F1 goes down under this weekend for the Australian Grand Prix! 2023 will be the second year of the updated Albert Park circuit layout. To recap, those changes are the removal of the turn 9-10 chicane which has been replaced by a sweeping bend. Turns 1, 3, 6, and [now] 13 have been widened with the latter among several turns to also have their camber adjusted to allow more driving lines. All told, the track is now 28 meters shorter and is down to 14 turns which should result in a predicted 5 second drop in lap times. If that wasn’t enough the FIA have created 4 (that’s right, 4) DRS zones which will be in place again this year.
Red Bull will come to Australia confident in their position but knowing there are some details of theit package that they need to get on top of, namely the driveshaft issues that plagued Max Verstappen in Saudi Arabia. Not content to finish anywhere but first look for Max to be on a charge this weekend. Expect Sergio to be working as hard as he can to be with Max and looking for an opportunity to cleanly take the lead. On the AlphaTauri side look for one car to finish near P10 with a WCD point on the table for some hard driving.
Elsewhere on the grid, here is a general order we can expect the teams to finish in based on nothing other than speculation after the first two rounds.
1. Red Bull
2. Aston Martin
3. Ferrari
4. Mercedes
5. Alfa Romeo
6. Alpine
7. Williams
8. Haas
9. AlphaTauri
10. McLaren
US TV SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 30:
Practice 1 – 9:25PM –
ESPNEWS
Friday, March 31:
Practice 2 – 12:55AM – ESPN2
Practice 3 – 11:30PM – ESPNEWS/
ESPNU
Saturday, April 1:
Qualifying – 12:55AM –
ESPN
Grand Prix Sunday (pre-race) – 11:30PM – ESPN2
Sunday, April 2:
Australian Grand Prix – 12.55AM –
ESPN
, ESPN+
Australian Grand Prix (re-air) – 9:30AM – ESPN2
Australian Grand Prix (re-air) – 12:30PM –
ESPNEWS
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Lap data
Lap length: 5.303km (3.295 miles)
Race laps: 58
Race distance: 307.574km (191.118 miles)
Pole position: Left-hand side of the track
Lap record*: 1’20.260 by Charles Leclerc, 2022
Maximum speed: 312kph (193.868 mph)
DRS
zone/s (race): First and second straight
Distance from grid to turn one: 380m
Car performance
Full throttle: 71%
Longest flat-out section: 843m
Downforce level: High
Gear changes per lap: 54
Fuel use per lap: 2.5kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel: 0.1s
Strategy
Quickest complete pit stop: 2012 21.91s by Ferrari
2022 tyres: Hard C2, Medium C3, Soft C5 (2019: C2, C3, C4)
*Fastest lap set during a Grand Prix
2022 RESULTS
Race Info.
Pole sitter: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – 1:17.868
Race laps: 58
Fast race lap: Valtteri Bottas – 1:20.260
Podium
1. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
2. Sergio Perez – Red Bull
3. George Russell – Mercedes
CURRENT STANDINGS
TRACK MAP AND VIDEO
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