Set inside Albert Park's lush greenery, Melbourne's 5.275km rapid layout has the feel of a natural road course, yet the track still very much retains the urban vibes and defining characteristics associated with a classic street circuit.
The Australian GP venue features several fast sweeps rather than genuine straights, but maximum velocities as measured by the speed trap located at the end of the track's pit straight are still quite healthy.
If there is a circuit that requires the best of both worlds – that is good top speed and substantial downforce and grip levels through the sweeping Turn 9-10 changes of direction – Albert Park is it.
Cue Red Bull's predictably fast and highly efficient RB20 package - the worthy successor to its predecessor - as mastered by Max Verstappen who was quickest in qualifying and second fastest down the main straight in the session, with a speed of 327 kph, just 1 kph behind his teammate Sergio Perez.
However, while’s SF-24 was a few kph slower down the main straight than its Red Bull counterpart, a forensic study of the data conducted by our friends at Formula Data Analysis indicates that Carlos Sainz was actually on track to beat Verstappen to pole before he braked a tad too late into T9, which cost the Spaniard 0.4s!
We’ll also note that Sainz’s effort was quite remarkable given the Scuderia charger’s post-surgery physical condition.
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At the lowest end of the speed trap readings, Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was the session’s laggard, the Briton clocking in at 320 kph, a number – also confirmed by George Russell.
This undeniably reflected the Brackley squad’s set-up compromise for its W15 in Melbourne, whereby straightline speed is sacrificed for increased downforce.
Indeed, the silver arrows are looking much more settled and balanced this weekend than was the case in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago.
The bottom line? Friday’s running suggested that Ferrari would give Red Bull a run for its money in qualifying, and Sainz was on track to produce an ‘upset’ before his braking error.
In race trim however, Sunday’s race should be Red Bull/Verstappen’s to lose, barring any unforeseen events.
it will be interesting to see how the front-runners – and we’ll include McLaren and Mercedes in that group along with Ferrari – manage their strategy given that there are still a few unknowns that subsist.
According to Pirelli, all signs point to a two-stop race with the Medium-Hard-Hard combination being the quickest. However, no one has run the hardest compound so far, so that’s one significant unknown that will be out there on Sunday.
Managing graining is another key factor that will come into play on Albert Park’s more abrasive track surface.
Finally, one can never dismiss the probability of seeing the Safety Car on track, or even a red flag to mix things up.
The only certainty is all the ingredients are there to make for an interesting and spectacular 58 laps down under!
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