Sunny. Dry. Air +26…27С, route +39…35С
For years, the Australian Grand Prix has opened the season and it was the same in 2020, when the stage was canceled just before the start of Friday practice due to Civid-19. Then there was a two-year break – and in 2022, to the delight of the fans, the podium returned to the calendar, but as the third race of the season.
The track was modified to increase overtaking opportunities, a fourth DRS zone was even organized, but on Saturday morning they decided to leave three. The stands were filled to the brim. 420 thousand spectators for the weekend – the Grand Prix became the biggest sporting event in the history of the green continent – and this after extremely strict anti-covid restrictions.
For all Australian Grand Prix was the third stage in the calendar, and for Sebastian Vettel – the first. The German missed two Grands Prix due to Covid-19 and the weekend at Albert Park was not easy for him. Before the start of the race, he only completed 26 laps – 18 on Friday and 8 on Saturday – and the car crashed once. His teammate Lance Stroll had two accidents.
On Friday, the Ferrari drivers led practice, on Saturday morning Lando Norris set the best time and Charles Leclerc won qualifying for the second time this season. Absolutely red flags appeared in all sessions, there were many accidents and after qualifying the stewards made decisions late into the night.
The stewards allowed Stroll to start, who failed to set a single fast lap in qualifying, and Alex Albon, who was disqualified for not having the required liter of fuel for the control sample in the tanks.
Leclerc and Verstappen started the race from the front row of the grid, Perez and Norris from second, Hamilton and Russell from third.
For the first time this season Pirelli brought the compositions “through one” to the podium – C2 and C3 for the race and the softest in their range C5 for qualifying. Sainz, Alonso, Magnussen, Vettel, Stroll and Albon started on Hard, the rest chose Medium for the first stint.
Leclerc kept the lead at the start. Hamilton defeated Perez and moved up to third. Norris lost two positions, Sainz had a bad start and rolled back to 14th place.
Top ten in the second round: Leclerc – Verstappen – Hamilton – Perez – Russell – Norris – Riccardo – Windows – Gasly – Alonso.
On lap 2 Sainz hit the grass, took off, crossed the track and got stuck in the gravel. The safety car drove away.
On lap 4, Stroll switched tires twice – first the mechanics put on Medium and then Hard.
In the 6th round, a restart was announced. Leclerc held the lead and quickly pulled away.
On lap 10, Pérez overtook Hamilton for third.
On lap 11 Vettel crashed into Turn 11 but was able to continue and returned to the track last.
On lap 13, Schumacher made a mistake going wide into the corner – and missed Zhou.
Latifi switched tires on lap 14, and Schumacher on lap 15.
On lap 16, Bottas overtook Tsunoda for 11th place. Magnussen, who attacked Tsunoda, made a mistake and lost the position to Zhou.
On lap 18 Okon made a pit stop, on lap 19 Verstappen and Tsunoda.
Gasly failed to overtake Max, who had left the pits, which Alonso took advantage of, ahead of Pierre in the battle for eighth place.
On lap 21 Perez and Norris switched tires, on lap 22 Ricciardo, Chou and Gasly, on lap 23 Leclerc, Hamilton and Bottas. Charles kept the lead in the race.
On lap 23, Pérez overtook Hamilton for fifth.
Vettel’s car was turned on the curb and thrown into the guardrail. The safety car drove away. Russell, Stroll and Latifi went into the pits. Most won on this Russell and returned to the track in third.
Top ten behind the safety car: Leclerc – Verstappen – Russell – Alonso – Perez – Hamilton – Magnussen – Norris – Riccardo – Albon.
A restart was announced on the 27th lap. Verstappen attacked, but Leclerc kept the lead and quickly pulled away.
On lap 29 Stroll and Bottas overtook Gasly, on lap 30 Perez had Alonso ahead, on lap 31 Hamilton overtook the Spaniard.
On lap 34 Magnussen overtook Ricciardo for eighth place, on lap 35 Daniel retook the position.
Perez pressured Russell for several laps but the engineer asked the Briton to take care of the tires – and on lap 36 Sergio took the lead.
Top ten in round 37: Leclerc – Verstappen – Perez – Russell – Hamilton – Alonso – Norris – Riccardo – Magnussen – Albon.
On lap 38, Stroll overtook Bottas for 12th.
On lap 39, Verstappen stopped the car on the track on an engineer’s orders due to power plant problems and withdrew from the race. The car caught fire and the fire service intervened.
The virtual safety car mode has been announced. Alonso and Magnussen entered the pits. On lap 40 the riders continued to fight.
In the battle for position, Stroll pushed Bottas off the track, Valtteri missed him and Gasly.
Stroll was given a five-second penalty for repeatedly changing lanes in a straight line while defending a position.
Top ten in round 45: Leclerc – Perez – Russell – Hamilton – Norris – Riccardo – Albon – Windows – Stroll – Gasley.
Schumacher made a brake error and gave way to Alonso.
On lap 46, Magnussen overtook Tsunoda for 15th.
On lap 50, Gasly passed Stroll for ninth.
Schumacher left the track and missed Magnussen.
On lap 52, Bottas overtook Stroll for tenth.
Zhou, Magnussen and Schumacher overtook Alonso.
Alonso switched tires on lap 55. Gasly made a brake error and lost the position to Bottas.
On lap 57, Schumacher overtook Magnussen for 13th.
On the final lap, Albon entered the pits for his first pit stop – and returned to the track in tenth, earning Williams the first points.
†
Charles Leclerc won the Australian Grand Prix with his first career Grand Slam – starting from pole, leading from start to finish, fastest lap and winning.
Sergio Perez finished second, his first podium of the season.
George Russell finished third, his first podium with Mercedes.
After two weeks, the battle continues in Imola, where the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix will be held in Saturday’s sprint format.
Race results
| pilot | Team | Time | Speed | Piet |
| 1. Sh.Lecler | Ferrari | a | ||
| 2. C.Perez | Red Bull | +20,524 | a | |
| 3. D. Russell | Mercedes | +25.593 | a | |
| 4. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | +28.543 | a | |
| 5. L. Norris | McLaren | +53.303 | a | |
| 6. D. Riccardo | McLaren | +53.737 | a | |
| 7. E. Okon | alpine | +61,683 | a | |
| 8. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | +68.439 | a | |
| 9. P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | +76.221 | a | |
| 10. A. Albon | Williams | +79,382 | a | |
| 11. G. Zhou’ | Alfa Romeo | +81,695 | a | |
| 12. L. Walk | Aston Martin | +88.598 | 3 | |
| 13. M. Schumacher | hare | +1 circle | a | |
| 14. K. Magnussen | hare | +1 circle | a | |
| 15. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1 circle | a | |
| 16. N. Latifi | Williams | +1 circle | 2 | |
| 17. F. Alonso | alpine | +1 circle | 2 |
best lap: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:20.260 (lap 58)
Reasons for leaving
| pilot | Team | circles | Cause |
| C. Sainz | Ferrari | a | accident |
| S. Vettel | Aston Martin | 22 | accident |
| Mr Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 38 | Power Point |
Championship position : Individual
Championship position : Constructors’ Championship
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
