F1 LIVE | First free practice session for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix

Liveblog first free practice GP Saudi Arabia

Many eyes will be on Charles Leclerc this weekend. The Ferrari driver is at the top of the world championship after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs, so he will be doing everything he can in Australia to hold on to that position. Australia's circuit doesn't seem to be entirely in Ferrari's favour, but the team has shown this season that it can perform on many different tracks.

However, Leclerc has to watch out for the competition. For example, after Max Verstappen's victory in Saudi Arabia, Red Bull Racing is keen to take victory again this weekend. The cars are expected to be close to each other again in Australia, so it will once again come down to details.

For other teams, too, much awaits this weekend. Mercedes hopes to make a new step towards the top teams, Aston Martin wants to get rid of the scoreless status as soon as possible, McLaren hopes to live up to the expectations in Australia even more and Haas hopes to maintain the current performance. They will use the second free practice to get ready for the race.

The Australian GP

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by GPblog.com (@gpblog_com)

After three years without one, there will finally be another Australian Grand Prix in 2022. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Formula One circus did not return to Albert Park, until this weekend. The last Grand Prix to be held in Melbourne was in 2019. Valtteri Bottas then recorded a dominant victory, after which he uttered his famous "to whom it may concern" quote over the board radio. Max Verstappen finished third that year, allowing Honda to score an immediate podium in the first race with Red Bull. In 2020, F1 did come to Albert Park, but the weekend was cancelled at the very last minute due to the coronavirus. Since then, F1 has not yet returned due to travel restrictions in the country.

The Albert Park circuit has undergone a major overhaul since the last edition in 2019. The first corner and the third corner are wider to allow for different lines. Defending should be a lot harder as a result in 2022. The most important adjustment, however, is in Sector 2. There, Turn 8 has become much flatter, effectively giving you an extra straight towards the chicane of Turns 9 and 10.

So the overtaking opportunities have been increased on the circuit and on top of that F1 has chosen to place four DRS zones on the circuit. However, there are only two detection points, so the chaser is at a great advantage if he manages to get past in zone one already.