idol this weekend are extremely slim.

The last Grand Prix to be held in Melbourne was in 2019. Valtteri Bottas then recorded a dominant victory, after which he uttered his famous "to whom it may concern" quote over the board radio. Max Verstappen finished third that year, allowing Honda to score an immediate podium in the first race with Red Bull. In 2020, F1 did come to Albert Park, but the weekend was cancelled at the very last minute due to the coronavirus. Since then, F1 has not yet returned due to travel restrictions in the country.

Albert Park

The Albert Park circuit has undergone a major overhaul since the last edition in 2019. The first corner and the third corner are wider to allow for different lines. Defending should be a lot harder as a result in 2022. The most important adjustment, however, is in Sector 2. There, Turn 8 has become much flatter, effectively giving you an extra straight towards the chicane of Turns 9 and 10.

So the overtaking opportunities have been increased on the circuit and on top of that F1 has chosen to place four DRS zones on the circuit. However, there are only two detection points, so the chaser is at a great advantage if he manages to get past in zone one already.

Formula 1 in 2021

The 2022 Formula 1 season is two races away and the picture is clear for now: Ferrari and Red Bull Racing are calling the shots at the start of the season and behind them it is pretty exciting. Mercedes is riding lonely in the subtop, and then teams like Haas, Alfa Romeo and Alpine have really stepped up in 2022 with the new regulations.

In the standings, Charles Leclerc leads the way ahead of Carlos Sainz. Max Verstappen is in third place despite his victory, but this is due to Red Bull's double failure in Bahrain. This also leaves Mercedes ahead of the Austrians in the constructors' championship, but that is not a good representation of the proportions.

Weather forecast

Earlier this week, rain was still predicted for Sunday, but that chance of rain has now diminished considerably. According to Weather.com the maximum temperature will be 23 degrees on Friday and will increase to 26 degrees on Saturday and Sunday. It is partly cloudy this weekend in Melbourne, but with some sun here and there.

The chance of rain has decreased significantly since the last forecast. On Friday and Saturday the chance is still less than fifteen percent. Where there was previously a chance of more than forty percent on Sunday, the chance of rain is now only 24 percent. The wind increases during the weekend and may still play a role.

Forecast for the GP

It remains to be seen what effect the changes to Albert Park will have on the characteristics of the circuit. Normally Albert Park was the track for the car with the most grip and downforce, especially because of the amount of corners the cars had to turn in.

Although the technical first sector has remained and the last part of the circuit also consists of three difficult corners, the number of straights has also increased. So completely focusing on a high-downforce setup is no longer possible for teams. Especially since overtaking will become easier on Sunday with the additional DRS zones.

Ferrari and Red Bull are the teams that stand out this year and if we look at the characteristics of the circuit the benefit of the doubt goes to Ferrari. The F1-75 proved very strong in terms of traction in the first two races and was generally faster in the slow corners as well.

Red Bull Racing seems to have less downforce, but also deliberately chose a low-downforce package for the race in Saudi Arabia. The question is whether Red Bull also has a package this early in the season where it has more downforce on the car, so that an attack can be made on Ferrari.

Mercedes hopes to hook up with the top two teams of 2022, but if porpoising will be annoying anywhere, it's on a street circuit. The circuit has been tarmacked for the first time since 1996, but that doesn't immediately take away the bumps on a street circuit. In addition, Mercedes lacks downforce for the time being and it can use that well at Albert Park.

Timetable for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix (UK times)

Friday

First free practice: 4:00 - 5:00

Second free practice: 7:00 - 8:00

Saturday

Third free practice: 4:00 - 7:00

Qualifying: 7:00 - 8:00

Sunday

Race: 6:00 - 8:00