Nick van der Meulen, sets an early alarm clock to bring his race report F1 Review Australia 2022.

Australia is back on the F1 calendar. It makes a welcome return after three years in the wilderness due to the C19 pandemic and travel restrictions. Australia has been running street circuits as its F1 event since 1985 when the event was first run at Adelaide. The organisers switched to using Albert Park, Melbourne, around the lake in 1996 and the circuit layout changed for the first time for the race in 2022.

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Red dominance

Ferrari scored its first pole position at Albert Park in 15 years. The last was when Kimi Raikkonen took pole in his championship year in 2007. Charles Leclerc performed strongly in qualifying as well as the race. Although Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) almost blotted his copybook by pulling alongside the Monegasque at the second safety car restart. The Ferrari pilot managed to hold on to the lead, however. He managed to pull away from the field to stamp his authority on proceedings and take a fine victory.

Leclerc extends his lead in the world championship following his second “grand slam” of the season (winning from pole position and posting the fastest lap of the race). On the other side of the garage, Carlos Sainz had a nightmare weekend after starting the weekend so promisingly. The Spaniard had a disastrous qualifying session, which resulted in him starting the race ninth on the grid. He opted for a different strategy to his rivals, starting on the hard compound tyre, but it proved his undoing as he spun out in the early stages of the race. 

Click here to read about Lewis Hamilton’s call to host an F1 race in South Africa.

Fast but fragile

Red Bull was fast at Australia, but its machines appear to be a bit fragile. World titleholder Max Verstappen ground to a halt mid-race – for the second time this season. Sergio Perez took over the mantle of runner-up spot after dispatching the two Mercedes pilots. Perez managed to hold onto second comfortably, despite a brief run off the circuit with seven laps to go.

On the up…?

Mercedes looked to be the most improved team arriving at Melbourne, looking more confident as the third-best team on the grid. Lewis Hamilton catapulted into third place at the start, from fifth on the grid, which he held until Perez reclaimed the position later in the race.

The first safety car played into the hands of teammate George Russell, though, who pitted and benefitted. The Englishman fought hard to keep his position from Perez, but the Mexican finally got the better of him. Nevertheless, Mercedes will be encouraged with their progress following their best result of the season: third and fourth place, respectively.

Other improvements

McLaren-Mercedes also improved dramatically after the disaster at Saudi Arabia. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished inline astern in fifth and sixth place, respectively, after both drivers qualified in the top 10.

While the top four teams looked comfortable at the front of the field, the battle for the minor points-paying places was fascinating. Alpine drivers Fernando Alonso, and Esteban Ocon duked it out with the likes of Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Kevin Magnussen (Haas-Ferrari).

When the chequered flag fell, however, it was Ocon who finished seventh ahead of Bottas and Gasly. Alexander Albon (Williams-Mercedes) finished a well-deserved tenth after starting from the back of the field and pitting for tyres on the final lap!

Charles in charge

Leclerc’s stellar start to the 2022 season sees him pull well clear of his rivals in the standings. The Ferrari driver is 34 points clear of Russell who took over second place in the standings following Sainz’s retirement. The Spaniard still sits third in the standings ahead of Perez, Hamilton and Verstappen. Ferrari are 39 points clear of Mercedes in the constructors standings, with Red Bull Racing a further ten points behind.

“Honestly, what a car today. Of course, I did [well] all weekend but it was not possible without the car. And this weekend especially in the race pace we were extremely strong. Tyres felt great from the first lap to the last lap, we were managing the tyres extremely well and I am just so happy,” said winner Leclerc.

“Obviously we are only at the third race, so difficult to think about the championship, but to be honest we have a very strong car and a very reliable car too… so I hope it continues and if it does we probably have chances for the championship.”

Heading home

The fourth round of the F1 2022 world championship moves to Europe. The “Gran Premio del Made in Italy e Dell’Emilia-Romagna” (what happened to the San Marino Grand Prix?) takes place at Imola on 24 April. The is Ferrari’s home track and following the Scuderia’s strong start to the season, the adoring Tifosi have much to be expectant about…