The Australian Grand Prix will make a grand entrance at the weekend after a two-year absence due to the pandemic.
The single-seaters will not only run on a particularly modified track since their last presence in 2019, but also, for the very first time in the history of Formula 1, the drivers will benefit from four DRS zones.
This device, better known as the “Drag Reduction System”, consists of opening the rear wing to allow a gain in speed and, by extension, to encourage overtaking.
Two bends less
During this unwanted break, the organizers of this third stage of the World Championship have made major changes to the Albert Park circuit located about three kilometers from downtown Melbourne.
So the layout only has 14 corners rather than 16 and many of those curves have been redesigned to hopefully improve the show. This is the case of the first corner which has been widened by a little more than two metres.
This place was particularly feared in the past by its funnel effect. As a reminder, eight cars were eliminated after the start in 2002.
Another… era
Three years ago, Valtteri Bottas secured another win for the Mercedes team in Australia.
Apart from the Finn, three other drivers, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, have won in Melbourne since 2014.
But that was another era. The Silver Arrows are having a rough start to the season as shown by Hamilton’s 29-point deficit to point guard Charles Leclerc after just two rounds.
Rosberg has retired, Bottas finds himself at Alfa Romeo, while Vettel, winner in 2017 and 2018 aboard a Ferrari, was recruited by Aston Martin last year.
Incidentally, the four-time world champion will be reunited with his wheel and teammate Lance Stroll, after missing the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to positive COVID tests.
The team led by Lawrence Stroll is struggling with results. She is one of only two formations on the board (the other being Williams) not to have collected a single point on the board. It is therefore counting on the return of the veteran German pilot to turn the tide.
