This weekend, Formula 1 returns to Australia for the third round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship. While the first two races were dominated by Red Bull, Sergio Perez managed to come out on top. This places even more pressure on Max Verstappen to secure his spot on top this weekend in Australia. If you’re getting ready for the race, we’ve highlighted a few things that you should look out for. Here’s a quick dive into five things we expect at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix.

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1 . Max vs Perez

As mentioned above, Red Bull dominated the first two races in the 2023 season. However, Perez has thrown his hat in the ring to challenge for the title. Max had a few issues in Jeddah and continues to have a few mechanical issues this week.
During practice, Max complained about his brakes, engine, and gearbox. Could this be a repeat of Sir Lewis Hamilton’s 2016 season? Either way, all eyes will be glued on Perez, the king of the streets, to see if he can secure another win this weekend.

2. McLaren’s Luck

McLaren has had a terrible start to the 2023 Formula 1 Season. They have not yet scored a single point. However, Lando Norris was candid with the press and noted that this is primarily down to bad luck. He noted that the car does have pace and can compete with Alpine and even Mercedes. All they need is an incident-free weekend to prove it to all the Papaya fans around the world.

3. Aston’s Raw Pace

Aston Martin got it right in 2023 by copying as much of the Red Bull as possible. This pace has secured two podiums for Alonso in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. However, Alonso is known to be mega around Albert Park. Many pundits believe that he could challenge for the win if the door opens even slightly. This puts more pressure on Red Bull to make sure that their drivers don’t slow each other down.

4. Mercedes Woes

Sir Lewis Hamilton managed to split the Red Bulls in the opening practice session of the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. However, the entire team admitted to being over one second behind them in race pace. It looks like Mercedes is slightly ahead of Ferrari, but it will be a challenge to beat Aston (even in similar machinery).

Mercedes did say that updates are on the way, but they’ll have to settle for a fight with Ferrari and Aston for the last step of the podium. Hamilton has snatched pole position eight times in Albert Park, so don’t be surprised if he’s charged up to steal another podium this weekend.

5. Ferrari Engines

Ferrari is noticeably slower than they were last year. However, the engine reliability issues seem to have stuck with them. While Leclerc already served a penalty, the Ferrari customer teams of Haas and Alfa Romeo have also taken new power units for this race.

This clearly shows that the power unit is not up to scratch. While Mercedes can breathe a sigh of relief, it does also mean that Ferrari’s engine can get significantly better throughout the year. This is in contrast to all the engines around them that have to stay stagnant.

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