Australia – the prospects for the race

Lewis Hamilton favorite?

With only 2 victories (2008 and 2015) for 8 poles (2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, /f1/actualite/22583-australie-course-vettel-un-premier-vainqueur-opportuniste-.html and /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html), the statistics are clearly against the English driver. However, if the race performances of the Mercedes match <a href="/f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html" target="_blank" title="">the qualifications</a> and if the English driver secures his start, we are allowed to believe that the fight for the win will be quickly concluded.

Winner of the last two editions, Sebastian Vettel will obviously be lurking to place his Ferrari at the front right from the first lap, which is preferable due to the difficulty of overtaking on the Australian circuit.

Past races remind us that pole position does not seem to be a guaranteed advantage for victory. The edition /f1/actualite/22583-australie-course-vettel-un-premier-vainqueur-opportuniste-.html also saw a real performance advantage for Mercedes over Ferrari in qualifying: six tenths between Hamilton and the first red car led by Räikkönen, who at the time was ahead of Vettel. The German then won the race. The difference tomorrow will be this second Silver Arrow, driven by Bottas, placed in second place on the starting grid.

Saturday = A solid start. ✔️
Sunday = Still all to play for! ⚔️#AusGP 🐨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/ywbCEiBwxg

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 16 /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html

Towards a big move for Haas?

No one has forgotten last year’s setback: while battling for fourth and fifth place in the race, the two cars from the American team, on the verge of achieving the best result in their history, were forced to retire due to poorly secured wheels during pit stops.

Günther Steiner’s team clearly has a score to settle and once again, the American cars are comfortable on the Albert Park circuit, securing the fifth and sixth fastest times in qualifying.

The two Haas drivers will be eager to join the fight for the top 5, hoping the team is well-prepared during pit stops this time. Great job guys! 🚦 🇺🇸 🙌

P6 – @RGrosjean 1:21.826
P7 – @KevinMagnussen 1:22.099

Let’s get racing Sunday now!!!

A return of Renault?

After a disappointing qualifying performance, it seems unlikely to bet on a top 5 chance for local Daniel Ricciardo, accompanied at Renault by Nico Hülkenberg. This Saturday, the German mentioned power issues, which may have hindered his times. Let’s hope for the French team that everything is now resolved to ensure the minimum requirement: the top 10.

🏁 « As expected, the field is extremely tight, but I am confident in our chances for tomorrow. »
Find our drivers’ thoughts after their qualifications from the #AusGP.
👉 https://t.co/f2itU62J8d #RSspirit pic.twitter.com/UJVRMSQW48— Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) 16 March

What a race for Pierre Gasly?

Eliminated in Q1 due to what appears to be a strategy error by Red Bull, the disappointed Frenchman will have to start a comeback that promises to be complicated. Known for being difficult to overtake, the young Norman will have to master the semi-urban Albert Park circuit, with the primary goal of getting back into the points, as with the Renault drivers. The idea is to limit the damage against Max Verstappen, his new teammate, clearly advantaged with his fourth-fastest time. Pierre Gasly is poised to be a potential highlight of the first race of the season!

📡 “We’re not exactly where we’d like to be but session after session we’re going in the right direction.” @PierreGASLY following #AusGP Quali 🇦🇺👉 https://t.co/XuYSkoGKqt pic.twitter.com/OOSimqzMUP

— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) 16 mars /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html

Lando Norris, a spectacular debut!

Superb performance in qualifying for the young McLaren rookie, who secures a fantastic eighth place. His teammate Carlos Sainz, seemingly hindered by traffic and the puncture of Robert Kubica’s Williams, will start from the 18th position. The English rookie expertly navigated the session, avoiding the various traps of the demanding Australian circuit. It remains to be seen if his race performances will meet expectations tomorrow, even though the F2 vice champion has already clearly impressed the paddock.

Q3 comes to an end with @LandoNorris finishing in P8. Solid work from our rookie on his debut F1 weekend. #AusGP 🏁🤝 pic.twitter.com/J1KdV4OaaQ

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 16

The Pirelli Strategies

The Italian manufacturer announces different possible strategies for tomorrow’s race, which is 58 laps long. As a reminder, like last year, three types of tires will be available for each weekend. However, Pirelli has simplified the tire choice, with three different types of tires, always named the same way: the soft (red sidewall), the medium (yellow sidewall), and the hard (white sidewall). In detail, the compound of these tires varies from one circuit to another, with the Italian manufacturer’s range comprising five different tires, labeled from C1 (the hardest possible tire) to C5 (the softest possible tire).

For tomorrow’s race, the hard tire corresponds to the C2, the medium tire to the C3, and the soft tire is designated as the C4, last year’s ultra-soft.

– La première stratégie possible est à deux arrêts, dont les deux premiers relais, effectués en gomme tendre (C4), dureront environ 21 tours. Le deuxième arrêt serait alors effectué en gomme médium (C3), afin de rallier les 16 tours suivants.

– La deuxième stratégie possible, moins risquée, est composée d’un arrêt unique, estimé aux alentours du tour 27, destiné à remplacer les gommes tendres (C3) par les médiums (C4), histoire de terminer les 31 tours de course.

– Enfin, une stratégie alternative est évoquée par Pirelli à savoir un seul arrêt effectué après un court relais de 24 tours en gomme tendres, avant de monter les gommes médiums pour les 34 dernières boucles. Rappelons tout de même les chances d’intervention de la Virtual Safety Car, voire de la Safety Car, qui peut remettre en question les stratégies évoquées, et changer le cours du Grand Prix. <a href="/f1/actualite/22583-australie-course-vettel-un-premier-vainqueur-opportuniste-.html" target="_blank" title="">Depuis l’an dernier,</a> Lewis Hamilton en sait quelque chose.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="fr"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fit4F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Fit4F1</a> 🥾 for tomorrow’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AusGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AusGP</a> 🇦🇺! <a href="https://t.co/mxkpmxb9Mp">pic.twitter.com/mxkpmxb9Mp</a></p>— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) <a href="https://twitter.com/pirellisport/status/1106873855321276416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">16 mars /f1/actualite/23175-australie-qualifications-hamilton-exact-au-rendez-vous-.html</a></blockquote>