This country has played an important role in the history of Formula 1, with three world titles courtesy of Sir Jack Brabham and one for Alan Jones, while it has also hosted 38 Grands Prix. Despite the vast distance between Melbourne and Maranello, Scuderia Ferrari HP has always been able to count on plenty of support from the fans here. Add to this the fact Albert Park is a semi-permanent circuit where Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both won in the past and it’s easy to understand why they’re keen to get behind the wheel of their SF-25s to start the new season.
Line-up. Charles and Lewis make up the team’s 140th driver pairing, the eighth to debut in Australia, while when he starts Sunday’s Grand Prix, Lewis will become the 98th driver to have taken part in a Formula 1 race at the wheel of a Ferrari, the 78th as a Scuderia “works” driver.
The circuit. The World Championship first raced at Albert Park in 1996. It has a mix of high speed and technical sections and has similarities with a street circuit. With medium speed corners and four DRS zones, overtaking is on the cards. Turn 1 is a critical point, especially on the opening lap, with a demanding chicane and gravel on the outside. Turn 3 is one of the best overtaking opportunities, as drivers brake hard at the end of a DRS straight. Turns 9 and 10 slow the fastest section of the track and require absolute precision, while the braking point for turn 11 is another passing opportunity. In recent years, the track has delivered some very spectacular racing, with a variety of strategies being used and close battles right down to the final lap.
Timetable and weather. For European Formula 1 fans, a very early start is required to watch the action from the other side of the world. The first two free practice sessions take place on Friday at 12.30 and 16.00 local time (02.30 and 06.00 CET), while Saturday’s final free practice hour is at 12.30 (02.30 CET) followed by qualifying at 16.00 (06.00 CET). The 58 lap Grand Prix, over a distance of 306.124 kilometres, gets underway on Sunday at 15.00 local (05.00 CET).
Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal
The wait is finally over and we’re ready to take to the track for the first race of the season. One could say we’re stepping back in time, as it’s been a few years since Australia hosted the opening round. The Albert Park street circuit is not particularly representative of what the rest of the year has in store, but we did well there last year. Naturally, there are plenty of unknowns and we are keen to find out what the hierarchy will be, especially as the results of the Bahrain test were very difficult to read. Everyone, including the drivers has worked hard all winter in the factory in Maranello. Charles has also pushed harder than ever in the gym, and Lewis has made a great effort to assimilate with the team as quickly as possible. I believe we have everything in place to do well. As always, we will concentrate on ourselves this week, aware that this is just the start of a very long season. A week ago, we were given a wonderful welcome by a huge crowd of our tifosi in Milan and now, in Melbourne, we will be aiming to give all our fans further reason to be proud of us.
