March 28, 2024

Formula 1: You need to know that about the Australian Grand Prix – Sport

George Russell from Great Britain from the Mercedes team drives on the race track. Photo: George Hitchens/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa


The third round of the season brings Formula 1 to Australia. Can Red Bull continue to dominate? The last victory of the team in Melbourne was won by the German twelve years ago.

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Melbourne – Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez? It is unlikely that there will be another Formula 1 race winner on Sunday (7am/sky) in Melbourne, Australia.



Red Bull started the year so dominantly that the competition was already desperate. However, the world champion team hasn’t had success in Down Under for over a decade.

Who should stop Red Bull on its way to the next win?

It seems as if only one’s mistakes can cause failure. World champion Verstappen won the start in Bahrain and was recently second behind stable rival Perez in Saudi Arabia after a botched qualifying. Red Bull is stronger than they’ve ever been – and they also want to end a negative streak.

In 2011, on his way to his second World Championship title, Sebastian Vettel grabbed the last Grand Prix victory for his Albert Park racing team, a title steeped in tradition. Recently, Verstappen and Perez have been performing strongly, winning twelve of the last 13 world championship races. For Verstappen, it is also a return to where the 25-year-old made his Formula 1 debut at the age of just 17 in 2015.

Ferrari at least has fond memories of Melbourne. Monaco’s Charles Leclerc drove to pole last year and won the race a day later. Vettel also won the Scuderia in 2017 and 2018. However, for now, the car is good enough to attack Red Bull as seriously as it does Mercedes.





Lewis Hamilton last won in Australia in 2015, after which the Silver Arrows star finished second four times. This should now be out of reach under normal circumstances. “The gap to the top is still big, and that’s exactly what we want to reduce,” said Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff.

Can Nico Hulkenberg get his first Haas point?

In Saudi Arabia, Nico Hulkenberg came out of his Haas race car a little disappointed. In his second Grand Prix after his return to Formula 1, the 35-year-old could have taken a point. In the end, he came home empty-handed in 12th place, and there were no points at the start either in 15th place.

Fitting the course the Melbourne veteran has, in five of his last six starts, been enough top ten finishes, most recently a seventh in 2019 at Reno. “We are competitive,” Hulkenberg finally judged. However, in the tight midfield, the struggle for Mick Schumacher’s successor spot in the team from the USA will be tough.

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What characterizes the road?

The track in Albert Park runs around a recently reconstructed man-made lake. In order to be able to overtake more and better, many sections have been expanded and made easier to drive. The 14-corner 5.279-kilometre track is located on the southeastern coast of the massive country.

Many drivers love the city’s private flair – and Australians love Formula 1. Before the pandemic, Melbourne was traditionally the setting for the start of the season, this year, as in 2022, the third round of the World Championship will be held in the metropolis.

When is practice, qualifying and racing taking place and who will be broadcasting the Australian Grand Prix?

It starts with the first free practice on Friday morning at 3.30am CEST. The second practice session, also over an hour long, is scheduled for 7:00 am CEST. After the third free practice session on Saturday (3:30am CEST), qualifying begins at 7:00am CEST, as do the following day’s races. Everything is transmitted via the Sky payment channel.