After a 2-season break Australia is back on the F1 calendar. Albert Park circuit has a new modified layout, which has made the circuit faster. Several turns have been made wider, and the chicane at the back straight has been removed. Coming to the GP weekend, the circuit was to have as many as four DRS zones, but one of them was taken out before qualifying due to safety reasons. During previous years Melbourne has been Hamilton's playground. In six last qualifying sessions the 7-time world champion has conquered pole position every time.
However, this season was to see a whole new pole-setter. It was an interrupted session with two red flags. The first of them came in Q1 already, as Aston Martin's Stroll and Williams' Latifi had a weird-looking collision, although neither one of them was on a flying lap. At this point there were only two minutes remaining. Thanks to the suspension Aston Martin's Vettel was able to make it on track in the end. The German had crashed out in FP3, and the mechanics had had their hands full repairing the AMR22 in time. Ferrari and Red Bull seemed very evenly matched in terms of one-lap pace. In addition to the top two teams, McLaren showed improved performance compared to the first two rounds.
Another red flag came out in the decisive third segment, with 6:58 in the clock. Alonso at the wheel of his Alpine had just set the middle sector purple, as the Spaniard's car was hit with a hydraulic issue, which caused the two-time world champion to crash out. At this point the Red Bull teammates Perez and Verstappen were separated by one thousandth of a second only, in favor of the Mexican. At the time of the crash, Leclerc in his SF75 had just crossed the finish line to take provisional pole. His teammate Sainz was unluckier, as he had to abandon his first flyer due to the red flag. Once again Mercedes were struggling, and Russell and Hamilton had to drive two warm-up laps to get their tyres ready for the time lap.
Towards the end, the top spot changed rapidly. Perez set an outstanding lap, remaining a teeny tiny one thousandth of a second shy of Leclerc's benchmark. Then came Verstappen, who went on top, but only momentarily. Charles was absolutely flying at the wheel of his Ferrari, depriving his arch rival of the desired pole position by 0.286s. Red Bull had both cars in the top three, as Perez qualified third. It was a positive surprise to see Norris qualify fourth for McLaren. The Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Russell locked down the third row, followed by Ricciardo in the sister McLaren and Alpine's Ocon. Sainz had made a costly mistake on his last run, which saw the Spaniard qualify in modest P9. Alonso naturally proved unable to set time and was therefore left in P10. Leclerc's pole marked the first pole for Ferrari in Melbourne since Kimi Räikkönen scored pole in 2007, driving his very first race for the Scuderia.
Sainz in his Ferrari and Alpine's Alonso were the only drivers in the top ten to opt for the hard compound. Medium Pirellis were the majority's choice. The start was eventful. Charles and Max on the front row both took an excellent start, Charles keeping his lead. Hamilton nailed the start as well, overtaking McLaren's Norris and Red Bull's Perez. Gaining two positions made Hamilton third in the race. Sainz, on the other hand, was in trouble with the hard rubber. The Spaniard dropped from P9 down to P14. Struggling Carlos was only able to complete the opening lap. He lost control of his SF75, ending up stuck on the gravel. It was a premature end to the Ferrari ace's tricky weekend.
As soon as Sainz's Ferrari had been removed off track, the race was back on. Perez showed top form, making his way past Hamilton and claiming back P3. By lap 12 race leader Leclerc had built a 3,5-second lead to Verstappen, who told on the team radio, that his front left tyre was badly graining already. It wasn't a surprise, that the Dutchman was the first top driver to pit on lap 19. Like expected, he switched to the hard compound and rejoined the track in P7. Teammate Perez was also in trouble with his dying tyres, and Hamilton was putting hard pressure on the Mexican. Checo pitted on lap 21 for hard Pirellis, as did Leclerc and Hamilton on lap 23. Charles was able to maintain his lead easily, with Verstappen second.
In the middle of the pit stop roulette, Vettel in his Aston Martin hit the kerb, which threw him into the barriers, bringing a lot of debris on the track. Vettel's AMR22 was wrecked and stopped on the track. Safety car was deployed for the second time. This episode benefitted Mercedes' Russell, who hadn't pitted yet. Pit stop under safety car cost 7 seconds less than in racing conditions, which made the young Briton jump 3rd in the race. Alpine's Alonso, who had started to the race on the hards, was now 4th. Haas' Magnussen and Williams' Albon had opted for a similar tyre choice, Magnussen being 7th and Albon 10th.
The restart gave hungry Verstappen a new chance to attack his red rival Charles. The flying Dutchman was able to use DRS and try a move, but Charles' lead wasn't jeopardised. On lap 36 Perez hade made it right at Russell's tail, and in spite of the Briton's efforts to defend his position, Perez came past.
Lap 39 saw a dramatic turn, as Verstappen's RB18 came to a sudden halt. There was smoke and small flames coming from the rear of the Red Bull. This was the second retirement for Verstappen in just three races. Now that Verstappen was out of the race, the Mercedes aces were in P3 (Russell) and P4 (Hamilton). There was good racing in the midfield as well. Fighting for the last points, Aston Martin's Stroll was desperately trying to keep his position ahead of AlphaTauri's Gasly and Alfa Romeo's Bottas, but in the end both Gasly and Bottas managed to make their way past the Canadian.
Charles' dominance was overwhelming. Towards the end of the race he had built up 16-second lead to Perez, and the Monegasque banged fastest lap times one after another. Perez's second place seemed secured as well, but the Mercedes duo was separated by under two seconds only. In the end Charles' winning margin was massive 20 seconds. Underlining his dominance, Charles took the grand slam: pole position, race win and the fastest lap time. Perez was the runner-up, and Russell completed the podium. McLaren got a solid race under their belt with Norris 5th and Ricciardo 6th. Ocon finished 7th for Alpine and Bottas 8th for Alfa Romeo. AlphaTauri's Gasly, who had had a close fight with Bottas, was left 9th. The most bizarre race strategy belonged to Williams' Albon, who pitted not until on the very final lap. The Thai driver brought the last point for Williams.
At the moment everything looks perfect for Charles Leclerc and the Red Team. Charles has massive 71 points to Russell's 37, Sainz's 33 and Perez's 30. Verstappen is only 6th in the drivers' standings. Ferrari, on the other hand, have 104 points to Mercedes' 65. Red Bull are third with 55 points. From Australia the F1 caravan moves to Imola, Italy, where also the first Sprint of the season will take place. Forza Ferrari!
With passion for racing red,
Iina Huhmarniemi
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