Who will stop Verstappen in his hunt for first win in Australia?

The Australian Grand Prix is just around the corner and that not only means getting up early for European viewers, but also the resumption of the duel between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. Who will be the best in Melbourne at Albert Park, a circuit where Red Bull Racing has not been particularly successful over the years. Here's out preview of the race.

Australian Grand Prix

Since 1985, the Australian Grand Prix has been on the official Formula One calendar. For Grands Prix in the southern hemisphere, we can go back to 1928, when there was a race at Phillip Island. However, all those races up to 1984 were never part of the official calendar. That only happened in 1985, when Adelaide was prepared for the arrival of F1.

From 1985 to 1995, F1 raced in Adelaide. Big names like Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell are on the honours list in Australia. Since 1996, however, the Australian GP has moved to Albert Park. Surrounding Albert Park Lake is a circuit of over five kilometres. It has only 14 corners since the 2021 modifications, making it a lot faster than before.

Despite the modifications, it has historically been very difficult to overtake at Albert Park. Consequently, overtaking often happens in the pit lane. The safety car also often makes an appearance at the Melbourne circuit, so teams have to take this luck factor into account. Staying out longer can pay off.

At Albert Park, Michael Schumacher is still the record holder with four wins. Ferrari are also the most successful team with nine wins in total. Charles Leclerc won last year's edition. Of the current drivers on the grid, Lewis Hamilton is the only one with two wins behind his name. Besides Leclerc, Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas are the only other drivers with a victory in Melbourne.

Weather predictions

According to Weather.com there is a high chance of rain in Melbourne on Friday. It is said to be 'light afternoon rain'. The chance of rain is estimated at sixty per cent. Saturday and Sunday will be cloudy, but most likely dry. Saturday the chance of rain is 24 per cent, on the day of the race it is only six per cent.

Verstappen versus Perez

After the first two Grands Prix of 2023, it is only logical to point to Red Bull Racing as favourites for the Australian Grand Prix. Red Bull first and last won at Albert Park in 2011, but with the difference in race pace the team showed in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, there seems to be no doubt that there is no team that can come close to Verstappen and Perez.

So it is expected that it will be once again between Red Bull's two drivers and that will be interesting to follow. Perez will travel to Melbourne full of confidence after his victory in Jeddah, but with the point for the fastest lap and a catch-up race from P15 to P2, Verstappen has sent a clear message.

In Melbourne, Verstappen finds a circuit where his qualities are even more apparent. Fast chicanes, high-speed corners and many bends where a driver can really make a difference. If everything goes normally, you can assume that Perez will not come close to his teammate here. However, a safety car at the wrong time or a problem somewhere in the weekend could always throw a spanner in the works.

Best of the rest in Melbourne

Behind the Red Bull duo, things are exciting though. Aston Martin, especially in the hands of Fernando Alonso, seems to have the best race pace. Qualifying has just yet to be perfect and overtaking at Albert Park is a lot trickier than in Bahrain at Jeddah. So a third podium for Alonso will have to come from further afield, or the Spaniard will have to qualify even better.

Ferrari have better papers in that respect for this weekend. Over one lap, the SF-23 is still very competitive, as evident by Leclerc's P2 at Jeddah. The Monegasque will squeeze everything out of his car for a good qualifying session, but race pace has proved far from impressive at the moment. Can Leclerc keep the tyres (and his Ferrari) whole long enough to keep the rivals behind him?

Mercedes will also want to get into the fray and has a mix of both. Mercedes are neither the fastest in qualifying nor the fastest in the race, but neither is it the slowest in either case. As a result, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are close behind in every race. If Russell and/or Hamilton can qualify better, a good result in Australia is possible.

Behind the top four, Alpine are in no man's land, after which the rest of the teams are very close for the final points. Haas scored a point in Jeddah, Alfa Romeo and Williams did so in Bahrain. Alpha Tauri and McLaren are furthest away from the points so far, although Oscar Piastri did make it to Q3 in Jeddah and Yuki Tsunoda twice finished narrowly outside the points with P11. If the top five teams finish, all these teams will have to do without points. If anyone at the front drops out, it will be a fight for the scraps that remain.

Timetable for the Australian Grand Prix 2023

Friday 31 March

First free practice: 02:30 - 03:30

Second free practice: 06:00 - 07:00

Saturday 1 April

Third free practice: 02:30 - 03:30

Qualifying: 06:00 - 07:00

Sunday 2 April

Race: 06:00 - 08:00

Where can I watch the Grand Prix?

The entire race weekend will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports F1. With a subscription to F1TV, the race can also be watched with commentary of your choice. You won't miss a thing with GPblog this weekend either. With liveblogs of each session, extensive summaries and, of course, reaction from everyone involved will keep you across the Australian Grand Prix.