The forces present
A faultless for Red Bull.
In the first two Grands Prix, Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez achieved two doubles, the first winning in Bahrain, the second in Saudi Arabia.
Suffice to say that the competition is warned: the Red Bull is - for the moment - the fastest single-seater of this start to the season and the team appears well on its way to retaining its titles of world champion for drivers and constructors.
The only downside is Max Verstappen's state of health.
Sick in Jeddah two weeks ago, the Dutchman is not yet fully recovered, as he said at a press conference on Thursday.
This could leave a (small) opportunity for the other drivers to play for victory.
To discover
Formula 1: the calendar of the season
Formula 1: manufacturers' classification
Formula 1: drivers classification
Read alsoFormula 1: Have Red Bull, Verstappen and Pérez already killed all the suspense in the championship?
In particular to Fernando Alonso, a real surprise at the start of the year.
At the wheel of Aston Martin, which he joined in the offseason, the 41-year-old Spaniard scored two podiums in the first two meetings.
Great performances that he will have to confirm this weekend.
He will have to be wary of Mercedes.
Disappointing in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton and George Russel raised the bar (a little) in Saudi Arabia by finishing fifth and fourth respectively.
This progress is “
encouraging
” according to Toto Wolff who now hopes to continue in the right direction.
Read alsoTennis: “Soon 33?”
Carlos Alcaraz's nod to Fernando Alonso
Regarding Ferrari, the start of the season is not (at all) up to expectations.
Carlos Sainz Jr and Charles Leclerc will be keen in Melbourne to do better than their sixth and seventh places in Jeddah.
And they have reason to believe it since it was the Monegasque who won on the Albert Park circuit last year.
It will also be interesting to watch Alpine.
In Saudi Arabia, the French team managed to place these two drivers in the two points (Esteban Ocon 8th and Pierre Gasly 9th).
Will she be able to repeat this (beautiful) performance?
READ
ALSO -
The pilot ranking
Read alsoManufacturers ranking
The Melbourne Circuit
Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne Formula One
The last five winners
2016: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2017: Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
2018: Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
2019: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2022: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Read alsoAustralian GP: what time and where to follow the race live?
The stat: 16
Sixteen years ago, Lewis Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut at the Albert Park circuit with McLaren-Mercedes.
And for his very first race, the Briton surprised everyone by finishing in third place, behind Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and his teammate Fernando Alonso.
Read alsoF1: Nelson Piquet fined nearly 900,000 euros after calling Lewis Hamilton a "little black"
The weekend program
Friday
3:30-4:30 a.m.: free practice 1 (
Canal+ Sport
)
7:00-8:00 a.m.: free practice 2 (
Canal+ Sport
)
Saturday
3:30-4:30 a.m.: free practice 3 (
Canal+ Sport
)
7:00-8:00 a.m.: qualifying (
Canal+ Sport
)
Sunday
7 a.m.: start of the Grand Prix (58 laps of 5.278 km, i.e. 306+.124 km)
