Ferrari against Red Bull. Leclerc against Max Verstappen. For the return of Formula 1 to Australia After two years of absence due to covid, the battle announced for 2022 will continue this weekend, with Mercedes behind, trying to rejoin the race.
The duel between Verstappen, current world champion, and Leclerc, current leader of the championship, will be played on the Albert Park track in Melbourne, with slight modifications that promise more speed and action for the third race of the season.
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“There should be more overtaking chances now, which is always positive. It will also be interesting to see how the car performs in Australia, the track can be a bit too dusty at times.” declared the Dutchman, winner of the last GP in Saudi Arabia, at the end of March.
“I hope we can have another weekend without problems for the team,” he also said.
The reason: During the opening GP of the season in Bahrain, in mid-March, a fuel supply problem led to the abandonment of the two Red Bull cars in the last three laps.
A situation taken advantage of by the ‘Scuderia’, current leader of the constructors’ classification, which had set aside 2021 to concentrate on preparing for 2022, after a 2020 season in which Ferrari had its worst result since 1980 (6th).
The strategy for the moment has paid off, as the Italian team started the season perfectly in Bahrain, with victory for Leclerc followed by his teammate Carlos Sainz, and in Saudi Arabia the Monegasque and the Spaniard qualified 2nd and 3rd, behind by Verstappen. Thanks to their two double podiums, Leclerc (45) and Sainz (33) overtake Verstappen (25) in the general classification.
mercedes suffers
This third race It also marks the entry onto the track of the four-time world champion in the category (2010-2013 with Red Bull), the German Sebastian Vettel, after he missed the first two tests due to covid.
“I feel like I’m late for school. Starting the season in Australia is obviously something I’ve already done,” the Aston Martin driver smiled.
Before the pandemic, the Australian test served since 1996 as the opening of the Formula 1 season, with the exception of 2006 and 2010.
The last Australian Grand Prix dates back to 2019: the Mercedes of Finn Valtteri Bottas, winner of the raceand the seven-time British world champion Lewis Hamilton prevailed in front of Verstappen’s Red Bull.
The following year, the GP was canceled at the last moment after covid cases were detected among members of several teams. For the return to the island-continent, the task seems to be much more difficult for Mercedes.
The recuperation
The German team, which has won every constructor’s championship since the advent of hybrid powertrains in 2014, It is going through a very difficult start to the season.
Hamilton, only 10 in Saudi Arabia, is in a strange 5th position in the world, behind his new teammate, George Russell.
“At the moment our performance on the track does not meet our own expectations,” acknowledged his skipper Toto Wolff again. Although for this weekend “there will be no miracle solution, we strive to make constant progress in the next races, to have the hope of getting closer to the head”, he assured. Therefore, it does not seem possible that Hamilton can achieve his seventh consecutive pole position at the Albert Park circuit.
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AFP
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